So, I've been working on The Thief Book a lot lately. I'd hoped to have this draft done by the end of April, but outside forces changed things up. But, I made good progress, and by May 1st, I only had five scenes yet to go. No problem, right?
Well, it wouldn't have been a problem if I'd just been able to write those five scenes. The problem? Things just kept getting worse. Not for me. For my characters, I mean. I'm fine. But, in the process of rewriting the book, I'd upped some of the stakes along the way, which meant I had about three more problem strands for my characters that need to be resolved and otherwise dealt with. So, I can't just wrap things up super fast like I'd hoped.
Starting point: 5 scenes to go.
5000+words later: 3.5 scenes to go.
The currently very tired part of me wants to introduce my head to my desk repeatedly.
That's the other thing. My first typed copy of this book weighed in at 70k. Since I'd been imagining this book as more of a 60k story, I was quite surprised. (Well, it turns out I was a bit of an epic failure at estimating the length of my handwritten draft.) But, I'd assumed that during the rewriting of the end, I'd pare down 7-10k.
Guess what else I fail at. Making this thing shorter. It's already at 70.5k again, and I still need to write in 3.5 scenes. Minimum. (Head meet desk. Desk meet head. You two are going to be great friends. +_+) (Sorry about my humor. It's late and I didn't sleep too much last night.)
I guess this is the part when I'm happy I get more than two drafts. So, when I finish this draft up, I get to look forward to yet another round of slash and burn edits. **half-hearted fake cheer**
How is everyone else's writing going? Having fun with your WIPs?
Monday, May 10, 2010
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Happy Mother's Day
My mother is a seriously fabulous human being. She's way smart, but she's too modest to run around telling everyone about it. She's got a knack for getting on with people that I probably didn't inherit. And she's an incredible cook.
I don't tell her this often enough, but I love her. She's a great mother, and I'm lucky to call her mine. I hope one day to be more like her. (Supposedly, there's hope. "All women become their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man becomes his. That is theirs" -- Oscar Wilde. Though, becoming my mother wouldn't be a tragedy.)
I love you, Mama. Happy Mother's Day.
And, to all you other mother's out there, a happy Mother's Day to you, too. I hope you're able to have a great day with your families.
I don't tell her this often enough, but I love her. She's a great mother, and I'm lucky to call her mine. I hope one day to be more like her. (Supposedly, there's hope. "All women become their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man becomes his. That is theirs" -- Oscar Wilde. Though, becoming my mother wouldn't be a tragedy.)
I love you, Mama. Happy Mother's Day.
And, to all you other mother's out there, a happy Mother's Day to you, too. I hope you're able to have a great day with your families.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Tortoise Kitties
Earlier this week, I read an interesting post on the theme that everyone's journey is different. It's very true.
Just to remind me of that, I've found this very helpful kitty cat. :)
So,we just have to remember, kitties aren't tortoises and we aren't everyone else.
Just to remind me of that, I've found this very helpful kitty cat. :)
So,we just have to remember, kitties aren't tortoises and we aren't everyone else.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
A Word of Advice
Still thinking about the fellow aspiring writer I met the other day. (You can tell how rarely I meet these in the real world. Yet another reason to love the blogosphere.)
During the conversation, she asked me for advice. I passed on some information I thought might help her, but I didn't want to get into the nitty gritty, because ...
a) This was a quick, informal conversation, so there was a limit to what I could tell her
b) I haven't read any of her work yet, so there was really a limit to the specifics I could give her
c) There are some things I don't feel I can tell her without being super, super discouraging.
Still, despite this, I tried to give her some information that I thought would help, and we're planning to stay in touch to keep talking about writing. I think we can grow a lot together as writers, and it'll be really great for both of us, I think, to have corporeal fellow-writers with whom to speak. (Y'all are great, but I do find there's something to be said for flesh and blood.)
This made me remember when I started writing almost two years ago. There are a few things I wish I'd had someone around to tell me.
1) Oh, honey, that book you're writing, well, A for effort, but that thing is seriously flawed. I wouldn't start mailing out queries on it yet, babe. You've got a lot to learn.
2) Make sure you figure out your characters and try to keep them consistent throughout the book. That thing where your characters do stuff that isn't at all like them, that's just confusing for your readers.
3) Motivations, characters should have them. They can't just go around doing things and saying things without any apparent reason or cause, because then they just look like irrational psychos, instead of people that the characters feel connected to.
What do you wish you'd had someone to tell you when you started writing? What have you learned since you started writing?
