New Writing Challenge

Bluegate · Nov 19, 2009

Sommemi way to go...even if you did get distracted. LOL I always end up doing anything creative late at night when everyone is asleep. That is so exciting that you are down to the last three. I am sure you must be looking forward to editing as much as root canal. At least your at the editing stage though so congratulations!

Red Bird I am so happy that you found what you were looking for in the query. That must be so hard to have a bunch of strangers tromping all over your work. Darn squirrels and their muddy paws. That was quite a feat you pulled with doing both the query and a synopsis at the same time. My hat is off to you!

Newport my curiosity has been whetted. I can't think of the next thing to say here because what I really want to do is ask you to tell us all what it was. LOL I suppose we just have to wait to buy the book. So get writing, you!

jerrywaxler · Nov 20, 2009

Uh-oh, my worst fear. (Well maybe not worst)

This morning, I spent my entire two hours editing the same material I edited yesterday. I knew the material back here in the final third was rougher than the material in the beginning, so I worried this might happen. Sure enough after re-reading this section, I felt that to make it readable, it would require another round.

But I hate to spend time double-polishing, when I should be moving on. The "rule" is that to maintain continuity, keep pressing forward. Well, who sets these rules anway. LOL

I'll count today's effort. (Right?) But I am hoping to finish by the end of November, or at least be really close. I'm hoping the remaining material will end up feeling pretty strong by the time I finish this round. We'll see how rough the rest of the manuscript is and how many more double repolishings slow me down. (Cliff hanger.)

Do any of you writers have any sage advice to offer here?

Jerry

Red Bird · Nov 20, 2009

jerrywaxler said:
This morning, I spent my entire two hours editing the same material I edited yesterday. I knew the material back here in the final third was rougher than the material in the beginning, so I worried this might happen. Sure enough after re-reading this section, I felt that to make it readable, it would require another round.

But I hate to spend time double-polishing, when I should be moving on. The "rule" is that to maintain continuity, keep pressing forward. Well, who sets these rules anway. LOL

I'll count today's effort. (Right?) But I am hoping to finish by the end of November, or at least be really close. I'm hoping the remaining material will end up feeling pretty strong by the time I finish this round. We'll see how rough the rest of the manuscript is and how many more double repolishings slow me down. (Cliff hanger.)

Do any of you writers have any sage advice to offer here?

Jerry

Jerry,
I had that problem with the last fourth of my book too. The end was easy, but the chapters leading up to were a bit jumbled. In hindsight, I can see that I wasted some time completly polishing sections (mostly transitioning in sections I later removed or repositioned) because once I had the whole thing edited I found some repetition of material.

Now, I tend to do a complete read of each section before I bring out the scissors. It's a frustrating process, but I think as the ms gets cleaner it gets easier to see problems with structure, voice, pace.

Yes, you get to count your efforts. Just keep plugging away. You have made some real progress!

Cheers,
Red Bird

Red Bird · Nov 20, 2009

Bluegate said:
Sommemi way to go...even if you did get distracted. LOL I always end up doing anything creative late at night when everyone is asleep. That is so exciting that you are down to the last three. I am sure you must be looking forward to editing as much as root canal. At least your at the editing stage though so congratulations!

Red Bird I am so happy that you found what you were looking for in the query. That must be so hard to have a bunch of strangers tromping all over your work. Darn squirrels and their muddy paws. That was quite a feat you pulled with doing both the query and a synopsis at the same time. My hat is off to you!

Newport my curiosity has been whetted. I can't think of the next thing to say here because what I really want to do is ask you to tell us all what it was. LOL I suppose we just have to wait to buy the book. So get writing, you!

Thanks, Bluegate. You know, QLH wasn't half as bad as I thought it would be. For me, the biggest challenge was staying true to my work and not allowing the thing to be distilled too much. It would be easy to relinquish "voice' if you added words from other writers into your query. I think it's very wise to familiarize yourself with the posters over there and see whose opinions you value before you start changing things. All in all, I hopped in and out of there pretty quickly. Thank God.

Cheers,
Red Bird

Chrisla · Nov 20, 2009

jerrywaxler said:
This morning, I spent my entire two hours editing the same material I edited yesterday. I knew the material back here in the final third was rougher than the material in the beginning, so I worried this might happen. Sure enough after re-reading this section, I felt that to make it readable, it would require another round.

