things I learned while polishing BLACKMAILED INTO BED
No, as much as some people might wish it, I did not fall off the face of the earth. I've just had a heck of a time logging in to Blogger the past couple days. Grrr. I hope none of you were sitting at home, holding your breath, waiting for me to say something brilliant. *vbg*First & foremost, I finished proofing & polishing BLACKMAILED INTO BED, & got it in the mail Wednesday. Yippee! Whew, I love having another book finished & on its way to New York. I've even managed--for a short time, anyway--to pretend I don't have to jump right into the next one. :-)
So what did I learn while proofing & polishing this manuscript?
Well, for one thing, I apparently don't know the difference between "affect" & "effect." I even have a book that explains the difference, & I still can't figure it out. Actually, I do understand the meaning of "effect"...but I just get this feeling "affect" should be used occasionally, too. :-P So every time I ran across either word in the story, I stopped, looked up the official definition, & tried to make my best educated guess on which was right. (Thank God for editors who actually do know which is which right off the tops of their heads.)
I also learned that I write a lot by instinct, because I barely remembered half of what I read. I know I wrote it--I was there *g*--but I don't actually remember writing all of it, & was impressed by how well things held together. See, I write almost exclusively on my AlphaSmart, so once I finish a scene or certain number of pages, I send that text to my computer. But I don't usually read back over more than a couple of paragraphs of what's already written before launching into what comes next. Maybe if I were reviewing the previous chapter or previous day's work on a regular basis, the entire story would be more familiar to me by the time I started proofing. I like working this way, tho; it keeps the story fresh for me, & when I go back to do polishing & revising, it really is like I'm reading the story for the first time. I think I catch a lot more that way, because I'm actually reading everything...not accidentally skimming over sections where I already subconsciously know what happened. :-)
And last but not least, I'm amazed that I manage to write one of these every few months. I mean, really! I don't know how I do it. That's not bragging, that's me saying I can't believe I keep coming up with ideas & keep managing to write entire books...then manage to turn around & do it all over again. Every time I finish a book, I swear I think, "Okay, that's it. I can't possibly do that again." Then I take a couple days off, breathe deeply & evenly for a change, & sit down to start another one. If you must know, it's kind of cool. :-D
Oh, & I also learned that people are apparently quite impressed when I go out in public. Not in a "ohmigosh, you're Heidi Betts--can I have your autograph?" way...*snort*...but in a "my God, you're actually out of the house!" way. Seriously, I got dressed & went to town after hitting the post office with BLACKMAILED, & I can't tell you the number of people I ran into who acted like I was home from a long stint in rehab. LOL I know I don't get out much, but I'm not that much of a hermit. (Am I?)
On top of getting BLACKMAILED INTO BED polished, printed, & in the mail, I watched the season finale of The Apprentice, & was very happy when Sean won. He totally deserved it, didn't he? And that accent...oh, my!
I also started reading White Hot by Sandra Brown (told you I was thinking about it. :-)), & so far, so good. It was so nice to be able to just sit & read for a while without feeling like I should be writing instead. I think I have to get back to work today, tho. My novella synopsis needs a little more layering of conflicts & detail, so I'd like to get that done & out of the way before I jump into FORTUNE'S FORBIDDEN WOMAN. (I can't wait--Maya & Creed, here I come!)
Have a good weekend, everyone!
Currently listening to Maroon 5's "She Will Be Loved"
Currently watching Feardotcom
Currently reading White Hot by Sandra Brown, the Velvet, Leather, & Lace anthology, & the last story in the Perfect for the Beach anthology