During the conversation, she asked me for advice. I passed on some information I thought might help her, but I didn't want to get into the nitty gritty, because ...
a) This was a quick, informal conversation, so there was a limit to what I could tell her
b) I haven't read any of her work yet, so there was really a limit to the specifics I could give her
c) There are some things I don't feel I can tell her without being super, super discouraging.
Still, despite this, I tried to give her some information that I thought would help, and we're planning to stay in touch to keep talking about writing. I think we can grow a lot together as writers, and it'll be really great for both of us, I think, to have corporeal fellow-writers with whom to speak. (Y'all are great, but I do find there's something to be said for flesh and blood.)
This made me remember when I started writing almost two years ago. There are a few things I wish I'd had someone around to tell me.
1) Oh, honey, that book you're writing, well, A for effort, but that thing is seriously flawed. I wouldn't start mailing out queries on it yet, babe. You've got a lot to learn.
2) Make sure you figure out your characters and try to keep them consistent throughout the book. That thing where your characters do stuff that isn't at all like them, that's just confusing for your readers.
3) Motivations, characters should have them. They can't just go around doing things and saying things without any apparent reason or cause, because then they just look like irrational psychos, instead of people that the characters feel connected to.
What do you wish you'd had someone to tell you when you started writing? What have you learned since you started writing?
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Why I Social Network
Yesterday, a girl asked me if I had time for a conversation. I did, so we sat down and had a good, long talk. It turns out, she heard me mention writing and books, and as she was an inspiring writer, she wanted someone to talk to about it.
You know what, it was a really great conversation. We talked about plot and I passed on some stuff I've learned in my year and change in the blogosphere learning about the craft from you fine people.
It made me feel really good to communicate with another aspiring author. It reminded me of how I got into this blogging thing. I remember how happy I was when I first 'met' all the funny, interesting people there were on the Internet, people who, like me, had somehow found their way into the writing. It was nice to know I wasn't the only one doing it.
Yesterday reminded me of why I'm involved with this social network.
How did you become involved in blogging? Why do you stick around in the blogosphere?
You know what, it was a really great conversation. We talked about plot and I passed on some stuff I've learned in my year and change in the blogosphere learning about the craft from you fine people.
It made me feel really good to communicate with another aspiring author. It reminded me of how I got into this blogging thing. I remember how happy I was when I first 'met' all the funny, interesting people there were on the Internet, people who, like me, had somehow found their way into the writing. It was nice to know I wasn't the only one doing it.
Yesterday reminded me of why I'm involved with this social network.
How did you become involved in blogging? Why do you stick around in the blogosphere?
Monday, May 3, 2010
Tp of the Hat 2
Because, I couldn't do just one.
Senior year of High School, I got bored, and my health teacher released me from class to get a book from the library. (In hindsight, teachers let you wander the halls a fair bit at my HS.) Well, in the library, I discovered My Most Excellent Year by Steve Kluger. I decided to check it out.
Problem: It was just about the end of the year, and all the library books were technically due back to the library that day. See, the school believed that they couldn't check that book out to me and expect to get it back in time. It wasn't anything personal, since they had this policy for all students. (Though, they could've made it personal and had a fair point. I had their copy for Of Human Bondage for about 9 months -- 3 of which were summer vacation. But that book was just really dull.)
So, I did what any self-respecting nerd would do. I went and had a nice chat with the head librarian who was awesome and with whom I had a pretty good relationship. (What can I say, being on the competitive reading team gets you some sway with the people who care about books.) She let me take out the book if I promised to get it back within a week.
I finished that book in about 36 hours. It hooked me by page 4 and I couldn't put it down.
Quick Summary: Three Boston HS seniors recount their freshman year, which they consider the most excellent year of their lives. Ale just moved to Boston with her father, the retired ambassador to Mexico, her mother, and her perfect brother. She doesn't know how to tell them that she doesn't want to do International Relations. She wants to perform in musicals. T.C. is helping his father reenter the dating world after T.C's mom's death a decade prior, helping Augie with his relationship issues, and helping a young, deaf boy with his obsession with Mary Poppins. Augie finally realizes he's gay (something T.C.'s known for years) and falls for a player on the school soccer team who can't seem to come to terms with his own homosexuality.
I probably didn't do such a great job summing it all up there, but this book really is fabulous. There's baseball, musical theater, and young love, not to mention magazine clippings, transcripts of strange convos with guidance counselors, and IMs. Trust me, you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll fall in love all over again.
I love this book.
Senior year of High School, I got bored, and my health teacher released me from class to get a book from the library. (In hindsight, teachers let you wander the halls a fair bit at my HS.) Well, in the library, I discovered My Most Excellent Year by Steve Kluger. I decided to check it out.
