This week is the last time our critique group is meeting before nano. As a rule we don't keep up with the critiques during nano because there's really not enough time for all of us to complete our nano goals and try to keep up with critique group.
I have mixed feelings about this. While I have a bit of a break -- not having to worry about getting the critiques done, or even what I'm going to submit -- at the same time, those critique groups helped my writing more than anything I've ever done. I've learned about my own writing more from hearing what other people have to say about it than while writing any of the multiple novels that I've managed to complete the first draft of.
That being said, sometimes I feel like I'm a little stuck. I'm going through a routine of writing in November (or during camp nano) submitting to critique group, and possibly getting to a second draft, but I never seem to get any further than that.
I want, more than anything, to be a published author. I want my name to be printed on the cover of a book. I want to be able to walk in to Chapters and find my books alongside my favourite authors. I want a complete stranger to read my books because someone recommended it to them.
So how can I do that when I can't even get to a third draft?
In order to get published, I have to submit my manuscript to someone. As I want an agent, it would be to the agents I would love to have as my own. Before I can submit, I have to actually like my manuscript. Which is probably only going to happen after I get feedback from my betas. In order to get feedback, I have to send out my manuscript to my betas. And to send it out, I really have to get it to the third draft.
Of course, I had a goal. I wanted to finish my third draft of Pandora by the end of this month. I managed to finish the second draft at the very beginning of the month, and I thought that I might actually get done this third draft in order to send it out.
I haven't. I'm not even done going through it to see what changes I still need to make. I'm about halfway through reading it and I don't foresee myself actually making it through the entire manuscript before November gets underway. I'm not even entirely sure I'm going to be able to finish the list of changes before then.
It's a disappointment. I want to have it ready for submissions by January, but it is what it is. I can accept that I didn't get as much done as I wanted. I think I took on too much this month anyway, so I'll get by.
What I won't be able to forgive myself for is if I don't get this manuscript done and sent in to an agent. This is probably the best book I've written to date, and I just can't wait to see what other people think of it.
My critique group is filled with amazing writers that have given me great insight in to my work. And if I never go any further with it, what am I saying about them? About the time they've invested in to my novel? I can't do that to them any more than I could do that to myself.
So while I may not finish my editing quite as quickly as I had hoped, I'm going to finish the third draft, I'm going to get it out to betas, and I'm going to find an agent for it. No matter how long it takes.
Are you a part of a critique group? Have they helped you as much as mine has?
Showing posts with label querying. Show all posts
Showing posts with label querying. Show all posts
Monday, October 22, 2012
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Is It July Already?
During nano I always find that time moves rather strangely for me.
First the month starts slowly. The first and second seem to have all the time in the world as I race ahead of the game, eager to shape the chart that I want to see at the end of the month. I'm always surprised at how slow the month is going, because if the entire month goes by that slow, then I'll never have to worry about finishing my story.
In the middle of the month, just like the rest of the nano people, I lose my momentum, and the hours drag. I see the time there, and I just know that if I could actually write something that didn't sound like it was coming out of the mouth of a two year old, I could get so much done. Instead I just sit there, forcing out the worst words I'm sure I've ever written, and hope for it to be over.
The end of the month goes by so quickly that I'm never quite sure what happened. In November this resulted in me having a crisis. I had ten days left, and one more novel to write. Despite the fact that I had done that very thing twice in the month already, I freaked out and decided that it was too much. I couldn't do it. Then I type furiously and hit my goal before that final buzzer sounds (or the time flips over to midnight of the first) and I get to relax.
One the first of the month, it always hits me. Nano is over, and I now have so many more words. I'm always a little amazed to see that stack of papers that prove I wrote a novel (or three) in a month.
In the first Camp Nano, I barely hit the 50k mark. Even though that was really all I was aiming for, I was a little disappointed with myself. I know I can do so much more, and I had to write furiously to even hit that goal. Rather than feeling like I normally do with nano, I instead felt like I could have done better, and headed into another round instantly, determined to not lose sight of my goal.
In August I did even worse. I believe I topped out at 17k, then gave up (both on the story and on the month of Camp Nano.) Time slipped by slowly, taunting me with my inability to finish the novel, and I eventually decided that maybe Camp Nano just wasn't for me. Maybe I just worked better in November, and why was I even trying to write in the summer. I never intended to join Camp this year. I was going to spend the time editing and querying, then plan for November.
It was a friend of mine that changed my mind. She's pregnant and going to have three little ones at home this November, so she decided to do the camps instead of Nano, because she just won't have time. Originally I still said no, but then I changed my mind (I've never been one to turn down a challenge.) So I launched into June determined to write 75k and finish the novel I started in April and never finished.
Much to my surprise, I felt June starting to move into the same routine November does. With the quick beginning, struggling middle and panicky end. I didn't write furiously for the last week, though. Technical issues aided me in deciding that I'd written enough and I was far too busy over the last week to attempt another 50k.
However, today I can't help but sit here and think about the fact that I wrote 125k last month. I had been afraid I wouldn't finish the 50k, and then I went and wrote another 75 on top of it. I started a novel I hadn't even known was going to exist, and I can't wait to finish it in August. Camp Nano took me by surprise this year. I certainly didn't write as much as I normally do in November, but considering how much I struggled last year, my final word count impressed me.
Today is the day to stop and take a breath. Look around and realize that we only have a month to get our lives back in order before another round of Camp Nano starts. In only 30 days it will be time to dive into new worlds, introduce ourselves to new characters, and prove to the world, once again, that we are writers!
First the month starts slowly. The first and second seem to have all the time in the world as I race ahead of the game, eager to shape the chart that I want to see at the end of the month. I'm always surprised at how slow the month is going, because if the entire month goes by that slow, then I'll never have to worry about finishing my story.
In the middle of the month, just like the rest of the nano people, I lose my momentum, and the hours drag. I see the time there, and I just know that if I could actually write something that didn't sound like it was coming out of the mouth of a two year old, I could get so much done. Instead I just sit there, forcing out the worst words I'm sure I've ever written, and hope for it to be over.
The end of the month goes by so quickly that I'm never quite sure what happened. In November this resulted in me having a crisis. I had ten days left, and one more novel to write. Despite the fact that I had done that very thing twice in the month already, I freaked out and decided that it was too much. I couldn't do it. Then I type furiously and hit my goal before that final buzzer sounds (or the time flips over to midnight of the first) and I get to relax.
One the first of the month, it always hits me. Nano is over, and I now have so many more words. I'm always a little amazed to see that stack of papers that prove I wrote a novel (or three) in a month.
In the first Camp Nano, I barely hit the 50k mark. Even though that was really all I was aiming for, I was a little disappointed with myself. I know I can do so much more, and I had to write furiously to even hit that goal. Rather than feeling like I normally do with nano, I instead felt like I could have done better, and headed into another round instantly, determined to not lose sight of my goal.
In August I did even worse. I believe I topped out at 17k, then gave up (both on the story and on the month of Camp Nano.) Time slipped by slowly, taunting me with my inability to finish the novel, and I eventually decided that maybe Camp Nano just wasn't for me. Maybe I just worked better in November, and why was I even trying to write in the summer. I never intended to join Camp this year. I was going to spend the time editing and querying, then plan for November.
It was a friend of mine that changed my mind. She's pregnant and going to have three little ones at home this November, so she decided to do the camps instead of Nano, because she just won't have time. Originally I still said no, but then I changed my mind (I've never been one to turn down a challenge.) So I launched into June determined to write 75k and finish the novel I started in April and never finished.
Much to my surprise, I felt June starting to move into the same routine November does. With the quick beginning, struggling middle and panicky end. I didn't write furiously for the last week, though. Technical issues aided me in deciding that I'd written enough and I was far too busy over the last week to attempt another 50k.
However, today I can't help but sit here and think about the fact that I wrote 125k last month. I had been afraid I wouldn't finish the 50k, and then I went and wrote another 75 on top of it. I started a novel I hadn't even known was going to exist, and I can't wait to finish it in August. Camp Nano took me by surprise this year. I certainly didn't write as much as I normally do in November, but considering how much I struggled last year, my final word count impressed me.
