I swear, the only time I'll ever talk 'process' here....

I work like a schizoid self-medicating with...well, it's a bizarre and idiotic method.

First, a weird first line jumps into my head. Then I write about sixty-gazillion (I wish that was a number(!)) drafts, each 'better' than the last. Then, back to the earlier draft pile to copy-pasta some of the old stuff into what works (Thank you, Alan Alda for reminding everyone, everywhere to save all of their drafts...).

Then, I print it out and use pens to write it up, inserting pages from yellow legal pads (A3, not 8.5x14) into the stack, and type it all up again, back and forth until I'm so frustrated I say to hell with it and lock it down into what programmers call a "feature freeze."

Finally, it's typed up.

That last sentence is why this is relevant. It takes weeks(!) to make a set of A3 and 8.5x11 printouts into one, cohesive draft, which I then print once and go 12 rounds in the ring against the thing with a fountain pen and a red .8mm red rollerball. That, that, *that* is what I wrote up and sent off today.

It took a &#@!-load of "It's 0kay!"-ing from my Beta-Testers to get me through that part, which usually takes about 4 hours.

Today, it took two.

Yep. Either I'm getting better at it, or I'm starting to say $*@! it too many times to too many edits.

So, score? Manuscripts needing editing? 0

Manuscripts that, after panic attacks and various methods of calming my a$$ down, are off to the weird world that is the people who read finished products? 3