LaPalm Books

Many who see the title of this post will surely associate it with the 1950s film with its infamously romantic make-out scene on the beach. I must admit it had some of my favorite actors of the time in it, but as with most movies based off of a novel… the book was better. It always is, in my opinion. But now I regress, for the true reason I chose this as my post title is because I’m finished with the initial rough draft of my newest work and about to go onto the next step.

Completing this first round is a glorious feeling of accomplishment. But all too soon my high turns to a low as I realize that from this stage (HERE), I now move onto the editing and re-writing stage (ETERNITY). I still have the afterglow of writing a product that I personally enjoy and look forward to sharing with others. For the past few days, I’ve reflected on the story, missed the characters, and considered how I want to expand on their lives and move ahead.

And now that is precisely what I must do…move ahead. I need to do the dirty work which means countless reading and re-readings as I watch for story flow, change paragraphing and section breaks, rewrite passages, watch for consistency, correct grammar and punctuation, build upon character strengths and weaknesses, elaborate on certain areas, and possibly delete others…

It is a painful (and emotional) process, but one that must be done if I hope to tell not only an engaging story, but a readable one as well…