A Dose of Reality

I’ve done a fair bit of editing for other people. I enjoy helping to shape a story into something really special. But when you’re on the receiving end it can sometimes shake your confidence a little.

I’ve been given perhaps the first half of editing for The Secret Diary and it wasn’t pretty. My confidence was shaken enough for me to seriously contemplate ditching it altogether. In fact, I started several blog entries to that effect.

This morning however, as I travelled to work, I understood what my editor had been trying to tell me. It needed to be better. And she was right. I’d defended some of my written work, even to the point of arguing with her, which was really stupid, but it all came down to the fact that the story is still a draft and there are still changes that need to be made to fix it. A lot of changes.

Not once did she tell me it was rubbish. And truth be told she even said it had a good chance at publication. So in spite of all the other stuff that was said -all the parts I have to fix – that’s what’s motivating me to keep working on The Secret Diary.

I need to come to grips with my MC’s age. I need to understand how teens talk and behave today. As I said I feel as though it’s only been half edited at this stage but what I’ve got to go on with is a considerable amount of work anyway.

In No Way Abandoned

My life has been completely out of control for the last few months. I used to think I worked to live but recently it seems all I do is work. At one point I was doing six days a week and even did eight days straight! It was crazy and as a result saw the things I enjoy pushed to the side as I met the demands of my employers.

I have to say though, the expression rings very true, all work and no play makes me an incredibly unhappy camper.

The Christmas break was nice and the first long weekend I’ve had since Labour Day last March. Although I didn’t get any writing done it was nice to see family and even nicer to just be at home. My poor home. It’s been terribly neglected but I set to scrubbing, dusting and washing it and it’s starting to come good again.

I sent my short story and I’ve received really positive feedback. I’ll see about sending through another installment – it’s written, but in no way polished – but I’m not going to rush it. I would really like to concentrate on The Secret Diary but at the moment it’s with a good friend getting the stuffing beaten out of it. I do have corrections to continue on with it, so I’ll start there and then see how else it needs to be shaped.

So, no, my little writing blog has not been abandoned. Simply left in stasis until I was able to get myself in some kind of order and not live one day at a time as a robotic zombie. I’m far from being organised, but one thing’s for sure, I just need to keep reminding myself that it’s all right to take time out for me.

Just For Fun

I’m thoroughly enjoying my short story. It’s different to the one I originally started but I’m really pleased with it so far. It’s still fantasy and looks into the lives of two royal families. I’m mulling over titles but I’m yet to come up with one I’m really happy with.

I have definite plans for this as it’s not the kind of story (fantasy aside) I usually write. I guess I’m just having a bit of fun with my writing and am letting my hair down so to speak before I put on my serious editing cap. I’m leaving The Secret Diary very much alone and I’m pleased my current work is a whole spectrum away from it.

I’m editing the short story as I go but I feel a lot more comfortable working that way due to the size of the project. My characters are still a little 2D and the plot is really laughable, but I’m enjoying the process and more importantly, I’m writing.

Let the Roast Rest

I love cooking and for me one of life’s pleasures is a good old fashioned roast (lamb is best) dinner. Yum! One of the crucial steps to the meal is to let the meat rest so the juices can all flow back and make the meat all the more tender. In spite of what Nigella and Jamie Oliver say, I usually ignore this step as I’m far too impatient to get a hot meal on the table and quite frankly I don’t see the point in serving the meat stone cold.

The same, however, cannot be said for my writing. I must leave it to rest. I have to give it time to mellow. It might sound strange in that it’s not like it’s going to change as it sits as a Word file on my computer, but for me to see it as an editor and not a writer, it must be left. I wrote my final sentence this morning and I can say with great satisfaction that the official draft number two is complete. It sits at 52000 words and I’m extremely happy with this version and I feel the story has come a long way since I originally put pen to paper (finger to keyboard?) just over twelve months ago and started The Secret Diary. There’s still a long way to go as I’m aiming for a word count of 110000. But that will come with the first lot of editing this draft will receive.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that my writing will stop. I think it’s imperitive for me to keep going while the pen is still warm. I’m champing at the bit to get stuck into the next book of the series but I will take a break from my MC and her adventures and look to something light, easy and fun. A short story! As I’ve mentioned in previous posts I adore short stories. I got an idea a few days ago for a fantasy/scifi story as I was writing a fairly heated entry in my journal. I’ll set out the planning of it and make sure it works before I dig in and start writing. I’m going to use my spreadsheet method and see if that works just as well as it did for my novel.

