Word Count: 44,122 CAUGHT UP!
Mood: FEELING FANTASTIC! Did 1k in half an hour on a challenge from a fellow WriMo and then a 2K hour a little later, which got me majorly caught up. I'm also hitting the climax of the story, so it's all actiony and things are happening and this weird guy named Ulrrick just showed up and I snicker every time I type his name. This is where I'm pretty solid with what is happening and what is going to happen, though the details, of course, are coming as I write. But it's a good place to hit at this point in the month, because I'm really feeling like it won't be a problem to actually win this year! I've been holding steady at various levels of being behind all month, but never let myself get to the point where I was ready to despair. I think 4 days behind was the worst that it got and 2 days of burst writing got me back into the game.
The absolute best thing is that I'm kind of in love with this WIP even though the middle is SO rough and I've been writing out of order and I think I have people alive when they should be dead and dead when they should be alive, but I don't care, because the scenes are getting written and after November is over I can go back and outline and rewrite and figure out what the hay bale is missing and I am SO EXCITED ABOUT THAT. More than I've ever ever been before.
How is your NaNo journey? Are you despairing? Excited? Already done?! (you overachiever you)
Showing posts with label WIP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WIP. Show all posts
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
To Write is Human, to Revise Divine
It seems like almost everyone says they could write a novel if they wanted to. Some of those actually do take a stab at writing something. Some of those actually finish a rough draft. But only a handful of those will take the time and effort to polish and revise and rework that draft into something better.
I feel like I am perpetually in the camp of people that have a rough product, but aren't really sure how to get it from word vomit to coherent story.
So I do what any good writer would do and troll the interwebs for hints, suggestions, and cute animal pictures.
(by the by, that website where I found that hilarious cartoon has a ton more - they do a "Toon Thursday" and I was laughing pretty hard. See? Troll the interwebs, my friends, troll around)
This last week I stumbled across two very different and very visual means of plotting or organizing your book. The WIP I'm struggling with started as a NaNo novel that I wrote while attending grad school and teaching, so it's very much (very, very much) word vomit. It was the pantsiest (pantserest?) I've ever written. The characters are coming together, the basic plot is kind of in place, but I'm not really sure how to get where I need to go. So even though I have some raw material, it's kind of like I'm starting from scratch and I have been trying to figure out ways to make this work. I found both of these super helpful, and they also reminded me of a third idea that someone posted a while ago.
The first one comes from a post by Jamie Harrington over at Totally the Bomb. The post is from last year, but someone (I totally forget who) linked to it and I thought it was hilarious and brilliant and I had to share.
She uses a "storysaurus" to plot her books. Click on the link above to see a picture of it. It's basically a way to easily and loosely plot the ARC of your story. The nice thing about it is that, even if you are a pantser, it's flexible enough and versatile enough that you can add spikes, remove spikes, rearrange spikes, without much trouble. Plus it's WAY more fun than a bullet point outline.
The second one is from the ever helpful QueryTracker website. Suzette Saxton posted on this tip that she had come across elsewhere. It's basically a tic tac toe board for your novel, with nine important sections and how they intersect and interact. You can click on the link above to take a look at them.
I love both of these because they are so visual and so loose. I feel like it would be so easy to rearrange, rework, redo anything you put on these. A traditional outline can feel very constraining at times (at least to me).
The last one is actually based on the book Save the Cat which I NEED to read, but haven't had a chance to get to yet. Anyhoodles, Elizabeth over at Liz Writes Books shared this beat sheet that she created to help her plot out the "beats" of the novel. I've played around with this a bit and have found it incredibly helpful in getting my thoughts in order. It's also very visual, plus it's Excel, which I kind of love playing around with (yes I am a geek). The link there will take you to her post.
I feel like I am perpetually in the camp of people that have a rough product, but aren't really sure how to get it from word vomit to coherent story.
 |
| From Finding Wonderland |
(by the by, that website where I found that hilarious cartoon has a ton more - they do a "Toon Thursday" and I was laughing pretty hard. See? Troll the interwebs, my friends, troll around)
This last week I stumbled across two very different and very visual means of plotting or organizing your book. The WIP I'm struggling with started as a NaNo novel that I wrote while attending grad school and teaching, so it's very much (very, very much) word vomit. It was the pantsiest (pantserest?) I've ever written. The characters are coming together, the basic plot is kind of in place, but I'm not really sure how to get where I need to go. So even though I have some raw material, it's kind of like I'm starting from scratch and I have been trying to figure out ways to make this work. I found both of these super helpful, and they also reminded me of a third idea that someone posted a while ago.
