Another successful NaNoWriMo!

Well, I won NaNoWriMo this year. I wrote 11,000 words on the last day. What a nightmare the whole month was. Just horrible. I have been writing freelance articles and I thought I would be able to bide my time between the novel and freelance work but I couldn't. I ended up getting burned out very quickly. The freelance is still pretty rough. I have a goal every week of 20 articles I would like to get done but I have yet to meet it. Take today, for example. It is Saturday. You would think I would have all of the time in the world to write. But no. I wrote one article today and started another one. One. That is all. I wrote seven on Thursday and four yesterday. Let's hope tomorrow goes better.

I think that NaNoWriMo was hard this year because I already had the novel written in my head. It didn't exactly turn out the way I wanted, probably because I ended up writing the ending 15,000 words ahead of time. I had to go back and fix it. It was really hard. Here is the medallion I won:

NaNoWriMo starts today!

In what will surely be a testament to my organizational skills, I am once again participating in NaNoWriMo as well as working toward my goal of writing 50 extra freelance articles a week and working a full time job. I must write faster! Faster!

Writing like crazy

I haven't written in a while because, surprise! I have been writing like crazy. I am writing freelance articles for an online site and it consumed my summer. The gig pays weekly and I just really need the money. At its worst it is a frustrating, maddening experience, but at its best it is nice to be able to get paid for something that I am good at, or think I am good at.

I missed my deadline for sending out my book by the end of summer, but I have been working on getting it together. According to all sources, I need a query letter and a synopsis of my novel to send out and I have begun work on these. My new goal is to have it sent out by the end of the year.

I am also going to do NaNoWriMo next month. I wrote a book in my head while running last summer and I would like to get it down on paper. It is a harmless little romance novel and why not?

I have also gotten interested in writing for television. I know that I mentioned my sitcom script that I sent out for a contest. I didn't win, but I would like to pursue TV writing. I am currently reading three books on the subject: How to Write for Television by Madeline DiMaggio, The TV Writer's Workbook by Ellen Sandler and Write to TV by Martie Cook. Of course I will keep you posted.

I used to despair that I never did any writing in my off time and now all I do is write. I have come to the conclusion that writing is not my problem, it is having confidence in the finished product that is troubling. I guess the constant feedback on my freelance job is helpful in that I find out how I can do better and get a "hide on me like an alligator" as my dad used to say, and not take criticism personally. All I can say is that it is a process, that is for sure.

Play

I just wrote a 15-page stage play (don't ask). It sucks I am sure, but it is gratifying to be able to pound out the pulp fiction.

Editing chapters

I finished chapter four and am working on chapter five. Like I said, I would like to finish by the end of the summer. I need a refresher from the self-editing book. I will have to make sure it is with me as I edit.

Sitcom screenplay

I finished my screenplay on the 7th and today I revised and sent it in. I have never entered a contest before and I am pretty excited. They are picking the winner at the end of September.

I have also been freelance writing 400 word articles for a website. I just received payment for them and that was pretty great. I have to travel for work this week, but when I get back, I am going to write more. It is a great, easy way to make money.

I also received an e-mail on writing informative books and was invited to send my resume in. Again, I don't have time at the moment because I have had to travel for work this past week and again next week. The pay is between $1,200 and $1,600 and the word count is 65,000 words. I will have to see on that one.

Besides the freelance writing, I am going to get to my book. My mom was just telling met that three people from my area just had romance novels published, so books are still being published. I would love to be able to send out my book by the end of the summer. Now there is a constant refrain!

Screenplay news

I finished a screenplay I was working on for a contest. I am very happy! I was worried I wouldn't get finished in time, but I did. I don't really have more to say. I am a little wiped out. Except for: YIPPPEEE!

Script frenzy winner!

What a long month this has been! It took me forever to finish this script and I am wildly unhappy with how it came out. When I started the month, I was trying to follow Sid Field's Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting. But it was such slow going, that I was unable to. Writing a script is a lot harder than writing a novel. But I won! And it is over.


WOO HOO!

Script frenzy

It is Day 10 of Script Frenzy and I have 3.3 pages of script written. It seems my Script Frenzy is moving at the same speed my NaNoWriMo did. I am trapped in a pit of despair, unable to move forward and miserable because of it. I have entertained every distraction until I am no longer unable to distract myself because I can't stand it!

