Narrowing Focus

One thing more frustrating than setting goals is changing goals. Unfortunately, I am finding I need to do a lot of changing. 

WIP 2 counter on the left has remained pretty static. Actually word count is quite a bit more than what it shows here, but all that is hand-written, so I don't know how much exactly. But I have decided for now, to put it on hold, and just focus on editing WIP 1. 

There are two reasons for this. One because I am much busier now at my day job. Hardly a minute to sit still, so I am far more preoccupied it even when I am home. It also makes me more tired. So it does have an impact on writing. But also, more importantly, I really want to give this one-book-at-a-time thing a go, and see if it improves my focus and makes the end result better. Because my theory is, focusing on one book would mean I would be stewing over just that one story, one cast of characters, instead of spreading focus over several.

Of course there are no guarantees that I won't start writing again soon. I guess I'm just in a frustrated circle of figuring out what works for me. But for now, at least for a next month or two, this is the plan. 

With editing, I can see improvements, though progress is slow. Because I am focusing on every sentence, every paragraph, changing and chopping things. But I can see it getting better, so it makes the effort worth it.

How about you? How are your projects coming along?

WIP 2 - Progress & Notes on Method Change

For some reason, this book is certainly working better when I hand write. Perhaps it is because this is definitely more organic, since I don't have an outline. I know vaguely the main points that are supposed to happen, but I don't know any details. So in a way, it's brainstorming as I write, and brainstorming certainly works better for me, handwriting. 

So I have given in, and I am going to write rest of the draft by hand, and not bother to type it up until it's all done. So hopefully, the eventual type up will be a basic edit in itself.

To keep track of word count, I am estimating an average of 100 words per page, since I am using an A5 reporter's pa,d which is easy to use everywhere. As much as I am tempted to use some of my nicer A4 notebooks, the whole point is to keep this flexible, and easy to use anywhere, any time, and have it with me always. So plain notepads it is. 

So far, experiment going well. I am actually really keen to finish the first draft of this, because I am simply bubbling to write new stories. Might even hold off until I finish this one, if I have enough discipline. Though perhaps, writing a new book, could be a reward for sticking to goals for this book? One stone - two birds??? Hmm...I am going to go ponder over that. 

How are things going with your WIPs?

WIPs Update

WIP 2 

Word count has reached 5K+ mark, so that's progress. I am happy to say that I have stuck to my daily goals - 500 words on weekdays, and 1000 words on Saturday and Sunday. Quite low, but realistic word count for my otherwise full schedule. 

Currently I am at the beginning of the book, and for these initial scenes I did have some outline of what's supposed to happen, so real challenge will begin when I go further into the novel, and haven't managed to work out the nitty-gritties. 


WIP 1

Editing continues. I do need to spend much more time on this. I make a point of doing at least a little bit everyday, but it certainly needs much more intense sessions. Hoping to make that happen over the coming weekend. What I have found is that I have good times and bad times. Some times I really get into editing, and then I enjoy it, and take pleasure in going over every line and improving it. At other times, I get too impatient and just make superfluous changes - not a very good thing, since I know I have to go over it again. 

But over all, productivity continues so that's the main thing. 

How are things going with your WIPS? 

March Writing Challenge

In honour of my new WIP, to get things moving, I am doing a March Writing Challenge. As I am editing a book, as well as doing other stuff (life happens), I have decided on what I believe are realistic goals for me.

500 words every day from Monday to Friday
1000 words on Saturday and Sunday

I started this on 1st of March, so if I stick to it (and of course I shall), by 31st of March I will be at least 19500 words into my new WIP.

This challenge is also a part of working for a more balanced approach in life, as I generally tend to go in frezny over one goal and end up neglecting all the other goals. This is a normal pace that *could* be sustained along with all the other things I need to do.

I will more than likely carry this challenge over in other months as well, but for now starting with March.

Feel free to join me, and if you are not participating in this exact challenge, do you have regular writing goals? Are you a word-counter or page counter, or scene counter? Wordcount goals work for me, so I am sticking to them.

Happy Writing!

Editing Officially Begins Today

Yesterday I finished read-through of my NaNo 2010 novel, so today Editing officially begins. This is an important event for me. Up until now, I have edited books to various level, but I have never yet finished complete edits and revisions to get a book to submission level. This book is going to be the first one to achieve that. 