Today is the day to stop and take a breath. Look around and realize that we only have a month to get our lives back in order before another round of Camp Nano starts. In only 30 days it will be time to dive into new worlds, introduce ourselves to new characters, and prove to the world, once again, that we are writers!
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Off To Camp We Go
First I would like to apologize. I didn't manage to get a single blog post up last week. I'm supposed to do two a week and failed utterly. I'm going to blame it on my lack of computer the week before and therefore the overwhelming need to get caught up on my planning goals. I needed to have a plot done by end of day Thursday, and I just barely managed it (finishing it at 11:52)
Anyway, onto the real point of this post. Camp Nano.
In November every year (since I started in 2010) I do something called NaNoWriMo. For any of you that don't know, nano was started by a non-profit organization by the name of OLL (Office of Letters and Light). Their main goal is to encourage amateur writers to get those books done. The entire idea behind it (and I'm paraphrasing here) is: You can edit crap, you can't edit nothing. Yes, I use that phrase all the time, no I didn't actually hear it from the website.
Basically it just means, you need to get that first draft written no matter what. Don't make excuses, don't put it off, get it done. Because until you have that rough draft in your hand, you're never going to become the writer you want to be. It's basically the first step.
Nano has done great things for me. In 2010 I started off thinking there was no way I was going to reach the goal (which, in case you were wondering, is 50k words in a month) and ended up with three times the amount I needed. It was crazy. I discovered so much about myself that month. That I'm actually quite competitive (I spent the entire month staring at a chart swearing that I was going to surpass that first place person). That there are, in fact, other people out there like me (before that point it had been a while since I had met anyone who truly understood me). And, of course, the most important thing of all, that I am a writer.
Why am I telling you all of this? Well, last year OLL came out with another program (NaNoWriMo isn't the only program they have. Next year I'm going to try Script Frenzy with some friends as well. I'm pretty excited.)
They called it Camp NaNoWriMo. Basically it's just Nano, but in the summer. You have the same goal as in November, 50k words in a month, but the format is slightly different. First, all of the pep talks that arrive in your mailbox is camp themed, as is the site itself. Second, rather than forums and grouping us into our districts, we're assigned cabin mates. Five other people who are going through the exact same things as you, just trying to survive the month.
Last year, unfortunately, we weren't given a whole lot of notice. It was about a week before July first that they said 'Hey, by the way, we'll be doing camp this year.' and nanoers, as a collective, kind of gaped at them like they were trying to tell a joke that simply wasn't funny.
They weren't joking, however, and I was talked into the endeavour by a fellow nanoer.
July I managed to hit my goal (just barely. I wrote about 25k of it in the last weekend. It was crazy). August, I didn't even come close, barely scratching 17k before giving up. Even the novel I was working on ended up getting scrapped with a barely there plot (they pulled a Lord of the Rings and walked a lot) and characters whose motivations were murky (not to mention the twins who kept switching ages on me...) With that short of notice, the MLs didn't even have time to consider setting up additional write ins.
It was a tough two months. On one hand I was glad that OLL decided to set up nano in other months as well (really, once a year just isn't enough) on the other with how badly I did, I almost felt like I shouldn't have even bothered.
This year, of course, we had much more notice (not to mention the fact that the two sessions of Camp are a month apart, running June and August this year). I wasn't originally planning on doing either session, but a friend of mine won't be able to join us in August, and I wanted to nano with her. So I wrote up a plot (okay, I started the novel in April and didn't have time to finish it, so that's what I'm working on.)
The title of this book is Pandora. It's about a female assassin who happens to be a werewolf. I've never written a character like her before, and I'm finding her to be so much fun. I love the things she says, and the replies she gets from the people in her life.
So far, at three days in, I'm sitting at 27337 words (54774 words for the novel, as I had already started it) and I'm not even close to regretting the decision to participate. And doing this session certainly doesn't mean that I'm not going to do the other ones. By the end of 2012 I fully intend to have one novel out to agents, and five novels written.
I only hope that I'll actually get to sleep in December.
Happy camping to all my fellow nanoers! I hope your muse smiles on you fondly this month. May your word counts soar, and your plot remain strong. Good luck!
Anyway, onto the real point of this post. Camp Nano.
In November every year (since I started in 2010) I do something called NaNoWriMo. For any of you that don't know, nano was started by a non-profit organization by the name of OLL (Office of Letters and Light). Their main goal is to encourage amateur writers to get those books done. The entire idea behind it (and I'm paraphrasing here) is: You can edit crap, you can't edit nothing. Yes, I use that phrase all the time, no I didn't actually hear it from the website.
Basically it just means, you need to get that first draft written no matter what. Don't make excuses, don't put it off, get it done. Because until you have that rough draft in your hand, you're never going to become the writer you want to be. It's basically the first step.
Nano has done great things for me. In 2010 I started off thinking there was no way I was going to reach the goal (which, in case you were wondering, is 50k words in a month) and ended up with three times the amount I needed. It was crazy. I discovered so much about myself that month. That I'm actually quite competitive (I spent the entire month staring at a chart swearing that I was going to surpass that first place person). That there are, in fact, other people out there like me (before that point it had been a while since I had met anyone who truly understood me). And, of course, the most important thing of all, that I am a writer.
Why am I telling you all of this? Well, last year OLL came out with another program (NaNoWriMo isn't the only program they have. Next year I'm going to try Script Frenzy with some friends as well. I'm pretty excited.)
They called it Camp NaNoWriMo. Basically it's just Nano, but in the summer. You have the same goal as in November, 50k words in a month, but the format is slightly different. First, all of the pep talks that arrive in your mailbox is camp themed, as is the site itself. Second, rather than forums and grouping us into our districts, we're assigned cabin mates. Five other people who are going through the exact same things as you, just trying to survive the month.
Last year, unfortunately, we weren't given a whole lot of notice. It was about a week before July first that they said 'Hey, by the way, we'll be doing camp this year.' and nanoers, as a collective, kind of gaped at them like they were trying to tell a joke that simply wasn't funny.
They weren't joking, however, and I was talked into the endeavour by a fellow nanoer.
July I managed to hit my goal (just barely. I wrote about 25k of it in the last weekend. It was crazy). August, I didn't even come close, barely scratching 17k before giving up. Even the novel I was working on ended up getting scrapped with a barely there plot (they pulled a Lord of the Rings and walked a lot) and characters whose motivations were murky (not to mention the twins who kept switching ages on me...) With that short of notice, the MLs didn't even have time to consider setting up additional write ins.
It was a tough two months. On one hand I was glad that OLL decided to set up nano in other months as well (really, once a year just isn't enough) on the other with how badly I did, I almost felt like I shouldn't have even bothered.
This year, of course, we had much more notice (not to mention the fact that the two sessions of Camp are a month apart, running June and August this year). I wasn't originally planning on doing either session, but a friend of mine won't be able to join us in August, and I wanted to nano with her. So I wrote up a plot (okay, I started the novel in April and didn't have time to finish it, so that's what I'm working on.)
The title of this book is Pandora. It's about a female assassin who happens to be a werewolf. I've never written a character like her before, and I'm finding her to be so much fun. I love the things she says, and the replies she gets from the people in her life.
So far, at three days in, I'm sitting at 27337 words (54774 words for the novel, as I had already started it) and I'm not even close to regretting the decision to participate. And doing this session certainly doesn't mean that I'm not going to do the other ones. By the end of 2012 I fully intend to have one novel out to agents, and five novels written.
I only hope that I'll actually get to sleep in December.
Happy camping to all my fellow nanoers! I hope your muse smiles on you fondly this month. May your word counts soar, and your plot remain strong. Good luck!
Friday, May 18, 2012
And They're Off!
On Tuesday I finished my editing.
That sounds like such an awesome statement, doesn't it? Just uttering those words gives me a satisfaction that there are literally no words to describe. Let me say it again. I finished my editing.
Now that I've heaved that huge sigh of relief, it's time to face reality.
As of Tuesday I was officially done my third draft. That doesn't mean that the book is perfect, of course. Far from it. In fact, I noticed a few things after finishing that will need to be fixed. It bugged me for about a minute and a half before I remembered that this is far from the last draft of this novel that I will be writing. I know that, once I get feedback from the beta readers, I'm planning on doing at least one more draft before even considering sending it out to agents. And that might even end up turning into two, depending on the feedback I get.
