I worked hard on my novel during April and May, taking advantage of the early days of quarantine. I spent most of June on my trip to KY and back, therefore got almost no writing done. My focus and energy were elsewhere, deservedly. But now that I’m back in Socal and the need to stay cloistered away is still present, it’s time to get back to writing and complete the second draft of Lost Hope. I have characters to  flesh out, scene descriptions to improve, dead ends to cut out (I *hate* having to reduce the wordcount, but if a section doesn’t advance the story, it needs to go), and structure to add/improve.

Getting the first draft done was a big achievement. I think the second draft will be a little tougher, as I have to fix all the rookie mistakes I’ve made. But I’m looking forward to producing a draft that I wouldn’t mind showing to others. My newfound friend and veteran author David Putnam  sent some kind words my way via Goodreads that has helped get me re-energized to do the work. Looking ahead at my schedule there’s no reason I can’t have the second draft done by the end of July. Wish me luck.