The Journey
Sifting through mental word salad
Part of the submission guidelines when I submitted my work for assessment was that only the first 50 pages were accepted. As a result I
A new way of being
It has been months since my last post. I haven’t stopped writing in this time but I have failed to write regularly and with intention.
The journey of my novel
Well I did it! I put myself ‘out there’ to find out if I should continue developing my novel or keep it on my shelf
Out of my control
At just over 27000 words written in ten chapters I have a novella. There may be more that I can add, I’ll mull over the
A good start
Chapter one is taking on a new shape. I’ve been pulling it apart, rearranging the narrative, deleting, deleting, deleting and writing new words. The beginning
The tip of my tongue
When lost in conversation, listening, sharing ideas and swept up in the momentum of back and forth I can have moments when the thing that
The 4th draft
For the past couple of months I’ve proof read, corrected basic errors, read a few books, one being Elements of Style, and researched myths. In
I’m clueless
I have given my 3rd draft to a published writer and a PHD academic for feedback on how it reads, what is and isn’t clear,
The waiting game
Much to my surprise I’ve completed my 3rd draft. I reached this point by creating one double spaced file of my 2nd draft. I printed
The ugly lights
The ugly lights is what my friends and I call the house lights that are turned on at the end of the night when the
The end is near
The final chapter of the 2nd draft is almost done. Yes I’ve been dragging my feet, yes I’ve been out of my writing routine, yes
Breathing space
Got a job, lost that job, moved house, moved to a new region, completed a couple of courses, currently doing another course to learn a
I never really got it before…
I used to live in a two-storey house where I would find myself going upstairs to get something then going all the way back downstairs
Cataclysmic happenings
Chapter six 2nd draft is done and it wasn’t easy. When I wrote the 1st draft of chapter six I didn’t have a clear vision
A numbers game
Today I completed the 2nd draft of chapter two, and I have three people reading to give me feedback which is three times more than
Handling shi(f)t
I wrote about 500 words more since I last posted. Not a lot but still it is written and I’m happy with it. The chapter
The things that make up reality
Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been inching my way through the current chapter stitching together a transition between who my protagonist was and
The next chapter
I’ve reached the next chapter. It’s such a big statement for me to make, I’m nearing the end of the first draft, the protagonist is
Themes, imagery and the spaces in between
I have read back over and made a few adjustments but I’m nearly done with another chapter. It was a good chapter to write with
Back in the saddle again
For over a month now I’ve had plans to write, to get writing and to keep on writing but life got in the way. Nevertheless
Meetings of old and new
At the midpoint of the current chapter there is a pause to stop in the past going back to what was, to where that place
Crowded thoughts
I had some sad moments writing the part that I’m working through when I wrote about the protagonist being in a busy marketplace with a
From telling to showing and beyond
My original outline of chapters was nine in total, I now expect to write eleven at least, perhaps more. The extra breathing space that I
Observations
Chapter seven is 4000 plus words done of the 5000 words I’ve planned to write, so the finish line is in sight. This chapter has
A cohesive tale of players
The character that I have introduced into the story in chapter seven is like none my protagonist has ever met before. This character is legendary,
Unknown Territory
Back on track and into it with a good rhythm and pace – I have finished chapter six. In chapter six I had planned to
Eye-roll, sigh, swear at the computer, repeat
My Pollyanna gene is failing to have an affect on the rest of my physiology. Usually it over-rides or at least ambushes any Cassandra-esque tendencies,
Herding cats
Writing chapter six first draft feels like baby steps as I inch through the storyline toward the chapter completion. Each baby step is monumental though,
One day at a time
Chapter six is coming along nicely with the story shedding the extra story points that don’t serve it. When planning the chapters I had added
Another 1000
I’m inching my way through chapter six’s first draft with a lot of new writing. I have over 6000 words written for this chapter already
In the flow
For chapter six I’ve written just over 800 words that I’m really happy with. It only took about an hour or so of writing to
Achieving the improbable
At just under 5000 words I’ve finished my first draft of chapter five. It was a doozy. It had me nearly whipped a few times,
Draining the swamp
I’ve waded through the soggy marshland of pretty words from times past to copy, paste and delete another 1000 or so. The word count is
Beyond words
The jumble of words that I had written over the past few years had confused me enough to need a timeout. Time to reflect, time
Writing in reverse
Chapter five, first draft has had me muddling through and scratching my head so far. This chapter includes events that cause my protagonist to step
Slow and steady is the winning pace
My role has changed from writer to editor with over 16000 words written towards the chapter that I’m working on. With a 5000 word wordcount
Chapter four first draft – Done!
