I believed yesterday that I had nearly finished! Just one small scene to go, and actually spent the day celebrating rather than finishing! But just this minute have finished my first draft. I already have a list of issues to revise in the second draft but it shouldn't be half as challenging to edit than my NaNo, which sits, looking daunting, on a shelf.
Im off to have it printed and spiral-bound tomorrow! With an extra wide margin for red-pen notes.
Congratulations to everyone else who made it, and everyone who tried!
Thursday, 24 March 2011
Tuesday, 22 March 2011
Writing Exercise 12: Funny Pic-Turned-Idea
I saw this comic and just had to laugh:
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1vrwMu/cartoonist.name/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/bizzaro-1.jpg
But then I thought that there are probably lots of crazy unconsidered theories for the death of the dinosaurs.
This prompt is not so much about creating prose, as brainstorming ideas. (If you've read my conclusions on Wolf Hall, you'll know how it upset me that poor prose is acceptable if it supports a good idea. Let's learn by example. The idea is more important than the quality, in the eyes of an agent, so it's definitely an area that we can all work on.)
So go, and bring back insane but convincing theories as to who killed the dinosaurs. Mass suicide perhaps? The rat-like beings that preceded us tripped them all up? I'm sure you'll think of something better.
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1vrwMu/cartoonist.name/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/bizzaro-1.jpg
But then I thought that there are probably lots of crazy unconsidered theories for the death of the dinosaurs.
This prompt is not so much about creating prose, as brainstorming ideas. (If you've read my conclusions on Wolf Hall, you'll know how it upset me that poor prose is acceptable if it supports a good idea. Let's learn by example. The idea is more important than the quality, in the eyes of an agent, so it's definitely an area that we can all work on.)
So go, and bring back insane but convincing theories as to who killed the dinosaurs. Mass suicide perhaps? The rat-like beings that preceded us tripped them all up? I'm sure you'll think of something better.
Monday, 21 March 2011
Characters: What Made the Greats Great?
Real life characters.
I'm mentioning reality because isn't it the aim of most writers to take great believable characters, even if they can be a little exaggerated, and putting them into neat little plots of our own malicious devising?
The BBC gives a list of resources with a very brief history tied to each name. You may be a learned scholar but I doubt that you'll know every person on this list. For example I didn't know Edward Jenner, pioneer of immunology.
These are the people that have stuck, the ones that are remembered (even if we're not as brushed up as we should be).
From the examples there's a lot of raw material to work with. Take one character and inverse them? Cross them with another? Adjust and tweak and I feel this may be the perfect source for strong characters.
If you have an eye you may pick up on a trend amongst them. It may be all you need for your own infinite source of majestic and long-lasting characters. (Notice that I never said 'good'. Check out Anne Boleyn. I had forgotten the end to her tale.)
Here's the link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/j.shtml
I'm mentioning reality because isn't it the aim of most writers to take great believable characters, even if they can be a little exaggerated, and putting them into neat little plots of our own malicious devising?
The BBC gives a list of resources with a very brief history tied to each name. You may be a learned scholar but I doubt that you'll know every person on this list. For example I didn't know Edward Jenner, pioneer of immunology.
These are the people that have stuck, the ones that are remembered (even if we're not as brushed up as we should be).
From the examples there's a lot of raw material to work with. Take one character and inverse them? Cross them with another? Adjust and tweak and I feel this may be the perfect source for strong characters.
If you have an eye you may pick up on a trend amongst them. It may be all you need for your own infinite source of majestic and long-lasting characters. (Notice that I never said 'good'. Check out Anne Boleyn. I had forgotten the end to her tale.)
Here's the link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/j.shtml
Saturday, 19 March 2011
Row Update: the Winding Path to Victory
It seems I must always have highs and lows in writing - two days of absurdly fast scribbling followed by two days of wanting to write but constantly deleting each line written.
Today ought to be an up day! I keep thinking about the deadline. It has made my good days even more productive and my low days even less.
There's only so much self-slapping I can administer. =P
By the way, did you catch the moon illusion last night?
Today ought to be an up day! I keep thinking about the deadline. It has made my good days even more productive and my low days even less.
There's only so much self-slapping I can administer. =P
By the way, did you catch the moon illusion last night?
Wednesday, 16 March 2011
Row Update - Late
I had a day, I'm sure everyone gets this, where I took one look at my work and thought: 'Crap. I can't bring myself to work on this. It's awful.'
I've had them before. They go away with a good nap or a good outing. But that day I picked up my next book to read, Wolf Hall, got three pages in and thought: 'Crap! It's not just my imagination.' Then I picked up another potential book, written by a nobel prize winner in literature, and also found it crap. I think that, right there, shows I was having an off day.
Reading on with Wolf Hall, I realised I had reason, though it didn't occur to me at the time: half the time 'he' refers to the protagonist, who is names all of two times in every ten pages, other times it refers the rest of the rather massive cast of male characters. I could never tell who was speaking. Even so, the story's interesting. I suppose it proves a point: the idea of the book is more important than the quality of the prose. Yet I feel a constant itch to critique it a la scribophile.
So, back to progress, it's creeping forward, happy to say, and I'm starting to be happy with half-finished query letter.
I've had them before. They go away with a good nap or a good outing. But that day I picked up my next book to read, Wolf Hall, got three pages in and thought: 'Crap! It's not just my imagination.' Then I picked up another potential book, written by a nobel prize winner in literature, and also found it crap. I think that, right there, shows I was having an off day.
Reading on with Wolf Hall, I realised I had reason, though it didn't occur to me at the time: half the time 'he' refers to the protagonist, who is names all of two times in every ten pages, other times it refers the rest of the rather massive cast of male characters. I could never tell who was speaking. Even so, the story's interesting. I suppose it proves a point: the idea of the book is more important than the quality of the prose. Yet I feel a constant itch to critique it a la scribophile.
So, back to progress, it's creeping forward, happy to say, and I'm starting to be happy with half-finished query letter.
Friday, 11 March 2011
Alert! Authonomy! Alert!
'Ello, what's all this then?
Here I was hearing horror stories about how the publishing industry dictates what we get on our shelves, as a sort of automaton that picks based on random impulses. But (thanks to reading the fine print on the inside of Wolf Hall
) I was lead to discover www.authonomy.com .
Who of you knew of this site? It should be made known to everyone who likes to read, let alone write.
Participants can post the first 10,000 words min of a manuscript and readers dictate trends based on how much these are liked, which attracts the attention of the publishers and editors of HarperCollins. People who stories that grow on to become high-ranking are marked as talent spotters and their tastes given more weight. It really is a way for letting people other than publishers decide what should be published and I hope to see this website grow to bursting point with life and activity from the book-loving community, though I fear the exact opposite will happen.
Let's take charge!
Here I was hearing horror stories about how the publishing industry dictates what we get on our shelves, as a sort of automaton that picks based on random impulses. But (thanks to reading the fine print on the inside of Wolf Hall
) I was lead to discover www.authonomy.com . Who of you knew of this site? It should be made known to everyone who likes to read, let alone write.
Participants can post the first 10,000 words min of a manuscript and readers dictate trends based on how much these are liked, which attracts the attention of the publishers and editors of HarperCollins. People who stories that grow on to become high-ranking are marked as talent spotters and their tastes given more weight. It really is a way for letting people other than publishers decide what should be published and I hope to see this website grow to bursting point with life and activity from the book-loving community, though I fear the exact opposite will happen.
Let's take charge!
Monday, 7 March 2011
Writing Exercise 11: Re-Writing Memories
The latest and most accepted theory about long-term memories in the brain is that every time we remember a memory, we re-write it in our brains. Usually as almost identical. These different versions, all stored together, combine to for the memory you will conjure up the next time, which will have another copy, slightly different, saved.
It's a bit of a concept to wrap your head around. Surely the memories you hold dear haven't changed in your mind. In essence probably not, though they have been updated with newer versions of the same thing.
Anyway, to the exercise.
1) Write a 200-250 word scene.
2) re-write it without looking at the first story you wrote. Just using memory.
3) Do this again, based on your latest version until you have three or four variations of the same scene.
What do they have in common?
What changed?
If it doesn't teach you about your writing style, it'll still help you realise the essence of your ideas which run through your stories and hopefully make editing less painful, knowing there are hundreds of ways to get your same essence across.
The Essence of Evil by *BlackMysticA on deviantART
It's a bit of a concept to wrap your head around. Surely the memories you hold dear haven't changed in your mind. In essence probably not, though they have been updated with newer versions of the same thing.
Anyway, to the exercise.
1) Write a 200-250 word scene.
2) re-write it without looking at the first story you wrote. Just using memory.
3) Do this again, based on your latest version until you have three or four variations of the same scene.
What do they have in common?
What changed?
If it doesn't teach you about your writing style, it'll still help you realise the essence of your ideas which run through your stories and hopefully make editing less painful, knowing there are hundreds of ways to get your same essence across.
The Essence of Evil by *BlackMysticA on deviantART
Sunday, 6 March 2011
ROW update
I must hang my head in shame.
