A Writer's Journey

I’m in revision hell now. If I’m being completely honest, I’m not even revising. I’m rewriting. In the first 10 pages, I’ve kept one line of my manuscript. That’s right one line. Sigh. When I wrote the novel, I knew that my first draft was bad. I knew that my characters needed work. I knew that it would take me months to get it in a viewable-by- human-eyes-other-than-mine state. I was right. Even longer sigh.

My name is Vikki Perry and I’m a member of the Columbia II chapter of SCWW and I’m getting my historical romance ready to be critiqued at the South Carolina Writers’ Conference. If my math is correct, I have 132 days to remake my novel into something that I wouldn’t mind an agent or editor seeing, to remake my novel into something that has potential to catch their eye and make them think, I want to read more of this. One hundred and thirty-two days is a very short period of time in which to turn a really horrible first draft into a manuscript worthy of their consideration. Fear. Anxiety. Absolute terror. I feel all of these things, right now.

Can I finish my revisions in time? Can I avoid making my characters unlikeable idiots? Can I pick the right agent or editor choices for critique purposes? How do I talk up my novel without making the agent mad? Should I even try? I don’t know the answers to these questions and I may not find them, but for the next few months, I’m going to be blogging about how I’m preparing for the conference. I would love to hear what you’re doing as well, so leave a comment and tell us about your process.

Are you revising your novel for the conference? What are the problems that you are facing?