It reads well, I made the transition that I wanted to in the narrative taking my protagonist on a journey of physical struggle that confirms
A wee epiphany
I dropped the ball there for a few days but not for lack of trying to keep it in play. No excuses, just the facts,
I don’t know anything
A new character is about to be introduced into the story. This character is one that I have been musing over for a long time.
Creating reality one question at a time
The narrative in the part of chapter four that I’m writing is sparse. The section is based on a folklore tale that has lots of
From one place to another
Writing about landscapes… how they change, what’s different about them, what’s the same about them, how they connect and morph from one to the other.
The big to-do
A checklist has helped me to keep on track so far and I’ve written another 500 words for chapter four. When I got going it
Feeling confused and researching camels
It’s been slow going this week. Getting started has been a challenge for me with lots of distractions and an unclear vision in my mind
Taking my time
At almost 4000 words I’ve finished the first draft of chapter three. I’m on fire and trying not to jinx myself with reality checks about
Goodbye chapter two
I finished the first draft of chapter two. It’s done, I sent it to my reader, it’s shorter than I intended at 3700 words or
Chapter two begins
The groundwork has been established for chapter two, my protagonist is in forward motion and things are happening in my fictional world. It was difficult
Into the unknown
What will happen next? No matter what I’m doing my story remains present in my mind like a demanding child pestering me for attention asking
Tense about tense
I’ve managed to delete about 500 words to bring the chapter one word count below 5,000 words. It feels good to have done it, it
Too many words
I’ve sifted through all of the sections that I had in my chapter one file, edited them in together and created a flow of narrative
Making progress
It’s turned out to be really fun writing today taking an adventure back through ground already covered. I had the sensation of reminiscing through an
Notes from an idealist
Well today has been a real test for my focus and progress. I’ve had good news and bad which has distracted me in ways that
Telling the tale and showing the story
I’ve spent time blending showing and telling to bring together the tale and the story. The tale being the telling, somewhat like a fairy tale
Keeping an eye on the wordcount
The working model of my novel is broken into nine chapters that I plan to make approximately 5000 words each. This may change as I
Research and writing
The pace of writing has slowed down but not the pace of the process. To continue writing with a flow I need to sort out
Balance, routine and going with the flow
Taking time away from the spurt of writing that I had done provided perspective on where I’m at. Reading back over what I had worked
Chapter none and pondering humour
If I was drawing a picture instead of writing a novel then this wouldn’t even be the sketching stage. This would be me in kindergarten
Word scavenger powers activated
I spent the last day or so tinkering away at what I’ve pieced together while thinking that there’s more that I’ve written on this section
Embracing the process
First thing when I wake up I am writing. Today before I began I took some time to reflect on where I’m at, how it’s
Fits and Starts
Piecing together what I have written, am writing, researching, past research, and the occasional pinch of flow is rewiring my brain. So far it’s a
Refining my how-to
I backup my writing in 2 locations but yesterday after much writing I couldn’t open files in either location. It was a scary half hour
Where to start
I’m starting at the beginning. I’ve started at the beginning of my story many times before shifting the starting point and pondering the origin story
Paving the road
For the past 10 years I’ve been writing a novel off and on, and now is the time to get it done. When I couldn’t