Problem: It was just about the end of the year, and all the library books were technically due back to the library that day. See, the school believed that they couldn't check that book out to me and expect to get it back in time. It wasn't anything personal, since they had this policy for all students. (Though, they could've made it personal and had a fair point. I had their copy for Of Human Bondage for about 9 months -- 3 of which were summer vacation. But that book was just really dull.)
So, I did what any self-respecting nerd would do. I went and had a nice chat with the head librarian who was awesome and with whom I had a pretty good relationship. (What can I say, being on the competitive reading team gets you some sway with the people who care about books.) She let me take out the book if I promised to get it back within a week.
I finished that book in about 36 hours. It hooked me by page 4 and I couldn't put it down.
Quick Summary: Three Boston HS seniors recount their freshman year, which they consider the most excellent year of their lives. Ale just moved to Boston with her father, the retired ambassador to Mexico, her mother, and her perfect brother. She doesn't know how to tell them that she doesn't want to do International Relations. She wants to perform in musicals. T.C. is helping his father reenter the dating world after T.C's mom's death a decade prior, helping Augie with his relationship issues, and helping a young, deaf boy with his obsession with Mary Poppins. Augie finally realizes he's gay (something T.C.'s known for years) and falls for a player on the school soccer team who can't seem to come to terms with his own homosexuality.
I probably didn't do such a great job summing it all up there, but this book really is fabulous. There's baseball, musical theater, and young love, not to mention magazine clippings, transcripts of strange convos with guidance counselors, and IMs. Trust me, you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll fall in love all over again.
I love this book.
Tip of the Hat 1
Okay, this is me, totally jumping on the Spread the Love bandwagon. I recommend y'all jump on it, too. We have cookies. ;-) Anyway...
Senior year of High School, my philosophy teacher decided that for our final project, we had to do a ten minute presentation on our personal philosophy.
My presentation: "Okay, my personal philosophy is pretty much Ender's Game by Orson ScottCard. Yep, that's it."
Then, to stop my teacher from failing me on 15% of my grade, I expanded that into 15 minutes. But, yes, that's how much I think Ender's Game rocks. It's my philosophy, (and the subject of my English 12 Final Term Paper. Can we say obsessed-much?)
But, in time, my love of Ender's Game turned to a healthier level, where I no longer reference it so often my friends want to throw things at me. But, when people ask me what book I think anyone in high school should (and can) read, I always say Ender's Game.
Quick Summary: The world has already been attacked twice by the malevolent alien "buggers," and they're massing for another strike. To save the world, the government recruits top children to train as battle commanders. Ender Wiggin, a third child bred for this purpose, seems the only hope of finding a military leader smart and strong enough to defeat the buggers. At Battle School, the early military training takes the form of complex war games, and Ender always wins. He's smart enough to win any game, and he's smart enough to know that Earth is running out of time if they want to win against the buggers. But is he smart enough to save the planet?
What's not to love? Sports (in zero-gravity, which just makes them that much more awesome), great life advice (the enemies gate is down, people), a morally troubling but lovable main character, and an interesting cast of supporting characters.
I don't normally go for sci-fi, but this book made me give serious consideration to the genre.
What book do you totally love? What books have impacted you?
Senior year of High School, my philosophy teacher decided that for our final project, we had to do a ten minute presentation on our personal philosophy.
My presentation: "Okay, my personal philosophy is pretty much Ender's Game by Orson ScottCard. Yep, that's it."
Then, to stop my teacher from failing me on 15% of my grade, I expanded that into 15 minutes. But, yes, that's how much I think Ender's Game rocks. It's my philosophy, (and the subject of my English 12 Final Term Paper. Can we say obsessed-much?)
But, in time, my love of Ender's Game turned to a healthier level, where I no longer reference it so often my friends want to throw things at me. But, when people ask me what book I think anyone in high school should (and can) read, I always say Ender's Game.
Quick Summary: The world has already been attacked twice by the malevolent alien "buggers," and they're massing for another strike. To save the world, the government recruits top children to train as battle commanders. Ender Wiggin, a third child bred for this purpose, seems the only hope of finding a military leader smart and strong enough to defeat the buggers. At Battle School, the early military training takes the form of complex war games, and Ender always wins. He's smart enough to win any game, and he's smart enough to know that Earth is running out of time if they want to win against the buggers. But is he smart enough to save the planet?
What's not to love? Sports (in zero-gravity, which just makes them that much more awesome), great life advice (the enemies gate is down, people), a morally troubling but lovable main character, and an interesting cast of supporting characters.
I don't normally go for sci-fi, but this book made me give serious consideration to the genre.
What book do you totally love? What books have impacted you?
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