How do you describe a French restaurant so a reader can taste it…or the texture of a marshmallow on your tongue? Or paint a non-descript room in an unimportant house so it jumps off the page and pulls you in? And how do you breathe life into a group of fictional characters to make your readers so attached to them they laugh, cry, and root for them every step of the way?
What I’m really asking is…how do you put a feeling into words?
These are the things writers do. We pull you in until you completely forget it’s only a collection of words on a page.
I have officially burned myself out. I know…it was bound to happen. The good news is I’m done. At least for now. The book has been edited to the point of no return and it’s as close to perfect as I can possibly get it.
Now that I’ve said that, I’ll find mistakes everywhere I look…and I’ll fix those too. But until that happens, I’m popping that cork on the champagne.
And I’m collecting donations for a new laptop. Mine has burned its last bridge with me. I’ve called it every name in the book, and still I need more names. The cursor jumps across the screen, taking me to places I didn’t want to go. It powers itself down without warning, just to keep me on my toes. And it generally has no respect for the reverence of the writer.
I’m seriously considering going back to a manual typewriter…maybe even paper and pen!
Well…maybe not.
Until the next time…I’ll be resting (for just a minute)