INTERTWINED Rewrite Complete!

A year ago, INTERTWINED was edited by the brilliant Jennifer Sommersby Young. Since then, it's gone through extensive rewrites and, despite the hardships over the past year, has managed to evolve into the kind of story I've only ever dreamed of. Though I continually set goals for myself, life inevitably gets in the way, which is why I refrain from setting a release date--even now when I feel the story's so close to being finished!

INTERTWINED has, once again, entered the Beta-reading phase and will more than likely go through another round of content editing before it ever sees the light of day. But hey--if that's what it takes, that's what it takes. I learn so much each time I go through this process, and it shows! Not just in my writing, but in the story, too. 

Trust me--I'm dying to release it! As terrified as I am, I can't wait to share it with the world. But I owe it to myself--and, hopefully, my future readers ;)--to see this through the right way. 



This really got me through the revision process. Initially, the rewrite was supposed to consist of structural changes, but the more I re-outlined the story, the more I realized that it needed a complete overhaul. The thought of going through it chapter by chapter and implementing these changes was so daunting I almost scrapped the story then and there. But I pushed through it, and now the story's what I always wanted it to be. 

For all you struggling writers out there--keep going! I promise, it'll be worth it. Don't give up on yourself, or your talent. And if you ever feel discouraged, look at Pinterest lol! There are tons of inspiring writerly comments that to speak to me when I need it the most. 

That's all for now! I'll keep you posted on the release date. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Writing: The Secret To My Inspiration

Image
I'm currently plotting the sequel to Intertwined, and though I've always had a loose outline in my mind, I was sort of hoping that the second part of the storyline would be easier to write than the first part. So not the case!  Over the last week, I think I've spent more time experimenting on how I can sharpen my focus long enough to plot a decent story arc than actually plotting!  For example, I recently started walking two miles a day (since as a writer I tend to sit on my butt for hours on end), but because I can't stand the idea of doing anything that takes away from "writing time", I decided to bring my earphones along so I could listen to music and plot while I walked.  Well...as it turns out, I'm just as easily distracted walking as I am anywhere else. There I was, totally in the zone, working up to a nice brisk walk, listening to my favorite music, when a long line of rosebushes sprang up out of nowhere and threw bees at me! Yes, bee...
Read more

Ebook Cover: Stock Images vs. Custom Illustration

Image
I'm so excited to finally share the book cover for Intertwined! Three and a half months ago, this was little more than a vague idea inside my mind. I was debating on whether to use stock images (a more affordable option) or to have the cover custom illustrated. I was torn because, although, stock images can be modified to fit the tone of your book, I couldn't stand the idea that it could end up on someone else's cover--especially, if the cover happened to portray two people who represent your lead characters. In fact, this ALMOST happened! I was browsing for stock images on Shutterstock and found one that resembled the two main characters in my story. In the end, I decided not to use it because I prefer to leave the characters to the readers imagination, and I've always been drawn to simpler, more symbolic covers like Twlight, Divergent, Hunger Games...etc. A couple months later, I saw the exact same stock image used on two other book covers. By that poi...
Read more

Edit! Edit! Edit! And When You Think You're Finally Done, Guess Again And Edit Some More!

Okay, so lately, it seems like whenever anyone asks me about my book, I respond with the automatic, "It's in the editing phase." Well, needless to say, it's been in the editing phase for, let's see, HALF my life now. Or, at least, it feels that way. But I think I need to define what editing really means - because, to most people, it means trimming out the fat and polishing the writing to the point of absolute perfection.  This is true, but, it's also very vague.  Editing is a long and tiring process. When I first finished my book and read through the material from start to finish, I was like, "Damn, that's good!" And then I read through it again. And again. And again. And, guess what? It was good, but not damn good.  The book started out at 150K words, and, at that time, I was convinced that every single word was necessary and beautiful and totally brilliant. I'd think, why on earth would I hack this beautifully crafted paragraph...
Read more