Summer Goal: Finish My 1st Novel

Good luck on finishing your project! A few suggestions if I may?

Head over to the Writing Novels Forum and check out the thread Learn Writing with Uncle Jim. Some great advice in there about plot, characters...or, if time is scarce, check out the condensed version at the top of the forum's list of threads.
Try and outline (not just brainstorm) upcoming scenes - make them be like footsteps towards the climax (although twisty, starnge footsteps are allowed for sake of surprising the reader *grins*)
And try to designate a specific chunk of time during the day for writing. (Uncle Jim suggests 2 hours) I prefer to do some time in the morning and some in the evening.

Good luck again, and full speed ahead!

Good luck! And I second the read-through of Uncle Jim's thread. It's great!

Way to go! As soon as you get into the swing of this routine, you'll find what you're looking for in your plot fast.

Woohoo - that's double your goal. Keep going, easpecially now you've found your optimum time for writing. I find I write at my best very early or very late in the day (I think it has something to do with my brain still being in a dream state...)

black winged fighter said:

I find I write at my best very early or very late in the day (I think it has something to do with my brain still being in a dream state...)

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Me too. I think it's because they're the only times of day that it's quiet. No computer whirring..... no cars going by... no tv. Just you and your book. (although I do like the idea of the dreamstate). I work best from 12 - 2am.

litkitty - how long are you planning this book to be? 120k?

great job!

Hi litkitty,

I think it's great you're on the road to finishing up that novel! And that you're progressing steadily. My summer goal is to complete the novel I started in April of this year. I'm at about 36k right now and my aim is for 100k. I'm also using the quick method (i like to call it "my sh*tty first draft" - anne lammott, I want to just write it and get it out, then pick it apart (it'll be my first novel, so I know it's bound to be a mess! lol). Basically I started knowing how I wanted my character to have changed by the end, and I just stick to those broad ideas as I write. I don't know if this method works for me or not, I'll have to see after it's done and rewritten a couple times, lol.

I like the idea of putting up a pic of someone who resembles a character. Sometimes it's hard to see my characters and then things don't seem real enough (in a fictional sense, lol) when I'm writing them. Also I'm starting to think writing earlier in the day is crucial...it's hard for me to get things done the later it gets in the day...

I was mainly writing to give my input about notebooks/journals. Right now I have two things, a single-subject spiral notebook where most of my notes are (i really need to print my online notes out and put them in there!) and a small black spiral weekly planner some B&N where I'm keeping my word count and times. For the first 30k I wasn't keeping track of the numbers except to look at them at the end of a writing session, and now I'm disappointed I can't look at my stats. I think I let a lot of good days get away without writing. The red spiral I've been using since before starting...I keep lists, small outlines, little blurbs of things, brainstorms, etc. I'm not very good at organizing the stuff. But it's good at times when I'm wondering, "what exactly am I doing here?" and then I can see what my original purpose was and often steer back in a good direction, or confirm that the new direction fits better.

Well, sorry for the length, I made the mistake of not working on my WIP early in the day so I've got a bit of runny mouth. I need to get writing!

Ro

Well, you've done nearly 20,000 words now in less that a month. Great going. Keep plugging away, and since you've already got the ending in sight, you must see how to get there. Another month before school--I'm betting you're going to make it!

rowriter: how's your novel going? Shitty first drafts are the best, though I think I kind of got lost in mine for a while. It took me forever to figure out where my characters were going. It was neat reading about your different journals; I like seeing how everyone else manages a novel. Keep me posted on your progress!

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It's going really well! I've been able to up my daily progress a LOT, I'm very motivated to get to the halfway point of 50k at the end of this week! (the notebook where I keep daily goal is really helping to motivate, and I can actually "see" finishing the book). I'm getting good also at sketching out what's going to happen in my writing about two days in advance, so that is helping a lot too...I certainly don't know all the aspects of what the characters are doing, but it seems more fun to write when not every single thing is predetermined (and mine isn't a convoluted plot, so that makes it easier I suppose).

I don't seem to get a lot of writing done on the weekends either; hubby and I are often out of town, or just doing stuff other than sitting at home at our computers, lol.

Keep us updated, you're making great progress! You can do it!!

Rowriter

I'm trying to finish a novel this summer too! I started a little over 3 weeks ago and have 20k right now. I would really like to finish it before I go back to school in September. Best of luck with yours (you seem to be doing quite well)!!

Hi Litkitty,

You inspire me for when I get to the dissertation stage of my studies. I thought I wouldn't be able to write at that stage, but apparently if I'm dedicated and hardworking enough, I might!

I also have a deadline to completely revise my manuscript before September when school starts. Fortunately, it's not as long as yours. I'd be very happy if I got 50,000 words out of it. Right now it stands at about 45-50,000 words.

Keep writing! For editing, I've heard it's best if you don't take too long doing it. I plan to do my editing in one month flat, and then a second smaller edit about a month from then.

litkitty said:

....I've also gotten to the point where I'm reading pleasure books to see how they're put together. I'm writing a chicklitty novel in the 3rd person so I've been trying to read books that do the 3rd person so well, the author makes it feel like the first person. I treated myself to C. J. Tosh's Bite, which has a snappy third person voice. And as soon as I finish the first draft of the novel, I'll have to reread my fave book (& model), Claire Naylor & Mimi Hare's The Second Assistant. Fun!!....

.... I'm at a loss for how to revise my big baggy monster without becoming overwhelmed. Any tips?....

Sounds like you're making great progress, rowriter! Did you cross the 50,000 mark?! Would you be at all interested in checking in/posting your progress during the week? ....

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Hi Litkitty! I just crossed the 80k mark today, and still plodding along (been struggling a bit with the writing lately). I hope to write "the end" in about 2 weeks. I'm actually keeping progress of my daily writing in my blog, the link is in my profile . Sometimes I think I'm a bit obsessive about the numbers, but when I see how much I get done by keeping tabs on myself, I'm motivated to write. But I'll post here too, let you know when I'm finally done!

Thanks for mentioning those two titles, I've been meaning to read more chicklit stuff.

As for revising, read through once all the way through before changing big chunks (this is of course after letting it sit in your drawer for a little while to get some distance from it). And you're definitely going to print it out, right? Also search the Uncle Jim thread for 'revising', I bet there's some good advice in there. I always have a few writing books laying around to get revising ideas from: some particularly good ones IMO are Stein on Writing by Sol Stein, also The First Five Pages and The Plot Thickens by Noah Lukeman.

So how's your writing going? You said earlier you might be finished with it by September; is this still a possibility? Hope it's going well!