A Recap...

Here's the high level time line of my manuscript: working title "Ace"

• Feb 23, 2010: in my idea notebook I write about a love story involving a regular guy and a world class tennis player... a love that can not be
• May 24, 2010: I land in Paris (business trip), French Open has just started
• May 25, 2010: during breakfast, I notice tennis pros there. Amongst them is Dominika Cubilkova. I say hello. As I eat, I notice a young guy staring at her. An idea is born
• May 28, 2010: on plane (Air France), on my iPad I do a mind map of the high level story. Then the opening scene. Do I want to write a love story? I was working on a mystery novel for two months... do I stop it? Yes!!!
• June 1 - June 8, 2010: I develop my characters, the high level plot and major scenes. I need to test the idea
• June 8 - June 16, 2010: I write every night from 9 PM till midnight. I complete Act I, 15,000 words. I like it.
• June 17, 2010: My wife reads the opening chapter. "I like it... I want to know more." All systems go.
• June 18 - August 5, 2010: I write my first draft. I develop 75,000 words. Stephen King and James Scott Bell tell authors to wait 2-4 weeks and no look at the draft. It is agony. Sheer pain. During those two weeks (I couldn't wait three) new ideas come to me. Clarity over missing scenes.
• Aug 23- Sept 22, 2010: I clean up, enhance, clear up, modify, and finish my 2nd draft
• Sept 23 - Oct 8, 2010: I am being a coward. I read it. I re-read it. Find spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors... I am trying to delay getting the manuscript to my wife... my first reader
• Oct 8, 2010: I give manuscript to my wife... 274 singe sided pages, 1.5 spaced.
• Oct 12, 2010: She tells me, "Don't give up on this one. This is it. It's a great story, great characters, great dialogue, I can see it as a movie. Do what you have to do." 
• Oct 13, 2010: clean up some of the issues she pointed out (great points, that I had missed)
• Oct 14, 2010: "I want to read it again," she says. "I miss the story and the characters." I am one happy and lucky guy

If all goes to plan, by early next week, I will print out five copies and hand it out to my select few.