Thursday 25 April 2013

Fortunately I Can Sit Down to Write...

I've been suffering since last week.
Apple Tree in Spring

I woke up last Saturday morning with a pain in my left foot- looked like my instep was bruised as it was red and I could only hobble on that leg. :(

So I was a pitiful sight getting round the garden with my secateurs trying to help with the 'spring' (ha ha) tidy up- that should have been completed a month ago!

I've just about stopped hobbling now and can flex my foot without discomfort. But I could have done without the busy week as it limited my writing time, and meant I've not given my foot much rest..

But I've made up for it, today I added 897 words to yesterday's 482. The novella is about to pick up speed as I head toward the last three or four chapters. I'm on chapter 12 currently.

The break from writing over Easter did help me get my thoughts in line, and the content of a couple of chapters have changed order from my original outline.

I have decided that working on the skeleton of the first draft does seem to work for me.

Scene order and content, along with dialogue has been my framework, with any detail where I knew what I needed to know already, written in as I've gone along.

I've got some questions noted too- like yesterday, my heroine Sarah, was weeding the vegetable patch when the baddie turns up.
We have lots of tools for gardening nowadays, but what did they use in the early 1800's- and could it have been used as a defensive weapon if needed? I thought holding a nearby spade in front of her might work, but were they heavy, easy to lift?

Fortunately I have a few reference books which might have details, otherwise I'll be Googling...

Draft 2 is going to be a lot harder work as quite a few of the chapters lack description, and I have one scene that I marked in place on the manuscript, but haven't written yet- as the description elements in the scene need to be right.

It's very true about only ever needing about 10% of your research in the book, but you still need to understand the other 90%...

Draft 3 will be the checking for inconsistencies, plot holes, corrections; then Draft 4 will be editing.

Once I'm at that stage I have a couple of readers to give me feedback- if I've missed anything, or something isn't understood, they'll tell me.

Meantime I have a few competition entries for the writers' club to get on with...


Image courtesy of Vlado and www.freedigitalphotos.net


5 comments:

Patsy said...

If she could use the tool for working in the garden she shouldn't have any trouble lifting it to defend herself.

Rosemary Gemmell said...

Hope your foot is better, Carol, and glad you're getting on with the writing. I like the sound of the heroine having to defend herself!

Carolb said...

Patsy, she starts out with a little hand fork (if they had them in that time) and then gets hold of the spade from behind her back that's leant against the tool store/shed- she's backed away from the baddie.

So if it's unwieldy it might be difficult to bring it round and lift it at the same time...

Slowly improving, Rosemary, thanks.

My heroine is sensible enough to be afraid, but she's not the type to wring her hands without trying to defend herself.

Keith Havers said...

Hope you're o.k. for Wednesday, Carol. See you there.

Carolb said...

Fine now, Keith. Thanks. See you Wednesday.