Part two: Will the manuscript ever be finished—and by whom?
"Ocean cruise" by LDyck
Awakening (part 2)
The doorbell rang. A man in blue coveralls stood on my porch. "Excuse me for disturbing you." His embroidered name tag read Dan. "But I think you accidentally threw this out." Dan held my monster.
"I don't want that," I told him.
That was the last time I thought about my novel until, years later, when I was flipping through the pages of Quill and Quire, Canada's magazine for book news and reviews, and noticed a glowing review for a new mystery—Murder Island by Dan Conner. "This intriguing mystery will soon be a movie starring—"
I'd read enough; I threw the magazine across the room...
***
I woke with a start. It was all a daydream. There was no Dan Conner. I still had my manuscript. I raced outside to the recycling bin to reclaim it.
Finally, I was able to look at my manuscript with fresh eyes. What did they like about my manuscript? Anything? I found positive comments and read those over slowly. All agreed that the beginning was captivating and the dialogue was strong. So they didn't think the whole thing was garbage; they just thought it required revision.
Ann wanted me to work on the middle. I searched the Internet and found an article on building suspense—like ending each chapter with a cliffhanger—and another article on "red herrings"—information designed to mislead the reader. John wanted me to work on my main character. I searched my bookshelves and learned that the main character needs to solve her own problems. If she doesn't, it's cheating. And in Suzanna's feedback, she'd circled a sentence in a tone that she suggested I maintain. I retyped that passage using 16-point text, printed the page, and posted it by my computer. That way it would be easy to refer to as I worked on revisions. My first readers had invested a lot of time and effort in helping me improve my manuscript; I emailed them my thanks.
Sure, I have a lot of work to do on my novel. But, instead of letting it overwhelm me, I'm focusing on how much I will learn. That's the thing about writing—there's always something to learn. That's why I love my craft.
This concludes my short story Awakening. I hope you enjoyed reading it. Next week... Ah, next week. Each October I like to read a horror novel to get me in the mood for Halloween. This year I found The Only Child by Andrew Pyper. Next week it will be my pleasure to share my book review with you.
Next post: Book review: The Only Child by Andrew Pyper
Sunday, October 29th at approximately 5 PM
"Heading home" photo by LDyck
This concludes my short story Awakening. I hope you enjoyed reading it. Next week... Ah, next week. Each October I like to read a horror novel to get me in the mood for Halloween. This year I found The Only Child by Andrew Pyper. Next week it will be my pleasure to share my book review with you.
"Abby" photo by LDyck
Sunday, October 29th at approximately 5 PM
