I've been in "edit mode" lately. Decided (after several changes of mind) to go ahead with Rose's prologue, and after several passes have cut the length almost in half, which it needed. So much easier to write long and cut.
Chapters 1-3 have also been under the knife, but less drastically so. Now I'm poised to cruise through Chapter 4 with one hand on the mouse and the other on the delete key. Plenty of good writing in there, but the wedding reception sequence is way too long and unfocused. Need to strip it down to its essence, while finding clever ways to feed in some more backstory details. There's a subplot supposedly lurking behind the scenes that I haven't managed to introduce yet. oops.
Once this is all done I'll have (I hope) a solid launch into the middle of the story. Whether or not I'll be able to squeeze discovery of the dead guy into the first 50 pages or not remains to be seen, but knocking off Rose in the prologue takes care of the "where's the corpse?" issue, right?
Next challenge is to get back into "write mode" in order to crank out more first/second draft and fill in all the plot holes throughout the middle.
Abby and I have agreed to do a novel exchange when she comes to visit in October (I'll read hers, she'll read mind). That gives me three months and three days to pull a complete, readable draft together. Eeep.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Saturday, June 7, 2008
3 out of 4 not bad
Progress! It's been appallingly wrenching to set aside the "should-dos" and "need-attentions" and allow myself to do an hour of novelling FIRST before turning to the rest of the day's demands, but I have managed to do so 3 of the past 4 days. Yay, me!
The missed day was because just as I sat down to my novel session the Sears delivery guys showed up with a new stove to replace the one that had died (no oven for a week, and only 1-1/2 working burners, which is a hardship if you cook as much as I do). So I hopped up and down with excitement and got distracted and then a couple of hours later when I sat down again, the phone rang and it was the nice lady at the gas company saying hey, guess what, our guy can stop by right now to hook up your new stove (we were scheduled for next day, so that was great!), so then that happened, and then it was time to do errands, and then we needed a nap, then workout, make dinner, etc. But still, we have a fully-functioning stove and oven (yay!) and three out of four days is awesome progress for me. Plus, I like what I wrote -- whoohoo!
So here I am boast-blogging instead of writing. Guess I'd better go see if I can make it four days out of five...
The missed day was because just as I sat down to my novel session the Sears delivery guys showed up with a new stove to replace the one that had died (no oven for a week, and only 1-1/2 working burners, which is a hardship if you cook as much as I do). So I hopped up and down with excitement and got distracted and then a couple of hours later when I sat down again, the phone rang and it was the nice lady at the gas company saying hey, guess what, our guy can stop by right now to hook up your new stove (we were scheduled for next day, so that was great!), so then that happened, and then it was time to do errands, and then we needed a nap, then workout, make dinner, etc. But still, we have a fully-functioning stove and oven (yay!) and three out of four days is awesome progress for me. Plus, I like what I wrote -- whoohoo!
So here I am boast-blogging instead of writing. Guess I'd better go see if I can make it four days out of five...
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Just what I need... a kick in the butt!
Did I mention that both my sisters are coming out to Hawaii in October to help me celebrate (or commiserate) turning 50? How totally awesome is that!! I'm thoroughly psyched to see them, and thrilled they're both gonna be here at the same time.
Plus, how great to have a captive (and kindly inclined, but not likely to hold any punches) "first readers" audience. So there's an incentive for ya: how great would it be to have a complete, readable -- though unlikely to be polished -- draft to give them while they're here?! Both are avid readers: one closely shares my taste in fiction, and the other is also an aspiring novelist.
Arrival date is now slightly less than five months away... I'd better get writing!
Plus, how great to have a captive (and kindly inclined, but not likely to hold any punches) "first readers" audience. So there's an incentive for ya: how great would it be to have a complete, readable -- though unlikely to be polished -- draft to give them while they're here?! Both are avid readers: one closely shares my taste in fiction, and the other is also an aspiring novelist.
Arrival date is now slightly less than five months away... I'd better get writing!
No whining!
