I believe in my last entry, I was a bit down about not getting my writing goals accomplished this year. Well, I've put my pen to the grindstone lately and plan to make it after all. What motivated me? I guess because I didn't want to miss this goal. I managed to complete all my goals last year and then some, yet this year I really slacked off. So, I asked myself -- how important is writing to me? And my answer was important enough to buckle down and complete that goal.
I now have about 75% of the story written and plan to have it done by the end of December. Which shouldn't be a problem, since I managed to write 25% of th story in two weeks and there are still a good 8 weeks left in the year!
Something else which spurred me on was that I am anxious to write more magazine articles and short stories. I love these types of projects and miss them a lot. So when I plan my goals for next year you can bet I'll be adding these in.
Since the end of the year is approaching and Ohio's nice summer weather is at an end, I've been thinking of my goals for next year. To be honest, I failed my goals this year, which was to finish the first draft of my story. However, it is about half written and that is more than I have ever accomplished in my writing life, so I am not altogether unpleased with myself. I do want to push myself further next year, though. And one of these goals I will likely set for myself is to update my journal on a more regular basis!
I have, however, enjoyed my summer so far. The weather has been beautiful. My garden is growing and not just the weeds actual vegetable plants are thriving this year! I'll have cherry tomatoes in a week or so and our regular tomato plants are thriving too! I should have zucchini ready in a day or two. And I had a bountiful strawberry harvest last month. I'm currently renovating (weeding out) my strawberries so they'll come back strong again next year. Did you know that strawberry plants are invasive? Wait a minute... that sounds like an article for a magazine....
Toodaloo!
I think that what makes this story successful (besides all the cool faeries) is that Jared -- with help from his siblings and a couple friendly faeries -- always solves the dilemma, even when the odds seem stacked too high. In fact, there is only one instance where an adult even gives any advice at all. My eleven year old daughter loves this in a story; it makes her feel empowered. She lives in a world where she HAS to do things without questioning: go to school, clean her room, help with dinner dishes, etc. Occasionally, she gets to make her own choices like whether or not to join the swim team, but that's only after her father, step-father, and mother (me) have agreed it would be ok with us if she did. Stories like the Spiderwick Chronciles lets her join a world where kids have power and can make a difference in the world -- something she can't wait to do. As an author, I need to pay close attention to my stories to make sure they have this quality.
Oh yeah, I'm now going to put the movie version at the top of my Netflix que. :-)
1.2 and 4.1 are deep in it now. And they are about to, unknowingly, expose 1.2's father to the colony authorities. Can't these two stay out of trouble?
Anyways, I have been working on the story in the past couple of weeks. I've gone over scenes 7,8, & 9 preparing them for my next submission turn in a few weeks. I've re-mapped out the beginning of the story in outline form and have re-mapped the middle of the story in outline form. I really need to work out some characters, since I have added a couple in scenes 8 and 9.
Next week I plan to revise them in order to get these scenes ready for my writing group. After that is done though, I plan to spend some time planning. Examining the plot and sub-plots. Honing in on the theme of my story. Defining characters, many of them have changed dramatically -- especially Sam Wiseman. I also need to figure out how to draw him into the story more. He is going to be a key character, but he's just not in the story enough at this time. And finally, re-mapping my story arch. It has drifted a bit from the original one and needs re-done.
I feel like I'm getting somewhere and am pretty happy about it!
1.2 and 4.1 have been given a task by their mother. Can they complete it?
10,350 words of 60,000 are done! That's 17% complete. And 86% of the beginning is complete.
Actually by the end of scene 10 the beginning will be completely done. No matter what the word count says. As of right now, that consists of three chapters.
These scenes I have written in 3rd person rather than 1st. So far, I think it sounds better. I'm looking forward to hearing what my writing group thinks about the change.
I also noticed that in the early versions of this story, 4.3 was ACTUALLY 4.1. Oops. I'm going to correct his name because he is the first-born of his siblings. (His mother is the fourth born of her siblings.)
