After wading through sludge on Tuesday, yesterday's writing went much smoother. Finally got the characters in the current scene to get things moving and happening, which meant things started flowing as I wrote. Was quite surprised when I stopped to discover that I'd done 1500 words, as I thought it was just over 1000, and that last 500 or so had just flowed out so quickly and easily that it felt like a lot less.
Total so far is 34,742, which means that barring a disaster today, I should hit the 35,000 target for the work in progress pretty easily. Now I'm out of the sludge I should have a decent day today, as I've got a good idea how this chapter finishes and how the next one starts, which should help things flow. Anyway, I need to get back ahead of schedule and rebuild the buffer zone, as I might not get much of a chance to write at the weekend, as I could be busy on both Saturday and Sunday.
Another old short story is pushing into my head too - one I started but wasn't too keen on the way I was telling it. There's a nice little romance in there, but I need to work out how to get to the meat of the story rather than the build-up. Once that clicks, though, the rest of the story comes alive in my head. What I might do is just plough on with it from where I was, then go back and redo the beginning. That approach worked quite well for When There's An R In The Month - the original opening didn't work, but once I'd written the scenes with Rose and Shauna together, I had a much better idea of their characters to go back and redo the start. (And it's the same with the work in progress as well - now I know how the characters work together, their original meeting has changed in my head)
It does feel odd, sometimes, changing character's histories in the light of later developments, but that's part of the fun of revision - you get to hack away the false tales you've told of these people in order to get to the truth about them. In a way, that's a sign of properly rounded and interesting characters - they surprise you by having stories that weren't what you expected when you began writing them.
Thursday 31 January 2013
Wednesday 30 January 2013
Sludge
Slow day writing yesterday, one of those ones where every word comes reluctantly onto the page, and my mind was filled with treacle. It happens sometimes, and is likely a sign that my subconscious is telling me 'this isn't a good scene, is it?', which is confirmed when the two characters in it steadfastly refuse to have the conversation I think they should be having. I mean, they keep uttering lines to each other than fit in with what they want, but then when I think of how the other character would respond to that, it doesn't take the conversation in the way I expect it to go.
The good part of that is that the characters are alive and well, even if they're looking at their author with disdain for the day. Which means only 995 words yesterday - a somewhat odd number to stop in, so close to 1000 for the day, but not quite - but real life intervened as well after I'd got that far. Total for the work in progress so far is 33,173, so I'll hopefully be above 35,000 on it by the time January ends.
Thanks to everyone who's read and voted on my latest Literotica story, especially those of you who've come here afterwards to find out more of me. Don't forget that I'm also on Twitter, and all new followers there are welcome too.
It's Wednesday and the sun is shining. Time to work.
The good part of that is that the characters are alive and well, even if they're looking at their author with disdain for the day. Which means only 995 words yesterday - a somewhat odd number to stop in, so close to 1000 for the day, but not quite - but real life intervened as well after I'd got that far. Total for the work in progress so far is 33,173, so I'll hopefully be above 35,000 on it by the time January ends.
Thanks to everyone who's read and voted on my latest Literotica story, especially those of you who've come here afterwards to find out more of me. Don't forget that I'm also on Twitter, and all new followers there are welcome too.
It's Wednesday and the sun is shining. Time to work.
Tuesday 29 January 2013
New story ready to be read
My latest short story is now up at Literotica. It's called Screwing The Pitch, and I hope you enjoy it. It was an attempt to do something a bit different, and I'm not sure whether or not it's succeeded, so I've put it out there to get some comments.
The genesis of it was seeing someone looking for London-based stories for an anthology. I began it, and then ran into my slump period last year and didn't get it finished. I rediscovered it last week and decided that as the start was interesting enough and I could still remember the character and the story, it was worth a bash at finishing it. The idea was to try something that was being told by a character in their voice, and for that character to be someone I probably wouldn't like if I ever met him. Could he still tell an interesting and exciting tale?
That's for you to judge, so follow the link, take a look, vote and leave comments to let me know. Or if it's the other way around and you've just come here from Literotica, then welcome! Feel free to read my posts and follow my links, there may be something there of interest!
(Regulars might like to know that a good writing session yesterday got the work-in-progress to 32,178 words total so far, by the way)
The genesis of it was seeing someone looking for London-based stories for an anthology. I began it, and then ran into my slump period last year and didn't get it finished. I rediscovered it last week and decided that as the start was interesting enough and I could still remember the character and the story, it was worth a bash at finishing it. The idea was to try something that was being told by a character in their voice, and for that character to be someone I probably wouldn't like if I ever met him. Could he still tell an interesting and exciting tale?
That's for you to judge, so follow the link, take a look, vote and leave comments to let me know. Or if it's the other way around and you've just come here from Literotica, then welcome! Feel free to read my posts and follow my links, there may be something there of interest!
(Regulars might like to know that a good writing session yesterday got the work-in-progress to 32,178 words total so far, by the way)
Monday 28 January 2013
Blanking
Sooo...I didn't write anything yesterday. I intended to, but then weekend things got in the way, so I had to eat into the buffer zone I've spent the last week establishing. Should be able to get some time to write today and make that 1000 words back up, and I guess it's a good sign that I feel annoyed at not having done anything yesterday instead of relief.
And with that, there's not too much else to write about, as all the issues and numbers remain exactly the same as they were yesterday. However, one thing I did do yesterday was look at tablets, as I'm thinking about getting one for doing work on the move, so do any of my handful of readers have any recommendations or suggestions? I'm thinking of getting a Nexus 7 - any experiences with that?
OK, to work...
And with that, there's not too much else to write about, as all the issues and numbers remain exactly the same as they were yesterday. However, one thing I did do yesterday was look at tablets, as I'm thinking about getting one for doing work on the move, so do any of my handful of readers have any recommendations or suggestions? I'm thinking of getting a Nexus 7 - any experiences with that?
OK, to work...
Sunday 27 January 2013
Another forgotten post
Yet again, I was thinking about things to write about here as I went to sleep, but now I can't remember any of them, so you'll just have to make do with me talking about what comes into my head in the hope it recreates some of them.
Managed about 1200 words yesterday to take the total for the work-in-progress over 30,000 (30,425 to be exact). Still really enjoying the story and the characters, and feeling that there's lots more to be told about them after this story. Indeed, that's making me that I might actually be writing two different books in parallel at the moment, which will make the editing of them interesting. However, that's not something to worry about until this version of the story is finished, then I get to work on bashing into a more reasonable and less meandering state or states. One thing I have decided is that I need to completely rewrite their initial meeting - their first encounter in this draft is a little too quick and convenient for the bond they form later, and so I need to stretch it so they have more contact with each other before the incident that kicks the story off properly.
That all makes sense to me, I promise, even if it's really vague to anyone else.
Blimey, that's just reminded me of one of my going-to-sleep thoughts on how to describe this story: "Bridget Jones falls in love with a lesbian vampire", though that makes it sound somewhat different to the way it is, and there's no one writing a diary with 'pints of blood drunk' as a daily category. Not that there'd be anything wrong with a story like that, it's just not this one!
Still, I shall continue to use the LVH - Lesbian Vampire Highlander - tag for it here, as there are elements of that in it too. Though without the decapitations or the Prize at the end and Freddie Mercury's not around any more to camp up the soundtrack to eleven.
In other news, still waiting for Literotica to process the latest story, so no link as yet. Have also submitted Almost Chance to a couple of review sites, and it's sitting in the queue there. Am somewhat nervous about what they'll say, but you've got to get out there and take the blows as well as the praise, whichever comes along. If you're reading this and fancy doing a review, then please get in touch!
