ROW80 update . . .Weds check-in

"One must also be able to dance with the pen." So Nietzsche once said. This quote stares me in the face when I'm drinking tea or coffee, especially nice now to soothe my sore throat.

But, the point is that somehow we writers must shake loose those doubts and dark days when little goes well. Writing can bring joy, especially when we simply let go of expectation and write. So we begin with hope and vision. We pursue those glimmers of poetry and story that slide between that 'next big step.'  Participating in ROW80 with daily writing and daily goals (and accountability to writing colleagues) helps me to keep thinking about my writing and what I really want to do to improve my writing craft, marketing, and publishing skills.

This morning, I'm dancing. A little. I found an indie publishing house for Standing Stones to investigate further that I really liked. Their website has a rich historical fiction flavor, and their author information form requests a nicely fleshed out marketing plan -- including a summary of the research that's been done. So before the end of the year, I will submit to this currently nameless publisher.

Meanwhile, back at the keyboard, Years of Stone gets another read through, also before the end of the year. I'm working on synchronicity, that coming together of inner and outer events, that weaving together of threads that will make these two stories cohesive.

Standing Stones tells the story of the exodus of the MacDonnells from Scotland in 1842. In Years of Stone (nearing final draft at 80,000 words), Deidre follows Mac who's been transported to Van Diemen's Land (1842-1844). Sometime in 2013, I will begin researching the third book in this series, Rivers of Stone, set in the Pacific Northwest (think Dougal MacDonnell, violins, the Hudson's Bay Company, and Mary Margaret, his sweetheart, disguised as a boy).

ROW80 winds down sometime in December, but it's been a good round and a good year. May it be so for you.