Although I've got a lot on the go these days, I'm managing at least an hour on Tempest most mornings. Today I crossed the 40K milestone, and I should reach the official halfway point of my current outline later this week. The outline keeps growing, though! That's good, I believe. The two scenes I've written this week weren't in the outline even last week; they came considerably after I did the massive rebuild of the outline a couple weeks back. I was staring at the notecards--have I mentioned recently how much I love Scrivener?--and realized I hadn't shown a major mental turning point for the main character.
Duh.
Today I also broke and fixed my website while I was updating it. I needed to add Tempest to the *projects* section as well as add the Genesis finals for Majai's Fury and Off Beat (previously known as Marks of Repentance and The Girl Who Cried Squid).
And while I wandered the net looking for agents to submit Majai's Fury to, I discovered a contest at Agent Kelly Mortimer's blog. Then I needed to find something to submit--something that was not fantasy! So I got an entry off today (not mentioning the project here as the entries are to remain anonymous through some complicated method, but you've met it before!)
Showing posts with label The Girl who Cried Squid. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Girl who Cried Squid. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Third place in Genesis!
Some of you may recall that The Girl Who Cried Squid (aka Krin, or Off Beat) became a finalist in the American Christian Fiction Writers Genesis contest back in spring. The results of the contest were announced Saturday at the annual conference, and my novel placed third in the Science Fiction/Fantasy/Allegory category.
The finalists are:
1st: Chawna Schroeder, Metamorphosis
2nd: Lynda K. Arndt, The Song of Blood and Stone
3rd: Valerie Comer, The Girl Who Cried Squid
Last year, Marks of Repentance went to the final level but did not place, so the improvement makes me happy.
The finalists are:
1st: Chawna Schroeder, Metamorphosis
2nd: Lynda K. Arndt, The Song of Blood and Stone
3rd: Valerie Comer, The Girl Who Cried Squid
Last year, Marks of Repentance went to the final level but did not place, so the improvement makes me happy.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Tempest
I'm making reasonably steady progress on Tempest, though not as rapid as I'd have liked. Still, it seems that it's better to think a bit here and there than to rewrite/rewrite/rewrite. Of course I'll probably still have to! It might be that this story just didn't have as long to percolate, so there wasn't a huge build-up of words just waiting for the starting gate to open (think the rush of the first hour of Nano!). It might be that my muse is a bit reluctant, being as this is definitely a bit darker story than anything I've written previously. Or it might be that this is just the perfect pace for this story!
I'm doing in the neighborhood of a chapter a week, and they're averaging over 4K each. So if I can just keep the wheels turning, it will get itself done in a few months. That's fine.
I'd been thinking that I'd go on another round of revisions of some of my older stuff once I got rolling with this story, but it's not happening yet. I'm teaching another workshop at Forward Motion in August, and I've recently signed up for a six-month writing course put on by author Holly Lisle, How to Think Sideways. Even after only one week, I'm beginning to see that this investment is quite likely to pay off in a practical sense.
So it'll be at least September before I start revising again, and it's a toss-up still whether it will be Joy Comes in the Morning or Off Beat. Off Beat (aka Squid) has finaled in the Genesis contest, but I won't have the results of that until mid September. I'd hoped to enter Joy in the 08 contest as well, but didn't have time to revise the opening pages to my satisfaction, so I'd like to enter it in '09. A whole new category for me: romance!
And if I'm going to get chapter five written this week, I'd better get rolling!
I'm doing in the neighborhood of a chapter a week, and they're averaging over 4K each. So if I can just keep the wheels turning, it will get itself done in a few months. That's fine.
I'd been thinking that I'd go on another round of revisions of some of my older stuff once I got rolling with this story, but it's not happening yet. I'm teaching another workshop at Forward Motion in August, and I've recently signed up for a six-month writing course put on by author Holly Lisle, How to Think Sideways. Even after only one week, I'm beginning to see that this investment is quite likely to pay off in a practical sense.
So it'll be at least September before I start revising again, and it's a toss-up still whether it will be Joy Comes in the Morning or Off Beat. Off Beat (aka Squid) has finaled in the Genesis contest, but I won't have the results of that until mid September. I'd hoped to enter Joy in the 08 contest as well, but didn't have time to revise the opening pages to my satisfaction, so I'd like to enter it in '09. A whole new category for me: romance!