Managed about 1200 words yesterday to take the total for the work-in-progress over 30,000 (30,425 to be exact). Still really enjoying the story and the characters, and feeling that there's lots more to be told about them after this story. Indeed, that's making me that I might actually be writing two different books in parallel at the moment, which will make the editing of them interesting. However, that's not something to worry about until this version of the story is finished, then I get to work on bashing into a more reasonable and less meandering state or states. One thing I have decided is that I need to completely rewrite their initial meeting - their first encounter in this draft is a little too quick and convenient for the bond they form later, and so I need to stretch it so they have more contact with each other before the incident that kicks the story off properly.
That all makes sense to me, I promise, even if it's really vague to anyone else.
Blimey, that's just reminded me of one of my going-to-sleep thoughts on how to describe this story: "Bridget Jones falls in love with a lesbian vampire", though that makes it sound somewhat different to the way it is, and there's no one writing a diary with 'pints of blood drunk' as a daily category. Not that there'd be anything wrong with a story like that, it's just not this one!
Still, I shall continue to use the LVH - Lesbian Vampire Highlander - tag for it here, as there are elements of that in it too. Though without the decapitations or the Prize at the end and Freddie Mercury's not around any more to camp up the soundtrack to eleven.
In other news, still waiting for Literotica to process the latest story, so no link as yet. Have also submitted Almost Chance to a couple of review sites, and it's sitting in the queue there. Am somewhat nervous about what they'll say, but you've got to get out there and take the blows as well as the praise, whichever comes along. If you're reading this and fancy doing a review, then please get in touch!
Saturday 26 January 2013
Little bits of catching up
Still waiting to hear from Literotica, but then I did have to submit the story as a .doc file - I do like using italics to help tell the story - so I'll hear when I hear, and share the link then.
Was also thinking more about Julie D'Aubigny yesterday, and think I've found a way to incorporate her into another story I've got on the back burner. It's one I started a while back and did for NaNoWriMo a couple of years ago, but couldn't get it to work. Though now I've thrown her into the mix, it's suddenly taking on a whole new complexion.
As for the work in progress, a solid 1200 or so words yesterday, mostly developing one of the characters and giving a bit of an insight into her life, rather than action scenes, though I got to a point where the next bit of action is just about to (unexpectedly) start. She's the main viewpoint character for the modern sections of it, and it's quite fun to take her life, which is quite a routine single-gay-girl-in-the-big-city story, and thrust it into the middle of something much bigger, stranger and scarier. She'll come through it, though. I'm pretty sure of that.
Total on the work in progress now 29,248.
Right, to work, and hopefully a productive weekend ahead.
Was also thinking more about Julie D'Aubigny yesterday, and think I've found a way to incorporate her into another story I've got on the back burner. It's one I started a while back and did for NaNoWriMo a couple of years ago, but couldn't get it to work. Though now I've thrown her into the mix, it's suddenly taking on a whole new complexion.
As for the work in progress, a solid 1200 or so words yesterday, mostly developing one of the characters and giving a bit of an insight into her life, rather than action scenes, though I got to a point where the next bit of action is just about to (unexpectedly) start. She's the main viewpoint character for the modern sections of it, and it's quite fun to take her life, which is quite a routine single-gay-girl-in-the-big-city story, and thrust it into the middle of something much bigger, stranger and scarier. She'll come through it, though. I'm pretty sure of that.
Total on the work in progress now 29,248.
Right, to work, and hopefully a productive weekend ahead.
Friday 25 January 2013
The next story
Over the last couple of days, I've been thinking about a character who's a bisexual opera singer, performing on the most prestigious stages in the world, and in their spare time they're also a master of sword-fighting and fencing, killing many people in duels. There's also a fantastic story to be told about this character seducing a nun - and burning down a convent on the way. Oh, and did I mention this character's also female and living in the seventeenth century?
You're thinking I've gone absolutely crazy and am proposing an absolutely unbelievable character that would never fit in with the real history of the age, aren't you? Unfortunately, I'm right and you're wrong because this woman actually existed. She was Julie D'Aubigny, also known as La Maupin, and I first heard her story a couple of days ago.
This is perhaps my worst case yet of coming across a new story while in the middle of another one, but this is a story that's screaming to be told. If she'd been a man, her story would have been awesome, but as a bisexual woman in the seventeenth century, it's incredible, and I wonder why she's not more widely known. Everyone's heard of Casanova, so why is La Maupin so obscure?
So, I think I may have found my next story, when I've finished the work in progress and see where it gets me. I'll need to do some research into seventeenth century France before then, because when the story's so incredible, it's good to make the setting as realistic as possible, just to prevent it looking like a fantasy.
But, she hasn't distracted me from the work in progress - maybe she's even spurred me on to write more! Good day of writing yesterday saw the total of that up to 28,021 (why yes, I did push on at the end to get over the 28,000 mark) and with the 1500 from short stories that's 29, 521 total for the year so far.
You're thinking I've gone absolutely crazy and am proposing an absolutely unbelievable character that would never fit in with the real history of the age, aren't you? Unfortunately, I'm right and you're wrong because this woman actually existed. She was Julie D'Aubigny, also known as La Maupin, and I first heard her story a couple of days ago.
This is perhaps my worst case yet of coming across a new story while in the middle of another one, but this is a story that's screaming to be told. If she'd been a man, her story would have been awesome, but as a bisexual woman in the seventeenth century, it's incredible, and I wonder why she's not more widely known. Everyone's heard of Casanova, so why is La Maupin so obscure?
So, I think I may have found my next story, when I've finished the work in progress and see where it gets me. I'll need to do some research into seventeenth century France before then, because when the story's so incredible, it's good to make the setting as realistic as possible, just to prevent it looking like a fantasy.
But, she hasn't distracted me from the work in progress - maybe she's even spurred me on to write more! Good day of writing yesterday saw the total of that up to 28,021 (why yes, I did push on at the end to get over the 28,000 mark) and with the 1500 from short stories that's 29, 521 total for the year so far.
Thursday 24 January 2013
Story completed
I've finished off and edited the story I was talking about this morning, and I've just submitted it to Literotica. Keep an eye out for it there, as I'd be interested to hear comments and feedback on it - I like it, but I'm not sure if it's going to appeal to everyone! It's a short little tale featuring sex, drugs and advertising, but no rock'n'roll. I think it will be the first purely heterosexual story I've published anywhere too.
Link and a bit more on it will follow when it's been processed and approved there. If you like it and fancy publishing it somewhere else, get in touch!
Link and a bit more on it will follow when it's been processed and approved there. If you like it and fancy publishing it somewhere else, get in touch!
A story finished
I did finish a short story off since my last post here, but it wasn't the one I thought it was going to be. Instead, I decided to finish off a different one, and have just added the last hundred words to it to round it off. That's another 1500 words to add to my total for the 100k challenge, and on top of doing about 1200 words on my main work for the challenge. So it was a good writing day, and a few more like that would be welcome.
Total words so far: 27,757 (26,252 on the book, 1500 on short stories)
It's a different short story to the sort I've written before, but the idea and the characters in it were very strong and really insisting to be written. It came from thinking about a story to write for a compilation (the deadline for which passed long ago during my blocked period) and the basic idea and final twist popped complete into my head. The challenge was that it presented itself as a story that needed to be written in first person from a man's perspective, so I had to get it voice right. I think I've got it right, but I need to go and check it over to see if it reads as well as I thought it did when I was writing it. Then once the revision's done, I need to decide where to submit it to and see if there are any upcoming compilations it might fit, or if I just put it up somewhere on the web.
Whatever I do, it's my first complete story of the year, and some of the characters in it have definitely caught my attention and might launch off some other stories in the future. We shall have to wait and see.