The first one comes from a post by Jamie Harrington over at Totally the Bomb. The post is from last year, but someone (I totally forget who) linked to it and I thought it was hilarious and brilliant and I had to share.
She uses a "storysaurus" to plot her books. Click on the link above to see a picture of it. It's basically a way to easily and loosely plot the ARC of your story. The nice thing about it is that, even if you are a pantser, it's flexible enough and versatile enough that you can add spikes, remove spikes, rearrange spikes, without much trouble. Plus it's WAY more fun than a bullet point outline.
The second one is from the ever helpful QueryTracker website. Suzette Saxton posted on this tip that she had come across elsewhere. It's basically a tic tac toe board for your novel, with nine important sections and how they intersect and interact. You can click on the link above to take a look at them.
I love both of these because they are so visual and so loose. I feel like it would be so easy to rearrange, rework, redo anything you put on these. A traditional outline can feel very constraining at times (at least to me).
The last one is actually based on the book Save the Cat which I NEED to read, but haven't had a chance to get to yet. Anyhoodles, Elizabeth over at Liz Writes Books shared this beat sheet that she created to help her plot out the "beats" of the novel. I've played around with this a bit and have found it incredibly helpful in getting my thoughts in order. It's also very visual, plus it's Excel, which I kind of love playing around with (yes I am a geek). The link there will take you to her post.
see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!
How about you? Do you have any tricks you use for organizing, plotting, or revising your novels? Any helpful (or hilarious) sites you've come across when trolling for help?
Monday, June 20, 2011
The Age Dilemma
I think this is the first writing related post I have done in MONTHS.
My problem is I came out of NaNoWriMo totally stoked about my new project. But then I workshopped it in my fiction class at school and got so much feedback (good btw) that my brain rebelled and every time I tried to restart I froze.
One of the biggest problems I am still having is figuring out how to make my characters FEEL like the age they are supposed to be.
A number of people commented on my opening scene, saying that they thought the MCs were like 13. Great, except they're supposed to be just out of high school. Now granted, after reviewing it I realized that my first scene basically stunk. But I don't want people reading this thinking that Layla and Moira are 13 when they're supposed to be 18. But then later, people got confused and thought they were older. Like in their 20s. *headdesk*
So I started thinking about why I have a problem with this. I read a lot of YA and MG (middle grade) novels. A lot a lot. Like 90% of my pleasure reading. I want to specialize in children's and adolescent lit for my doctorate (if I go there, but that's a whole nother story). I have younger siblings. I spend a lot of time around 15-17 year olds.
BUT I am *mumblemumble30mumblemumble* years old and sometimes I wonder if I'm just too disconnected? I know there are a lot of people older than I am writing fantastic YA fiction, so I don't think it's that.
However, I never had anything close to a "normal" (whatever that means) adolescence.
1. I was homeschooled. my entire life. The first time I set foot in a classroom was in college. I love the fact that I was homeschooled. I think it was fantastic. But my entire view of high school life comes from books, tv, movies, and random conversations I've overheard. That's easy, just make your character homeschooled, right? Except that doesn't work since her parents died and she lives with her cantankerous grandmother *sigh*
2. I graduated high school when I was 16. Yes. 16. Then I spent a year student teaching my younger brother and sister. Then I worked for 5 years. Then I finally decided to go to college. Oh. And we moved to a new state in there too. So I feel lost when I try to write about any of that kind of stuff. Because I never experienced it. Not really.
So my characters end up sounding too young. Or too old. Because I am a mixture of both. Sometimes I will goof around and act like I'm 13. For serious. But then I'll act my age and I'm all professory and professional. But no one EVER guesses my real age. Which I appreciate.
When I'm writing dialogue between two girls that have been friends, and practically sisters, since they were little, I write it the way Naomi and I would talk. Or the way she and some of her friends might talk. But those are the parts that people said made them sound too young. But I'm basing it on real people that are actually older than the age of my characters. So I get confused.
My point is that I'm not sure how to make sure my characters "act their age" and what does that mean anyways? And does it matter? Every person is different, right? So some 17 year olds act 12 while others act 22. How do you clarify that in your writing. Do you just find an organic way to slip their age in near the beginning? Or do you not think about the age thing at all? Am I being too overanalytical? Should I end with some funny posters?
My problem is I came out of NaNoWriMo totally stoked about my new project. But then I workshopped it in my fiction class at school and got so much feedback (good btw) that my brain rebelled and every time I tried to restart I froze.
see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!
