Bethany Hagen's Blog

My baby nuclear Frankenstein has been returned to me by Professor Lupin and Professor McGonagall, and I’m ready to rock and roll on some final revisions before I send it back to the agent who requested the revise and resubmit.  (*proverbial fingers crossed*)

Revisions are a funny thing.  In that they’re not that funny at all actually, and they end up taking more time and angst than the actual writing of the thing did.  This novel has been through so many incarnations, so many slash-and-burn rewrites, that when Professor McGonagall was like, “I think you should add a few things,” which would be another week or two’s worth of work, I was relieved.

Only add?  Only another week or two?

That’s nothing.  After these last three years wrestling with Landry Park’s severe labor dystocia, I can handle that.

I think.

This aphorism courtesy of one of my critique partners.  I have two critique partners who are both awesome, and both have different encouragement styles.  One gives the most genuine, enthusiastic encouragement and gives her advice in my preferred style : the Compliment Sandwich.  She is the Professor Lupin of critique partners, and yes, she is a werewolf.  Or a gymnastics mom.  Something where she leads a double life.

My other CP is the Professor McGonagall of critique partners, except without the hat.  Her advice is more direct and to the point.  It’s also invaluable.

So, right now, I’m at this point where I’m working on the novel more than I ever had, staring at the screen for hours at night after everyone else has gone to bed.  It’s exhilarating and also exhausting.  But I’ve found that the hard work has begun to change my writing style.  I used to think of myself as a painstakingly slow writer; it took me two years to write my first book, two years to write my second, and two years to write much of this one.  (Keep in mind that I was a full-time student, a part-time page/museum person, and a mommy during a lot of this.)  But recently, as I’ve made it a point to dedicate a couple hours everyday to the writing, I’ve found my speed and output increasing.  Which makes me think I should have listened to Professor McGonagall all along when she said, “Get off your butt and write.  No excuses.”

And when I stopped making excuses, that I was too tired tonight because of the narcolepsy, that I was too busy because of the dishes and the laundry, that I was too uninspired to write anything good–when I stopped all that and cracked open my laptop anyway, I found myself to be a lot more productive and creative than I ever imagined.