Total words so far: 27,757 (26,252 on the book, 1500 on short stories)
It's a different short story to the sort I've written before, but the idea and the characters in it were very strong and really insisting to be written. It came from thinking about a story to write for a compilation (the deadline for which passed long ago during my blocked period) and the basic idea and final twist popped complete into my head. The challenge was that it presented itself as a story that needed to be written in first person from a man's perspective, so I had to get it voice right. I think I've got it right, but I need to go and check it over to see if it reads as well as I thought it did when I was writing it. Then once the revision's done, I need to decide where to submit it to and see if there are any upcoming compilations it might fit, or if I just put it up somewhere on the web.
Whatever I do, it's my first complete story of the year, and some of the characters in it have definitely caught my attention and might launch off some other stories in the future. We shall have to wait and see.
Wednesday 23 January 2013
The tyranny of the blank page
Yesterday was a decent day's writing. I wrote over 1500 words which took me over 25,000 in total, leaving me 3000 ahead of the 1000-a-day total. Those 1500 words also took me to the end of a chapter, which meant that I had to snap from one stream of the story to the other. (And in this story the two streams are currently about 600 years apart, so it's a big a leap)
Getting to the end of a chapter after writing so many words would normally feel like a natural place to take a break, but I made myself go on and write the first sentence of the next chapter before finishing. One of those natural stumbling blocks for me in writing is having a blank page in front of me. Once I've got a few words down on it, it's easy enough for me to pick up the thread and follow on from there, but while it sits there with nothing on it, it's so full of potential and possibility that it can be off-putting.
The longer I look at a blank page, the harder it becomes to work out what the first word on it will be, let alone the first sentence. I remember all the great opening lines in literary history - and some of the not-so-great - and realise that how you start a story, a book or a chapter matters, and suddenly the critic within me starts pointing out that every word I think of is far too cliched to begin a chapter with. Any sentence I write looks clunky and horrible, and is immediately disappeared by the backspace key, and before long I'm just staring at the page, unsure if I could even write my own name on something, let alone creative words on a page.
So that's why I made sure to finish with one sentence on the new chapter last night, and now I'm looking at it again, I've already got an idea of what follows it, thanks to the lead I laid down yesterday, and I'm hoping for a good day's writing. I say that every day, don't I? But I'd like to get a big chunk of this done and then have a quick bash at some short stories I began last year - one of them's been nagging at me again, and I want to give it another try. I know I should be concentrating on the story I've started, but I did promise myself that on some days of this challenge, I'd get a 1000 words or so of that done, and then do some more on another project. Maybe today is the first of those days.
Total so far is 25,068, anyway. On we go...
Getting to the end of a chapter after writing so many words would normally feel like a natural place to take a break, but I made myself go on and write the first sentence of the next chapter before finishing. One of those natural stumbling blocks for me in writing is having a blank page in front of me. Once I've got a few words down on it, it's easy enough for me to pick up the thread and follow on from there, but while it sits there with nothing on it, it's so full of potential and possibility that it can be off-putting.
The longer I look at a blank page, the harder it becomes to work out what the first word on it will be, let alone the first sentence. I remember all the great opening lines in literary history - and some of the not-so-great - and realise that how you start a story, a book or a chapter matters, and suddenly the critic within me starts pointing out that every word I think of is far too cliched to begin a chapter with. Any sentence I write looks clunky and horrible, and is immediately disappeared by the backspace key, and before long I'm just staring at the page, unsure if I could even write my own name on something, let alone creative words on a page.
So that's why I made sure to finish with one sentence on the new chapter last night, and now I'm looking at it again, I've already got an idea of what follows it, thanks to the lead I laid down yesterday, and I'm hoping for a good day's writing. I say that every day, don't I? But I'd like to get a big chunk of this done and then have a quick bash at some short stories I began last year - one of them's been nagging at me again, and I want to give it another try. I know I should be concentrating on the story I've started, but I did promise myself that on some days of this challenge, I'd get a 1000 words or so of that done, and then do some more on another project. Maybe today is the first of those days.
Total so far is 25,068, anyway. On we go...
Tuesday 22 January 2013
Resisting the call of editing
In another life, with another identity, I have a blog, and that used to be on blogger until I finally wised up and moved to something else. I remember that now because Blogger had a brain fart yesterday and managed to turn a published post into a draft one and hide it from view. Or perhaps it's reading them and trying to tell me something - 'Really? You want the world to see that? Go back and give it another shot.'
Finally managed to chain myself to the laptop yesterday afternoon and got in a couple of hours writing, which led to 1700 or so so words and an overall total that now stands at 23,500. What I'd like is to get some really good writing days in this week and get myself well ahead of the curve and the 1000-a-day target, as when I get some momentum going, the story really starts flowing in my mind and I get a lot of words down and a lot of the tale told. No idea how long this story is going to be in the end, either, as some plot lines have yet to properly kick off, but I'm also aware that there's a lot of editing to be done after I get to the end.
And the editing will wait until the end. Another curse of mine in the past has been to cut back to the start when I'm halfway through a story because I've decided it needs a rewrite. I then get about a third of the way through the new version before deciding that needs rewriting, until eventually I get caught in ever decreasing word circles and give up. As I've learnt from other completed works, you can't really tell what needs editing until you know the shape of the entire story, not just the first part.
Though I know chapter one needs a full rewrite to be told from a different perspective... but it will wait. The next scenes are sitting in my head, waiting to be written, and they will always come first until the story ends.
Finally managed to chain myself to the laptop yesterday afternoon and got in a couple of hours writing, which led to 1700 or so so words and an overall total that now stands at 23,500. What I'd like is to get some really good writing days in this week and get myself well ahead of the curve and the 1000-a-day target, as when I get some momentum going, the story really starts flowing in my mind and I get a lot of words down and a lot of the tale told. No idea how long this story is going to be in the end, either, as some plot lines have yet to properly kick off, but I'm also aware that there's a lot of editing to be done after I get to the end.
And the editing will wait until the end. Another curse of mine in the past has been to cut back to the start when I'm halfway through a story because I've decided it needs a rewrite. I then get about a third of the way through the new version before deciding that needs rewriting, until eventually I get caught in ever decreasing word circles and give up. As I've learnt from other completed works, you can't really tell what needs editing until you know the shape of the entire story, not just the first part.
Though I know chapter one needs a full rewrite to be told from a different perspective... but it will wait. The next scenes are sitting in my head, waiting to be written, and they will always come first until the story ends.
Monday 21 January 2013
Bad writer, no biscuit
So after getting up early and writing those 900 words yesterday morning, I managed precisely zero for the rest of the day. And with real life things on this afternoon and evening, that means I need to get a decent writing session on this morning to do at least my 1000 words for today, and maybe even try an extra 1000 to catch up with yesterdays missed ones too. But then, I'm still ahead of the 1000-a-day schedule, but I'd like to get well ahead of that.
It's time to write, then.
It's time to write, then.
Sunday 20 January 2013
Aft gang agley
I was planning lots of writing yesterday, but somehow it failed to materialise. Not through the block returning, thankfully, but through real life returning. I had various chores and things to accomplish in the morning, and then thought I had time to do lots in the afternoon, but it was not to be, as other things ended up happening earlier than I had expected or planned for. (And could that description be any vaguer?)
So, I only managed 100 or so words yesterday, but as I woke up early this morning, I have now done another 900ish words to take that over 1000, and I can call the time up to now Saturday. All I need to do now is find the time today to write another 1000. Total so far: 21,781
It does make me wonder about what time is best for me to write. I'm generally not a morning person, so it's not usually the time I get some writing done, but as I've been able to put down a good chunk of words, and it's quiet and I haven't been disturbed or distracted, maybe I should be forcing myself to do more early on. Or maybe I just generally need to learn more discipline in my writing and stop procrastinating and wasting time.