Normally this thought might depress me. I mean, I just finished editing, and already I'm thinking about what else I'm going to have to fix. This time, though, that depression isn't showing up. And I think I know why.
I've always struggled getting through this draft. (In fact, I've never managed to get through a book in the editing stages the first time. I always find way too much wrong with it, so I end up shelving it and never coming back.) While some writers struggle getting that first draft out, I don't seem to have that problem. It's reading it over and seeing all the mistakes I've made that I start to feel like I'm in over my head.
Finally I've manged to get all the way through my editing. I've even sent it to Beta Readers! Even though I know it's not perfect, and certainly not ready to be sent out to agents, I know that I put a lot of effort into making that novel as good as it could be before I needed another set of eyes to pick out the weaknesses. (Yes, I do still have some minor line edits that also need to be worked on, but I'll fix those as much as I can as I go through it next time. Despite the nickname, I'm only human. Therefore I do make mistakes.)
I'm excited, though. Beta readers means that I'm one step closer to the goal of being published. It means that I felt confident enough in my work to give it to friends and cross my fingers that I won't get it back with four notes telling me that maybe this isn't the book that will get published.
Now, more than ever, I'm confident that I'm going to become a published author. This dream will come true. I just have to persevere! And put in the work. One day I will see The Commons on the shelves at Chapters, and I can't wait.
That sounds like such an awesome statement, doesn't it? Just uttering those words gives me a satisfaction that there are literally no words to describe. Let me say it again. I finished my editing.
Now that I've heaved that huge sigh of relief, it's time to face reality.
As of Tuesday I was officially done my third draft. That doesn't mean that the book is perfect, of course. Far from it. In fact, I noticed a few things after finishing that will need to be fixed. It bugged me for about a minute and a half before I remembered that this is far from the last draft of this novel that I will be writing. I know that, once I get feedback from the beta readers, I'm planning on doing at least one more draft before even considering sending it out to agents. And that might even end up turning into two, depending on the feedback I get.
Normally this thought might depress me. I mean, I just finished editing, and already I'm thinking about what else I'm going to have to fix. This time, though, that depression isn't showing up. And I think I know why.
I've always struggled getting through this draft. (In fact, I've never managed to get through a book in the editing stages the first time. I always find way too much wrong with it, so I end up shelving it and never coming back.) While some writers struggle getting that first draft out, I don't seem to have that problem. It's reading it over and seeing all the mistakes I've made that I start to feel like I'm in over my head.
Finally I've manged to get all the way through my editing. I've even sent it to Beta Readers! Even though I know it's not perfect, and certainly not ready to be sent out to agents, I know that I put a lot of effort into making that novel as good as it could be before I needed another set of eyes to pick out the weaknesses. (Yes, I do still have some minor line edits that also need to be worked on, but I'll fix those as much as I can as I go through it next time. Despite the nickname, I'm only human. Therefore I do make mistakes.)
I'm excited, though. Beta readers means that I'm one step closer to the goal of being published. It means that I felt confident enough in my work to give it to friends and cross my fingers that I won't get it back with four notes telling me that maybe this isn't the book that will get published.
Now, more than ever, I'm confident that I'm going to become a published author. This dream will come true. I just have to persevere! And put in the work. One day I will see The Commons on the shelves at Chapters, and I can't wait.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Teaming Up
My multiple projects have been the subject of a couple of my posts now, and it seems that this one is going to be no different. Probably because I'm starting to feel a little overwhelmed by how much work I've managed to create for myself. The fact that I actually want to add more projects to that list is really not the point. The point is that despite how much I have on the go, I have yet to get anything completed.
I'm not the only one with this problem. A friend of mine on twitter recently commented on a post a made. It was a random one about having to finish my critiques before going away for the weekend. She asked if I could look over some of her work, and I happily agreed (because I'm not nearly busy enough, I need to add a couple of more things to my schedule). She told me that she wasn't close enough to being finished right at that moment, but she would be eventually.
The conversation went on in that direction for a while until she said something about another twitter friend telling her she needed to actually finish a project. Pick one thing and actually focus on it. It was so close to my own situation where I just keep project hopping, and never really settling in to get one done, that I couldn't help but tell her I had the same problem.
Of course, us being the writers we are, this realization that we had the same problem when it came to our writing quickly escalated into us have Wonder Twin-Multitaskers Powers. Don't ask, it was late.
Anyway, while this may seem like nothing more than a random conversation, it was a lot more than that because of what came out of it: accountability.
I don't exactly have a great track record when it comes to being accountable to myself. I tend to let myself off the hook more often than not, and that leads to things like entire weekends being spent getting caught up on TV shows as opposed to writing the book I was already 40,000 words behind on (no...that book is still not finished. I no longer have and ETA on that, but I'm hoping eventually, as I have some serious plans for that series.)
Anyway, the point is, it was obviously not working. Finishing a project isn't the same as doing something like nano. There I have a chart I have to update daily, I have a word count goal that pretty much everyone in the city whose doing nano knows about. I have other people working toward that same goal (Yeah, okay, maybe not exactly the same...theirs might be just a bit lower than mine...) that I can compete with to keep myself going. Right now, though? Right now I have nothing to keep that motivation. And if I'm slacking on keeping myself accountable, nothing is ever going to get done.
That's where Moni comes in. Since she's been having the same problems as me, we've decided to team up. Create a system where we will be accountable to each other, and with any luck that will be what we need to get our projects moving forward again.
Of course, we haven't started yet. With travelling over the weekend and critique group, not to mention the fact that we're in different time zones, we've decided to try and get started on Tuesday. I'm hopeful that this will work. There's nothing more encouraging than knowing there's another writer out there working on their projects at the same time as you and struggling just as much with the same issues.
Come Tuesday we'll see if we can actually get our projects done. (I will be working on The Commons and getting it ready to be sent out, even though Pandora isn't done being written yet. I would love to spend all of my time in Jayne's world, but it's really not fair to characters and plots I've already started. Only once The Commons is out to beta readers will I allow myself to be pulled back into Pandora. Sorry Jayne.)
I will, however, be doing Camp Nano in June this year. I don't know yet if I will just be writing the end of Pandora or if I will be writing something new. I need to see how quickly I can get through my editing. Either way, though, I'm glad that I found another writer than can hopefully help me through the multitasking cycle of starting a new project without finishing the last.
I'm not the only one with this problem. A friend of mine on twitter recently commented on a post a made. It was a random one about having to finish my critiques before going away for the weekend. She asked if I could look over some of her work, and I happily agreed (because I'm not nearly busy enough, I need to add a couple of more things to my schedule). She told me that she wasn't close enough to being finished right at that moment, but she would be eventually.
The conversation went on in that direction for a while until she said something about another twitter friend telling her she needed to actually finish a project. Pick one thing and actually focus on it. It was so close to my own situation where I just keep project hopping, and never really settling in to get one done, that I couldn't help but tell her I had the same problem.
Of course, us being the writers we are, this realization that we had the same problem when it came to our writing quickly escalated into us have Wonder Twin-Multitaskers Powers. Don't ask, it was late.
Anyway, while this may seem like nothing more than a random conversation, it was a lot more than that because of what came out of it: accountability.
I don't exactly have a great track record when it comes to being accountable to myself. I tend to let myself off the hook more often than not, and that leads to things like entire weekends being spent getting caught up on TV shows as opposed to writing the book I was already 40,000 words behind on (no...that book is still not finished. I no longer have and ETA on that, but I'm hoping eventually, as I have some serious plans for that series.)
Anyway, the point is, it was obviously not working. Finishing a project isn't the same as doing something like nano. There I have a chart I have to update daily, I have a word count goal that pretty much everyone in the city whose doing nano knows about. I have other people working toward that same goal (Yeah, okay, maybe not exactly the same...theirs might be just a bit lower than mine...) that I can compete with to keep myself going. Right now, though? Right now I have nothing to keep that motivation. And if I'm slacking on keeping myself accountable, nothing is ever going to get done.
That's where Moni comes in. Since she's been having the same problems as me, we've decided to team up. Create a system where we will be accountable to each other, and with any luck that will be what we need to get our projects moving forward again.
