Progress!

We haven't started decorating for Christmas yet. This is highly unusual at my house where I'm normally chomping at the bit to get the place looking festive. But not this year. For some reason, I'm reluctant to go dig everything out. Maybe it's because it took me so long to finally get settled in after moving and I really don't want to make a mess again. Part of me has toyed with the idea of not decorating at all, but I know that won't happen. I think I'd really miss it.

But hey, it's early yet - only the first of December. Maybe I'll get inspired this weekend.

Another reason I didn't start decorating last night was my novel. I really wanted to get started on the editing process, especially when I had a goal in mind. So last night I sat on the couch with my manuscript in one hand and my spiral notebook in the other. My dog lay sprawled at my feet and the kids were with their dad.

Since this novel is an inspirational, I wanted to chart my "faith element" through the story and make sure that it developed the way I wanted it to. So that's where I began. Chapter by chapter, I went through and wrote down my characters' faith journey. As I worked, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I'd managed to do a halfway decent job the first time around and didn't need to change much.

It's not too time-consuming, either, since I'm just skimming the pages and looking in particular for the faith element. I have a feeling I will do this with the other key elements of the story and other things I want to focus on.

It's the beginning of my editing process and it's all pretty experimental. I'm sure I'll find certain elements that work better than others and I'll shape the process to fit my writing style. I think I've rediscovered the fun of editing again. Breaking it down into manageable portions has helped tremendously.

No big plans for the weekend other than to maybe get a bit of Christmas shopping done and perhaps get the Christmas tree up. On yes - and watch the Huskers.

Have a great weekend!