The line that comes to mind is one I first heard a good few years ago: "I write when I'm inspired, and I see to it that I am inspired at 9 o'clock every morning". I think I need to take that as my motivation, and maybe start using Scrivener in full-screen F11 mode, blocking out all else until I've done a certain amount of work. Use what I like to do when procrastinating as a reward for getting to where I want to go, perhaps.
I think it's about this time in every writing project that I make the same promises and declarations, which gives an idea of how likely I am to keep it. However, I have made it publicly this time - even if barely anyone reads this - so perhaps the prospect of being ashamed in the eyes of non-communicative strangers will motivate me?
So, I only managed 100 or so words yesterday, but as I woke up early this morning, I have now done another 900ish words to take that over 1000, and I can call the time up to now Saturday. All I need to do now is find the time today to write another 1000. Total so far: 21,781
It does make me wonder about what time is best for me to write. I'm generally not a morning person, so it's not usually the time I get some writing done, but as I've been able to put down a good chunk of words, and it's quiet and I haven't been disturbed or distracted, maybe I should be forcing myself to do more early on. Or maybe I just generally need to learn more discipline in my writing and stop procrastinating and wasting time.
The line that comes to mind is one I first heard a good few years ago: "I write when I'm inspired, and I see to it that I am inspired at 9 o'clock every morning". I think I need to take that as my motivation, and maybe start using Scrivener in full-screen F11 mode, blocking out all else until I've done a certain amount of work. Use what I like to do when procrastinating as a reward for getting to where I want to go, perhaps.
I think it's about this time in every writing project that I make the same promises and declarations, which gives an idea of how likely I am to keep it. However, I have made it publicly this time - even if barely anyone reads this - so perhaps the prospect of being ashamed in the eyes of non-communicative strangers will motivate me?
Saturday 19 January 2013
Stop and start
Stopping writing in the middle of an interesting and important sequence does work well for me. The time I ended was somewhat enforced on Thursday, but it meant that when I sat down to write again yesterday, I had a clear idea of where I was going and what needed to happen next in the story.
The trouble is that it's very hard to force myself to stop in the middle of something interesting - the natural human inclination is to carry on and tell it until a regular break appears in the story. Once I've get to a point where it takes a pause and things have settled down, then the instinct for me is to take that pause as well. Of course, that means when I come back to it, I'm having to start from scratch.
So, I guess I need to make more of an effort to tear myself away in the middle of scenes, so I can regather that momentum when I start off again. I've heard of some who stop writing in the middle of a sentence, but I'm not sure I could go that far. Sentences for me often come as complete entities, so pulling away and not putting down that next word or finishing it off would just feel wrong.
So, where am I on the current story? For a start there's a lot less sex in there than I expected, though there is a nice romance going on in one strand. In the other, our heroine has just found herself covered in mud and lying next to a pig sty. It'll all make sense.
Total words so far is 20,717, decently ahead of the 1000-a-day schedule.
The trouble is that it's very hard to force myself to stop in the middle of something interesting - the natural human inclination is to carry on and tell it until a regular break appears in the story. Once I've get to a point where it takes a pause and things have settled down, then the instinct for me is to take that pause as well. Of course, that means when I come back to it, I'm having to start from scratch.
So, I guess I need to make more of an effort to tear myself away in the middle of scenes, so I can regather that momentum when I start off again. I've heard of some who stop writing in the middle of a sentence, but I'm not sure I could go that far. Sentences for me often come as complete entities, so pulling away and not putting down that next word or finishing it off would just feel wrong.
So, where am I on the current story? For a start there's a lot less sex in there than I expected, though there is a nice romance going on in one strand. In the other, our heroine has just found herself covered in mud and lying next to a pig sty. It'll all make sense.
Total words so far is 20,717, decently ahead of the 1000-a-day schedule.
Friday 18 January 2013
Does anyone know how to get my Twitter posts to appear on this page? There was a widget that did it, but it seems to have stopped working, and the code from Twitter just gives what you can see now, rather than the tweets themselves. Any ideas or suggestions?
Anyway, you can find me on Twitter here, if you're interested.
Anyway, you can find me on Twitter here, if you're interested.
Snowmageddon is coming
So says the weather forecast, but the threatened weekend of snow chaos has yet to materialise here. I'm looking forward to it, somewhat, as it will hopefully motivate me to stay inside and keep writing for a few days and really plough on with the story.
(Ploughing pun not intended)
One thing I need to get into the habit of doing is starting writing earlier in the day when I get the opportunity. As I've said in other posts, I'm very good at procrastinating, and then rushing through to hit my target for the day when time for writing appears to be running out. When I've got a big blank of time to fill, it's amazing how much of it I can while away doing not very much, or things that suddenly seem really important, and have to be done before I can get to writing the current story. One day I'm going to write a story with an ADD protagonist to capitalise on this.
Bond was almost ready to take on Blofeld, but first he realised that there might be some useful information in the xkcd archive, so he had to spend an hour or so going through random posts there.
The good thing about working under time constraints like I had yesterday is that it removes my excuse for procrastination - ah, there's enough time to do it later - and compels me to work and write. Over 1000 words again, and reached a total of 19,199, which gets me a couple of thousand ahead of target again. The other good thing about being forced away was that I had to leave it in the middle of a scene that was going really well, and so when I start back today, I can plunge right back in there.
But first, there's something I hav to do on the internet...
(Ploughing pun not intended)
One thing I need to get into the habit of doing is starting writing earlier in the day when I get the opportunity. As I've said in other posts, I'm very good at procrastinating, and then rushing through to hit my target for the day when time for writing appears to be running out. When I've got a big blank of time to fill, it's amazing how much of it I can while away doing not very much, or things that suddenly seem really important, and have to be done before I can get to writing the current story. One day I'm going to write a story with an ADD protagonist to capitalise on this.
Bond was almost ready to take on Blofeld, but first he realised that there might be some useful information in the xkcd archive, so he had to spend an hour or so going through random posts there.
The good thing about working under time constraints like I had yesterday is that it removes my excuse for procrastination - ah, there's enough time to do it later - and compels me to work and write. Over 1000 words again, and reached a total of 19,199, which gets me a couple of thousand ahead of target again. The other good thing about being forced away was that I had to leave it in the middle of a scene that was going really well, and so when I start back today, I can plunge right back in there.
But first, there's something I hav to do on the internet...
Return of the missing post
(This should have published yesterday, but appears to have saved as a draft instead)
I'm sure I had a great idea for what I was going to write here last night, but now I've woken up it's completely gone - except for the knowledge that I had a good idea, and I was sure to remember it. I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but those are the most annoying ideas, no matter what they are - and I especially hate the way my mind remembers the memory of having them, but not the idea itself.
I was thinking about why I'm doing this blog earlier, though, and for me it's working as a form of 'morning pages'. I did once use 750words.com quite regularly, but fell out of that habit, but I found it very useful as a sort of braindump to clear out everything I was thinking of and then get to writing. I think doing it here instead changes the motivation somewhat - there, I could write just about any old crap as long as it got me to the target, whereas here I'm at least semi-conscious of the fact I have an audience, so try and write so that things make at least a rudimentary amount of sense.
The stats say I have an audience, anyway, even if it's just in the single figures everyday, but if you are reading here regularly than thank you, or if you're just dropping by or passing through, then thank you too and I hope something I say interests you enough to pop by again sometime.
As for the writing itself? Yesterday was another decent day, well over 1000 words and I reached 17,792 in total. I'm rebuilding that buffer zone I had to trade away last weekend, but this weekend is looking like one where I'll have more time to write, so I
I'm sure I had a great idea for what I was going to write here last night, but now I've woken up it's completely gone - except for the knowledge that I had a good idea, and I was sure to remember it. I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but those are the most annoying ideas, no matter what they are - and I especially hate the way my mind remembers the memory of having them, but not the idea itself.
