Darkness Within

I am so excited for this new book.  I began writing it about a year ago, at the same time writing another novel that kind of lost my interest.

I got started by thinking about having someone leaving creepy notes for another person to find, and a story was born.  It has really changed direction on me a lot, and I really had a hard time figuring out how I was going to end it, until I got to writing the ending.  Then it just came to me, and I am very satisfied with the ending, for now.

I am in the process of editing, which at times is easy and fun and other times frustrating and makes me want to walk away.  My writing tends to flow so well that it is hard to interrupt it to add new scenes are change things.

I really look forward to when it is complete!

Never Ending Revision- Beach Dream

So I went through some of my unfinished works to see what I could work on next and I came across a short story I wrote a while back, called Beach Dream.  I have a physical copy of it printed out and chilling in my 'writing binder', but I can't seem to find an electronic copy (even though I obviously had one at some point and time).  No biggy, I happen to love typing, so this is a fun excuse for a lot of typing.
Of course, as I type I must read and as I read I find so many typos and mistakes, as well as parts that need serious revision.  Sadly this was a story I was hoping to have ready for the public soon because it is a completed work.  Or mostly completed.
Funny how our first drafts can seem like sheer brilliance.  I remember the first draft of Revenge Unknown, I was so proud of it, I felt like the scenes were so raw and emotion invoking.  They were perfection in one shot, I thought.  I mean, everyone who read it told me it was good.  That is until one guy read it and said to me "it's a good first draft".
I was highly offended of course.  I mean, who's this one guy to not recognize a great piece of literature??  Then I put the book away for a while, got distracted with life, and eventually came back to it a few months later.  And rereading it, I still felt that it was a great story and a good read, but needed a lot of work.  And so I worked on it, and worked on it, and worked on it.  I think I have ten drafts of the same story.

So here I am, in the same place with Beach Dream.  The story is fun and exciting to read, but needs so much work, it's almost intimidating.  For now I will focus on getting it typed up, so I can become reacquainted with the story, then I will begin the revising process.

Appreciation of My Work

Every time someone shows interest in my book, 'Revenge Unknown', I get an excited thri8ll.  I worked very hard on the story.  Every time I thought it was finished, I would read through it again, checking for typos and find ways to improve on the story.

For me, the hardest part to revise and edit was the dialog.  I found I had whole chapters of almost straight dialog.  I had to find ways to add descriptions and break up the constant dialog without being too distracting.

I also learned to not be too descriptive.  For one, it can be hard to find the right words without becoming too wordy.  The reader also needs to be able to use his or her own imagination.  Too many details become limiting.

One of the most headache inducing problems I had was having to convert colloquial terms into more universal terms.

The story itself was easy to write, flowing imagination to pen with so little effort my hand would be cramped,  my handwriting barely more than a scribble in an attempt to keep up with the flow of thoughts.

The revision process of turning a story into a readable book was a much more difficult and lengthy process and every person that takes the time out o their lives to read my work has my undying appreciation.

Why Multiple Personalities- Excerpt from Revenge Unknown

When I was a little girl, I dreamed of being a doctor.  Hwne I got older I lost interest in that field and was unsure what to do with my life.
Although I have laways loved writing and made up stories all the time, I did not believe I could make a living from writing.
Then a friend of mine was diagnosed with a serious mental disorder that I had never heard of.  So I looked it up and was introduced into the fascinating world of mental health and illness.  It was then I discovered my love for psychology.
Since then I have completed my associate's in psychology and am working on a BS in social work.  As excited I am to work in the field of psychology, I have discovered another place for what I have learned, the world of fiction.
In writing fiction, I find my characters are limitless.  I can explore mental illnesses from both the sufferer's and the counselor's perspectives.  This makes for a very dramatic story, the most fun to read!

Excerpts from Revenge Unknown

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Where 'Revenge Unknown' came from

Six years ago, I went through the hardest thing I hope to ever go through in my life.  It was a time of turmoil and betrayal.  Those I turned to for help abandoned me, let me down, turned on me.  I felt cheated and abused by life and hated any song or story that had a happy ending.  My story was not ending happily and I resented how every sad story seemed to end with some form of happy.  I was angry at a good many people and at the world.  So I wrote.
I wrote in my journal, but after a time writing about my life was depressing.  So I turned to fiction.  If I could not have justice in real life, I would take revenge in fantasy.  I began writing gruesome scenes that were filled with violence and rage.   And I felt better.  The scenes we're so raw and so powerful, I had to create a story around them.
At first it was broken and filled with random scenes. The first draft was crude, although amazingly brilliant in my eyes.  Then life took me away and I put my story away.
It took six years to create, finish, revise and edit my story.  As I embark on this journey towards publishing, I often think back on those first days of writing.  Filled with hated, rage, and anguish, I sat in a booth of the restaurant I worked at, writing horror in a pale blue miniture notebook, scribbling so fast that some parts are almost illegible.  I still have that notebook, and every piece of paper I scratched pieces of my art on.
I love my book.  I have read it so many times that I find myself sick of the story, only to want to dive back in yet again.  For every person who reads it I get a thrill.  So please, dive into my story filled with twists and horror and hope and pain.

Excerpts from Revenge Unknown
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