On Deadline

...in more ways than one.

The biggest is, of course, the submission deadline for the Golden Heart, looming ever closer on December 2nd.  I must finish revisions in time to send the full MS, along with partials and synopses for the first-round judging.

The one I'm under right now is for my accountability circle.  To stay on track for the GH, my posted goal to have revised chapters 1-12 by next Monday (gulp!).  I'm already under penalty for missing my goals last week - look for an update on my task later - and can't afford to miss this one.

Last night I had good intentions, but I've been so sleep-deprived I ended up crashing hard on the couch around 9 pm, and not waking until 12:30, when I stumbled upstairs to bed.  Though I *did* get a few pages of hard copy worked on while standing in line for 3 hours (yes, my precinct was one of the ones with issues!) to vote.

[Aside: congratulations to President-Elect Obama.  I may not agree with all of his stances and policies, but I genuinely think he's a good man, and I am proud that our country was able to look beyond race and elect him.  It's a huge and wonderful turning point.  Good luck to him in all that he now faces.]

Today was a good day.  I successfully spent my lunch hour holed up in my office writing.  And Little Boy went down with minimal fuss tonight, allowing me to get on the computer relatively early (after taking care of a few things around the house).

I finished-finished Chapter One (it seems I can never stop tweaking the opening, but No More).  I added a new 500-word scene to the beginning of Chapter Two, wherein we meet Alec for the first time and get a taste of his position in the clan and the undercurrent of conflict between him and Andrew (it also foreshadows that he will be in Dalmally when Elspeth shows up there).  And I went over most of the rest of Chapter Two, which had been mainly revised during my two-week vacation last month.  All that remains there is to rework the last scene to fit my new plan for Elspeth's escape, and then on to Chapter Three, where I need to rewrite Elspeth's escape, and get her to the kirk on time.  *g*

I am pondering removing the fight scene between Elspeth and the three drunk Campbells.  We see her MMAS (Mad Martial Arts Skillz) in Chapter One now, so the fact that she's a black belt is already out there.  Three men seems a bit much.  I almost think it will work better if only one follows her - the one who will develop a grudge later - and she takes him out before turning on Alec when he shows up.  Hmmm...  *think, think*

For now, to bed.