But I hate to spend time double-polishing, when I should be moving on. The "rule" is that to maintain continuity, keep pressing forward. Well, who sets these rules anway. LOL

Jerry

Jerry, I have a tendency to do that, too, which is why the front part of my book is so much more polished than the back. But I have learned to try to resist the impulse. Red Bird is right; I've spent hours polishing things that I later took out.

I consider any time I spend working is progress, even if it doesn't seem like it at the time, so congratulations on your progress.

Red Bird said:
Jerry,
I had that problem with the last fourth of my book too. The end was easy, but the chapters leading up to were a bit jumbled. In hindsight, I can see that I wasted some time completly polishing sections (mostly transitioning in sections I later removed or repositioned) because once I had the whole thing edited I found some repetition of material.

Now, I tend to do a complete read of each section before I bring out the scissors. It's a frustrating process, but I think as the ms gets cleaner it gets easier to see problems with structure, voice, pace.

Cheers,
Red Bird

And how did you train yourself to do that, may I ask? I know better, but I always think, "well, just this little bit here, because it doesn't transition well," or "I've just thought of a much better way to express what I mean," or the "hook isn't quite strong enough. I'll just tweak it a little," or . . .

The, as you say, I find myself cutting out some of those lovely words. Like I said, I do know better!

Chrisla · Nov 20, 2009

Bluegate said:
Chrisla have a great holiday. I just know you won't be able to keep away from us for long though. hehe. Um, did you say you were baking pumpkin pies...?

You're right; I check in once in a while, and in my spare moments, I'm doing a little research: use of song titles, writing queries and synopsis, citing references -- all things I need to do before I start writing again.

And yes, not only baking pumpkin pies, but my daughter has assigned me the task of making the buttermilk biscuits that we use for the stuffing. We're a traditional family; all our holiday meals are made from scratch. She even makes the cranberry sauce!

sommemi · Nov 20, 2009

Bluegate said:
Sommemi way to go...even if you did get distracted. LOL I always end up doing anything creative late at night when everyone is asleep. That is so exciting that you are down to the last three. I am sure you must be looking forward to editing as much as root canal. At least your at the editing stage though so congratulations!

Well, maybe not the LAST three... ugh. The more I write, the more I remember and want to include. *sigh*

And yeah, I'd rather get a root canal than edit!! Hmmm. Maybe I should make a dentist appointment...

thanks for the encouragement!

Red Bird · Nov 20, 2009

Chrisla said:
Jerry, I have a tendency to do that, too, which is why the front part of my book is so much more polished than the back. But I have learned to try to resist the impulse. Red Bird is right; I've spent hours polishing things that I later took out.

I consider any time I spend working is progress, even if it doesn't seem like it at the time, so congratulations on your progress.

And how did you train yourself to do that, may I ask? I know better, but I always think, "well, just this little bit here, because it doesn't transition well," or "I've just thought of a much better way to express what I mean," or the "hook isn't quite strong enough. I'll just tweak it a little," or . . .

The, as you say, I find myself cutting out some of those lovely words. Like I said, I do know better!

I screwed up so many times that it finally sunk in that I was causing myself more work. That, and the fact that I was under a deadline to get the freakin thing finished. Ha. I'd love the recipe for cranberry sauce!
Cheers,
Red bird

Bluegate · Nov 20, 2009

Red Bird you are wise to prepare youself before heading over there to the squirrels' den. I know what you mean about using another writer's words. I hate giving my opinion because I hate even more trying to figure out how to say something without actually saying it. I am so glad that you got what you needed from them and that you are happy with the results.

Chrisla your's sounds like a pretty nice place to be around the holidays. Well worth the break from editing to be sure!

Sommemi I am relieved to learn that even you are still remembering things to add even as you are this far along. It was distressing me that I was still doing that myself. I have been under the assumption that I should have absolutely everything out on the table beforehand. Oh and, I did make a dentist appointment. hehe.

Jerry I am not sage enough to offer a glass of Kool-Aid but I did get some pretty helpful tidbits from Jclarkdawe-the squirrel man himself on this thread in Query Hell
He sent me the color coded copy he is using to keep all the parts and pieces together plus he included the links to his synopsis ect. I am studying this to help me understand how to keep structure and pacing. I hope I am smart enough to learn something from his work.