One of the biggest problems I am still having is figuring out how to make my characters FEEL like the age they are supposed to be.
A number of people commented on my opening scene, saying that they thought the MCs were like 13. Great, except they're supposed to be just out of high school. Now granted, after reviewing it I realized that my first scene basically stunk. But I don't want people reading this thinking that Layla and Moira are 13 when they're supposed to be 18. But then later, people got confused and thought they were older. Like in their 20s. *headdesk*
So I started thinking about why I have a problem with this. I read a lot of YA and MG (middle grade) novels. A lot a lot. Like 90% of my pleasure reading. I want to specialize in children's and adolescent lit for my doctorate (if I go there, but that's a whole nother story). I have younger siblings. I spend a lot of time around 15-17 year olds.
BUT I am *mumblemumble30mumblemumble* years old and sometimes I wonder if I'm just too disconnected? I know there are a lot of people older than I am writing fantastic YA fiction, so I don't think it's that.
However, I never had anything close to a "normal" (whatever that means) adolescence.
1. I was homeschooled. my entire life. The first time I set foot in a classroom was in college. I love the fact that I was homeschooled. I think it was fantastic. But my entire view of high school life comes from books, tv, movies, and random conversations I've overheard. That's easy, just make your character homeschooled, right? Except that doesn't work since her parents died and she lives with her cantankerous grandmother *sigh*
2. I graduated high school when I was 16. Yes. 16. Then I spent a year student teaching my younger brother and sister. Then I worked for 5 years. Then I finally decided to go to college. Oh. And we moved to a new state in there too. So I feel lost when I try to write about any of that kind of stuff. Because I never experienced it. Not really.
So my characters end up sounding too young. Or too old. Because I am a mixture of both. Sometimes I will goof around and act like I'm 13. For serious. But then I'll act my age and I'm all professory and professional. But no one EVER guesses my real age. Which I appreciate.
see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!
This is kinda how I act. Sometimes. Both sides of this :)
When I'm writing dialogue between two girls that have been friends, and practically sisters, since they were little, I write it the way Naomi and I would talk. Or the way she and some of her friends might talk. But those are the parts that people said made them sound too young. But I'm basing it on real people that are actually older than the age of my characters. So I get confused.
My point is that I'm not sure how to make sure my characters "act their age" and what does that mean anyways? And does it matter? Every person is different, right? So some 17 year olds act 12 while others act 22. How do you clarify that in your writing. Do you just find an organic way to slip their age in near the beginning? Or do you not think about the age thing at all? Am I being too overanalytical? Should I end with some funny posters?
 |
| Where was this three months ago? |
see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!
see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!
Monday, March 7, 2011
Poor Old Michael Finnegan
I feel like I just wrote about this... oh wait, that's because I did... last week.
But this is torturing me!
So I realized I needed to change the beginning of my WIP. Which still doesn't have even a WORKING TITLE. Seriously How difficult can this BE? Why can't I just name the stupid thing!? Even if it's a lame name that I know will change?!
I keep coming up with really lame and corny and completely too long names like: How a Vampire, Faeries, Gnomes, and Zombies Ruined My Summer Vacation
See? Lame. Also too long. Also not really completely accurate.
Naomi said that I should call it A Conglomeration of Beings Imaginary and Otherwise
Which is hilarious but maybe not the best novel title.
But then I think of tragic, dark, also lame names like Hungry. That is even lamer.
And that is why I still call it my Layla story.
End tangent.
so I started doing research and was going to have Layla and Moira start out in a youth hostel in Germany. And I found some pretty cool stuff out. Like the fact that some of the hostels are actually IN CASTLES. Yes, like you sleep IN A CASTLE. How freakin' amazing is that?! And that Germany is where the first youth hostels were. Some dude invented them there. You can tell that I didn't do my research THAT carefully.
So I started with them getting up in the morning at the hostel. But it didn't work. So I moved back to the night before at dinner. Which was a pretty hilarious scene, but didn't work either. See, they have to be kinda far from civilization when they discover the castle, so there would be a couple of days hiking through the woods/hills/etc. before I got to anything exciting. So that seemed boring and too long. Besides which, when I started there it seemed SO far back and it was going to take way too long to get to Erandell and Tavares.
See, I head hop - switching between third person limited perspectives - so spending like 15 pages only in Layla's head (like my professor suggested) would make the jump to Erandell so abrupt and weird (in my opinion).
