Can't get past chapter 1

Greetings,

As March rolls, I've been in a bit of a rut. My rewrite of my novella is going slowly. The reality is, I'm a much better writer now than years ago when I wrote the first draft. I sent my manuscript out to a buddy who's a novelist. Despite the manuscript being shortlisted for an award, he had a lot of problems with it. As soon as I read the first few pages of his comments, as a better writer than I used to be, I immediately saw the issues. Combine that with the fact that, as I started working the first chapter, the voice of the primary character in that chapter started changing. I'm envisioning that I'll be working for weeks on this chapter. I wanted to take a day.

Many thanks to open-book.ca for having me. A few years ago, back when they were Open Book Toronto, I did my first online residency with them. Before writing for February, I read my work from back then. What impressed me, is that I essentially have the same point of view as I did back then. However, my writing is in a completely different stratosphere.

When I started getting published I thought that I was already a great writer. But these past months have shown me how much I've improved. Before, when I wrote something of a high standard, it felt like an out-of-body experience reading my work. I would ask, How did I do this? Now, I expect to be moved by my writing. If it fails to do so, I'm forced re-draft my work. When I started getting publish I had the audacity to think I was a great writer, now it's my goal to become one. Go figure.

Next week I'll be reading at Harbourfront for an IFOA event. That Saturday, myself and Liz from my collective will be taking part in a really cool event that's worth checking out. Another really cool event is coming up April 28th as well. Keep an eye on my Facebook Fan page for my listings.

Peace & Respect

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