I finally got started with the rewrites on the new book this weekend. I planed to finish up chapter one tonight (warning: lame excuse alert), but my quick eye doctor appointment after work tonight turned into a four hour ordeal. I'll spare you the details, but the night ended with a family trip to Lenscrafters and me walking out a few minutes before closing with the first pair of glasses I've bought since 1992. Ugh.
I know none of you can see me through the magic of the internet, but I am still feeling pretty damn self conscious as I type this. And the fact that my new prescription--which I am going to estimate is about an order of magnitude stronger that the one I picked up when I was sixteen--is twisting my MacBook screen into a shrunken irregular trapezoid is not exactly helping. Ah well, I'll adjust.
Anyway, the rewrites are in full swing, if starting a little slow. I cut about two pages from the opening scene, which was a huge deal for me. The decision was based largely on some feedback I got from some literary agents I read for at Backspace last summer. They wanted the opening to get to the point a bit faster. So I sacrificed a chunk of the opening sequence (a big in media res style opening) and adjusted the rest of the chapter to match. I think it's a lot stronger now and gets to the "good stuff" right away. I need to do another read through (hopefully tomorrow night) but I think I'm pretty close to done.
In other news, I also heard back from two more agents since I reported last. Two more form rejections. That leaves three queries (if I am doing the math right) still out in the void. As they say, it only takes one yes! I guess I need to start thinking about putting together another batch of letters.
Oh, and I also posted a new story over at jasontoomey.com. It's been a long time since I've put something up there, but with all this effort to get myself back into serious writer mode something just clicked. I am pretty happy with it. Click over and check it out if you have some time.
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