Writing and Other Hard Things

I spent a couple of hours last weekend writing a post on writing goals and a bunch of personal stuff that I didn't end up publishing. In the end, it was too long and too personal. Writing bits of it made me cry. I saved it in my archives because it was something I needed to write down for myself. Do you ever wonder which struggles are appropriate to share and which aren't?

Around the very beginning of March, my dad had five-way bypass surgery. It was supposed to be seven-way, but they had such a hard time getting through his ribcage and then to the places they needed to reach that two of the fixes ended up not being "bypasses." Evidently, lifting 100 lb bales of hay on a daily basis builds bone density.

Then his favorite horse, an arabian stallion he bought from Wayne Newton twenty years ago this summer, somehow managed to get his leg stuck on the top pin (holding a couple of corral panels together) of his corral. My brother-in-law and a neighbor helped Silver down, but not before he'd torn all the way through his leg. I found out about it on my way to work and called my husband to have him go out and look at it, but when I got home, I found out that Silver hadn't let anyone near him. So, I grabbed two apples (his favorite treat) and headed over to see what I could do. 

I took care of Silver for over a month, lots of work and bonding, and he still had to be put down (this was the long, personal part that made me cry). 

My writing went surprisingly well in March and April. I wrote 12,000 words in March and 11,000 in April to finish my rough draft (barely) by the deadline I gave myself at the beginning of the year. I'm not ready to let go of this one though (or maybe it's not ready to turn me loose). I started the second draft on Monday, May 2nd, but it's been slow going. I've also been thinking my way through the setting and plot of The Fourth Path (my sequel to Star Swans) because these stories build on each other. 

My plan is to take The Binder's Web through at least a second draft before I tackle revisions of Star Swans. I promised my favorite CP I'd query Star Swans before the end of the year, and from what I understand, the querying year ends before the holidays start.

And to end this post on a funny, I'm sharing Kurt Vonnegut's lecture on the shapes of stories.

Have a great weekend!