I was thinking about why I'm doing this blog earlier, though, and for me it's working as a form of 'morning pages'. I did once use 750words.com quite regularly, but fell out of that habit, but I found it very useful as a sort of braindump to clear out everything I was thinking of and then get to writing. I think doing it here instead changes the motivation somewhat - there, I could write just about any old crap as long as it got me to the target, whereas here I'm at least semi-conscious of the fact I have an audience, so try and write so that things make at least a rudimentary amount of sense.
The stats say I have an audience, anyway, even if it's just in the single figures everyday, but if you are reading here regularly than thank you, or if you're just dropping by or passing through, then thank you too and I hope something I say interests you enough to pop by again sometime.
As for the writing itself? Yesterday was another decent day, well over 1000 words and I reached 17,792 in total. I'm rebuilding that buffer zone I had to trade away last weekend, but this weekend is looking like one where I'll have more time to write, so I
Wednesday 16 January 2013
Shiny things
One of writing problems is losing focus on the story I'm currently writing. No matter how attached I get to a story, there's always a time when I feel so totally immersed in it and so aware of every possible twist and turn coming up in the story that it starts to become boring to me. The story itself isn't boring, but the process of telling it is, and at that point I can be easily distracted from my goal.
Once you set off down the path of actually telling a story you end up having to commit to a certain version of it, closing down all the other versions of it in your head and forcing one definitive account of it into being. At the same time, though, lots of other potential stories start cropping up in your head to tease and tantalise you with all their potential for story telling. They're lovely bright and shiny things that lure attention away from the apparently slightly dull and tarnished in front of me, telling me that they're a lot livelier and more interesting than the dull and familiar one I'm so used to.
That's why I need to commit to things like NaNoWriMo and 100,00 words in 100 days as they help to set up blocks to keep me away from the shiny things, and working on just one story. Otherwise, it's too easy for me to say 'I'll just spend a couple of days working on this idea, then get back to this' - it's not long before that couple of days becomes a week, and then I repeat the process and go on to something else, and before long I'm 6 or 7 stories away from the original and they're all unfinished.
As an aside, that's how I know I was suffering from a block last year, not just dissatisfaction with the current story - there wasn't anything else rising up to take my attention away from it.
So, this is my declaration that I shall keep on with this story until I reach the end, and I won't work on anything else unless I've already done my 1000 word target for the day on this one. Fingers crossed that I keep to that promise...
Total word count at the end of yesterday: 16,100
Once you set off down the path of actually telling a story you end up having to commit to a certain version of it, closing down all the other versions of it in your head and forcing one definitive account of it into being. At the same time, though, lots of other potential stories start cropping up in your head to tease and tantalise you with all their potential for story telling. They're lovely bright and shiny things that lure attention away from the apparently slightly dull and tarnished in front of me, telling me that they're a lot livelier and more interesting than the dull and familiar one I'm so used to.
That's why I need to commit to things like NaNoWriMo and 100,00 words in 100 days as they help to set up blocks to keep me away from the shiny things, and working on just one story. Otherwise, it's too easy for me to say 'I'll just spend a couple of days working on this idea, then get back to this' - it's not long before that couple of days becomes a week, and then I repeat the process and go on to something else, and before long I'm 6 or 7 stories away from the original and they're all unfinished.
As an aside, that's how I know I was suffering from a block last year, not just dissatisfaction with the current story - there wasn't anything else rising up to take my attention away from it.
So, this is my declaration that I shall keep on with this story until I reach the end, and I won't work on anything else unless I've already done my 1000 word target for the day on this one. Fingers crossed that I keep to that promise...
Total word count at the end of yesterday: 16,100
Tuesday 15 January 2013
Slipping back in
Just over 1000 words yesterday, but it felt good to slip back into the story and get back into the swing of writing it. The two characters still feel very alive to me, and their story is waiting to be told. The only question I've got right now is over how quickly to take the relationship between them, as they're in a very interesting place.
Trying not to give away the plot, it goes like this: they've met, got on and were about to get it on when something interrupted them. Dealing with that something required one of them to reveal a very deep secret about herself to the other which meant that while they didn't do anything together, they have formed a deeper connection. The other, though, is somewhat scared by the secret and has had to decide whether she wants to know more, or just forget the whole thing. I'm at the point where she's decided to go on, they've met again, and now I have to work out how they move forward.
And, of course, where our antagonist pops up to throw a spanner in the works for them...
All good, though, and challenges that are interesting to deal with, not frustrating. They're letting me learn more about the characters and tell their story more accurately - and when I go back and rewrite this, it should get even better!
The stats say I'm at 14,842 words. Here's to at least 16,000 by the end of today!
Trying not to give away the plot, it goes like this: they've met, got on and were about to get it on when something interrupted them. Dealing with that something required one of them to reveal a very deep secret about herself to the other which meant that while they didn't do anything together, they have formed a deeper connection. The other, though, is somewhat scared by the secret and has had to decide whether she wants to know more, or just forget the whole thing. I'm at the point where she's decided to go on, they've met again, and now I have to work out how they move forward.
And, of course, where our antagonist pops up to throw a spanner in the works for them...
All good, though, and challenges that are interesting to deal with, not frustrating. They're letting me learn more about the characters and tell their story more accurately - and when I go back and rewrite this, it should get even better!
The stats say I'm at 14,842 words. Here's to at least 16,000 by the end of today!
Monday 14 January 2013
Back to work
It became another weekend where I didn't get any writing done, though the story is still unfolding itself in my head. That's a good sign, the characters staying alive and doing things even when I'm not sitting at the keyboard and writing, and they're almost dragging me to get back to work properly, open up Scrivener and start telling more of their story.
As you can probably guess, I'm not a writer who follows a detailed outline, because for me the story only reveals itself in the telling. I've got some ideas for later scenes, even a sketched-out ending in my head, but those are vague destinations that the route I end up taking may run straight through the middle of, or may completely bypass and go off in a completely different direction. Things have already changed radically from the original plan in that the two parts of the book now have two different main viewpoint characters. rather than one being the current story and one flashbacks for the same central character.
I think it works, but the only way to find out is to get the words on the page - and if I don't get any on it today, then I really will drop behind schedule, and that's the last thing I want to happen!
As you can probably guess, I'm not a writer who follows a detailed outline, because for me the story only reveals itself in the telling. I've got some ideas for later scenes, even a sketched-out ending in my head, but those are vague destinations that the route I end up taking may run straight through the middle of, or may completely bypass and go off in a completely different direction. Things have already changed radically from the original plan in that the two parts of the book now have two different main viewpoint characters. rather than one being the current story and one flashbacks for the same central character.
I think it works, but the only way to find out is to get the words on the page - and if I don't get any on it today, then I really will drop behind schedule, and that's the last thing I want to happen!
Sunday 13 January 2013
Taking the story with me
I think a good sign of being committed to writing a story is that when you're compelled to take a day off from writing it, you can't wait to get back and carry it on. I had to travel yesterday, and ended up spending a while (and longer than I planned, thanks to our falling-apart railways) on a train, where I was itching to be able to get to write and having lots of insight into the characters and where the story's going to go. It's that feeling that the story is with me, that there is some reality to it and wherever I am, I can look through that hole in the page and see what's going on.
It's a good feeling to have, especially as I got into the position last year where I thought I'd never have it again, so let's hope it continues. And while it's here, I shall make the most of it - to work!
(And no, my train journey was nothing like the one in Almost Chance!)
