The Last Five Months, Followed by a Duck Butt

My, this blog looks dusty. If you are someone who's been following the progress of the book I'm writing and judged my success by the frequency of my blog posts, you've long since given up hope that I would ever finish Ah Toy's story. I don't blame you; I have gone into Google Blogger hibernation. But unlike a hibernating bear, I've been quite busy while seeming to be comatose. Here are some of the highlights over the past five months since I've last come up for air.

In October 2016, at about 75,000 words, I hit a lovely patch of writer's block. Forcing myself to keep going wasn't going to work, so I took a couple days off, grabbed my camera headed to China Beach State Park. It was refreshing to spend a few hours outdoors in great weather, smell the trees and take some photos in an effort to keep the artistic side of my brain activated. Here are a few shots from that seven-mile hike:

A grove of trees that played with the light.

A path that wandered circuitously through the frame.

A deer.

I didn't take any shots of the horrendous amount of yellow jackets at the picnic grounds because I was running away from them.

A couple days later, camera still in hand, I drove to Tomales Point and traversed to the point of the peninsula. It was a beautiful day in a gorgeous environment. The ocean was on my left, the bay was on my right and the elk were ignoring me because it was mating time. A fellow hiker even offered me a joint but I politely declined. If I had gotten any more mellow I probably would have rolled off the cliff. Here are some shots from that nine-mile hike:

A seeding thistle that balanced the ocean and clouds.

A soaring hawk that mirrored a speeding boat.

Elk, not yet mating.

In the middle of October, I reached 80,000 words and traveled to China. My husband's family originates from Hong Kong and I had never been, so he, his mother and I made a trip of it, adding Beijing, Macau and Taipei to the itinerary. Some of you may be wondering if I researched Ah Toy while I was there. I did not. She did debark from Hong Kong, but lived on the mainland in Guangdong province which we didn't visit. Additionally, I have no clue what her Chinese name was ("Ah Toy" is a nickname) or how to read Chinese, two crucial bits of knowledge and skill that I don't have.

Yes, I had my camera in Asia too.

The street in Hong Kong where we resided.

A misty morning on the Great Wall outside of Beijing.

Eaves at the Chiang Kai-Shek memorial in Taipei.

In November I hit 95,000 words, then voted.

Proof that I voted in a Hogwarts shirt. The sticker says, "I voted" in Chinese.

In December I completed 115,000 words, then celebrated many birthdays, including my sisters', my nieces', my own and Jesus's.

Jesus.

In January I celebrated Chinese New Year and then completed the first draft of my book at 118,000 words!

Aren't you finished with that thing yet?

Yes, you read correctly. I finished the first draft. What does that mean, exactly? It means now I get to go back to the very beginning and begin editing, which probably means cutting everything that I previously wrote and writing it again. I've heard that re-writing can take just as long as finishing the first draft, which isn't encouraging, but I've made it this far so I'm pushing on. So what are the next steps with Ah Toy? Here's a quick guide.

1. Do my own editing.
2. Give the manuscript to one or two friendly-yet-honest people to get their feedback.
3. Maybe hire a professional editor and hand it over for more painful cuts.
4. Decide whether to hire an agent.
5. Submit the final draft to a publisher, which includes writing a lengthy query letter.
6. Wait.
7. Wait.
8. Wait some more.
9. Start a new project while waiting.
10. Get a response from the publisher, or not. If yes, get excited, then wait more for it to be printed. If not, find another publisher and repeat steps 5 through 10.

For now I'm at step 1. I've already shaved off a couple thousand words and I'm only a quarter of the way through, which is good news for those of you who decide to read it, because the stuff I cut was bad enough to make me cringe. I can't imagine what ugly faces you would make!

At any rate, this was fun, popping my head up above water to let you know what's been going on. Back under I go, for who knows how long this time?