So I started with them two days out from the hostel, eating lunch and managed to weave in the most important things that everyone said was necessary to know. I think it works better now. I also can do an earlier scene with Erandell which will hopefully explain some of the questions people had about her.
A big complaint people had was that too much happens too quickly. But it's AFTER they get trapped in the castle that we get to know them better. I don't know. I'm feeling very conflicted and I'm stuck again. I've been spending my writing time reading Hyperbole and a Half, which is absolutely hilarious and you all need to read this post about the ALOT like right now.
This is not productive, though it is immensely entertaining.
I apologize for the ramblingness of this post.
Are you stuck on a part of your WIP? Is there something you just can't quite get right? Do tell. It will make me feel better. Honest.
PS: did you get my little joke for a title? You know that old kid's song? After "Poor old Michael Finnegan" the song goes "begin again" Yeah. Lame. I told you I have a hard time with titles!
PPS: I just realized that I started about 5 paragraphs with the words, "So I started." I clearly am a failure as a writer and a blogger and an English major. Especially since I am merely coming here to add a long PPS instead of actually fixing the repetitiveness. Lame.
But this is torturing me!
So I realized I needed to change the beginning of my WIP. Which still doesn't have even a WORKING TITLE. Seriously How difficult can this BE? Why can't I just name the stupid thing!? Even if it's a lame name that I know will change?!
I keep coming up with really lame and corny and completely too long names like: How a Vampire, Faeries, Gnomes, and Zombies Ruined My Summer Vacation
See? Lame. Also too long. Also not really completely accurate.
Naomi said that I should call it A Conglomeration of Beings Imaginary and Otherwise
Which is hilarious but maybe not the best novel title.
But then I think of tragic, dark, also lame names like Hungry. That is even lamer.
And that is why I still call it my Layla story.
End tangent.
so I started doing research and was going to have Layla and Moira start out in a youth hostel in Germany. And I found some pretty cool stuff out. Like the fact that some of the hostels are actually IN CASTLES. Yes, like you sleep IN A CASTLE. How freakin' amazing is that?! And that Germany is where the first youth hostels were. Some dude invented them there. You can tell that I didn't do my research THAT carefully.
So I started with them getting up in the morning at the hostel. But it didn't work. So I moved back to the night before at dinner. Which was a pretty hilarious scene, but didn't work either. See, they have to be kinda far from civilization when they discover the castle, so there would be a couple of days hiking through the woods/hills/etc. before I got to anything exciting. So that seemed boring and too long. Besides which, when I started there it seemed SO far back and it was going to take way too long to get to Erandell and Tavares.
See, I head hop - switching between third person limited perspectives - so spending like 15 pages only in Layla's head (like my professor suggested) would make the jump to Erandell so abrupt and weird (in my opinion).
So I started with them two days out from the hostel, eating lunch and managed to weave in the most important things that everyone said was necessary to know. I think it works better now. I also can do an earlier scene with Erandell which will hopefully explain some of the questions people had about her.
A big complaint people had was that too much happens too quickly. But it's AFTER they get trapped in the castle that we get to know them better. I don't know. I'm feeling very conflicted and I'm stuck again. I've been spending my writing time reading Hyperbole and a Half, which is absolutely hilarious and you all need to read this post about the ALOT like right now.
 |
| This is an ALOT and it is drawn by Allie Bosch at Hyperbole and a Half. She rocksocks and so does her blog. |
This is not productive, though it is immensely entertaining.
I apologize for the ramblingness of this post.
Are you stuck on a part of your WIP? Is there something you just can't quite get right? Do tell. It will make me feel better. Honest.
PS: did you get my little joke for a title? You know that old kid's song? After "Poor old Michael Finnegan" the song goes "begin again" Yeah. Lame. I told you I have a hard time with titles!
PPS: I just realized that I started about 5 paragraphs with the words, "So I started." I clearly am a failure as a writer and a blogger and an English major. Especially since I am merely coming here to add a long PPS instead of actually fixing the repetitiveness. Lame.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Reboot
Sorry for my absence on the blogosphere this week. This cold attacked my head last Tuesday and it just doesn't seem to get the hint that I want it to go away! Usually I can kick a cold in a couple days, but ... this one is particularly stubborn.
But you didn't come over here to listen to me moan about my nose.
No! You came for some writerly stuff!
The critique last week went really well. I got a lot of super helpful feedback. And it was completely overwhelming.
I came home, stowed away the written responses, and proceeded to hide from my WIP for the rest of the week. Which meant that I basically didn't write anything, breaking my 100WAD pledge, which made me feel bad, but didn't keep me from making excuses.
