YESTERDAY’s work… finished Lesson 5 of the new Big Writing Course…

By Holly Lisle

Got my fiction first TODAY — had to toss a bit of the most recent scene, came in with new words, and even came out a bit ahead. Came out with a net gain of 148 words. Not what I’d hoped for, but I’m glad to be getting fiction. And the RETHINK part of the scene was essential.

I’m going to also include what I got yesterday, which was nonfiction for the new Big Class.

I’m happy with the way the processes I’m demonstrating are coming together.

And while today’s is a subject that I’ve had to cover in every single writing class I’ve done, I’ve had to do that because it’s useful to every writer (fiction and nonfiction), and it isn’t a one-time process. You do it in some for with every single piece of fiction you write.

Every writing project benefits from this, and how you do it is different for every kind of fiction you write.

So… The lesson is done. Five out of twenty-three planned. Still no idea on what the Bonus will be. Just that there will be one.

If you have a question about fiction writing (or writing in general) that I haven’t covered, just reply to this post, and ask. And I’ll read through any replies, and see if anyone asks something I haven’t covered before.

If I can figure out a one-to-three-lesson bonus class from YOUR question, you’ll receive a nice reward as thanks for the question.


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To quote Meatloaf, “Some days it don’t come easy…”

By Holly Lisle

It is a Monday.

I’m trying to be objective by keeping that in mind.

Mondays can be a bit tricky sometimes, and this was one of those.

So… I got words…

They fit, they moved the story forward, they let me build out the obstacle my characters are facing, and I genuinely like what I got.

I just didn’t get as MUCH of it as I wanted…

Turns out, this simply was not one of those “Red Bull Gives You Wings” flying-fingers, galloping plot kinds of days. I’m wrapping up, and hoping that tomorrow, the story will take off for me a bit more smoothly.

Because frankly, the “wings” days are a whole lot more fun.


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Another slow, struggle-y day today working through Chapter 6

By Holly Lisle

The story has taken a (planned) dark turn. MEANWHILE… I’m struggling a bit to show the conflict without going darker than I want.

And I have to be very, very careful right now NOT to let the magic run amok.

It’ll do that, you know — magic will. Run AMOK… AMOK… all over the damn place.

It will start turning pumpkins into carriages and rabbits into Deadly Vorpal Bunnies, and I don’t want to have anything to do with nightmares like that.

So… when I come in tomorrow, I’m going to spend my first writing hour just building out a dialogue for myself on what I want the rest of this book to do.

I have the outline already. I’m following it.

But my tone feels like it’s shifted, and I’m not sure I like the direction in which it’s slipped. So tomorrow might be another ‘small wordcount’ day, but if I can guarantee myself that I’m writing in the right direction, I’ll be just fine with that.

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The Mystery Deepens… Ohio 4 and Important People Lying

By Holly Lisle

Some days, writing is like flying — it’s effortless, and exciting, and maybe a bit scary and windy, especially when the ground seems a long, long way down.

But these are the days when you have to pull yourself away from the words when all you want to do is keep going.

I managed to make myself stop, because… Real Life.

I now have 9420 words total on Ohio 4 (VERSION 2) — every one brand new, and fresh, and right at the moment, running right between funny and scary.

But I cannot WAIT to get back into this tomorrow.

God, I love this job!


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So… TODAY was epic…

By Holly Lisle

Still working from my line-for-scene outline, today the scene i started yesterday just took off.

I now have 9245 words done on the first draft. I got 1432 words today, AND discovered the thing I needed to see, and it was completely different than I’d been imagining… but I love it so much.

Some days writing fiction can take a lot out of you.

Some days, though — like today — it gives you energy, and excitement, and surprises — and on days like this, you just fly.

I love this job.


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‘Twas a fine day in writing land… with vengeance…

By Holly Lisle

You know how you have heroes who you watch take a beating from the world, and get trampled by minions who’ve taken over something they’ve created? And you watch the over-throwing bastards who trample them ruin all the good stuff they made, and make a complete mess of this wonderful thing they put into the world that you loved?

No?

