September Noveling - Page 2

[Sagesgirl]

I totally forgot about this thread! I am horrible!

I finished the story I was writing for class, and it is a total game-changer. Seriously. To begin with, she had to try to convince the hero to join her organization, but now he wants to.

A little bit (not the very beginning, but close):

"It means you are a Magus." At his sharp look, I smiled. "Well, you have the M86a gene variant, anyway. With proper training, you could be a Magus."

"Proper training."

"An apprenticeship program. After which you could work with the OMI or go back to the Army."

"And work with them like you did."

I caught his gaze, held it. Smiled again, very, very faintly. "With one important difference. They won't be able to call you back."

If he hadn't remembered me, it would not have worked. But I'd lucked out. He hadn't been in the same company as my brother, but he had been in the same unit. He knew what I had accomplished in my six weeks in Baghdad earlier that year. More importantly, he knew what had happened when I left. I watched comprehension fill his face, and then he smiled. "Sign me up."

It makes much more sense this way. So I don't regret the time taken away from my novel! I am honestly antsy about presenting it to the entire class, though, as we've at least one vet in the class, and I don't want to step on any toes.

ETA: Oh! I also gained a secondary character for the novel, from the story. I don't know how I'll work him in yet, but he'll be there.

[Aufilia]

Originally Posted by allgirls

Ok that's how I do dialogue because...that's the only way I can get through it. I too hate it. I'm a describer not a dialoguer

Ditto! I always know exactly what a conversation is supposed to accomplish and what needs to be said, it's the getting the words to flow like a real conversation that kills me.

Sage -- Cool! I'm glad your class is so productive for you. And very nice to have gained a useful character! Sometimes an extra person can make all the difference.


I finished chapter 27, booted the former 2nd half of 27 into chapter 28, and now I'm working on chapter 29, a chapter where Dire Stuff Happens. Only 2 more after this! I just passed 88k words according to my Excel spreadsheet.

[MommyHawk]

I got to sit on my keester today for 6 hours while no one came by my booth at a green & natural living expo...so I got to write! so sad, but so great at the same time

I'm adding in dialouge as my quick flashbacks in chapters 1 and 2...and they are adding so much color! I can't wait to get it all typed up and see how it reads. I think after this I should be able to move onto fixing up chapter 3...and then on to the rest...

editing is so slow...but making your novel even better?...very worth it!

[MommyHawk]

Originally Posted by Aufilia

Ditto! I always know exactly what a conversation is supposed to accomplish and what needs to be said, it's the getting the words to flow like a real conversation that kills me.

Sage -- Cool! I'm glad your class is so productive for you. And very nice to have gained a useful character! Sometimes an extra person can make all the difference.


I finished chapter 27, booted the former 2nd half of 27 into chapter 28, and now I'm working on chapter 29, a chapter where Dire Stuff Happens. Only 2 more after this! I just passed 88k words according to my Excel spreadsheet.

Can I say ME THREE!

I hate conversation, rather paint a picture...but it does add flavor and character building...plus can say something very quickly without all the time spent in a character's head...so I'm learning

congrats on the 88k!!! That's quite an accomplishment!

[Aufilia]

90090 according to my spreadsheet, and I'm working in chapter 30. I am crossing my fingers that I'm IMPROVING things; the main feedback I got about my ending from my writing group was that it was too short and my protag didn't take an active enough roll.

AND DID I MENTION I went back and wrote the missing parts of my Dread Chapter 7, the one that has been befuddling me for like 6 weeks??? It's still not great but I think I at least got the conversation I needed to happen in there ok. I am going to have to go back again to smooth and revise, but at least it's drafted.

I should dedicate chapter 7 and all my progress near the ending to the ladies in my October Due Date Group who are already birthing babies, and who has instilled in me a very acute sense of OMGPANIC!!!!! about how little time I have left to finish anything before kid#2 arrives.

[allgirls]

I'm at 42, 118 right now and I think I'll max out at 60,000...but it's really coming along. At this rate I'll be on the second draft in two months!

