Friday, January 16, 2015

Giving Birth

Today I will come as close as I ever have to giving birth. Oh sure- I was there when Will was born (C-section) nearly 20 years ago and I saw what Marilyn went through. But this time the baby is all mine. It will be very different for me. The birth will be painless, as the pain has already occurred in the months of writing and rewriting. The event will not be messy, but the project certainly has been, with stops and starts, deleting whole storylines and getting rid of various characters. And no doctor will offer me drugs- but I may need a margarita anyway! After a year of work, today my novel, Even Better Than Before, is done. It has yet to be professionally edited, but the storytelling is done and the manuscript is complete. Nearly 20 of my friends will be e-mailed files today as they have volunteered to read it for me and give their honest reviews. I am excited, nervous and anxious to hear if it's good enough to consider actual publishing. Just like any parent, I want only the best for my baby.

 I am generally an optimist and someone who embraces a good challenge. Writing this novel has been a wonderful experience; sharing it with others is pushing the limits even for me. I have many doubts. But today that is exactly what will happen, and over the course of this weekend and the weeks that follow I will impatiently await word from the "doctors" on the "health" of my baby. So please, if you are so inclined, say a prayer for my peace of mind. Pray for my patience, which needs help on the best of days. And if you would like to join the list of readers, shoot me an e-mail at Youthguy07@aol.com and I'll send you the file. No editing or proofreading required, just honest opinions on the storyline and the characters. It could be just the ticket you need to a little indoor entertainment on this holiday weekend. And if not, computer files are remarkably easy to delete. :)  

My 60,000 word baby goes out into the world today. It's time to celebrate! And maybe worry just a little bit. Have a blessed weekend, my friends!

 Because of Jesus,
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6 comments:

  1. Anonymous1/16/2015

    So excited to receive it and read it. As long as there are pictures for me to look at. Words scare me. There are pictures, right? :) ~ Chris Cooper

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    Replies
    1. CJ1/16/2015

      For your copy only I will try to include some stick figures in the margins. Thanks, Chris!

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    2. Anonymous1/19/2015

      Finished it late last night, and dude- you rocked it! Loved the fun, the friendships and the real spirituality of the story. It's the prefect book for reading at the beach! And by the way, some of those song lyrics "Brent" wrote are awesome. Are those really songs?

      Delete
    3. CJ1/19/2015

      Thanks so much Chris.Glad you liked it, and your "perfect for reading at the beach" comment is about the best review I could have hoped for! And the lyrics you refer to are snippets from songs and parts of songs I have written over the years. Thanks for noticing.

      Delete
  2. Matt5verse61/16/2015

    Did you reach a point where your characters started "writing themselves"? I wrote a fiction novel years and years ago (but never pursued having it published or anything) and the weirdest part was when my characters "came to life" and began "writing themselves". It was cool but crazy! ;-)

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    Replies
    1. CJ1/19/2015

      I know what you mean Brook! There comes a certain point when the characters are part of you and it all just starts to flow. An awesome feeling for sure!

      Delete

Thanks for reading,and thanks for your comment!

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