The Editing Process - How to make paper piles.

Finally dear readers
Today we begin chapter 2 of The Writing Book. Originally the plan was to achieve one chapter of Ms Grenville's book per month. I do not choose to dwell on how long it has actually taken. I suggest neither do you. Let's move onwards. By now you should have a nice sized pile of  little stories, snippets of action, conversations and dialogue or simply random thoughts. I know I do!


I would just like to take this moment to say how excited I am by my progress. Jax appeared out of nowhere, threw me full force into her world and then blew up the dock we were hanging out on. This character lept of the page and took over my life but now I have regained control. Although I can't wait to see where she takes me next I have asked her to be patient and first let me deal with Silken Threads.


Anyway...today will blossom from Kate Grenville's 'The Writing Book' exercise: Chapter 2 - Making Piles.


We will be exploring  my current WIP Silken Threads

The Big Cut
In chapter 2 Grenville asks us to make piles of all the exercises we have completed from Chapter 1. Now I have done this with Jax and set them aside. Seeing as I am now back on track with Silken Threads I decided to continue forward from this point, and seeing as I have 100,000 words already, I figured pile making was as good a place as any to start.

It has been painful, it has been wicked and  surprisingly, it has been inspirational. Although I reached a devastating revelation a few weeks ago, where I thought Silken Threads was a no-hoper, I have been given a new lease of life and I am surging ahead.

In three weeks I have cut the MS to pieces. Literally, I printed it out, took out some scissors and started hacking. It was cathartic. What I ended up with was not, as you may be now imagining, a pile of shredded paper, but five neat character profiles and the idea for six interconnecting novellas!

I know right?
So I have my piles, now what do I do with them?  Next Grenville suggests looking at the similarities in the text, in other words, seeking out the underlying themes. Seeing as I am working with an almost complete manuscript, my themes are pretty well established, so instead I broke down the entire manuscript into individual scenes. Yes, I did that.

I have 211 individual scenes!
You would think that is a lot of action. Amazingly I found my first big problem - it's not.
A large portion of the scenes are inactive and do not move the plot forward - this in itself is a huge revelation, but of the good kind! At last I have somewhere to start!

The next step...
Now that I have these piles (and large gaping holes in the plot!) Grenville suggests I work out some sort of order: to arrange what I do have in a way that allows the underlying themes to shine through. Taking a deep breath, I am now about to plunge myself into the crazy, chaotic world of PLOT MAPPING. Yep, I going to get out my sticky notes and my markers, I'm going to set up my pretty pink pin board and I am going to create an ARC to be reckoned with.

I will be back sometime in the not so distant future to report back - if I don't resurface sometime in the next week, please don't panic, I am probably just getting my groove back!
copyright 2011, TBell

The love affair we call writing...

Over the weekend I was fortunate to spend time away with the girls. Amongst the clouds in a mountain chalet we talked, laughed, cried, drank and ate. My cheeks hurt from smiling and my heart is warm with the kind of love only girlfriend's can supply (my liver is a tad sore too but don't worry mum, it's water all the way from here).

A wonderfully nurturing child/husband free weekend was had by all and amongst the tears and laughter a few insights and epiphanies were revealed...

On Sunday morning one of my favourite girl's, MermaidMeg, sat us down and gave us all a tarot card reading: some were funny; others spot on and mine - well take a look for yourself.

Tarot Reading - 10 card spread.

1. The Signifier - Ten of Swords - The darkness before the dawn.

2. Crossing Card - Three of Swords - A painful state that does not allow for blindness to continue.

3. On The Surface - Three of Cups - Seeking emotional connections / new beginnings.

4. Crux of Issue - Four of Pentacles - Let fears of self go to unblock creativity and allow confidence to flow.

5. Past - Queen of Wands - The superwoman - Let go of the ideal.

6. Future - Ace of Pentacles - The release of past energies will make way for success and prosperity.

 image sourced tarotoftrees.com

 7. Development - Death - Something must come to an end, new life by letting go of old.

8. Response from others - Ace of Cups - Outpouring of feeling, upsurge of raw emotion.

9. Hopes and Fears - Ten of Cups - On going contentment and permanence in the realm of the heart.

10. Outcome - Two of Cups - The beginning of a new relationship or project, renewal of one that has undergone difficulty.

What this means to me...

At first glance this reading appeared to be about my personal relationships with actual real humans. I contemplated for a moment running off to have a wild, passionate affair with an incredibly handsome man that would cook, massage and serenade me (all in that order) but then I remembered I loved my husband, our children and our life together - and considering my question was directed at my writing career - I was forced to look deeper.

Now I think many a writer would agree with me when I say writing a novel is like embarking on a love affair. It is euphoric one moment and the next you are swept into the depths of despair only to be lifted up again by a chance encounter with a new character or a stunning moment of clarity. My journey as a novice novelist would slip into this descriptive concept without missing a beat.

As you may be aware, I have struggled recently to attempt the fifth edit of my MS. The reason I have struggled is because I have decided after 3 years work that I do not like the final product. This is a somewhat crushing revelation and  I have even contemplated (deep breath) giving up!

