Reshaping My Writer's Bottom: Update

Sometimes, it feels like my fitness is not improving. Every single time I do a dvd workout, I feel marinated afterwards. I know I am better as I can get lower in my squats and I don't die on certain exercises. But I keep trying to give it my all and so my legs tend to be jelly afterwards. Slowly but surely the weight is coming off. But it is tempting to see how far I have to go rather than how far I have come.
There are two important dates looming -- first next Tuesday when I go down to London to see my editor for my annual visit. And second, the RWA National conference. I want to look good for that for a number of reasons... Having events on the horizons is helping me to keep focused.

I am still waiting to hear from my editor about the latest round of tweaks. It never gets any easier waiting (anyone who says it does could hide their own Easter eggs or is being disingenous) . But it is so important to put out a strong book. And I do love these characters. I just hope I have maximised the potential of this book. I want it to be a powerful story.  This time working out is helping to relieve the stress.

I am currently working on the next book. It should be excellent but it is always about pushing myself to stretch and to go deeper. Discovery drafts are for discovering what doesn't work and what does.

Shelfari is now linked into Amazon and so I am slowly updating the extras, providing links to places and books that inspired that particular book, doing character lists etc. What sort of things do readers want to see? Or am I doing this for my own amusement?

Oh and why does HBO have to sex up Game of Thrones? The story is absorbing enough without the various couplings. My daughter and I kept going -- but that isn't in the book. I know they are trying to get important info across but they have used the same device in two different episodes -- basically talk during sex. My editor would not let me get away with that sort of Pope in  the Pool backstory exposition.

The Jillian Micheals of the editorial world

I have decided that my editor is the Jillian Micheals of the editorial world -- very tough but with a lot of heart and absolutely 100 percent committed to making my stories absolutely the strongest possible. She pushes me and she certainly doesn't accept second best.
Before Christmas, she asked me to set aside the one I was currently working on. It just wasn't strong enough in its current form and in fact in her judgement, it was getting weaker. A hard decision for both of us. But I trust her judgement.
And after thinking a lot about it, I realised that among other things, it should have been the last book of a quartet rather than the first book of a duo. It may eventually get there. It may even be more single title than series. Loads of things needed to change and it just was not happening.
Did it hurt? Yes.
Was it the right decision? Yes. It is far far worse in the long term to put out something that is substandard.
I rather wait and get it right. That book has huge potential. I am just not ready to realise its potential yet (and I have 3 other books in the series to write first!)
And I toss this out so that people can realise being a published author doesn't mean that your books are always accepted. You are only as good as your last book. It happens  -- far more often than people might think. The difference is what you do after a set back.

I am currently working on a new ms. Stand alone Regency The partial has been sent back twice. My editor thinks it can be strengthened. And she is right. (Among other things I had gone for a reactionary start -- emotional situation but the heroine was passive) She is utterly committed to making my work as strong as possible. I am very lucky to have her. I want it to be my best to date and my editor is certainly trying to get me there.

So when I have been doing my 30 day shred with Jillian Micheals dvd, I have been thinking about my editor and her determination to wring every last drop of emotion out of this story and to push me to do my best.
It isn't easy but the results will be worth it.
With my shred, I have moved up to level 2 and am busy dying. My clothes are getting looser though, so the results are starting to happen.
If someone is going to make big promises, they have to be tough and they have to be willing to see it through.

Have I said that I love my editor?

Secret crushes and updates

I am blogging today at the Pink Heart Society about the reason I watch Downton Abbey -- namely Brendan Coyle.  I haven't watched the latest episode yet as I tape it and watch on a Tuesday. It saves fighting with my husband for the remote as Sunday night is always NFL football. He developed a liking for the NFL when we first started going out...Luckily he saw sense to support my team! As a lifelong 49ers fan, this season has been a trial...but in baseball, the Giants have made the World Series.  But the downside of all this is that I go around for two days trying not to find out what happen in Downton but in many ways being desperate to! Monday nights are Spooks.

I finished the Author Alterations for To Marry A Matchmaker and I do love this story. It is really a feel good story and I am very proud of it.

I have finished the Discovery Draft for my current one. The semi-polished version is due on 1 November and I am still a few thousand words short (thankfully). I do know some of my bad habits now. These include: repetition, not layering in sensual tension, not layering emotion, confused motivation etc. But in theory knowing that these things exist, I can work on improving them. I do love this story and am totally excited about writing the sister's story as well. But right now I have to keep my eyes on  what needs to be done -- namely the polishing of this draft before my eagle-eyed editor looks at it...

Finally as regular readers know, I suffer from lymph oedema in my left arm. A year ago when we were in Istanbul, it was brought to my attention that my left arm was much larger than my right one. I had to have all sorts of tests and after all sorts of nasties were eliminated, it was decided that I had lymph oedema.  I now wear a bandage sleeve and glove on my left arm most of the time. And last week, joy of joys, my fingers had gone down enough that I could get my wedding ring off!!! At one point, there were muttering about cutting it off, so I am pleased. My left arm now looks like my right arm in proportion but I think it remains a bit bigger.  The main complication from lymph oedema is infection, particularly celluitis. Thus far, knock on wood, I have avoided that.

My weight is also going down and I was able to throw away another pair of too big trousers. I still have some way to go before I reach the weight I want to be and fit into clothes that I wore a few years ago.  Slowly but surely and each small victory is surely worth celebrating!