Brass Tacks #10

The busy season is here! Lots of concerts, holidays, doctor appointments, and changing work schedules going on at le Chateau Carmel lately. Not to mention five days recently without the Internet, compliments of Mother Nature and a falling tree branch.

I’m sure you’re probably in the same boat. It’s a challenge to find enough quiet time and mental space to work on creative projects, isn’t it? Well, if nothing else, it’s comforting to know we’re dealing with similar issues.

C’est la vie, right?

While my overall output has decreased recently, my spirits haven’t. Well, not too much, anyway. The difference this time is that I keep coming back, working a little bit each time. I see that gorgeous light at the end of the long-ass tunnel I’ve been in and want to get to the end.

It’s so close now.

After finishing the big, big revision I’ve been working on for months, I realized that working with one word processing file was unwieldy and truly awful. Now was the time to buy Scrivener. After all, people have only been raving about it for years. I wanted it not only for breaking the one huge file down into more manageable chapters and scenes, but also for the compile and format features when I want to publish. After that, I can’t wait to dive into the great stuff available while I’m drafting my next story. (Ideas are already pinging in my skull!)

So, I imported my file into Scrivener. It took me a while to separate the scenes and figure out how to print it. Now, I’m reading through (for the bazillionth time), mainly for grammar, spelling, flow, etc. Along the way, I’ve caught a couple of things I missed, rewriting a paragraph here and there. But, I’m this close to finishing!

And then it’s on to beta readers!!

I can’t tell you how freakin’ happy this makes me. I’ve been working at this writing gig for nine years. Granted, I’ve worked on two major projects in that time, but I’m seriously ready to get my work in front of readers.

Anyway, that’s what’s going on with me. How about you? What projects are keeping you busy?