Category: NaNoWriMo

We are taught not to be selfish, but…

Today I decided to take some time out and read a few blogs, to see what the rest of the world is doing leading up to CampNaNoWriMo, and sometimes read some news that’s usually a few days old, not that I’m complaining.

And still working on the James Bondish piece that set my mind on fire.  Last I heard, he has almost completed a successful, almost suicide, mission.  There’s just a small matter of a rebel helicopter with air-to-air missiles trying to shoot down the escape plane.

I try to keep away from the news if it’s possible, but it comes at you from everywhere.  My browser somehow decided to allow notifications and every few minutes a little popout slides out from the bottom right corner and tells me what’s gone wrong.

Never any good news by the way.

And yes, I have Windows 10, but I can’t be bothered reading the manual to find out how to stop them.  Maybe, subconsciously, I don’t.

I never thought one man could generate so many headlines.  We had one, given the nickname, the human headline, but Trump, he is in a class of his own.

I used to like watching him on The Apprentice, believe it or not.

But again I digress…

I saw the word selfish popup in a number of posts, and it reminded me that, at times writers have to be.  There are only so many hours in a day, and after emails, blogs, reading, news, life, there’s very little time left to write.

So, we need to be selfish at those times.  I am because when I sit down to write, there shouldn’t be any distractions.  As a writer, I’m not seeking popularity, maybe one day that will come, but I’m in this writing thing because I have stories to tell and I want to get them down.  Nobody may ever read them, I may never rise above mediocrity, but I am doing something I love, and very few of us out there can say that unequivocally.

Most of us have a day job or something else that consumes a great deal of our time.

Oh to be a successful author like James Patterson?  But how does he do it?  I guess it comes down to hard work, and a little bit of luck.

And maybe, one day, if I work hard enough, some of it might come my way.

Mistaken Identity – The Third Editor’s Draft – Day 29

I have been working on the story, the editor is asking for a second draft after making suggested changes – and I’m now working on it

…

I know it’s premature, but I have begun thinking about the next adventure Jack is to embark on.

Six months down the track, the relationship with Rosalie founders, he is looking for something, anything, to lift him out of the sea of self-pity.

Is it a case of ‘be careful what you wish for’.

It’s a hell of a title for the story, too.

Maryanne is going to come out of left field and drag him down the rabbit hole of adventure because her latest assignment, and the one that will eventually determine whether she stays or goes, requires a boyfriend as cover.

How is she going to convince Jack? Well, I’m glad you asked, that’s a very interesting story.

…

Back in the other story, the one that should be finished but isn’t…

Jack finds himself in the seedier part of London looking for McCallister and Jacob and finds more than he bargained for.

Yes, that blockbuster cinematic ending I’ve been promising…

…

More tomorrow.

We are taught not to be selfish, but…

Today I decided to take some time out and read a few blogs, to see what the rest of the world is doing leading up to CampNaNoWriMo, and sometimes read some news that’s usually a few days old, not that I’m complaining.

And still working on the James Bondish piece that set my mind on fire.  Last I heard, he has almost completed a successful, almost suicide, mission.  There’s just a small matter of a rebel helicopter with air-to-air missiles trying to shoot down the escape plane.

I try to keep away from the news if it’s possible, but it comes at you from everywhere.  My browser somehow decided to allow notifications and every few minutes a little popout slides out from the bottom right corner and tells me what’s gone wrong.

Never any good news by the way.

And yes, I have Windows 10, but I can’t be bothered reading the manual to find out how to stop them.  Maybe, subconsciously, I don’t.

I never thought one man could generate so many headlines.  We had one, given the nickname, the human headline, but Trump, he is in a class of his own.

I used to like watching him on The Apprentice, believe it or not.

But again I digress…

I saw the word selfish popup in a number of posts, and it reminded me that, at times writers have to be.  There are only so many hours in a day, and after emails, blogs, reading, news, life, there’s very little time left to write.

So, we need to be selfish at those times.  I am because when I sit down to write, there shouldn’t be any distractions.  As a writer, I’m not seeking popularity, maybe one day that will come, but I’m in this writing thing because I have stories to tell and I want to get them down.  Nobody may ever read them, I may never rise above mediocrity, but I am doing something I love, and very few of us out there can say that unequivocally.

Most of us have a day job or something else that consumes a great deal of our time.

Oh to be a successful author like James Patterson?  But how does he do it?  I guess it comes down to hard work, and a little bit of luck.

And maybe, one day, if I work hard enough, some of it might come my way.

Mistaken Identity – The Third Editor’s Draft – Day 28

I have been working on the story, the editor is asking for a second draft after making suggested changes – and I’m now working on it

…

Whilst it seems that it’s highly possible to write 50,000 words in 30 days, it’s not necessarily as easy to write a whole book.

Well, at least for some of us.

If the book is going to be about 50,000 words, which you have planned, then I guess it’s possible. It might end up having about 70 to 90,000 words, and be edited back to 50,000, but in the interim, this story is not going to end at the prescribed time.

Of course, that might not be the outcome I had at the start of the project, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not chuffed that nearly all of it is done.

There’s two days to go, it’s not going to finish, but I will have a good idea where it’s going.

However, right at this very minute, I’m not sure how it is going to end, good or bad, for some of the characters.

…

More tomorrow.

Mistaken Identity – The Third Editor’s Draft – Day 28

I have been working on the story, the editor is asking for a second draft after making suggested changes – and I’m now working on it

…

Whilst it seems that it’s highly possible to write 50,000 words in 30 days, it’s not necessarily as easy to write a whole book.

Well, at least for some of us.