And if I'm going to get chapter five written this week, I'd better get rolling!
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Tempest is ready to roll
It's only been a couple of weeks since Tempest erupted in my brain with her sort of complete story synopsis. I tried to ignore her for a couple of days, thinking I knew best. When that didn't work, I jumped in with both feet. By the time I'd fleshed out what I knew of the synopsis, built a story world that allowed this story to live in it, then expanded the outline based on the story world (leap frog, anyone?), I found myself with a full, though nasty, culture and a handful of characters with their own ways of reacting to it. And a lot of random characters who may or may not come to play in a larger way.
Of course some of that original synopsis turned out not to be accurate, but it was surprisingly close being as I've never had a story start that way for me before this.
I have quite a full Scrivener file--high five to Scrivener!!--and plan to start writing the novel tomorrow.
You know how long it's been since I've rough drafted? Nano '06 (The Girl Who Cried Squid, aka Off Beat). Yeah, it's been awhile. I hope I remember how. I never intended to have such a large gap.
At any rate, here we go again...
Of course some of that original synopsis turned out not to be accurate, but it was surprisingly close being as I've never had a story start that way for me before this.
I have quite a full Scrivener file--high five to Scrivener!!--and plan to start writing the novel tomorrow.
You know how long it's been since I've rough drafted? Nano '06 (The Girl Who Cried Squid, aka Off Beat). Yeah, it's been awhile. I hope I remember how. I never intended to have such a large gap.
At any rate, here we go again...
Friday, February 08, 2008
Yep. I'm THIS busy!
It's been a crazy week, and I'm suspecting the whole month may look this way.
At the moment the first week of the Effective Viewpoint Workshop is finishing up at Forward Motion. We've got 18 participants getting into hands-on exploration of the tools of point-of-view. So sure, we may still wind up using multiple third person past for most of our writing, but at least we will know how to make it a conscious decision instead of having only a default!
Next month Mar and I are running a workshop on query packages, including the dread synopsis. You have to be a member at FM to join in, but there's no cost.
Aside from the workshop (Monday and Tuesday there was nothing *aside* from the workshop; I practically breathed the darn thing!), I've been working on my opening scenes for the Genesis contest, both The Girl Who Cried Squid and the romance, Joy Comes in the Morning. I've got a working copy of both now and some critiques happening. The contest consists of the first fifteen pages, so that's a reasonable amount of pages to prep up.
Sadly, that's left Teagren and Quest to be Queen sitting on the sidelines. But on my walk this morning I thought through a major issue that I'd seen lurking in the background of the story and discovered a solution I think will work. Once I got to work I popped my insights into a document so that I won't forget. It could easily be a couple weeks yet before I get enough focus to deal with it in the novel itself.
Part of the problem is that the story originally came from a group of random exercises looped together. When I decided there was enough plot linking them to create a novel, I kept a few too many of the old parts. Worked great in the linked exercises, but didn't quite pull through at novel length. If I get rid of one major holdover, it frees up the ending to being something more logical. The previous version came a little forced. So now I'm looking forward to getting back to it. The cool thing is that even though I've finished revising most of the novel, it will only take a few lines tucked in here and there to twist towards the new ending.
But first I have to get my contest entries finalized and out, and keep the workshops humming. First things first!
At the moment the first week of the Effective Viewpoint Workshop is finishing up at Forward Motion. We've got 18 participants getting into hands-on exploration of the tools of point-of-view. So sure, we may still wind up using multiple third person past for most of our writing, but at least we will know how to make it a conscious decision instead of having only a default!
Next month Mar and I are running a workshop on query packages, including the dread synopsis. You have to be a member at FM to join in, but there's no cost.
Aside from the workshop (Monday and Tuesday there was nothing *aside* from the workshop; I practically breathed the darn thing!), I've been working on my opening scenes for the Genesis contest, both The Girl Who Cried Squid and the romance, Joy Comes in the Morning. I've got a working copy of both now and some critiques happening. The contest consists of the first fifteen pages, so that's a reasonable amount of pages to prep up.
