So here I am on Friday night, haven’t managed a weblog entry, haven’t managed to write fiction all week.
I’ve been absolutely buried in Lesson 14 for HTRYN. Could not figure out how to show people what they need to do related to revising Simple Time in their novel. I had the whole lesson outlined, thought I knew how I was going to present it—and then my presentation didn’t work, and I re-outlined, did clusters, did bullet points, wrote things, deleted things.
My whole week I spent on JUST that lesson. In the end, I had a breakthrough, and HOW I needed to present the issues of Simple Time became clear, easy, obvious. Like falling off a log.
But it cost me the whole week, so here I am on Friday night, when I’m supposed to be done for the week and taking a break, and instead, the migraine that has plagued me much of the week is with me again, and I’m pushing through on the demo for Lesson 13.
The lesson wasn’t the only wreck in the week—but it magnified the several other wrecks.
I have not abandoned the writing diary, the newsletter, the TalysMana novel and weblog, or any of the other things I’m working on. This week, though, every just fell apart.
I’m sincerely hoping to sleep for two straight days once I get this demo done. But right at the moment, it’s looking like a long night.
And I had so many other things I wanted to talk about this week.
I focused on character development in TalysMana tonight, since I was actually giving Will Grey his first real time onstage.
Kettan ended up with a few good moments, too. I’m still not to the big bang for the scene, when Will finds out what Kettan’s been up to.
But he’s going to be smart getting there…and that part of the scene, which I’ll hit tomorrow night, will be a lot of fun.
It’s important to keep asking yourself, “Why would he do that?” about any character while you’re writing him. Your characters with make a lot more sense to the reader and your story if you keep that one question in mind every time you get ready to have a character do something. Saved Kettan from a moment of deep stupitude by asking that just before she was ready to answer a question Will asked her.
For tonight, I got 517 words I like. I’ll take that.
Am a couple thousand words now into Lesson 13 of How To Revise Your Novel. Am dealing with all the issues of revising and tracking conflict that come up as you’re in the process of hacking your first draft to pieces.
This is one of those area’s that can be tricky to work through, and require a lot of effort to get right.
I want to make sure I cover all the possible problems AND the solutions.
It’s an interesting writing night.
How are your words coming?
Got 364 words on TalysMana tonight. I’m back in Kettan’s point of view, and she’s with Bill (the detective from the Broward County Sheriff’s Department), and in a couple of minutes she’s going to have to figure out a way to politely shoo him out of her apartment, because…well, that’s tomorrow night.
Tonight, though, she was simply wrapping up her sketch of her Kendles under his admiring gaze.
And I find myself wondering…what if she didn’t shoo Bill out of her place? What if he was there when the next big thing happened?
That might be cool. Something to think about for tomorrow.
Finished up Lesson 12 of How To Revise Your Novel . By the time I got to the end of it, I was cringing for my students. I had forgotten how huge the character revision process is. It’s amazing how much of the whole process disappears once you’ve internalized it to the point that it’s second nature. Writing out the steps, I once again remembered what life was like before I internalized the steps.
Ouch.
It was a good writing day.
How about you?
Well, on the bright side, I got 3700 hard-fought words on Lesson 12 of HTRYN.
On the dark side, I’m too freakin’ fried to do any fiction.
So.
How are your words coming along?
Writing fiction went pretty well tonight. I got 601 words, and wrapped up the scene Interlude: Spinning Back the Reel.
Got it posted, so if you’re that far along in the story, it could show up in your mailbox as early as tonight.
I’m not sure I’m entirely happy with it. I think there’s more I could do… but I kept to the rules of the world as I have them right now, which includes denizens of Story not being able to cross the Gray, or from one Story world into another, unless led by a Spinner. And Spinners not being able to rewrite their worlds from within Story.
Like the separation of Church and State, those two requirements are necessary for limiting the magic in Talysmana, and also like them, they do limit a lot of really over-the-top power plays (which are cool in fiction and suck like a Hoover in real life).
I don’t see myself changing the rules in the revision. I do hope I’ll figure out a way to show a bit more of the magic and wonder of what just happened.