Well… for me, that’s a thing. And today I told a bit of that kind of story in Chapter 2 of Ohio 4 — and while I got angry all over again that stupid arrogance of that sort is endemic in businesses, and that anyone who dares to take a company public and put it into the hands of a board of directors is ASKING for disaster, and begging to see whatever he or she made wonderful turned into absolute crap…

It does happen.

And I figure the world has a place for cautionary tales, too, doesn’t it?

So while today’s little episode is just a tiny, minor, couple-of-scenes side story in the novel, I was very happy to write it.

And I am very happy to give this secondary character guy of mine a second chance, fueled by the knowledge that the people who didn’t build the company (those boards of directors) couldn’t give a shit about the company they were put in charge of. And he loves what he did, and will love it again.

To this fictional board of directors, that company is just stock options, and cutting costs, and raking in their own profits at the expense of employees and customers.

Meanwhile, my secondary-character guy has love, and passion, and crazy-wide knowledge, and brilliant skills, and drive.

And now, he has a good friend in LOW places. (Little in joke. It will make senses when the books come out.)


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A very good Ohio Wednesday… and a disturbing twist

By Holly Lisle

I got 1319 words today, nicely over my 1200-word objective. And I like what I got.

Yesterday’s stuff was funny, but today’s words got serious as my main character and a friend of hers started investigating a project they want to take on — and my MC pointed out that there are some significant dangers involved in this project BEYOND the ones her friend has considered.

So as soon as I post this, I’m going to write out my to-do list for tomorrow, and then call it a day.


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And… YEP… Still outlining on Ohio Four

By Holly Lisle

And there’s really not a lot you can say about that. It’s one 30-word sentence per scene that has to encompass the essence of the chapter while moving the whole story forward, and it is a pretty fast, efficient way to give yourself a migraine.

It works. It’s essential to my process of getting books done, and when I don’t do it, bad things happen. So I do it.

It just isn’t fun.

I’ll note, however, that today I discovered in the existing Ohio Four first draft one of the best scenes I’ve ever written, which I re-read today while making myself cry again… and that is DEFINITELY coming with me.

Now, however, on to very very much other stuff that must be done.


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It’s “Make Yourself Cry” Day…

By Holly Lisle

I got good words. 997, to be exact. And I love what I got today.

But some of what I wrote was pulled out of my real life, and part of it was me getting to do in fiction something I never had the opportunity to do in real life, because my real childhood was a never-ending series of ill-considered and poorly thought-out moves into bad places and worse places, with no consideration — EVER — for the people those dumb-and-dumber moves left behind.

I wrote today the scene I would have given anything to live through in real life, and writing it helped.

It also happens to be a really solid scene right before TSGD (The Shit Goes Down)… which is what I get to write tomorrow.

So not only am I happy with what I got today, but I’m really excited about tomorrow.

Now, though, on to all the other work that must be done.

 

WITH ONE RATHER DROLL OBSERVATION… (ADDED AFTER THE EMAIL WENT OUT)

I’ve been working on the same part of the book for three days, and had not noticed (until I read my own blog posts for these last three days, that I have, in fact, made myself cry three damn days in a row.

Here’s the bright news on that. These are in general, pretty funny books.

There is just this one little section here where I gave my hero some bits of my own childhood in her past (heavily altered), and threw in one person in my life who meant the world to me. And she and that one special person got to do the one thing I never did. Which is why there were tears.


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Heading in — teeth bared, knives out… because the BIG bad is coming

By Holly Lisle

Rolled out of bed early — couldn’t sleep. Got the shower, drank the coffee, and cleared all the office shit first, because today I’m heading in to the BIG MIDDLE SCENE, where everything changes.

I’m taking a deep breath. I have the Rock Gods going, because this section of the book needs my full focus — so if you want to hear what I’m hearing, you can listen too. YouTube Link — I doubt that Disturbed would be considered work-safe, but they’re rocket fuel for writing through the fury.

And while there’s a helluva lot of funny stuff in this novel, we are now at the place where fully justified rage comes ripping out of the walls looking for whoever or whatever is coming after my heroes. There will probably be some funny stuff IN today’s words… but it’s probably going to end up being battlefield “We who are about to die salute you,” said to the head on the pike humor.

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