Sadly, that's left Teagren and Quest to be Queen sitting on the sidelines. But on my walk this morning I thought through a major issue that I'd seen lurking in the background of the story and discovered a solution I think will work. Once I got to work I popped my insights into a document so that I won't forget. It could easily be a couple weeks yet before I get enough focus to deal with it in the novel itself.
Part of the problem is that the story originally came from a group of random exercises looped together. When I decided there was enough plot linking them to create a novel, I kept a few too many of the old parts. Worked great in the linked exercises, but didn't quite pull through at novel length. If I get rid of one major holdover, it frees up the ending to being something more logical. The previous version came a little forced. So now I'm looking forward to getting back to it. The cool thing is that even though I've finished revising most of the novel, it will only take a few lines tucked in here and there to twist towards the new ending.
But first I have to get my contest entries finalized and out, and keep the workshops humming. First things first!
Monday, January 14, 2008
Point of View Issues
I've begun prepping a workshop for Forward Motion about the issues writers face with viewpoint characters: how to pick them and how to choose the point of view style that best suits the story. In February we'll be exploring possibilities with a variety of hands-on exercises.
Meanwhile, I've been reading on the topic to prime the pump. Two renowned how-to books are Characters & Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card and Characters, Emotion & Viewpoint by Nancy Kress. I've also found a few articles on the internet. One of these is Time and First Person by Holly Lisle.
I read Holly's article for the first time last week and found it mildly interesting. She speaks in it of some of the issues she faced writing Talyn in first person. She talks about making a choice as to when in the future Talyn is telling her story from. When I first read this contemplation, I admit I didn't *get it*. I decided that Holly was over-thinking the problem but that obviously she'd done a fine job with her choices, because I loved the novel and the way she told it (alternative first person from Talyn and third person from Gair).
Today I edited the first scene of my 2006 nano novel, The Girl Who Cried Squid, which is the only novel I've written in first person. And today I *got* Holly's article.
Krin is telling her story in past tense, telling us what she did and thought and said on the day the story started. And all of a sudden--a couple of pages in--I noticed that she describes her village in present tense. I frowned. Point of view slippage? I'm usually pretty tight. I thought about it for a few minutes and decided that in the *when* Krin was telling the story from, the village was just the same as it had been the night her adventures began. It hadn't changed significantly. So it's accurate for her to tell us where Bevedar IS, for example, not where it WAS.
Suddenly Holly's article made a great deal more sense! I hadn't made a conscious decision to blend tenses. In the heat of nano Day One I just wrote the thing how it came out. But now I see that Krin isn't telling us this story from a rocking chair in her old age. She's telling it to us from a point not far in the future from the end of the novel.
Once I had contemplated the description of her village, I decided to leave it in present tense and moved on to another paragraph. Lo and behold. That description was not an isolated issue! I went back to the very first paragraph which in unedited first draft read like this:
Notice that everything is in past tense except I can't dance. Why? When she tells this story later on, she still can't. It's important to the story, and it doesn't change.
There were several other instances in the opening scene of about 1700 words where I *slipped* tense. I changed a couple of them, reworded some sentences so they blended better, and left a few standing. It's possible I may have to defend my choice to critters down the line--perhaps even to an agent or editor. But thanks to Holly's article and the fact that I'm writing up this workshop and thus analyzing pov issues, I understand now what my subconscious was doing in November 2006.
Meanwhile, I've been reading on the topic to prime the pump. Two renowned how-to books are Characters & Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card and Characters, Emotion & Viewpoint by Nancy Kress. I've also found a few articles on the internet. One of these is Time and First Person by Holly Lisle.
I read Holly's article for the first time last week and found it mildly interesting. She speaks in it of some of the issues she faced writing Talyn in first person. She talks about making a choice as to when in the future Talyn is telling her story from. When I first read this contemplation, I admit I didn't *get it*. I decided that Holly was over-thinking the problem but that obviously she'd done a fine job with her choices, because I loved the novel and the way she told it (alternative first person from Talyn and third person from Gair).
Today I edited the first scene of my 2006 nano novel, The Girl Who Cried Squid, which is the only novel I've written in first person. And today I *got* Holly's article.
