Monday, July 16, 2012

A public apology and a bit of angst

My oldest son, Colin, has demanded a public apology. For years, I've been using low-fat products--cake mixes, sour cream, cottage cheese, mayonnaise, you name it--over his loud objections. When he still lived at home, I would hide the packaging from him whenever possible. Lately I've begun to suspect low-fat is not what it's cracked up to be, and I've heard that when they take the fat out they put more carbs in. Self defeating for watching your weight. Then, on Facebook, I saw a quote that really caught my attention (forgive the language--it's not mine): When you  see the word low-fat, think shit-storm of chemicals. Made sense to me, so I called Colin to apologize. He said he semi-accepted my apology but needed a full, public apology on Judy's Stew. So here you have it, my darling son!
This morning I woke up at five in full despair over the novel I'm working on. It is going nowhere; it's a bunch of strung together episdoes; it has way too much dialogue and not enough action (ever a danger in first-person narration). Maybe I should abandon it--this is my second try at the fourth Kelly O'Connell novel, and I still have the aborted first attempt. I went back to sleep and woke at six-forty-five, feeling much better about the world and my manuscript, with a plan in mind. I'd read what I have, looking for holes, places I could embellish, things I needed to cut out. Of course, first, there was a quick run to the grocery, Greg to do the yard, the dog groomer--excited about having the groomer come to the house so poor old Scooby doesn't have to scramble into the back of a VW bug.
Now I'm up to the beginning of Chapter Six--this was not a quick read-through but a careful consideration as well as proofing. You know what? It's not great literature, but it's not as bad as I feared. As my friend Fred advises, I 'll persevere.

3 comments:

Katie Sherrod said...

Judy,
Your series is a good one. Buck up. I want more! You have made me care about your characters, so you are doing many things right!!!

judyalter said...

Thanks, Katie. You cheer me. Glad you liked the convention so much. Do you know Bill and Judy Fleener and did you see them? I grew up next door to her.

Janie Emaus said...

Peseverance. That's my motto. As for food, everything in moderation.