It's a good feeling to have, especially as I got into the position last year where I thought I'd never have it again, so let's hope it continues. And while it's here, I shall make the most of it - to work!
(And no, my train journey was nothing like the one in Almost Chance!)
Saturday 12 January 2013
Buffer zones
The weekend's threatening to be busy for me, so I'm not sure if I'll get any writing done. Luckily, I've had another good day and produced over 1800 words, leaving the total at 13,805. This means that even if I don't write anything on Saturday or Sunday I'll still be over the 1000 words a day average by the time I come back to writing on Monday.
It's only a little thing, but it feels good to have that bit of a buffer zone, and know that I won't be having to catch up when I start again. That was one of the things that exacerbated my writer's block during NaNoWriMo - knowing that even if I did the 1667 words for that day, I was still behind and had to do more to get back on target.
One thing that may help me - and deal with the issue in the last post - is taking the tea break earlier. If I stop at around 600-700 words (two-thirds to three-quarters of the way to the target), then I know I have to do more, and that pushes me on well past it, as I don't relax. Good to know I can find ways around my procrastination when I need to!
Things are still happening nicely, and the structure's sorting itself out in my head as two connected stories in alternating chapters. It also helps me write - while I'm writing one, my subconscious is working out what comes next in the other, and having decided to make the viewpoint character in each a different person, it's a lot easier to contrast them.
See you Sunday!
It's only a little thing, but it feels good to have that bit of a buffer zone, and know that I won't be having to catch up when I start again. That was one of the things that exacerbated my writer's block during NaNoWriMo - knowing that even if I did the 1667 words for that day, I was still behind and had to do more to get back on target.
One thing that may help me - and deal with the issue in the last post - is taking the tea break earlier. If I stop at around 600-700 words (two-thirds to three-quarters of the way to the target), then I know I have to do more, and that pushes me on well past it, as I don't relax. Good to know I can find ways around my procrastination when I need to!
Things are still happening nicely, and the structure's sorting itself out in my head as two connected stories in alternating chapters. It also helps me write - while I'm writing one, my subconscious is working out what comes next in the other, and having decided to make the viewpoint character in each a different person, it's a lot easier to contrast them.
See you Sunday!
Friday 11 January 2013
Targets as barriers
I've mentioned before how I've got to 1000 words for the day and then got interrupted and not been able to do any more despite good intentions to press on and build up a buffer. (Not exactly 1000 words, but a short distance past)
I think it comes from my tendency to think 'right, that's 1000 words done. time for a reward, then back to work'. (The reward is often nothing more than a cup of tea, though) The trouble is that it means I take a conscious break from writing, get up, get distracted and start doing other things, and then before I know it, real life has intervened and I don't get the opportunity to sit down and start writing again that day. I think some of it is a subconscious feeling that 1000 words is enough for the day, so I start looking for distractions, so I need to remind myself to press on and stop doing that.
Which is all a long way of saying that I did just over 1000 words yesterday and the total's now at 11,939. I am recognising that a lot of those words may disappear in the revision/second draft as my first draft of dialogue scenes tend to be very flabby - like me in conversation, people rarely come straight to the point in my first drafts - but it's good to be moving the story forward (and backward, with flashbacks).
I think it comes from my tendency to think 'right, that's 1000 words done. time for a reward, then back to work'. (The reward is often nothing more than a cup of tea, though) The trouble is that it means I take a conscious break from writing, get up, get distracted and start doing other things, and then before I know it, real life has intervened and I don't get the opportunity to sit down and start writing again that day. I think some of it is a subconscious feeling that 1000 words is enough for the day, so I start looking for distractions, so I need to remind myself to press on and stop doing that.
Which is all a long way of saying that I did just over 1000 words yesterday and the total's now at 11,939. I am recognising that a lot of those words may disappear in the revision/second draft as my first draft of dialogue scenes tend to be very flabby - like me in conversation, people rarely come straight to the point in my first drafts - but it's good to be moving the story forward (and backward, with flashbacks).
Thursday 10 January 2013
Viewpoints
One of the hardest decisions for me when writing a story is to decide whose viewpoint I'm going to use to tell it. There are various ways to tell a story, which are adequately described in many different places on the internet, but when I'm writing longer stories, I tend to opt for a third-person restricted viewpoint. I'll use first-person for short stories sometimes, but that's usually when I want to make a stylistic choice in the way it's told, especially when a story's best told in a certain vernacular.
The issue with using third person restricted, though, is that you have to decide who is going to be your viewpoint character. The natural choice is to imagine it's best to do it from the view of the lead protagonist, but sometimes having them centre stage right from the start means that you can lose a lot of the mystery around them, placing them up front and centre from the beginning. The best example I've seen of that is in Doctor Who, comparing 'Rose' (the first episode of the new version) with the TV movie starring Paul McGann.
The TV movie had the Doctor as the central character, but also the main viewpoint character and narrator. That meant that all the mystery was stripped from him the moment he started explaining all about his background, the Time Lords, regeneration etc etc The new series, however, chose to tell the story from Rose's perspective, where she meets a mysterious stranger and gradually learns who he is, where he comes from and what he can do.
That's what I've realised my story needs to do. I wrote the first chapter of it from the perspective of the main character, then realised when I was writing the chapter that follows on from there that her story (or at least that strand of it) was best told by a character she encounters in that chapter, who then becomes involved in the plot. In Doctor Who terms, she's the companion - someone who can have things she doesn't know explained to her for the benefit of the audience.
(It's also worth noting here that no character - and no person - ever thinks they're anything but thestar and protagonist of their own story)
Which means, in passing, that I have to go back and rewrite chapter one at some point, but not while I'm pressing on with telling the story at the moment. A good day's writing and I'm now at 10,869 words. Today and tomorrow should hopefully be good for writing, and then there won't be anything on Saturday because I'm out all day, so I need to build up a buffer to not fall behind schedule.
The issue with using third person restricted, though, is that you have to decide who is going to be your viewpoint character. The natural choice is to imagine it's best to do it from the view of the lead protagonist, but sometimes having them centre stage right from the start means that you can lose a lot of the mystery around them, placing them up front and centre from the beginning. The best example I've seen of that is in Doctor Who, comparing 'Rose' (the first episode of the new version) with the TV movie starring Paul McGann.
The TV movie had the Doctor as the central character, but also the main viewpoint character and narrator. That meant that all the mystery was stripped from him the moment he started explaining all about his background, the Time Lords, regeneration etc etc The new series, however, chose to tell the story from Rose's perspective, where she meets a mysterious stranger and gradually learns who he is, where he comes from and what he can do.
That's what I've realised my story needs to do. I wrote the first chapter of it from the perspective of the main character, then realised when I was writing the chapter that follows on from there that her story (or at least that strand of it) was best told by a character she encounters in that chapter, who then becomes involved in the plot. In Doctor Who terms, she's the companion - someone who can have things she doesn't know explained to her for the benefit of the audience.
(It's also worth noting here that no character - and no person - ever thinks they're anything but thestar and protagonist of their own story)
Which means, in passing, that I have to go back and rewrite chapter one at some point, but not while I'm pressing on with telling the story at the moment. A good day's writing and I'm now at 10,869 words. Today and tomorrow should hopefully be good for writing, and then there won't be anything on Saturday because I'm out all day, so I need to build up a buffer to not fall behind schedule.
Wednesday 9 January 2013
The catch-up
What I forgot to mention in the previous post is that I managed to make my 1000 words yesterday, but just as I was hoping to settle in and get a really good day's writing in, real life intervened and kept me just past the target. I'm still over 1000 ahead of schedule, though - total is now 9,129 and the story keeps flowing well. I've introduced another viewpoint character, and she's come alive, with another take on the plot and a future scene that will help me to drive the main story forward.
