Writer’s Desk

And here we are again.  With the holidays approaching, my writing output may decrease, but I’ve no intention of sitting on my laurels with such important work to do.  I’m closing in on publication for Wide Horizon, and eager to return to writing in earnest.  That being said, here’s what’s in store for this holiday week:

Wide Horizon

It took longer than I’d anticipated, but as of last night my final revisions of Wide Horizon are complete.  As I’ve explained in previous posts, while editing of the novel was completed last week, many of the rewritten sections had only been lightly revised, if at all, and several of them remained fairly rough.  I needed to take my time and get things right, and overall I’m very pleased with the way things stand now.

At this point, I truly believe I’ve done about all I can.  All that remains is to make one final pass through the story, not as the writer, but as a reader.  I’ll be proofreading and just generally checking the flow, making sure everything works after the editing.  While there may be a change or two left to make, all in all I don’t see myself doing anything substantial.

After the final reading (which shouldn’t take more than a day or two), at long last my debut novel will be finished.  Thus, the following days will be devoted to writing out synopses and crafting a query letter.  All of this will lead, ultimately, to my first round of query letters, which I hope to start sending out next week.

For some time now, my ultimate goal with Wide Horizon has been to wrap everything up and send out my first query letters prior to the end of the year.  I am endlessly pleased to say I’ll likely make that self-imposed deadline.

Short Fiction

With the holidays approaching, I see no need to resume writing on my work-in-progress, Pathfinder, or to take up any other major project.  As such, I intend to devote the remaining weeks of this year to short fiction.  I have numerous projects of long-standing I’d love to finish, not to mention several existing manuscripts I’d like to work on in hopes of seeking publication.  It’s been months since I’ve sent anything out seeking publication.  Amidst the bustle of wrapping up Wide Horizon, I feel it would be refreshing to shop around a few of my shorter pieces, and having at least one published story under my belt would help my case when seeking an agent.

In addition to existing projects, I have a few new ideas I’d like to pursue as well.  At the very least it would give me the chance to work on something new for the first time in a while.  I may also revisit a few previously-shelved projects, just to see if I can find any fresh insights.

That wraps up this week’s Writer’s Desk.  It may seem brief, but what I’ve set before me should be more than adequate to occupy my attention during the hectic holiday season.  Keep reading, keep commenting, dare to dream, and Happy Holidays, dreamers.