Of course, we haven't started yet. With travelling over the weekend and critique group, not to mention the fact that we're in different time zones, we've decided to try and get started on Tuesday. I'm hopeful that this will work. There's nothing more encouraging than knowing there's another writer out there working on their projects at the same time as you and struggling just as much with the same issues.
Come Tuesday we'll see if we can actually get our projects done. (I will be working on The Commons and getting it ready to be sent out, even though Pandora isn't done being written yet. I would love to spend all of my time in Jayne's world, but it's really not fair to characters and plots I've already started. Only once The Commons is out to beta readers will I allow myself to be pulled back into Pandora. Sorry Jayne.)
I will, however, be doing Camp Nano in June this year. I don't know yet if I will just be writing the end of Pandora or if I will be writing something new. I need to see how quickly I can get through my editing. Either way, though, I'm glad that I found another writer than can hopefully help me through the multitasking cycle of starting a new project without finishing the last.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Ick
I had a blog post all planned out for today. I was actually looking forward to writing it, but something happened that completely changed what I wanted to talk about.
Most of you probably don't know this, but I don't get sick very often, and even when I do I actually find it hard to make myself call in sick to work. It's dumb, but I feel bad when I don't go into work, because all I can think about are the people at work being busy and I'm just laying in bed. It's horrible. Anyway, the point of the matter is, I'm sick.
Let me tell you about me trying to plan a novel while I'm sick.
I talk to my characters in order to figure out what's going on in the books I"m writing. Yes, I know, this makes me sound crazy. Nevertheless, this is the way I do things. Normally 'talking' to them consists of them showing me scenes or pictures that I interpret. Very rarely they actually speak. When I'm sick, though, that connection is a little like trying to watch television back in the rabbit ears days. If that's not bad enough, it's also when it was snowing outside, so the reception is terrible. The sound is gone, and even the pictures are fuzzy.
It's frustrating to say the least, and I'm pretty sure that even my characters are starting to feel it at this point. My poor Jayne Pheare is in complete distress, because I've been promising her that I would be seriously planning her story starting this week, but nothing that she's trying to tell me is actually getting through. (Though I did finally figure out her assassin name last night, thanks to Eric.)
Needless to say, it makes planning a novel rather impossible. I can sit with that notebook open in front of me for hours, and have Jayne yelling at the top of her lungs in the back of my head, and I still can't figure anything out.
This, of course, leaves me with a bit of a problem. As I said in my last post, my goal for having the first draft of Pandora written is the end of March. That means it needs to be ready to deliver into the hands of my critique group (at least the first chapter) by the second day of April.
How am I supposed to do that when I can't even plan right now? Planning takes much longer for me than the actual writing does, so right about now I'm actually beginning to freak out. Being sick was not in the plan! In fact, now is pretty much the worst time for me to be sick. I need this stupid cold to go away so that I can get back to the important things. Like writing down everything my character's trying to tell me about her story.
I suppose the best I can do it try and get better as fast as I possibly can so that I can have as much time as possible to get the planning done. I just hope that this one ill timed sickness doesn't completely set me back, because I plan to have The Commons in the hands of beta readers by the end of April, and querying it no later than the beginning of June.
Good luck to me.
Most of you probably don't know this, but I don't get sick very often, and even when I do I actually find it hard to make myself call in sick to work. It's dumb, but I feel bad when I don't go into work, because all I can think about are the people at work being busy and I'm just laying in bed. It's horrible. Anyway, the point of the matter is, I'm sick.
Let me tell you about me trying to plan a novel while I'm sick.
I talk to my characters in order to figure out what's going on in the books I"m writing. Yes, I know, this makes me sound crazy. Nevertheless, this is the way I do things. Normally 'talking' to them consists of them showing me scenes or pictures that I interpret. Very rarely they actually speak. When I'm sick, though, that connection is a little like trying to watch television back in the rabbit ears days. If that's not bad enough, it's also when it was snowing outside, so the reception is terrible. The sound is gone, and even the pictures are fuzzy.
It's frustrating to say the least, and I'm pretty sure that even my characters are starting to feel it at this point. My poor Jayne Pheare is in complete distress, because I've been promising her that I would be seriously planning her story starting this week, but nothing that she's trying to tell me is actually getting through. (Though I did finally figure out her assassin name last night, thanks to Eric.)
Needless to say, it makes planning a novel rather impossible. I can sit with that notebook open in front of me for hours, and have Jayne yelling at the top of her lungs in the back of my head, and I still can't figure anything out.
This, of course, leaves me with a bit of a problem. As I said in my last post, my goal for having the first draft of Pandora written is the end of March. That means it needs to be ready to deliver into the hands of my critique group (at least the first chapter) by the second day of April.
How am I supposed to do that when I can't even plan right now? Planning takes much longer for me than the actual writing does, so right about now I'm actually beginning to freak out. Being sick was not in the plan! In fact, now is pretty much the worst time for me to be sick. I need this stupid cold to go away so that I can get back to the important things. Like writing down everything my character's trying to tell me about her story.
I suppose the best I can do it try and get better as fast as I possibly can so that I can have as much time as possible to get the planning done. I just hope that this one ill timed sickness doesn't completely set me back, because I plan to have The Commons in the hands of beta readers by the end of April, and querying it no later than the beginning of June.
Good luck to me.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Time To Prioritize
I have never been someone that can have just one project going at a time. I get bored with it and start wondering off to do other things, such as reading or catching up on tv shows. (The fact that I do these things even when I have multiple projects on the go is completely besides the point...)
Anyway, I currently have about 6 projects on the go, each at a different stage of the writing/editing process. I have my Dangerous Waters, a fantasy novel that I wrote last year and didn't look at for a few months until we started critique group. I've also written the second novel, Changing Tides but as I haven't finished the edits on the first one, you can bet that I haven't even so much as glanced at the second one. Considering how many chapters I'm having to rewrite, or just add altogether, I'm actually a little afraid to find out how bad the second one is.
I have The Commons, a YA dystopian that is set in a world where more than three quarters of the population was wiped out in the fourth world war. The remaining people have separated into two societies. The Commons and The Techs. This novel is the one that I finished and thought 'I'm going to get this published.' I have absolute confidence in it and can't wait to test the waters and see what agents and publishers think of it. I currently have it going through critique group.
Wolf's Blood is an urban fantasy that I started writing with a friend some time last year. Unfortunately, we're both quite busy, so we've only managed to write a whole 5 chapters, but as we're still talking to each other I'm counting it as a success.
Since November I've had this idea for a book bouncing around in my head. It's about a werewolf assassin, and her name is Jayne Pheare (That's her real name, don't know her assassin name yet.) The book itself is, unfortunately, untitled. I have lots of work to do on it, as I'm still in the planning stages for this novel (including working out a brand new city for it with the help of my dear friend Eric) I'm very excited for this novel, but I just haven't had time to sit down and really connect with Jayne. (I have to say, she's being very patient. She only got annoyed that one time when I pulled out a brand new character and started paying attention to her...)
I also have two more collaborations in the works, but both are untitled and in the planning stages with only the bare bones placed, and not even nailed down yet.
This past week, though, I've had some time to think about these projects, and the priority I've been giving each. (This 'time' has been while at work, or travelling back and forth between different social engagements...not actual time that I had to sit down and plan or edit. Trust me, that's what I would have been doing if it was.)
Much as I love Dangerous Waters, lately I've been finding it harder and harder to concentrate on it. In fact, on more than one occasion, I've actually considered shelving it indefinitely. That there was just too much work that needed to be done on it to conceivably finish the series, and it's time to move onto greener pastures. I don't actually want to do that, though. I love the series, and I do think that it has some serious potential. But I've been so frustrated with it, I can no longer see the potential, all I see is a pile of crap that needs be thrown out.
In order to keep myself from doing that very thing, I decided that it's time to re-prioritize my writing projects. Instead of throwing two full manuscripts in the trash and walking away, I've decided that they should be shelved only for a little while. This will (hopefully) give me enough of a break from the project to clear my head and allow me to see what needs to be done without wanting to bang my head on a desk. Repeatedly.
Unfortunately, this leaves me with nothing to be working on so I can send out some queries, come May. In order to fill that, I've decided to pull The Commons from the critique group. This book is one that I'm actually quite excited about. I can see it on the shelves for sale, and I want it to get it out there. I'm hopeful that this is the right move, and I can't wait to finish editing the rest of the novel so I can start working on those queries.
