The Novel Challenge Hub

Aggy B. said:

Well. I got an invitation to submit a query/synopsis/10 pages based on a Twitter pitch yesterday. Now I'm doing this Headbang over the synopsis.

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Congrats on the invite!

You'll do fine.

Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

Good work, Sky Warrior! If you can't prevent the villain's kill, then the likeable character needs to die. [Insert smilie wiping away tears.]

Cheering everyone on!

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

536 words today. Not much but better than nothing

Sat Nam! (Literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

500+ words is two pages. For me, that's a spectacular work day. So, TorontoGirl, you're doing just fine.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

Siri Kirpal said:

Sat Nam! (Literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

500+ words is two pages. For me, that's a spectacular work day. So, TorontoGirl, you're doing just fine.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

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Aww, thank you! *hugs*

I just realized that I missed the finish rough draft by date that I had set -- it was September 4 and I'm still only outlining -- when I signed up for the novel challenge, so I guess I should probably set a new one.

Novel Info:
Working Title: The Waiting Inferno (formerly titled New Horizons and the Rising Sun)
Genre: Military SciFi
Expected Word count: 100k-120k

Outlining:
Due Date: October 15
Pace: 2-3 chapters a day
(I love Scrivner and its notecards feature)

Rough Draft:
Due Date: December 24, 2012
Daily Pace: 1,714 words
Weekly Pace: 14,000 words

Busy is good.

So I guess I should report in. My original goal got derailed, first by life and then because I spent a lot more time than expected with the plotting/planning process I found last October. Definitely needed, since this is farther than I've gotten before, but I still have no real idea what the "final" process is going to look like. But it seems to be working, so no complaints there.

So, new goals:
* A rewrite draft of 2011's NaNo by 10/31. For this one I have...some weird hybrid between an rewrite outline and a shorthand draft, plus a bunch of planning notes. As of today (first day actually writing), 1,000 actual draft words, so slow start there (by my previous standard, which may not apply here - dunno yet, but if it doesn't, that goal will need to be revised).

*Outline of 2012 NaNo by 10/31, hopefully not of the Frankendraft variety this time. I have some planning notes for this one, plus a general structure/arc.

The plan is to let 2011 sit for November and then go back to revise/edit, so we'll see how that goes.

Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

Blessings to those of you who are revising your target finish dates as well as your wips.

Hoping to finish my main revisions today. Begin a reread tomorrow. Start submitting early next month. Original target date for submissions was May 1 of next year, so I'm jazzed!

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

Siri Kirpal said:

Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

Blessings to those of you who are revising your target finish dates as well as your wips.

Hoping to finish my main revisions today. Begin a reread tomorrow. Start submitting early next month. Original target date for submissions was May 1 of next year, so I'm jazzed!

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

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Congrats that's awesome hope all goes well

Sat Nam! (Literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

Thanks, Sarah!

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

Making progress on my outline now, though, since I last posted I've thrown out my outline and started from scratch 2 more times. I decide that I really need to think it through. So instead of creating an outline scene by scene I'm now writing the big plot points and then am going to expand on them. Before my plot was all over the place hopefully with this will help, since all I have to do is play a game of connect the plots.

I got the star ship design from the guy who was helping me last night, I now just have to come up with a reasonable excuse for why the ship making company that makes it is going to give it to my main character at a discount...my current thinking is that my main character became friends with the CEO of the company through his job (he's a server at a high end restaurant) and the ship had been made and paid for by a foreign government, but there is now a trade embargo and a ban on selling military technology to that government.

I took another look at my goals and they were a little unrealistic, since I go to school full time and work on weekends. Here are my now updated goals.

Outlining:
Due Date: October 15

Rough Draft:
Due Date: February 10, 2013
Daily Pace: 750 words
Weekly Pace: 7,500 words

I can definitely sympathize with the need to outline. Best of luck getting that done! My last novel was written completely without outlines, with only a VERY general idea of the plot framework. I'm paying for it now, as I have a pretty disorganized draft that needs major cleaning structurally before I can query.

