Meet Rosemary Morris

Some years ago, I thought I would never have a novel published. Today, I googled: Rosemary Morris at MuseItUp Publishing, and am impressed by my publisher's display of my mini author biography and details of my novels, etc.  With pride I invite my followers to visit me.

Next Task After Editing

I have finished the pre-edits, which I wrote about recently, and have now finished editing Monday's Child the sequel to Sunday's Child, traditional Regency Novels.




I shall now make my contents editor happy by reading over 97,500 words aloud and tweaking the final revision.




My next task will be to the synopsis, then the happy day when I submit Monday's Child and the synopsis will arrive.



I shall also list all the characters because I shall write a follow on novel called Tuesday's Child.

That Darn Squirrel

This morning, I finished the pre-edits for Monday's Child, the follow on novel from Sunday's Child. Afterwards I went into the garden to get some fresh air. I checked the bird feeders, then saw some holes on my lawn. That darn squirrel dug them and buried peanuts. I don't begrudge the creature some food but this is too much.

Active and Passive

I'm still slogging away at the pre-edits of Mondays Child the follow on novel from Sunday's Child a traditional Regency Romance. To be honest, I find the pre-editing boring and too time consuming. I console myself with the knowledge that when I finish Monday's Child will read much more smoothly. Also, last evening, I let off a little steam about the darn things and felt a little better about them today.

Pre-editing

I am now examining my use of that in my new novel Monday's Child. Frequently the word is superfluous, a sentence needs to be rewritten or which is more stylish. Anyway, I find pre-editing boring but necessary.

Line Editing. Checking 'and'.

Yesterday, I took a day off. Today I felt guilty so I finished checking how often I wrote 'and' in Monday's Child the sequel to Sunday's Child a romantic Regency novel. I have divided sentences into two, rephrased sentences as well as occasionally, very occasionally using gerunds.

More about Line Editing

Now that I have written Monday's Child the follow on novel from Sunday's Child, traditional regency romances, it is time to work on the line edit. I have a list of words which I check including 'and'. It is boring going through the novel deciding when to delete the word, when to rephrase a sentence and when to substitute another word. So far I've been through 150 pages and have nearly another 150 pages to check.




To mitigate my boredom I checked how many times I had used round instead of around. It's amazing how often I write - for example - she looked round instead of around. I suppose it is a minor point but in my opinion round applies to something which is round, an apple, a ball, an orange etc.




Now I have to continue checking 'and'.


Why am I being so pernickety? Because I want to write to the best of my ability.

Intense Revision

I am revising Monday's Child, a Regency Romance and  follow on novel from Sunday's Child.


I have highlighted 'and'. Substituting other words as well as dividing sentences into two tightens the prose. It also helps me to avoid repeatedly writing 'and then'. The process is boring but the novel will read better when I finish.

Monday's Child Final Chapter

I am delighted because I have written the last chapter of Monday's Child, a traditional Regency Romance. By traditional I mean that I have not opened the bedroom door wide. Monday's Child is the follow on novel from Sunday's Child published by MuseItUp Publishing. I am now enjoying planning Tuesday's Child the next novel in the series.

I Wrote 4,000 words today.

After time off during the Christmas preparations and festivities from writing Monday's Child a traditional Regency novel, the sequel to Sunday's Child, I wrote 4,000 words this morning. The main difficulty was slipping in some historical facts without allowing them to take over and make the reader feel as though he or she is reading a history book. Through dialogue, action and characterisation I think this part of Chapter Thirty-Three reads well. I planned to finish the first draft of Monday's Child by the 31st of December and am now confident that, God willing, I will do so.

On Writing Monday's Child

Another 6,000 words or less to write and I will finish Monday's Child the follow on novel to my traditional Regency Novel Sunday's Child published by MuseItUp Publishing.

I wrote the first draft of Chapter Twenty-Nine, a crucial chapter, from the heroine's point of view. I revised it, edited it and realised part of it needed to be from the hero's viewpoint. I've finished the chapter and think it works much better.

A little more research and then I can write Chapter Thirty. Phew!

Z is forZest

Z is for Zest

 

Zest, or enthusiasm and keenness, are essential for a novelist. Would be published novelists have told me they wrote, for example, a quarter or half of a novel and gave up. Either they lost interest in the plot and theme, or they abandoned their would-be masterpieces because they couldn’t find time to write or because it was too difficult to finish them.

 

Published or unpublished authors need zest, by which I mean enthusiasm for the novel, and they also need to be keen enough to persevere no matter how many times their books are rejected.

 

In my early twenties my first novel was accepted by a reputable publishing company. I didn’t know that to ensure publication the date on which my novel would be released needed to be included in the contract. The publishing house changed hands and the new commissioning editor didn’t like my novel. I continued to write for some years before my circumstances changed and I did not have the opportunity to do so. Years later, my late husband encouraged me to pursue my dream of writing historical fiction. It was the nudge I needed to write all the stories which had been in my mind for years. After enough rejections to paper the wall in my lavatory I acquired an agent. Deep, deep sigh, he didn’t secure a contract for me. More disappointments followed until my publisher accepted Sunday’s Child.

 

My keenness to be published and a string of rejections are not uncommon. Many other novelists have had similar experiences.

 

It is zest which separates published and unpublished writers from those who don’t finish a novel, which is a huge achievement, from would-be-writers.

 

e-books available from https://museituppublishing.com, www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk & elsewhere. Sunday’s Child, False Pretences, Tangled Love, Far Beyond Rubies, also available as a print book, & The Captain and The Countess.

 

Rosemary Morris

www.rosemarymorris.co.uk