Timing is key

So I'm having a really really hard time FINDING time before I go back to school to finish everything I want to. I still have books from the library I need to review and return, a manuscript to finish rewriting, and oodles of packing to do by Saturday when I go back to good old BYU.

Midnight Manor Update. I've finished going over my hard copy print outs. It needs some new funny scenes here and there to help balance it out and a bit of rewording here and there and I need to completely redo the ending, but other than that it's going along great. I have my characters established and a good idea of what I want the finished product to feel like. I need to get to know my characters a little better. But that's a project I could easily save for when I'm at school and have an odd free evening or two.

The books I'm using for research now include many mythological books and some philosophical ones, Confucius, Socrates, and Plato hello, and one fun book that I finished yesterday called, "The Desert of Souls," by Howard Andrew Jones. Very excellently crafted book and reminiscent of the the Arabian Nights. (Another book I need to finish.) I loved the story, there was intrigue, forbidden romance, sorcerous powers, and best of all a heavy dose of action/swashbuckling adventure. My favorite kind of book. Another serious with many of the same qualities is the Obsidian Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey. Also highly recommended, but if your of a more sensitive nature you probably should skip the demon parts. Trust me, you don't miss any crucial plot points there, just a lot of sensual and disturbing images you don't want to revisit. But hey, they're demons, what did you expect?

One thing that struck me about the "Desert" book was the simplicity of the language and the setting descriptions. It made me think that maybe I have TOO MUCH in Midnight Manor as far as words go. That's actually on my to do list once I am positive I have all the scenes. I'm going to go through and cut things back to the bare essentials and then build the book back up again into a mostly perfect form. That's the idea anyway. I also liked that the book was written in first person like my book so that inspiration will be very helpful. I'm been struggling with first person because my natural point of view is third person. But Midnight Manor really would work best in first so what can you do?

These have been the further ramblings of a first time novelist.