That, of course, leaves me with an opening on what I'm sending into critique group. So I've decided that for the next month or so I'm going to have a strong focus on my Jayne Pheare book. (I can get a first draft written in about 10 days, but I have to have it completely plotted out, which takes quite a bit of work.)
As for my collaborations, those will stay the same. I can't just sit down and work on them all day, so I will do what I can when I can, as I have been doing thus far. I just hope that my next chapter for Wolf's Blood doesn't take me 4 months again...
Now I just need to get my critiques done so I can get on top of this planning. The goal is to have Jayne Pheare written in full by the end of march so I can get started on some serious edits for The Commons. Let's hope this works, because this is the Epic Year of Querying, and I need to start getting some work out to agents and publishers!
Anyway, I currently have about 6 projects on the go, each at a different stage of the writing/editing process. I have my Dangerous Waters, a fantasy novel that I wrote last year and didn't look at for a few months until we started critique group. I've also written the second novel, Changing Tides but as I haven't finished the edits on the first one, you can bet that I haven't even so much as glanced at the second one. Considering how many chapters I'm having to rewrite, or just add altogether, I'm actually a little afraid to find out how bad the second one is.
I have The Commons, a YA dystopian that is set in a world where more than three quarters of the population was wiped out in the fourth world war. The remaining people have separated into two societies. The Commons and The Techs. This novel is the one that I finished and thought 'I'm going to get this published.' I have absolute confidence in it and can't wait to test the waters and see what agents and publishers think of it. I currently have it going through critique group.
Wolf's Blood is an urban fantasy that I started writing with a friend some time last year. Unfortunately, we're both quite busy, so we've only managed to write a whole 5 chapters, but as we're still talking to each other I'm counting it as a success.
Since November I've had this idea for a book bouncing around in my head. It's about a werewolf assassin, and her name is Jayne Pheare (That's her real name, don't know her assassin name yet.) The book itself is, unfortunately, untitled. I have lots of work to do on it, as I'm still in the planning stages for this novel (including working out a brand new city for it with the help of my dear friend Eric) I'm very excited for this novel, but I just haven't had time to sit down and really connect with Jayne. (I have to say, she's being very patient. She only got annoyed that one time when I pulled out a brand new character and started paying attention to her...)
I also have two more collaborations in the works, but both are untitled and in the planning stages with only the bare bones placed, and not even nailed down yet.
This past week, though, I've had some time to think about these projects, and the priority I've been giving each. (This 'time' has been while at work, or travelling back and forth between different social engagements...not actual time that I had to sit down and plan or edit. Trust me, that's what I would have been doing if it was.)
Much as I love Dangerous Waters, lately I've been finding it harder and harder to concentrate on it. In fact, on more than one occasion, I've actually considered shelving it indefinitely. That there was just too much work that needed to be done on it to conceivably finish the series, and it's time to move onto greener pastures. I don't actually want to do that, though. I love the series, and I do think that it has some serious potential. But I've been so frustrated with it, I can no longer see the potential, all I see is a pile of crap that needs be thrown out.
In order to keep myself from doing that very thing, I decided that it's time to re-prioritize my writing projects. Instead of throwing two full manuscripts in the trash and walking away, I've decided that they should be shelved only for a little while. This will (hopefully) give me enough of a break from the project to clear my head and allow me to see what needs to be done without wanting to bang my head on a desk. Repeatedly.
Unfortunately, this leaves me with nothing to be working on so I can send out some queries, come May. In order to fill that, I've decided to pull The Commons from the critique group. This book is one that I'm actually quite excited about. I can see it on the shelves for sale, and I want it to get it out there. I'm hopeful that this is the right move, and I can't wait to finish editing the rest of the novel so I can start working on those queries.
That, of course, leaves me with an opening on what I'm sending into critique group. So I've decided that for the next month or so I'm going to have a strong focus on my Jayne Pheare book. (I can get a first draft written in about 10 days, but I have to have it completely plotted out, which takes quite a bit of work.)
As for my collaborations, those will stay the same. I can't just sit down and work on them all day, so I will do what I can when I can, as I have been doing thus far. I just hope that my next chapter for Wolf's Blood doesn't take me 4 months again...
Now I just need to get my critiques done so I can get on top of this planning. The goal is to have Jayne Pheare written in full by the end of march so I can get started on some serious edits for The Commons. Let's hope this works, because this is the Epic Year of Querying, and I need to start getting some work out to agents and publishers!
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
One Step Forward, But Standing Still
Today I finished the editing for my next critique group submission. I wanted to get it done yesterday, but it seems I have become better at procrastination than I originally thought. So, I decided to be happy with finishing today, as well as getting this blog post done.
Anyway, the point of the matter is that I finished the next two chapters, and I was happy that I finished it so early in the week, even if it was a day later than I was actually hoping for. I was ahead of the game.
Unfortunately then I made the mistake of looking at my Dangerous Waters manuscript. That's the one I'm trying to get through right now. That's the one I want to have polished and ready by the end of April. That's the one I want to query and get published. It's the one I've put the most work into.
Sadly, it's also the one that still needs the most work.
A couple of weeks ago I went through the chapters I had left to edit and picked through the ones that (obviously) needed rewrites, and the ones I could try and edit. I also figured out how many chapters I would have to add in order to fix the many mistakes I made while writing the novel. (While it wasn't one of my nano novels, I still wrote it fairly quickly, and as it was one of my early novels, I didn't have the plot nailed down nearly as much as I thought when I started writing it).
Thirteen. That's the number of chapters that need to be rewritten or added altogether. I only had about twenty left to edit, so that's a fair amount.
This leaves me with a bit of a problem. All of that work certainly doesn't make me want to actually do the editing. It probably would have been better if I hadn't gone through and figured out what needed to be done. Yet I can't regret it because I've always been a planner. I actually spend more time planning them than I do writing them. So not knowing how much I was going to have to change was bothering me enough that I felt I had to do it, and I did.
Being at a stand still with Dangerous Waters, however, means more than that one novel never being finished. In fact, not finishing that novel means that all the other projects I have on the go (refer to the Progress Report section) are also not getting worked on or completed.
Sometimes I tend to get myself in over my head. For example, during nano I decided to write 200,000 words. But about five days in I changed that to 300,000 words. Most of the month I was overwhelmed and thought I wouldn't finish. I did. Just barely, but I did. Now I have all of this work, and I'm feeling overwhelmed, but for some reason I'm not really moving forward. I can get done what I need to get done for my critique group, but other than that, I'm not making any progress.
It doesn't matter that I really want to finish this novel. That I want to have it, done and complete, in my hands, and ready to send out to agents and publishers. I want to feel like I've accomplished something.
I guess I'll just have to suck it up and get down to it. Starting tomorrow (and everyday for at least a little while until Monday) I'm going to continue editing Dangerous Waters. I have a goal to finish the next three chapters by the end of Sunday. (In case you were wondering, the next three chapters are ALL rewrites, so it's going to be harder than it sounds.)
Don't worry, I'll let you know how it goes in my next post, also scheduled Sunday. Till then, happy editing!
Anyway, the point of the matter is that I finished the next two chapters, and I was happy that I finished it so early in the week, even if it was a day later than I was actually hoping for. I was ahead of the game.
Unfortunately then I made the mistake of looking at my Dangerous Waters manuscript. That's the one I'm trying to get through right now. That's the one I want to have polished and ready by the end of April. That's the one I want to query and get published. It's the one I've put the most work into.
Sadly, it's also the one that still needs the most work.
A couple of weeks ago I went through the chapters I had left to edit and picked through the ones that (obviously) needed rewrites, and the ones I could try and edit. I also figured out how many chapters I would have to add in order to fix the many mistakes I made while writing the novel. (While it wasn't one of my nano novels, I still wrote it fairly quickly, and as it was one of my early novels, I didn't have the plot nailed down nearly as much as I thought when I started writing it).
Thirteen. That's the number of chapters that need to be rewritten or added altogether. I only had about twenty left to edit, so that's a fair amount.
