The Book Two Posts: Ep. 13, The Pop Culture Conundrum

 Okay, dear readers, I'm just going to be real here.

I have been on the outs with my writing as of late. It was going really, really great. Really. I was on about Chapter 20 of the edits and re-calibrating my trajectory as I edited my way through. There were some major plot changes, but it was still going pretty well, and I felt that what I had so far was SOLID. Like, granite solid. I was pretty certain that any other changes to those chapters would be very minor. I could see the checkered flag waving in the distance. But then, something happened in the real world. Something that sent my writing into an out-of-control spin, hurtling through the air with the grace of a broken toilet seat.

The Book Two Posts: Episode 12: Magic Moments and Changing Characters

Dear Readers,

First, I finally finished the EverMerge Gnome challenge, so here is my "Duck Duck Gnome"!  I felt that the Gnome challenge was very fitting since I'm still writing the Gnome Sweet Gnome series. I realize that not everyone will be impressed. 😸

It has been a strange time since I published my last book. There has been every type of distraction you can think of (a pandemic, for Pete's sake!), and I'm an easily distractible person. I had a lot of things tripping me up about the current work in progress, but I finally determined that I want it finished! Don't get me wrong. I'm actually really enjoying the writing at this point. My brain is really happy with the task and living in this other world. I mean, of course, we could ALL use a vacation from the real world right now, right? So this is the best possible scenario at this point! 

The Book Two Posts: Episode 11 - Plot Twists

If you have read my earlier posts, you know that I've been organizing my office. It was also part of a huge effort to reclaim my creative space from work, which takes up far too much mental real estate, for health benefits, to take back control of my life and space, and to get back to doing what I love.

The Book Two Posts, Episode 10: Fixing Broken Chapters

As I've pointed out in previous blogs, I've been having issues with one of my plot lines. For one thing, I just didn't enjoy reading Chapter Eight at all. It was almost painful to read, and I wasn't sure why. When I would reread what I had written to get back into the flow and reached Chapter Eight, I felt like, "Oh, that chapter. Not again." I just hated it for some reason.

The Book Two Posts: Ep. 9: Over 100,000 Words and Counting

I managed to nail down the beginning of the first chapter. For months, I wasn't entirely thrilled with it. I would take it apart and rewrite it, and still didn't feel like it was right. I started deconstructing again and added another paragraph that I feel is somewhat foreboding and sufficiently sets the tone for the story. I finally had that moment where I felt like this is it.

The Book Two Posts, Ep. 8 and Organizing

The book is at nearly 98K now, and I'm currently in the process of rereading, editing, tightening, polishing, and moving things around in a way that makes sense.

There are still a few problem areas to be fixed before I'll think of it as anywhere near complete. I think that it flows well in most areas, and I'm still struggling with one or two plot threads. I'm hoping that moving things around will help solve some of the issues. It's like I already had a solution to the problem, but I wasn't making the most of it.

About Writing: Ep. 4 Taking My Time

I've listened to a few authors vlogging and blogging about writing fast or writing more slowly, and the pros and cons were discussed. I will not be rehashing their material here. This post will be mainly about my thoughts that rose to the surface as I mulled over what works for me.

The Book Two Posts Ep. 7 AND About Writing Ep. 3

Because, sometimes, it's hard to talk about progress without talking about process. 

I spent a good bit of time today rewriting the climax. There are things I forgot to add to it, and there are things I have to go back into the earlier parts of the book to add. I recently removed a chapter that was several pages long, and, even so, it's  over 96K words now. I'm not too worried about the length. I know that I will be polishing in the third draft, and, as long as it makes the best use of the words, I'm happy with it. That's what the third draft will be all about.

The Book Two Posts Ep. 6: Friday Eve and Climaxes

A lot of the time, I come up with thoughts for blog posts while I'm in the midst of doing other things. Then, they slip my mind because I'm doing other things. Life has been pretty hectic for the last, I don't know, five years? I sometimes feel like I don't even have time to day dream, which is just plain wrong.

Anyway, back to writing updates. :)

The Book Two Posts Ep. 5: Chapter Breaks

In case anyone wondered, the book is definitely a book. The word count is inching its way toward 100K, but I have plans to remove a chapter that may become a standalone short story or novelette, possibly a give-away. That's actually a good thing because, inserted into the book, it seems out of place. I've spent a good while working on the timeline and calendar, rearranging some chapters, and trying to decide if I should put my chapter breaks in different places or merge chapters.

The Book Two Posts: The Rewrite Ep. 2

First of all.... I got some feedback on the first 30 pages, and it was good. 😁 She wants to know what happens next, which I think is the desired reaction. That's when I told her I can't send her the next pages right now because I'm editing them and adding a new scene.😅

About Writing Ep. 1: Things I Use for Writing

This isn't intended to be a how-to post. It's more of a discussion of craft and to give you a look at my process. There isn't a right or wrong. Just a matter of preference. I watched videos where writers discussed their favorite resources, and mine were a little different, so I thought I would throw them out there for your consideration.