I don't know if anyone else has this problem, but when I try to outline I tend to get very excited about the plot's overarching themes/how awesome it's going to be. Then when it comes time to write all the little details in, they just seem so...boring in comparison . I usually lose steam fast.

Anyways, my goal is to cut a good 15k words from my current MS, edit for pacing and POV structures, and hopefully have it query ready by December.

Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

Shockandawe, your new outlining practice sounds a lot more reasonable. I find I make a broad outline and simply list the things I expect to put in that chapter. Works pretty good.

Green, welcome! Sometimes I have problems with things seeming dull after I've written them. But this is why I often enjoy revising: that's when I can take those mundane details and make them sing.

Speaking of which, I just finished revising and expect to start my final read through later today.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

Thanks for the kind words! Good luck on the final readthrough. That is definitely a proud moment.

Siri Kirpal said:

Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

Speaking of which, I just finished revising and expect to start my final read through later today.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

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Another Good luck for the final read through Siri

As for me, I'm just starting my edits. Can I hide yet? I set a deadline, to have them complete two weeks from now, starting this Friday! If I time it right, I should have them done just before I go away for a couple of days; so that will give me a nice break after too!!

I’m hoping it’s doable in that time frame, not having done any edits before! But I don’t work at the moment; so least I have the time!

Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

Thanks, Green!

Good luck, Sarah!

Cheering everyone on!

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

Thanks Siri

Editing going well so far! I started this evening since I had some free time anyway. Got up to chapter seven! It’s mainly making bullet point notes at min though so... It’s so hard not to stop reading though and make the changes there and then. There’s so many mistakes that I’ve seen already and so many bits of plots that I’ve started and then not mentioned again, well, so far at least! oh and the main Mc went from Brooke to Cole by chapter six! it was sort of a Cole who's she moment!

I think this Ms will need a serious re write, once done a read through a couple of times! back to it tomorrow, sleep right now

Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

Good work, Sarah! It's okay to fix the little things when you see them. I always do, and it works real well.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

Siri Kirpal said:

Original target date for submissions was May 1 of next year, so I'm jazzed!

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Wow, go you!

shockandawe232 said:

I'm now writing the big plot points and then am going to expand on them. Before my plot was all over the place hopefully with this will help, since all I have to do is play a game of connect the plots.

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I may have to steal 'connect the plots'. But yeah, I think hitting the main points first and then filling in is a helpful strategy.

Green said:

Then when it comes time to write all the little details in, they just seem so...boring in comparison .

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For me the big themes make a good brainstorming point for the little details. Just getting from A to B is boring (and tends to be superficial), but if I can tie that action to a major theme or story question or something, it tends to take off running.

Good luck with the trimming!

Sarah G said:

Editing going well so far!

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Yay that it's going well! That thorough read-through definitely helps to see where you need to go next.


I've been alternating writing on the NaNo11 rewrite with planning for NaNo12 (and re-planning for '11 as I come to spots that need it). The Infernal Editor seems to have escaped from his cage since last NaNo, so I'm a bit behind where I wanted to be, but I'm getting back into the writing part. The planning part helps because that part at least is supposed to be messy.

Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

Thanks, AnnieColleen!

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

AnnieColleen said:

Yay that it's going well! That thorough read-through definitely helps to see where you need to go next.

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Siri Kirpal said:

Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

Good work, Sarah! It's okay to fix the little things when you see them. I always do, and it works real well.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

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Thanks both I got up to chapter 18!! Going well still but there's a lot of things that need changing. In other words, major re write needed!

Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

Finished final read through last night. Will print out the book for my husband to read today. He's good at spotting the little places where I've forgotten to add or delete a word.

Then to spiff up my proposal and send out.

Cheering everyone on!

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

Meh. Struggling a bit. Trying to work out some minor issues with the plot, but it means rewriting stuff. Ick. And RL things have been rough so I'm not spending much time doing anything writing/internet related.

I dunno. Feeling a little discouraged at the moment. Really wanted to get The Novel ready for querying by the end of the year and not feeling like that's going to happen.

Sat Nam! (Literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

Holding the good thought for you, Aggy!

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal