OMG. I watched the Hugos streaming live until 11:30. Why? Because I am a moron. I was really, really, really tempted to just go to bed after that, but I couldn't very well watch this totally inspiring writing awards ceremony and then wuss out on doing my own writing, could I?
I am cogitating positively. Cogitating positively. Cogitating . . . snore.
I wrote 2100 words today. So tired. Must sleep.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Friday, August 19, 2011
Pinterest and 2,025 Words
Again exhausted. Again powered through. One more night, and I'll have finished week two of consistent, increasing amounts of writing.
Wrote 2,025 words tonight. I'm hoping this draft feels more cohesive than the last one did. It certainly has more direction.
Hey, here's a cool thing that I do, and I'd love it if other writers did the same thing, because I think it's fun.
I don't know if you've heard of Pinterest, which is basically an online bulletein board for images. I've got about 20 boards, but one I use is the "Creative Inspiration," board. (I would call it my "Novel Writing," board, but then my friends and family would know that I'm actively writing a novel, and I'm not sure I'm ready to come out yet.) Whenever I have an object or character or setting that I need to get a better visual grasp on, I do a Google image search, and when I find the right image, I pin it to that board. Sometimes when I'm writing I have my Word doc open on one half of the screen and the board open on the other half. It helps put me in the mood I'm trying to evoke and the pictures serve as visual reminders of where I'm going.
What about you? Do you have a Pinterest board? Do you use it for novel-writing stuff?
Wrote 2,025 words tonight. I'm hoping this draft feels more cohesive than the last one did. It certainly has more direction.
Hey, here's a cool thing that I do, and I'd love it if other writers did the same thing, because I think it's fun.
I don't know if you've heard of Pinterest, which is basically an online bulletein board for images. I've got about 20 boards, but one I use is the "Creative Inspiration," board. (I would call it my "Novel Writing," board, but then my friends and family would know that I'm actively writing a novel, and I'm not sure I'm ready to come out yet.) Whenever I have an object or character or setting that I need to get a better visual grasp on, I do a Google image search, and when I find the right image, I pin it to that board. Sometimes when I'm writing I have my Word doc open on one half of the screen and the board open on the other half. It helps put me in the mood I'm trying to evoke and the pictures serve as visual reminders of where I'm going.
What about you? Do you have a Pinterest board? Do you use it for novel-writing stuff?
Thursday, August 18, 2011
August 18-1911 Words. Starting Over.
I started my WIP over tonight. I know, I know. I swore I wouldn't do that, but sometimes you get far enough down the rabbit hole that you realize you've taken a wrong turn somewhere and you need to back up and start over. There were so many things that weren't gelling. Plot holes and threads that got dropped then picked up again or appeared out of thin air in the middle of the novel. Several characters whose entire personalities and backstories changed mid-novel because I realized 20,000 words in that something else worked better.
Plus, after reading Weronika Janczuk's article On Compactness for Write On Con, I realized that my story had absolutely no voice. I went back and re-wrote my opening in first person, and while I didn't love the first-person part, I liked the voice that emerged. And changing something as pervasive as the entire voice of a novel involves a massive rewrite. With all these changes that need to be made, I'm pretty sure starting over is actually the easiest way to go. And really, I was only 31,000 words in. At the rate I'm going, I can make that up in two or three weeks.
If I can keep up the rate I'm going. My stomach just squinched to remind me that I start teaching night classes this Monday. And my stomach just double-squinched to remind me that I still need to compile quite a few documents in preparation for my first class.
Also, my husband's computer just sprang to life and turned itself on. Why do these types of things always happen when I'm alone at night writing a supernatural thriller?
Tonight I wrote 1,911 words.
Plus, after reading Weronika Janczuk's article On Compactness for Write On Con, I realized that my story had absolutely no voice. I went back and re-wrote my opening in first person, and while I didn't love the first-person part, I liked the voice that emerged. And changing something as pervasive as the entire voice of a novel involves a massive rewrite. With all these changes that need to be made, I'm pretty sure starting over is actually the easiest way to go. And really, I was only 31,000 words in. At the rate I'm going, I can make that up in two or three weeks.
If I can keep up the rate I'm going. My stomach just squinched to remind me that I start teaching night classes this Monday. And my stomach just double-squinched to remind me that I still need to compile quite a few documents in preparation for my first class.
Also, my husband's computer just sprang to life and turned itself on. Why do these types of things always happen when I'm alone at night writing a supernatural thriller?
