I have been working on this story since I crossed the finish line of the 2008 NaNoWriMo competition, trying to solidify the plot to something intelligible and believable. The mind mapping technique worked to outline the newer characters, and I had constructed what I thought was a solid plot at the time. My characters evidently thought differently because they spun off into a new and totally unanticipated direction.
During the past several weeks, I’ve been churning out the chapters at a faster pace than normal. The story kept coming, forcing me to set aside my other projects until I typed THE END. Excited, I pulled all of my chapters with the hopes of seeing at least 70K words. That wasn’t the case, much to my disappointment. I’m at 55K right now. The good news is that I feel I have a better plot that could still use some minor tweaks here and there.
I just need to work on expanding some of the scenes and going deeper inside my characters’ heads to draw out their motivations better. My goal is to expand this novel to another 40K words by the time I’m finished with the final draft. There’s still lots of work to be done on this novel, but it’s not nearly the struggle to write as Prosperity was.
While I’m letting SOE simmer, I’ll be reading a few how-to books. I was thrilled when I saw Stephen King’s On Writing available for the nook, along with Nancy Kress’ Dynamic Characters. Those are my all-time favorite books about writing. I found another, called Description & Setting, by Ron Rozelle, which I am reading right now.
Description has always been my weakest point in writing. I guess I’m afraid of being too wordy. Fortunately for me, there are exercises in that book that will help me practice.
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Congrats on getting the draft finished. I know how great a feeling it is when you power home with those words. I need to get back into more and your post kind of helped.
.-= Benjamin Solah´s last blog ..Israel/Palestine: More Settlements Confirm Again Israel Doesn’t Want Peace =-.
Thanks, Ben.
Yeah, I’ll be glad when this story is ready for the editor’s pen. Glad I could help you.
Congratulations on finishing another draft, Deborah. It does give a satisfying feeling, doesn’t it?!
.-= Karen Lee Field´s last blog ..Book Review: Writing Fiction for Dummies =-.
Thanks, Karen.
Yes, it does!! Now, I’m immersing myself in writing exercises, which has been a nice distraction. It sure helps deal with the “writer’s withdrawal”.
I just found your blog browsing through Google, and I know exactly where your coming from . Finishing my work is half the battle, I can get something 90% complete then decide I need to scrap half and start over, or realize I’m not going to get nearly as deep and descriptive as I want too. Congrats on completing 55k of 70k, your nearing the finish line. As a freelance writer I get caught in writer block that can kill half a day if I let it. I need to work on becoming more productive without all the distractions that keep popping up. Good luck on the draft of your book, I’m sure you will have a finished copy in no time. I will add this place to my favorites and check up on your progress.
-Chris
Thanks, Chris.
Yes, sometimes writing a story (especially a novel-length one) feels like a battle. The third draft of this story is going somewhat easier than the first and even the second. I’ve been keeping track of my word count for each chapter and tallying as I go. So far, I’m approaching 30K and I haven’t reached the halfway mark yet in the story.
Hey Deborah, I just now realized your post is a few months old (haha). Well it’s great to see your moving along with your third draft, and I’m glad it’s becoming easier as you go along! 30k is quite an accomplishment in itself.. I’m sure it will be done in no time. Thanks for replying to my message
I’m off to browse around your place here, have fun!
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