Whee! Getting away for a couple of days really helped me this week! My first draft for MAGDALENE is done and boy, is it a mess. But I can clean up a mess. It’s creating something from nothing that’s hard.

My favorite thing (writing tip ahead) about Microsoft Word is that “insert comment” feature. I’m a HUGE believer in not stopping to self-edit, so when I know I need to remind myself of something–say Mary puts on the shawl Quintus has given her, but he hasn’t actually given it to her–I insert a comment that says “write a scene earlier where Quinn gives M. a shawl.” And it appears like a beautiful little balloon in the margin.

So now I have a manuscript that is filled with colorful balloons and all my “peeve” words in all caps–THAT, WAS, WERE, LOOKED AT, etc. And Monday we begin the fun part–filling in all the gaps and taking out all the caps. Second draft, here we come.

In the meantime, there IS the weekend . . . have a great one!