First Draft Celebration #3

Remember how I said I was going to celebrate a bit for every 10K I write? Well, I made it to 30K a few days ago so this is a bit late, but...

I have some more exciting news too! I've finally finished Part 1! It needs some help but I'm so happy to finally have its first draft done! Thanks to my crit partner, Hannah, I've been chomping at the bit to start writing Part 2.

It's now time to write a totally different POV. I'm not entirely sure what it sounds like yet, but I'll figure it out. The best part? It's a first draft, so it doesn't have to be perfect.

I'm hoping to have passed 40K by the end of the week, which is an exciting prospect. Everything from 25-35K was a bit rough. I almost wasn't sure if I was going to make it there. (My thanks to Miss Maas for helping me get through it.) You know what they say when you hit that point in a novel... Of course, I'll admit, when I stopped treating it like the mid point and began thinking of it as the end of one character's POV, things started to get better. There's just something about that half way point. It also helps that I actually figured out what I was really doing.

Inspiration Via Sarah J. Maas

I've been a bit down in the dumps lately with my writing. You know, when you hit about 30K in your novel and you realize all the things you've probably done wrong so far, not to mention all the things you want to add but have no idea how to properly incorporate? Yes. I'm there. I suppose I could do some sort of victory dance because this means I've hit another important part of the writing process. But suffice it to say that I don't feel like dancing in the least.

You know that book proposal I've been working on? Well I finally finished it and mailed it last week. I'm supposed to wait three weeks for it, guys. How will I wait that long? Hopefully my instructor-editor likes it because I'd really love to continue my work with Untitled Fantasy for this class. I'll write it no matter what but I think it could be something. It needs work though. If my instructor-editor turns it down, that means I have to submit another book proposal for a different project.

Lets put things in perspective here. The writing dump is so deep right now that I almost half hope the instructor-editor will turn it down, therefore giving me an excuse to drop the project until I forget about all of those problems... at the same time though, going it alone with this project makes me want to shrivel up and die. I started trying to fix things the other day and ended up rereading Throne of Glass instead.

 

Sarah J. Maas, as before-mentioned, inspires me. It's insanely important for a writer to have books like this in their life because it does a few things. One, it reminds you that you need to keep honing your skill. Two, because you're a reader, it whisks you away from your writerly problems. Three, it inspires you to keep trying and keep writing.

I kid you not. I picked that book up, remembering how much I loved it (and the world). I won't lie, I'd just finally finished The Assassin's Blade and was dying to reread Throne of Glass after acquiring so much background info. I was frustrated with my novel so I gave in to temptation and basically read half the book that day instead of doing what I should have.

So here follows the true story of what it did for me.

Reading the beginning: I'll never be this good but dang do I love this novel.

Me after a hundred pages or so: *forgets about my writing* I love this book. Sarah J. Maas is freaking amazing. Brilliant.

Me by the end: I should keep writing. I want to be that good some day. Why is it taking my friend so long to read Crown of Midnight? I need it now.

In case you were wondering, I still don't have my copy of Crown of Midnight. My friend's husband is going to read it too. While I'm insanely happy that they love this series, I still wish they'd just hurry up! But you know, he works and then there's the fact that they have four kids. Plus, I won't see them for a week any way. Here's to hoping he'll finish it in that time.

Now tell me, what books inspire you?

The One Book Trailer

I had just finished the rough draft of my writing proposal and was just taking a breath when I found this beauty here. This is the best book trailer I've ever seen. I'm so excited for The One!

Camp NaNoWriMo - When Your Novel Has Multiple Personality Disorder

At least, that's what my novel is asking right now. When I first began brainstorming for Untitled Fantasy, I had two different roads to choose from that would each lead to a completely different story. Of course, I didn't realize there was a second until I'd already started developing the first. When I saw this second road, I chose that one because I believed (and still do) that it was the better road.

