Writing
Dealing with Writer's Block (02/26/06)
My Antagonist's New Name (02/18/06)
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Back in the Writing Groove 12/15/09 After a big break for several months I'm back to writing my novel. I've written about 5000 words so far this week and am pretty happy about that. Another 20K or so and the novel will have the ending written. The first half has already gone through a 2nd draft. Things are progressing well. Should be working on a 3rd draft by the summer at this rate and ready for submitting <crosses fingers>. To the left I've added a "Crafty Links" for some new blogs I've been enjoying lately. Makes me want to get back into the crafting groove. With all the Christmas preparations pretty much finished I have some free time (that's not spent writing). So if you like to craft, check them out. _________________________________ NaNoWriMo 11/09/08 November is National Novel Writing Month. Check it out at www.nanowrimo.com. Some person came up with the idea about ten years ago and now hundreds of thousands of people practically have to self-flaggelate themself to get 50 thousand words written between November 1st and November 30th (sounds like great fun, doesn't it?). The first time I did it was back in 2002, so I figured it was time again, especially since I had a new novel I wanted to work on anyway, so I'm attempting to hit the word mark this year. Current word total for this year's attempt: 14,700 /cracks knuckles and gets back to work ___________________________________ Point of View 06/07/07 So I've been reevaluating my novel. I haven't written seriously on it for months, looking at the revisions it needed and despaired because it just wasn't working in some places. But, I asked myself, if I think it's a good story, why do I think the rewrites won't be enough to make it publishable? Because it's written in the wrong point of view. I've written the first draft in first person, and as I've been rewriting it and going through the chapters with my writing group I came to that very painful realization. That most of the the problems with my story can't be solved in the POV it's in now. So what does this mean? It means I get to scrap my half-finished second draft and start over. Of course it's not completely starting from scratch, because I have an entire novel to 'steal' from, but I'll be adding the POV of other characters, and changing how I do things. Hence, the writing continues. I just hope I finish it before it kills me. Heh. * * * Aunt Rayele asked, "So, what's wrong with the first person POV? I've written my own novel in that point of view, and it seems to work okay." Answer: Because our stories are different in scope. Asarum's Power is at heart an epic and has a larger cast that affects the plot. There are things going on with the other characters that is crucial to know, but it's difficult to get the information across when the story is being told from only one person's point of view. _________________________________ On Comments from Readers 12/09/06 So I've been writing my novel for over a year (I began it last October) and since then have been participating actively in an online writer's group. I've also given it out to family/friends to read. A few people give varied comments in emails, but there's no replacing the direct feedback a face-to-face chat will provide to give me real insight to my story and the flaws that need fixing. But I think some people are afraid of criticizing my story to 'my face'. I do ask for feedback and I'm serious when I say I want it. In particular I need help answering the following questions: 1. Were you ever bored? Did you find your mind wandering? Where specifically? 2. What do you think about the main characters? What did you like/hate about them? 3. Is there anything you don't understand? Anywhere you got confused? 4. Was there anything you didn't believe? 5. What do you think will happen next? What are you still wondering about? 6. What do you want to see
happen? I had mentioned to my brother that I was experiencing some writer's block lately, and he worried that it resulted from some comments he made on the chapters he was helping me with. To be clear: no one's comments causes me to get writer's block. I can be afflicted with it quite easily without help, thankyouverymuch. Sure, comments can present me with problems that stump me and I'm stuck until I can figure out the fix. But that doesn't mean it's the reader-commenter's fault. It means that I wrote something that could be better, and thankyouVERYmuch for pointing it out so I can have a better story. So all comments are important and welcome. _________________________________
Story Update 10/20/06 I'm halfway through revision 2 rewrites. Another couple of months and the second draft will be finished. Then I'll print out a big copy and send it around for people to read, like Mark, my mother-in-law, and other local friends who are on my waiting list. I need feedback before I can finish draft three to send off to publishers. It's just incredible to me that I've been working on this thing for an entire year! I've made quite a few changes from the first draft (I have this terrible habit of writing contrived scenes, forcing things to fit where there's no logical explanation, and so I've had to fix them), adding things here, taking out entire scenes there, re-writing complete chapters. It's been quite the learning process. And yet, after all this work, I'm still doing it. Sometimes I get a little burned out, but I always come back to it and keep going. I must be insane to truly like doing all this work on something that may or may not see the light of day as a published work. ____________________________________ Call for Comments 07/29/06 Several of you who read my blog are also reading my story Asarum's Power. I sent out the last chapters of the first draft a while ago. If you're missing chapters, let me know. I'm starting the second draft and am in the process of making rewrites. If you have comments to make, send them to me now so I can incorporate them into the story. Any comments are welcome! (Especially, of course, ones of praise for my brilliant writing! lol!) Thanks! _________________________________ Horrayyyyy! 