Nikki M. Pill

Since I’ve been away from the novel for a few weeks, I started in on some mid-novel re-reading with Holly’s “Surgical Marks” lesson. Kill this paragraph, this is ok but needs to go somewhere else, this is close, etc.

I was pleasantly surprised that it was a lot like the day I launched edits on “Inner Potential” — this thing is better than I thought! I was pretty convinced that the first draft is total drek and I’d struggle to bring it up to mediocrity, but there’s some good material here.

Lessons learned:

1. I still feel stifled without names. Some of the dancers don’t have names yet, and I’m not comfortable with the troupe. I need to buckle down and name them. “Jeff” and “Michelle” are proof positive that I can write a character with a name that’s pretty close and then change it when I need to.

2. This process is a lot like Chaotic Water‘s first draft was — the first draft is skeletal, but as I get deep into the story, I realize more things that can flesh it out. I didn’t have these ideas in the outline. Getting my hands dirty was part of the process in generating what the characters really need to do.

3. My muse is good with the Law of Unintended Consequences. I’m seeing opportunities to create and tie things in that I didn’t before. I need to trust her more. She always pulls through.

4. Some characters are in this book because they will be important in later books, but they’re not pulling their weight right now. I’ve figured out what to do about Caprice, but not Monica or Dad.

One more day of edits, one day of outline-fussing, and then the Novel Completion Deathmarch begins.

I’m getting published!

Midnight Street Magazine has accepted my short story “Inner Potential” for their next issue.

I’ve been gainfully employed as a writer for over a year. But this is fiction — the first fiction acceptance letter I’ve received in something like 4 years. That means it’s time to get the writing site updated and the writing blog started.

I love LJ. Especially the userpics and my friends. And the years & years of posts. However, I think it’s time to have a public blog. I’ll still keep my LJ for personal/friends-only writing. I’ll post my writing progress blurbs, quandaries, trials & tribulations on this one.  In the words of the Joker: “Here… we… go.”