Lack of progress

This present lack of progress has me bummed. I am thinking about sending this proposal in without the last chapter vein run through the editor. It has already been through two other people, but my goal was to have the proposal sent by the end of the month- which is just a day away. Thoughts?

Back at the Hotel

Each year the students I teach audition for the All-Middle Tennessee Honor Band.  It is a tremendous honor to make this ensemble, and I am blessed to have 10 students who are placed in the group.  So, this time each year I travel to Murfreesboro and bring a load of students to rehearse, then perform.  For three hours at a time those students rehearse, then take a lunch break, then rehearse, then dinner, then rehearse, then bed.  They do it for three solid days. WHAT DOES THE DIRECTOR DO DURING THIS TIME?

Well, two years ago, I decided that this was the time to pull out my laptop and write. And so I did.  I popped out nearly ten chapters in the two weekends of midstate, and revised half my book this weekend last year. It is one of the most productive times for me. Alone. In the hotel.  Only Maria, the maid- who has a lovely Panamanian accent to her Spanish, interrupts me.  I don't mind the interruption because I have the opportunity to practice my Spanish, and enjoy hearing hers. Then back to the grindstone.

So WHAT TO DO THIS YEAR? I already have the book written.  Last night I revised the half of the proposal I received back from Mrs. White (an English teacher in the school I work.) I'm ready to start shopping this proposal.  I enjoyed hearing the positive comments from Mrs. White - she is sure this type of book will do well.  Loves my writing. Loves the snarky sense of humor for the protagonist. So, I don't know what to do. I am strongly considering getting Book 2 organized so that I could start writing it soon, but Book 1 isn't even published! What to do? Blog.

So, I promised to give some snippets of information about this book. I shall start with a bit of an introduction:

Gabriel Edwards. He's your typical 7th grade boy.  He likes video games, plays in the school band (of course) and is not yet up to date on how important a bath, deodorant, and a comb can be to a person.  He is the third of four children in the Edwards family.  His older brother Gavin is quite possibly the next Peyton Manning.  He has an arm for football, the moves of Michael Jordan on the Basketball court, and the speed of David Odonkor when it comes to soccer. He also happens to be every bit the typical Jock that most 7th grade band-type of kids have learned to loathe, so naturally Gabe is his brother's favorite punching bag.  He also has an older sister named Gwen, who just might hold the record for most simultaneous texts, Tweets, and Pinterest posts in the history of social media. She had no trouble joining the cheerleading squad when their family moved to Kansas, and now she is probably going to be Prom Queen, Homecoming Queen, and Mrs. Kansas all in one weekend.  Since it is not popular to have a 7th grade hygienically-challenged kid hanging around, she too doesn't spend a great deal of time with Gabe.  Then there is Ginny.  While only four-years-old she is already brilliant.  Her teachers all say so. (of course how brilliant are these competitors? They eat paste and can't remember where they are supposed to go to the bathroom!) Nonetheless, she is brilliant, and Gabe never gets enough of hearing about how smart his four-year-old little sister is. Never.

So, as you can see, Gabe will be a lot like those strange-smelling, funny-talking, game-playing twits you see scurrying about in the mall. You can imagine how easily he can find himself in trouble just navigating the social circles, so wait till he tries his luck navigating the cosmos!

I have really enjoyed getting to know Gabe, and I know you will too!