Vanity

I’ve had this week off (thank you, Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Washington), so I’ve been trying to use my time wisely: revising, researching, reading. Watching a little too much of the Olympics. Seriously considering curling as my next hobby.

Size matters; words count. Author Susan Meissner advised me back in November to re-think the length of my manuscripts, that they should be closer to 100,000 words than 150,000. Easier said than done. It’s not fun to cut chunks out of a story, much less trim it around the edges. Of course there are exceptions, but most agents don’t want to see anything by a first-time author over 100K. Waiting for You was at 111,397 words, and I’ve managed to delete about 3,000 this week. Wielding the scalpel is an arduous task, but I think the final product will be stronger because of it.

I found out that one of the best ways to drive traffic to my blog is to comment on other writers’ blogs. If they like what I have to say, they’ll visit In Medias Res and maybe follow/subscribe. Obvious, I know, but I haven’t really taken the time to be a social blogger before now. I’ve been more like an egocentric teen: Check out my blog! This week, I took a step in the right direction by commenting on the other stories in A Fly in Amber’s January issue. Time well-spent.

“All is vanity” if it’s not for my Lord. Why do I write? To entertain others, express myself, create something from nothing. I was made in His image, for Him. While my fiction may never find itself on a shelf in Berean, my stories will always glorify Light over darkness. And I hope He is pleased by my efforts as I venture through the looking glass.
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