My collection of short stories is growing and I’m proud of the small clutch I have that I can say I’m truly proud of. I say this because I’ve actually got several and a fair few that I’m not proud of whatsoever, but I keep them because I can’t throw any of my writing away no matter how badly written. Ideas can lurk in the funniest of places.

I haven’t thought of a title for it yet, but I’ll be keeping my blog updated on its progress.

Remember the Small Stuff

Since I started my latest draft for The Secret Diary on 29th July I’ve managed to write over 47000 words. Had I been a participant in NaNoWriMo I would be extremely confident in finishing well within the time limit with more than enough words. Of course, the draft is not finished yet and is in dire need of some major editing but my mantra has been to simply ‘get the story down’. I had to stop myself several times along the way from going back and picking through, I was incredibly firm with my inner editor and told her to sit in the corner and wait. Her turn would come.

My outline as worked really well and though I have to admit I did stray from it near the end, I was able to keep within the basic ideas and pound out a story I’m really happy with. The straying was simply a case of better ideas presenting themselves as I went along and I felt compelled to listen – okay so my IE did poke her nose in occasionally. The story now has a bit of action and suspense that was not there at the start. I think it will make a far better read than the first attempt but I certainly wouldn’t be at this point if I hadn’t gone through that first draft.

I think I have a few thousand more words to go then it’ll be back to the beginning for a thorough going over. There’s stuff in there that’s missing, like descriptions of people, time of day, if my characters have eaten lately, that sort of humdrum stuff that seems monotonous but is essential. I started a list in my ever present exercise book of ‘things to be aware of’ as I typed. For example, my MC has a bad habit that I’ve not mentioned since the first page. If it’s a habit then surely she’d do it more often right? I also need to make sure that I haven’t forgotten any characters along the way. My MC has a younger brother but I know there are scenes at home where he’s not seen or mentioned. Although he’s not a crucial part of the story he is in the sense that he’s keeping my MC and the settings around her real.

So, once I’m certain I’ve got the story down completely I’ll start going through it as editor. I will also use the time to do more planning on book two which follows very closely after book one.

First Impressions Last

When you pick up a book, what do you look at first when deciding whether or not to read it? For some it’s the title or the blurb, others go by reviews and some will open to the first chapter and scan the first few lines. I go by the order of title, blurb, first few lines. But having said that, as much as the title and blurb might hook me in, if those first few lines don’t grab me then it all hangs in the balance of whether I’ll give it the time of day or put it back on the shelf.

It goes without saying that the most important sentence you write is the first one. And that probably explains why it can also be the most difficult. For The Secret Diary I’ve got about ten opening lines so far and I’m not happy with any of them. The story is written in the first person and the opening scene is with my MC, who at the moment the scene starts is a very angry teenage girl. Also, since I decided to change the format from diary to narrative I’m caught between writing as if she’s telling the story and writing while she’s living the story. I guess the former would be similar to the diary format so I’m strongly considering the latter.

But it still brings me back to my dilemma of the opening line! It’s hard to know what will grab my reader’s attention. For me, they’ll be 16 – 18 year old girls. I almost think I picked the hardest audience to please, but I’m sure there are worse cases. Let’s face it though, if I haven’t hooked my audience with a string of words that will not only make them want to continue, but have to continue, my book will be stranded on that cold, lonely shelf. It’s certainly no easy feat but one I, and I’m sure countless other writers, have to accomplish.

Getting to Know You

One of the biggest things I noticed while going through my current manuscript was how flat some of my characters seemed to be. I’d written up character sheets for the few major characters I had, but since the others were only small appearances I didn’t bother since I was sure I could write them without the need. But then I thought why. Why does my MC deserve a character sheet any more than the small bit part characters she meets along the way? It’s especially important, or so I’m discovering, that if you plan to write a series it’s imperative you know who’s who other wise you’ll be stuck when that bit part turns into a lead.

So I started again and from the top. My MC has a new profile and even a few more added traits. I’ve got reasons why she’s liked and why she’s disliked. Her talents and failings, her strengths and weaknesses. She’s not just 3D, she’s animated 3D. And now I have something I can refer to as I venture into the other books as well. Whatever situation I decide to throw at her I know I can come up with a solution for it because I’ll know how she’s going to react.

