Michele Venne's Blog, page 17

The Finish Line

This is the exact moment when the front runner’s chest connects with the ribbon strung across the finish line! It isn’t broken. Yet. The race isn’t done. Yet. I’ve met my deadlines, but the projects are ready for publication. Yet. I’ve finished this round of edits on The Bookie. Next is running it through ProWriting Aid. The final edit is me sitting in the office with the door closed...

Source

Desire

Epiphanies are like a sample from a bakery. They give you a taste but leave you searching for more. I had one this week. Quick context, I’m in a yoga collective where we study something different each month, learn about some yoga techniques, and apply it to our life for transformation. As a yoga instructor, I’ve read or learned much of this before. But taking an entire month to study these...

Source

Taking a Breath

I mentioned three months ago that I would be conducting some experiments. I’ve completed most of them. For a few, I wonder if I’ll gain any usable data, or if there’s a way to even find a beginning and know when it’s done. For the rest, I’ve learned about my process, which, after 14 years, is something I didn’t know could still happen. With most of those experiments concluded, I can look at what I...

Source

Two Steps to the Left

A couple of days ago, I let my graphic designer know that I had 12 pages left in the nonfiction. I figured I would finish it by Sunday and get it to beta readers early next week. I also told her that by the middle of next week, I would be through this round of edits on the novel and would have a final page count for her. Then I checked my email last night and saw a message from Findaway Voices...

Source

Finish Energy

Joanna Penn, a fairly famous indie author in the UK whom I’ve followed since she began offering stuff for indie writers back in 2008, talks about “beginning energy” when she starts a project and “finish energy” as she nears the end of a project. I (still) currently have 3 projects in a stage where I feel what she talks about with “finish energy.” It’s a push to keep going, to get the words down...

Source

Next STeps

My beta reader finished The Bookie. I’ve been working this week on her suggestions/edits. I should finish those this weekend. I have a list of what to check, what to research, what to change. No major rewrites needed, just a tightening up of the plot and making sure details aren’t repeated, and that all the details needed are there. “The Raid,” the short story prequel to the Waldman Investigations...

Source

Month 3 of 3

In this third month of my 3-month plan, I can say I’ve learned from my experiments. What I’ve learned that I didn’t plan for is that life happens regardless of what my calendar says, and that some things are bigger than my determination. I guess I can add more acceptance to this list of data. My beta reader returned The Bookie to me today. I’m grateful for her use of chainsaws and pruning shears...

Source

The Next Experiment

Last Friday, after working for eight hours and staying up until 10 PM, I finished the first draft for The Bookie. I gave some hours on Saturday to making a couple of corrections, scrolling through and filling out my timeline, listing some questions to research before the editing phase, and jotting down other things to tweak after I get the manuscript back from my beta reader. It’s longer than I...

Source

Nearly There

Having been stuck in the weeds for so long with this manuscript, I’m kind of surprised that I’m looking at the climax of the story. A quick take down of a criminal, the tying up of a few plot threads, and one scene to lead into book 3, and I’m typing “The End,” metaphorically. I’ll do a read through, make my notes, add the pieces I know I’ve left out, and send off this nearly 100K word document to...

Source

Moving Finish Line

I’m super excited that my first audiobook is done! Narrated, edited, processed, and is out for distribution to 48 online retailers. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out one thing, then was told that it’s a no-thing. I don’t need to do what I thought I did, that it’s done automatically when the MP3 files are uploaded. Huh. I promised myself I would do better on book 2, which is in the pre...

Source