[Tinamarie]

Exciting news, Fiona!

I've ignored my WIP this past week - human and canine members of my family have had health crises, have been mired in dealing with those (thankfully the patients are on the mend but there's now recuperation to consider - and in one case I'm helping coordinate stuff long-distance), and my consulting work obligations.  Barely any energy or sanity for creative writing.  Which stinks because I realize that everyone has periods of 'drama' in their lives, and if we all stopped writing when this happened far fewer books would get written.  But I don't feel up to more than journaling at present.

Hopefully things will get better soon....

But congratulations to everyone on their progress!  And I add my vote of encouragement for Verla's maybe-novel:  don't pass judgement on it yet, just keep writing and see what happens - you might come up with even another approach in the process!

[Verla Kay Posts: 4,630 Status: Offline Invite Verla Kay to speak in your area WWW]

500 words is TWO complete books of my cryptic rhyming stories, Joanna. I'd say that's a wonderful number to have written in one day.

[Joanna Posts: 174 Status: Offline WWW]

Aww thanks, Verla.

[thunderingelephants Posts: 1,291 Status: Offline]

No work yet, but Joanna, five hundred is a good deal.  Better than hitting writer's block, anyway.
Can't write yet.  I have truffles t coat.  They should be ready by this afternoon (my time: 2p.m.).

[Tinamarie]

Added 375 words to the WIP last night.  Not a lot, but felt really good to break the week-long streak of not working on it!

[Marissa Doyle Posts: 3,324 Status: Offline Charles Bewitched: out now! WWW]

Good news here the last day or two!

Verla, you are not allowed to pass judgement on your story yet.  Not till there's more of it down.  Of course it feels strange to you--you don't usually work at this length.  Give it a chance...and give yourself permission to get it down on paper, no matter how bad you think it is.

I'm plugging away at revisions...I feel like part of what I should have is an anti-countdown, since the story needs to be trimmed...so I'm adding as well as taking away.  But there's forward movement, anyway. 

[Verla Kay Posts: 4,630 Status: Offline Invite Verla Kay to speak in your area WWW]

I realized yesterday that I can't write it the way I wrote it because I didn't write it. He did.

I also realized I will need to do a lot more research - like finding out more about what it was like when the men escaped from the Italian prison camps and wandered in the hills of Italy for two months before getting back behind the allied lines or being captured by the Germans. Sat up until 3:30 this morning, researching Italian prison camps and found a couple of accounts by some men who escaped (there was a mass exodus when Italy changed sides... lots of men escaped, others stayed put like they were told to do... and were put into German prison camps. The lucky ones were the one who escaped and managed to get back behind the Allied lines. My father wasn't one of them.

But now I have some "fodder" to write a (hopefully) compelling chapter about that escape from the Italian prison. I even got a photo of one of the camps. Yay! I don't know which one he was in, but since this is going to be fiction anyway, I guess I can just pretend and make it up. (And does THAT ever bother me! I've thought of this story as totally non-fiction for so many years, it actually physically HURTS to write anything that isn't REAL about it.)

[Marissa Doyle Posts: 3,324 Status: Offline Charles Bewitched: out now! WWW]

I understand that feeling, Verla...but I think that the deeper you get into the story, the easier it will get.  And yes, doing tons of research will help with that.  My late father-in-law helped liberate Italy, by the way.  He was barely 18 and what he saw there and in north Africa really scarred him.

[Artemesia Posts: 4,014 Status: Offline WWW]

Verla, my grandfather was in Italy with Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (he'll be 90 in December). I probably won't see him until December, but if there are any questions you'd like me to ask him for your research, let me know.

[Joanna Posts: 174 Status: Offline WWW]

Sounds really, really fascinating, Verla!

I think I (maybe) had a breakthrough in ye olde Draft 2 today—or at the very least I figured out how to organize the next couple chapters so they actually make sense, which is awesome. I also wrote 763 words and resurrected a scene I'd given up on the other day and realized that there IS hope for this thing after all!

This novel is making me bi-polar.

[thunderingelephants Posts: 1,291 Status: Offline]

Is it me, or do a lot of us seem a little tetchy in this club at the moment?  Things read a bit stressed.  You guys appear to be working well though.  Sadly, the same cannot be said for me.
John is still lurking around and the landlord's representative is upstairs moving things about so no peace.
Maybe this afternoon.

[Tinamarie]

Things definitely "tetchy" (fun word!) in this neck of the woods:  baby and I are sick, the dog who had emergency surgery is wailing incessantly (but thankfully on the mend), and the hubby has to leave town for the weekend for work.   

[thunderingelephants Posts: 1,291 Status: Offline]

  and get well soon, Tinamarie and baby.
Still no work done.  My arm is falling through grating chocolate.  Should have truffles for you tomorrow.  Beer and white chocolate.  Even I eat these ones.  Doesn't happen often, I normally just give them away.

[Tinamarie]

Thanks, Fiona!

(glad to hear that you occasionally enjoy the fruits of your labor)

[Verla Kay Posts: 4,630 Status: Offline Invite Verla Kay to speak in your area WWW]

Thanks, Fiona!

(glad to hear that you occasionally enjoy the fruits of your labor)

WAIT A  MINUTE! CHOCOLATE is a FRUIT?  Why did NO ONE TELL ME THAT UNTIL NOW?



  YUM!

[ruecole Posts: 459 Status: Offline MG Writer WWW]

Well, I wrote two sentences on the Pony Story today. That's the first I've worked on it since August, so I'm pretty happy about that! Maybe in the next couple weeks I can start making real headway with it!

