New Beginnings

Despite not having ANY of the required documents to enroll, my children started school here in Georgia, 2,795 miles from where we lived only a week ago. (The required shot records are still processing at the health department, and all of the other identifying documents are in our moving pods... which won't be delivered until our house closes... which was supposed to happen Dec. 30th... which didn't... but which should happen by the end of January.)

School supplies in hand (in grocery bags), the kids took a tour with us parents, looking over the library, the lunchroom (which also serves breakfast), the music room, and their own classrooms. Each child went happily into a new room, with a new smily teacher, a new group of students, a new chance to make friends and do fun things and otherwise not be bored.

The hubby seemed pretty impressed with the kids this morning, and so was I. But I couldn't talk about it as we walked out the door without them. He kept asking me what I was thinking, but each time I opened my mouth my eyes teared up. What if they weren't okay? What if someone was mean to them? What if they were unhappy?

Then again, plenty of kids had been mean at their last school. And I can count a large number of times they came home unhappy, or disappointed, or hurt. But they went back the next morning, as cheery and hopeful as if they'd won the lottery, and school was a big treat.

Today was no exception. Today they had the treat of getting to go to school. So they smiled, hopped up and down, and even did a little happy dance in the hotel on the way to the car.

Amazing how a little optimism can brighten a day, and though I'm still feeling a bit choky, their smiles comforted me as the hours past.

Now if I could just get over my own motherliness... and perhaps approach the day with the same optimism?

Eureka!

I finally mustered up the guts to rewrite the chapter I'd been working on for my novel rewrite. I made the POV first person, and even changed to present tense throughout. Wow, what a difference it made! Suddenly my (character's) voice came through loud and clear. The scene had weight. It had humor (when does that happen?). It flowed beautifully, increased in suspense, and I could feel everything I'd wanted to feel when writing it the first way.

That means I get to start from square (i.e. chapter) one, and do it all. And it's going to be a lot of work. And it's going to take a lot of time. Once I get the whole thing rewritten, it will be like a first draft, necessitating yet another 2-3 revisions minimum. (Yes, I'm a fan of revision.)

But I feel as if my voice is finally coming through. The informality, the playfulness, the anxiety, everything shines through in ways it never has before. I'm so glad I started with this book. Now, when I work on sequels or on my other two completed novels, I'll have a much better feel for my own narrative voice.

It also means I'll be busy. But I'll try to check in. I might even post a first chapter (rewritten) and see what you think. I don't tend to do that too often.

Hope your writing is going as splendidly!