Hello, dreamers. So last week, things took an unexpected turn. For the first time in years, I’ve been actively writing on Pioneers. It’s not something I’d expected to do again. But I couldn’t be happier with how it’s going. I have another busy week ahead of me. So with that said, here’s what I’ll be up to this week:

Querying Pioneers

So as planned, last week I began my “interiority sweep”. At first, it was slow going. I was mostly tightening sentences, sharpening character voice. Making minor adjustments.

Then, I was on my daily walk, and a scene came to me. A complete replacement for something I’d written, and revised and revised for years. It was rich and compelling, and I loved it. So I jotted it down in my phone, and later I slipped it into the story. Then, I did it again. And again.

Since then, I’ve identified a number of what I’ve deemed “problem passages”. Basically any part of the story I’ve long been a little iffy on, but had come to tolerate, believing I just couldn’t do it better. The results have been astounding. For the first time since the initial draft, I find Pioneers consuming my thoughts. When I’m out walking, reading, working, heading to the store, I find myself mulling over passages and chapters. Composing new scenes. I’ve been jotting down disembodied sentences, composing new paragraphs to replace existing ones. After so long, I’m finding joy in this story again.

As of this writing, I still have work to do. I’m moving through the story sequentially while simultaneously hopping around, making changes where I can see them. The word count keeps fluctuating rapidly, but I’ve grown comfortable with discomfort.

Given the time of year, there has to be an end point. I can’t keep going until I’ve totally rewritten the story. So I’ve tentatively given myself until midweek. At that point, I’ll take a few days away, and make a fresh editing pass. I’ve no doubt I’ll have a lot of revising to do. Much of what I’ve done over the past several days is still raw. Word echoes, superfluous text. But I really believe I’m finally seeing this story reach its potential.

And when I begin querying, which should happen within the coming weeks, I’m confident I’ll have something that’ll really knock an agent’s socks off. So if you’re a literary agent reading this, get ready. I’ll shake your windows. I’ll rattle your walls.

Short Fiction

Last week, I continued my daily sketches. Each of them turned out incredibly well, but none stretched further than about three paragraphs. And while each of them felt like perhaps the best damn three paragraphs I’ve written, I was disappointed that none seemed to really take off and blossom into a full story.

Then, I began to consider bandwidth.

As I’ve said many times, the nature of my life means my capacity is limited. I can only devote so much time each day, or mental and emotional energy, to writing. And while I say that a lot, if I’m being honest I sometimes have a hard time accepting it myself. But as much I’d like to be constantly creating new stories, there’s an obvious reason for my recent difficulties:

Pioneers.

Years ago, when I was first writing the story, I often told friends that it felt like it was eating my life. I was constantly thinking about it. While working. While walking. When I was out with friends. In the shower, lying in bed each night. Every waking moment when I wasn’t laser-focused on something else, I was composing scenes and dialogue. I ate, slept, and breathed that novel. And now I’m back again.

There’s a sort of symmetry to it. It feels right that my journey with Pioneers will end as it began. It’s like catching up with an old friend. And while I’m disappointed that I don’t have the capacity to keep churning out stories as I was during the first few months of this year, I know Pioneers is nearing its end. And when the time comes, I’ll have plenty of time and energy to devote to new projects.

New Content

While I’d intended to put out at least a couple new posts last week, as I said Pioneers is eating my life again. But over the course of this week, I’ll be putting up at least one new post about my recent work. More will come next week, as I begin building my platform again. Until then, dare to dream. – MK