Then, on Friday, I got a lovely e-mail from my CP. It's kind of creepy how Lindsey knew that I needed a kick in the pants. She totally didn't even mention the fact that I wasn't writing, but it was in the subtext (or maybe that was just me) and she oh-so-subtly reminded me that FEBRUARY ENDS ON MONDAY!
Which means it's time for us to exchange stuff again.
Oops.
Now here's where it gets creepy cool and where I realized, once again, that Lindsey and I were practically designed to be CPs.
Lindsey told me that, based on comments she'd received from me and her sisters and on thinking and pondering she had done, she realized that the best thing to do would be to rework the beginning before she moves on.
At the SAME TIME I was realizing that, based on the fiction workshop critique and thinking and pondering I had done, I needed to rework the beginning before I move on much further.
Spooky, right?!
The biggest comment I received was that no one knew how old my main character was and that based on the first 2 pages, everyone thought they talked like middle school kids (I totally don't see that, but SO many people agreed. Which is the point of writer's groups, I guess - to see what you don't) but then thought the characters acted like they were in high school or college. So I need to establish their ages and characters first to show why they goof around and sometimes talk like middle schoolers.
I jump straight into the fantasy world, but the suggestion was made to establish the real world first, which would help to frame the characters and their lives, before we get to the castle and the faeries and the vampires.
so I've spent the last few days researching Germany and youth hostels and culinary schools and stuff.
Lesson: don't try to short cut. It doesn't work. I jumped right into fantasy world so I wouldn't have to do all this research. That was effective.
But the good thing is that I'm learning this NOW and now after I've rewritten the whole thing, so I can whack and fix and add and delete before I carry on and the story will be much better for it.
How about you? Ever had to change the beginning when you really wanted to just keep plugging away at the middle?
But you didn't come over here to listen to me moan about my nose.
No! You came for some writerly stuff!
The critique last week went really well. I got a lot of super helpful feedback. And it was completely overwhelming.
I came home, stowed away the written responses, and proceeded to hide from my WIP for the rest of the week. Which meant that I basically didn't write anything, breaking my 100WAD pledge, which made me feel bad, but didn't keep me from making excuses.
Then, on Friday, I got a lovely e-mail from my CP. It's kind of creepy how Lindsey knew that I needed a kick in the pants. She totally didn't even mention the fact that I wasn't writing, but it was in the subtext (or maybe that was just me) and she oh-so-subtly reminded me that FEBRUARY ENDS ON MONDAY!
Which means it's time for us to exchange stuff again.
Oops.
Now here's where it gets creepy cool and where I realized, once again, that Lindsey and I were practically designed to be CPs.
Lindsey told me that, based on comments she'd received from me and her sisters and on thinking and pondering she had done, she realized that the best thing to do would be to rework the beginning before she moves on.
At the SAME TIME I was realizing that, based on the fiction workshop critique and thinking and pondering I had done, I needed to rework the beginning before I move on much further.
Spooky, right?!
The biggest comment I received was that no one knew how old my main character was and that based on the first 2 pages, everyone thought they talked like middle school kids (I totally don't see that, but SO many people agreed. Which is the point of writer's groups, I guess - to see what you don't) but then thought the characters acted like they were in high school or college. So I need to establish their ages and characters first to show why they goof around and sometimes talk like middle schoolers.
I jump straight into the fantasy world, but the suggestion was made to establish the real world first, which would help to frame the characters and their lives, before we get to the castle and the faeries and the vampires.
so I've spent the last few days researching Germany and youth hostels and culinary schools and stuff.
Lesson: don't try to short cut. It doesn't work. I jumped right into fantasy world so I wouldn't have to do all this research. That was effective.
But the good thing is that I'm learning this NOW and now after I've rewritten the whole thing, so I can whack and fix and add and delete before I carry on and the story will be much better for it.
How about you? Ever had to change the beginning when you really wanted to just keep plugging away at the middle?
Monday, February 21, 2011
And Then Came the Critique
Rewriting a book is HARD.
But I want this story to be the best it can be so I say... bring it on.
Okay, so maybe that's kind of an obvious statement.
I thought I got all the pantsing out of the way during NaNoWriMo. Um, yeah. Apparently not.
The event that was supposed to be the climax of the novel has suddenly become the conflict and turning point, which means that all the stuff that was supposed to happen in the sequel has to be reworked and reconsidered, because it has to happen now.
