So, I finished the first draft of The Devil's Tell sometime late last year, and now I'm editing up a storm. Well, not so much a storm as a slow moving whisper of a cloud. Editing is very difficult! I'm doing it on my own before I submit it to a publisher and since I'm really green with this whole writing business, I can only do what I feel might be right. I've noticed that I have a terrible problem with telling vs showing. That's my main focus at this point, then I need to run through and make sure there aren't any continuity issues. It's very slow going, to say the least. This whole experience has taught me so much and really inspired me to research about the craft of writing, which has also taught me a lot. If I'm lucky enough to get a publisher, I look forward to continuing to learn. Well, back to editing...
So, I'm a derelict blogger. I'm sure you've noticed this by now.
I'm still writing, all be it, very slowly until recently. I've been getting up early to get a few hundred words done before work, and that's been working surprisingly well. I've never been a morning person, but now I look forward to it, and the coffee that comes with it. I'm hoping to submit to a publisher by the end of the year, and then we'll see if all this goes anywhere. Cross your fingers... Continue reading...
Currently, The Devil's Tell is at 46,500 words and seventeen chapters in. I had a rough case a writer's block this last month but managed to also bust through that to get these latest chapters done. Overall, I'm very pleased with the progress I'm making, although it has been slow. Working full-time can be a real creative sucker when you're trying to write.
Also, in the last few months I've learned invaluable information about publishing, editing, and writing from this great podcast and blog: ... Continue reading...
I'm limping along on The Devil's Tell which is currently at about 28,000 words. Progress has been slow due to other time commitments that I've made, but now that those are winding to an end, I've got a five month plan to finish this book up! Then I'll take another two months to edit and find readers, then I'd like to submit it somewhere if the feedback is good. If not, I'll need to rework the story, I'm sure. I've joined a Yahoo! group called The Virtual Living room that is a Lesfic place to ... Continue reading...
So, 25,000 words. That's where I'm at, and considering that the longest paper I'd ever written prior to this was a 6,300 word thesis, it seems pretty awesome. Right? But before we get too excited, remember that the minimum word count for a novel is 60,000 words! That means I'm not even halfway for this first draft. Dear god. As daunting as this that number is, I think I can do it. With the help of a pretty nifty piece of writing software call Scrivener, I've been able to stay more organized t... Continue reading...
So, part of the reason I've been a little stalled out with my writing is that I way over edit myself. The more research I do into writing the more I keep hearing that first drafts are meant to be shit. The logic behind that is you can't edit a blank page. Genius! My mission now is just write. Write and write, even if it sucks. One cool piece of software that has helped with that is Write or Die. Check it out and remember...
For a while now, I've been blocked by my process - or lack thereof. While deciding how to re-approach my giant mess of incomplete chapters and flawed outlines, I've stumbled upon a lovely little podcast called Cocktail Hour. They review books and interview prominent lesfic authors. Check it out!
Happy Holidays to everyone! Since I get today off from my actual money making job, I'm planning on getting some words down. Yesterday, I managed to come up with a working title for my story. What was previously referred to for my reference as Denial, is now The Devil's Tell. So far it's about 10,000 words of randomness and half chapters, but I'm enjoying it nonetheless! Look for postings of chapters as I complete them in the (hopefully) near future.
