Category: Things That Are Hard Page 2 of 3

Balance

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On February 22, 2013

In My Failings As A Proper Novelist, Revision, Things That Are Hard

I feel like I’m being pulled in all different directions at once. I want to keep writing my work in progress! I want to go back and edit my completed novel! I want to work on the outline for my next novel! I want to eat all the pie!

Well the last one I can do while I’m working on any of the above. Pie goes with everything.

But seriously, I don’t know how to manage my time when I have so many different things I want to be doing. I’m the sort of person who eats all of one thing on my plate before moving on to the next, which I also consume in full, before starting in on the third, and it’s a bit the same with writing. Right now doing anything that isn’t adding to my work in progress feels like sliding backwards, but I also need to get moving on finishing up some edits on my first book so I can start querying. For some reason it doesn’t feel like a good idea to have two books of the series completed before I start sending it out. I’m just so in love with writing right now, and while editing never feels like work to me, it is harder.

So. Decision time. I think I know what I have to do – take a short break from writing to focus on editing. I can keep putting it off, waiting for time to be “just right” according to various imagined criteria that will never be met, but only one should really matter – whether I’m ready to do the work.

Am I Crazy?

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On January 27, 2013

In Revision, Things That Are Hard, Things That Make You Weep For Your Sanity

I just decided to re-write the first four chapters of The Unravelling AGAIN. For those of you keeping track, this will be the fourth time.

My biggest issue with the way the first third of the book unfolds is that it takes too long to get to the pivotal event, the scene which sets the whole rest of the series in motion. Right now it happens at the end of chapter SIX, a whole quarter of the way into a 100,000-word book. Yes there are events leading up to it that are important for the story as a whole, and there’s definitely some suspense building up to that point, but the more I think about it, the more I feel like a lot of it could go without any loss to the story arc.

My first three revisions I chopped about 8,000 words from those six chapters, and I’m going to aim for at least 5,000 more. It will mean sacrificing two characters that I really like a lot, which makes me a bit sad. They will cease to exist entirely, other than the briefest of mentions. Which leads me to the question, how many characters is too few?

I could also just be second-guessing myself, wondering if I’m really ready to move forward. So far the only person who’s read it and thought it was slow to get to that life-changing event is… me. But then none of my friends or family are editors, more’s the pity.

I’m going to play around with it a bit and see if I like the new revision idea. It can’t hurt, right? Even now I’m thinking of compromises that will allow me to keep my two secondary characters but still shorten that first act. Bring out the pruning shears.

*facepalm*

By

On November 29, 2012

In My Failings As A Proper Novelist, Outline, Things That Are Hard, Things to Ponder, Writer's Low

I’m working on my rough outline for the final book of my trilogy tonight. Which is great, right? All my ducks in a row and all that. Only as I’m building the climax I’m realizing that two of my most important elements, resolutions to questions that go all the way back to the first book, kind of conflict with each other. And seriously, I need to have them both in there. All kinds of other things depend on them. I really need to put my brain to work on this one and find a creative solution that will allow me to have both in harmony with each other, because as it stands right now, the reader’s going to get to that point and basically go, “but… you just said that…” *headscratch* “that doesn’t make any sense…” and it will all be a giant letdown.

It’s funny how you don’t really realize stuff like that when it’s all just in your head, but then you put it down on paper and immediately see that there’s a problem. So I guess thank god for outlining, or freenoting really since this is just a jumbled mess of ideas right now.

Now I’m going to go ponder the immensity of what the true definition of humanity is, because it’s no smaller problem than that. Sigh.

I Should Tape This To My Bathroom Mirror

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On October 25, 2012

In Beyond Writing, Things That Are Hard

 

I’m a needs-visual-reminders kind of girl. I tattoo them on my body, remember? Still struggling this week. But getting better.

Settling Down

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On October 18, 2012

In Beyond Writing, Planning for the Future, Things That Are Hard

After my last post, in which I sent my book out into the wide world, I basically had a complete meltdown. I like the bubble that surrounds my comfort zone, and I don’t like to stray out of it. Putting something I’ve worked really hard at for close to a year into the hands of others? Not comfortable. Then, because – hey! if you’re gonna do it, do it all the way – I shared it with eight or ten friends.

Cue sleepless nights, disjointed thoughts, jitteriness and physical malaise.

The symptoms aren’t new to me – I’ve suffered from generalized anxiety pretty much my entire life – but I was surprised at how strongly I was affected. I wrote the book because I felt like I had to and I was ready to do it, but my intention was always to try and have it published. I’m not second-guessing that decision at all, but I do need to spend some time on reflection to try and find out what about that step bothers me so much right now.

I hope in a few days things will be back to normal and I can start moving forward again. Until the feedback starts rolling in, I want to start some more detailed planning of the next book in the series and try and flesh out some of the “a bunch of stuff happens” (actual notation) in the middle of my rough outline. I have a few scenes written that need to be organized into that as well. Yeah, that’s right, I’m diving fully into outlining this time around. I pantsed my way through almost all of The Unravelling and when I started I actually only had four or five scenes out of the whole book envisioned. Pretty much the entire thing was “a bunch of stuff happens” in my head until I started writing. Now that I know these characters a bit better, I think I owe it to them to plan stuff out.

