The Seventh Chakra - T-Minus One Furcon (and Counting)

I have reached what is effectively the "endgame" stage for my manuscript of The Seventh Chakra.

My aim is to have my edited, rewritten draft of the novel done before I leave for Rainfurrest--which effectively gives me three weeks to finish up what I'm doing. Work and other life things set me back on my own personal schedule, but now that I'm working with an actual editorial schedule, it's time to get my rear in gear.

While I'm not worried that I won't have enough time, I am going to have to spend quite a few evenings dedicated to working on the book, so most nights in the coming weeks that don't involve prior commitments are probably going to be nights that I focus on writing and editing. It's kind of exciting, in a way, knowing that I've hit what's pretty much the "home stretch" of novel writing. It feels different than the first time, too, but then, the entire novel has felt pretty different, for what it's worth.

I've seen in-progress art for the cover (which looks like it'll be gorgeous, by the way), and the wheels are turning for the interior illos, too. All in all, this really is the stage where, whether I'm mentally prepared for it or not, the book is going to be done, all tidy and ready for its January 2010 release.

So, yeah, I'm excited. I hope that the book turns out well and that people out there like it. From a writer's standpoint, my hope is that it can be a better novel than Thousand Leaves in every regard; from a personal standpoint, I'm just happy to have another story out there to tell that folks can hopefully enjoy.



Following Rainfurrest, of course, begins the period where I get to aggressively self-market and promote myself in the months running up to release. :)

Dusting Things Off

It's been a while since I've updated this writing blog, but at the same time, it's been a while since I've done much of significance, writing-wise. Due to a three-week business trip (which actually went really well), my editing and rewriting on The Seventh Chakra had to go on hiatus, but as of this past weekend, I've finally gotten back to it.

I'm past the halfway point of the actual manuscript, but we'll see how much of it winds up the same. The first third of the novel got reworked a fair bit, but so far, the second third has involved more "polish" than actual outright change. If you look at the novel in a three-act structure, I guess that makes some degree of sense, though part of me worries that I just can't quite tell what should and shouldn't be messed with.

I've set a (tentative, unofficial, personal) deadline of September 30 to finish this editing pass, after which point I'll probably make a few more tweaks and send it it for some final editing stuff. I'm nervous and hopeful all at the same time.