Revising a novel is like killing a hydra with a safety razor. When you’re deep in the process, you swear it will NEVER END, but no good comes of short-circuiting the work. ~Susan Spann (Author of Claws of the Cat)

Ever just see something and say-Dang! That’s what’s going on in my life right now. I’m killing that hydra. Well, maybe not the last part but I am in the throes of revision with my sixth novel.

To add my own spin on this excellent description of revising to me writing is like when you sew a dress for yourself. You love the idea of the dress on the pattern envelope, and you carefully choose your material, cut out the pattern and begin to assemble it. You still have that vision of what it’s going to look like in your head, but as the dress starts to come together you realize things. Maybe you don’t have the adequate skill level to put on the collar, or maybe you misjudged how much material you need to cover that second piece of apple pie you couldn’t turn down. The first time you put the dress on, you can see alterations that need to be made, and you would never dream of wearing this monster in public. So what do you do? Even out the hem, let out a dart or two, straighten it up and try it on again, and then maybe fix more and try it again. Eventually, if you keep working on it (and you’re not sewing silk!) you have a dress that is one of a kind and you’re proud to wear. When someone else sees you in the dress, they think your couture fit just happened, but you know about the days and days you sat staring at your sewing machine wishing it would just fix it for you. My labor of love is writing and writing is hard work! I still don’t have a title for the book. I’ve been seeing ads for Sharknado 2, another future cinema classic and of course my mind went to-tornado in Pecan Bayou–da da da-

NUTNADO.

No? I’ll keep working on it. Only one more day on my 99 Cent special on Doggone Dead over at Smashwords. You can download at Smashwords in many formats so check it out!