So I'm into the rewrite! Let's get last weeks totals first:
Mon: 2009
Tue: 2102
Wed: 2120
Thu: 1178
Fri: 1437
TOTAL: 8846
So it's a FAIL. But I also wrote a handful of short stories (okay, two short stories) that impeded my writing time by a little bit, making this failure a little more acceptable. Either way, this week: No fails. Seriously, I'm back on this damn horse and I don't care who knows it.
Rewriting has been an interesting experience. First, I'm finding myself cutting a lot and I find myself shifting a lot of scenes to make the narrative more streamlined. Right now, the book is at 9274 words, and I'm at the same spot that is 15,000 words into the original draft. I like what I'm writing a lot more, that's for sure. Cutting all that has made more room for me to flesh out the ending and add a little more action to those points. The biggest cuts will likely be in the middle, though, and I'm excited for that part. In any case, I need to actually get writing! More to come!
Monday, September 22, 2014
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Rewrite Time!
So, while I have a handful of projects ready to go for my next novel, I've shifted my priorities some. It's time to work toward publishing, in some capacity, and as a result I've decided to rewrite my first book, for a couple of reasons.
The primary reason is that I love that book, but I'm not the same writer I was when I started it. I'm much better, writing more concisely with consistent voice and overall, better habits. As I said, I still love the tale itself, and I want to preserve that. It perfectly sets up the universe I write about, has some memorable and fun characters (more on them in a moment), and really works as a story.
As I said, I love the characters in this book. They're also the characters in books two and three of the same series (obviously), and after writing one and a half more books about them I really feel like I know them better than when I had started book one. So, going back to rewrite (especially the beginning chapters) of book one, I'm getting a chance to write them as they should have been and much more consistently. They're coming across even stronger than the first time I'd written them and I love that.
The last reason I'm doing it this way is more professional. It's always been my plan to get my work out there in some capacity, and I've been practicing and writing my ass off to try and make that happen. Not necessarily in traditional publishing circles, but at least in a self-publishing effort. My first book is one that I would like to self publish, and would want to self publish its sequels eventually too. I think it has a chance with a publisher/agent in a traditional way, but not as much as one of my current works in progress, which I plan to finish after I rewrite this book. That work, its own standalone story, will likely be the one I push for real, traditional publishing, while trying to market and make a name for myself with the series I self publish.
What does this mean for you, my blog reader? Well, nothing, really. Yet. It means that I'm working to publish something, something of mine you can read as fiction and this blog will then sort of make sense. It means that the word counts I'm putting up will now be in line with the work I do on that rewrite. And of course, it means that I've changed my mind yet again about what I'm working on.
In any case, Friday will bring a new word count total. I know I did over 2K yesterday, but only about 1,100 on Monday. So we'll have to catch up! Also, I am still planning on posting some of my short works and flash fiction for you to read, so be ready for that!
Bishop
The primary reason is that I love that book, but I'm not the same writer I was when I started it. I'm much better, writing more concisely with consistent voice and overall, better habits. As I said, I still love the tale itself, and I want to preserve that. It perfectly sets up the universe I write about, has some memorable and fun characters (more on them in a moment), and really works as a story.
As I said, I love the characters in this book. They're also the characters in books two and three of the same series (obviously), and after writing one and a half more books about them I really feel like I know them better than when I had started book one. So, going back to rewrite (especially the beginning chapters) of book one, I'm getting a chance to write them as they should have been and much more consistently. They're coming across even stronger than the first time I'd written them and I love that.
The last reason I'm doing it this way is more professional. It's always been my plan to get my work out there in some capacity, and I've been practicing and writing my ass off to try and make that happen. Not necessarily in traditional publishing circles, but at least in a self-publishing effort. My first book is one that I would like to self publish, and would want to self publish its sequels eventually too. I think it has a chance with a publisher/agent in a traditional way, but not as much as one of my current works in progress, which I plan to finish after I rewrite this book. That work, its own standalone story, will likely be the one I push for real, traditional publishing, while trying to market and make a name for myself with the series I self publish.
What does this mean for you, my blog reader? Well, nothing, really. Yet. It means that I'm working to publish something, something of mine you can read as fiction and this blog will then sort of make sense. It means that the word counts I'm putting up will now be in line with the work I do on that rewrite. And of course, it means that I've changed my mind yet again about what I'm working on.
In any case, Friday will bring a new word count total. I know I did over 2K yesterday, but only about 1,100 on Monday. So we'll have to catch up! Also, I am still planning on posting some of my short works and flash fiction for you to read, so be ready for that!
Bishop
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Surgery
So I had some surgery.
That's the main reason I've been gone, but the other is just life getting in the way. The surgery I had was a septoplasty and bilateral turbinate reduction. They fixed up my nose, and for a while there I was completely unable to breathe through my nose and experiencing serious sinus pressure headaches. In any case, the air is returning to my nostrils and with it my will to write and post and all that. I've been a flake on this, my own blog, for a while now and I really want to get back into the habit of writing here.
SO! In the interest of starting fresh... I finished my latest novel not long before the surgery, and am starting one of three new projects that I have planned and partially started. I'm working on about the first 5-10k this week and the week before and will have a good chunk of story to see which I think has the most potential. Next week begins fresh, accurate counts and good meaningful posts.
That being said, for now I'm writing casually on these three projects, getting just a little in for each, probably around 1K words a day for them. It's relaxed, and it's helping me get back into the swing. Also, I'm going to start a third category of posts on my blog... my actual writing. I do a lot of flash fiction for a competition on the web each month, and I'm going to start posting some of the shorts I've written, or maybe even some of the chapters of one of my novels--we'll see on that part.
Stay tuned!
P.S.
Apparently, when the hospital asks for an emergency contact, if you say "Scarlett Johansson", they don't look up her number and call her. It was a real disappointment.
That's the main reason I've been gone, but the other is just life getting in the way. The surgery I had was a septoplasty and bilateral turbinate reduction. They fixed up my nose, and for a while there I was completely unable to breathe through my nose and experiencing serious sinus pressure headaches. In any case, the air is returning to my nostrils and with it my will to write and post and all that. I've been a flake on this, my own blog, for a while now and I really want to get back into the habit of writing here.
SO! In the interest of starting fresh... I finished my latest novel not long before the surgery, and am starting one of three new projects that I have planned and partially started. I'm working on about the first 5-10k this week and the week before and will have a good chunk of story to see which I think has the most potential. Next week begins fresh, accurate counts and good meaningful posts.
That being said, for now I'm writing casually on these three projects, getting just a little in for each, probably around 1K words a day for them. It's relaxed, and it's helping me get back into the swing. Also, I'm going to start a third category of posts on my blog... my actual writing. I do a lot of flash fiction for a competition on the web each month, and I'm going to start posting some of the shorts I've written, or maybe even some of the chapters of one of my novels--we'll see on that part.
Stay tuned!
P.S.
Apparently, when the hospital asks for an emergency contact, if you say "Scarlett Johansson", they don't look up her number and call her. It was a real disappointment.
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