Now I need to edit...

I need to begin editing my novel, and yet  I keep procrastinating on it.  It has been complete for over 3 weeks now, and while dh has begun his edit of it, I have yet to implement them.   He has read over half of the book now, and has made several edits for grammar errors, and some commentary for some other areas as well.  The grammar errors would be the easiest to fix, and then I can go through and look at his comments, but sooner or later I am going to have to read it myself and I will need to make some major changes.   It is this part I am not looking forward to.

        The major grammatical errors that I have noticed so far are tense endings and punctuation.  I found myself changing tenses quite often, and just decided that I would wait until edit to fix them.  It seems I could never decide from writing session to writing session if I was past tense or present tense :).  As for punctuation, most of those errors came about because I was just writing so darn fast.  In some writing sessions I was getting as many as 2000 words done in an hour and a half.  As a result, lots and lots of errors.   I completely accepted the Nano challenge of blocking the inner editor and just writing with complete abandonment.  I know that if I had not done that, I would never have written a book at all.  So, I am so glad I did, and yet, now I have to deal with it lol.

I already know there is one glaring issue that needs to be addressed.  It involves a supporting character, and basically the fact that I did very little to him.  I did enough in the first quarter of the book I have to decide whether I will either dump him all together, or I will have to really develop his character more and have him make more involved in the story.  

The easy way of course would be to cut him, really he needs little more then a mention, there is no need to build his character, and in the beginning I was purely thinking of word count when I brought him up.  Now that I am not forced to the 50K word count, if I cut him, I won't be hurting the prospects of winning the Nano, however, if I do cut him, I will be cutting at least 3000 words, and I don't want to cut willy nilly and end up with a novella as opposed to a novel.

I just did a quick search on average novel length, and it seems about 40K to 80K is normal.    Of course, content is more important the pure numbers, and for a first novel for a first time writer, even a tad under 50K would be fine (imo :)   I am sure that as I go about editing, I won't just be taking parts out, I will be adding content, so it is likely to average out in the end.

Another reason I am afraid to read it, is because I am afraid it is no good.  Dh has been reading it and he says it is good, he seems to like it so far.  I, however, lack confidence in this type of thing, and worry if it's just a piece of junk.     This really is my biggest hold up in terms of reading and editing it.  I know that a first draft is very raw, and a first draft that was written in 16 days, will be extremely raw, I see big edits ahead of me, to get it to something worth letting others read.

I have had several people interested in reading it, which surprises me, again that whole lack of confidence thing, so I really do want to get the editing done for that reason.

As a Nanowrimo winner, I have the option of having a few free bound copies if I want to do that.  I think that is such an awesome opportunity and I really do not want to pass it up.  For that reason, I have to have everything ready to submission by the end of Spring.  While I am a major procrastinator, I will need to stay focused and use that motivation to keep me moving forward.    I am excited by this prospect and really do not want to miss it due to procrastination on my part.

In another week, things will calm way down here at home, school will be over for the year and I'll have six weeks off, so that will probably be a very good time to focus on this.    As the Christmas holidays are generally not very busy for us, I can sit with the boys and read and edit a paper copy, while they are playing.  At least it'll keep me off the computer for a while :)

Dominican Nun

Since I have been working on Trappist monks these past few days, I thought I would make a Dominican Sister, to follow along with the black and white theme.



This doll is made of black and white 100% wool felt. IT is entirely machine sewn, with a hand embroidered face. She is for sale for $12, plus shipping if applicable.

If you are interested in this doll, or if you have ideas for any other religious dolls, or saints, please leave a comment.

Sisterof the Community of St. John

We are very fortunate to have many religious in our area. A few miles from us we have the Congregation of St. John, with some Apostolic brothers and Contemplative sisters. Our family visits their community a few times a month. My 7yo has a novice who is very special to him named Sister Philomena, so I wanted to make a doll for him. This doll is of a fully professed sister (the habit is slightly different) but still very special to him.

The sisters and brothers have a large rosary on their left side, I did not have the ability to make all 200+ beads they have, yes one for all 20 mysteries, so I made a single decade rosary.

This doll is made of cotton felt, it is completely hand sewn.

Blessed Imelda

Blessed Imelda is the patroness of first comminicants. My 7yo had his first communion last month and we read the story of Blessed Imeldas life. It is an amazing and beautiful story about pure devotion to the Blessed Sacrament.

Blessed Imelda is the first person I thought of when I began to make felt dolls.

She is made off cotton felt and is completely hand sewn.

If you are interested in Blessed Imelda or any saint or relgious person let me know. I can create a doll for you.

Trappist Monk

I was asked to make a monk for a friend who has a close family member who just professed his final vows with the Trappist monks.

On the back the phrase "Ora et Labora" is hand embroidered. It is Latin for Pray and Work which is a Benedictin motto the trappists use regularly. The facial hair is designed to look like the monk family member. One feature I liked was the way the monks would often stand with their hands together and their long sleeves across the body. I decided to represent that pose in the design of this monk.

I used images she provided, from www.monks.org (his order) and some google images to complete the softie. It is made with cotton felt, polyester stuffing, and is completely hand sewn.

Community of Trappist Monks

I was asked to make several Trappist monks for a friend, who has a close family member who recently professed his final vows.

All of these monks look the same because they are meant to look like the specific monk of my friend. You can read about it here

If you are interested in a Trappist monk, or any other religious person or a saint, let me know and I can create on for you.

Emerson the Elephant

My name is Emerson. I like to go canoeing, have you ever seen a canoe big enough for an elephant? We had to have it specially made just for me. Fortunately, I can use my trunk to hold the paddle. I once tried to kayak, but my foot was the only part of me that fit into the kayak, it was stuck in there for days until I was able to break it free. Ever since then I have steered clear of kayaks. I probably could have had one made to fit me, but I think I'll leave the kayaking to the smaller mammals such as the lions or perhaps the cheetah would enjoy it (though I'm not sure how either of them would hold the paddle).

I would be happy to move in with any person who does not have a mouse. Elephants such as myself do not like mice. Its a strange thing to dislike, but it is what it is. So if you are a rodant free household (and that especially includes all capybara and R.O.U.S.s) then I am the elephant for you.

I am made out of 100% blue cotton velour.

I can be adopted by you for only $20, so please take me home :}

Superman

Recently Superman flew by our house for a visit to pose so I could make a softie doll for him. He is very pleased with the outcome.

This doll is for sale, but it may not stick around for long, Superman may come back to use his supervision to find it and keep it for himself.

Superman is made from 100% wool felt, with fluff. He is hand sewn.

Cost is $12 plus shipping if not local.

St. Monica

Saint Monica was a custom order. I looked for images to draft a pattern and really like the one above, so I used it as my model. I tried to replicate it as best as possible. The quote in the book on St. Monica's lap is from her, it reads "Nothing is far from God" and it is hand embroidered.

St. Monica is the patroness of Mothers, married women, and abuse victims, something she had experience with on all 3 points.

Prayer to Saint Monica

Exemplary Mother of the great Augustine, you perseveringly pursued your wayward son not with wild threats but with prayerful cries to heaven. Intercede for all mothers in our day so that they may learn to draw their children to God. Teach them how to remain close to their children, even the prodigal sons and daughters who have sadly gone astray. Amen.

All the information on St. Monica came from: Saints.sqpn

St. Monica is made with 100% wool felt and is entirely hand sewn.