(Possibly another blog post needed on my writing without much of a plan needed)
And a link I should have put in the last post, but couldn't find a way to divert it and make it relevant - Charles Stross has written a vampire novel as part of his Laundry series, which should be very interesting. I highly recommend the Laundry books for a very interesting take on the horror genre.
(Possibly another blog post needed on my writing without much of a plan needed)
And a link I should have put in the last post, but couldn't find a way to divert it and make it relevant - Charles Stross has written a vampire novel as part of his Laundry series, which should be very interesting. I highly recommend the Laundry books for a very interesting take on the horror genre.
Thoughts on vampires
When you choose to write about vampires, you realise just how many different types of them there are in modern culture.
Having been doing a little research on the subject - partly to check that I'm not unintentionally ripping more people off than I think - it's been interesting to read about how vampire-esque myths appear in lots of cultures. The 'modern' vampire vampire beliefs that went supernova after Dracula appear to have emerged from Eastern Europe around 1700, but there are lots of similar references to undead people rising from the grave to feed upon the living in other cultures from long before that.
With so many myths and legends around, it's easy to weave a version out of it that suits your story, which is what I've been attempting. (As TV Tropes puts it, Our Vampires Are Different) I've been quite influenced by a couple of TV versions of the myth - British TV's Being Human and Ultraviolet. Both of those treat the vampire as a continuation of the human they were before being turned, and so not necessarily evil by creation, but by choice. Both present the vampire as a being of power, but that power comes from having sacrificed something, which led me to the idea for my central character. What if someone in a universe like this had been turned without choosing it? How would she choose to live after that? From there, I've also brought in a concept that there are a number of ways in which a vampire in this world can choose to live - every one of them has some kind of cost, but the value of that cost depends on the sort of person you are. You're damned by your decisions and your choices, not your nature.
It's been interesting to write so far, and creates some good moral dilemmas to work from. Plus, the characters that have resulted from these thoughts are springing to life and driving the plot along for me, which is always a good thing. Even I'm not completely sure where it's going, which motivates me to write more so I can find out.
Having been doing a little research on the subject - partly to check that I'm not unintentionally ripping more people off than I think - it's been interesting to read about how vampire-esque myths appear in lots of cultures. The 'modern' vampire vampire beliefs that went supernova after Dracula appear to have emerged from Eastern Europe around 1700, but there are lots of similar references to undead people rising from the grave to feed upon the living in other cultures from long before that.
With so many myths and legends around, it's easy to weave a version out of it that suits your story, which is what I've been attempting. (As TV Tropes puts it, Our Vampires Are Different) I've been quite influenced by a couple of TV versions of the myth - British TV's Being Human and Ultraviolet. Both of those treat the vampire as a continuation of the human they were before being turned, and so not necessarily evil by creation, but by choice. Both present the vampire as a being of power, but that power comes from having sacrificed something, which led me to the idea for my central character. What if someone in a universe like this had been turned without choosing it? How would she choose to live after that? From there, I've also brought in a concept that there are a number of ways in which a vampire in this world can choose to live - every one of them has some kind of cost, but the value of that cost depends on the sort of person you are. You're damned by your decisions and your choices, not your nature.
It's been interesting to write so far, and creates some good moral dilemmas to work from. Plus, the characters that have resulted from these thoughts are springing to life and driving the plot along for me, which is always a good thing. Even I'm not completely sure where it's going, which motivates me to write more so I can find out.
Tuesday 8 January 2013
Hitting targets
Another day of over 1000 words yesterday, which took me over to a total of 8,029 and completed a week of writing every day. Now if I can just make it over 1000 words today, that'll be a week of doing over 1000 a day, and will also mean I've typed 1000 in this post far too many times.
The story's going well, and I wrote what I think's a good scene yesterday, which is a flashback to the time when our heroine was first turned into a vampire. I think it's an interesting scene, because it's someone going through the transformation against her will and without any of the context to understand what's happening to her. It's happening in fifteenth century England, where I don't believe there were vampire myths in circulation - or, at least, not widely - so there's nothing for her to draw on and know what she's become. Indeed, 8,000 words in and I've not even used the word 'vampire' once, though I don't know if I can pull off the Ultraviolet trick and never mention the word at all.
Now I have a decision to make about another character - do they return and do a bit of exposition, or do they remain disappeared, and likely dead? Such power I have...
The story's going well, and I wrote what I think's a good scene yesterday, which is a flashback to the time when our heroine was first turned into a vampire. I think it's an interesting scene, because it's someone going through the transformation against her will and without any of the context to understand what's happening to her. It's happening in fifteenth century England, where I don't believe there were vampire myths in circulation - or, at least, not widely - so there's nothing for her to draw on and know what she's become. Indeed, 8,000 words in and I've not even used the word 'vampire' once, though I don't know if I can pull off the Ultraviolet trick and never mention the word at all.
Now I have a decision to make about another character - do they return and do a bit of exposition, or do they remain disappeared, and likely dead? Such power I have...
Monday 7 January 2013
Ploughing on
The weekend wasn't too bad for writing in the end. I ended up with a total of 6,906, and 1500 of those were done yesterday, so it might even be that my momentum is building up as I'm getting deeper into the story, and I'm going to start producing well over 1000 each day from now on.
Oh why do I tempt fate in these ways?
Still enjoying the story and the characters, and wrote the first actual sex scene in the novel yesterday. Not entirely sure what to characterise the story as so far. It came to mind as being erotica, but now it's brining in elements of adventure, supernatural and horror as well. I suspect it's going to end up being something that has a very small target audience, but it's pleasing me so far, and that's the important thing.
The good part, though, is that I've written some part of it every day for the last six days, and if I manage it today, then I've done it for a week. The block is definitely dropping away, and I'm getting back into the rhythm of writing. No matter how good or bad the end product is, I'm happy about that.
Oh why do I tempt fate in these ways?
Still enjoying the story and the characters, and wrote the first actual sex scene in the novel yesterday. Not entirely sure what to characterise the story as so far. It came to mind as being erotica, but now it's brining in elements of adventure, supernatural and horror as well. I suspect it's going to end up being something that has a very small target audience, but it's pleasing me so far, and that's the important thing.
The good part, though, is that I've written some part of it every day for the last six days, and if I manage it today, then I've done it for a week. The block is definitely dropping away, and I'm getting back into the rhythm of writing. No matter how good or bad the end product is, I'm happy about that.
Sunday 6 January 2013
Minimums and maximums
Weekends feel like they're vast spaces of unassigned time, yet I never seem to achieve as much as I want in them. Onw of my problems is procrastination - if I'm not working to a deadline, I can easily while away the time I should be working in on a vast range of other seemingly-important tasks and quests for shiny things instead of doing what I should be. And the internet is full of shiny things to capture my attention.
So, despite having what felt like loads of time to write yesterday, I still only managed just above 1000 words to leave me at a grand total of 5,383. I think one of my issues is that when I have an overall target I'm working to, I can sometimes treat reaching a milestone as a maximum for the day, rather than just passing an arbitrary point. Note how many of my days so far have been ones where I wrote just over 1000 words. I need to remind myself that the challenge is to write 100,000 in 100 days, and make sure I treat that 1000 as a minimum requirement, not as an excuse to go off and procrastinate some more.
As a corollary to that, I also need to ensure my motivation carries on beyond the end of the challenge. That's why 1000 a day does help - it's a reasonable amount to write, but not quite as likely to lead to that burnt-out feeling I've often had at the end of doing NaNoWriMo. Perhaps I should have the guts to set myself a bigger target - maybe 365,000 words of fiction in a year? - but something like that can seem so vast from early January that it's very unfeasibility puts me into a slump.
