Saturday 31 August 2019

I've Survived August- Now for September...

It's the last day of the month and as of 4.30 am (BST) this morning, my submission to the RNA's New Writers' Scheme went in.

Now I just have to wait for the eventual email telling me the reader's report is ready. I don't know who the published writer reading it will be, nor whether they're male or female. But whoever gets to read it- thank you.

The part I hadn't expected was how much time checking through the manuscript takes.

When I start the next draft I will be tougher on myself. I know I can do it now, it's about me being better prepared and organised during those busy everyday life events. Even 300-500 words a time soon builds up. I know I still have a lot to work to do in the next draft...

This weekend I relax, catch-up with all those things I didn't have time for- Sanditon on catch-up is first on my list...

Next Saturday (7th September) I'll be attending a half day workshop (I've been involved in organising it) at Nottingham Writers' Club.

Our guest is friend and blogger Patsy Collins The Travelling Writer, with her Effective Characterisation and Dialogue workshop from 1-5 pm.

Patsy Collins is coming to
    Nottingham...
There are still places available, so if you, or anyone you know are within reach of Nottingham and would like to attend, do please pass on the link.

Nottingham's Tram network links the railway station to a nearby tram stop less than 5 minutes walk away from our venue; plus the Victoria bus station and bus routes into the city centre are 5-10 minutes walk...


Then on the 14th I'll be at my desk tuning in to #SelfPubCon2019 it's 24 sessions online over 24 hours. (I won't be sat at my desk for 24 hours though...)

You need to register via ALLi (The Alliance of Independent Authors) you'll find them on Facebook, Twitter and their website. The three-day pass is free- just register with name and email.

I've tuned in to the past two: spring this year and fall of 2018. Both times I've learnt something I could put into action...


Do you have any writing related plans for September?



Image provided by Patsy Collins.

Sunday 25 August 2019

Almost There...

One week to go to my final deadline.

Today (Sunday) I've done about seven hours at the keyboard- obviously I did get up to make coffee and eat an occasional snack- okay there was a few pieces of dark chocolate involved. The result was the completion of Chapter 23.

My antagonist gets punched in the nose by my hero- with justifiable cause...

I'm at the stage of tying the various strands together in these last chapters.

I know some of the strands are still vague in the first half (I'll have to sort those out in the next draft) and they'll definitely need a lot of attention. I might have to try working backwards...

The downside of getting my submission in so close to the deadline for the RNA's New Writers' Scheme is I'll have a longer wait for the reader's comments to come back, but it gives me time to develop a couple of future stories.

#writing-romance

My first draft had 17 chapters; by the time the second draft is finished it will be at least 25 chapters and approximately 50,000 words.

 Normal blogging about a variety of subjects, annual book related events and topics will resume as soon as I have my partial submitted- and I decompress.

Almost there...



image: pixabay.com








Saturday 17 August 2019

Cake and Lots of Words...

Two weeks to go and lots still to do.

I've had a couple of days break, rewarding myself for all the words I've achieved by attending the Nottingham RNA Chapter meeting. I was late arriving due to public transport hold-ups and the very heavy rain, but the food was worth waiting for...

Plus I need to sort the next scene out in my brain as there's new snippets as well as the part from the first draft for this upcoming scene.

My week three word was peril...

My hard work
reward...
The scene of peril was written- my heroine was lured to the big house and- sorry you'll have to wait for the book to come out to discover the rest.

Of course she survived, but for a moment there it did actually make me shiver, which should be a good sign, but maybe that's because I could see it in my mind.

I need that effect on the reader too.

This week I'll be trying to put in even more writing time as other demands on my time are put on hold or scaled back.

By next weekend I'll know whether I will have the draft complete or almost completed, so I can get the submission formatted ready for sending in.

I do have an old synopsis for this novel saved so that will need updating but it means some time will be saved.

My word for week two is determination- mine and my hero's...


Sunday 11 August 2019

Three Weeks to Go: Progress Report...

Thursday my second draft went over the 40,000 word mark.

(Admittedly at the start of the year I already had a handful of the early chapters typed up.)

3 weeks to go...
I've still got chapters to go of course, but I have now picked back up the latter chapters of the first draft after writing the new ones in. A few scenes have moved position too and I feel they're now in the right place.

I can see where I'm heading. The fact that the first half of the draft is still missing scenes is another thing entirely...

(The last time I reached the 40,000 words stage was with the first novel I tried writing- in the last century!)

Although I don't use Scrivener to it's full potential (at the moment) it has definitely helped my progress. With Word, I was always conscious of how little I seemed to be producing, but now I get to the end of the chapter and I'm surprised by the word count.

(Changing the font really does help with the writing.)

I print out each chapter as it's finished and then slip them into clear plastic sleeves, they're then held together with a couple of green treasury tags. As the stack has built up it's made the novel feel more real.

My original assumption was that this story would end up around 50,000 words, but that may have been an under estimate. By the time it is finally completed- some time next year- I'm hoping 60,000 words may be nearer.

This week, the big peril scene in Chapter 19...






image from pixabay.com