Deadlines are Hard Work...

The last day of August is here. For me that's the deadline for submitting my entry to the RNA's New Writers' Scheme.

Last year I put in my submission in at 4.30 am on the last day. Well I'm pleased to say this year it was only eight minutes into the last day when I clicked save and finalise.

I've submitted a partial this year; five chapters and the synopsis. 

I decided not to edit and submit the first half of chapter six. That turned out to be sensible with the deadline looming.

Giving myself the the whole of August to edit the chapters was important- I didn't do that last year.  It's given me a better idea of how much time I need in future...

2020's manuscript has a contemporary, rather than a historical setting. Not a sub-genre I've tried before.

As to the synopsis... I'm not good with them. Suspect I'd have needed the whole of August to edit it and still wouldn't have been right. The only positive from writing it out, I can see what might be better to cut, and potential plot holes.

There's outstanding research to do before I move on to the next chapters, so I'll get on with that meanwhile.

My family will be glad to get meals without chips. As the end of the month deadline approaches they get fed up of take-away's. Been no time for baking either...

Time in the garden has been helpful too. Colour and textures reminded me to be aware of the senses. 

So much has changed while I've been working on the manuscript. The berries on the Hawthorn have gone from orange to red...

Wonder what progress will be made by next spring when the blossom returns.

Filler Words... What's Yours?

Ask any group of writers what their filler words are and 'just' is certain to appear. They're those words we write without thinking and don't help the clarity.

Those pesky filler
words...

I'm guilty of using filler words, but I'm picking them up better than last year. Now, even stopping mid-sentence and asking myself, do I need to use that word? The answer, no.

There will be others that need removing in the editing process, but if I can reduce known repeat offenders along the way, it saves time later...

We use many of the filler words in everyday conversation, and according to an expert, in this 2017 article from the Independent newspaper online, those words have a purpose- politeness and processing.  (That explains my use of 'well' in conversations...) :D

Perhaps that also fools our brain into giving filler words a pass card when we're writing drafts?

My top three: so, well, and just. I'm working on negating very.

Which filler words do you have to edit out?



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Disappointment & Determination...

It surprised me to receive an email on Friday telling me the reader's report from the New Writers' Scheme was ready to access. I hadn't expected it so soon.

I considered ignoring it until later in the day, once I was home from meeting up with the Nottingham RNA Chapter, but I gave in and had a quick look through.

It was worse than I'd expected.

Wine...

I went out as planned.

Sharing my angst with the chapter members when we met up, I received sympathetic advice and helpful suggestions. Lunch and a glass of wine later, I had a more positive frame of mind.

Following one of the helpful suggestions I received, to print it out and go through the report with different colour highlighters, I could see the positives not just the negatives.

Many of the major points raised in the report I'd known about, but hadn't left enough time to fix before the August deadline- a lesson in time-management for next year's submission.

And the synopsis, let’s not go there...

There were a handful of positives, which gives me hope that with hard work I can improve the manuscript. But it will take time and thought.

Having learnt from this year's submission and report, I will apply that to another first draft I have waiting.

No, I'm not giving up on this story. I knew there was still plenty of work to do on it, along with the additional research points that popped up as I'd worked on the draft. But for now I need a short break away from it.

Getting it right is never easy...






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