I have been meaning, time and again, to work my hours. I think I've rendered the concept of deadlines moot. But life happens and my ultimate, final, be all and end all deadline is the end of ROW. I have to remember that and not wince at the lack of time.
I am sorry for not commenting on enough blogs. (I usually have nothing to say beyond 'I read your post.' How dull for a writer!) I have been reading quite a few though and it's good to know I'm not alone, though it doesn't make me feel less guilty.
Good luck to all who've made it this far! We still have time to reach the ultimate ROW goals, no matter how far behind, if we start getting really serious from now.
I have been meaning, time and again, to work my hours. I think I've rendered the concept of deadlines moot. But life happens and my ultimate, final, be all and end all deadline is the end of ROW. I have to remember that and not wince at the lack of time.
I am sorry for not commenting on enough blogs. (I usually have nothing to say beyond 'I read your post.' How dull for a writer!) I have been reading quite a few though and it's good to know I'm not alone, though it doesn't make me feel less guilty.
Good luck to all who've made it this far! We still have time to reach the ultimate ROW goals, no matter how far behind, if we start getting really serious from now.
Wednesday, 2 March 2011
Writing Exercise 10: Novel Scenes
While struggling with own plot/premise writing issues (it's my biggest weakness) I came up with this method as one way to let the plot work itself out for me.
Firstly, I must show you this fun little plot generator. It's not necessary for this exercise but is certainly my favourite way of doing it: generator link
The point is to write a scene not from the beginning, nor the end, but from somewhere in the middle of a novel. As you put down words, your characters' frictions between each other might tell you about how they got into their muddle. Or you might suddenly realise a perfect ending to this novel you've never even written. It's just a brain-stretcher. Stuff has happened, stuff will happen, but isn't necessarily happening at the moment.
I find the little generator gives me a definite middle to start with, though the scene I end up writing may be nothing like that given to me.
(Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein from the scene where he brings his monster to life, which ended up nearly a third of the way into the final draft.)
Or you could use: http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2nWxZZ/www.penguinking.com/premise.php
Firstly, I must show you this fun little plot generator. It's not necessary for this exercise but is certainly my favourite way of doing it: generator link
The point is to write a scene not from the beginning, nor the end, but from somewhere in the middle of a novel. As you put down words, your characters' frictions between each other might tell you about how they got into their muddle. Or you might suddenly realise a perfect ending to this novel you've never even written. It's just a brain-stretcher. Stuff has happened, stuff will happen, but isn't necessarily happening at the moment.
I find the little generator gives me a definite middle to start with, though the scene I end up writing may be nothing like that given to me.
(Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein from the scene where he brings his monster to life, which ended up nearly a third of the way into the final draft.)
Or you could use: http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2nWxZZ/www.penguinking.com/premise.php
The road to the middle by =roadioarts on deviantART
Row Update
Finally on my feet again and full of beans! ... and the last remaining dreggs of mucus.
Well, it's the last month and what have we here? First draft, not complete yet (will it ever be). Revision of another draft, not done. Yes, I'm focusing on quality over quantity but I'm starting to despair at the number of setbacks. (Starting?) Life's not easy, but I still expect it to be. (And babysitting three days a week really throws off a writing groove.)
Well, off to attempt a massive catch up. I think I might stay up all night, just for the heck of it
Well, it's the last month and what have we here? First draft, not complete yet (will it ever be). Revision of another draft, not done. Yes, I'm focusing on quality over quantity but I'm starting to despair at the number of setbacks. (Starting?) Life's not easy, but I still expect it to be. (And babysitting three days a week really throws off a writing groove.)
Well, off to attempt a massive catch up. I think I might stay up all night, just for the heck of it
Monday, 28 February 2011
Row update number ?
I've been terribly sick. It's just a cold but I've inherited my father's ability to be completely knocked off my feet by a sniffle. It's why I can walk around with other medical issues that require immediate attention without realising, such as a dislocated rib. Because nothing is as bad as a cold.
I've just regained the ability to sit up and type, but not enough to think straight (this post is only coherent because I'm taking my sweet time) so, naturally, nothing's been done word-wise while I've been knocked out.
Ogden Nash probably had the same way with colds, though I suspect he didn't get them quite as roughly as half my family does. Here's a link to his wonderfully lyrical poem on colds (in the form of a preview):
Go hang yourself, you old M.D,!
You shall not sneer at me.
Pick up your hat and stethoscope,
Go wash your mouth with laundry soap;
I contemplate a joy exquisite
In not paying you for your visit.