So as I begin editing, I am also going to be paying attention to my process, what works for me and what doesn't. I don't expect to get it right in the first instance, but I am determined to try, and more importantly, I am determined to FINISH this book. 

So wish me luck...and let the editing begin!!!

Conundrum, Confusion, and Some More Conundrum

Okay, so I was just being a tad dramatic with the title, because all those Cs sounded very nice. But the confusion is all too real.

Remember that post about selecting a new WIP - between Urban Fantasy or Science Fiction? And the end result of that was yet another Urban Fantasy which was suddenly and unexpectedly born. So I started brainstorming, outlining that. And you know what, I love it. I've got characters. I've got main storyline - though not all the scenes. 

But you see - when it comes to new WIPs, I have this major problem. I have TOO MANY choices. And it doesn't help that I am amazing at logically arguing myself in or out of a story. It would be okay if I argued on one side - but I have good reasons for all sides, and that makes making a decision hell of a thing. Even worse, it's a nightmare after the decision is made, and I have more amazing reasons for why I should work on something different. 

So now I think....I have made a decision. And I am telling myself that I am going to stick to it. (I won't tell you what just yet - because let me wait a bit and see what I end up writing). 

But here is the question - have you got a problem of too many choices? How do you decide what to work on next? 

NaNo 2010 - Bending The Rules AND all about WIP

As most of you are probably aware (at least those on facebook) I've been wondering whether to do NaNo or not, since I was also wondering what direction revisions in my current WIP were going to take.

Well, now all decisions have been made, and you are the first to know :-)

This year, I'll be bending the rules of NaNo. Instead of writing a new project, I'm going to rewrite my current one. It requires a complete rewrite, and here is why:

1. Change of POV - instead of multiple third person, now it will be first person. That not only means a complete rewrite just because of that - but also because any essential information that was given to the reader during other people's POV while MC was absent, now need to be delivered through MC.
2. Plot - while main plot remains the same, due to POV change, and just few other ideas, several things change
3. Character Cutting - I've gotten rid of few of the minor characters, and reassigned new roles to some of the existing characters. As a result, their scenes change.

Of course I haven't come to this decision lightly, since I was actually planning to complete this book by end of October, and start a brand new project for NaNo. I have spent enough time going through my WIP, and I actually did a completely revised outline. But now, I am convinced that this is much better, far closer vision of my book that is in my mind. First person narrative focuses more attention on MC, and as a result makes him more active. Other characters were stealing too much attention through multiple POV and it wasn't suitable for the scope of this book.

There are a few things I still have to sort through in the new outline - again, result of all these changes, so I've decided to make this my NaNo 2010 project.

Because this is not a brand new project, I will be aiming higher than just first draft. So this is my goal:

• Complete rewrite of the whole draft (current version which is multiple POV stands at just over 98K words. This one should be at least 90K)
• Clean rewrite. Not just superfast mad race, but as good draft as possible
• Finish the rewrite by/before 15/11 and start revision
• Second half of NaNo month should be spent on revision

I love the challenge of NaNo, and participating with so many other writers, so I absolutely did not want to miss that opportunity. And there are times when we just have to do things our way, so I am skipping the rule book, and doing it my way. Goal after all is to accomplish something, and that's what I hope to do.

Looking forward to sharing NaNo experience with many of you again.

Unstructured Approach to Structuring

Editing - how I love it, and hate it, and feel everything in between for it. The editing for main wip is going...on some days I might say it's going well, but on other days, like today, it's just going.

However that is not a deterrent by any means because every weakness or every problem found now is something that I won't have to deal with later, and certainly not something that an agent or a publisher will ever get to see. So I am okay with finding faults. Faults are fixable.

My key concern is structure. Overall the structure is solid - but the problem is that there are several places in the second half of the book where I need to add new scenes. I am not exactly sure what scenes, and I am not exactly sure where, but I know that some additional requirement is needed, and I also know that some scenes could use other scenes in betwee them to make the transition smoother.

Initially I was going chapter by chapter. For first nine chapters it was okay, because they don't need anything added, and they don't need any structural changes. (I hope). Chapter 10 was so-so, but it was because of Chapter 11 that Chapter 10 came under the whole kaboom of change.

