Reading Aloud

I think a writer has to really love what she's working on in order to keep going. That might sound a bit ego-centric, but if you don't like the story - and you're the one creating it - who will?

The moment I know I love what I'm writing is when I start to read it out loud. Sometimes it happens at the very, very start and this euphoria can keep me going for the first 10,000 words. But mostly, it's later, when I look back on it, I'll realize that I like - or maybe even love - what I've done. I'll want to hear the cadence and rhythm of the words that make up my story. I will want to spend some of my precious writing time reading favorite parts out loud, just enjoying what I've created and how it sounds.

The other good thing about reading aloud is that it's a super way to edit. As you read, the parts that don't flow, that seem to "stick" will be very apparent.

Yay!

I see that my last post was Ugh. Now it's Yay. What a difference a month can make. And why don't I remember this when I'm in the midst of the Ugh?

I spent a lot of time in February trying to edit an area I felt was going off in a direction I didn't like. The only thing those days of editing did for me was to stop the flow of creativity. Because once I gave up on the editing and plunged back into the narrative, I was on my way again.

I know that editing as you write works for some people, but I must remember that it does not work for me. I have to stay in the story and keep going forward (regardless of the junk littering up my manuscript - it will get cut later) to finish the project.

I'm actually in sight of the end. I think I have about 30 more pages. I don't have the end worked out, but I know that when I get there, it will work out.

Stay tuned!

Ugh

I'm not saying ugh just because it's Monday because I actually like Mondays. It's an UGH day because I'm in what I think is about the last quarter of this book, and I'm having a lot of trouble. I spent way too much time this morning trying to make it work and it really didn't work. So now - after 482 words - (which is not nearly enough if I want to get a first draft done by the end of February...) I'm stopping. Fortunately, it's not raining, so I'm going to get some fresh air and walk down the hill to the post office.

I am hoping that my brain will continue to work while I walk and when I return, I'll have figured out some things about this manuscript.

Stay tuned.

Organization

Oops.

I made a big mistake this morning. I felt like some organization of the manuscript was needed. So I printed out (a first and usually a very exciting time to actually see the story on paper) about 70 pages starting at page 94. Then I spent most of the morning and all the way until 1:30 this afternoon trying to set up one of the secondary characters. The result is that I accomplished it but I don't feel particularly good about it. Even though I advanced the word count (42481) I didn't move the story ahead. And that's really - for me - the measure of a successful day. Because then you have more of a place to start the next time.

I think I'm avoiding some part of the plot. So that's the  place I need to start Monday morning. See you then.

Distractions

One of the most important things when writing is staying in the story. But sometimes there are distractions. These come in all shapes and sizes. For me it was the holidays, company and some travel. I finally tossed in the towel in mid-December knowing I wanted to make butter cookies more than I wanted to write.

In late January, I jumped back in, finally meeting my New Year's goal of 40,000 words last Friday. The 40,000 words was mostly psychological as I'm no longer worried about the number of words I have to write as I feel pretty confident that the story will take at least another 20,000 words to tell.

30,000 words

Today was one of the best days in awhile. I've been avoiding writing about the grandmother in my story (mostly because I don't know enough about the grandmother to start...), but prior to sitting down today, I had a great image in my head of the grandmother in the hospital bed unable to eat.  How would my main character and heroine, T, cope with this? How could this scene show what she was all about? So I jumped into the interchange, and before I knew it (and despite numerous interruptions which didn't seem to matter as the scene flowed delightfully wonderfully...) I had over 1,000 words.

Now I've crossed into the 30,000 range. And I will try to remember this: if you're stuck, one nearly sure-fire remedy is to write through it. Just write what you think you know and the rest will come. Your characters will start talking to you and show you the way.

Yippee!

The rain has stopped, and the mist is wisping through the distant mountains. I'm off for my walk to celebrate.

Whales and Goals

I took some time off, but now I'm back. Some of it I can blame on the humpbacks in the Narrows. They're never here at this time of the year. So who could resist watching them bubblenetting, their huge tails rising up from the water?

But back to goals. I've got some new ones, and I feel great about them.

Goal # 1 - 40,000 words by January 1, 2011
Goal # 2 - 60,000 words by April 2011
Goal # 3 - First draft by May 2011

I think they're do-able, and I feel good knowing that. I just have to keep my eye on the story and put in my time, right here, at the computer. Every morning, even weekends (?). The calendar idea really helps - putting down in each day box how many words I wrote, and how many I have total.

Here are the results for today: 773 words; 29,812 total. Yay! That means I have about six weeks to write the necessary 10,000 words for Goal # 1.

I think I'll go have a cookie to celebrate.