I have to say that it’s been quite fun with the other characters too in that I’m able to dream up whatever likes and dislikes I want them to have. What habits they might have, not to mention a bit about their own family. I can choose who loves to play football and who doesn’t, who should sing and who shouldn’t. Who fills their school book margins with tiny doodles and who bites their nails to the quick. It’s amazing the different attributes of people. It’s always a good reason as a writer to simply sit and observe. You never know when someone performs a perfect character trait.

A New Approach

I have to come clean. Writing on the train has not worked and it will not. It was really uncomfortable (and I mean physically, not from the point of a person sitting next to me, wondering what I’m doing) and I was all hunched up with my notebook in a cramped space that did nothing for my back, let alone my handwriting. It took me ages to get into it and by the time I’d really started I had to stop. In fact, I only gave it the one trip before I knew how useless writing on the train was going to be. All is not lost since I now spend the time reading. I’m back into my YA fiction and I’m finding it a much more satisfactory use of my time since I can get into a book in the blink of an eye. And since I believe you can never do enough research this will suit me just fine.

As far as The Secret Diary goes, I’ve been feeling really inhibited by it. The main reason for this has been where to begin. Since I made the decision to change it I’ve been dancing around it without really sinnking my teeth in. I realise I need a brand new outline, a new plan that I can focus on and stop trying to beat the old one into shape. It won’t mean a total rewrite, most of what I already have is going in but it needs a new approach so I can get the thing sorted and back on track. Time will always be a problem, but that hasn’t been the full extent of why my writing has stalled. The biggest issue is getting over this hurdle, then I know I’ll find the time as I’ll have it under control and will actually want to continue on with it.

Besides, I’ve got a ton of other ideas that have been tapping my shoulder for attention and I won’t be able to address any of them until I’ve got this current project finished and submitted.

My Writing Kit

I’m about to become one of the thousands of migrating Victorian country folk as I start the rather new routine of catching a train to work. Aside from the fact that I’m only slightly terrified, it’s a situation I’m actually happy to comply with since it’s the perfect opportunity to get on with some serious writing. I’ve been muddling over the dilemma of working on The Secret Diary without the ability to save to computer for some time. Although the solution may seem blatantly obvious it’s been more or less a problem of aquisition rather than execution.

I’ve finally assembled my writing kit. It isn’t anything elaborate but it will enable me to get a few words down in the time I have trundling along to the city (my trip is comparatively short to that of one of my fellow writers). I’ve bought an exercise book with a hard cover for sturdiness (this also helps as it’s something to lean on), a new pen (and that alone can be enough to get me writing, just for the feel of it) and a highlighter. I’ll add a small thesaurus somewhere along the line, but it’s certainly not essential.

As the materials suggest, I’ll be writing long hand with the intent of transposing to my home computer later. Not a new concept for me since it’s how I started out writing, but I take pride in knowing it’s a leaf out of Philip Pullman’s book – no pun intended. Once happy, because I tend to edit during that phase, I will print out copies to edit even more. As much as I would dearly love to get my hands on a Notebook, for the moment this is the best way for me to at least get on with writing.

I also see this as good reading time and although it can be tempting to use it for just that purpose exclusively I feel it’s essential that I get stuck into the writing. It’s been three months since I started my new job and my writing has suffered substantially. I’m going to have to get back into books aimed at my target audience since the plot has changed and the result of that is an older age level for my novel. Even so, I enjoy YA fiction so it won’t be any great sacrifice.

The Horror of History

The Secret Diary has evolved with a rather sharp and unexpected twist. The idea occurred to me as I was mulling over the editing and wondering how to give it a little more punch.

Of course, this has lead to more research and the things I am discovering have definitely touched a nerve. I find it incredible that society dragged everyday people through all manner of traumatic experiences just to save face. Whose face I ask you?! Everyone worried about what everyone else thought and so those caught in the middle were made to feel isolated, alone and ashamed and in most cases literally were. The governing factors of this were doctors, churches and in most cases the victim’s actual family. I can not imagine how a mother can turn her back on her own daughter when she is most in need of her support. The very idea abhors me and yet it was done. Of course, I do understand that said mother, might not have had a choice but to shun her own flesh and blood due to the pressures placed on herself.

I realise ideals were very different back then – mind you, we’re talking only a few decades ago – but I would think a parent’s love for their child is no different to the love a parent has these days.

The historical side for my story is not a big part but it is a crucial one and one I hope to write as authentically as possible. There’s still a lot I’ve yet to find out, but I can honestly say that this part of Australian history is one we can definitely not be proud of.