Holy Moly! It's been more than a month since I posted here (?!?) ... how'd that happen so fast?
I'm not up on the details, but there's something going on with the Mayan calendar about time speeding up, getting faster and faster the closer we get to a major shift in consciousness or reality or something like that in 2012.
Sure seems that way to me, these days. I'm kinda curious about this whole Mayan/timeshift thing, but have been resisting exploration of the details -- which are readily available as my husband is into it and all I'd have to do is ask him (or read one of several books he's got on the topic).
Clearly there's a big part of me that prefers to go on pretending I have all the time in the world to get things done. So far, that part is firmly in the driver's seat of my daily life.
Novelling hasn't had much attention lately, but I've been moving ahead with reinventing the opening of the book (this draft, anyway). Feels like a big improvement. Still tons to do, of both the invention and revision kind, but the clearer I get about how to start the thing, the more the rest of the vision falls into place.
I did make one clear decision last month: I am not going to let this blog turn into a whine fest about how much writing I am not getting done. So, I'm only gonna post when I have something positive to say. Fingers crossed that turns out to mean more frequent updates!
I'm not up on the details, but there's something going on with the Mayan calendar about time speeding up, getting faster and faster the closer we get to a major shift in consciousness or reality or something like that in 2012.
Sure seems that way to me, these days. I'm kinda curious about this whole Mayan/timeshift thing, but have been resisting exploration of the details -- which are readily available as my husband is into it and all I'd have to do is ask him (or read one of several books he's got on the topic).
Clearly there's a big part of me that prefers to go on pretending I have all the time in the world to get things done. So far, that part is firmly in the driver's seat of my daily life.
Novelling hasn't had much attention lately, but I've been moving ahead with reinventing the opening of the book (this draft, anyway). Feels like a big improvement. Still tons to do, of both the invention and revision kind, but the clearer I get about how to start the thing, the more the rest of the vision falls into place.
I did make one clear decision last month: I am not going to let this blog turn into a whine fest about how much writing I am not getting done. So, I'm only gonna post when I have something positive to say. Fingers crossed that turns out to mean more frequent updates!
Sunday, April 13, 2008
What I've Been Up To Lately
... Does not include novelling. I'm feeling bad about that.
On the plus side, hubby and I are now the shareholders, directors, officers and will soon be employees (beginning July 1) of a new corporate entity. And our 2007 taxes have been signed, paid, and mailed. It was the "paid" part that hurt: flip side to having had a really good year is way underpaying quarterly estimated. Ouch. Have done some analysis of gross profit percentages and fun stuff like that to keep scary year-end tax bill surprises at bay next time around. I hope. Incorporating is supposed to help with that.
All of this has been a major distraction. You'd think spending too much time on number stuff lately would make novelling a pleasing alternative, but I've felt locked into left brain mode. One of these days I need to see if I can remember who my characters are and what they're supposed to be doing.
I had the idea that when (as so often seems to happen) I have no progress on the novel front to report, I could share news of what books I've been reading (instead of writing). Maybe not. Here's what's been on top of my current reading pile:
1) Incorporate Your Business
2) Bookkeeping for Dummies
3) QuickBooks Pro: The Missing Manual
I'm thrilled to have these helpful tomes on hand, for business purposes, but their entertainment value is nonexistent. Fortunately, I've got Plum Lucky by Janet Evanovich right here by my side. I picked it up at Borders about a month ago to be my reward for getting the incorporating/taxes tasks done. And done they are, so, while it's true that I am feeling increasingly guilty every day about how much novelling is not happening around here, my afternoon plans include time in a deck chair with someone else's book in my lap.
On the plus side, hubby and I are now the shareholders, directors, officers and will soon be employees (beginning July 1) of a new corporate entity. And our 2007 taxes have been signed, paid, and mailed. It was the "paid" part that hurt: flip side to having had a really good year is way underpaying quarterly estimated. Ouch. Have done some analysis of gross profit percentages and fun stuff like that to keep scary year-end tax bill surprises at bay next time around. I hope. Incorporating is supposed to help with that.