So enough! I have re-calculated my pages and I need 4.6 pages from here on out to reach 100 by 4/30. And so I will write my pages and stop being such a baby about it.

***Update***
That wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. I pounded out the 4.6 pages fairly quickly and worked ahead a little bit so I only have 3.5 to do tomorrow. I am not sure why I make writing into this horrible thing. I guess because I have no confidence in myself. I am not sure how I can gain confidence. I guess I will muddle through.

Chapter 2 and a new challenge

I started editing Chapter 2 tonight. I am infinitely inspired by The Writer's Almanac podcasts, which my husband downloads for us to listen to. I recommend it wholeheartedly. I am going to up my editing schedule to get the book done. It is hard work! I have come to a conclusion about myself which I may or may not have mentioned previously. I have realized that my problem isn't about writing everyday. It is not about not being able to find inspiration. It is about wanting to avoid the hard work of writing and editing. Are my edits good enough? How the hell should I know? I guess I will find out!

I have also signed up for another writing challenge, Script Frenzy, where participants write a 100-page script in 30 days. This is scheduled for April.



I am excited because the rules say you can work on a script that has already been started or you can start something new. Either one works for me because I already have a script started and I want to turn my latest NaNoWriMo novel into a script. It is nice to have a choice! I have a week and a half to decide what to do.

Progress report

I wanted to check in with a progress report on the edits to my first chapter. In my previous post, I said that my goal was to finish editing/rewriting the first chapter of my book by last Sunday; I gave myself the weekend. Of course I didn't make my goal, however, I did get some of it finished before running into a brick wall.

I knew I wouldn't finish. It is my nature to do things this way: make a goal and not meet it. For me, the very act of making a goal and at least attempting it is important because it gets me moving. In this instance, after I ran into the wall, I spent the entire following week working on how I was going to resolve it. In the book, Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, the first chapter is titled "Show and Tell." Basically the point is to show your story through dialogue not narrative summary. The one thing I don't like about my book is it's breathless narrative, like it's being related in short bursts over the phone. My goal in the rewrite was to slow down the novel so you get to know the people, especially the main character; she could be you.

The gist of all of this typing is that I figured it out and can proceed. More progress when I make it.

On Edit:
I have finished the first chapter. I guess that is all it took: a week of anguish over edits. I may not survive the rest of this book.

Jumping in

I have allowed myself to become distracted these past weeks, so I have made a goal for this weekend: rewrite the first chapter. I bought a really great book, Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King, and it has been very useful. I am coming to realize that there is a formula to writing books.

I will keep you updated on my progress and let you know when I reach my goal.

My novel in index card form

Here it is, my novel distilled onto 4x6 index cards.



That was the easy part. Next comes the hard part. Cutting out the superfluous and work on the pacing. My writing style for this novel was breathless enthusiasm, while entertaining in small doses, does not a novel make.

Of course I will post updates.

Progress and stuff

I wanted to check in. I have been working diligently and am finally finished transposing my story onto note cards. The next step is to lay out the cards in the order they appear in the book to decide what needs to stay and what needs to go.

So this is my next step.

Full-speed editing

One of my New Year's resolutions was to be more serious about my writing, to the point where I schedule it. So far (it is only Jan. 7, I know), I have been keeping my promise. I work on my book on days that the Red Wings aren't playing. On those days, I do something crafty. On the weekend, I split, depending on what is going on.

So the editing has been going well. I am plotting each scene on an index card pursuant to the last post I made and #3 in the list in my post on 12/7. I have also realized a couple of truths about myself, specifically, that it isn't necessary for me to read a book in its entirety. If I skim pertinent chapters and make notes, then it is just as good.

Another truth: I know next to nothing about story structure and it is sad. I am educating myself with a great book titled, The Portable MFA in Creative Writing. I guess I should have majored in Creative Writing in college. Maybe I would have known earlier what I was doing.

One more truth: I am further ahead than I think. I don't know a lot of writers. I know a lot of wannabes and I always compare myself to them when they haven't written anything. The fact of the matter is I have written three books, a play, and several poems. I have to work on the next step (which is what I am doing now) and shaping the work into something publishable. I have to stop being so hard on myself.

That is it for today. More truth as I uncover it!