Here is some writing advice that I am plagerizing directly from one of my writing partner's emails:
There are four questions that should be asked and answered in every story. These same four questions should also make up your synopsis that every publisher wants when you submit a query to him/her about your novel. Needless to say, the four questions in a synopsis need to be answered very concisely and briefly. They are:
1. What does the main character (s) seriously and truly want?
2. What is getting in the way of the MC getting it? ( Conflicts, emotions, people, etc.)
3. What does the MC do to overcome these obstacles?
4. How does the MC eventually resolve this or these conflicts?
If you feel that your story doesn't ask, and answer, these questions, then you need to do some rewriting. Everything in the story should be there for a reason, and every editor is going to ask "Why?" Why should I read this? What is happening that is going to entice me to read the whole book? Am I going to be satisfied at the end that all my questions have been answered, even if not always in a happy way. (Books don't necessarily have to have a happy ending, just a satisfactory one.)
In an effort to start "reading like a writer" (and remember the names and author's of the books I read), I'm going to start writing down what I read, observed, and how to apply it or compare it to my writing.
I finished reading The 39 Clues Book 1: Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan Publisher Scholastic.
The reading experience: This is a very clever book series that incorporates history into an incredible marketing scheme which includes a web site, a card game, and an online community for readers. It is aimed at middle-grade readers. My daughter (11) loved it. I heard about Ben Franklin for a week before I said, ok ok I'll read it. It took me a couple weeks to get through it. (It's a fast paced exciting book, I just have a full-time job, a family to feed, and a house to clean. :-) At some point during those two weeks, my husband (who NEVER reads ANYTHING except his fishing magazine) picked it up and started reading it. He loved it, too.
What I observed: The story is written in 3rd person. The 2 main characters are Amy (14) and Dan(11). For the most part, one chapter would be from Dan's point of view, the next from Amy's. The story opened from their Grandmother's POV and switched to Mr McIntyre's viewpoint in that 1st Chapter. There were also a couple of spots where the POV is from Amy & Dan's adversaries: Alastair Oh and Irina Spasky, maybe some of the others, too.
Tags and traits were used. Specific examples are the hulky Holt family and the polished British cousins. Dan is a collector of odd stuff and Amy is shy and a book worm.
Internal Conflicts: Amy feels cowardly and wants to be brave like she remembers her mother and her grandmother. She's not sure she is up to the tasks that her grandmother has bestowed upon her. Dan cannot remember his parents and desparately misses them.
External Conflicts: Well, as usual --- civilization as we know it (yawn).
Observations applied to my story: POV -- I have been writing in 1st person. The next couple scenes I'm going to write in 3rd and see if I like it better. I feel like the voice in 1st person isn't quite right and I wonder if it will sound better in 3rd. Tags & Traits -- I need to think about my characters and list out specific tags for each one -- then use them! Internal conflict -- I need to focus on this a bit more. 1.2 has a distrust of adults especially his father but I haven't conveyed this very well. I need to work on it. External Conflict -- Well, I guess fundamentally, civilization as the colonists on Mars know it. (oh no, I hope this isn't a yawner!)
I have been writing 1.2's story though. I have scene's 5 & 6 ready to go for my writing group. I also got back my last assignment from my ICL class and received my diploma! It was exciting completing the course, but I am glad to free up my writing time now from assignments. I learned plenty of new skills from the class and I definitely recommend it to new writers. But, I am looking forward to focusing strictly on my novel. I'm still holding myself to the goal of finishing the 1st draft by the end of the year.
Next week, I will begin working on the next scene or two which should bring me to then end of the beginning of the story! That'll be something.
I went through my writing group's critiques of Scene 4 and got some great insight on the shortfalls and strengths of my story. So I have noted changes to be made on my previous scenes and incorporated the ideas into scene 5. Scene 6 will be tomorrow's work.
I have also written down some tags which I will begin using to describe my various characters. For example, 4.3's tags are "stocky", "clumsy", and "loyal". He's willing to do anything for his leader, 1.2 -- even lie (which 1.2 has a bad habit of doing), but this will be his downfall before the end of the story and he will have to stand up for himself at the end in order to save his loved ones.
Margret Mitchell, the author of Gone with the Wind, was a master at this technique. Ashley's tags were "long" and "blonde". Rhett's tags were "tall", "dark", and "strong" -- words we often use today to describe handsome men: Tall, dark, and handsome. Everyone one of her characters had tags that were used throughout the story. Scarlett's were the only ones that changed during the course of the story as she grew from a spoiled, rich child into a hard woman willing to sell her soul just to support Tara and the people she loved.
I hope I can use tags so well as she.
Here are my story stats:
9,650 words of 60,000 complete. That's 16% percent!
