3 Lessons from The Legend of Mad Gringo

3 Lessons from The Legend of Mad Gringo

I’m almost done. This last part is the painful part for me. It’s like driving your kid to school for the first time and you’re thinking “did I do this? does she know that? what’s going to happen when?” as the blocks roll by. I’m doing that to the manuscript right now. Final touches.

And yes, I called it a manuscript. I’m picking up on the fiction novel lingo.

Here’s 3 quick lessons that I’ve learned in this process.

1. Editors are golden. Having someone on your side that has studied writing, story structure and character development goes a long way toward making you happy with the final product. Like we do with our kids. It’s their life but we get to help mold the story.

2. People have trouble remembering fiction is fiction. The few who have read the book consistently ask, “Is your wife happy with her character?” It’s making me nervous. Sure, since my real wife is the only wife I really know there’s going to be some similarities, but the character in the book isn’t real. I might have to put a disclaimer in there. Like talking to the Kindergarten teacher who says, “Your daughter tells the funniest stories!” Um, they may be based in some reality, but a 5 year old is full of nonsense. She still believes in unicorns.

3. I don’t think I’ll ever be completely happy with it. Every few hours I have a new thought on the one-more-thing that will make the story better. It’s like when she was walking off to the big front doors. Will they like her? Will she make friends? Will she . . . will she. . .?

Well, it’s about time for this book to hit the streets. The last mile can be the longest, but I’m almost there.

Good stuff.