Aliya S. King

Went to an animal shelter today. Fell in love with a dog named Oliver. If TH vetoes the adoption of this mutt with a gimpy hind leg, I will file for divorce in the morning.

Oliver is five months old. He was found on the streets of Harrison, New jersey. The vet is not sure what breed he is. But she expects his leg to recover fully without treatment.

For now, he can only take short walks.

He’s very energetic.

I want this dog. And I’ve never had one before.

TH wants to visit more shelters since Oliver is the first dog we laid eyes on.

That’s funny. He didn’t say let’s look at one more baby when Tog appeared. We just knew she belonged with us.

Okay. I’m being dramatic.

But I want this dog.

TG and Tog are already in love. And so am I.

TH and Tog sleeping in. Me and Tog at Starbucks. Double tall soy cinnamon dolce latte for me. Bagel for Tog.

Edits due for novel in ten days. I may need a tiny extension. I’m petrified. I know EXACTLY what needs to be done . I know which characters need tweaking. Which need to be completely omitted. I just have to sit down and barrell through it.

In the comments this week someone likened rewriting to math. You add multiply subtract divide. Finding the perfect equation of words.

I’ve never been good at math but I do feel like a mathemetcian or an architect when I revise and edit. I get this deeply satisfied feeling in my stomach when I read what seems like a well executed sentence.

I am very grateful to my dear readers. Blogging is helping me as a writer. I’m especially grateful to the eight members of my online writing group. Reading and commenting on your prose has helped me immensely with my own.

THings I Will Keep In Mind As I Revise

1. Keep it moving. Snappy pace is important. Don’t let the reader out of the room.
2. Don’t get attached. Certain sentences, plot points and even whole characters may have to be scrapped. Be ruthless.

3. Read your dialogue aloud. What sounds good in your head doesn’t always sound realistic.

I begin revising in earnest first thing Monday morning.

This weekend I write without writing.

Fellow writers: do you know what I mean by writing without writing? I’ll be thinking about my book all weekend. But no writing.

If you happen upon this random Saturday post tell me what you’re up to today. Are you writing? Thinking about writing? Wishing you were writing?

I’d love to hear from you…

Photo: Tog and her Starbucks crew

Gave up the blackberry for the iPhone. This is my first attempt at mobile blogging from the iPhone. This should be interesting. I’m gonna try to add a photo too. Here’s a pic of tomorrows blog post. It’s a good one. Don’t miss it.