Finally, I am back into my story. My last ICL assignment has been sent off, so I'm ready to get back to work on 1.2's story. I've just completed a short scene where 1.2 talks his sister, Flor, into presenting his rocket at the contest. So another 850 words are done. And I'm coming to the end of the beginning of the book!
My goal is to have the beginning completed by the end of February.
Right now here is where I stand:
Beginning: 7,150 words of 12,000 are complete. 59.5% complete
Entire book: 7,150 words of 60,000 are complete. 12% complete
Here's my word count:
Goal: 60,000 ish
Complete: 6,500 ish
% Complete: 10.8%
Tomorrow I will start on Scene 5.
I plan ahead using a day planner. Early every Monday morning, I pour a rich cup of hot coffee, grab some scrap paper (I'm too cheap for a real day planner), and I write down EVERYTHING I plan to do during the week. Then I punch holes in the paper and insert it into a three ring binder. Here's an example of a typical weekday this January:
6 to 7am Check Email (Personal & Work)
7 to 8am Get ready for work/school. Take kids to school.
8 to 1130am Work
1130 to 1230pm Lunch
1230 to 4pm Work
4 to 430pm Exercise
430 to 7pm Supper -- Spaghetti
7 to 9pm Write Time -- Research Rocketry
9 to 10pm Hang out with Hubby in front of TV.
As the seasons change, obviously, my schedule has to be revised. On Tuesday evenings I usually do my weekly shopping and we have take out for dinner. By shopping during the week, my weekends are freed up for marathon writing sessions when I normally accomplish more because I'm rested.
Key to staying on schedule for the week, is to plan out your meals when planning your week. Notice how I stuck "spaghetti" next to supper, I plan out every dinner on Monday for the week. This eliminates an enormous amount of stress for me, because I don't come home from work wondering what on earth I'm going to feed my family. I do my exercises, and then refer to my schedule, and then start preparing supper. No thinking. No stress.
Staying organized is another key element to achieving your goals. I keep three separate manila folders and three separate virtual(electronic) folders for each story or article I write. One for the manuscript, one for research and notes, and one for marketing the manuscript. The marketing folder contains a profile for each magazine/ezine I plan to submit to and a query letter. Later on, as rejection letters arrive I file them in this folder, as well.
By keeping these items separate and handy, I can easily find the information I need for my daily writing/researching/revising/marketing session. For example, if I plan to research Rocketry during my evening write time, I'll grab my research folder and I'm off to the library with everything I need.
Planning ahead and staying so organized may seem tedious and more work than it's worth. It is and it isn't. I does take effort to plan ahead and keep organized, however, by doing so, I'm able to accomplish more than I expect to every year.
Happy Writing!
This time of year much advice for new writers centers around goal setting. However, without an action plan to execute those goals, would-be writers can end up discouraged and frustrated. (I know this from experience!) Large corporations know the benefit of this. They often have budgets of over a million dollars and involve scores of resources explicitly for creating action plans for their goals. Of course, rather than spending a week at a posh spa like some businesses, you'll likely have to settle for a hot cup of tea and your favorite easy chair. So gather your trusty writing utensil(s), favorite notepad or journal, and start thinking.
Let's create an example action plan for my goal from last week's post: "Complete a first draft of my Martian colony middle-grade, science fiction novel and come up with a suitable title by year-end."
I begin by asking the obvious question: "What do I need to DO in order to achieve this goal?" The answer usually leads to more questions. Once I answer those questions and any questions begat by those questions my plan begins to take a simple shape that is easy for me to follow. Here's how it goes:
What do I need to do to achieve this goal?
- Write
- How much?
- Find out the word count of an average MG novel. (Do Now.)
- Add up how many words I've already written. (Do Now.)
- How many words do I need to write each month?
- # of words to go / 12 (Do Now.)
- How do I make sure I meed this goal?
- Stick to designated writing times. (ongoing)
- Keep a tally of my word count on my office cork board. (Do Now.)
- Every submission to my writing group should be a newly written scene for the story. (Ongoing.)
- Don't get burnt out. If I hit a block, take a break & write something else.
- How much?
- Find A Title
- Market Research -- Look at market and see how similar novels are titled. (Complete by end of March.)
- Read a book/article on creating titles for MG novels. (Complete by end of June.)
- Pick a day once the first draft of the novel is at least 3/4 written and brain storm. (Complete by end of December.)
Try it see how it goes this year and let me know if having a defined action plan works for you!
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teepleacres- Kim S Teeple
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