...Or so the Starks are always telling us.* And it's true: even in California the temperature has dropped enough so that I am sitting in front of a warm, cozy fire as I type this. Winter is a good time to write, because the days are dark and I spend so much more time inside. This year is proving to be a bit stressful, however. I have a little over two months to make my Themistocles novel presentable to an agent/editor, and although that sounds like a lot of time, anybody who writes knows that it's getting down to the wire.
Technically I have a finished story. A story that is held together with string, paper clips, glue and scotch tape. It's just BARELY there. And over the past few months I've been struggling to make just the first THIRD decent. It's proven to be somewhat of a nightmare. The beginning of Themistocles' life coincides with a crucial period in the development of Athens. The problem is trying to shoehorn Themistocles into the picture without it seeming forced. There's also the problem of pacing. I don't want the story to drag nor do I want it to feel rushed. It's a precarious balancing act that has me writing, deleting, writing deleting and writing again. To say that I sometimes feel way over my head is an understatement.
At any rate, hopefully I'll be able to tame this monster idea before February, when the writer's conference in San Francisco takes place. Meanwhile I'm also tinkering with a shorter, more current story idea (taken from short pieces I've been writing for Jason Evans' writing contests), so if all else fails I have that (though I WON'T give up on Themistocles!!!)
I hope my readers are having luck with their work! :)
*George RR Martin
