The Writing Saga

Writing Update 2/18

2010-02-18T10:57:00.000-05:00

I'm apparently bad at keeping this updated...Anyway, just wanted to say that I have been writing. Maybe not thousands of words, but more than before, which is better than nothing right?

I haven't really worked on Lady of the Snow; for some reason, that story is stuck temporarily. I have however been actively rewriting the beginning of my older WiP, The Scarlet Daughter. The ideas for that one seem to be flowing again--after almost a year hiatus--so I'm going with it. I guess sometimes it takes a long break like that to start things up again.

Also, I've come up with a new story idea. It's not one I'll be working on actively any time soon since I'd like to get these two WiPs done first, but sometimes ideas just can't be stopped. They come when they come.

This one came from a story I read online. It was an archeological find in Assam (near India and Bangladesh) that many say prove the story of an old mythological Indian story about King Banasura and his daughter, Princess Usha. Check out the story for more info about it.

It just went from there really--the story developed in my head complete with the mythical world I'll be setting it in (with heavy influence of Indian culture, as well as a bit of Persian and Chinese too). It's only loosely based off the story--just like my Yuki-onna one--but the inspiration can be traced back to this myth.

I don't really have much besides a loose outline. I don't have any character names yet nor do I have the world fully pictured in my head. This one will actually take some time to develop since it's essentially going to be in a fantasy world. For now, it's going to have to stay undeveloped. But it's there and it's something to work on should the writing stop for the other two WiPs.

Update 2/9

2010-02-09T20:46:00.000-05:00

Tsk, tsk. Not updating like I should *slaps hand*

Anyway I did get a couple thousand words written for Lady of the Snow over the weekend for that Write Your Rear Off day. I'm still not really happy with that chapter though. I know I should write past it--only that chapter is supposed to be up for first round critique in a little more than a week o_O So that's why I've been focusing on it.

I think I may have to relinquish my spot though. I've been focusing on that chapter for entirely too long and can't focus on getting the rest of the book (re)written because of it. Or I'll just submit the unfinished crap version that I have. That works. :P

Writing Update 2/3

2010-02-03T14:31:00.000-05:00

Project: Scarlet Daughter
Words Written: 832
Time Spent: 20 min
Difficulties & Progress:

I shifted focus temporarily to my older WiP--the one I'd abandoned for Lady of the Snow. It was much easier for me to get the words out here and work on this story, at least for the current time. It's probably not the greatest idea for me to shift back and forth like this, but Naomi (my MC for the Scarlet Daughter) came back out of hibernation. Plus I feel like I know her better--maybe because I spent two-three years writing about her and her story. Also it's in third person, which is my strength. Well, sort of.

I still cannot decide which viewpoint to use for LotS. I thought first person would be great, but now not so sure. Maybe because I'm having a hard time distancing myself and speaking in the "I" mode all the time. Her voice is supposed to be a little more elegant and supernatural like, but she keeps coming out too casual. At least in first person. When I switch to third, she's more of how I pictured her.

Perhaps my next submission for critique will be back to third, just to see what they think. I know the first time I submitted my chapter in third person, they loved it. First person....not so much at all.

Anyway, I'm taking part in Write Your Rear*Off Day, as hosted by Moonrat. I posted about it over on my other blog if you are curious about the details. Hopefully as a part of this mini-write-a-thon, I'll be able to get a few thousand words out, whether that's on Scarlet Daughter, Lady of the Snow or combination of both.

Writing Update 2/2

2010-02-02T14:03:00.001-05:00

Having a bit of a time still writing for Lady of the Snow, so I decided to write a little of my old WiP. I easily wrote 600 words in less than twenty minutes for it. Go figure.

Perhaps I am so focused on writing LotS that I'm looking at it too closely. Maybe a day or two of working on a different project will help me getting the writing juices flowing again for LotS.

Writing Update 1/28

2010-01-28T23:23:00.002-05:00

Ok, I've been bad. I haven't written in a day, but I've been in kind of a slump. I know--not an excuse. But sometimes we all go through slumps and I'm trying to pull out of this one. I will, I promise. My book is just frustrating me beyond all belief and it's hard to stay focused. But I'm going to continue--I just needed a break.

Writing Update Day 3

2010-01-26T11:41:00.000-05:00

Words Written: 357
Time Spent: 10 min
Difficulties & Progress:
I wrote while I waited in the parking lot for my husband to get off of work. For some reason it was a lot easier to write sitting in the car waiting for him than it was writing at home. I chalk that up to lack of distraction in the car. I'm thinking I need to venture out to the local bookstore and/or Panera Bread to get myself to write.

I did manage to get a little further into chapter 2. However I'm considering skipping around since this scene is rather ho hum and I really want to write another scene, which doesn't come until another chapter later or so.

Goal for Tomorrow: Keep on writing. Unsure if I'll finish chapter 2 or skip ahead.

Writing Update Day 2

2010-01-24T23:06:00.001-05:00

Words Written: 525
Time Spent: 15 min
Difficulties & Progress:
Focusing was a bit of a problem, but I did manage to get a slightly better view of my MC. I wrote it mostly before church in my notebook and it was nice to just write without abandon and not have to worry about it ever being seen by other readers' eyes. I think the only way for me to continue figuring her out is to keep writing the story.

Goal for Tomorrow: Work on the new draft and finish the second chapter.

Writing Update Day 1

2010-01-22T22:24:00.003-05:00

Words Written: 679
Time Spent: 20 min
Difficulties:
I've been having a hard time writing first person. I'm so used to third person that my first person voice sounds...stilted. I thought I knew my character, or at least well enough to make her come across a little more real after writing the last draft, but I'm finding that's not the case at all. For some reason I'm unable to remove those barriers and it's leaving my character very 2-D and cardboard-ish.

I think I'm still trying to find her voice--and my own--which is why it's coming off this way. Still it's frustrating, and it's like pulling teeth to get the words out now. Part of me thinks I should go back to third person, but I really, really wanted to tell this story in first--I think it would be much more powerful that way.

That is, of course, if I could figure out how to do it. I guess I shouldn't beat myself up too much. I'm still learning but it's very frustrating right now.

Goal for Tomorrow: I'm thinking of working on some sort of small character sketch--something that's not part of the book itself but that will help me figure out Miyuki's voice. I need to just let go and not worry about anything and I'm thinking a character sketch/random rambling writing session is the best way to do this. So, that's my goal for tomorrow.

Introduction

2010-01-21T23:16:00.001-05:00

Well, I was inspired to start this blog from my other writing friend Corra McFeydon over at From the desk of a writer. She's doing something similar: blogging each day to let others know about her word progress, whether that's a novel, short story, poem, etc.

So I decided to do something similar: create a blog solely for the purpose of recording my the progress on my WiPs. Each day will be a brief summary of what I wrote, the challenges I encountered and the amount of words written that day. It's also a way to hold me publicly accountable...so if I post "zero" words for the day, you all can get on my case for it. I'm going to try and update this daily for however long in order to get me in the habit of writing on a regular basis. I'll set it up as follows:

Words Written
Time Spent
Difficulties
Goal for Today

As the inaugural post, my goal for tomorrow is to have at least 500 new words written for my current WiP Lady of the Snow.

Oh, and if you haven't seen my other blog, which is essentially anything related to writing--or my life in general, it's over here: Tales from the Writing Front .