Montana Dreams (Another NWS entry)

Crikey, it was a bit hard getting back in here. It's been eighteen months since my last post (hangs head in shame at the terrible neglect) and I didn't know where to find the front door. At the front you'd expect, but things appear to have changed in Blogger world since my last visit. I'm here now, though. The place is dusty with cobwebs strung all over the place. I daren't look in the corners. 

Two years ago I sent off my first RNA New Writer's Scheme novel for professional feedback, which I wrote about in a previous post. The reader's feedback was very useful and I've tried to incorporate her advice in my new novel Montana Dreams.

Montana Dreams began life in November 2013 as my National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) effort. It was so awful, I entitled it The Novel of Boringness. I had little hope that it could be redeemed. I didn't care if I ever saw it again. However, The Novel of Boringness was not willing to be ignored. It left me with no choice but to attempt to edit it. And so it began - a whole new writing experience and learning curve. You just don't stop learning, do you?

What began as an edit soon turned into a complete re-write. The discovery that I could re-write, that the words were there somewhere in the murky depths of my brain, was quite a revelation. I didn't think I had it in me. The basic storyline remained the same, but was approached differently and with more thought than the brain spill that is NaNoWriMo. A large chunk from the first draft never made it into the second. I feel regret for some of the missing scenes and they may make a return during the third draft. Other scenes such as the crazy idea of having a bomb controlled remotely by mobile phone will never, ever be revived. This story is supposed to be a sweet romance, after all.

With much encouragement from Morton Gray, Montana Dreams is now on its way to a reader from the New Writer's Scheme. The relief when it went was immense. The thought of all that time I would have to do other stuff was exciting. However, Montana Dreams won't let me go. 

Draft three is about to begin.