Manic Manuscript Monday – Welcome!

Hi and welcome to my new interactive blog thread! From now until my writing journey on my current projects end, I’ll be blogging about my triumphs and tribulations with getting these manuscripts from start to finish. I’ll be telling my story, but I also want to have you comment about your writing experiences! And Readers, if you have questions, feel free to ask! 🙂

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So where to start. Hmmm… Well, the first thing an experienced blogger will tell you is to  pick a day and blog about things important to you. They’ll also say you must be consistent!

I’ve already selected to blog on Monday, Wednesday, and/or Friday. Wednesdays are already booked with Writers (Wicked Writer Wednesday!), and Friday’s are for favorite things (Favorite Friday). I think all authors can agree that manuscripts are not always a FAVORITE thing, so that leaves Monday. Manuscript Monday.

Enough of the formalities. Let’s talk about those manuscripts.

Now, we authors deal with manuscripts every day. They are set in an interesting mixture of reality and fantasy. They contain little pieces of us, and of people we’ve met throughout our lives. They relive events we’ve personally had, or heard about, or someday want to experience. They’re the best and worst of what is and would could be, all ending with a HEA (happily ever after). Some are hand written. Some are created using a keyboard and monitor.

All come from the author’s heart.

So, you can see that if there’s one thing in a writer’s life that’s important, and VERY consistent, it’s their manuscripts. I say manuscripts in the plural, because most writers have more than one project going at a time. We have to. That’s the only way to survive in this business!

Oh it’s not like we start two new books every six months. It’s not quite that extreme (though some authors could, and maybe even do!) Instead, we always have something in the hopper. You may have one book in the outlining stages, and another out to beta readers. If you’re a published author, you likely have edits for a completed novel coming back from your publisher. I’m not too experienced with that scenario (yet!), but I’m thinking those types of edits trumps all other projects and tasks!

For me, right now, I’ve got two projects on my plate. The first is a paranormal manuscript I’m polishing to go out on a request. It’s the first book in a planned paranormaI romance trilogy. I’m really excited for that project to really get off the ground. I’ve got the second book plotted out and am itching to get started on it. I’ve also got the third in the planning/outlining stages. See what I mean about having multiple projects going? 🙂

The second is a contemporary romance with some romantic suspense elements. It’s a real fast and loose story, with some humor and drama as well. It’s completed, but it needs some tlc and extra help to make it be the best book it can be! I’m going through and tightening the story, shifting focus where it needs to be (on the hero and heroine!) and layering in content to 1. add tension, romance, and conflict and 2. bring up the word count.

Meh. Word Count. Those two words should BOTH be four lettered. Thinking about word count is about the same as wishing I were locked in a room with a hungry panther, who’s housed in a luxurious cage that may or may not have a working lock.

Yeah. I’m serious. Word Count just freaks me out.

Anyhoo, so I’m working on creating a new starting place for my story. It’s proving to be exceptionally challenging, but I’m determined to tackle it head-on and get it going again this next week. I have to remember that I am the boss of this manuscript. I really am!

In the meantime, authors, what is your relationship with your manuscripts, and how do you feel about word count? And readers, feel free to ask questions!

Ciao!

Lori Corsentino

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Join me next week when I’ll be talking about starting points in a little blurb I’ll call “False Starts.”