Krin is telling her story in past tense, telling us what she did and thought and said on the day the story started. And all of a sudden--a couple of pages in--I noticed that she describes her village in present tense. I frowned. Point of view slippage? I'm usually pretty tight. I thought about it for a few minutes and decided that in the *when* Krin was telling the story from, the village was just the same as it had been the night her adventures began. It hadn't changed significantly. So it's accurate for her to tell us where Bevedar IS, for example, not where it WAS.
Suddenly Holly's article made a great deal more sense! I hadn't made a conscious decision to blend tenses. In the heat of nano Day One I just wrote the thing how it came out. But now I see that Krin isn't telling us this story from a rocking chair in her old age. She's telling it to us from a point not far in the future from the end of the novel.
Once I had contemplated the description of her village, I decided to leave it in present tense and moved on to another paragraph. Lo and behold. That description was not an isolated issue! I went back to the very first paragraph which in unedited first draft read like this:
Mama and Papa were of two minds about the dance, which is why I went. Besides, everyone who mattered would be there and even though I can't dance worth a seashell, I couldn't very well skip it, could I?
Notice that everything is in past tense except I can't dance. Why? When she tells this story later on, she still can't. It's important to the story, and it doesn't change.
There were several other instances in the opening scene of about 1700 words where I *slipped* tense. I changed a couple of them, reworded some sentences so they blended better, and left a few standing. It's possible I may have to defend my choice to critters down the line--perhaps even to an agent or editor. But thanks to Holly's article and the fact that I'm writing up this workshop and thus analyzing pov issues, I understand now what my subconscious was doing in November 2006.
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Methods of Revision
My friend Margaret is running an intensive workshop at Forward Motion this month about the use of an outline for revising a novel (or short story).
I decided to begin work on my 2006 Nano, The Girl Who Cried Squid to take advantage of the workshop, so I've been spending time beginning the analysis of the novel's structure and how the subplots tie into the main plot. This kind of thinking hurts my head. I'm not sure why. I don't know if the whole story comes into my mind with such a whoosh (don't I wish!) that it doesn't seem to have parts, or if I'm just darn good at weaving in the subplots so well that the main plot can't stand up without them. Either way, it's hard to separate out the parts and look at them objectively.
After the revision of Marks took me the majority of last year, it occurs to me that there might be an easier way to do things. Or at least a way that keeps better track of where I've been and where I'm going. So this time around I'm trying Mar's way. I suppose it would be an improvement if I got most of the headaches out of the way at the beginning!
That's not to say I'm ignoring Quest to be Queen. That edit remains my top current priority, and I've processed nearly 7K so far this week.
I'm curious. How do you revise things? How much do you analyze and plan? Or do you just jump in and hope for the best? And how does that relate to how you wrote the story in the first place?
I decided to begin work on my 2006 Nano, The Girl Who Cried Squid to take advantage of the workshop, so I've been spending time beginning the analysis of the novel's structure and how the subplots tie into the main plot. This kind of thinking hurts my head. I'm not sure why. I don't know if the whole story comes into my mind with such a whoosh (don't I wish!) that it doesn't seem to have parts, or if I'm just darn good at weaving in the subplots so well that the main plot can't stand up without them. Either way, it's hard to separate out the parts and look at them objectively.
After the revision of Marks took me the majority of last year, it occurs to me that there might be an easier way to do things. Or at least a way that keeps better track of where I've been and where I'm going. So this time around I'm trying Mar's way. I suppose it would be an improvement if I got most of the headaches out of the way at the beginning!
That's not to say I'm ignoring Quest to be Queen. That edit remains my top current priority, and I've processed nearly 7K so far this week.
I'm curious. How do you revise things? How much do you analyze and plan? Or do you just jump in and hope for the best? And how does that relate to how you wrote the story in the first place?
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Goals for 2008
I went hunting my blog for my 2007 writing goals so that I could have a good laugh. It worked! The complete list is here.
To sum up, I thought I would :
What of that did I actually accomplish?
1. I set aside the revision pass of Quest to be Queen and started back at it in November of '07. It isn't quite done.
2. The only thing on the list I actually completed! Marks of Repentance did, in fact, get revised. It took nine months, but I did complete a pass! It finaled in a contest and is currently out at another one, so I guess you could say I *kicked it out the door*.
3. Write something? Not so much.
4. Revise something else? Not so much.
5. Recipe book project? Decided it wasn't my passion and shelved it.
Yikes.
