Anti-hero Burning

My first reader has returned the manuscript fortunately without a red pen.
She is analytical about some of the details, and wants me to make the main
character turn for good about halfway through the story. I am not going to
make him into a nice guy. This is not the point. She says it is not mainstream
enough without the turn.

I can think of a few anti-heros who readers like but they do not find redemption,
but yes, there are not many. He will find change.

I miss my old first reader, need to find a new one who I trust the same. With eyes
that hear and a way of making me build a skyscraper, not burn down the house.
 I miss the most -
          and  the brainstorming. (gap intended).

So on to the next revision, marching.

P.S. to writers friends - a brilliant idea from J. A. Konrath - put the copyright legal mumbo at the end of the book, as ereaders will be more tempted by your work.
I just changed a couple books to add a clause that I do not allow lending ( a silly girlish idea that if I write it they will feel arrows of guilt) now with Konrath's idea, I perhaps am going a different route- to put the copyright disclosure at the end and some note in the front that if you want my work for free, all you have to do is ...ask ?

Pallets of wood to burn all my paper books ? ...#amwriting
Today is Sunday, this is my ROW80 check in- I finished ahead of schedule,
my deadline was July 5th. I go round three on the book- read aloud.

ROW80 Writing Second Draft Stay The Course

sweet peas in my yard

Productive Week

It is Mother’s Day and family has been the focus of my life path. In the past months, I have squeezed the limits of my time into allowing myself five hours every day (more on weekends) just for writing the novel. This causes some conflict with my extending family who live nearby. They like to pop in and visit. They telephone more often knowing I am pulling into a solitary cacoon. I maintain the love and support for my two children. I have never missed one of son’s baseball and football games this season. I make healthy meals and am hiking or running with them both several days a week. In order to work full time and write full time – things have to give me the solitude I need to finish.

This week I made a new story board. It is white board that is four feet by three feet. I mapped all the chapters. I added some images that motivate the characters. This helped me see clearly the journey that Seth must make through the narrative. It also made me decide to change the ending.

The story is somewhat chronological, with a few shifts in time. I used that in my last novel and struggled with using date in italics and point of view changes. Last time on the second draft, I changed the whole novel from first person to second with a few shifts. It was tedious editing and boring labor as focusing on a sweet gum leaf while Lamaze breathing out a baby. This time point of view is no problem. I am excited diving into the second draft and enjoying things Seth my lead character loves, slingshots, bergamot, insects, tinkering with inventions, and then all his evil bad stuff: bum fights, drugs, violence.

I wrote about 19211 words for the week. I word count is going to decrease now as I fight over synonyms and cut extraneous junk. If you are reading this, I need help on the title. I am now calling it Lucky. This is a novel title already of a totally different story. What do you think?

On my other lists of duties:

We hiked in Laguna canyon three days. The sage, the pearly everlasting and poppies have painted the hillsides.

Tomato plants are still alive, as are the dogs and Soup the turtle who is busy mowing the rose petals as I write.

I had fun meeting friends on twitter. The best is reading what they are doing.

The bank job has picked up a pace . I thank Heaven for the income.

The children’s grades are good. I have neglected my Mom, siblings and nephews. I told my nephews that Auntie Caroline cannot make them dinner twice a week until the second draft is completed. They frowned and the younger one volunteered to edit for me. I am cutting a big patch of my sweet peas to put in bowls for the other Moms in my life. Happy Mother’s Day to all.

