February already?

It has almost been a month since I have posted. This year is slipping by so fast.

I have been battling against a bit of a block lately. It stemmed from a uni assignment that just didn’t seem to be working in my head and then I couldn’t sit down and do anything.

In the end I forced myself into the chair to work on the story. Even if it was rubbish to start with I had to get some sort of story out. I was also getting dangerously close to the deadline.

It turned out to be the best thing I could have done. Things changed a little once I reworked it but once I got that first draft down the world seemed a lot easier to deal with.

Now it is all done and submitted I have allowed myself the chance to have a think about some of the other projects I’m either working on or working up to. I still have a lot to work with my fantasy novel edit, but I want the chance to do some other things as well. I am looking at spending a little time each week outlining and plotting the trilogy I started thinking about a couple of years ago.

I always come back to my current work being more important and so the trilogy has gone untouched. Images and ideas for it swim into focus occasionally and I write them down but I would like to get the full structure organised. Then once I have finished my current edit I can get straight into it.

In the last couple of weeks I feel like I have gone from zero output and flat to clear focus and regular writing again.

The next time I get stuck I will have to remember to just sit and write. It can be hard but, for me, it seems to be the only way. If only I could remember that earlier in the blocked processes.

Happy Scribbling

Current work in progress

I feel like I’m not getting to my current work in progress as much as I would like. Partly due to the amount of study I took on this term, and there may have been a little procrastinating in there too. I try, but sometimes it just looks too scary to face.

In an attempt to get back on track I did a little cursory reviewing of the work so far. I have completed the comprehensive edit on the first third of the book, so there is still some way to go. But I wasn’t going to let it beat me.

I sat down with the remaining part of my story and worked through chapter by chapter, making notes as to whether it required writing (as there are some gaps), some writing and editing or just the comprehensive edit. This only took me a half hour or so, and produced a clear list of exactly what is required to get this draft finished.

Because I have had a little rest from the story I will need to revisit some aspects to ensure the continuity of the story. Once I had the plan in place I then spent some time writing the first rough draft of the next chapter, which was one of those gaps. I was also able to try it out on my writing group (very useful) and then start on the editing process.

I am hoping that I can work through one to two chapters a week, depending on the level of work required. I have my mornings back and this term I am only studying one subject, so I hope to use some evening time as well. If I can continue to work at the same steady pace I should be finished early next year. Then I can give it a little rest, while I go back to planning my trilogy book 1. Then read and review again. I am hoping that with this comprehensive edit the next one will not be so demanding.

All going to plan it should be ready to send out into the world somewhere between July and September 2013. (fingers and toes crossed).

Happy Scribbling.

Planning for writing

I have been a little bit busy with my uni work of late. It is taking up most of my thinking time and currently all of my writing time.

But that is OK.

And it is OK because it is important, enjoyable and all leads toward my long term writing goals.

Despite the enjoyment I am getting from this writing at the moment, it is disappointing that my current work in progress has had to take a back seat. The longer I'm not working on it, the further my finish time gets pushed out.

Yet I still have that writing time booked. I still get up at the same time, sit in my study and write. I may not be writing my novel but it is writing.

And uni won't last forever, and my workload will ease and when I get to the study at 5am, I'll be able to write my novel and not my uni specific work. And I won't have to retrain myself.

The current heavy workload for uni has also taught me that I can get more done of an evening than I thought I could, as I usually work best of a morning. I also discovered that I don't need to watch so much of the telly; I can record the good bits and watch later. As long as I have a plan of what I would like to achieve I usually do what I set out to in a session, or at least get reasonably close.

Planning for my writing, what I want to achieve and what I am going to write has been a great help and improved the quality of my writing.

Each month I have a list of goals, I then transfer these goals to a work plan. The work plan details all I need to do to reach my goals and how and when I am going to do them. I then use each week of this plan to detail what I need to do each day. It seems to be working well.

I am also planning more for each piece of writing. There are so many steps before the actual writing or aspects of what we are going to write that need to be posted for uni each week. Each of these steps I have found add to the work as a whole; and help me for future writing projects.

So I'm flat out, and not writing my novel, but I am happy that this all leads to a better writing overall and therefore worth every moment.

Happy Scribbling.

The Writing Process

I recently read that key to good writing is rewriting.

I can only agree.

First drafts are rough by definition. A first draft is the story pounded out, capturing the idea, capturing the characters and what they do and why. It is hurried, and scatty, poorly spelt, grammatically challenged and rough. It is why it is called a draft. It is by no means the finished product nor should it be sent anywhere.

The rewriting or redrafting process is going to be different for everyone. Some ideas work for some and not others. One published author I follow via her blog does one rewrite/redraft and she is done. Another published author I have met pounds out her draft and sends (unread) to the publisher.

The whole idea makes me cringe. Perhaps it is because so much changes for me over the first draft. Perhaps because I write over a longer time period – with a day job in the middle. Perhaps I just lack confidence.

Whatever the reason, I rework my stories. All of them; short and long.

I read through the entire story making notes both on the pages and on a separate sheet of major problems, name changes, place, making sure the story is consistent with where I want it to be.

I then rework it, moving through page by page to ensure the story is smooth, the description is adequate, the characters have depth, the grammar works and the spelling is improved.

I let it rest. I read through again. Then rework again. And I do this as many times as I need to, to make it good. Or at least as good as it could be. There is a point where this needs to stop.  For a novel I may work through the entire piece three or four times. I may only go through twice.

This is my process and it may not work for everyone. But then everyone writes differently. I start writing from the spark of an idea and see where it goes. Then I’ll think about how to make it into something special. That is where the planning comes in. Others like to plan right from the start.

You may remember a previous post about mapping out a trilogy on index cards. This has had to wait a bit while I continue with my current story, but it is still there. I have the first novel mapped out. I hope to have the following two at the same stage before I start writing. That will be a change in process for me and I’m keen to see how it goes. It just has to wait until I have finished my current fantasy novel.

Happy Scribbling