And I am loath to say I have also flirted with new characters in entirely new worlds. These flirtations have given me the rush I was missing, the glow of first love, but alas I found myself staring out over the mist covered mountains and yearning for my first love.

With that in mind
I took a second look at the Tarot reading. I think it is clear that I am indeed wallowing in the depth of darkness and it has come as a great sigh of relief to know the dawn is coming (insert here a song and dance routine from a really bad but nostalgic 90's music video).

I was already beginning to toy with a new concept for the old manuscript and I have even spent the last month breaking the story down scene by scene and re-plotting several characters journeys.

My MysticTarot has given me faith in pursuing this course of action and I would like to say, as a writer, to all other writers, you have to take inspiration where you can get it - oh and having a little faith in yourself helps too.

How to make up a lost day...



http://www.justwritegifts.com/



Today is Thursday

I missed my WordsOnThePage session yesterday. I spent the day instead at DreamWorld with my beautiful children and some lovely friends. Last night as I crashed into bed exhausted but with a smile on my dial. I vaguely thought about getting back up and doing some late night writing but...

The next thing I know

It's morning and I slept through the entire night in incredible peace. Thing One and Thing Two were so exhausted from all the fun, they did not stir once. I did have a teeny tiny moment of self flagellation but then I remembered the fun we had and I got over it. I figured I would put it behind me and start fresh today. What didn't get done yesterday, can be done today, no biggie.

The How to of How To's
The only way to make up for a day lost is to simply move forward.
I can't change time (although that would be an awesome trick to have in the party tricks hat),
I can't create time (add that to the list of most wanted tricks, check),
but I can be flexible with my time.

Now enough babble - I have some writing to just write....

To blog or not to blog?

The Quest
You aim to become a published author. You intend to do this by finishing your first manuscript and then either self publish or query agents/publishers (or simultaneously do both).

 I "plan" to finish my first YA paranormal series, The Silken Threads, and  then self publish the first three books in e-book format while simultaneously querying agents/publishers.

The Quandary

Your days are too short to do all the things required of you as an author in these new technological times? You need to write; blog; interact; write some more; edit; network; research; comment; be funny and engaging; and perhaps you have to work or parent or occasionally sleep.

Although, I cannot say my days are too short. My days are looooong. I rise with the children, long before the sun wakes, and I retire long after the moon shines. Most nights I get six hours sleep: not too shabby for some, pretty poor for others. I make lists and I schedule routines. I achieve an awful lot in one day. But...

I never seem to achieve what it is I set out to do.

Take this blog for instance.

I have three days a week to write. I aim to do a short blog post on each of those days to kick start my writing day. I even went so far as to declare my intention in the banner line of this blog! Do I end up writing a blog post on each of those three days? Nu-uh.

Today is Tuesday, I am only just now posting Mayhem&Madness!! Where did Monday go? Lost in the madness I assume.

The Query

Do you or do you not continue down this blogging path?

You call yourself a writer. You have several writing projects on the go, non-fiction and fiction alike, and you have numerous other writerly activities happening in the sidelines: blogs; websites; critique partners; writer's group; book club; competitions etc... 

You have taken the first steps toward a writerly career and now you need to finish your books and sell them.

To do this in today's market place  you know  you must secure a loyal following of like minded writers and readers to support your journey and for you to likewise support theirs. You have taken the first steps to do that but now you are faltering.

There are so many other things that need doing, like the final edit of Book 1, and more often than not these things take priority over the blog. And sometime you get stuck in the wide world of webbing that is social media and you find your entire day has been eaten up by a big hungry blog spider.

How do you break through the cycle?
How do you get better at juggling all of these things?

I don't have an answer to provide you that you don't already know. I too am stuck in the webbing.
I am tempted to suggest giving up on sleeping, or eating and cleaning.

Unreasonable solutions aside, the best I can come up with is this:

You practice.
You write.

And you blog about practicing and writing in a funny engaging way that will entice like minded readers and writers into following your journey and hopefully they will stick with you long enough to eventually buy and read your book- when at last you get it up and out there!

Just know -- you are not alone...

Happy Blogging

FictionFriday - an exploration of character through random writing prompts

The Prompt
[Fiction] Friday Challenge #200 for April 8th, 2011

Use this phrase “Looks can be deceiving” as your prompt of theme.

The Character

Chelsea looks like a young Reece Witherspoon



This week I will be exploring the character Chelsea, the protagonist from Book 3 of The Silken Threads series.

Chelsea is the youngest daughter of the 3 Dell girls; she is 17; in her second to last year of high school; and is anything but studious.The Silken Threads is a YA paranormal series focusing on individual character experiences of the afterlife.
*(still bandying about ideas for individual book names)

***

The Flash

"It's not what it looks like."

"Uh-huh." Dario nodded.

"What? It's not! Looks can be deceiving."

Dario smirked, "Sure."

