Can I get a "Fuck Yeah!" and a High Five of Stoketude please?

It's been a freaking phenomenal day! I bought a case of paper this morning for $20. Woo hoo for cheap white paper on which I printed my novel! Also yay for new red pens! It's the simple things in life really.

When I edit/rewrite/revise/write, I print my novel out and write all over it in bright red pen! I know it's a waste of 100 sheets of paper every time I do this, but this is the only way editing works for me. I can't do nearly as good of a job on the computer screen as I can writing it in by hand. However, this makes double the work as I then have to go through the file and make all of the hand-written corrections. But it works, and that's all that matters. Oh, and I recycle!

Before I started my editing today, I read through my editors' comments and notes. I like to get a sense of the issues my editors are having, so I can easily and hopefully organically slip in solutions. I'm also flipping through a marked up copy while I edit my clean copy. There shouldn't be many more edits at all after this round, so I have to make sure I don't miss anything!

One of the comments one of my editors made was that readers needed to really get into the protagonist's head more. And I should describe her actions less. Particularly toward the end. So today I really tried to get into my protagonist's head. Which was difficult! Especially in the end of the book where the protagonist and the serial killer come face to face to duke it out. Having never been in this situation, it's hard to get into the mindset of thinking you're about to die at the hands of a serial killer who has brutally murdered a decent number of people over the last few months. Really getting into Leia's mind is crucial to my story's success.

So, I got fucked up, closed my eyes, and just wrote, trying to really concentrate and put myself in those feelings, her feelings. This might sound weird, and I'm certain I looked weird typing really fast with my eyes closed, but I think it helped. I hope her thoughts and emotions are coming to the surface more, so you can feel this intense level of fear and terror WITH her! So you will be afraid FOR her! So you will give a damn! So you will care about Leia Marie Sutherland, and you will cheer her on as she fights this psycho for her life. Cuz if you don't give a damn, I have failed in my mission as a writer. And if you don't care, you might not have even made it to the end chapters I worked on today. And you won't tell your friends to buy my book. Yes, you caring about Leia is this important and a crucial element to my success. So, I hone her voice and make her a stronger character.

Lots more editing to go for this round, but I'm off to a good start! I have to keep plowing through at a quick pace, so I can start querying agents ASAP now that I have my query letter finished.