Tonight I wrote 1,911 words.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
August 17--1813 Words
1813 words. My goal was 1600. Guess I met it.
Had another hard time tonight. It's all so clear in my head, but for some reason it's just not coming together. Hubs told me that if I was that gridlocked, I should give myself a night off. He had a point, but right now putting out a WIP is only part of my goal. The other part of my goal is to increase my creative, emotional, and physical stamina so that I'm strong enough to make consistent, significant progress toward my goals. I have to. I'm 30 years old. I don't have any time to dink around with low output. So while this is definitely a creative exercise, it's also a stamina building exercise. That's why I kept at it tonight. But darn. Doing 1800 tonight means I have to do 1900 tomorrow night. I'd've preferred to have stopped at 1600. I like slow, steady progress.
You know, every author says that their first draft of anything sucks horribly, and I'm sure they believe that's true. But I have to wonder as I look at my WIP--did their drafts suck this much? Doesn't really matter, I suppose. They kept writing and got where they are. I'll keep writing and get where I want to be.
PS: I do have a life outside of writing. It's a vibrant, active, busy life, which is why I do my writing at ten o'clock at night. According to Neil Gaiman and Robison Wells, I should be blogging about that, too. I'll get on that just as soon as I--yawn--get some sleep.
Had another hard time tonight. It's all so clear in my head, but for some reason it's just not coming together. Hubs told me that if I was that gridlocked, I should give myself a night off. He had a point, but right now putting out a WIP is only part of my goal. The other part of my goal is to increase my creative, emotional, and physical stamina so that I'm strong enough to make consistent, significant progress toward my goals. I have to. I'm 30 years old. I don't have any time to dink around with low output. So while this is definitely a creative exercise, it's also a stamina building exercise. That's why I kept at it tonight. But darn. Doing 1800 tonight means I have to do 1900 tomorrow night. I'd've preferred to have stopped at 1600. I like slow, steady progress.
You know, every author says that their first draft of anything sucks horribly, and I'm sure they believe that's true. But I have to wonder as I look at my WIP--did their drafts suck this much? Doesn't really matter, I suppose. They kept writing and got where they are. I'll keep writing and get where I want to be.
PS: I do have a life outside of writing. It's a vibrant, active, busy life, which is why I do my writing at ten o'clock at night. According to Neil Gaiman and Robison Wells, I should be blogging about that, too. I'll get on that just as soon as I--yawn--get some sleep.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Wow. The universe is conspiring to see how serious I am about writing consistently. I burned my finger doing a craft today, and by seven o'clock, I still wasn't able to put the ice pack down long enough to type a Facebook update, let alone 1500 words of a novel. Since I thought I was out due to an injury, I agreed to watch some 90s comedy with hubs and his bros, and by the time the movie ended at 11, I realized that my finger didn't hurt anymore, which meant that the 1500 words must go on. I wanted to go to bed instead.
They're not great words, I can tell ya that. I've got a huge ol' freakin' list of all the things that suck about this entire scene. Heck, the entire story. But. But. I am trying really, really hard not to listen to that voice. That voice has kept me from writing for 15 years. Not that that voice is wrong. That voice has extremely good taste and is very insightful, but during creating time, it needs to be quiet. As much as I'm not loving the character voices, the action, or the monologue-nature of this scene, I am getting some good character discovery and background information, and I think that as clunky as this scene is, it needs to be allowed to unwind.
This novel is weird to me. I feel like I know the characters and the story and the plot so well, and in my head they're absolutely brilliant, but I'm having an incredibly hard time getting all of that onto paper. It's weirding me out a bit because usually when I know something, I can express it.
Another thing that's weird? Realizing that for the first time in my life, I'm honestly working as hard as I can toward the one thing I've really wanted since I was six. That feels really weird.
I wrote 1521 words tonight.
They're not great words, I can tell ya that. I've got a huge ol' freakin' list of all the things that suck about this entire scene. Heck, the entire story. But. But. I am trying really, really hard not to listen to that voice. That voice has kept me from writing for 15 years. Not that that voice is wrong. That voice has extremely good taste and is very insightful, but during creating time, it needs to be quiet. As much as I'm not loving the character voices, the action, or the monologue-nature of this scene, I am getting some good character discovery and background information, and I think that as clunky as this scene is, it needs to be allowed to unwind.
