Friday 30 May 2008
Those Who Favour Fire
I've been meaning to mention this for a while--I've been working on a YA fantasy concerning female werewolves for a while (working title: THOSE WHO FAVOUR FIRE). It's going well, and it's nice to have something completely different to work on when the fantasy novel is driving me up the wall. I'm hoping to eventually query it as well, when the time comes (fingers crossed). I'm enjoying it a lot, and it's more than nice to have something where not as many expectations, so to speak, are placed upon it.
Tuesday 20 May 2008
*grits teeth*
I finally realised this morning that I'm going to have to dump what I have of CR's second draft and change it from third person limited to first person.
Oh, this is going to hurt. But I'm confident it will make CR better. *touches wood and crosses fingers*
Oh, this is going to hurt. But I'm confident it will make CR better. *touches wood and crosses fingers*
Friday 2 May 2008
the joys of second draft
Every so often, about once or twice a month, I drag my laptop to the nearest Starbucks without internet. I settle in with a venti coffee, plug in my earbuds, and start to write. I usually manage to get a lot of work done, or at least make some decent headway.
Yesterday, I managed to work through a pacing problem in the first draft that had been annoying me since last October. I nearly pumped my arm in the air, drunk on that 'this is going to be so much better than my first draft' feeling.
So, yes, yesterday was definitely a good writing day. *g*
Yesterday, I managed to work through a pacing problem in the first draft that had been annoying me since last October. I nearly pumped my arm in the air, drunk on that 'this is going to be so much better than my first draft' feeling.
So, yes, yesterday was definitely a good writing day. *g*
Wednesday 23 April 2008
if I could dance, I would
After two months of metaphorically bashing my head against the wall (because, otherwise, that would hurt), I have finally found my groove in draft two of CR.
Right now, it feels like the possibilities are endless. I could do anything in this book (you know, within the realms of proper characterisation and plausibility). Things are sliding into place and scenes are moving together and neatly tying in with later ones. Above all, I'm finally beginning to see that this draft is a vast improvement on the first one (thankfully, or I would be in very big trouble right about now). I have no idea how long this writing good mood is going to last, but I'm going to follow it until I crash into the next mental wall.
Right now, it feels like the possibilities are endless. I could do anything in this book (you know, within the realms of proper characterisation and plausibility). Things are sliding into place and scenes are moving together and neatly tying in with later ones. Above all, I'm finally beginning to see that this draft is a vast improvement on the first one (thankfully, or I would be in very big trouble right about now). I have no idea how long this writing good mood is going to last, but I'm going to follow it until I crash into the next mental wall.
Wednesday 16 April 2008
*peeks in*
Nothing much to report.
- Still working on the second draft. of CR.
- Have started making tentative notes for Book 2.
- Am making a slow dent in one of my tottering to-read piles.
*waves hand* Carry on, don't mind me.
- Still working on the second draft. of CR.
- Have started making tentative notes for Book 2.
- Am making a slow dent in one of my tottering to-read piles.
*waves hand* Carry on, don't mind me.
Wednesday 19 March 2008
Monday 18 February 2008
Breaking silence...
So, it's been a while!
A belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all since I was last here. Nothing much has happened since my last post, except that the rewrites to CHASING RABBITS have finally begun, after leaving it sit for three months. It's slow going - I ended up trashing around 80% of the first draft, so the second draft is a series of slow, trembling steps as everything unfolds - but I'm very excited, and I think I've finally found my footing in the book.
The last major research I need is to retrieve all of my Victorian history books from my father's house, mostly for the little niggling details that I glossed over in the first draft so I could keep on going. Everything that needs to be changed or clarified is being noted as I go. This odd rewriting draft stage is where I do most of my major work. The first draft is the easy one for me to write; the second where I do most of my tapping and shaping, so I spend a lot of time rereading what I've written the day before and do some very obvious syntax and word changes. Then I read it out loud and do further changes to what doesn't sound right. It's very slow going - a finished chapter can take up to a week when things are going bad, but it means my second draft is 95% finished, before I do a quick third edit and send it to readers for opinions.
It's very odd that for this second draft, I do my best work in the mornings and early afternoons; I'm usually too tired in the evenings for the level of concentration I require for this. Yet in the first draft, I do some of my best work at night. I suppose it's the amount of brain-work the polishing requires, or, more likely, it's to do with my laziness. ;) Still, it's interesting to think about.
Signing off now.
A belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all since I was last here. Nothing much has happened since my last post, except that the rewrites to CHASING RABBITS have finally begun, after leaving it sit for three months. It's slow going - I ended up trashing around 80% of the first draft, so the second draft is a series of slow, trembling steps as everything unfolds - but I'm very excited, and I think I've finally found my footing in the book.
The last major research I need is to retrieve all of my Victorian history books from my father's house, mostly for the little niggling details that I glossed over in the first draft so I could keep on going. Everything that needs to be changed or clarified is being noted as I go. This odd rewriting draft stage is where I do most of my major work. The first draft is the easy one for me to write; the second where I do most of my tapping and shaping, so I spend a lot of time rereading what I've written the day before and do some very obvious syntax and word changes. Then I read it out loud and do further changes to what doesn't sound right. It's very slow going - a finished chapter can take up to a week when things are going bad, but it means my second draft is 95% finished, before I do a quick third edit and send it to readers for opinions.
It's very odd that for this second draft, I do my best work in the mornings and early afternoons; I'm usually too tired in the evenings for the level of concentration I require for this. Yet in the first draft, I do some of my best work at night. I suppose it's the amount of brain-work the polishing requires, or, more likely, it's to do with my laziness. ;) Still, it's interesting to think about.
Signing off now.