I'm 22K into it now and I've been presented with a third path. Boy does it look cool. Like, really cool. Here's the thing though, it would completely change everything, which would be okay with what I've already written. But if I go with it, that means I basically have to rethink the entire thing and I'm not sure what the story would look like. I'm not sure how two characters fit into that one. As it is, one of them just might have to be removed completely.

I'm not opposed to this change.

Okay, so maybe I am a little because I thought I knew where I was going and now I don't. It's slightly frustrating. I hate it and I love it at the same time. I've never had this problem before. This is literally my first WIP that has had so many different possibilities. I'm going to choose to believe that's a good thing.

I would love to fit this new development into what I have but I don't know if I can, which leaves me with two options. Rework everything and go with that. Or discard this road. I'm loathe to do either. At this point, I have to sit down and judge which path is the best option.

Don't get me wrong, I want to do that. At the same time though, I know that when I'm done, I'll be letting go of something I love.

Yes, even though this new idea/path is sort of a pain, I've already grown attached to its possibilities, which could be really cool.

Who do I have to thank for this? A fat, pudgy king that goes by the name of Barnabas. *shakes fist*

First Draft Celebration #2

It's time to celebrate another small victory, I've officially reached (and passed) the 20K mark in Untitled Fantasy. Something wonderful things have happened, some that I even love. I've finally been able to introduce a minor character that I love. Seriously, I really like him.

 

If I can just convey his personality right... that's the key. In other news, there's one scene in particular that I absolutely love. I'm sure it needs some more work but the bones are there and it was awesome to write it. I'd say fun but that feels like the wrong word because it was actually a rather serious scene.

 

Anyhow, I'm off to go do some stuff that's been waiting for me.

A Vision for Spring 2014

So I was scrolling through my "Bloglovin' Weekly" email and decided to look at a couple of the posts. One in particular really spoke to me: 5 Intentions to Set this Spring. The third and fourth ones in particular got to my writerly heart.

Yesterday, I wrote 5,000 words in Untitled Fantasy, and could have kept going but decided to stop because, you know, I had to be able to function the next day. I haven't had such a wonderful writing day in a while and almost have a total of 17K. I'm sure you can imagine the serum of motivation burning through my veins.

Moving on...

The third thing listed in the above-mentioned article is to "see a new project through to the end." I am so ready for spring (which seems to come and go at will lately) and this statement makes me happy for some reason. I was already planning on having Untitled Fantasy's first draft finished by the end of April but just thinking about starting and ending this spring having accomplished the first stage in the writing process and being deep in the second is invigorating.

The fourth item is, "embrace your passion." Yes, yes, yes! This is something I've set myself to do this year.

"Whether it’s a hobby you’ve loved for all of your life, or something new that makes your heart thump a little harder, embrace something that ignites a flame within you."

Source: 5 Intentions To Set This Spring | Free People Blog http://blog.freepeople.com/2014/03/5-spring-intentions-set/#ixzz2wEIQkpIW

Those words, "something that ignites a flame within you" perfectly expresses writing to me. Often I see statements that writers have to write but writing has never been like that for me. I could live without writing. But writing does ignite a flame inside me different from everything else I've ever experienced. For me, writing is hopeful and exciting.

Therefore, this spring, those are the two things I absolutely will accomplish. I will see a new project through to the end and I will embrace my passion. Yes, I won't finish all of the edits and revisions for Untitled Fantasy during this time, but writing has several different stages, and I will see the first one to the end this spring.

First Draft Celebration #1

I finally crossed the 10K mark in Untitled Fantasy this week. I know that's not really all that much but this makes me happy. Writing a novel can be long and hard and things should be celebrated. So, every 10,000 words I write, I'm doing a celebration post. These are happy things.

 

Things are starting to flow now. Also, I'll be participating in Camp NaNoWriMo this April so the goal is to have the first draft finished by the end of it. I'll be working on it in the mean time so, hopefully with my work in March and April, that shouldn't be a problem.