Chelsea tugged the scarf tighter around her throat and grinned, "Besides, I least I got lucky at the party. What did you spend the night doing huh? Running around drooling after my sister no doubt."

Dario blushed, "Drooling yes; your sister - ah nooo!"

The bell rang as Chelsea squealed. Joslin and Angel rushed passed and rolled their eyes.


"Don't be late again Chels, you know Ms Craft has it in for you." Joslin called over her shoulder. Chelsea screwed up her nose and linked arms with Dario. Joslin stopped on the path ahead, "And mum will have a fit!"

"Yeah, yeah." Chelsea and Dario both stuck their tongues out at the older girls and burst into fits of giggles."So do tell, who is the lucky girl then?"

Dario blushed again, "No one, it doesn't matter. Come on or it will be Ms Craft who throws a fit."

"And we don't want to miss that!" they sang together.

At the classroom door Ms Craft caught them in one of her famous death glares, "So nice of you to join us Miss Dell. Mr Tripp, I trust you have your speech prepared?'

"Yes Ms." Dario ducked his head and slipped into his front row seat.

"Yes Ms." Chelsea mimicked as she slid in behind him. "Don't think I've forgotten, at lunch you will tell me who she is or..."

"Or what Miss Dell? If you have so much to say, why don't you collect your paper and come to the front of the room. We would all be delighted to listen to your talk first." The teacher paused for dramatic effect, "You do have it prepared?"

"Ah, well you see Ms, my sister turned 21on the week end see and I sort of didn't get it finished."

"Well you can read what you have then!"

Dario snorted as Chelsea shuffled in her bag for the single sheet of paper she had managed to scribble her ideas on. Friday night was supposed to be a study session where Dario helped her with the stupid speech but it turned out to be a complete right off. After the first joint Dario got in a stupid mood and they started talking about the death again. She was obsessed with death, even more so now that Khai--

"Miss Dell, we haven't got all day."

"Sorry." Chelsea found the note pad and looked at the heading. She swore under her breath and Dario choked on his laughter. "What is this? She hissed.

His shoulders were rocking back and forth with barely contained delight, "It's your speech." He spluttered.

"MISS DELL!"

Chelsea kicked Dario in the shin and he yelped. "Yes Ms, I've found it."Chelsea strengthened her shoulders and walked to the front of the classroom. She would just have to read it in the most serious voice she could muster and hope for the best.

At the front of the room the rest of the students looked at her expectantly. For the most part the faces were friendly, excited looking even. They were hoping for a show: for Chelsea to embarrass herself with her ineptitude once again. At the back Chelsea caught a genuinely friendly eye. Faith Grace gave her a grin and nodded encouragingly. Ok, breath Chels, breath. It took a few seconds to steady her breathing and a nervous twitter rippled through the room in anticipation.

"All right, settle down. Now class, although Chelsea is clearly unprepared, remember she is doing you all a favour by going first and I expect you will give her the silence and time she deserves to get through her piece. This is an assessable item; the grades you receive today will go a long way toward determining your final grades next year. I expect you give this series of speeches the respect they deserve." Ms Craft turned to Chelsea, "Now Chelsea, I understand your topic for discussion was The Possibility of an Afterlife?"

"Yes Ms." Chelsea looked at her paper again and flushed. Dario snorted again. I'll kill him later she thought and then deliberately turned away. Although she could still see his shaking frame in her peripheral vision, it was blurred and much easier to ignore. Taking another deep breathe she launched herself into the speech.

"The Night I Died and Went to Heaven."

Dario couldn't contain himself and burst into fits of laughter. The class twittered with him but Chelsea ploughed on. After a couple of seconds her voice gained strength and she relaxed. The essay wasn't half bad and the class settled in and listened attentively, even Dario shut up and by the time she was finished he had to try hard to not look impressed.

The class broke out in applause and Ms Craft offered her possibly the only genuine smile she would ever offer. "Well done Chelsea, once again you have proved you are more than piggy tails and smiles."

"Thank you Ms." Elated Chelsea slunk low in her seat and silently high fived herself.

Dario twisted in his seat and raised his eyebrow, "What the?"

Chelsea grinned, "I told you looks can be deceiving!"

Ms Craft tapped his desk with her pen, "All right Dario. Let’s see what you have."

Dario gulped and stood up. Chelsea smirked, serves him right for being so smug about the love bite.

***

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Words On The Page

1pm
Ready set go - am writing....


WordsOnThePage is a two hour break from the day job (mothering) that I allow myself to just write. I will be back in two hours to update what I achieved.

The Ticking Clock

Once again all my good intentions flew out the window, along with the passing of time.

Just as I was settling into a writing groove the ticking clock sped much too quickly toward 3pm which meant hands down, car keys up and onto the school run.

Never fear

I did achieve quite a bit. I managed to wade through the scene breakdown of Book 3 in The Silken Thread Series, join the gang over at Literary Mixed Tapes and introduce myself as one of the new authors, and completely forget to finish this blog post!

All in all not a bad session.

How did you do?