If the book is going to be about 50,000 words, which you have planned, then I guess it’s possible. It might end up having about 70 to 90,000 words, and be edited back to 50,000, but in the interim, this story is not going to end at the prescribed time.

Of course, that might not be the outcome I had at the start of the project, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not chuffed that nearly all of it is done.

There’s two days to go, it’s not going to finish, but I will have a good idea where it’s going.

However, right at this very minute, I’m not sure how it is going to end, good or bad, for some of the characters.

…

More tomorrow.

Mistaken Identity – The Third Editor’s Draft – Day 27

I have been working on the story, the editor is asking for a second draft after making suggested changes – and I’m now working on it

…

I want a high-octane ending, and I’ve been trying to visualise it in my mind.

I’m sure it’s a lot like how a director of a movie sees the end product and then tries to translate that onto the screen.

I can see it in my head, but it’s not translating onto paper.

I’d also like to write it like that so the reader can almost be sitting in the front-row seat as it all unfolds,

But in a matter of weeks, our once happy travel agent has gone from dispensing advice to others on how to have a good holiday, to a man caught in the middle of the storm.

People he’s only read about in papers and books had been appearing out of left field forcing him into making decisions he never thought he would have to.

He’s discovered his parents were not exactly the people he thought they were.

He’s discovered people can appear to be anything other than who they really are.

And he’s discovered he has the strength to overcome adversity.

Going back to the travel agency is going to be as boring as hell for him now.

…

More tomorrow.

The Things We Do For Love – The final editor’s draft – Day 30

…

Well, it’s done.

516 pages in total, in a more refined form, a story from start to finish.

Now the hard part begins; waiting for the editor’s approval, or more changes. I’m sure there are a few continuity issues and at least one name change for one of the characters.

Other issues will need addressing, like Inspector Banner who seems to turn up out of thin air and needs a little more introduction.

Likewise, Henry’s brother Harry needs to have his timeline and actions given his disabilities looked at in terms of whether it’s possible he could do what he did.  I know it’s fiction, but characters lose credibility when they seem to have powers they simply could not possess.

Above all, Michelle needs to be more thoroughly introduced, though my intention originally was to have her this girl who is too good to be true, all of a sudden have this bad streak, whether by design or by accident.

I also think her relationship with the Turk needs more explanation because it seems in places quite wishy-washy for want of a better description. 

There may yet get to be a prologue that gives each a chance to see who they are before they get to the hotel by the sea.

Perhaps I’m, simply miffed that Diana aka Millie did not get a chance to shine before she appears much later in the book.

But, it is what it is for now, and the next edit, in a few weeks might or might not address all of these issues.

Mistaken Identity – The Third Editor’s Draft – Day 27

I have been working on the story, the editor is asking for a second draft after making suggested changes – and I’m now working on it

…

I want a high-octane ending, and I’ve been trying to visualise it in my mind.

I’m sure it’s a lot like how a director of a movie sees the end product and then tries to translate that onto the screen.

I can see it in my head, but it’s not translating onto paper.

I’d also like to write it like that so the reader can almost be sitting in the front-row seat as it all unfolds,

But in a matter of weeks, our once happy travel agent has gone from dispensing advice to others on how to have a good holiday, to a man caught in the middle of the storm.

People he’s only read about in papers and books had been appearing out of left field forcing him into making decisions he never thought he would have to.

He’s discovered his parents were not exactly the people he thought they were.

He’s discovered people can appear to be anything other than who they really are.

And he’s discovered he has the strength to overcome adversity.

Going back to the travel agency is going to be as boring as hell for him now.

…

More tomorrow.

Mistaken Identity – The Third Editor’s Draft – Day 26

I have been working on the story, the editor is asking for a second draft after making suggested changes – and I’m now working on it

…

This month has been exhausting, because not only have I been trying to get the NaNoWriMo project completed, which involves writing about 1,800 words a day, every day, I have been keeping up the A to Z blogging challenge with a new story every day bar Sunday.

You have no idea how much I looked forward to each of the Sundays.

Of course, a plan is needed if anyone is contemplating to do something similar.

It also requires you to be able to come up with a new idea every day for the story and try not to get caught up in a crossover.

And, try not to hit the wall.

This is exactly what happened yesterday, when I got halfway through the story, and the equivalent of deleting the file rather than saving it happened.

So few yards from the finishing line and kaput, I’m sitting there in front of a blank screen wondering where the next 2,5000 words for the story are coming from.

And questioning my sanity.

I missed the deadline, wrote zero words for the A to Z and went to bed.

Tomorrow, hopefully, will be a new day!

…

More tomorrow.

The Things We Do For Love – The final editor’s draft – Day 30

…

Well, it’s done.

516 pages in total, in a more refined form, a story from start to finish.

Now the hard part begins; waiting for the editor’s approval, or more changes. I’m sure there are a few continuity issues and at least one name change for one of the characters.

Other issues will need addressing, like Inspector Banner who seems to turn up out of thin air and needs a little more introduction.

Likewise, Henry’s brother Harry needs to have his timeline and actions given his disabilities looked at in terms of whether it’s possible he could do what he did.  I know it’s fiction, but characters lose credibility when they seem to have powers they simply could not possess.

Above all, Michelle needs to be more thoroughly introduced, though my intention originally was to have her this girl who is too good to be true, all of a sudden have this bad streak, whether by design or by accident.

I also think her relationship with the Turk needs more explanation because it seems in places quite wishy-washy for want of a better description. 

There may yet get to be a prologue that gives each a chance to see who they are before they get to the hotel by the sea.

Perhaps I’m, simply miffed that Diana aka Millie did not get a chance to shine before she appears much later in the book.

But, it is what it is for now, and the next edit, in a few weeks might or might not address all of these issues.