Don't even ask me how that happened. Because I have no idea.
But it's kind of exciting, because I feel like the story is going to be much better now!
In other crazy exciting news, I got my first official critique back a couple of weeks ago. Having a Crit Partner is pretty much the best thing ever. Especially a CP that you can e-mail with any and everything, be honest with, make Clue jokes with, and keep discovering that you have more and more in common with.
Lindsey and I kind of fell into this together, both thinking that it would be fun/ challenging/ good/ encouraging/ incentive to take the journey of writing a novel together. We set a deadline of the end of the month for exchanging sections and did our first critique at the end of January/beginning of February.
As Lindsey said in her post, critiquing someone is HARD WORK. You're trying to balance suggestions, grammar stuff, and positive comments (which was pretty easy, because I loved her turns of phrase and the concept behind the story). You're trying to be helpful, but not too critical, but not too nice, because she asked me to whack it apart if I needed to. Talk about a brain twister.
But I think (hope) that I was helpful and I found her comments so helpful in doing revisions on my own story. I feel like we get each other and that we understand each other's stories and I'm really excited to think about how much better we'll get at supporting, encouraging, and critiquing each other.
In more terrifying news, tonight my first three chapters get workshopped in my Fiction Writing grad class. Getting comments from one person is one thing. Having your work hashed out in class by some strangers (and some friends) while you have to sit there silently is something completely different.
Eek.
see more Lolcats and funny pictures
But I want this story to be the best it can be so I say... bring it on.
Even though tonight I'll probably be hiding under my covers avoiding my WIP.
Monday, January 24, 2011
CPs, Goals, and Vampires
So today is my day to talk about reading or writing or to do a review. So I wanted to give a little update on my current WIP.
I'm finding myself VERY influenced by Mercedes Lackey's 500 kingdoms series and by Buffy the Vampire Slayer (which I am rewatching for the amazing rewatch over at Nikki Stafford's blog)
But first I just wanted to say how AMAZING all my bloggy friends are and how much y'all have helped me grow as a writer this last year or so.
Second I wanted to say that I can't believe that it's not even the end of January and I already have a fantastic Critique Partner (Lindsey, I <3 you!!!!!), but also a possibility of a second one. Last year at this time I was seriously doubting my commitment to writing. I had pretty much given up on myself as a writer.
Now I have a WIP I love, 1 (maybe 2) crit partners, and a burning desire to take this thing the whole way.
And it is ALL BECAUSE OF YOU.
Your contests, your comments, your blogfests, your blogs, your spirit, your encouragement.
 |
| Like REALLY, REALLY big |
So far, I've stuck to the 100 words a day pledge that I made. Sometimes it's just barely 100 words, but I'm writing something each and every day which is a total win for me. I haven't written this much in the last 2 years. I'm up to 6500 words!
I'm falling in love with my FMC (Layla) and beginning to see how my MMC (Tavares) is going to work.
I'm finding myself VERY influenced by Mercedes Lackey's 500 kingdoms series and by Buffy the Vampire Slayer (which I am rewatching for the amazing rewatch over at Nikki Stafford's blog)I am basically doing a blind rewrite - I know where the story is going and if I want to review a word choice or something I look at my NaNo document. But for the majority of the time I'm just writing it for the first time all over again. And it is SO much better. I did a dangerous thing on Saturday. I reread the 12 pages I've written since the beginning of January and guess what?
I still loved it. I love the changes, I love the tighter scenes. I love the way the characters are moving already. Is it perfect? No. Will I have to edit and revise and cut and rewrite? Most definitely. But that's okay, because I still love it.
Even if it does have a vampire. And no title (yet).
And just to make things interesting I thought I would post a tiny teaser.
And just to make things interesting I thought I would post a tiny teaser.
Erandell almost fell over the balcony. She couldn’t have heard that right.
“Let Moira go and I will stay,” the girl said. Her voice was quiet, but firm.
Tavares was silent and Erandell held her breath waiting to see what he would do. This whole situation was completely unprecedented. She couldn’t interfere; she could feel the enchantment holding her back and she gritted her teeth in frustration.
“You would stay in her place?” Tavares asked.
“She has a family that needs her.”
“And you don’t?”
“Are you taking my offer or not?”
There was definitely something special about this girl with her pale green eyes. Not only had she somehow resisted the impellment charm, but she had spunk. Erandell wondered if Tavares had ever been slapped before.
So how about you? Super excited about any writing projects? Stuck in the doldrums? Cheating on your WIP with an SNI? Do tell!
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