I did not call you to be told
My malady is a common cold.
And here's a link to everyone else in ROW:
I've just regained the ability to sit up and type, but not enough to think straight (this post is only coherent because I'm taking my sweet time) so, naturally, nothing's been done word-wise while I've been knocked out.
Ogden Nash probably had the same way with colds, though I suspect he didn't get them quite as roughly as half my family does. Here's a link to his wonderfully lyrical poem on colds (in the form of a preview):
Go hang yourself, you old M.D,!
You shall not sneer at me.
Pick up your hat and stethoscope,
Go wash your mouth with laundry soap;
I contemplate a joy exquisite
In not paying you for your visit.
I did not call you to be told
My malady is a common cold.
And here's a link to everyone else in ROW:
Wednesday, 23 February 2011
Writing Exercise 9: Picture Prompt
Romance and magic! I'm feeling a little gooey today and I've included some pictures that might make you gooey too.
The magic is actually the more important factor here. Here's what your story should include:
1) Something magical (you can go the realism route and have someone with a magical voice or you can go all out and summon cthulhu).
2) The setting has to be outdoors.
3) One of the following objects has to appear in it:
Enchanted by the winter by =wchild on deviantART
Rosa Canina at break down by ~ziddarri on deviantART
One Perfect Rose by *galway-girl21 on deviantART
The magic is actually the more important factor here. Here's what your story should include:
1) Something magical (you can go the realism route and have someone with a magical voice or you can go all out and summon cthulhu).
2) The setting has to be outdoors.
3) One of the following objects has to appear in it:
Enchanted by the winter by =wchild on deviantART
Rosa Canina at break down by ~ziddarri on deviantART
One Perfect Rose by *galway-girl21 on deviantART
Monday, 21 February 2011
Row update 12
I'm always late with my Sunday post. It's taken a bit of effort to write this now (in bed, half-asleep). Weekend commuting is creating an absolute trench in my writing numbers and time. On the upside I'm seeing a finish line in the distance for my novel!
Goodnight all.
Linky: http://www.linkytools.com/wordpress_list.aspx?id=65697&type=basic
Goodnight all.
Linky: http://www.linkytools.com/wordpress_list.aspx?id=65697&type=basic
Wednesday, 16 February 2011
Writing Exercise 8: Picture Prompt
Do you feel out of place?
I searched for pictures with the phrase "out of place" and here are some of the odd things that came up. This prompt is just about the pictures, as they have a lot in them. Just give your piece the theme of 'out of place'.
(The last of these I doubt will be useful but was quite odd so I included it anyway.)
Girls' Night Out by *theartrix on deviantART
Village of the Bridge by *angrymikko on deviantART
Cramped place by `hellobaby on deviantART
I searched for pictures with the phrase "out of place" and here are some of the odd things that came up. This prompt is just about the pictures, as they have a lot in them. Just give your piece the theme of 'out of place'.
(The last of these I doubt will be useful but was quite odd so I included it anyway.)
Girls' Night Out by *theartrix on deviantART
Village of the Bridge by *angrymikko on deviantART
Cramped place by `hellobaby on deviantART
ROW update 11
I've had a writing goal and aims overhaul. A complete revolution. I had been beating myself up about word counts and how much writing I should be doing. I couldn't really write every waking minute but whenever I don't the guilt sets in. So here's my new goal to maximise output and way to relieve guilt.
I got a nifty little timer from cnet:
http://download.cnet.com/TimeLeft/3000-2350_4-10034817.html
I just took the timer and set it to five hours. I can pause the timer whenever I need to check my emails and such, so I don't waste writing time. This way I know for sure I have done five hours of writing a day. It could be awful writing but I know that I've put in a reasonable amount of effort and the words are no longer as important as the fact that I know my time has been well-spent.
No more guilt and no more wasting time. Time to write. (My timer is currently set to pause. Only 15 min in and I've written 200 words! I don't expect to keep up the pace but it should put my previous word counts to shame.)
I got a nifty little timer from cnet:
http://download.cnet.com/TimeLeft/3000-2350_4-10034817.html
I just took the timer and set it to five hours. I can pause the timer whenever I need to check my emails and such, so I don't waste writing time. This way I know for sure I have done five hours of writing a day. It could be awful writing but I know that I've put in a reasonable amount of effort and the words are no longer as important as the fact that I know my time has been well-spent.
No more guilt and no more wasting time. Time to write. (My timer is currently set to pause. Only 15 min in and I've written 200 words! I don't expect to keep up the pace but it should put my previous word counts to shame.)
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