Ideas have never been a problem for me. I have more ideas than I know what to do with. Ideas are the easy part. The first 20 000 words of a manuscript are easy too. The story flows, I'm excited because I'm writing something new, and the hard work hasn't really kicked in yet. About 30 000 words, I start to lag. I have to push through the barrier. I tell myself this is a good story, with interesting characters and a fabulous setting. If I've done my planning properly, I know where the plot is going. If I don't, then the project drifts away, never to be completed. I need to plot. Other writers prefer to fly by the seat of their pants.
40 000 - 50 000 is hard work, but once past that, I get a second wind. I keep track of my word counts each day, watching them grow. I finish my manuscripts at about the 70 000 - 80 000 mark.
Then the editing starts. Now I watch my word counts and delight as they drop. That means I'm tightening the plot, getting rid of fluffy qualifiers and deleting chunks that just aren't needed.
I'm in a happy mood at the moment because my editing is going well. I'm slashing, burning and lifting the quality of my writing. Tomorrow I might be in despair, but it's nice to have a few positive moments scattered amongst the pain!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Talented Friends
I'd like to give a plug to a couple of friends releasing new books soon.
Belinda Jeffrey is releasing her debut YA novel, Brown Skin Blue, this month. The launch will be at Avid Reader bookshop in West End, Brissie, Thursday 11th June. (6pm for 6.30) I've been very excited about this one ever since I had a sneak peak at the cover a few months ago. Belinda is an incredibly talented writer, and a very generous person. Brown Skin Blue should be a screaming success. Check out Belinda at www.belindajeffrey.wordpress.com
Talking of screaming successes:
Marele Day is launching her new novel, The Sea Bed, at the Byron Bay Writers Festival. This will be Marele's seventh book. Past successes have included 'Lambs of God' and the Claudia Valentine series. Marele was my mentor for my five days at Cooper's Shoot, and I'm so enamoured of her talent and willingness to help. If you want a sneak peak at The Sea Bed, go into a book shop and see if they have a little black Allen & Unwin '2009 fiction highlights' booklet. It describes Marele's book as: 'An illuminating story of love, family and change, told with simple humility and plain grace.'
I can't wait.
Belinda Jeffrey is releasing her debut YA novel, Brown Skin Blue, this month. The launch will be at Avid Reader bookshop in West End, Brissie, Thursday 11th June. (6pm for 6.30) I've been very excited about this one ever since I had a sneak peak at the cover a few months ago. Belinda is an incredibly talented writer, and a very generous person. Brown Skin Blue should be a screaming success. Check out Belinda at www.belindajeffrey.wordpress.com
Talking of screaming successes:
Marele Day is launching her new novel, The Sea Bed, at the Byron Bay Writers Festival. This will be Marele's seventh book. Past successes have included 'Lambs of God' and the Claudia Valentine series. Marele was my mentor for my five days at Cooper's Shoot, and I'm so enamoured of her talent and willingness to help. If you want a sneak peak at The Sea Bed, go into a book shop and see if they have a little black Allen & Unwin '2009 fiction highlights' booklet. It describes Marele's book as: 'An illuminating story of love, family and change, told with simple humility and plain grace.'
I can't wait.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Coopers Shoot
Early May - I won a NRWC (Northern Rivers Writers Centre www.nrwc.org.au) residential mentorship with the fabulous Marele Day. For five wonderful, rainy days, myself and three other writers stayed at the Coopers Shoot Guest House outside of Bangalow. I've never had the luxury of writing full time, and having my meals prepared for me was a huge bonus (Thanks, Jan!)
Initially I was worried - how would I go, doing nothing but writing for five days? I usually hit a wall about the third day. And the logistics? Soccer training, school lunches, uniforms... But everything dovetailed nicely. I only had one urgent phone call from my husband - what was our son's medicare number? I panicked briefly, but it was only a school camp note that had to be signed.
So - five days, full time writing.
Mornings were taken up with group discussions, about writing in general, editing, strategies, hopes, dreams... Afternoons were private writing time, and one-on-one consultations with Marele.
We concentrated on 'tightening up' our prose - getting rid of weak phrases and fillers, that don't add anything to the story. We became pedantic, putting every sentence and every word under the microscope. Is there a better way to phrase this? A stronger verb? Is that dialogue realistic?
By afternoon, I was often too shattered to write very much, so took a walk around the guest house grounds to clear my head.
Wednesday was a full day of private writing, and working on ten pages that we were to present to the group for critique. A valuable exercise. Even though we were all writing different genres, to have the benefit of three objective opinions was priceless - and why writing groups are essential to anyone serious about honing their work.
My five days flashed passed. They are over now, but not forgotten. I'm still working through all the ideas and suggestions that came out of that week.
If you have the opportunity to participate in something like this, do it. Call in those 'family favours', let the kids eat toast for a week, and if you do it in winter, you don't even have to iron school shirts, because they can wear their jumpers on top! And if you absolutely can't because of work or you have babies or any other reason, dream for the day when it will be possible.
Initially I was worried - how would I go, doing nothing but writing for five days? I usually hit a wall about the third day. And the logistics? Soccer training, school lunches, uniforms... But everything dovetailed nicely. I only had one urgent phone call from my husband - what was our son's medicare number? I panicked briefly, but it was only a school camp note that had to be signed.
So - five days, full time writing.
Mornings were taken up with group discussions, about writing in general, editing, strategies, hopes, dreams... Afternoons were private writing time, and one-on-one consultations with Marele.
We concentrated on 'tightening up' our prose - getting rid of weak phrases and fillers, that don't add anything to the story. We became pedantic, putting every sentence and every word under the microscope. Is there a better way to phrase this? A stronger verb? Is that dialogue realistic?
By afternoon, I was often too shattered to write very much, so took a walk around the guest house grounds to clear my head.
Wednesday was a full day of private writing, and working on ten pages that we were to present to the group for critique. A valuable exercise. Even though we were all writing different genres, to have the benefit of three objective opinions was priceless - and why writing groups are essential to anyone serious about honing their work.
My five days flashed passed. They are over now, but not forgotten. I'm still working through all the ideas and suggestions that came out of that week.
If you have the opportunity to participate in something like this, do it. Call in those 'family favours', let the kids eat toast for a week, and if you do it in winter, you don't even have to iron school shirts, because they can wear their jumpers on top! And if you absolutely can't because of work or you have babies or any other reason, dream for the day when it will be possible.
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