So far, reaction to draft four of The Stuttering Duke of York has been about what I could reasonably hope to receive. The unreasonable part of me wanted everyone to exclaim that this draft was perfect, ready to be sent off for publication. I wanted it to be done, but given the amount of changes I made in the last draft it was foolish to think I could accomplish it flawlessly. My improvements still have rough spots. There is still a bit more polishing that needs to be done.
This need for a bit more improvement should not obscure the great news: Draft four was a big improvement over the previous draft. The novel is nearing completion. It just hasn’t quite got there yet. It is my hope that after one more round of correction the story will have reached the point of grammar and spelling corrections
It is frustrating to not be done with a project. There is always a new project waiting ahead and as the current task drags on the new hangs out there, tantalizing. Even more frustrating is delay. When a draft comes back after its comments there is a part of me that wants to rush out and quick do all the fixes so I can get on. But, as someone observed about correcting this draft, sometimes the best thing to do is leave the writing for awhile and come back fresh. Coming to the writing fresh can be the best thing for seeing the improvements you need to make.
For this reason I won’t be going back to work on The Stuttering Duke of York just yet. I will wait, so I can come back to it fresh. I’m not sure how long I will wait, but it will be at least a few weeks. The delay is disappointing, but writing has never been a speedy occupation.
