My Version of a Progress Bar

I realize I forgot to tell you about how I, and now you, can track my progress.  I'm working straight through my manuscript, editing each section/paragraph/scene as I encounter it.  I've begun tracking this with a type of fraction.  For instance, I didn't tell you, but before I started editing yesterday, I had last left off on page 104 of my 204 page manuscript, so that's 104/204 according to the little blue sticky note pad I have here.

The reason I say 104/204 is simple.  As I edit, the manuscript size shifts.  Sometimes it may be subtle - retooling a couple of sentences may shift the word count either way.  And sometimes there are more dramatic changes, like if I rewrite a section and it ends up pages longer than the previous version, or I cut an entire section that is seems week and out of place upon review.

So here we go. At the time of yesterday's writing it was 104/204. Today I can check in and tell you that after yesterday's work I'm at 106 of 204. That may not seem like a lot, but it's forward motion, so it counts :)

If You're Done with the Manuscript, Why isn't it Finished?

I’ve heard it said somewhere that works of art are not finished; they’re abandoned.  After years of being involved in the creative process, I know what it’s like to have to simply stop tweaking and messing with whatever you’re working on and simply “call it done.”  Right now I am dealing with one of those projects that sticks with you for years.  Five years, actually.  And it’s time to put it to bed.  But in this case, I’m hoping that when, God willing, I at last “call it done,” there will be some sense of completion, and not just abandonment.

I should probably introduce myself.  I’m in my late twenties, a college graduate, and a wife for nearly two years now.  I’m also a new homeowner.  While creative writing has been an interest of mine for well over a decade now, for pay I teach acting and other classes in a continuing education program.

Just as I was about to graduate college in 2006, I started writing a manuscript, ideally to submit to a publishing company that takes amateur, non-agented submissions.  I continued to write.  Some days I would literally only add one sentence before calling it a day.  If five years seems a long time (even with my one-sentence-a-day days), keep in mind that over those five years I’ve graduated college, moved three times, held and left multiple jobs, got engaged and took about a year off from the project while I worked and planned my out-of-state wedding, got married, weathered the recession as my husband gained and lost work, and eventually bought a home.

That being said, this past Sunday I was asked how far along I am on the manuscript.  Technically, I can tell people I’m finished, and it’s not a lie.  I can print out the 204 pages and hand them to someone, and the story should pretty much be coherent and all there.  What’s left is the editing, going back through all those years of writing and trying to make it ready.  And that is my struggle.  I hope you’ll stay with me and check back to see how I do.  I figure if I want to keep this blog going I’m going to have to keep editing at a regular pace, otherwise I would have to admit my procrastination to all you internet readers that I hope will be out there.  If you are out there, I hope to hear from you.  You can also follow me, @kameliahunn on twitter. 

And now, it’s time to get this post up and see about my writing.