[MommyHawk]

Originally Posted by Aufilia

I should dedicate chapter 7 and all my progress near the ending to the ladies in my October Due Date Group who are already birthing babies, and who has instilled in me a very acute sense of OMGPANIC!!!!! about how little time I have left to finish anything before kid#2 arrives.

I wish you the best of luck in getting it finished before baby!

[MommyHawk]

here's a very tiny bit of chapter one. my MC's wish on a star years ago was a horrible lesson in that she got what she wished for...only not how she thought she'd get it...and here she's thinking back on that night...

Raising my eyes skyward, I know I won’t see any stars, but I look anyway. Illuminated by Baltimore’s city lights, the sky looks more rust orange than a midnight blue. And true to form, not a star shines through. Which is a gracious gift. Stars only remind me of the time I wished for something so big, so out of this world, that I got it.

Only, there's a disclaimer written under the rules about wishing on stars that not many people are aware of:

Be careful what you wish, as it might not come in the form you wish.



just wanting to share a bit...

[allgirls]

I have imagined the death of my male main character so realistically I swear I wrote it already. But I haven't and I can't bring myself to do it. Is it really that hard to write the death of a character? I'm very reluctant to do it somehow..how silly to be that attached.

[Aufilia]

allgirls -- If you can kill a major character, more power to ya! It's hard to be so awful to someone (even a fake someone) you've invested so much time and energy into making real.

Originally Posted by MommyHawk

Stars only remind me of the time I wished for something so big, so out of this world, that I got it.

That's a lovely, interesting line. I think it says a lot about your character and her past.

Me, I'm working on chapter 30 out of 31. I've been through the whole thing making line-level revisions but my protag is really being too passive, considering that this is the start of the climax.... he needs to DO something more but I'm stumped as to how to make it happen. So I guess I'll sleep on it. He does kill the villian in chapter 31 but still.... in THIS chapter he mostly just stands around.

An excerpt sounds kinda fun, so here's one from early in the chapter....

Despite the fresh clothing and despite my hands being freed, I still expected to be returned to the water room. The thought of using magic to make an escape crossed my mind. I could feel the lambent magic welling up inside me, and it would be easy, so easy, to cast a spell and slip away unseen. I’d bring suspicion down on myself, likely ruining my claims of innocence, and maybe even bring Edrienne down with me, but I would never have to face the water room again. The spell formed itself inside my head almost without conscious effort, and only the thought of betraying Edrienne made me hesitate in loosing it.

Then my guards turned and all at once we came to a door and exited the building. Astonished, I released the spell and gawked around me as if I’d never seen a sky as beautiful as the looming gray winter gloom we’d emerged into. It was snowing lightly and chill enough outside that I could see my breath. Tiny pellets stuck to the black uniforms of the guards ahead of me like visible grains of dust.

[allgirls]

Great writing samples ladies...I'm very impressed.

I posted one on my blog again yesterday. Mine is an epic love story so you can expect mush and romance. Here is a sample.

"As they casually picked up their drinks with their hands, her right, his left, he saw them. His eyes narrowed. The twin purple-blue roses, bright and vivid on her paler skin, his deep and dark though more faded than hers, were disconnected now, but, if the couple held hands, they would join at the stem perfectly. The roses were not only identical, they were made for each other. He suddenly understood everything. He said nothing."

I'm moving along. added a few more chapters today. I'm at 44, 059 today with more to come tonight.

I'm feeling very pleased with myself. I found this website and it's been helpful. I did the spreadsheet and now I'm filling in some gaps with scenes and chapters to support the main story. It's great!!!

[allgirls]

I'm at 46, 043 today...right on target! It's going super super well since I started using the spread sheet and set up my scenes left to be written!

I'm excited!

[Aufilia]

I am in love with my outline spreadsheet, too. I know they don't work for some but I felt I couldn't have done it without my outline.

Nice, interesting excerpt!

I'm still working on Chapter 30, but I'm hoping I can get it finished up and move on to 31 tonight. I gave my protag some more stuff to speak up about and then another action paragraph or two toward the end... so we'll see how that plays out....

[JennyClaire]

Erin, thanks for the links!

I can't believe how much progress you've all made in the months since I've visited MDC!!! Wow! Congratulations!!!!!!!!