This leaves me with a bit of a problem. All of that work certainly doesn't make me want to actually do the editing. It probably would have been better if I hadn't gone through and figured out what needed to be done. Yet I can't regret it because I've always been a planner. I actually spend more time planning them than I do writing them. So not knowing how much I was going to have to change was bothering me enough that I felt I had to do it, and I did.
Being at a stand still with Dangerous Waters, however, means more than that one novel never being finished. In fact, not finishing that novel means that all the other projects I have on the go (refer to the Progress Report section) are also not getting worked on or completed.
Sometimes I tend to get myself in over my head. For example, during nano I decided to write 200,000 words. But about five days in I changed that to 300,000 words. Most of the month I was overwhelmed and thought I wouldn't finish. I did. Just barely, but I did. Now I have all of this work, and I'm feeling overwhelmed, but for some reason I'm not really moving forward. I can get done what I need to get done for my critique group, but other than that, I'm not making any progress.
It doesn't matter that I really want to finish this novel. That I want to have it, done and complete, in my hands, and ready to send out to agents and publishers. I want to feel like I've accomplished something.
I guess I'll just have to suck it up and get down to it. Starting tomorrow (and everyday for at least a little while until Monday) I'm going to continue editing Dangerous Waters. I have a goal to finish the next three chapters by the end of Sunday. (In case you were wondering, the next three chapters are ALL rewrites, so it's going to be harder than it sounds.)
Don't worry, I'll let you know how it goes in my next post, also scheduled Sunday. Till then, happy editing!
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Two Months Already?
Yesterday I went to our first nano meet since November. Our group is awesome, as we don't like to wait an entire year to see each other, so we meet up once a month, except for December, when we're all pretty nano-ed out (and with Christmas, it makes it hard to find a time.)
Anyway, it was fantastic. While we didn't have quite the turn out that we have during November, I got to see more than a few people who I have been missing. And it hit me while I was there...it's been two months since I've seen everybody last.
Two months. Really? I don't know about you guys, but my Christmas is always busy. December is stuffed full of shopping that no one really wants to do, travelling that leaves you tired only to see the family for maybe two days before you find yourself back to reality and trying to get back into the swing of things. For me January was nearly as busy, with me trying to keep up on the ridiculous amounts of editing I have to do for my Dangerous Waters book, along with critique group stuff. And then losing my grandfather last week and having to drop everything I was doing to go down and see the family again.
These last two months have been crammed full. They were tiring, and in some cases not all that pleasant, and I should be glad to have them done. And I am glad. I was glad that I could see the people that I am quickly coming to see as my family. I was glad to be back in the atmosphere of a group of writers just wanting to get that book done. While there wasn't the competitive nature that there is during November, just being there and seeing those people helped to remind me that just because nano is over and everything is changing, doesn't have to mean that it's all bad.
Despite how busy I've been, though, when I was sitting in that restaurant yesterday, looking around at the room full of writers that have the ability (and have managed to do so in the past) to scare waitresses and make them worry about us, I couldn't help but think 'wait, it's been two months already'?
Two months since I wrote three novels (and I'm not even done editing the one I started before nano)? Two months since I've seen everyone. Two months where I've barely written anything!
It's sad, really, that all I've written since nano ended is a single chapter that I owed a friend for a collaboration I'm doing. I try to remind myself that I've been editing, but that's not really true, either. I've been procrastinating. I've been blogging (Which I love and wont stop doing. In fact, you can start looking forward to two posts a week instead of one, at least for next month). I've been critiquing. But I haven't been doing what I should be doing, at least not with the seriousness that I should have.
So as of right now, I'm going to set this goal for myself: I am going to finish Dangerous Waters by the end of April. (Beta readers allowing, of course.) I'm going to have a new book (thus far untitled) written before the end of July (To the first draft.) And I am going to update my blog twice a week.
To be honest, I don't know if I can do all of it, but I'm certainly going to try. Because if I don't take myself seriously and force myself to do the work, can I really expect other people to take me seriously?
Wish me luck!
Anyway, it was fantastic. While we didn't have quite the turn out that we have during November, I got to see more than a few people who I have been missing. And it hit me while I was there...it's been two months since I've seen everybody last.
Two months. Really? I don't know about you guys, but my Christmas is always busy. December is stuffed full of shopping that no one really wants to do, travelling that leaves you tired only to see the family for maybe two days before you find yourself back to reality and trying to get back into the swing of things. For me January was nearly as busy, with me trying to keep up on the ridiculous amounts of editing I have to do for my Dangerous Waters book, along with critique group stuff. And then losing my grandfather last week and having to drop everything I was doing to go down and see the family again.
These last two months have been crammed full. They were tiring, and in some cases not all that pleasant, and I should be glad to have them done. And I am glad. I was glad that I could see the people that I am quickly coming to see as my family. I was glad to be back in the atmosphere of a group of writers just wanting to get that book done. While there wasn't the competitive nature that there is during November, just being there and seeing those people helped to remind me that just because nano is over and everything is changing, doesn't have to mean that it's all bad.
Despite how busy I've been, though, when I was sitting in that restaurant yesterday, looking around at the room full of writers that have the ability (and have managed to do so in the past) to scare waitresses and make them worry about us, I couldn't help but think 'wait, it's been two months already'?
Two months since I wrote three novels (and I'm not even done editing the one I started before nano)? Two months since I've seen everyone. Two months where I've barely written anything!
It's sad, really, that all I've written since nano ended is a single chapter that I owed a friend for a collaboration I'm doing. I try to remind myself that I've been editing, but that's not really true, either. I've been procrastinating. I've been blogging (Which I love and wont stop doing. In fact, you can start looking forward to two posts a week instead of one, at least for next month). I've been critiquing. But I haven't been doing what I should be doing, at least not with the seriousness that I should have.
So as of right now, I'm going to set this goal for myself: I am going to finish Dangerous Waters by the end of April. (Beta readers allowing, of course.) I'm going to have a new book (thus far untitled) written before the end of July (To the first draft.) And I am going to update my blog twice a week.
To be honest, I don't know if I can do all of it, but I'm certainly going to try. Because if I don't take myself seriously and force myself to do the work, can I really expect other people to take me seriously?
Wish me luck!
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
The Commons - A YA novel
Alright, I know that I just posted yesterday, but I have been shown a very interesting link by a friend. One that brought me to a contest. And, as I pointed out in my blog yesterday, I may be slightly competitive, and so find that I am unable to resist entering this. Check out Brenda Drake's Blog for further details. Unfortunately the contest ends tomorrow, but I'm hoping that at least some of you get to see this. Anyway, the entry is requested on the blog as well as in the comments, so here goes:
Title: The Commons
Genre: YA dystopian
Word Count: 101,000
Pitch: At the end of the Great War, the world split into two societies: The Commons and The Techs. Now the two worlds are about to collide, and neither will ever be the same again.
First 150 words:
Title: The Commons
Genre: YA dystopian
Word Count: 101,000
Pitch: At the end of the Great War, the world split into two societies: The Commons and The Techs. Now the two worlds are about to collide, and neither will ever be the same again.
First 150 words:
Once these streets had been filled with tall buildings. Large concrete structures where the people went to work every day. Streets that spanned for miles that were constantly jammed with an endless stream of cares. It was hard to believe that this was all that was left. Only one grey building stretched up to the sky, but even the top of that one was jagged and unstable. The rest of the street consisted mostly of piles of concrete.
It was an all too familiar sight to Arisa, who had been travelling to all the city ruins. Each one seemed to be worse than the last, until she had arrived here. She did not know what city it had once been, but from the remains she would guess it had been hit hard in the great war.
Arisa let these thoughts run through her head as she stared around herself.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Shiny New Ideas
First things first. I must give props and respect to both L. S. Taylor and J. Larkin for getting some queries out and officially starting out Epic Year of Querying. Much as I hate the fact that I'm losing (I may be just a little competitive...) I love that we have some numbers up there! Can't wait to see how well we do with these queries this year. (Especially once the rest of use get our acts together and get them out there.)
Moving on. This week I have managed to not get any editing done. You may recall in my last post I talked about how I had to rewrite about 13 chapters in the last half of my novel. I wasn't exactly looking forward to all of the extra work, of course, but I also wasn't planning on never getting around to it.
