Various and Sundry

My poor, poor, languishing blog. How I've neglected it this year. What a crazy year it's been, too! Busy, busy, busy summer with the kids, plus my gallbladder decided to attack me and I got to have surgery just this past Monday and a stay overnight in the hospital so I could have antibiotics via IV, because I apparently grew a huge gallstone that took twice the amount of time the surgeon figured was needed to get it out. Nice, huh? I say if you're going to do something, do it well! Nice thing is having Mom down, because no matter how old you are, you're never to old to want your  Mommy when you're sick.

Enough about that. Onwards!

I have one manuscript out there for consideration with Avon Impulse, a short short story I sent to Woman's World magazine, and a novella that will be published in an anthology with several others written by members of my writing group, The Bat Cave. Yep. Dunno when we'll have that out, we're still pulling it all together.

What else...Well, I got the notion to open an abandoned WIP to work on, and I've been through the five full chapters I'd gotten written way back when, and am gearing up to pick up where I left off in Chapter Six. I'm delighted I remember several plot points that I'd had in mind when I was first working on this WIP, AND, I even gave it a title. That's progress. I'm happy with the Muse right now, because she isn't always happy to open up an abandoned WIP to work on, but it struck her fancy as much as it did mine.

Suggestions for returning to an "abandoned" WIP....

1. Read it through without making any changes (even spelling, or inserting words you left out)...just read.

2. Read it again, from start to finish and this time, adit - make corrections, add, subtract, rearrange.

3. Do you outline? If so, check that, see what you've remembered as you've gone through the WIP. If you're a panster like me, note what plot points you've remembered in whatever manner works for you.

4. Start writing - pick up where you left off and GOOOO!

5. If you don't have a title for it yet, now would be a good time to work on one - I've found it helps me re-establish connection with the WIP, and elevates the WIP's importance from "abandoned, let's just mess around with it and see what happens" to "actual working WIP."