So there I was, looking at Chapter 11, staring and staring, and wondering what should go where, and it all seemed just so hopeless, and annoying, because I just wanted to do the damn edit, not wonder about what I should do. Then I looked at Chapter 10 and Chapter 12, because they had to link with Chapter 11, and while I was at it, I looked at Chapter 13 too. Then just for the convinience of looking at it easily, I pasted it all in one document, and started playing with it. And selecting things that I definitely wanted to keep (only looking at plot points here, not necessarily exact words). It was still quite frustrating not knowing what to add.

So just for the hell of it, I copied remaining chapters in a second document, and as I was doing it, the light bulb went off. This unstructured approach is the way to move forward, at least for now.

What I have done now is to combine both documents which is about 40000 words. I am going through it in completely unstructure manner, at random, selecting what I definitely want to keep, editing what catches my eye, and making note where new scenes could be inserted. While usually more orderly method is more efficient, I feel that in this instance, because I need to be aware of the whole picture rather than one scene, it is better to treat the whole second half as one, because if I add a new scene somewhere, it won't just affect the scene after it, but perhaps another scene which is no where around it. This approach is also making the editing slightly more fun and not nearly as frustrating because I am not endlessly staring at one screen, not knowing how to move.

This has also taught me an important lesson: there is no such thing as edit-proof. This WIP was written with an outine, and there are actually no plot holes, and yet I feel the need to add the new material because it will make the book stronger. It's the kind of stuff that one can't plan for. So the control freak in me just have to work with the chaos.

Editing Frenzy Begins

For the next 44 days, I plan to go into editing frenzy. Getting fed up with plodding along, and procrastinating, and getting distracted, I have decided now it's time to take the NaNo approach to editing. So yesterday I came up with a new plan.

44 days for one full pass editing. This won't be a final version, but it will be a revision of the full novel, with emphasis on quality rather than quantity.

Besides the obvious that I only have evenings and weekends to work, what are some of the challenges?

• I plan to add a major plot layer, which will mean writing new material worth about 10K to 15K
• It will also mean rewriting or tweaking many of the existing scenes to accomodate changes these plot layer will bring
• I have got 302 pages to edit as of today, which with new words will probably push up higher

I have taken my schedule into consideration while making this plan. It's still ambitious for what I want to achieve in the time I have, but if I can focus - intensely - I can do it. Probably.

So here is the plan (and being such nice, lovely supporters that you are, feel free to use your whips when I flounder):

• March 23 - March 28 = 34 Pages (Hey I have got plans for this Saturday)
• March 29 - April 4 = 50 Pages
• April 5 - April 11 = 54 Pages
• April 12 - April 18 - 46 Pages
• April 19 - April 25 = 46 Pages
• April 26 - May 2 = 46 Pages
• May 3 - May 5 = 26 Pages

Total Pages 302 (+whatever I add with new words)

Total Days 44

Why 44 days?
Because 6th is my birthday, so this is going to be my challenge for this year of my life, and my present to myself - and I might not let myself celebrate if I don't finish it, but haven't decided on that yet. Because for now, failure isn't an option.

So this evening, after work, Editing Frenzy Begins...

Look Beyond the Surface - Connecting with Creativity

This is a post more about the creative process rather than a technique so bear with me.

As you are aware, I am in the process of editing and revising my book. On positive side, I am happy with the story. I can see the potential. I love the characters, and the world.

But it's a gem that needs a damn good polish.

Initially, as I was going over the revised first scene, I knew something wasn't right. It was bit discouraging knowing something isn't right, but not knowing quite what it is. It's not a question of good dialogue or wrong spelling. All that is fine. And yet something was missing.

But while I was worrying about that last week, my muse insisted on playing. I had a non-fiction project brewing in my mind for over a year, and suddenly the ideas started pouring out so I decided to let the Muse be in-charge, and made notes. I say, made notes, because I barely had to think. It was fabulous, and gave me such a high that no amount of caffeine or chocolate has ever done.

I could have forced myself to stick to my WIP, keep trolling through the editing. A part of me did feel guilty for not making as much progress with editing as I had scheduled, but a greater part of me was happy and content, and knew this was the right thing. So muse and I played, and then we took some time to read a new book on journaling, which inspired us to dig deeper into our journal, and now we are both refreshed, and know that we are ready to talk to our main character.

Because after giving myself time to just be creative without worrying about the end product, I also realised what bothered me about my WIP. The overall tone of the story is not yet as I want it to be. The main character's voice seems to casual for the story, or for his own depth.

After taking the time to be creative through my journal, just enjoying the fun, I can move forward. Editing on schedule is all very well, and I am not against discipline. Discipline is a key to succeed if one wants to have a long-term writing career, but we also have to remember that this isn't a regular, logical job. This is a creative process - and it has its own schedule, and sometimes it knows far better than we do, when we are ready to move forward.

So this evening, I plan to have a good chat with my MC and see what he has to tell me. Meanwhile, I shall continue to analyse my WIP rather than be fixated with making it perfect immediately. I need to understand the problems before I can fix them. I need to look below the surface - listen to what the story and the characters have to say. And sometimes, I just need to throw the schedule out of the window, and listen to the Muse.

Raising the Stakes

I have been making notes on my NaNo WIP, trying to sort through the plot to figure out where I might need changes. There are no plot holes; one plot layer was left dangling which I can deal with. But I have come to realise that my characters' lives are far too easy. My protagonist isn't working hard enough for his happy ending.

I have the tendency to give my people happy lives. It doesn't matter who they are. Even when I play Sims, all my people are happy, healthy, beautiful, rich, and have all the time to pursue their life's dreams. They are not lazy - certainly not. They lead productive life, but I give them all the tools. That obviously is not the case in real life, and should not be in the novel. If everything is served on a silver platter, anyone can solve a problem.

I haven't made things that easy for my protagonist, but he certainly could do with more problems. Instead of having several mini crisis, I have given him few mini satisfactions. At the time it seemed like a good idea, and it made me happy while writing it. And it was fine for the first draft, because remmeber the rule - first draft is a creative process. But now, things need to change.

So once again, instead of running off to start rewrites, I am taking the time to think things through and trying to decide where I can raise the stakes, and how I can make my characters' lives little more difficult.

I am getting quite impatient to write though, because while this editing WIP is stuck at notes stage, my new WIP is at outlining stage. So really need to get going so word flow can start again.

Post-It Outline for New Wip & Rejections

This could be called "notecarding" but I am using post-its, because I can stick them in a notebook or a sheet of paper. Just a matter of convinience, and I have pretty colourful post-its. Anyway, to the point... I did a partial post-it outline for a science fiction WIP but never got around to finishing it, so I have started the process for my new Bristol Fantasy WIP. My brainstorm doodles usually end up all over the place, which is why I usually outline on the computer since it's easier to get things together. Or if I write things down, I transfer them consistently. So why post-its? Because while my last WIP outline was very helpful, I realised that I wanted more details. For this outline, I want to try to make sure all subplots are included, all important scenes are included, and in a consistent manner. This is also slightly tricky one because this story will be from first person POV, so while my brainstorm tells me somethings are going to happen - those things happen away from the MC's sight, so when including them in my outline, I need to incorporate them differently. So the post-its are ideally going to be scene by scene. One post-it will include details of one scene. Everything just as it would happen in the book from MC's POV. None of the background information, or how things might occur elsewhere. I intend this to be a straightforward outline which could give me the gist of the story at a glance, so I will know whether I have got everything or at least most things covered or not. Because I know that brain doesn't always cooperate with answers when you ask questions, I have got two colours. All the main scene points will be written on green post-it pads. Then any other ideas that might come to me for those particular scenes will go on orange-pad, so I can then decide what to include and how to arrange everything. So orange will be like a sub-outline for the main green outline. It is quite exciting brainstorming this novel - well it's always exciting brainstorming novels, but this one is just so much fun. I am really having to restraint myself from starting the first draft. But I won't do it. I am determined to have a satisfactory outline before starting the first draft. But hopefully, it won't be too long. AND for some bad news... Two flash fiction rejections in one day. Seriously, I submitted weeks ago and both magazines decided to send their emails on the same day. I am not that surprised because as you are all aware I am not a fan of short stories. But since I did make an effort to write several short stories and flash fiction for my WB course, I figured I should at least make decent effort to submit it to various places. Still, it's depressing to receive those rejections. :(

New Women's Fiction WIP Unearthed

I have been working on this for a while, and this is the one I used to do synopsis for my Writers Bureau Assignment. So inspired by recent success with an old WIP, I put together all that I had written in some orderely fashion, and voila, 40% done. Fantasy WIP is still the priority, but I might write scenes for this one here and there, since I have a good outline already.