Rue

[Marissa Doyle Posts: 3,324 Status: Offline Charles Bewitched: out now! WWW]

Verla, haven't you heard of the four main food groups--salt, sugar, fat, and (courtesy of Terry Pratchett) Burned Crunchy Bits?  :D

More progress on revising--yay!  Almost up to page 100.

[thunderingelephants Posts: 1,291 Status: Offline]

Aw guys,
You cracked me up when I read these last few posts. Don't think I will be working.  Got truffles to coat.

[kiperoo Posts: 97 Status: Offline Poetry Editor, YARN WWW]

Nice to see that there is still a ton of progress, silliness, and chocolate going on here. 

I just completed the Complete-Your-Draft challenge of September, and ... didn't quite complete, BUT I did get to 40K words, and now have a completed synopsis (and a much better outline)! I'm going to use this month to finish finishing, to revise some of the patches which now don't coincide with said completed synopsis, and probably throw out a lot. 

I wrote almost every single day last month, and plan to do the same this month - let's see how it goes!

[Verla Kay Posts: 4,630 Status: Offline Invite Verla Kay to speak in your area WWW]

I did not work on my WWII POW book. I did, however, while trying to clean up my office enough for the Open House showing tomorrow afternoon, find a little tiny snippet of the beginning of a fun, midgrade story I'd written sometime in the long ago past. It caught my imagination immediately and I ended up writing an entire first chapter. As soon as the draft of that chapter was finished, I read back over it and deleted all of the snippet that had originally sparked the idea. Of course. But... I now have an entire first chapter written of a mystery, paranormal, time-travel mid-grade story. Haven't a clue what to do with it. But it's written.

[thunderingelephants Posts: 1,291 Status: Offline]

Wow Verla, you are busy.  Keep it up.

I reached decision half an hour ago.  John ordered me some truffle moulds for my sweet creations. So, I will abandon my life-long dream of becoming a children's author and set myself up as a chocolatier.  I probably have more chance of success.

If only it were that easy.  Writing is in my blood and I would need a bucket-load of leeches to get it out.
No male company tomorrow, John's off to his mother's and she hates me so I will have nice time to myself to write.

[Verla Kay Posts: 4,630 Status: Offline Invite Verla Kay to speak in your area WWW]

Good luck with your new chocolate venture! But never fear, the writing will still be able to be there in the background. And who knows, perhaps you will end up being wildly successful at both ventures. It's not at all unlikely, if you continue to pursue your writing when you aren't making truffles.

[ruecole Posts: 459 Status: Offline MG Writer WWW]

I reached decision half an hour ago.  John ordered me some truffle moulds for my sweet creations. So, I will abandon my life-long dream of becoming a children's author and set myself up as a chocolatier.  I probably have more chance of success.

If only it were that easy.  Writing is in my blood and I would need a bucket-load of leeches to get it out.

I say go for it! Who says you can only be successful in one creative venture? If your chocolates are as good as they sound, then you'll for sure be a success! So keep writing and making chocolates and enjoy it!

Rue

[mswatkins]

I didn't work on it today, but I did yesterday. Actually I did a bit more than work on it - I finished my first draft! I was in the best mood all day! I didn't have time to post yesterday because I was late because I decided I was going to finish no matter how long it took. I didn't post last night because I was in no fit shape.  I celebrated a bit heavily and figured anything I posted would be removed.  It was an awesome day.

[thunderingelephants Posts: 1,291 Status: Offline]

A big here. I really appreciate it.  Got into a real fluster earlier because my truffles weren't working-presentation was dire.  John entered into the kitchen and asked what was wrong and I told him.  His response: "ook at my belly, Fiona. There isn't just beer in here.  Give me one of your truffles." So I did.  "These are lethal," he said.  "Presentation isn't everything.  Put them back in the fridge, I'll eat them later."
Sometimes reaching perfectionist status is not a good thing.

[Joanna Posts: 174 Status: Offline WWW]

Woot! Finished chapter thirteen! I THIIIINK I'm almost past the rough spots. I THINK.

My novel is getting BETTER!!

[Marissa Doyle Posts: 3,324 Status: Offline Charles Bewitched: out now! WWW]

More revising...and figured out the outline of the changes to the plotline in the rest of the book!  My goal is to have this book done before heading off to Falling Leaves in mid-November (since my editor doesn't do things like deadlines).  After today, I'm beginning to think I'll be able to do it.

[Tinamarie]

Exciting to hear how productive everyone's been!

Today I got out the ol' posterboards in an attempt to map out the scenes already written, and those that I've planned so far, in a rough 3-section (or act) organization to figure out stuff.  I seem to have ALOT going on in the 'Act II' portion, not so much in Act III, trying to figure out what to move where (before or after the different cliffhangers/climaxes).  Will need to work on them a bit more tomorrow and then get back to the writing.

[thunderingelephants Posts: 1,291 Status: Offline]

Well, my male co-habitants didn't abandon ship after all, so I had to pack myself off to greener grass (actually the polished floor of a coffee shop is more appropriate) and do my writing there.  It was hard because I got drenched on the way in and wasn't feeling good and found it really hard to knuckle down and concentrate.
BUT my characters did get into trouble and I am delighted because it's left me on a cliffhanger which I can return to tomorrow.

Still loads of truffles if anyone wants one.  Good to see you are all working hard.

[thunderingelephants Posts: 1,291 Status: Offline]

How do you decide between Revisionland and Starting A New Project?
I have re-written so much of my current story that it might as well be a new one.  The only original thing left about it is the plot and characters. Still, I am quite happy to continue.  Much more of a challenge.