YA All-Ages Cafe

[lilysheaven]

people told me to wait as long as i could after finishing the first draft but im already excited to start the second draft. i know what i need to edit for the most part

It really depends, I think. But @Sage is right. If you know what you want/need to edit, why wait? It probably won't be the first round of edits anyway. I don't usually take a break after my first draft is done because I plan as I go (ie. I make notes of what needs to be fixed/edited because I can't keep going back and fixing) so it makes more sense not to wait. But between drafts 3 and 4, or 5 and 6, or 7 and 8 (etc) then distance becomes more important because I've gone over it so many times it becomes difficult to see the smaller details or even the bigger picture.

There is no right way, there is only your way. Do what works for you and if you don't know what works for you then experiment!!!

 

[Maryn]

What’s the time period and where are they located? Do they have any particular skills you want to showcase or have them learn? Do you want the project to be altruistic? Enterprising (summer business)? Crafting? Athletic? Artsy?

They're in 1996, in a so-far-unnamed city in the upper Midwest. (Think Indianapolis, Erie, Rochester, like that.) I'd like them to make or build something useful or beneficial for the foster household where time-traveler boy lives, since they've taken his friend under their wing as well.

Maybe a garden, mostly from seeds? Raised planters made from free wood pallets? It might let the foster mom garden. It's the only decent idea I've had.

 

[darrtwish]

Building a tree house as a safe place to go when overwhelmed/hide out? My cousins were about that age in 1996 (while I was starting school) and spent quite a lot of time building me forts

 

[yodelingbee]

It really depends, I think. But @Sage is right. If you know what you want/need to edit, why wait? It probably won't be the first round of edits anyway. I don't usually take a break after my first draft is done because I plan as I go (ie. I make notes of what needs to be fixed/edited because I can't keep going back and fixing) so it makes more sense not to wait. But between drafts 3 and 4, or 5 and 6, or 7 and 8 (etc) then distance becomes more important because I've gone over it so many times it becomes difficult to see the smaller details or even the bigger picture.

There is no right way, there is only your way. Do what works for you and if you don't know what works for you then experiment!!!

this absolutely makes sense! i'm just gonna take a break until next week before diving back into my second draft. thank you and @Sage both!

 

[Sage]

They're in 1996, in a so-far-unnamed city in the upper Midwest. (Think Indianapolis, Erie, Rochester, like that.) I'd like them to make or build something useful or beneficial for the foster household where time-traveler boy lives, since they've taken his friend under their wing as well.

Maybe a garden, mostly from seeds? Raised planters made from free wood pallets? It might let the foster mom garden. It's the only decent idea I've had.

I love this idea, and it fits what you want and brings in the family element. It’s very wholesome, but I can see two boys getting into it as a project.

Building a tree house as a safe place to go when overwhelmed/hide out? My cousins were about that age in 1996 (while I was starting school) and spent quite a lot of time building me forts

This was the first thing I thought of as a summer activity, actually, but I wanted more info to make it work with the book

 

[darrtwish]

The nice part about shelving a project for several years is that I can now see the areas where it needs major restructuring. Even though it's only the first draft, I'm able to make a mental note of things that need changing

Maybe taking some time off to work on my master's thesis was good after all

 

[Sage]

I'm getting to some of my favorite chapters and sighing about having to edit them. This tells me I've done a great job going over and over this novel, lol.

30 percent in, and it feels pretty clean to me, with only a few changes on many of the pages. I think that's because I did some clean up every time I went through it on the computer. But it could be that I just haven't dug in on these paper edits yet. There's a reason I used to do three paper-edit passes, and one of those reasons is that the first pass, I was usually too involved with what I hadn't read in this format before. So I think I'll need two passes at least, just in case.

I really wish I could just take some vacation time or go somewhere to work away from home for a few days. Between my niece visiting for three days, work actually needing me beyond 8 hours a couple days this week, and my mom catching a nasty cold, I feel like I haven't had much time to myself.

 

[yodelingbee]

I'm finally doing revisions for my contemporary fantasy project. Let's see how smoothly it'll go.

 

[Maryn]

Ooh, I passed 36K just now. The boys built raised gardens out of wood pallets, so the foster mother is able to tend to her flowers and herbs. The one who's going to be trouble has started to pull away from the MC, who's a confirmed nerd, and pretty soon the MC is going to suspect he's using drugs. He'll be right, too.

 

[lilysheaven]

Yay for major progress!!

I finally got my mojo back! I wrote 3.3k words today and I don't completely hate it

 

[Maryn]

Whoa, 3.3K? Excellent!

 

[yodelingbee]

Yay for major progress!!

I finally got my mojo back! I wrote 3.3k words today and I don't completely hate it

Woohoo team 3k+!
I tend to write more during revisions. I completely overhauled two chapters so instead of 1.6k words before the inciting incident happened it's now 4k+. This is enough for me to properly introduce my MC'a [future] love interest and second major character.