#ROW80 Happy Dance Long Winded

I am driven. I never sleep. I wrote 16911 good words this week. I have my first draft done. Allow me to relish in printing a copy. There is the sound of crumpling as I put it in a nice brown paper wrapped box, and slam it on my dining room table. Feel the earthquake from California just now, it is a whopping fat sound.
Now for what I hate, giving some copies out, reading it in paper with a red pen, and laboring over each word. It is not like blogging where I type rip roaring fast and let it fly. BUT, However, and with cheer I say: I have an editor this time. I am a little afraid of him. He is British. He is handsome in a distracting way. God please, I think he is straight.
I also worked on a poem: Preponderance of Crows.
I had two flash fiction pieces in magazines this month of May.
 Go look at Granny Magic on Sleet Magazine and Love Sonnet Gone Wrong - an  answer to Negativesucks Magazine's word prompts.
Links:
http://negativesuck.moonfruit.com/#/wordprompt-6/4551014523

http://www.sleetmagazine.com/selected/Gerardo_v3n1.html

My other goals and duties:
Two interview requests.
I tweet 15 minutes a day. I enjoy reading the blogs and links. Is there a method to read while sleeping? @cgbarbeau  myself the Blondie who is similar to Chatty Cathy (I bobbed the doll's hair, and other unpleasantness)
A trip next week up to Los Angeles for a radio interview.
I went to USC Saturday. I had a grand time at the book fair.
Saw the guys from my old writing group. @Porter_Anderson wrote a GREAT post about women dominating groups, classes and touchy feely sharing stuff.
The sharing does not work with men who are trained in a different sand box. I was in a 90% male writers group. They were sharp on time and disciplined about sharing online but drank in our hour together. I saw one buddy who met us for dinner at Little Next Door ( side commercial, adore their food organic and divine ) to lure me back. 
I promise to return soon as this novel is a nice pdf and word doc for the editor hunk.
Putting my children first as my treasures.
My job at the bank has suddenly gotten busy.
I could not get my first chapter uploaded into bookcountry.
I spent thirty minutes re-trying.
 I have cover photographs - that are ready, just need
to think about image - font -

In the story, Seth uses and builds slingshots.

The image is stuck in my brain for the cover.
Do I need a handsome young male cover to sell the story? Is it obscene to think of using my son? ( The character is a psycho). My Mother thinks it is funny.
What do you think? Make him blurry?
Say something.

Pets and garden still alive.

ROW80 Writing On Target

Winter Meadow so I won't get spring fever...

Copyright Caroline Gerardo 2011

Happy with myself. Although I want to get the tomatoes in the ground, I achieved my writing goals. I have days to finish Lucky. Played with the Penguin site Bookcountry, that took much longer than I expected. I read about twenty different authors. I will go back and review all. I could not figure out how to drop down and finish to send. I did finally get the hang of it. When I have my first draft done, and pdf. sent to editor, I will upload some chapters.
The novel has violence. I wonder how that will be read.
I highly recommend the Bookcountry website for authors, publishing executives and readers. I predict it will be HUGE. I also expect there to be drama on the website as authors vie for attention. There's a good thriller in that story in and of itself. The soft wear is a little cumbersome but go try it out.
Goal unchanged. Going to finish this week. Will continue to run plugs for other authors. Have a flash story in my head about a snake.
Carson has a game tonight. Honey our golden retriever is in the pool right now. It is eighty degrees. I am not succumbing to spring fever.

Caroline Gerardo Author: ROW80

        Caroline Gerardo copyright April 24 2011

Caroline Gerardo Author: ROW80: I am over my target. I feel happy to report 9230 words this week. Good words. The novel is 93% of my first draft. Working title - LUCKY. Seth is a psycho who stalks a girl, kills another by accident, promotes bum fights for money, lies, takes drugs to dull the pain and becomes a huge success.

The word count is 146223 and needs cutting. I hate editing.
4 plugs for indie authors
1 poem
I finished short flash piece, not certain on title.
The story is about a song writer recluse.
I need to add images.
I exercised every day.
Job was busy and happy got some deals.
All pets and children still alive and kicking.
I am not making big Easter dinner fuss- #writing.
Didn't complete reading books, they are calling but saving as
reading is not on my list for this coming week either.

Goal:
4000 on the novel Lucky
3 plugs for indie authors
Finish flash piece with an image and post.
Exercise 5 days.
Get deals at work closed for a paycheck.
Need to follow back with four magazines that requested the book last week.
Pray, meditate and smile every day.
New writing group Thursday night.