Now, though, on to Lesson 12 in How to Revise Your Novel, and Keeper Characters.
Voting and awarding scholarships for the How To Revise Your Novel Scholarship Contest was delayed because I’ve been sick.
However, I finally got the poll together.
There will be six scholarship winners. Five will win either a full scholarship to How To Revise Your Novel or a $150 cash prize payable via PayPal (winner’s choice).
The sixth, the grand prize winner, will receive both.
You have one week to vote, and may vote for your three favorite candidate videos once per day between today, Monday, January 25th, and Monday, February 1st. The poll will close February 1st, and I’ll tally scores, and announce the contest winners Tuesday, February 2nd.
Here’s how the voting works. I’ll add the number of votes here, plus the number of views, votes, and stars each video gets on YouTube along with my judging criteria to pick FIVE scholarship recipients, including the grand prize winner, who gets both the cash prize AND the scholarship.
The wildcard winner will receive a scholarship based on votes here plus YouTube views, votes, and stars. (This is the video ONLY you select.)
All videos are linked in the poll via a single new window. You can click each link, and it will open in the same window, making voting easier. Work your way up the list from the bottom, down the list from the top, or however you choose, check each of your three top choices, and submit your vote. If you’re so inclined, you can repeat the same process for the following six days.
421 words on TalysMana tonight—it was another interlude chapter, this one taking me into Kettan’s world after she returned to the What Is to make her talysmana to protect her Fendles.
Tonight I got as far as showing what happened to them after she left. I have not yet gotten to the point of showing what happens when she works out the idea for the talysmana. That comes next, and I’m looking forward to it. Tonight, the writing was grim.
Elsewhere, it’s been a zoo. I’m still coughing up junk and tired all the time. I remembered income tax stuff in time (barely) to get the info for the 1099s I have to send out to my accountant. It was pretty cool this year to have a handful of affiliates who made enough money that they NEEDED 1099s. There would have been a lot more, but many of my affiliates are outside the US, and don’t have to report their earnings in this country.
We’re looking for new digs, which is about the least fun thing ever—but rent is high, and our current neighborhood isn’t great. Somewhat better than the place that had the crime scene tape a couple buildings down from the building we thought we wanted into, though. Amazing how much less attractive “Police Line, Do Not Cross, Crime Scene” makes a neighborhood.
And I’m doing the HTRYN course. So I was AWOL from the writing diary for a lot of last week.
Hoping this week will be better, but I’m remembering that every January is a zoo. So I’m not holding my breath.
How’s your writing coming along?
No fiction.
Lesson 11 is about revising the novel to make it the length it needs to be. The lesson was a bit long.
I’m squeaking toward feeling better, but deadlines for HTRYN are carved in stone.
So. Tomorrow I hope to have time for fiction.
How did your story go?
HAH! I love this world.
Finally grabbed the chance to sit and write again, and the story raced onto the page. I had to put on the brakes because I still have to work on Lesson 10 of HTRYN tonight, but wow. The time I’ve had when I could only think about this really paid off.
Kettan is on the warpath, in her own unique way, determined to save her creatures and her world from her ex-boyfriend’s onslaught.
The magic system is landing on the page the way I’d hoped it would, and I’m getting some cool conflicts.
And hunting demons by smell? It’s critical. Think of that moment when you smell something and remember it, and for just an instant you’re six years old again, and back in the place where you first smelled it, and where that scent imprinted itself on your memory.
Imagine the worst memory you’ve ever had, and smelling something that took you back to THAT moment…
551 words before I slammed on the brakes. I’m so excited.
How’s your stuff coming?
I’ve been sick since last Thursday, and I spent the entire day today catching up on the HTRYN customer service e-mails that accumulated over the weekend. Got the course closed until late this year, got the main page set up so you can get a sneak peek inside the community, (just a tiny part of it, but still…) and I THINK I got everyone who needed help getting into class answered.
But. No writing tonight.
I feel like roadkill, and having JUST finished customer service, I’m going back to bed.
However, I have high hopes for words on TalysMana tomorrow.
Meanwhile, how YOU doin?