Red Bird · Nov 21, 2009

Goals for tonight: Work on my synopsis. I really need to find my main focus for each chapter and make sure I've stayed on track throughout each section. For some reason, I'm fighting getting back to it.

What's everyone else doing?

Cheers,
Red Bird

Bluegate · Nov 21, 2009

I have gotten caught up in working a memory forward. I am at least writing it down as I go though. Not too long ago I realized that I had a missing chunk of time so I had to hunt that information down. It's funny how our internal story and timeline seems to fit perfectly and make total sense until we start to write it out. Then all of a sudden you -I-realize that it doesn't make sense at all. The mind just fills in what it needs to fill in until you start asking questions. So that's where I am, answering some questions. I hope that I get what I need soon. In the meantime I am continuing to study and learn what I can while making sure to write down outlines of events. Sooo far behind some of you guys. sigh.

Chrisla · Nov 21, 2009

Bluegate said:
I have gotten caught up in working a memory forward. I am at least writing it down as I go though. Not too long ago I realized that I had a missing chunk of time so I had to hunt that information down. It's funny how our internal story and timeline seems to fit perfectly and make total sense until we start to write it out. Then all of a sudden you -I-realize that it doesn't make sense at all. The mind just fills in what it needs to fill in until you start asking questions. So that's where I am, answering some questions. I hope that I get what I need soon. In the meantime I am continuing to study and learn what I can while making sure to write down outlines of events. Sooo far behind some of you guys. sigh.

Consider yourself ahead. I didn't have all this information and support when I started my book several years ago, so I did a lot of flailing around you won't have to do. As long as you keep plugging away, you'll get there.

Newport2Newport · Nov 22, 2009

Bluegate said:
Newport my curiosity has been whetted. I can't think of the next thing to say here because what I really want to do is ask you to tell us all what it was. LOL I suppose we just have to wait to buy the book. So get writing, you!

I'm writing, I'm writing!

But thanks so much for the encouragement. And also? I love reading about your process, and your progress reports help push *me* forward.

I'm not cooking Thanksgiving at my house, for which I'm very grateful. I'm grateful, also, for the long stretch of uninterrupted writing time next weekend. How about the rest of you? Will you steal away from the madding crowds to work on your manuscript?

Red Bird · Nov 23, 2009

Newport2Newport said:
I'm writing, I'm writing!

But thanks so much for the encouragement. And also? I love reading about your process, and your progress reports help push *me* forward.

I'm not cooking Thanksgiving at my house, for which I'm very grateful. I'm grateful, also, for the long stretch of uninterrupted writing time next weekend. How about the rest of you? Will you steal away from the madding crowds to work on your manuscript?

I'm thinking of dedicating Saturday to writing. Thursday and Friday will be spent with my family. Sunday, I'm cleaning the house and sleeping. I think it's going to be hard to get much accomplished this holiday season.

Cheers,
Red Bird

Bluegate · Nov 23, 2009

I spent the day shampooing the carpet and other disgusting chores. I just posted on my blog and actually hit send even though my eyes are so bleary I can't see the keys. Life is good. I hate to admit that Red Bird may be right. I also have birthdays this very same week so I'm shot for time.

jerrywaxler · Nov 24, 2009

OMG. I think I did it

I just reached the end of my draft, with a week to spare. Yahoo! Well, maybe not yet. During the editing, I fixed some structural problems. The good news is I think I have an image of how the story wraps up. The bad news is that I had to lay down the roughest of rough drafts to glue the pieces together. Now I'm going to spend the "rest of the month" trying to smooth over those rough spots so it reads a little stronger.

Thanks all for ushering me through this second draft. It's been an amazing process, seeing the whole story come together. It feels very different from the first draft, and I imagine the third will feel very different again.

I've been hearing fiction writers talk about which version they are on and wondered what that felt like. Now I'm beginning to find out.

Jerry

Newport2Newport · Nov 24, 2009

jerrywaxler said:
I just reached the end of my draft, with a week to spare. Yahoo! Well, maybe not yet. During the editing, I fixed some structural problems. The good news is I think I have an image of how the story wraps up. The bad news is that I had to lay down the roughest of rough drafts to glue the pieces together. Now I'm going to spend the "rest of the month" trying to smooth over those rough spots so it reads a little stronger.

Thanks all for ushering me through this second draft. It's been an amazing process, seeing the whole story come together. It feels very different from the first draft, and I imagine the third will feel very different again.