07/05/06 I've finished the first draft of my story! I'm soooo happy! It took me a little longer than I thought to finish up the final chapters because I ended up adding another chapter (hehe). The final word count: 165,400 Pretty good, huh? That's about 500 pages or so. The final chapters have been sent out to alpha readers. Now, for the re-writes...but I won't start on those until tomorrow. Now for some ice cream to celebrate. _________________________________ Another Story Milestone 06/15/06 I reached 160,000 words yesterday. I'm very excited. When I first started this story I was estimating it at closer to 100,000. It appears that I can yammer on more than I thought I could. I've sent out Chapters 34-36 to alpha readers, and I'm making a final push to finish chapters 37 and 38 (the climax chapters). Chapter 39 is 70% written, and Chapter 40 is 95% written. This means I don't have much further to go and my novel will be finished! This isn't the first novel I've written. I wrote several in high school, and since then have started (but not finished) several. This particular story has been mulling around for about ten years (yes, you read that right, an entire decade!), so I've had the entire plot outlined for quite a while, which makes writing much easier, let me tell you, when you know how it's going to end. That's always been one of my writing flaws--not knowing how the story is going to end. I'm a great beginner and middler, but no ender. But soon, I will be an ender. And what an end it will be. I'm curious to see the reaction of my readers. __________________________________ It's So Close . . . and (yum) Truffles 05/18/06 It's like the expection of the sweet smoothness of a truffle about to melt on your tongue.... I've finished Chapters 34 and 40 (yes, I have written the final chapter! See! It CAN be done), but need to go back and finish chapters 35-39. I have over half of the content in those chapters written--I'm sooooo close! I'm getting anxious to finish the first draft. I've even had some nifty inspiration for conversations that will happen in these last chapters. Now I just need to buckle down and get those transitions written. *Vanessa cracks her knuckles in preparation for some fiendish typing.* __________________________________ Story Update 05/15/06 I've finished chapters 30-33 and sent them to alpha readers. Check your in-boxes, people. I'm at 150,000 words. I've been going so slow lately for two reasons: 1. I've been going through chapters in which main scenes have already been written, so the majority of the writing has been transitions, which are difficult and time consuming. 2. I've been super duper busy. I had a bunch of work come in at once, Mark's been busy at work, and I've had a lot of things going on. So, of course, writing goes by the wayside. I'm still plugging away! I will finish it. I promise I won't leave you guys hanging. __________________________________ 05/02/06 In Orson Scott Card's book How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy, he says that every writer should have two attitudes (and I paraphrase): 1. That their story is the best story ever written. 2. That their story is worthless drivel. He suggests that writers hold those opinions at the same time. It makes for schizo writers, but there you have it. My personality rebels at his schizo suggestions, instead believing one at the cost of the other. Like last week I was going through some of the beginning and thinking it was pretty good. Today I hate hate hate my story and am convinced it's garbage. Not enough to delete every word from my computer (I'm too chicken), but enough that I'm despairing over it. Sigh. Writing group is tonight, and I'm glad because although they spend the entire time picking apart my submission chapters, they will pump me full of ideas and energy. Bring it on. ____________________________________________________ Story Update 04/11/06 I reached 140,000 words today. Getting closer and closer to being finished with the first draft! Another 20K words, I think, but who knows how long it will really be when I finish (somehow the final estimate seems to be getting longer...and longer....). Chapters 27-29 will be sent out to alpha-readers this week. ___________________________________ Story Update 03/23/06 130,000 words today. Horray for me! I had a rough patch of writer's block last week, but I'm over it for now. I'm into the last 1/4 of the book, nearing the climax. I'm hoping to be finished with the first draft in the next 4-6 weeks. In other news, my writing group tore apart chapters 13-15 on Tuesday night, until I was in tears. But it's all good. It needed some shredding so I could go back and fix it. It will be better because of it. ______________________________________________ 03/15/06 I've learned that the best way to learn to write is to write. Recently I've read quite a few "how to write" books, which have been helpful, but they have quite a bit of 'duh' stuff in them. I'm not saying I'm a great writer, or anything, but even though the "how to write" books describe great writing, you don't really understand how to do it until you actually write. For example,
characterization. I'm reading Orson Scott Card's book on characterization
and for the first half of the book I'm thinking, "Yeah, I understand
all this already." Not that I'm perfect at it, but everything
he said I already knew from experience--my experience as a reader
