The Book Stops Here

Following some deep thinking and pondersome strolls around the fields of Hatfield, I've come to a decision.

It is this draft, this one, not the next one or the one after that, that I will use to try and get an agent to take forward for publishing.

There might still be a gap between my writing now and how I want to write, but hey, you learn your whole life.
That's what it's for.

It's crunch time. No more procrastinating.

I figure I need about three chapters and a synopsis for agent-snaring, and I'm half a chapter into the new draft. The 112,000+ total of the first draft will probably become a lot slimmer as this second draft progresses, as there is a lot of paring and honing going on. Progress is slow, but I'm putting the hours in and at the moment am aiming to have the agent-package finished by the end of August. There is a difference to writing the new draft. Befroe I had to force myself to stop only when I knew precisely what I was going to do next...that way I would be able to sit down and charge off. Now I am stopping because my eyes are closing by themselves...because it's 3 in the morning. Each time I stop, I realise what I've done and a tight knot of excitement curls up to the top of my stomach. It feels good to be making this progress. I know it is better this time. It is a whole, rather than a stream of words with no end...

I'm going to ease off the blogging for a while after the 21st of July (you'll see) because at the moment some mornings I spend my hour-and-a-half pre-work writing time doing stuff for the three blogs.
I'm gonna need that time.

It hit me the other day how much I want to be moving onto other projects...this book has been lurking around in the background of my life for the last year, and to be perfectly honest I hate it and love it, I want to get rid of it and I want it to stay...I want it to be finished and at the same time for it always to be there when I need it.

I have no idea if this is normal...and I have no way of finding out!

I am very excited, and very, very nervous.

Cheers to everyone for support and buckets of ego-massaging/polishing/buffing encouragement...guess I'd better try and prove you all right, huh?

(I'm bricking it some here by the way)