I've been hearing fiction writers talk about which version they are on and wondered what that felt like. Now I'm beginning to find out.

Jerry

Wow, this is huge!!!

I'm guessing nobody but other writers would ever understand the significant accomplishments (and sustained efforts) this represents. But we do....

Congratulations, Jerry!

Red Bird · Nov 24, 2009

Congratulations, Jerry. I'm so happy you've reached a place in your drafting process where you recognize how your creative efforts are working. It's such an exciting time!

I wonder how many revisions most writers go through before they submit their work? I was thinking, just yesterday, about my own process. I know I have at least one round of changes to make, which will require another round of polishing once completed. So, for me, it went like this: rough draft, edit, restructure, edit, second draft, edit, a little more restructuring, edit, and then a line edit.

Now, I have a clean draft, but I need to bust up a couple of places where the narrative is too long with dialogue/scene/pacing. Then, I'll edit again, which will require another round of polishing. After I'm finished with that, I'll get a beta reader who may suggest more changes. Then, if lucky, an agent will want more changes. So, I've lost count, but that is about ten drafts. Oh my.

This is a lengthy process.

Cheers to you and your accomplishments, Jerry.
Red Bird

Bluegate · Nov 24, 2009

Jerry that is fantastic news! I am so happy for you. That is an accomplishment that I very much look forward to meeting myself one day.

This thread, you guys, are really helping me stay focused and I dearly appreciate it. I respond well to accountability so this has been doing the trick for me.

I have to do some time sucking holiday decorating today but I am carving out time this afternoon to get some writing in first.

Red Bird · Nov 25, 2009

Goals:

Have synopsis completed by December.
Have suggested edits completed by March.
Find a beta reader, start blog, and know which agents I will be submitting to by April.
Have beta recommendations done by June.
Query.
That's my plan. What's yours?

I hope everyone has a great holiday!
Red Bird

Chrisla · Nov 27, 2009

jerrywaxler said:
I just reached the end of my draft, with a week to spare. Yahoo! Well, maybe not yet. During the editing, I fixed some structural problems. The good news is I think I have an image of how the story wraps up. The bad news is that I had to lay down the roughest of rough drafts to glue the pieces together. Now I'm going to spend the "rest of the month" trying to smooth over those rough spots so it reads a little stronger.

Thanks all for ushering me through this second draft. It's been an amazing process, seeing the whole story come together. It feels very different from the first draft, and I imagine the third will feel very different again.

I've been hearing fiction writers talk about which version they are on and wondered what that felt like. Now I'm beginning to find out.

Jerry

Congratulations, Jerry! You've really been making progress these past weeks. Those revelations are wonderful, but sometimes I wish they'd come a lot sooner -- or maybe I'm just a little slow!

Mine came after my latest revisions, including a new ending.

Red Bird said:
Congratulations, Jerry. I'm so happy you've reached a place in your drafting process where you recognize how your creative efforts are working. It's such an exciting time!

I wonder how many revisions most writers go through before they submit their work? I was thinking, just yesterday, about my own process. I know I have at least one round of changes to make, which will require another round of polishing once completed. So, for me, it went like this: rough draft, edit, restructure, edit, second draft, edit, a little more restructuring, edit, and then a line edit.

Now, I have a clean draft, but I need to bust up a couple of places where the narrative is too long with dialogue/scene/pacing. Then, I'll edit again, which will require another round of polishing. After I'm finished with that, I'll get a beta reader who may suggest more changes. Then, if lucky, an agent will want more changes. So, I've lost count, but that is about ten drafts. Oh my.

This is a lengthy process.

Cheers to you and your accomplishments, Jerry.
Red Bird

I long ago lost track of the number of edits and changes I made, and am sure there are many more coming. Makes me wonder sometimes what it will feel like to start fresh with something new!

Red Bird said:
Goals:

Have synopsis completed by December.
Have suggested edits completed by March.
Find a beta reader, start blog, and know which agents I will be submitting to by April.
Have beta recommendations done by June.
Query.
That's my plan. What's yours?

I hope everyone has a great holiday!
Red Bird

Red Bird, those are ambitious goals. I've been thinking a little about mine. I have been sneaking in a few minutes here and there all week to work on my sources page, and still have a lot of work to do on that.

My son is leaving tomorrow morning, though, and I'll be able to spend more time writing instead of entertaining, so I'm hoping to get that source material all located and cited by the end of next week.

