I regret I could not work on The Inugami for two months due to pressing urgencies from my work and extended family, but this morning I did go through the first 7,927 words and edit them.
On April 6th, I shared the first 6,000 words with nine attendees at the monthly meeting of the West Shore Christian Writers' Fellowship. This morning I went through their suggestions and the result is a tighter, better-organized version of the first 11 pages that now enjoy greater clarity and pacing.
The 12,000-word Shrine War novelette is too short to release on its own so my goal is the release both The Inugami and The Shrine War in one book. Interestingly, The Inugami may even exceed The Shrine War in word count, but together they will be worth their combined weight and justify their purchase. Since I write solely for entertainment, I want my readers to get a lot of bang for their buck.
I wanted to express my gratitude to the members of the monthly writers' group I am so privileged to attend. Having been together for almost two decades, the group has formed into a gathering of eclectic writers who know how to critique a story without changing the author's voice. Such a group is rare and I'm pleased and delighted to be part of its fellowship. I hope all the writers who read this blog are blessed with such a gathering of like-minded authors.
I'm looking forward to the finished story. I want to read 'The Inugami'.
ReplyDeleteAnd I know how you feel about losing the time and desire to write. I have more time than I need, but between the car accident and its fallout earlier this year (still worried I'll have a gigantic dental bill dropped on me in the end), my aunt's health issues, and what's been happening to my friends -- not to mention the one story I /have/ finished, the editor's doing nothing with it -- I begin to wonder if I should just pack it in. A real writer wouldn't let any of those things slow or stop them.