I found two continuity errors in the chapter I listened to this morning. Yikes. Two!

Hopefully I can mostly fix up 22 tonight. I have to redo an argument between two characters and I don't want either to sound entirely unreasonable.

Barb, you were asking for writing~ma, so I'm guessing here is the place to put that. Wishing you all the best with whatever developments are taking place!

I will finish my literature review today, if I have to stay up till a completely ridiculous hour in order to achieve this. I'm bored, and keen to move on to the more creative part of the project.

Seska, what exactly is a literature review? And is this a book-length project? I know you said, or I think you did, but I don't remember now.

Here works great, Seska. I'm trying to concentrate on what I'm working on and not twitch uncontrollably, but it's hard. I want my agent to call me, like NOW. Preferably, with really, really, really good news.

Seska, what exactly is a literature review? And is this a book-length project?

No, this is my M.A. dissertation. It's only 12,000 words (I wish the word limit were longer). I hope to turn it into a paper for publication in a journal, though, so I'm keen to produce decent writing. The lit review is the first main section where I'm discussing prior research that's relevant to the topic. I'm finding it much more challenging than writing up my original research, because I can't find a way to make the writing interesting. There's more to say than I can fit into the word limit for the section, and it's currently reading like a rather dull list with occasional commentary. Well, slightly better than that. But not great.

The book project (on a different subject within my general area of interest) is a much slower process. I'm still at the stage of advertising for research participants. I can see it going on for years. I hope I have the stamina.

Barb, continued good news~ma, then!

No, this is my M.A. dissertation. It's only 12,000 words

Gotcha. Am I thinking of doctoral projects? For those you have to write a book, yes?

I just called my agent and she's calling me back in a few minutes. Ugh.

~Ma, Barb!

Am I thinking of doctoral projects? For those you have to write a book, yes?

A lot of people do, yes. Although academic books are losing currency with universities, over here at least, so people are more likely to turn Ph.D.s into several journal articles now. I think that's a shame, though. I love reading good, book-length non-fiction.

Agent~ma for you too, Amy!

Barb, who doesn't want that? I don't even have an agent and I want that. Of course, I'm not likely to get an agent as a mystery writer who can't plot. Maybe I'll have to do it like improv: "Ok, give me a chronic condition, a deadly instrument, and a room in the house. Go!" Sometimes I wish another passion would well up in me so strongly that I just needed to hang up my keyboard for life. Because it makes me sad that writing could be my life's ambition and I'm still not that great at it. Because there is nothing else. I can't write well cause I haven't had a full life, yet the only way I really know to fix that is for the writing to get better. sigh.

Promising news! It's in an editorial meeting today! Meep.

Of course, it could still get shot down, but hey, someone liked it enough to take to meeting, so I'm counting that as a qualified win.

Yay! Yay! Yay!

(I was so excited I accidentally celebrated in Beep Me. Oops.)