In the spirit of providing amusement to us all again in twelve months, what are my plans for 2008?
To sum up, I thought I would :
1. Finish this revision pass on Quest to be Queen.
2. Complete one (or, if needed, two) passes on Marks of Repentance and GET THE THING KICKED OUT THE DOOR!
3. Write something. Maybe two somethings.
4. Revise something else if time permits. Squid?
5. Work on the recipe book project.
What of that did I actually accomplish?
1. I set aside the revision pass of Quest to be Queen and started back at it in November of '07. It isn't quite done.
2. The only thing on the list I actually completed! Marks of Repentance did, in fact, get revised. It took nine months, but I did complete a pass! It finaled in a contest and is currently out at another one, so I guess you could say I *kicked it out the door*.
3. Write something? Not so much.
4. Revise something else? Not so much.
5. Recipe book project? Decided it wasn't my passion and shelved it.
Yikes.
In the spirit of providing amusement to us all again in twelve months, what are my plans for 2008?
1. Keep sending out Marks of Repentance. After awhile, analyze whether the novel and/or the query package need another revision.
2. Complete revision of Quest to be Queen, get it out to critters and hopefully into submission in 2008.
3. Revise the opening chapters to Chloe's story (romance) and The Girl Who Cried Squid and submit both to the Genesis contest in April.
4. Revise both novels, send to critters.
5. Write something. Maybe two somethings.
6. Keep critting
7. Keep up with moderator duties at Forward Motion
Thursday, October 25, 2007
NaNoWriMo
November is almost upon us and with that comes NaNoWriMo, more commonly known as Nano and actually short for National Novel Writing Month. Never mind that it's international, not national, and that the actual goal is to write 50,000 words of a brand-new novel in the month of November. Which doesn't usually complete a novel unless it is Young Adult or an unfleshed-out draft.
Nano is great fun. Zillions of people sign up and egg each other on. Lots of people don't make it to 50K. But then again, a lot of them do. I have, three times. In 2004 I got 50K into the first draft of a fantasy spoof, Quest to be Queen, which I completed in March of '05. That's the next novel I'm planning to revise because I'm needing lots of good laughs, and Quest will provide those.
In 2005 I decided to try my hand at writing an inspirational romance, which is still unnamed though I did make it through 54K. It has a few really good scenes in it and, I suppose, some potential. If I ever decide to seriously aim for a career in writing romance I'll certainly dust this one off. However, in the meanwhile, I'm not feelin' it calling to me.
In 2006 I wrote a 57K YA fantasy dubbed The Girl Who Cried Squid. I had a great time with this novel, also, and it's on the list for revision right behind Quest.
So, 2007...and I'm not doing Nano this year. Why not? Three of my seven first drafts were written during Nano! It seems as though the process works! Well, it does and it doesn't. I was going stir crazy this summer and wrote a bunch of words on a contemporary women's novel, Connect the Dot. I totally did this just for fun and because I really really needed to be creating something. The revision of Marks of Repentance was taking waaaaay too long.
So what have I learned? I think I need to have a writing project on the go: something I can work on a little at a time and that it's okay if it takes a year to finish a draft instead of a month. Because every novel I write needs at least two more full passes, maybe more. So truly, my first drafting should be taking up (approximately) a quarter to a third of my writing time. Jamming that into one month in the fall, with overflow, isn't cutting it for me. It makes it too long between creative times. If I could write one, revise one it would probably work, but then the first drafts would start building up and it would take forever to get something ready for market.
So this is my new plan. Not sure if it will work or not, but I need to try something new. I'm one of those people that, upon proving to myself that I can accomplish something difficult--and 50,000 words in a month is not a walk in the park--doesn't feel compelled to keep proving that I can do it.
Lots of my writing pals are signed up and raring to go: Mar, Jean, Bonnie, Erin...maybe others. I'm happy to cheer them on! But I'm sitting out this one.
Nano is great fun. Zillions of people sign up and egg each other on. Lots of people don't make it to 50K. But then again, a lot of them do. I have, three times. In 2004 I got 50K into the first draft of a fantasy spoof, Quest to be Queen, which I completed in March of '05. That's the next novel I'm planning to revise because I'm needing lots of good laughs, and Quest will provide those.
