Here goes

MaMartin Haake, Cruising Around Africand Afrhehrih

Sitting in my little eastern corner of Africa, the final edit of  my novel is coming up. Final? Really? Heard that before? I need to write this so it's set in stone, so people can say to me 'Have you finished yet?' and I can reply with a resounding YES. I've spent the morning reading editing tips and one that comes up time and again is to read the manuscript aloud. Every single word. As Mike Nappa puts it:

' Read it to the walls, to your spouse, to the patrons at Starbucks, to your dog, to the bowl of soggy Cocoa Puffs left over from breakfast. Doesn’t matter who’s in the room, only that you can hear yourself reading it. Start with word one and don’t stop until you read the last word. Yes, it may take you several days, but that’s OK. Keep reading every word out loud until you’re done.'

So. Here goes. I shall shut the door, close the curtains, whatever it takes. And read each word and see how it sounds. Imagine somebody listening. I am giving myself to the end of the 2013 and then if I haven't sent this book out by then I will…I will…well, I'm not sure what I will do. But I give anybody reading this permission to be very, very cross with me ;)