Fundraising and Chapter 5

I hate fundraising, which I've had to do in exchange for this 1/2 marathon training program. So last night I co-hosted a happy hour with another runner where for a $10 cover charge (that goes to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society) my pals got to drink for a good cause. And thanks to Jadie and Leslie, who gave me a HUGE check from their fabulous company, InterImage, I've met my goal and don't have to fundraise anymore. Thank you Jadie and Leslie!

So the homework I sent Hannah this week included the first pages of my novel she's ever read. They were from my latest chapter, and a scene where Liza goes out to lunch with a colleague whose intentions are not entirely professional. It was fun to write, especially the dialogue, like a movie playing in my head.

Hannah liked it -- she thinks I'm really cruising now! -- but she said I need to add more character tags, gestures and other things that differentiate the characters, and also add more setting elements such as props, furniture, weather and lighting, again just like in a movie scene. If you can believe this, she suggested I might want to slow the story down a bit to give the reader time to savor it. I could use that advice in real life too!

My homework assignment is to go back and add those things to Chapter 5. And now I realize I'm also gonna have to look at the four previous chapters and do the same with those. So -- one step forward and five big ones back. But it still feels like I'm going forward.