All of this has been a major distraction. You'd think spending too much time on number stuff lately would make novelling a pleasing alternative, but I've felt locked into left brain mode. One of these days I need to see if I can remember who my characters are and what they're supposed to be doing.
I had the idea that when (as so often seems to happen) I have no progress on the novel front to report, I could share news of what books I've been reading (instead of writing). Maybe not. Here's what's been on top of my current reading pile:
1) Incorporate Your Business
2) Bookkeeping for Dummies
3) QuickBooks Pro: The Missing Manual
I'm thrilled to have these helpful tomes on hand, for business purposes, but their entertainment value is nonexistent. Fortunately, I've got Plum Lucky by Janet Evanovich right here by my side. I picked it up at Borders about a month ago to be my reward for getting the incorporating/taxes tasks done. And done they are, so, while it's true that I am feeling increasingly guilty every day about how much novelling is not happening around here, my afternoon plans include time in a deck chair with someone else's book in my lap.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Attention Diversion
I've been even more distracted from novelling than usual lately. On the non-novelling front, we are about to split off all of our non-publishing business activities into a separate corporation. Not terrifically difficult to do, but gathering/presenting/discussing financial info and options with a new accountant (on top of wrapping up '07 results for tax season) has seriously diverted my attention from right-brain creative stuff to left-brain number stuff. Next up, I have to learn how to use QuickBooksPro and get it all customized and set up for the new business. Soon, too. Can't say I haven't seen that one coming for a while, but the days of putting it off are officially over.
In other words, I haven't written squat in over a week, but have continued a little bit of playing around with the alternative POV/voice/narration to fit in/around/between 1st person. Just fell (again) for "why don't I order a few more books about writing from Amazon if I feel stuck". In the same spirit (pun intended) I decided, if I'm going to have a ghost in my novel, it would be nice to read "the Lovely Bones" again, so that's on hold for me at the library as soon as I get around to picking it up.
So much easier to read about writing than to discipline the brain and butt to work in gear and stick to the chair seat (butt) long enough to write something (brain).
Dream of having fairly polished novel done by b'day #50 has been downgraded to "maybe I can at least fill in the plot holes and buff it up a bit by then." Hope springs eternal, and all that.
In other words, I haven't written squat in over a week, but have continued a little bit of playing around with the alternative POV/voice/narration to fit in/around/between 1st person. Just fell (again) for "why don't I order a few more books about writing from Amazon if I feel stuck". In the same spirit (pun intended) I decided, if I'm going to have a ghost in my novel, it would be nice to read "the Lovely Bones" again, so that's on hold for me at the library as soon as I get around to picking it up.
So much easier to read about writing than to discipline the brain and butt to work in gear and stick to the chair seat (butt) long enough to write something (brain).
Dream of having fairly polished novel done by b'day #50 has been downgraded to "maybe I can at least fill in the plot holes and buff it up a bit by then." Hope springs eternal, and all that.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Baby Steps
Not bad for a slacker... I've actually written something more days than not this week. That's some kind of progress. Can't say I've had any plot breakthroughs, or really done anything more than play around with a new "eye-in-the-sky third person" narrative voice, which I want to use to sneak in some perspective beyond the MC's first person which is the bulk of the book. This may or may not turn out to be a success. At the moment its reading like "The Lovely Bones" as written by Janet Evanovich chanelling Virginia Woolf. Personally I think the rather overblown and self-mockingly pompous tone is funny and just what I was aiming for, but am not sure anyone else will get it. Perhaps not the best way to open the book?
Feels good to have a toe or two back in the groove, though. And since I am still in the process of stumbling toward a complete draft, I'll let editorial decisions wait for later. More important is to keep slogging ahead at something resembling a steady pace.
Feels good to have a toe or two back in the groove, though. And since I am still in the process of stumbling toward a complete draft, I'll let editorial decisions wait for later. More important is to keep slogging ahead at something resembling a steady pace.
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