And as November 1 approaches I’m SO tempted to do NaNoWriMo again. I managed to win it last year, writing a silly contemporary romance, but this year I’m going to Mexico for a week in the middle of it and I don’t want to spend my time there hunched over my laptop instead of sitting on the beach, nor can I make up the missed days over the rest of the month. All the same, I’d like to start writing the second book (it’s called The Unseeing, by the way, have I mentioned that before?) in earnest sometime in November. I have to do something with my time.

In the meantime this blog is probably going to get quieter and posts less frequent as I’ll have little to say while I’m not actively working on anything. With any luck that will change sometime next month as I get back into the swing of things. My last Six Sentence Sunday from The Unravelling is scheduled for this weekend. Hope you enjoy it!

One last thing: if anyone’s looking to swap novels for critiquing purposes, drop me an email through the Contact page above. I’d love to read what others have been working on, and have my stuff reviewed as well.

Happy writing, everyone. 🙂

No Poet

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On October 12, 2012

In Learning, Things That Are Hard

One of the aspects I’ve really struggled with while writing this story is the fact that my main character is a songwriter. I foolishly decided (okay, not at all, it’s pretty central to the story arc) to include some of her lyrics, but at the time I wrote the chapter, just inserted lyrics will go here. Well, now it’s time to pay the piper, and I have to write some rhymy bits. Tomorrow’s the day. All I’m going to do is focus on writing some believable lyrics, and with that, my manuscript will finally be finished. I’ve already done a couple revision passes and cut over 10,000 words (!), but this song thing is standing in the way of my being able to say my book is written.

In high school I wrote some truly dreadful poetry. I’ll be channelling that muse again, and hopefully she’s matured and improved over the last 15 years.

Well This Is A Good Sign

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On October 1, 2012

In Things That Are Hard, Writer's Low

Good to know.

So it’s been all of 48 hours and already I’m missing my book. Last night after I put my kids to bed I kind of wandered around the house, saying, “what do I do now?” to myself. And today all the time I usually spend thinking about what I’m going to write later that night felt like the same thing. There’s a book-shaped hole in my heart right now. I don’t like this advice to sit and wait for awhile before starting to edit. I’m not sick of writing. I don’t feel like taking a break. I feel like jumping right into the second book (my cliffhanger ending is apparently most vexing, even to the author who knows what comes next).

At the very least I want to re-write the first two chapters. That’s not considered editing, is it? That’s, like, writing things better than they were before. Totally different. Right?

All Right, You.

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On September 20, 2012

In Things That Are Hard

Quit moping and make some words.

NaNoWriMo Sadness

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On September 11, 2012

In Talking It Out, Things That Are Hard

I realized with some dismay today that I won’t be doing NaNoWriMo this year. Come November, I’m committed to having a finished first draft on deck to start editing. I certainly won’t be in any frame of mind to start Book 2 at that point.

Doing NaNo last year was the kickstart that got me believing I could give writing fiction a go. I’ve been doing freelance journalism for close to a decade now but had always wanted to write a book. Various things kept me from trying in all that time – we’ll out fear as the top one, and belief that I didn’t have the time as the second. Then last year a friend and I basically double-dared each other to do NaNo, and I found out that there definitely was time in the day for it once I conquered that fear of starting (my hands were literally shaking when I typed out the first few sentences). I went a little crazy last November, neglecting myself, my family, friends and all other writing commitments shockingly, but around the 27th I “won,” penning my 50,000th word. And it felt so good to do it that a few months later when this idea came barrelling into my brain, I actually had the confidence to sit down and start to write it out. Six and a half months later I’ve learned so much about how I can be a better writer and grown this little kernel of an idea into a thorny bramble of a story, so it’s kind of a drag that NaNo won’t be a part of my life this year since I feel I owe it so much.

Next best will be cheering on my friends who do take on the challenge, and hopefully scrounging up a few bucks to donate or spend in the NaNo shop, and that’ll have to do until 2013 when hopefully the timing works out a bit better.

Conflict with Conflict

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On August 24, 2012

In Talking It Out, Things That Are Hard

I’ve been writing this argument scene for a couple days, and the dialogue just isn’t falling together for me. Everything sounds really awkward, and I can’t come up with better words for my characters to express themselves with. I think I have a really good sense of the emotions and the non-verbal aspects of the argument, but what they’re saying isn’t coming out right. When I run through the scene in my head, there’s a lot of gesturing and facial expressions and whatnot, but no dialogue. It’s frustrating! Sharing (and avoiding sharing) feelings is so awkward sometimes. I roughed in a few sentences, but it’s definitely something I have to come back to later.

In my own life, I’m a conflict avoider, so it’s no surprise to me I’m struggling with this one. Callie, however, can be a conflict provoker. She often speaks without thinking and will use words as weapons, so this is something I’m really going to have to work on, especially since there are many, many more conflicts in her future.

At least I have the luxury of doing what I’ve always wished I could in real life: going back and changing what I said hours later when I think of a way better line.

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