Moving Forward

So I finally got some inspiration back last night. I just started typing nonsense and it started to come together into something that made sense. Once I reopened the doors I couldn't stop. I wrote a good part of another chapter last night before shutting down and heading to bed. And that's where the trouble started.

I couldn't sleep last night! All of these ideas for scenes were swimming through my head. I couldn't shut it off. Sadly, I didn't have a notebook near me (and I was too tired to get up and find one) so I didn't get to write it all down. I'm hoping that I can remember enough of it to trigger what I'm sure I'll be missing. One of the first things I did this morning is put a notebook and a pencil on my bedside table. I'm not going to let this happen again.

Why Now?

After writing at a fairly good clip for the last few weeks I have hit the proverbial wall. My imaginary friends have decided to stop talking to me. I sit at the computer and flip through random websites just hoping to get the glimmer of an idea to keep me going. Alas, I am here posting instead.

I'm not going to fully blame my characters for not talking to me. I am partially at fault here. I took the entire weekend off to celebrate the 4th of July and they we're so kind as to fix a gaping plot hole for me on Saturday. What do I do in return? I make a couple notes and walk away. I now am understanding why all those writing gurus tell a writer to "write everyday". Three, ok four, days off is a long time in the grand scheme of things.

I'm going to take the rest of the night off and hope (and pray) that this all comes back to me. I really want to get this novel done by the end of August. I don't exactly know why I set that as my deadline but I felt that I needed one and a month wasn't long enough to actually put some thought into this. Also, with it being finished by that point it will give me a couple months to prep for NaNoWriMo and then I can come back to it after the recommended three to four months for revisions. Sounds easy, right?

Feeling Good

So I finally sat down to do some much needed creative outletting (and yes, I made up that word) this weekend. And let me tell you, it was a productive one! I actually got two chapters out and on paper, well a word doc. If I do say so myself, and I will, they aren't half bad. I'm finally getting the hang of not just writing scenes and calling them a chapter but actually writing coherent flowing prose that someone might actually want to read. (Even if that sentence does not even come close.)

I actually had to force myself to walk away so that I could get some sleep last night, not that it worked for me. I kept thinking about where I was and wanting to go. After laying in bed for two hours I finally decided to take a sleep aid so I could at least function at work today. It helped me sleep but as for functioning, not so much. I just want to write not deal with stupid work. Boo! Oh well, lunch is around the corner and that will give me an hour to focus on finishing up where I was.

Also, while working on this current WIP, my characters from my previous attempt decided to pop up and remind me that they are still here. So now I have two stories vying for attention in my head and I don't know what to do. I really like where this current work is heading and I want to see it through, but I'm so proud of my first one that I don't want to shove it to the side. Oh the life of a writer! If only I could focus full time on those pursuits. I mean really, who needs a roof over their head? Or electricity? Or food? Just sayin'.

I guess I should get back to pretending to work now.

Where Did the Time Go??

Ok, wow! I didn't know I had been neglecting my poor book for so long. Apparently 5 months flies when you're not paying attention. And I have to be honest I haven't been paying much attention to my writing at all.

After a few personal hiccups in life I hadn't had the motivation to sit at a computer any longer than what I do at work (and 7.5 hours is plenty long). Heck, I could barely pay attention to the work I was doing for work, much less swallow the thought of thinking once I got home. Many things have been neglected in the past few months, not just my writing. I've slowly but surely coming back from that. (Let's just say my apartment is mostly clean)

A couple of weeks ago I had a fairly normal dream, which is very odd for me, and I woke up thinking "These characters could make for a good book". So I'm playing with them now to see where they're going to go. I even have a rough outline. And by rough I have a beginning, a climax, and an end. Considering I had none of those when I wrote my first one I feel pretty ahead of the game. I have a basic concept of what I want the finished product to look like and, if I could get the time, I would sit down and start writing.

Don't worry though! I'm still going to try and get going back on my original idea from (almost) 2 years ago. I love those characters, even the ones I hate (don't ask, it's confusing to me, too) and I can't stay away from them much longer. Its just the voices on the WIP are speaking louder right now. Stay tuned...

Chapter 1... Again

So I have not gotten nearly as far as I would have hoped with this whole revision process. After much deliberation I decided to completely rewrite chapter 1 and take out all of the boring background information. In media res was my new motto. Sadly, it means that I have to take out a small story line that lasted three chapters, but I am up to the task.
Trying to get the beginning right is hopefully the hardest thing I will do. I like the direction the new writing is heading in, more foreshadowing, more characterization, etc; however, I don't like that it just doesn't seem right. (Not the word I was trying to convey but it's difficult to express how I feel about it.) I am taking tonight off from life and sitting myself down in front of the computer. I'm hoping this will get me moving in the direction I need to go so I don't go another month and a half without a post. 

Chapter 1

So I have finally gotten moving on my revision process and it is hard! Not only have I struggled to find time to do it with Christmas coming and putting my office together, but I haven't quite gotten back into the rhythm. It took me two weeks just to revise Chapter 1. I'm not fully satisfied with it and there are a few things that will probably need to be tweaked as I move forward.

This pass, I should probably tell you, is mostly about fleshing out the character, setting, plot, etc. I was actually pretty surprised that there weren't as many plot holes as I had originally thought. That made me very happy. This revision is going to be tough however, because I really need to put a lot into this. I have a feeling that it may take me quite a bit longer than I thought to do this. I have to enforce my deadline so that I can scratch at least one thing off my "Things to do before" list (it used to be things to do before I'm 30, but that has come and gone way too quickly for my liking).

Back to Work

So November is (finally) over. I managed to finish NaNo, just barely and very, very poorly. I just couldn't get moving into the story and I struggled through every minute of it. But it is done and I may actually revisit the story some time and see if I can make something of it. But for now, I have bigger things on my plate.

As some of you may know, I am rapidly approaching my 20-11th birthday and I wanted to at least query agents before that date. I'm just over three months away and I still haven't finished revision on my last year's novel. My office is almost set up, so I'm planning on finishing it tomorrow. I'll also need to print a copy of my second draft. I've been reading tips on revision and have a copy of the Writer's Market so I can start looking into agents.

So it is now time to get moving so that I can at least send one letter out before that day in March.