Luck

The Ducks went streaking, my friends, winning three games (at home) in a row.  And then, last night (my grandfather's would-be birthday), they tied it up 0-0 and lost in overtime.  However, I'm not too worried.  Why, you may ask?  Because if you watched the game, you saw that they played really, really well.  Which gives me hope.

But Heather, you say, today is Friday, the Thirteenth.  Aren't you worried about that?

Pshh, no.

Friday the Thirteenth has been especially lucky in my family and I have no problem transferring my luck to my team for tonight's game.

Some great news for the Ducks, though?  Corey Perry was named to the AllStar Game.  Um, as if there was any doubt.  But congrats to Corey, who definitely deserves the honor.

Some big news in terms of writing: I've chopped Stranger in the Mirror in half.  Like, I cut out two main characters and their storylines and made them secondary characters.  You might think I'd be upset at all the time and effort I put into writing - by hand! - their stories only to end up having them cut up.

You'd be wrong.

I decided it because with four characters, there was too much going on.  As much as I love Brielle and Elle, I was doing a disservice to the story by writing their stories in conjunction with Sophie and Jane's, when the latter plotline is the most important.  Even my writing reflected that my passion favored the first two compared to the second group.

And, when I did it, it felt right.

Of course, there will be much more editing to make sure everything flows better, much more work, but I k.now that it will be worth it

You guys, I am so excited about this book.  I can't wait to share it with you.  And these changes, no matter how drastic, will make it even better.  I promise.

Revisions and rewriting and reviewing

Today, my holiday officially ended.

Today, I began revisions for Stranger in the Mirror.  It was the longest, most exhausting novel I've ever written, but definitely the most satisfying.  And, as I read what I've written - making necessary grammar/spelling/plot/character changes, I still believe that.  I am so proud of this novel.  It's going to take lots of work to polish it, but even though it's exhausting, it was and still is so totally worth it.

Today, I began writing my new WIP.  Well, I should say, rewriting it.  I had written a mystery-hockey story earlier this year.  I queried, and while some commented on its uniqueness and I got one partial request, no one bit.  I put it aside, wrote other things.

But I had to write this story.  Had to.  The idea wouldn't let me go.

So I changed it.  A bit.  Instead of a chick-lit mystery, it will be a YA contemporary mystery.  Instead of 3 POV characters, there will be 4.  Instead of typing it up, I'll be writing it out first.  I have 8 hockey books - everything from a coffee table book with big pictures to more focused books about superstition and rivalries and more.  One book is written by Bruce Boudreau, a coach (yes, the Ducks coach).  I'm planning to buy a couple of books written by referees and other coaches and players.  Plus, I watch every single Ducks game I can, and, when there's nothing on TV and no Law and Order: SVU marathons on, I'll flip over to NHL Network and watch a repeat of a previous game just because I love this sport, whether the Ducks are playing or not. 

I want this book to be authentic and to show just how amazing this game is while maintaining well-rounded characters and interesting relationships.  So I'm writing it out by hand, like with Stranger in the Mirror, and then typing it up.

I was excited about my initial story, excited to write about hockey through three girls' POV.  Now, I'm ecstatic.  I'm brimming with excitement at rewriting to make the manuscript even better than it is.

Rewriting is daunting.  Besides key scenes here and there, I don't really rewrite because I plan so much before actually writing the story.  I know what I'm writing, everything's   there for a reason, there's no need to excessively rewrite.

But then, rewriting is fabulous.  It's taking your amazing idea - the one that had you so excited you actually finished writing a book about it - and making it better.  Fleshing out characters.  Adding needed subplots. 

I'm 2 chapters in and looking forward to writing the best damn YA hockey book there is.

Finally, today I plotted.  Reviewed an idea that's been teetering around in my mind for the past few weeks.  Not on paper, but in my mind.  You know me, I can't focus on one thing at one time.  I have this amazing idea about a new take on angels and demons and our concept of heaven and hell.  No, it's not religious.  It's more about... perfection vs. imperfection.  Anyways, I'm getting ahead of myself.

I've been doing a lot today and I can't help but... smile.  :)  It's like I said, I'm excited.  Ecstatic.  This is how I know I was born to be a writer.