This novel is weird to me. I feel like I know the characters and the story and the plot so well, and in my head they're absolutely brilliant, but I'm having an incredibly hard time getting all of that onto paper. It's weirding me out a bit because usually when I know something, I can express it.
Another thing that's weird? Realizing that for the first time in my life, I'm honestly working as hard as I can toward the one thing I've really wanted since I was six. That feels really weird.
I wrote 1521 words tonight.
Monday, August 15, 2011
I was at high risk for wussing out tonight. I want to the library to listen to a visiting writer speak, and it ran really long. Like three hours long. Plus, the writer spoke about self-publication and how difficult it was to find a traditional publisher, which put me in a weird headspace. AND yesterday was my day off, and it can be difficult to get back in a groove after a day off. AND the sky was full of the smoky remnants of summer, which always makes me want to get in a car and tear off to a mountaintop somewhere where I can stare at the stars and cry and wish that I were 12 or 21 again.
But instead of doing anything irresponsible (okay, I did one irresponsible thing: I ordered a McDonald's meal with a strawberry shake and I ate the entire meal), I sat down and started rattling away.
I wrote 1330 words.
Okay, can we talk about that please? Why do my word counts all end in 5s or 0s? It makes it seem like I'm rounding or making up word counts, but I'm not, I promise. I just do Microsoft's word count and subtract yesterday's word count to establish that day's word count. Nevertheless, it's weirding me out. Tomorrow I will not have a word count that ends in 0 or 5.
But instead of doing anything irresponsible (okay, I did one irresponsible thing: I ordered a McDonald's meal with a strawberry shake and I ate the entire meal), I sat down and started rattling away.
I wrote 1330 words.
Okay, can we talk about that please? Why do my word counts all end in 5s or 0s? It makes it seem like I'm rounding or making up word counts, but I'm not, I promise. I just do Microsoft's word count and subtract yesterday's word count to establish that day's word count. Nevertheless, it's weirding me out. Tomorrow I will not have a word count that ends in 0 or 5.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Wow! Was sorely tempted to skip writing tonight, mostly cause I was just so darn tired.
I slept badly last night, and then today I took the kids yard saleing (got an 11 piece set of Christmas village decorations for 18 bucks, which was satisfying), then went to a parade. Had a quick lunch break, then went to the library and finally to the zoo. I did all of this in strappy wedge sandals and 90 degree heat, so by the time we stumbled in the door at 8:30 pm and I tucked the baby in bed (hubs handled the boys), I was ready to collapse in bed. "Plus," I told myself, "with feet and a head that ache like this, your writing will be terrible. And you've done so well all week long."
But I was really afraid that if I took an unscheduled break, I'd go back to sputtering and stuttering along, and I just couldn't afford to do that, so I put lotion on my feet and icy hot on my neck and shoulders and attacked the keyboard. Wrote 1240 words.
Just to recap, this is what I've done this week.
Monday: 565
Tuesday: 735
Wednesday: 835
Thursday: 901
Friday: 1170
Saturday: 1240
I like the upward trend, but I'm not sure I'll be able to maintain it. School starts in two weeks, which means that starting this Monday, I have to re-don my college teacher cap, which always takes up a lot of time. But I'm too tired to worry about that tonight. For now, I'm just going to consider it a week well-played and call it good.
I slept badly last night, and then today I took the kids yard saleing (got an 11 piece set of Christmas village decorations for 18 bucks, which was satisfying), then went to a parade. Had a quick lunch break, then went to the library and finally to the zoo. I did all of this in strappy wedge sandals and 90 degree heat, so by the time we stumbled in the door at 8:30 pm and I tucked the baby in bed (hubs handled the boys), I was ready to collapse in bed. "Plus," I told myself, "with feet and a head that ache like this, your writing will be terrible. And you've done so well all week long."
But I was really afraid that if I took an unscheduled break, I'd go back to sputtering and stuttering along, and I just couldn't afford to do that, so I put lotion on my feet and icy hot on my neck and shoulders and attacked the keyboard. Wrote 1240 words.
Just to recap, this is what I've done this week.
Monday: 565
Tuesday: 735
Wednesday: 835
Thursday: 901
Friday: 1170
Saturday: 1240
I like the upward trend, but I'm not sure I'll be able to maintain it. School starts in two weeks, which means that starting this Monday, I have to re-don my college teacher cap, which always takes up a lot of time. But I'm too tired to worry about that tonight. For now, I'm just going to consider it a week well-played and call it good.
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