and as a writer. So, if you want to learn how to write, sure go and read some "how to write" books, but you'll learn more by actually putting down the words. _____________________________________________ Story Update 03/10/06 I hit 122,000 words in my story today. Apparently I can yammer on when it comes to novel writing. Heh. In another week or so I'll have chapters 24-26 ready for my readers. Um, does anyone have comments from the last batch I sent out? I would love to hear your thoughts. _____________________________________________ 02/26/06 My sister Carrie asked today how I deal with writer's block. Here are the things I specifically do to cope when I have trouble writing. 1. Write anyway. Yes, I force myself to put down words. They are painful. Even physically painful. There were a couple of chapters in my story that are transition chapters between big events (I have the hardest time with transitions) where I just had to make myself sit down and write. First I would type out an outline of what I would want to accomplish, then a paragraph at a time I would write out the chapters. Sometimes it would take me an hour to write one hundred words. I still shudder to think about how hard it was, but I go back and read those chapters and I'm glad I'm done with them, remembering the important purpose they serve to move the story along. Plus, writing anyway often gets the juices flowing, making it easier to get past the writer's block. 2. Take a break. Sometimes you just have to get away from it. Perhaps you're hating your story. I think all authors go through a love-hate relationship with their stories, and this is normal. You just need to remember that it's a story worth telling. 3. Write on something else for a while. I have two novels and a short story that I'm working on simultaneously. Although I'm focusing most of my time on one story, I have the other two to go to when I'm hating story #1 or I'm stuck in a rough patch. 4. Listen to music. There's nothing quite like music to pump up your blood or establish the mood to help inspire those scenes you need to write. 5. Write a different section of the story. I don't write the story in order, but I'm hardly unique in this, plenty of other authors write this way. In the current novel I wrote chapter 10 first. I write integral scenes first and then go back and fill things in. When I'm having trouble with transitions, I skip ahead in the novel and write a scene that suddenly comes to me, explains an event, or is integral to the story. This is often enough to launch me into 'the zone' and I'm able to move on and work on the tougher stuff while I'm in the right mindframe. 6. Keep notes. Unfortunately, I have a little trouble writing consistently because I'm constantly being interrupted by my children. I mostly write at the computer, but I can't always be spending time at the keyboard. So, I carry around a notepad to scribble down ideas. When I'm having trouble with writer's block, I go to my notes and work on those little bits of inspiration I had, and that helps tremendously. Writing goes in fits and spurts for me. I will have a week of hardly anything, but once I get past it I often have a period of intense creativity. I know that the creative spurts don't always last, just as the writer's block doesn't always last. That's how I keep going through the rough patches. __________________________________ Story Update 02/25/06 I hit 110,000 words this week. In another week or two, I'll have chapters 21-24 ready to send out to readers. Horray! Things are going along at a good clip, now. I'm averaging about 1000-2000 words a day, which is really good considering the writer's block I had at the beginning of the month. __________________________________ 02/18/06 Dunrach And unless someone can help me come up with something better, that's what it's going to be. I've also renamed the conglomeration of countries. It was Delmatia. I know, it's like Dalmatia, as in the Dalmatian coast on the Adriatic Sea. But it was always a placeholder name until I came up with something more original, and I've decided on Lesandria. Unless you can help me come up with something better. __________________________________ 02/17/06 It has come to my attention that the name for my antagonist, Drakken, has already been given to a bad guy in the cartoon Kim Possible. The fiends! Now I need a new bad-guy name. I want it to sound 'harsh' and it can't begin with the letters L, S (the first initals of the two main characters), or M (his first name). Any suggestions? __________________________________ Asarum's Power Update 02/12/07 100,000 words today. Yeah! That's what I'm talking about! I'm excited because I've thought up a whole bunch of new details about the bad guys and am in the process of writing it. __________________________________ Writing Group 02/09/06 So I've joined the writing group off TimeWastersGuide.com and it's going pretty well. We met on Tuesday to go over chapters 7-12 of my story and I got some great feedback. Horray! They like my characterization and descriptions, so that's good :) I'm working on some plot issues, mostly filler where I need to explain things and all that, but on the whole it was a good meeting and I was happy with how it turned out. Now I'm up to 97,500 words, with about 40,000 left to go. My writing pace has slowed down a little because I was despairing that my story sucked. But after the writer's group, and positive feedback, I'm back in the game and even feel motivated. So I wrote 1000 words today, which is better than I've done for a while. __________________________________ Asarum's Power Update 01/25 I hit 90,000 words this week, and have gotten through a rough patch of writer's block I've been experiencing. Writing is going at a good pace now.
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