100 Things #86 - Sometimes your work is cursed

[jana_denardo]

Some days you have to sit back and wonder 'is my story cursed?' We all have one. The novel that doesn't save your changes. The novel that is lost repeatedly in hard drive crashes (disc failure, flashdrive failure, didn't back up into the cloud). The novel that develops five problems for every one you solve. You start whimpering whenever you even think about that story even though you love it.

For me, right now, that's Soldiers of the Sun. I'm TEN months behind on getting it sent to a publisher for consideration. I've had first reader issues. I've lost edits I've made. Edits they made. I come up with fixes only to find they don't work.

Last night I was almost ready to whip it into the correct format for the publisher and then remembered I found a stack of hard copy edits when I was house cleaning. I made them this summer and kept them just in case my flash drive died before I got home. It didn't. But I DID check them and sure enough...they hadn't saved. I about wept. It's weeks worth of work lost.

I have to fix it again. Then I realized I had a timing issue (relatively easy to solve) and I still have a dialog issue. This is 1932 but the characters don't really sound all that 1930ish. They didn't in the other couple in this series either so I don't have to load it up on slang but I would like more. This will not be an easy fix. I look at this novel and just despair. I think it's a good one but my god, it's been a long hard labor and delivery.



And I decided to get my nano time wasting out of the way early. I've mocked up a cover for my Vampires in Vegas project.

Comments

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

That's a nice cover.

I know how you feel, particularly about the story crashing computers and getting lost.

[jana-denardo.livejournal.com]

pixlr

I know you do, poor Lanuke (did I spell that right? it doesn't look right)

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

It's nice.

Lanauke, Camory, and Tamin. Yup. It's probably Tamin's fault.

[jana-denardo.livejournal.com]

pixlr is fun

I was close. ANd it probably is. Any chance of retyping that one. more. time.

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

If I had any of my paper notes, I might consider it.

[jana-denardo.livejournal.com]

aw...well if I keep going thru old boxes I might find it because I DID have a copy once

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

Did you? Cool.

[jana-denardo.livejournal.com]

yes i read the whole thing but i don't know if i kept it or sent it back with edits or have since tossed it because god that was nearly 20 years ago when I was in Columbus

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I started writing it probably when I was dating Sean, sooooo.

[jana-denardo.livejournal.com]

Yeah, been a while. It's about as old as the thing I'm revamping in nano

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

Yeah, seriously.

[chrissymunder.livejournal.com]

Someday you'll look back on this book and laugh? Okay, maybe a little on the hysterical side ... Wishing you better luck with it. And thanks for spoiling us with the cover. :)

[jana-denardo.livejournal.com]

I hope I laugh.

Oh this cover is not for this book. This is for the nano I plan to write. I guess if this story from hell is picked up the cover would be similar to the one on the novella, The Darkest Midnight in December