swearing because after a year of having my first novel completed. (Again!!) I made the mistake of having a go at rewriting the first chapter. Ho-hum. Guess what I am doing this month to get it ready for Strange Chemistry's open doors. It was fine but this is fantastic lol
I'm in the middle of my tv pilot. My goal is to finish it by the end of the month, have a few trusted people read it and then start my rewriting.
Desperately pretending that the reason I'm not writing is that I don't have a new laptop yet. Also procrastinating.
Thinking about a third query after the first two told me to drop dead; well not in that tone, or words exactly, haha.
Well in terms of the time frame that included all the publishing and what not, not just the editing phase. It usually can take up to six month's before the book is published. I have not been charged for my book which was published in 2009. I am not writing a novel, more like a documentary. I usually do the brain storming then editing at the end, however I have a hard time to do the editing last due to I feel I need to clean up what I'm writing before I can press forward with the rest of my book. The grammar isn't too bad. Monie
I am now on page 66 in my story. The floodgates of my mind are wide open & I can't seem to write fast enough to keep up with my imagination. I've managed to make myself cry twice so far in this book, as my characters faced death, and had life changing realizations. Writing with pen & paper can be painful... I just wrote 12 pages (both sides) in a little over 4 hours, and now my right hand is throbbing! But hey, when the inspiration hits, you gotta flow with it, right? Now I better tend to my hand... maybe some ice? :redface:
Just beginning my first proper attempt at writing in a long time. I was remembering a dream I had a long time ago and trying to make sense of it and this idea just grew out of that at an incredible rate. Having a lot of fun now writing and thinking about it to the point of distraction when I'm at work.
I'm at the third try to write this damn story I've been starting on twice already just to halt around page 10. This time I'm even slower and the words are painfully hard to find, so we'll see how it'll go this time. I don't know if there will be a fourth try honestly. If I don't get it right this time I will probably leave it to die.
I've figured out my problem. I don't like endings. This is why I'm stalled. Every one I have put on pause is near the ending. I know how to end it, I know where it's ending. I'm just not ending them. Bah.
When I was younger I hated the thought of writing a novel instead of the endless story I was writing (by hand), because that meant at some point I would have to finish it, like, put an end to it, and then it would be... ended and I couldn't stand the thought. I was too much in love with the world my characters lived in to never be able to visit it again, or them. I was young then, about 16. I still find it sad ending a story, though.
I just finished a short story I began in 1996 and started sending it out to SF magazines; regardless of whether it's accepted I'm glad to finally have a version I'm happy with after only sixteen years . Though if it is accepted I'd better start writing the tie-in novel before someone else uses the idea .
Oh, I miss my never-ending stories from childhood. They were fun and so very interesting. Now I'm grown up and at least realize the need for an ending. Just forcing it out it's the problem I think I've written two paragraphs to the last story. Seriously, sadness.
I would characterize my progress as having walked to the end of the diving board, and I am right now hesitating to make the jump. The overall plot has been laid out. I have introduced all of the major characters, except one, who is a problem all by herself. The lead is at the crux of his decision, and the next scene lights a fuse that he can never extinguish until the whole shebang blows! When I began I could not wait until I got to this part! It's the meat of the story, the beginning of the real action. And yet I feel much as the lead feels. He has walked out away from the others, tried to fold his hands to pray--found the gesture disingenuous--and simply told his God the blunt, honest truth with a keen edge. Oh, I know what comes, what must come. I've been hesitant to get it rolling for two days.
Editing! Took a year from start to finish, but finally the first draft of my novel is done at around 101,000 words. I've spent so long just writing that I think I've forgotten how to edit, though. It's maddening. Guess I should update my sig.
I'm editing too, pea! Kinda draft 3/4, because I can't redraft linearly - every time I touch it I seem to introduce a new sub plot or semantic field... *sigh* It's now 155k after major condensation of part I, which was a bit Jane Austenish and apparently didn't foreshadow the blood bath in part II very successfully. Left some holes in it. Need to rewrite a kiss scene...
Still drafting. I have the first two chapters done along with the final scene. I've got the middle filled with several disjointed events leading up to the end. Holding all these bits and pieces together is my outline, which is what I am working on now. I know, outline first, then draft. But I had a dream about the beginning and the end, so that's where I started.
I decided to give my novel a break and keep it in the top shelf for awhile. I exhausted myself too much and I tried too hard to develop it. There are plot holes that leave questions that I cannot answer myself. Currently I am working on my science fiction novel. My spouse and a close friend read it. The responses I got were: "This sounds like you are writing a movie script. I can see this being a movie." (Note: I was trained in screen writing in college). "Keep writing I want more, what happens next." And last "You can always revise your words. Keep writing."
Busting my head on how to tie up the last scene, maybe 3,4 more pages, and sent out my third query; hopefully it's the proverbial charmed attempt.
I am currently in the beginning stages. I am organizing my ideas and creating the main characters. It takes place in modern day and switches to a fantasy world, so I am creating that as well. Basically generating an entire world history and everything. I still cant think of a title though!
155k?! That's a big book. I'm in the same boat of redrafting non-linearly. I still have scenes to finish but didn't really have enough to occupy myself so began editing too. The draft is mostly complete, but reads like cobbled-together nonsense. Much editing is needed.
Restarted again, bleh. Just got to the scene where two characters meet for the first time. Later on in the story, one is going to be responsible for the death of the other, but of course neither of them know that and so they're being really friendly to each other. It's actually kind of awkward...
I've seen mentions of much longer books on here - though it is my longest finished one. I use the colours pink (GO BACK AND LOOK AT THIS SECTION. IT'S ODD), red (THERE MAY BE A PROBLEM WITH THIS, BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW TO SOLVE IT ATM) and blue (I DID SOMETHING HERE. NEXT TIME I LOOK I SHOULD PAUSE AND CONSIDER HOW IT READS NOW) to mark what I'm doing. Sometimes there are dozens of pages all in black, other times there are a few pages littered with colour.