In the last week I have caught up on three or four shows I've been putting off since November. I've started reading a book that I just got in and is the sequel to a book I really liked. I've cleaned my room and organized all of my writing stuff. I've set up the new printer my boyfriend bought me. I even just barely managed to get the two critiques I need for tomorrow done. (The feedback I give to the other three that I don't need to critique are barely started, however)
After that, why don't we all take a wild shot in the dark about how much editing I've gotten done.
None. Zilch. Nada. Zero. I haven't even brought my manuscript with me in an effort to make it look like I might be getting some editing done. Oh no. Instead it's sitting on my desk awaiting the arrival of my motivation (which I'm seriously starting to think is on an extended vacation.) Two months after nano, and I still can't get my motivation together enough to carve my novel into something that people actually want to read. The fact that the first half of it is out with beta readers doesn't even begin to touch the motivation I need to gather up in order to get those chapters done.
So why is it that I don't have this motivation? Well, I think I've got a pretty good idea.
Back in November, I ordered a journal from nano. I love it. It features a sturdy cover, plenty of lined paper, an elastic to keep it closed and a place to store a pen. The outside reads 'There's a book in you that only you can write.' A quote by the one and only Chris Baty. I took one look at this journal, and I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it. This book was going to be the place where I wrote down all of those shiny new ideas that I can't get to while I'm working on other things. They don't have to be good ideas, just anything that's occurred to me. Then, when I have time to write another novel, I can just flip through it and see which ideas stand out.
This has been working pretty well, but there's one tiny problem. One of the ideas that I recorded in this book is not letting me shut it away. The main character is more vocal than the characters from a series that I've written two books in! She doesn't go away. She just keeps talking and talking. Telling me details about her life, which I don't want to know yet.
It's distracting. All I want to do is sit down and write it all out. I want to work out what's going on with her, and who the antagonist is. I want to know more about her love interest (who isn't yet named.) I want to see where the book goes, and what kind of plans I can come up with for future books. I want to write her story.
Unfortunately, I also know that I have to finish this editing, because I need to start querying this year. No ifs, ands or buts about it. This is the year that I am going to get my stuff out there. Whether it's liked or not, people are going to see it.
So the guilt doesn't let me work on the new project, but with my mind so distracted by it, I can't work on the old project. The combination of the two are leaving me with no motivation to do anything but catch up on shows that I have been wanting to catch up on for months.
Next week, though, I can't let myself fall back into this pattern. I want this book out by the end of april. That means I need to get it to my beta readers by the beginning of February at the latest. Sorry Jayne, but I can't listen to you right now, much as I might want to. I have to get back to what I was doing.
I'm going to throw all of my shiny new ideas back into my book and leave them there. Ignore those voices and hope they're willing to talk again when I'm done. Much as I love telling new stories, I don't want to do it at the cost of my old stories. I can't give up because there's too much work involved. I need to keep going no matter what, and I'm going to do that starting tomorrow!
Moving on. This week I have managed to not get any editing done. You may recall in my last post I talked about how I had to rewrite about 13 chapters in the last half of my novel. I wasn't exactly looking forward to all of the extra work, of course, but I also wasn't planning on never getting around to it.
In the last week I have caught up on three or four shows I've been putting off since November. I've started reading a book that I just got in and is the sequel to a book I really liked. I've cleaned my room and organized all of my writing stuff. I've set up the new printer my boyfriend bought me. I even just barely managed to get the two critiques I need for tomorrow done. (The feedback I give to the other three that I don't need to critique are barely started, however)
After that, why don't we all take a wild shot in the dark about how much editing I've gotten done.
None. Zilch. Nada. Zero. I haven't even brought my manuscript with me in an effort to make it look like I might be getting some editing done. Oh no. Instead it's sitting on my desk awaiting the arrival of my motivation (which I'm seriously starting to think is on an extended vacation.) Two months after nano, and I still can't get my motivation together enough to carve my novel into something that people actually want to read. The fact that the first half of it is out with beta readers doesn't even begin to touch the motivation I need to gather up in order to get those chapters done.
So why is it that I don't have this motivation? Well, I think I've got a pretty good idea.
Back in November, I ordered a journal from nano. I love it. It features a sturdy cover, plenty of lined paper, an elastic to keep it closed and a place to store a pen. The outside reads 'There's a book in you that only you can write.' A quote by the one and only Chris Baty. I took one look at this journal, and I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it. This book was going to be the place where I wrote down all of those shiny new ideas that I can't get to while I'm working on other things. They don't have to be good ideas, just anything that's occurred to me. Then, when I have time to write another novel, I can just flip through it and see which ideas stand out.
This has been working pretty well, but there's one tiny problem. One of the ideas that I recorded in this book is not letting me shut it away. The main character is more vocal than the characters from a series that I've written two books in! She doesn't go away. She just keeps talking and talking. Telling me details about her life, which I don't want to know yet.
It's distracting. All I want to do is sit down and write it all out. I want to work out what's going on with her, and who the antagonist is. I want to know more about her love interest (who isn't yet named.) I want to see where the book goes, and what kind of plans I can come up with for future books. I want to write her story.
Unfortunately, I also know that I have to finish this editing, because I need to start querying this year. No ifs, ands or buts about it. This is the year that I am going to get my stuff out there. Whether it's liked or not, people are going to see it.
So the guilt doesn't let me work on the new project, but with my mind so distracted by it, I can't work on the old project. The combination of the two are leaving me with no motivation to do anything but catch up on shows that I have been wanting to catch up on for months.
Next week, though, I can't let myself fall back into this pattern. I want this book out by the end of april. That means I need to get it to my beta readers by the beginning of February at the latest. Sorry Jayne, but I can't listen to you right now, much as I might want to. I have to get back to what I was doing.
I'm going to throw all of my shiny new ideas back into my book and leave them there. Ignore those voices and hope they're willing to talk again when I'm done. Much as I love telling new stories, I don't want to do it at the cost of my old stories. I can't give up because there's too much work involved. I need to keep going no matter what, and I'm going to do that starting tomorrow!
Monday, January 9, 2012
A Snag In Editing
Before I start this week's post, there were a few things I wanted to say. First and foremost, I would like to point out that there are now six writers participating in the Epic Year of Querying. You can get to any of their blogs from the side bar, as well as find the link to get to more information about it. I'm very excited to see what this year brings, and how we will all do on this challenge. Of course, it goes without saying, any other writers who wish to join in the fun can, just give me a link to whatever site (be it blog/twitter profile/website, whatever you wish) and how many queries you have sent out since Jan. 1, 2012, and I will gladly add you to the list. You can also follow the fun on twitter using the hashtag #YEQ2012.
Second, there will be an extra special post going up on Wednesday of this week. I'm not going to give away any details (cause it's a surprise) but make sure you look out for it. I'm excited to see this blog becoming something other than me talking to myself, and this is just one of many such things I'm hoping will happen this year.
Alright, onto the post. So, I was editing today. I planned on getting about three chapters done so I could catch up with my goal. It was something I knew I was going to have to do, because I spent all day yesterday doing things like getting my hair cut and hanging out with friends. So when I finally got around to it today (instead of working on my blog like I wanted to) I sat down ready to edit.
I'll admit that I may not have been as anxious to edit as I could have been. In fact, I was rather reluctant to start. I may not have been editing as fast as I could have, and I kept getting distracted, but that's besides the point.
The fact of the matter is that after all of that, I got through half of the chapter and realized just how much I was changing, and how unhappy I was with what was left. After all of that I ended up throwing the chapter out completely and starting over.
With that realization, however, came the certainty that I had hit the point in my book where I knew I was going to have to do some major overhauling. See, I had already come to the conclusion that I had to change quite a few things in the second half of the book. I hadn't written a very important scene, and that scene couldn't be written the way the book was already done. So I knew that there was going to come a point where I would have to start rewrites.
Unfortunately this point came a lot earlier than I had thought it would. In fact, I had been hoping that I would make it at least another five or six chapters before I would have to start completely changing what was written.
Alas, I cannot change what I have come to realize must happen. Well, I suppose I could, but then the book just wouldn't be as could as it could be, and I definitely don't want that. This is the book I want to get published. The one that I already have half of out with beta readers. The one that I have already gotten a second round of beta readers for. I can't just not fix it. This is my baby we're talking about. I want it to be all it can be.
