I'll begin with a call to prayer. My regular readers are familiar with the Darcs, a husband and wife team who have been tireless supporters of me, my blog, and my writing for a couple of years now. Darcknyt and Darc'sFalcon have brought me many blessings, and I'll always be grateful for their friendship. I won't go into detail, but recession-related unemployment has made things hard on them. They still have a home for now. I wish there were something I could do, but of course I don't have any jobs to offer. All I can do is send a message to the universe that these people need help and trust that work will come in time. I'd appreciate your taking a moment to do the same.
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After finishing the first draft of my WIP, I took a couple of days off to allow a migraine to run its course, as well as to fulfill a critique commitment. Ian's got a unique spin on the vampire novel and a good story to go along with it. His writing seems so effortless it makes me jealous, but I can't wait until he snags a publishing contract. This may be the right book at the right time to do just that.
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So now that I'm feeling healthy and free, I'll start edits on my WIP. I have been using yWriter on this last push to the end, which is based on individual scenes--great for moving big chunks around during organization stages, and then for crafting the scenes themselves. I've had trouble with this program in the past because of this chunky quality, but for some reason it was just what I needed for this book.
However, now that I'm finished with the scenes I need to read the book as a whole, and for that I've imported it to MS Word, my standard and the industry standard, though that is relaxing. I'll make a single-shot pass, making notes and correcting typos, re-writing easy stuff as I go through and detailing the hard stuff for the next pass. My biggest trap is indecisiveness, so I've vowed to go with my gut on the hard decisions and not over-analyze. Another vow I've made is to look at the whole process through a fun lens, rather than fulfilling a duty. Duty crushes my creativity.
Hope you have a lovely weekend.
Friday, January 22, 2010
They've definitely been in my prayers as well.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about your migraine :( I know how down and out those can take you. Luckily, it seems you've bounced right back and are ready to tackle the editing on the WIP. I'm right there with you in making it a fun thing rather than a duty.
Can't wait to read it!
Thanks, Kristy. :)
ReplyDeleteI've been wishing the Darcs well. They're going through a rough time they don't deserve. I'm glad to have "met" them (in that internety sort of way).
ReplyDeleteI'm wishing you well to on your novel. Go!
I feel so sad for families who, through no fault of their own, are now scrambling to keep food on the table and the rent or mortgage paid. And so much worse for your friends, who are another family on the verge of losing their house. I'll keep them in my thoughts.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for the mention of yWrite. I'll have to try it to outline with. I hate the Word version as it's way to cludgy.
You are a dear. A total, absolute, dear. Thank you for your prayers and support. :)
ReplyDeleteDarc really likes yWriter - there are a few programs out there that might help you. I like one called TextBlock (I think!) and Bryce has one called TextTree which I think you can find on his website, storyhack.com.
You are so close to being done and I'm so proud of you. It's been a tough journey for you, but you are nearing the end and look at how much richer you are for it!
Also, thank you to everyone here for their thoughts and prayers. Right now I'm piggybacking on someone else's network and praying they don't turn it off, lol. Hopefully we'll be back online soon. :)
Thanks for checking in with me, Fal. Here's to a short time away.
ReplyDeleteI think your editing plan sounds very sensible. I did a total of four passes through my novel, and with each one I felt able to work at a deeper level, as the easier bits were corrected or smoothed out. I don't know ywriter (?). I tried a program years ago called DramaticaPro which helped me get started because it asked a lot of questions that prompted my imagination, though it soon felt restrictive.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear about your friends. These are hard times.
Love the new look, but it's probably not new, I just don't get here often since you aren't on my wordpress reader.
ReplyDeleteMaybe if all us cyberfriends banded together and posted about the many talents the Darc's possess, someone will find them and offer a dream job.
It's new-ish. Maybe a couple of months. Wordpress won't let me be on your reader? I'm using Wordpress.org on my own url, they should let me on there. *fumes*
ReplyDeleteMaybe DK should let us post his resume. He's got a lot of friends, it could get some attention. Maybe the wrong kind, though. lol