Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Eye drops...six year old...do you see where this is going

My six y/o has pink eye and therefore must have drops in his eyes 4, count them, four times a day. The first time went okay. The second time, not so much. It took thirty minutes of pleading, making him stay laying down, pulling hands away, crying, flat out panicking, bribery and tough love before I got those drops in.  The third time... He took it like a champ! Looking back I can see where I went wrong and how where he was emotionally affected the outcome. 
Writing can be like that. It can be difficult and frustrating and it can be amazing, all in the same day. Some of it is where we are as writers and some of it is the story itself. But it's all worth it, healing pink eyes and finishing stories ;)
So I've managed to get a rough query written. I also feel like I understand what I need to do to write a successful query. Now I just have to actually do it. In an effort to keep sane I am back to WIP A and have started draft 4. So that's that :-D
Keep on keeping on!

Monday, September 21, 2015

Writing a query

Frustration is ugly!! I despise writing queries. I really do.  I'm currently starting to work on a query for my WIP A. While it's not complete as in the book isn't near enough to perfect to send out a query, it is far enough along to write its query.
Only, writing a blasted query for this book is proving to be as hard as writing the first draft was! Never the less, I can't stop seeing as how I would like to have the darn thing published ;)
Okay, now that I've vented my frustration, I guess I'll begin torturing myself again.
Keep on! Fight your fight!

Saturday, September 12, 2015

THE END

50,238 word count
110 pages(I didn't double space)
20 chapters
I did it. I finished my WIP R. It felt good.  It always feels good to finish. I'm pretty sure this was the easiest first draft I've ever wrote. It's contemporary YA when I've only completed YA urban fantasy before this.  I didn't have any particular song that inspired it. Usually I find a few songs or sometimes one song that I listen to over and over again. Sometimes I didn't listen to any music while I wrote.  This experience was different, but not a bad different.
Now I shall read the fourth book in the Inheritance Cycle and then work on a query and probably a synopsis for my WIP A. But first, Eragon!

Fight your fight!

Friday, September 11, 2015

The ending of The End

That is where I am. I need to finish the second to last chapter and write the final chapter. I made it halfway through chapter 19 before I got stuck.  All this time I had some vague idea of how I thought it would end.  Suddenly I realized I knew the end for two of my MC's but not the most important one. So I googled some ideas, debated things in my head and basically took over half a day to shake things out. I've just written down the loose outline of it and now I'm blogging. You see, I felt like I needed to put the idea down on paper to let it solidify in my head. I'm still not sure if it's the best ending for the book. Don't get me wrong, I don't think it's a bad ending, just may be not the best.
I want to write it now but I think it would be best to wait. I'll sleep on it and see how I feel when nap time comes for my wee one and I sit down at my laptop.  For now I'm giving in to a luxury I've withheld for the last few weeks. I'm going to read! Maybe sleeping on the plot is just an excuse, but one I'm not letting go of!
Keep on!

Saturday, September 5, 2015

So close...so far

I always have a goal when I write a book, to finish ;) Cheeky, huh?! Seriously, I find it helpful to have some sort of goal and I develop a loose plan accordingly. With my WIP R, I had a goal of 20 chapters and 50,000 words. Now this is just something to reach for, particularly the word count. If I go over the word count I don't mind a bit. If I come under, I'm disappointed. As for chapters, I follow a standard format for a 20 chapter book, but consider it a loose guideline and not set in stone. And while I have a general idea of what I want to happen each chapter and generically what should happen, I am certainly not bound by it. Particularly in the second draft I allow myself to see structurally what is better for the story.
All this is helpful to keep me on track.  I need that because the meat of the story is something I think out more in detail as I write the story. And so, as I go, I often feel so close and yet so far from THE END.
Anyway, here's an update: 41,083 word count and I'm in the middle of chapter 16 struggling to "make it, as in the story, BIGGER."
Fight your fight. Keep on!