My manuscript is complete. Hours of review, editing, re-reading, formatting are finally over. For now.
The proper work comes after I receive feedback from my editor. At least I get a week's rest from not thinking and reviewing my work. It's given me headaches that immediately put me to sleep.
One scorching afternoon in Roxas City in 2012. A sizeable chunk of the book was written between 2012 to 2013. Photo by the author.
I'm just relieved to have passed the ball to someone else.
In this early part of creating the book, there were several writing lessons that I remembered and tried to apply as much as possible:
1. Avoid using adverbs or at least minimize them. “The road to hell is paved with adverbs.” That's what Stephen King said in his book On Writing.
2. Use the active voice rather than the passive voice. Most writing tools suggest this often.
3. Editing usually takes more time than writing.
Write. Rewrite. When not writing or rewriting, read. I know of no shortcuts.
—Larry L. King
4. Stop using 'that' too often. Most of the time, it's unnecessary.
5. Use a semi-colon between two statements that can stand as sentences. For example: I like the Philippines; the beaches are magnificent.
I highly recommend Dr. Clare Lynch's courses on uDemy. She's a great (online) teacher.
For now I can read to my heart's content, watch Kdrama and wait!
I was updating my parents about my book today. Mama said "you should have done it sooner". Mothers know best.