Merry Christmas

While I try to gather enough momentum to keep me travelling ‘til Christmas my mind has already wandered into next year. I started mapping out my writing goals for next year in October. Over the last week or so I have been reviewing how this year has gone, whether I can actually achieve anything further in the last little bit of this year and thinking about where I hope to be this time 2012.

I have found over the last few weeks that I have been getting progressively fatigued with every passing day. But then I haven’t had a proper holiday since Easter, so I think my body, and mind, are trying to tell me something. Then this past weekend my daughter was ill, really ill, vomit up the walls kind of ill, and before I knew it I had lost another two days (that does sound a little uncaring, but I wasn’t thinking of anything but her, until it was all over and I was washing vomit off everything).

So in the calm and quiet of my study this morning I really looked at my list for this year and thought about what wasn’t quite there yet and what I could do over the next two weeks. I can finish the novel I had hoped to read this month. My Masters work is actually travelling along well, and I’m not where I wanted to be with my fantasy draft but it’s not too far off.

I have ticked off some things this year which has been very rewarding and satisfying, not just for the tick (I love ticking things off lists) but because I have completed these huge tasks. Among them was completing a novel writing course, completing a novel (that should probably be first), and submitted to a publisher and been rejected (as every good writer should be on the first attempt; not sure I’m good but it gives me hope).

Now I am refining what I want to do next year and what I need to do to meet my long term goals. The list doesn’t look that long really, but they are big tasks and I’m still working full time so I want to be realistic but challenge myself a little at the same time.

In no particular order here are my writing goals for 2012:

·         Journal/blog twice a week (once a week has been going reasonably well; time to push it up a bit).

·         Prepare my current fantasy work for publication.

·         Continue the attempt to get novel number 1 published.

·         Write first draft of next manuscript – probably first in the trilogy; other ideas haunting me but trying to ignore them for the present.

·         Write every day (essential).

·         Read at least 12 novels (still a huge pile beside the bed; still avoiding bookshops in fear of buying more).

·         Create a folio of writing – this is a maybe, wouldn’t it be lovely goal; but if I don’t get the time it will drop off the list.

So I’m excited and keen; after I’ve had a little break. I am having holidays from my day job over January. This will mean some more me time, and some quality time with my daughter. I am also continuing my study over the holiday period. There are other non-writing goals I have for the coming year and others I have managed to tick off this list for this year and some not quite there; but I think 2011 has been one of my most productive years yet.

The main reason for this is that I finally decided that writing is what I want to do, no matter what else is happening in my life or what others say. And that I have made that dedication to it, that I write (almost) every day and even when it is hard I know it is what I love. Sitting and losing myself in a story for an hour or so a day is what makes me complete. I hope that one day I can do that more and more; to the point I can spend the day writing and not have to worry about the day job because the two will become one.

I am taking a little break from blogging over the Christmas period – I’ll be back the week after (twice if all goes well).

Have a joyous and safe Christmas and New Year. I hope your New Year resolutions are already well thought out and written down.

Happy Scribbling

First Draft Struggles

I have been struggling a little this week to continue with the drafting of my fantasy novel. It was going along well and I think improving with every scene. But the problem is I’m not sure how to end it. I am getting close to that point, very close. I know that my main character wins the day, defeats the bad guy and finds inner peace and happiness, well, kind of. But I’m not clear on how she wins the day or exactly how she defeats the bad guy. It is during battle, I’m building up to it, but I just can’t see her actually do it.

My frustration has halted all writing for this work. Sometimes I think that if I just sit down and start typing, when I get to that bit then it will come together. But as soon as I sit down I worry that it may not happen and I freeze up. Then the stress starts that I’m not meeting my word count and that I won’t have the draft finished when I want to. It’s a vicious cycle.

So I am trying to calmly think my way around this problem. Trying to focus on the ending is not helping so I have decided to leave it alone for a while. I know there are large gaps within the story to the point I have got to. Still thinking about it as a first draft I am going to go back to the beginning and read through the entire story so far as if I had finished the draft. I am hoping that this will help with my ending and will enrich the rest of the story. I will be able to mark out what is missing, what doesn’t work, ensure it is all in the same point of view and tense.

I did some experimenting as I went changing between first and third person – I preferred first but played with third – I’m settled on first person now. I also need to think about the tense. I had wanted to do something different and so had written in the present tense. This seemed to work for me, it gave the piece some urgency, helped the pace keep moving. As the character had come to this world from our known one, we could explore the world and its peoples and customs with her; as she discovered things so do we. I also played about a bit here and tried the past tense, it helped with some aspects but I lost others. A read through of the document as one story will help decide which way is working.

I can then spend some time adding to the gaps and by the end of that process have a clear first draft. I can then start with confidence and clearer image of the overall story on the second draft. I like to draft several times. My first novel I reworked/edited 5 times. And I’m sure there is still work that can be done to it. It also sounds a bit messy when mapped out like that. Working back and forth, writing all over the place. But it seems to work for me.

Maybe with my planning for the trilogy my writing process may change somewhat too. Another experiment. If all goes to the current plan I hope to start writing the trilogy in February next year. In the meantime it is all about sorting out this fantasy mess.

Happy Scribbling.

Planning

I am very good at planning my time, well I’m reasonably good at it. I like to know what I have to do and by when I should have it done by. Recently I have been detailing my writing projects in a work plan, like I do my day job tasks. But when it comes to planning out a story I have never employed the same tools.

I may have mentioned that I’m not so good at planning novels. I just start to write from an idea and see what happens. My current work is following this process quite clearly. I just write and although I have an idea of what I would like to happen, I’m not sure where and how it is going to get there until the words are on the page.

I have been reading about different planning techniques and was struck by one so I am giving it a go for my next novel. I am hoping the story will cover three books and I have mapped out most of the main characters and some of the minor characters. I have recently given up the kitchen door to map this out on an old white board. This way I can add to it and not worry about having to rub it off...at least for a while.

The planning technique that I am trialling takes the main characters viewpoints that the story will follow, an idea of how long the work is to be and how long an average scene is. Then taking this, divide the total length by the length of a scene to work out roughly how many scenes I will need. Then decide which characters get the majority of scenes. For example, my story is about three sisters so I want at least half of the book to be from their point of view, the rest will be split up amongst minor characters.

Then using index cards, count out the number of scenes for each character required. Starting with the minor characters viewpoints write out a one sentence idea for a scene do this for the number of scenes you have. Then start mapping out the plot, moving the cards around to work out the right order for the story.

This idea was given as a quick way of plotting for when you’re in a hurry and a bit stuck. But so far it is actually helping me a lot. I only had the first scene in my head for this story, now I have an idea of characters and as I map out the workings of the world more and more characters are coming to me. I haven’t started to put down all the scenes yet but as I think of one interaction between characters, it leads to others and more ideas of what could happen.

I am looking forward to the playing stage, where I can move the cards around and work out how the story fits together. I even have a blank canvas in the study door (pictured) where I plan to stick the cards when they are filled out.

I have found in the past that my characters run away with their own ideas and as they start to develop they don’t always agree with me as to how they should behave or act. So although this series will be well mapped out before I actually start to write it, I am sure that it may not necessarily follow that path, or they may be some changes, or deviations. And I’m ok with that. That, for me, is the joy of writing fiction.

Happy Scribbling