Engrossed

An odd thing happened today.

I was on the bus, reading my manuscript. Usually, I'm ready to hop off the bus as soon as it stops as I'm eager to get to my day job.

Today, however, the driver got off the bus before me! I was so

engrossed in my own manuscript I didn't realise that I had got to my stop.

How does that happen?

What I'm hoping is, if I, as the author, find the story engrossing, does that mean it is good?

I think it is important that we, as the authors, write a book that we enjoy reading. It has to be a story that we have enjoyed reading.

Actually, I'm not sure 'enjoy' is the correct word. Perhaps I should say that the story should be enthralling even to us who know it inside and out.

I know everything about Tim and Lexi, my protagonists. I know Tim's TV show and what Lexi likes to eat for breakfast. I know every single move they make and yet, I still find their story riveting.

I'm not trying to blow my own trumpet here. I think I'm actually amazed that I wrote something so absorbing. I genuinely didn't think I could do that. I hoped I could, of course.

I'm just starting chapter 2 of the manuscript. Every page has some edits to do and I should be able to put those in place for my beta readers fairly quickly.

I'm actually quite nervous about handing over my manuscript to beta readers. I'm not sure how I'll cope with criticism about my baby.

To be fair, though. The ending of my story was a little rushed as I was so keen to see what happened next. Even with the ending rewrite, there is still an element of rushed, I think. I believe the quality of the story is much better at the start than at the end.

I had better get on with it! Keep reading for more updates!