A Week of Words

I am safely back home after my six days of writing.

I wrote over 33,000 words.  I finished the third book--well, at least I wrote the end of it.  I'm still working on a few bridge chapters to link the main part to the end.

For three days, I literally did not have face to face human interaction!  I wrote as long as I wanted, without having to stop to make a meal.  I slept when I was tired, ate when I was hungry.  It was amazingly freeing.

I know that I'll go back and edit those chapters, but the fact is that they exist now.  Editing is easy enough once the words are written.  I'm happy with the outcome, and I'm excited already about what book 4 is going to bring.

I have to admit that in the midst of this total immersion, I began to have quite a few doubts and insecurities. I was alternating writing with some query and agent research, and that can be extremely depressing.  For every fairy tale writer story (think JK Rowling or Stephenie Meyer), there are hundreds of writers who have worked for years without even a glimpse of publication possibilities.

I love to write.  This week, I'd sit down at the computer in front of my story and look up to find that four hours had passed without my knowing it.  Someone asked me recently if I would keep writing even if I knew that my work would never be published.  The answer is yes, because I love it and I believe passionately in my characters and their story.

But just as parents know that their children have to venture into the world at some point, I have a dream for my stories.  I want others to read them and share this world with me.  That means publication has to be my goal.

So I'm back to the dreaded query task.  I've found some interesting sites (Query Shark, anyone??).  I'm trying to learn, even while I am careful to remember that no one has the perfect answer to the query quandary.

I'm still working toward a strong yes, fingers crossed and feet firmly on the ground.