I am taking a breather from editing or even rereading Life Style until after Christmas. I will still be fielding offers from beta readers and discussing the book with anyone willing to jump in. And, of course, prostrating myself on social media to get attention for the book and my website.
The more I delve into the craft of writing the more different ways I find myself looking at my own. As I field beta opinions it forces me to ask the tough questions, ponder tough choices and make changes. Some of them feeling personal. As I conclude the rewrite of Life Style that I call the Ruff Cutt, I feel like I am putting out there a pretty balanced piece of writing. A simple tale, in two very different parts, that makes you want to keep reading once you have started.
If you like character driven stories the first half of the book will keep you interested. It’s all about character development and relationship development. The ultrahighs that never last long enough and the lows that linger. Once you hit page one hundred you should be hooked and the roller coaster ride begins. At least that’s how it feels to me as I reread it once again.
I did the Ruff Cutt over the past week, and the further into the book I got the less I cut. Again, as in past rereads, the story and the characters drew me in. I could not believe how much I wanted to read this story written by my own hand. Is it ego, or maybe my meds? I also cannot believe how it made me feel in the end. The emotion it evoked. I still cry at the end. A little weird, right? But I do. That’s definitely the meds.
I just wish that I could encourage more good souls to volunteer to read the raw transcript and give me a beta opinion, or at least some conversation regarding it’s quality as a work of adult fiction. This latest version is very digestible and I believe I plugged all the holes and patched most of the divots.
The “Prelude” that is out there may be a bit different from the finalized version, which I will post as soon as I recall how. This whole website management is new to me. Trying to keep the content fresh ain’t easy and the mechanics and other wizardry of the web keep me in a constant state of befuddlement. This makes it hard to think to write blog posts. Yet here I am. Join me. Shoot me an email at mike@mikepaulwrites.com.
Mike Paul 