I experienced another week of limited outside activity because the pandemic just won’t go away. Our province is almost Covid-free, but we encountered a spike in cases this past weekend. I’m uncomfortable with ignoring the risks and resuming my normal life, so I’m staying home worrying about what comes next.
First, our candy chute on Halloween was a great success. Comments from the kids included ‘WHOA!!!’, ‘That’s so cool’, ‘Awesome’, ‘Wow!’, ‘Wicked’, and many others. The parents accompanying their trick-or-treaters also appreciated my effort. We also had almost as many visitors as a normal year. So, everything considered, pretty successful.
Second, it’s November and NaNoWriMo. I’ve embarked on my own NaNoWriMo-like effort, unofficial because it doesn’t meet their criteria, but I can use NaNoWriMo’s idea of a novel in a month to get my latest rewrite finished by the end of the month. So big question: Can I get it done by the end of the month?
I’m trudging along The Road to the latest version of my Environmental Armageddon story. Progress includes hours spent tightening the chapters up to and including the first big crisis, and a start on the rest of the book. That included 13000 words, some new, and some recycled from earlier drafts. It leaves me with lots of work, knitting them together and adding scenes and chapters to fill the gaps.
Rather daunting, but I’m encouraged by an article on self-publishing that I read on a website I can’t find again. The author said the first step toward success was to write the best damn story you can. That’s my motivation during rewrites of my climate change dystopia novel, but sometimes I’ve wondered if the efforts to ‘improve’ my book have been worthwhile. After reading that article, I’m bashing the computer keys with renewed enthusiasm.
Alan Kemister, author 