Like Water Over Stones...

Summer is here and I'm working on my novel. Okay, summer is here and I should be working on my novel. No wait, summer is here and I'm slowly working on my novel. I'm trying to mesh two versions together and I'm finding I'm actually writing a whole new version. The new one sounds fresher and in Melody's tone of voice (pun intended) and just plain feels right.

It's a very tricky business, this writing of novels. Sometimes it flows like water over stones, and sometimes it's sticky like beach sand on salty toes. There are many writing strategies and techniques but whatever works for one may not work for all. I've read dozens of books on writing, taken numerous writing workshops, and heard many keynote speeches on writing, but the most important thing to remember is you need to write. People talk about writing, including me, but one must hone their craft, and keep on working at it until it works, until the work-in-progress is the best it can be. Sometimes it's hard to know when it's done, when the rewrite is polished to a brilliant shine. Read it out loud. How does it sound? Does it sound real? Does it flow like water over stones?

Here is another excerpt from my work-in-progress:

My legs are like cream cheese and jam on soft crackers and I need to sit before I fall. So I do, right next to my tree. And the boy stops and kneels down where he is, on a patch of dry leaves. It’s almost September now with a hint of fall coming and suddenly I am chilly with little bumps racing up and down my arms. I hug myself and consider what to say to this boy who is kneeling near me, fixing his hat every two seconds and looking all concerned; this boy who just dropped out of nowhere, or at least out of my beech tree, waiting for me to say something.