I realized, after I sent my manuscript to my reader (of course) that I should have ended my story a little sooner. Like Jerry, I had some new revelations while doing my last edits, especially when trying to write a new ending. This was a very long book I'm revising into two books. I now know that there's a perfect breaking point earlier, making the first book my mother's story and the second book my story. It took the ending to realize that simple concept.

But the first book is a little short, less than 66,000 works, if I break it there. I'm hoping that will be okay with agents/editors. I think it will be for memoir.

So. . .source material this week, then work on the synopsis while I wait for comments to come back from the reader.

Hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving!

Red Bird · Nov 28, 2009

Chrisla said:
Congratulations, Jerry! You've really been making progress these past weeks. Those revelations are wonderful, but sometimes I wish they'd come a lot sooner -- or maybe I'm just a little slow! Mine came after my latest revisions, including a new ending.

I long ago lost track of the number of edits and changes I made, and am sure there are many more coming. Makes me wonder sometimes what it will feel like to start fresh with something new!

Red Bird, those are ambitious goals. I've been thinking a little about mine. I have been sneaking in a few minutes here and there all week to work on my sources page, and still have a lot of work to do on that.

My son is leaving tomorrow morning, though, and I'll be able to spend more time writing instead of entertaining, so I'm hoping to get that source material all located and cited by the end of next week.

I realized, after I sent my manuscript to my reader (of course) that I should have ended my story a little sooner. Like Jerry, I had some new revelations while doing my last edits, especially when trying to write a new ending. This was a very long book I'm revising into two books. I now know that there's a perfect breaking point earlier, making the first book my mother's story and the second book my story. It took the ending to realize that simple concept.

But the first book is a little short, less than 66,000 works, if I break it there. I'm hoping that will be okay with agents/editors. I think it will be for memoir.

So. . .source material this week, then work on the synopsis while I wait for comments to come back from the reader.

Hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving!

Chrisla,

I love getting comments back from a reader. Mine always had some areas that she wanted me to expand, so chances are your ms will gain a few words after her suggested details are added. I get the impression that agents prefer lean ms over those that need to be revised because of wordiness.

Cheers,
Red Bird

jerrywaxler · Nov 28, 2009

Thanks for congrats and now "the real plan" yikes

Hi All,

Thanks for the congrats. I have published two nonfiction books, but never had to read through and create a continuous story before. So it's the first time I've had this experience, and it truly is wonderful. I'll have to thank you guys in my acknowledgments.

Now what? I'm sure the book is getting closer to a real story. I like the structure. Now I have to let it sit, and wait for input from a couple of readers. Over time, the thing simmers and I believe the third draft will take me close to a "real" book.

Jerry

Red Bird · Nov 28, 2009

jerrywaxler said:
Hi All,

Thanks for the congrats. I have published two nonfiction books, but never had to read through and create a continuous story before. So it's the first time I've had this experience, and it truly is wonderful. I'll have to thank you guys in my acknowledgments.

Now what? I'm sure the book is getting closer to a real story. I like the structure. Now I have to let it sit, and wait for input from a couple of readers. Over time, the thing simmers and I believe the third draft will take me close to a "real" book.

Jerry

Jerry,
I find when I'm waiting for critiques back from readers is a good time to read other memoirs. Although I can tell from your blog that you've read many already, it still helps spawn creativity. The last time I was waiting, I worked on my query letter. You wouldn't believe how much you learn about your own book while composing a query letter.

My mentor recommends taking breaks from my own writing to get some distance from the emotional aspects of memoir writing. I think you're right about the third draft being a turning point.

Cheers,
Red Bird

Bluegate · Dec 1, 2009

I'm back from the holiday abyss and I am a lame duck. This duck has it's feathers in the chair though. We'll see if anything comes of that.
Hope you all had a great weekend.

New Writing Challenge

Clearly has too much time on hand.

Has a routine

Has a routine

practical experience, FTW

practical experience, FTW

Uses loquacious&#8194;in sentences

Has a routine

Clearly has too much time on hand.

Has a routine

Clearly has too much time on hand.

practical experience, FTW

Has a routine

Clearly has too much time on hand.

Has a routine

Clearly has too much time on hand.

Has a routine

practical experience, FTW

Has a routine

Has a routine

Clearly has too much time on hand.

Uses loquacious in sentences