In 2005 I decided to try my hand at writing an inspirational romance, which is still unnamed though I did make it through 54K. It has a few really good scenes in it and, I suppose, some potential. If I ever decide to seriously aim for a career in writing romance I'll certainly dust this one off. However, in the meanwhile, I'm not feelin' it calling to me.
In 2006 I wrote a 57K YA fantasy dubbed The Girl Who Cried Squid. I had a great time with this novel, also, and it's on the list for revision right behind Quest.
So, 2007...and I'm not doing Nano this year. Why not? Three of my seven first drafts were written during Nano! It seems as though the process works! Well, it does and it doesn't. I was going stir crazy this summer and wrote a bunch of words on a contemporary women's novel, Connect the Dot. I totally did this just for fun and because I really really needed to be creating something. The revision of Marks of Repentance was taking waaaaay too long.
So what have I learned? I think I need to have a writing project on the go: something I can work on a little at a time and that it's okay if it takes a year to finish a draft instead of a month. Because every novel I write needs at least two more full passes, maybe more. So truly, my first drafting should be taking up (approximately) a quarter to a third of my writing time. Jamming that into one month in the fall, with overflow, isn't cutting it for me. It makes it too long between creative times. If I could write one, revise one it would probably work, but then the first drafts would start building up and it would take forever to get something ready for market.
So this is my new plan. Not sure if it will work or not, but I need to try something new. I'm one of those people that, upon proving to myself that I can accomplish something difficult--and 50,000 words in a month is not a walk in the park--doesn't feel compelled to keep proving that I can do it.
Lots of my writing pals are signed up and raring to go: Mar, Jean, Bonnie, Erin...maybe others. I'm happy to cheer them on! But I'm sitting out this one.
Friday, December 15, 2006
Goals for 2007
Time to think about the upcoming year and what I hope to accomplish writing-wise. There are so many things I need to do MORE of, and yet the days are the same length as they ever were. I'm not sure what to make of that. Priorities are a nasty thing.
In 2006, I wrote one new novel, The Girl Who Cried Squid, during Nano. That means I had gone 11 months without creative writing. It was too long. I either need to write two books next year or slow down (skip Nano) and let the writing of one novel take much of the year. Which means I would need to learn to multi-task, and THAT is a problem in its own right.
In 2006, I revised two novels and a partial. Yikes, that doesn't sound like a lot at all. I revised False Perceptions and I'm not happy with it (after feedback) so it's shelved, at least for now. I revised Marks of Repentance and all the crits are now back. I plan to go through it again as soon as I complete the partial, Quest to be Queen. I always have this problem. I like writing first drafts better than I like revising, but the honest truth is that if each novel takes at least two additional drafts, then I need to block that into my schedule.
I thought I would start contacting agents in 2006, but I haven't. Nothing has been ready. I refuse to send out something I don't like. So I'm hoping again for this coming year.
What else is there? Conferences: I'm keeping an eye on a couple that may work out in 2007. Reading in the genre: trying to. Reading outside the genre: trying to. Networking: trying to.
So what are my plans for 2007?
1. Finish this revision pass on Quest to be Queen.
2. Complete one (or, if needed, two) passes on Marks of Repentance and GET THE THING KICKED OUT THE DOOR!
3. Write something. Maybe two somethings.
4. Revise something else if time permits. Squid?
5. Work on the recipe book project.
Writing contenders at the moment? Well, there's the long-ignored 2yn project, Puppet Prince, but it's not yelling all that loud. Currently there is a fantasy romance floating around in my head, something to do with this site on the matchmaking tradition. I asked Kaesa nicely, but she doesn't want to play in the Puppet Prince world; she wants her own. **Rolls Eyes.
What are your goals for the coming year?
In 2006, I wrote one new novel, The Girl Who Cried Squid, during Nano. That means I had gone 11 months without creative writing. It was too long. I either need to write two books next year or slow down (skip Nano) and let the writing of one novel take much of the year. Which means I would need to learn to multi-task, and THAT is a problem in its own right.
In 2006, I revised two novels and a partial. Yikes, that doesn't sound like a lot at all. I revised False Perceptions and I'm not happy with it (after feedback) so it's shelved, at least for now. I revised Marks of Repentance and all the crits are now back. I plan to go through it again as soon as I complete the partial, Quest to be Queen. I always have this problem. I like writing first drafts better than I like revising, but the honest truth is that if each novel takes at least two additional drafts, then I need to block that into my schedule.
I thought I would start contacting agents in 2006, but I haven't. Nothing has been ready. I refuse to send out something I don't like. So I'm hoping again for this coming year.
What else is there? Conferences: I'm keeping an eye on a couple that may work out in 2007. Reading in the genre: trying to. Reading outside the genre: trying to. Networking: trying to.
So what are my plans for 2007?
1. Finish this revision pass on Quest to be Queen.
2. Complete one (or, if needed, two) passes on Marks of Repentance and GET THE THING KICKED OUT THE DOOR!
3. Write something. Maybe two somethings.
4. Revise something else if time permits. Squid?
5. Work on the recipe book project.
Writing contenders at the moment? Well, there's the long-ignored 2yn project, Puppet Prince, but it's not yelling all that loud. Currently there is a fantasy romance floating around in my head, something to do with this site on the matchmaking tradition. I asked Kaesa nicely, but she doesn't want to play in the Puppet Prince world; she wants her own. **Rolls Eyes.
What are your goals for the coming year?
Sunday, December 10, 2006
*The Girl Who Cried Squid* draft complete!
I've been so busy I forgot I hadn't posted it here yet! I wrote *The End* on Friday afternoon; the whole first draft came in at 59023. I'm at the stage where I'm relieved to have it done, sure that it's the worst first draft I've ever written. When I think back to my very first one...and to last year's Nano...I realize this one couldn't possibly be THAT bad, but whether it's any good or not remains to be seen. If I don't get back to it in 2007, it will next see the light of day in 2008. Revisions for next year have already elbowed their way into line, starting with the partially completed second draft of Quest to be Queen, the fantasy spoof, and followed by third pass on Marks of Repentance.
And I want to write more next year too. Seems silly when it takes two or three additional passes to clean up behind a first draft, but there you go. I need the creativity, too.
Meanwhile, though, I have Christmas prep to do and a store that looks like somebody totally ignored it for at least a whole month. Who, me?
And I want to write more next year too. Seems silly when it takes two or three additional passes to clean up behind a first draft, but there you go. I need the creativity, too.
Meanwhile, though, I have Christmas prep to do and a store that looks like somebody totally ignored it for at least a whole month. Who, me?
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
In case you were wondering
I *am* still making progress on my Nano novel currently (and affectionately!) known as The Girl Who Cried Squid.
You'd think that after six first drafts (Squid is my seventh) I'd have figured out some of my habits already. Noteably, that although I cannot work without an outline, my endings rarely resembe the ending the outline calls for. I'm thinking that as the characters come to life during the writing of the draft and peel themselves up off the page (in my dreams at least)--begin walking and talking on their own--and subplots grow and begin to flower like well-watered seeds, the original ending just doesn't encompass enough of the story to end any of it.
It's like creating a rope with several strong pieces of yarn and a dozen pretty and fun embellishments woven throughout, and then just tying two parts of the main yarn together and calling the rope finished. Not so. All the pieces need to be woven and tied up together at the end. When I'm writing the outline, I have a fair idea what the main yarn will look like and I may have gotten a glimpse or two of some fun ribbons and threads, but I really don't know all the parts I'm working with until I get there.
That's when I look at the planned ending and wonder who wrote this junk. Now I still think it's important for me to outline an ending. After all, the story does need a direction in which to go. However, I should stop being shocked when I hit a brick wall 10K from the end and realize it is time to analyze those yarns, ribbons, threads, laces--whatever all has been created and looped together--and look for new and more satisfying ways of weaving them together for those last bits.
So I've been doing the analyzing and creeping forward, bit by bit. I still hope to hit The End this week. The culmination will be much better for the slowed pace and will hopefully require less revising than if I'd shoved through with the original plan. In my dreams.
You'd think that after six first drafts (Squid is my seventh) I'd have figured out some of my habits already. Noteably, that although I cannot work without an outline, my endings rarely resembe the ending the outline calls for. I'm thinking that as the characters come to life during the writing of the draft and peel themselves up off the page (in my dreams at least)--begin walking and talking on their own--and subplots grow and begin to flower like well-watered seeds, the original ending just doesn't encompass enough of the story to end any of it.
It's like creating a rope with several strong pieces of yarn and a dozen pretty and fun embellishments woven throughout, and then just tying two parts of the main yarn together and calling the rope finished. Not so. All the pieces need to be woven and tied up together at the end. When I'm writing the outline, I have a fair idea what the main yarn will look like and I may have gotten a glimpse or two of some fun ribbons and threads, but I really don't know all the parts I'm working with until I get there.
That's when I look at the planned ending and wonder who wrote this junk. Now I still think it's important for me to outline an ending. After all, the story does need a direction in which to go. However, I should stop being shocked when I hit a brick wall 10K from the end and realize it is time to analyze those yarns, ribbons, threads, laces--whatever all has been created and looped together--and look for new and more satisfying ways of weaving them together for those last bits.
So I've been doing the analyzing and creeping forward, bit by bit. I still hope to hit The End this week. The culmination will be much better for the slowed pace and will hopefully require less revising than if I'd shoved through with the original plan. In my dreams.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Nano count...??
Well, I cleared the 50K and stalled. I'm an estimated 2 1/2 chapters from the end of the novel, but progress is slow. I am at the stage of the novel (every one is the same in this regard) where I say, "Who calls this an outline? This won't get Krin out of the hole I've dug for her! I need a PLAN!"
Obviously, a NEW plan...
Anyone got a sale on new plans? Store shelves seem rather bare of them.
Okay, I had Salesman-Who-Talks here this morning, so scratch 3 hours off my day right there. After lunch, I started listing characters and where I last left them, where I saw them going (and doing what). What threads my subconscious had thrown out into sub-plot-land that might come in handy already.
I'm still mulling, but at least I have lists to play with while I mull. Lists are my friend. Really.
Obviously, a NEW plan...
Anyone got a sale on new plans? Store shelves seem rather bare of them.
Okay, I had Salesman-Who-Talks here this morning, so scratch 3 hours off my day right there. After lunch, I started listing characters and where I last left them, where I saw them going (and doing what). What threads my subconscious had thrown out into sub-plot-land that might come in handy already.
I'm still mulling, but at least I have lists to play with while I mull. Lists are my friend. Really.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
NANO complete!!
Just taking a few minutes out of my busy schedule to celebrate the *completion* of Nano. I just validated my word count at 50247. See?
Now on to finish the novel, which should take the rest of the week.
Now on to finish the novel, which should take the rest of the week.
Monday, November 27, 2006
Nano: 49048
Sigh. So close, but being in the midst of a snowstorm is sucking my enthusiasm dry for finishing today. Looking at winter through a window is one thing. Driving in BC's version of winter is something entirely different. The roads are slick, slippery, slushy messes, and I'm heading home early so I'll beat the next freeze at dark.
Th-th-that's all for today, folks.
Th-th-that's all for today, folks.
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Nano: 45258
Today's count: 2593. Everything is so quiet in chat-land today with no word wars, no random links, no abstract discussions. Still, I'm happy with my wordcount and I'm expecting to cross the magical 50K line on Monday.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Nano count 42665
Today's 3108 blew me past 40K with a good bit of breeze. At this stage, fun as the writing is--and the arguments--it's hard to share snips without context. So...sorry!
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Monday, November 20, 2006
Nano 36469
Friday was 3195 and today, 2283. Still on par for a finish early next week. Here's a teensy snippet:
Ah, the killing of hope. Such a nasty thing, but so necessary with so much book yet to be written.
I decided to take a chance, for it seemed one had been offered me. "Amuran seems...evil."
She nodded slightly. "Perhaps more than you think."
That flicker of hope died as though a cold wave had squelched it.
Ah, the killing of hope. Such a nasty thing, but so necessary with so much book yet to be written.
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Nano 30991
I cleared 30K today! **Happy Dance** Today's chapter came in at 2457.
The fairy kittens are recovering from being accidentally drugged:
The fairy kittens are recovering from being accidentally drugged:
I picked up Pico and dropped her; her wings fluttered out and she hovered in front of my face, indignant at the mistreatment. Good. She could fly. I repeated the process with Boots and Puff, shushing their squawks.
"It's time to head for home," I whispered to the fairies.
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