So, while editing is my least favorite part of writing (and yes, I will continue to complain bitterly about it for the rest of the time that I'm doing it) I will continue to do it. Because, you see, I love my work, and I don't intend to let it be less than what it could be only because I don't want to do the editing.
Now I've gone through the rest of the book and have decided which chapters I need to rewrite, and which ones just need editing. I've also decided what I need to add to make the story complete. I now have a clear idea of what I need to do to make this book ready for my beta readers. On one hand this gives me a sense of relief. I know what I'm doing now, and I don't feel so much like I'm stumbling around in the dark. On the other hand, rewriting is somehow so much more work than editing.
Wish me luck, because in the next month (okay...maybe two) I plan to whip this novel into shape. Even if that means rewriting half of it.
Second, there will be an extra special post going up on Wednesday of this week. I'm not going to give away any details (cause it's a surprise) but make sure you look out for it. I'm excited to see this blog becoming something other than me talking to myself, and this is just one of many such things I'm hoping will happen this year.
Alright, onto the post. So, I was editing today. I planned on getting about three chapters done so I could catch up with my goal. It was something I knew I was going to have to do, because I spent all day yesterday doing things like getting my hair cut and hanging out with friends. So when I finally got around to it today (instead of working on my blog like I wanted to) I sat down ready to edit.
I'll admit that I may not have been as anxious to edit as I could have been. In fact, I was rather reluctant to start. I may not have been editing as fast as I could have, and I kept getting distracted, but that's besides the point.
The fact of the matter is that after all of that, I got through half of the chapter and realized just how much I was changing, and how unhappy I was with what was left. After all of that I ended up throwing the chapter out completely and starting over.
With that realization, however, came the certainty that I had hit the point in my book where I knew I was going to have to do some major overhauling. See, I had already come to the conclusion that I had to change quite a few things in the second half of the book. I hadn't written a very important scene, and that scene couldn't be written the way the book was already done. So I knew that there was going to come a point where I would have to start rewrites.
Unfortunately this point came a lot earlier than I had thought it would. In fact, I had been hoping that I would make it at least another five or six chapters before I would have to start completely changing what was written.
Alas, I cannot change what I have come to realize must happen. Well, I suppose I could, but then the book just wouldn't be as could as it could be, and I definitely don't want that. This is the book I want to get published. The one that I already have half of out with beta readers. The one that I have already gotten a second round of beta readers for. I can't just not fix it. This is my baby we're talking about. I want it to be all it can be.
So, while editing is my least favorite part of writing (and yes, I will continue to complain bitterly about it for the rest of the time that I'm doing it) I will continue to do it. Because, you see, I love my work, and I don't intend to let it be less than what it could be only because I don't want to do the editing.
Now I've gone through the rest of the book and have decided which chapters I need to rewrite, and which ones just need editing. I've also decided what I need to add to make the story complete. I now have a clear idea of what I need to do to make this book ready for my beta readers. On one hand this gives me a sense of relief. I know what I'm doing now, and I don't feel so much like I'm stumbling around in the dark. On the other hand, rewriting is somehow so much more work than editing.
Wish me luck, because in the next month (okay...maybe two) I plan to whip this novel into shape. Even if that means rewriting half of it.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
The Epic Year of Querying
As some of you may have noticed, I didn't post last week. I was planning on it, I truly was, but I was also at my grandmother's house, which doesn't have wireless internet. So, instead, I decided to skip the week and take a Christmas vacation.
This year I'm going to be doing a few things different on my blog. First of all, if you will kindly look to the sidebar, you will see a box entitled 'The Epic Year of Querying'. This is where I will keep all of you updated on the progress of my writing/editing/querying. I will update it every week along with my blog post.
Also, this year I will be doing my best to put my blog more in the eye of the writing public. This means that you could see things such as guest blogs, character interviews, reviews on books, and participation in blog scavenger hunts. I'm very excited for the first of these which should be happening in the next week or two.
This will be the year that I put myself out there. That I look at my blogging as another step in my writing goals, rather than something I'm doing because it looked like fun. Where I start to truly take myself seriously as a writer. Where I don't give up on a writing project because I'm starting to feel like it needs far too much work.
It has been over a year now since I came to the realization that I am, in fact, a writer. Since the beginning of nano 2010 I have written 9 novels. 5 of those have been pushed aside as not worth the time to edit, but the rest I'm going to do something with. It may take a lot of editing. It may make me want to rip the hair out of my head, but I am going to get them published!
I have two close friends also taking part in the Epic Year of Querying with me:
Eric Satchwill
B.A. Matthews
I'm excited to see how each of us do in this challenge.
I would also like to invite anyone else who wants to join in the adventure to do so. Comment here and leave me your blog address. I'll make sure to add you to the total counts!!
2012 is going to be an awesome year (right up to when the world ends, of course...) I can't wait to see what it will bring!
This year I'm going to be doing a few things different on my blog. First of all, if you will kindly look to the sidebar, you will see a box entitled 'The Epic Year of Querying'. This is where I will keep all of you updated on the progress of my writing/editing/querying. I will update it every week along with my blog post.
Also, this year I will be doing my best to put my blog more in the eye of the writing public. This means that you could see things such as guest blogs, character interviews, reviews on books, and participation in blog scavenger hunts. I'm very excited for the first of these which should be happening in the next week or two.
This will be the year that I put myself out there. That I look at my blogging as another step in my writing goals, rather than something I'm doing because it looked like fun. Where I start to truly take myself seriously as a writer. Where I don't give up on a writing project because I'm starting to feel like it needs far too much work.
It has been over a year now since I came to the realization that I am, in fact, a writer. Since the beginning of nano 2010 I have written 9 novels. 5 of those have been pushed aside as not worth the time to edit, but the rest I'm going to do something with. It may take a lot of editing. It may make me want to rip the hair out of my head, but I am going to get them published!
I have two close friends also taking part in the Epic Year of Querying with me:
Eric Satchwill
B.A. Matthews
I'm excited to see how each of us do in this challenge.
I would also like to invite anyone else who wants to join in the adventure to do so. Comment here and leave me your blog address. I'll make sure to add you to the total counts!!
2012 is going to be an awesome year (right up to when the world ends, of course...) I can't wait to see what it will bring!
Sunday, December 4, 2011
A commitment
Now that NaNoWriMo is officially over, I have decided to recommit myself to my blog. In November I took on the insane challenge of a blog post a day. Unfortunately that it not something I can keep up with on a permanent basis. For one thing, by the end of the month I no longer had any topics to write about. And without any writing to complain about, I'm going to have even less to write about.
Instead, after coming to the conclusion that I want to post more often, I have decided to post once a week. That day is going to be Sundays, starting today. (Yes. I do realize that it's almost midnight and I should really have done this earlier, but as I was at a hockey game with my boyfriends parents, it was a little difficult.)
My commitment is to have it posted every Sunday no later than midnight. I cannot guarantee that they will all be the greatest posts in the world, but I can guarantee that they will help you to follow my incredibly exciting journey to being published. (2012 will be the epic year of querying.)
The next year will include a submission to ABNA (Amazon Breakout Novel Award), NaNoEdMo, and the sending out of my first query letters. Therefore you can expect to hear all about how much I hate editing...why I hate my characters...and the arrival of my first rejection letter.
I know you're just as excited as me, and I hope that hearing about my journey will help you to start (or continue) yours. But, if all this blog brings you are a few laughs, I'm happy with that too.
Instead, after coming to the conclusion that I want to post more often, I have decided to post once a week. That day is going to be Sundays, starting today. (Yes. I do realize that it's almost midnight and I should really have done this earlier, but as I was at a hockey game with my boyfriends parents, it was a little difficult.)
My commitment is to have it posted every Sunday no later than midnight. I cannot guarantee that they will all be the greatest posts in the world, but I can guarantee that they will help you to follow my incredibly exciting journey to being published. (2012 will be the epic year of querying.)
The next year will include a submission to ABNA (Amazon Breakout Novel Award), NaNoEdMo, and the sending out of my first query letters. Therefore you can expect to hear all about how much I hate editing...why I hate my characters...and the arrival of my first rejection letter.
I know you're just as excited as me, and I hope that hearing about my journey will help you to start (or continue) yours. But, if all this blog brings you are a few laughs, I'm happy with that too.
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