Some people wish for money. Some, for fame. Me? I wish for boring days. Days with no wildfires and evacuations. Days of physical and mental health so people can do what they do with less struggle. Days of nice weather so nature can be enjoyed without huge amounts of discomfort. Days of enjoyable work. Days where positive predictions come true. Days of community coming together for the greater good. Days of creative endeavors. Days free from violence, from hunger, from wrong-doing. Pollyanna? Maybe. But where would we be without hope?
Five minutes ago, my June newsletter hit inboxes. I have no free story to share this month, but I reminded readers that Survivors in the After is out and available. I also included the invite to follow me on IG and FB and LI, should recipients have the desire to hear more from me. Every month I pick a topic and write one to several paragraphs giving examples and suggestions and ideas on how readers can apply the topic. The one for June is “Make room for fun.” Because this is something I’ve been personally working on, I thought maybe others could use a boost. If you’re not signed up for my newsletter and would like to be, use the link below. You’ll receive 108 flash fiction stories in exchange for your email address.
I’m a smidgen more than halfway done with this round of edits/rewrites. I’m finding some awkward sentences and some sentences where I have no idea to what I’m referring. Hence the highlight and delete sequence. But for every sentence I delete, I think I add three. My page count has increased by 10 since I started. Last night I realized why my edits take so long. Some authors can make 3 passes at their manuscript and hit publish. I can’t. My stories have a main plot, but then there are always a handful of other plots! It’s not just the murder mystery to solve, but the case of child abuse, the love interest, the secret guy hired to do bad things, the multiple murder attempts by more than one villain, the repeated saving of the main characters, and the rather large cast of secondary and tertiary characters. A beta reader told me that though she loves my stories and that I’m one of her favorite authors, my books are immersive and involved. I hadn’t thought of them that way before she said this. And now I agree, which is why my edits take so long to do. The timelines must be correct. The characters must enter/exit each scene. The reader must be handed clues and details, not too many but enough that they can understand all the subplots and nuances without getting lost. It’s exhausting work. Only when I press “publish” do I have a sense of relief and excitement. So if you stick with me, I’ll have a cover reveal for Of Daggers and Dreamers by the end of July. And at some point soon, perhaps another short story.
Unlike Confucius, who said, “May you live in interesting times,” I wish for you to have boring days.
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