Revision progress report

I'm quite happy with my revision progress this week. I've completed revising the second part of the book and I have a much smaller portion left. At the moment I'm writing a completely new scene that I decided to add. I've also decided that my YA Fantasy project will most probably be a trilogy. I have definite titles for the other two books and a number of ideas that I would love to explore, delving deeper into the world that I've created and bringing out the best and the worst. I'm also looking through a list of agents at AgentQuery and I'm astonished by the number of agents who still won't accept email queries. What are the chances of finding an agent? What are the chances of making it big?

Revision progress report

Last week was very productive. I revised more than twenty pages, which is quite a lot for me, going deeper and deeper into the story in more ways than one. So I knew that this week would be slower. I'm also quite busy reading The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith (aka J.K. Rowling) and I find it hard to put the book down. I think I like it even better than the first one. However, I'm almost finished watching Friends, so soon I'll have one distraction less. We're having a very cold summer this year. I don't want to jinx it, because I don't like heat all that much, but I've closed the window and I'm actually sitting here in a warm cardigan that my mom knitted for me some years ago and that I had no occasion to wear until now! It's awfully grey and windy today and it doesn't look much like Odessa anymore... I also spent the best part of the morning today looking through literary agents on Twitter now that I once again want to try and find representation for Margaret's Rematch.

Revision progress report

I'm back to work on my revision, while it's not too hot and my brain doesn't melt. In fact, I've been working quite a lot these days, changing things, shifting them back and forth and making tons of corrections.

Revision progress report

I had a good writing day yesterday and that's all. How very lame. But I've noticed that my writing blocks always coincide with increasing heat, which, in its turn, quite often coincides with my obsessing over something new. Last May I was sucked into the world of Star Trek. This May I started watching Friends. I've never actually watched all the seasons - just a few episodes here and there. In fact, there are so many TV-shows that I want to re-watch. Oh, and I've watched Maleficent today. It was great. I love this version of the story much better. Angelina Jolie was amazing. I loved her horns and wings and lipstick and her smile and her ring and the whole thing.

Revision progress report

It's moving along, though not as swiftly as last week. Still, I've revised a big piece and added several new pieces. I always add something new (or correct or throw something out) each time I reread the same piece. I can't be trusted with polishing my MS because I will most likely polish it within an inch of its life and there will be nothing left.

Revision progress report

Revision is going apace. The story becomes more dynamic as I cut out on exposition and scatter as much backstory as the books needs all over the place. I like it most of the time. However, I do have occasional moments of doubt and panic when I ask myself who is going to read my novel. It lacks violence, destruction, nudity and multiple deaths that seem to be a requisite for success in the entertainment industry these days, judging by books, TV-shows and films that garner the most readers or viewers. At least, that's the impression that I get when I read about books, TV-shows and films that millions of people are crazy about. I don't know... I often ask myself "Does a book/TV-show/film have to rip your heart out and cause misery to be considered great? Are there people who still want to feel like smiling after reading the book or watching something as opposed to feeling as though they have been punched one too many times and just want to crawl somewhere and die?"

Revision progress report

"Every day this summer had been the same: the tension, the expectation, the temporary relief, and then mounting tension again... and always, growing more insistent all the time, the question of why nothing had happened yet." 

J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

If you're reading this, then you probably wonder why I've posted a short extract from the fifth Harry Potter books in my revision progress report. Well, that piece perfectly sums up how I felt this week, ever since I found out that I got a spot on the Writer's Voice Competition. I didn't make it to the next round, but it was an exciting week all the same, with an almost tangible sensation of possibility. However,  when I wasn't checking my Twitter feed in hopes of catching a glimpse of my number, I kept myself busy with revision, and I'm happy to report that my main heroine has finally left the castle grounds that she has never left until now and set out on her journey.