 

[Maryn]

Dragged another thousand words out of myself somehow. So far my MC is still in high school, and we're at the half-way point, more or less. I have a lot less detail imagined for the second half.

Maryn, looking silly in her thinking cap

 

[Unimportant]

They're in 1996, in a so-far-unnamed city in the upper Midwest. (Think Indianapolis, Erie, Rochester, like that.) I'd like them to make or build something useful or beneficial for the foster household where time-traveler boy lives, since they've taken his friend under their wing as well.

Maybe a garden, mostly from seeds? Raised planters made from free wood pallets? It might let the foster mom garden. It's the only decent idea I've had.

Free wood pallets can also be used to make bird feeders, squirrel feeders, picnic tables/adorondaik (sp?) chairs, and other garden stuff, as well as simple bookshelves. A lot of folks in that period (well, me, anyhow) would have a book or two around the house about how to craft things like that.

If they are near a river/beach/place where they can collect large rocks, they could also build a flower garden with a rock wall, or a herb knot garden with inlaid stone paths.

 

[frimble3]

Free wood pallets can also be used to make bird feeders, squirrel feeders, picnic tables/adorondaik (sp?) chairs, and other garden stuff, as well as simple bookshelves. A lot of folks in that period (well, me, anyhow) would have a book or two around the house about how to craft things like that.

If they are near a river/beach/place where they can collect large rocks, they could also build a flower garden with a rock wall, or a herb knot garden with inlaid stone paths.

I think you're meaning 'Adirondack 'chairs? Named for the Adirondack mountains in New York State, and the resorts there. Very distinctive look.
Wooden pallets are a traditional source of free, cheap wood. My dad had those same books.

 

[Unimportant]

I think you're meaning 'Adirondack 'chairs? Named for the Adirondack mountains in New York State, and the resorts there. Very distinctive look.

Yep, that's it. My brain stopped on the spelling and I was too lazy to try and look it up, so I just went with phonetic.

 

[frimble3]

Yep, that's it. My brain stopped on the spelling and I was too lazy to try and look it up, so I just went with phonetic.

And it worked! I knew what you meant at once! ; )

 

[Maryn]

Good morning, everybody. Today might be the day I break forty thousand.

Or not. It's possible I'll clean the kitchen instead.

 

[Sage]

Good luck! Either way

 

[Unimportant]

Good morning, everybody. Today might be the day I break forty thousand.

Or not. It's possible I'll clean the kitchen instead.

Like the taco shell TV advert: "why not both?"

 

[Sage]

Okay, I had a very productive day on Saturday, where I actually went to a cafe and worked, but I haven't worked on SSLS since. I blame political news (it worked in November of 2016 when I started this novel).

But this weekend I shall be productive again. Starting now.

 

[Maryn]

I'm short-term distracted by upcoming travel. I'm having travel nightmares, even. (I am wearing the good walking shoes and my pajama top, no bra. My luggage is checked.) This is a pleasure trip and Mr. Maryn is a good planner, so why am I stressing so much? Last I heard, they didn't even arrest women who are not well-dressed in a compact mix-and-match wardrobe. Not even braless ones in their pajama tops.

My hope is that on our return--weeks away, since obviously we haven't left yet--I'll settle down and attack the novel with renewed purpose.

 

[lilysheaven]

I've been writing, I just haven't been happy with what I've written. But when I sat down to try and figure out what's going wrong I realized two things:

1. I'm in a plot-heavy part of the book and after deciding to make it character-driven instead it just feels wrong but that doesn't mean it is.
2. I inserted a flashback that had no business being there. I removed it and now I feel much better lol

Anyway, I'm trying to focus more on a character-driven focus for the next scene and am hoping it works out...

Either way, because I took such a long break I've forgotten a lot of important smaller details (like when exactly my MC and his bestie had a falling out and are no longer talking) which means editing is going to be a bigger pain than I'd have liked.

I also made significant changes in MMC's POV that WILL affect FMC's POV. I realized, too late, that my LGBTQ+ couple can't be together in FMC's timeline and can only get together during MMC's timeline, so I need to remove their scenes from FMC's... why do i do this to myself?

Either way! I'm making progress I'm just not sure if it's good progress.

 

[Sage]

Don't be hard on yourself about having to fix things in your revision. You're rewriting the book from scratch, so there was bound to be some things that were going to need fixing. Even the most meticulous planners have to fix things after they're done drafting.

 

[Maryn]

Progress is good, even when it comes slowly and is difficult.

I usually make a sloppy, typo-ridden document about facts I have established, including dates as appropriate, so I spend less time looking up things like when my characters argued or where the stolen money is just now.