Seedlings

Yesterday, even though it was drizzly for part of the day, we worked in the yard. We trimmed bushes, cut lower limbs from trees, and made plans to move a few perennials to new locations. I also planted my annuals in their pots. (Hopefully it wasn't too early to do this, but I'm out of town next weekend and wanted to get it done.) Now, over the course of the spring and summer, I'll need to nuture those little plants to make sure they bloom and grow and stay healthy.

Of course I made the inevitable comparison to writing.

You start with the germ of an idea: the seedling. You plant it by making an outline (if you're one of those kind of writers) or simply putting your fingers to the keys and beginning. As your idea grows, your story begins to bloom and take shape. Given the right amount of nurturing, and over time, it turns into a full-fledged novella or novella. When it's 'finished', the pruning begins. Cutting out the things that don't work. Perhaps moving scenes from one part of the story to another.

I'm looking forward to a productive summer of watching my plants and my stories grow.

Until next time,

Happy Writing!

Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com

P.S. In regards to those goals from last week, I'm giving myself a two and a half out of four. I mailed off my query and synopsis to Harlequin, and sent the prize books on their way as well. I'm pretty well organized to jump into actual revisions on my novel, but I only wrote about three paragraphs for my novella revisions.