While I haven't had much time to write, I did manage to sneak in a few minutes here and there. Slow writer that I am, what I added doesn't do much to move the story forward, but it moved it a smidgen. I did get my main character back to Nashville, at least. As I am wont to do, I have to keep reminding myself to add colorful elements, particularly description. My characters are always "doing" and not "observing". I even went back to a specific paragraph and typed "add some description here" and highlighted it. Most writers wouldn't need to be reminded of that; they would instinctively know that a lack of description removes readers from the story. When I finally reach the editing phase, that'll be my biggest challenge.
As for this week's scenes, of course they're mostly dialogue. I don't feel like apologizing for this tendency. I can't effectively tell a story without having people talking. Internal monologues have their place, but navel-gazing wears out its welcome quickly. Plus, as you know, I'm infatuated with the Paula character, and I love hearing her talk. Her middle of the night phone call to Leah is as frustrating as always, because Paula is always doing two things at once ~ talking on the phone and speaking to whoever is in the room with her. Leah is never sure if she's the one being addressed at any given time. Paula offers Leah some career advice, except it's so cloaked in aphorisms that it's undecipherable.
Finally back in Nashville, Leah knows she needs to face the record label that she ran out on, if for no other reason than to make arrangements to pay back her advance. But she feels guilty, too. She calls the A&R guy's office, hoping to simply make an appointment, but the man himself answers the phone. He's not in a conciliatory mood. (I haven't yet portrayed how her snap decision affected his job, and Leah, in fact, hasn't even considered that yet. But she will eventually.) She asks to meet with him; he declines. She's probably going to end up hanging around outside the building and collaring him.
That sums up my writing output. It's something.
On another note, I am revamping my author website. It's amazing how five sections can amount to so much revision. Really, every section needs improvement. I'm off to a slow start. I redesigned my home page and removed the introduction, which almost read as "too needy". Nobody cares that my website and I are "a work in progress"; that screams amateur. I replaced that with a large image of my latest book and one five-star review. After all, I'm supposed to be selling books, not me.
I fattened my bio a bit by adding what I'm reading, listening to, and watching. What the heck? Doesn't hurt, I suppose. I also found some new free images to use as garnish. The old ones had worn out their welcome. That still leaves my books section, my blog, and my reviews. I probably do need to blog more; the problem is coming up with something to say. But I at least have an overall plan for improving my site. I'm not getting any visitors and I'd like to change that, especially since I've written off my newsletter. I added a "contact me" widget, but couldn't find one for comments. Comments are a double-edged sword anyway ~ I received tons of spam comments on my music blog, and not much else. I suppose on the one in a million chance a real person visits my site and has something to say, they can use the contact form.
If nothing else, I'll have something different to look at once the revamp is done. That matters, since I'm the only one looking.
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