Soooooo Close!

Today I hit 200 pages in Book 2. I started this book in May and have flown through it these last few months. I think it really helped that I was on summer break and only had two school classes and work to distract me from it instead of a full-time class and work schedule. I think I'm probably 50 pages or so from finishing it. I should make a list of things I have to include before I get any further though. Every time I get close to finishing a book I rush to end it and leave out vital events.

I'm really quite satisfied with this book. It was the desert-themed one, which made it very easy to write considering I'm a geography buff. I'm also in love with the desert and all that it represents so I wasn't running from it like I did my first book, which was winter-themed (I...Hate...Winter...). The book deals with a lot of cool issues. Religion is the main one. I kind of worry about how I'll get it published with it being so religious and how overly sensitive people can be about that sort of thing but I guess I'll ask my agent about that.

That's right. I said agent. You know, the kind of professional who will get your name out there and help you contact editors and publishers. Gotta love school connections in the English department :)

The only bad thing about this book was the fact that at the same time I wrote it my sister was in Arizona exploring the canyons and desert lands. I was SOOOOOOOOooooooo jealous! I found several times throughout the book that I couldn't sufficiently describe the landscape because I had never been there. So I decided that I'll just have to travel out there and rewrite certain parts before I publish it. I've also been tossing around the idea of not publishing any of my books until I finish them all instead of publishing one at a time. I like having the ability to go back in an old book and include something I only realized needed to be there for a future book.

Being a writer is fun and a pain in the ass at the same time but it's one thing I'll always love. Some days, I consider whether or not I'll actually get published. Out of all the people out there who are published each year, barely any get big enough to have their name be heard. But then I realize that there are TONS of people who get published and I can be one of them. And, unlike them, I've been working on my books for over 10 years. That's 10 years of studying grammar, playing with the English language, arranging, rearranging, and twisting plots. There's nothing like an excessive, and obsessive, amount of time to perfect something like a book. So I'll be better than those kajillion writers. But not for a while. I still hope to improve my writing skills. And I have a lifetime to do it.

Now, if only I could get at least my family to read my damn books...