I long to take a writing class and join some sort of critiquing group. I need to make that my next priority. I have just finished putting my novel on the computer from my notebooks. I can finally weight her, and she's a little underweight for mainstream fiction at 64,704.

While looking for classes/groups, I will be printing, re-reading, and evaluating the draft for structural problems, inconsistencies, holes, and other problems. I made the mistake while working on draft two of spending more effort on character development, grammar, and dialogue than overall plot and structure, which may turn out to have been a waste of time if these elements need slashing. What a learning process!!!! Like some of you, I'd no idea this would be so time consuming when I began --- almost seven months ago!!!!!

I am not wordy, and my favorite part of noveling is dialogue. When I need to write a descriptive scene, I stumble and stagger.

[allgirls]

I'm at 50,100...I wrote a ton today and it's all really good...seriously...I am really good at the romantic descriptive stuff...I love what I've written...

ok...enough about me...how are you all doing?

[allgirls]

For the novelists..check out my blog. I was inspired to write about writing tonight...I thought you guys would "get" it.

Ps..in siggy

[JennyClaire]

Way to go, Breeze --- that is some major progress!

[allgirls]

52, 745...and I take two days off..my hubby is home but I'm doing crazy amounts of writing. I went for a walk, came back and wrote nearly 2000 words...a wonderful chapter that I was stuck on.

My next excerpt for the blog is posted! see siggy.

I'm so loving this process...I'm hoping my first draft is finished in a month. My inlaws are visiting come Oct. 26 and if I can have it finished by then I can send it to my first readers...any volunteers?

Then once everybody has wrecked it I'll start editing it. That's going to be the tough part. You become so attached to your work.

Allgirls

[Aufilia]

Jenny -- Do you tend to add words when you revise? My first draft was only 56k but I tend to underwrite -- not the dialogue, though I hate writing it, but I underwrite the description. It's 90k now so I've added a ton (some new scenes, but also just fleshing out the things I only sketched the first time through).

Allgirls -- Wow, you're on a roll! That's a lot of new words. How far through the story do you think you are? And a lovely blog entry, too. In a month I'll have a newborn on my hands so I'm probably going to be no good as a reader, alas. Sorry!


I finished chapter 30 and read over chapter 31, where I am, of course, stuck. All the most important threads are concluded in the version I have, but it's awkward and feels a bit forced. I think I might go back and smooth out the other bits that were added new in this draft and just let the ending percolate a bit. I need to finish the synopsis, too.

And I need to dig up a few more agents to send it to. I have a shortlist but I should make a LONGER list. A friend who sold a novel last year advised me to consider targeting an editor directly, too, as that's how he sold his--editor first, then agent. But I'm having trouble figuring out how to figure out which editors would be interested in my subgenre (sword and sorcery). S&S is soooo not 'in' right now. There are only 2 big publishers that read unagented SF/F manuscripts but I'm still slightly stumped.

[allgirls]

Originally Posted by Aufilia

Allgirls -- Wow, you're on a roll! That's a lot of new words. How far through the story do you think you are? And a lovely blog entry, too. In a month I'll have a newborn on my hands so I'm probably going to be no good as a reader, alas. Sorry!

I'm pretty well into the story...I wrote the ending a while ago...I've got 3 or 4 chapters to add at the beginning..it starts a bit slow so I've added some scenes to build on the relationship of the couple

And I have some final chapters to change to match some changes I made in the initial story that weren't working...I didn't write in order...

First draft is going to be around 65000 I think but the second draft will add more...I think it's going to need a lot more dialogue and fleshing out at that point.

I would love to be around 75,000 to 80,000 for the final which I'm told is a good size for a first book.

I've lined up three first readers...Steven King says five....I wish I could be a Steven King first reader...lol.

Two days off now..hubby is home...we have a ton of things to get done and I feel happy with what I've accomplished. So time to start dreaming and thinking and planning the next chapters...I love when I see pretty bits of scenery to incorporate. I write little phrases and ideas and incorporate them. I thought of a funny thing that happened to a friend and I while we were visiting one of the cities where my book is set and I'm going to write it into a scene between my main characters.

Loving the process