Anyway, it's Sunday, I'm awake, and it's quiet. Time to write.
So, despite having what felt like loads of time to write yesterday, I still only managed just above 1000 words to leave me at a grand total of 5,383. I think one of my issues is that when I have an overall target I'm working to, I can sometimes treat reaching a milestone as a maximum for the day, rather than just passing an arbitrary point. Note how many of my days so far have been ones where I wrote just over 1000 words. I need to remind myself that the challenge is to write 100,000 in 100 days, and make sure I treat that 1000 as a minimum requirement, not as an excuse to go off and procrastinate some more.
As a corollary to that, I also need to ensure my motivation carries on beyond the end of the challenge. That's why 1000 a day does help - it's a reasonable amount to write, but not quite as likely to lead to that burnt-out feeling I've often had at the end of doing NaNoWriMo. Perhaps I should have the guts to set myself a bigger target - maybe 365,000 words of fiction in a year? - but something like that can seem so vast from early January that it's very unfeasibility puts me into a slump.
Anyway, it's Sunday, I'm awake, and it's quiet. Time to write.
Saturday 5 January 2013
Praise or spam?
Had an email the other day, the sole content of which (in the subject line) was:
But if you've read and enjoyed one of my stories, please let me know - and please let others know! Good reviews are for writers what fresh blood is for vampires -the power by which we will take over the world something which powers us and helps us to keep going.
Which was nice - I'm just wondering which story it was, or if it's some bizarrely accurate spam.The best erotic story i ever read in my life
But if you've read and enjoyed one of my stories, please let me know - and please let others know! Good reviews are for writers what fresh blood is for vampires -
Another day on target
I think I might be getting back into the groove. Managed to hit 1000 words again yesterday, squeezed into a couple of hours in the afternoon when I had some time to write. This is surely tempting fate, but it feels like the writer's block may have slipped away, or maybe it was never there and I just needed to find some interesting characters with an interesting story to tell?
Total at the end of yesterday was 4,346. Weekends are the sort of time I should be able to get on and write more, but they're also a time of many distractions and things getting in the way. So I'm not going to set any targets beyond the 1000 a day, but we'll see where it goes. And that first 1000 is always going to be on LVH, though I've also been having some thoughts about a short story I began last year but didn't finish. It's not going to take too much to finish that off, so if I can get a decent writing session in at some point over the next few days, I might be able to finish that off. Will likely be something for Literotica, just to give people something of mine to read that's new.
As for LVH itself, things are going well and getting interesting. The first (short) blood-drinking scene appeared yesterday, and maybe today I'll finish the introductory section and get into the first flashback section. Let's see where it leads...
Total at the end of yesterday was 4,346. Weekends are the sort of time I should be able to get on and write more, but they're also a time of many distractions and things getting in the way. So I'm not going to set any targets beyond the 1000 a day, but we'll see where it goes. And that first 1000 is always going to be on LVH, though I've also been having some thoughts about a short story I began last year but didn't finish. It's not going to take too much to finish that off, so if I can get a decent writing session in at some point over the next few days, I might be able to finish that off. Will likely be something for Literotica, just to give people something of mine to read that's new.
As for LVH itself, things are going well and getting interesting. The first (short) blood-drinking scene appeared yesterday, and maybe today I'll finish the introductory section and get into the first flashback section. Let's see where it leads...
Friday 4 January 2013
Inspiration
I often find inspiration in bed. No, not that way - well, sometimes - but I'm one of those people who can take a while to drift off to sleep, and one of the things that helps me get there is thinking over my stories and where they're going to go next. Losing myself in a storyis a good way of letting my attention drift away from whatever annoyances might be keeping me awake, and before I know it, I'm gone.
There is a problem with this, though. While it's good for helping me work out the direction of the story, I often come up with good lines that I can never remember come the morning - and because I'm drifting off to sleep, I never get the chance to write them down. It's very annoying, and I'm sure there are many great lines that have been lost to my dreams that will now never get written down and seen by anyone else.
Which is my way of saying that I'm sure I had a great line to use in yesterday's writing, but by the time I came to write it, it was long gone. Still proud of what I did write, and am now up to 3,250 words, but that 'what could have been' will nag for a while.
But I was over target for another day, and the story's going well, the characters are coming to life - literally, in one case. I was expecting someone to get killed off, but then he proved himself a bit too clever for me to do that. I wonder when we'll see him again?
There is a problem with this, though. While it's good for helping me work out the direction of the story, I often come up with good lines that I can never remember come the morning - and because I'm drifting off to sleep, I never get the chance to write them down. It's very annoying, and I'm sure there are many great lines that have been lost to my dreams that will now never get written down and seen by anyone else.
Which is my way of saying that I'm sure I had a great line to use in yesterday's writing, but by the time I came to write it, it was long gone. Still proud of what I did write, and am now up to 3,250 words, but that 'what could have been' will nag for a while.
But I was over target for another day, and the story's going well, the characters are coming to life - literally, in one case. I was expecting someone to get killed off, but then he proved himself a bit too clever for me to do that. I wonder when we'll see him again?
Thursday 3 January 2013
Momentum
Decent day of writing yesterday, which finished as I got past 2000 words (2,009 to be exact). Wasn't intending to finish so close to the target, but I'd reached a natural break point for the day, and needed to take a break to choreograph the next scene in my head before writing it.
I'm not often one for meticulously planning out scenes before I write them, usually preferring to go with the flow, but I've found that with action scenes (like the one coming up), I need to have worked out at least a basic plan on who does what and who's where at what point, otherwise I end up getting to the end of it and realising that I've left one character standing there doing nothing throughout the whole thing. Interestingly, that doesn't normally happen to me when writing sex scenes, where the characters tend to be much more forceful in wanting to get involved...
So, on with today's writing, and see you on the other side of 3,000 words!
I'm not often one for meticulously planning out scenes before I write them, usually preferring to go with the flow, but I've found that with action scenes (like the one coming up), I need to have worked out at least a basic plan on who does what and who's where at what point, otherwise I end up getting to the end of it and realising that I've left one character standing there doing nothing throughout the whole thing. Interestingly, that doesn't normally happen to me when writing sex scenes, where the characters tend to be much more forceful in wanting to get involved...
So, on with today's writing, and see you on the other side of 3,000 words!
Wednesday 2 January 2013
To work!
I have Scrivener - the writing software I like to use - open, and a document with a few hundred words is sitting in there waiting to be added to. I have a story idea - which I'm currently referring to as Lesbian Vampire Highlander, until a title emerges - that not only works but manges to draw new ideas, characters and scenes into it every time I think about it.
In short, I seem to be writing again. I'm using the idea of doing 100,000 words in 100 days as a motivator, even if I'm not officially signed up to that challenge, and the plan is to do at least 1000 words a day on that story until it's finished, as well as writing other things as well. If things are going well, expect to see more posts here as well - starting the day with a bit of non-fictional writing is good for me to clear out my head and kick-start the creative circuits - and it's a good place to report on my progress.
On that note, I missed target yesterday and only produced 585 words. But as it was New Year's Day and I had a bunch of other commitments to deal with, I wasn't expecting to write anything, so that's almost a bonus.
In short, I seem to be writing again. I'm using the idea of doing 100,000 words in 100 days as a motivator, even if I'm not officially signed up to that challenge, and the plan is to do at least 1000 words a day on that story until it's finished, as well as writing other things as well. If things are going well, expect to see more posts here as well - starting the day with a bit of non-fictional writing is good for me to clear out my head and kick-start the creative circuits - and it's a good place to report on my progress.
On that note, I missed target yesterday and only produced 585 words. But as it was New Year's Day and I had a bunch of other commitments to deal with, I wasn't expecting to write anything, so that's almost a bonus.
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