We Have A Winner!

Gema, dear friend since grade school, I am happy to announce that you are the winner of the Clinique moisturizer for being the first to read my manuscript!  And you have also won my undying devotion for saying, "I spent the day reading your book and loved it!  Congratulations!"

As you know, dear reader, I have been hard at work murdering darlings.  Only a few superfluous phrases and unnecesary scenes are stepping forward to be liberated from my novel, though, and the rest are hiding behind important plotlines and setups.  How to keep at the editing?
I'm glad you asked.  Sometimes I have to stop trying so hard.  When I am not consciously thinking about my manuscript, ideas of ways to make it better just come to me.  The following game has been a fun way to get unconscious :)  Just click and drag the blue guy up, drop him, and see what happens.   
http://www.funbrain.com/brain/SweepsBrain/Games/Game.html?GameName=DesertDive&Brain=kidsandparents&Grade=0&GameNumber=1
Fair warning:  it's addictive, so only do this when your brain really needs a break.

Murdering Darlings

Okay, it's time to go on a shooting spree.  No, I'm not that kind of crazy, I've just been looking outside myself for help in tweaking my work, and I'm realizing it's an inside job. 
A guy named Quiller-Couch said it best, but I wouldn't want to be him.  Many a writer has cried over his words:  "Murder your darlings."  Yes, murder them.  Kill off all the writing that is self-serving, the stuff that takes the reader out of her fictive dream. 
Strange, but part of me looks forward to strapping on some shining armor and a really cool sword.  I'll slay my own dragon, the dead wood in my manuscript, and this novel and I will be better for it.  Maybe I'm feeling confident because I wished upon a star at

( http://www.mylifetime.com/astrology/free-readings/enchanted/wish-upon-a-star-game ), and my star said I would succeed.  Well, by the third wish it did, anyway.

Week One; We Wait

So I’ve shared my novel with a few friends and David Henry Sterry - Mr. Book Doctor, and  now I wait.  I have a sneaking suspicion that people aren't reading my novel, but I’ve been there myself.  People who have written manuscripts tend to have a scary look in their eyes:  part desperation, part manic insanity.  I've run the other way myself, just like everyone seems to be doing with me, and I know why.  No one wants to deal with people who are so egotistical they believe they can write a novel.  No doubt it’s a manifesto of some sort, anyway since those  writers are a crazy lot, right?
Meanwhile, I’m floundering without writing.  I don’t like not writing.  Even yesterday, when I got a massage from the Chinese Acupressure guys with the massage chairs in the mall, I felt uncomfortable.  What?  No one gets massages from these guys?  That explains a lot.  Anyway, after my massage, I picked up my free gift with purchase at the Clinique department in Dillards.   I’ve been looking forward to owning yet another pretty bag and $65 worth of makeup I don’t need, but after the initial rush of excitement, my gift seemed meaningless. 
A free spray of Chanel No 5 lifted my spirits, as did a  Starbucks iced caffe mocha, but the truth remains; I’m only going to be happy when I’m writing.  This stage of the process – the sales and marketing part – is a necessary evil, though.  I’m showing the world I believe in what I’ve written enough to fight for it.  I’m showing the world my determination.  And yes, I’m showing the world just how crazy I really am.
Meanwhile, the first reader who returns my manuscript will get a bottle of Clinique moisturizer (you didn't think I'd give away the whole bag did you?).