WIP

Morning Update

I'm still alive (hurray!).

Don't you just hate it when a blog you are following suddenly starts randomly posting brief updates which all say the same thing?

As in, "We is writing. We is happy. Novel is growing like weed. That is bad thing, because is already too long, but we is going to deal with that later."

'Is' is a much better word than 'Was'.

In all seriousness - the novel I've been working on has morphed into something I did not anticipate - but it feels real. Real, as in I might have something publishable if I finish the novel. (._.)

Chapter 1 thru 3 are cleaned up and fully edited. They contain the character intro, plotting hints, and hook.

Chapter 4 thru 6 (what I'm finishing up right now) are semi-clean drafts. I've been writing a chapter at a time and editing it before writing the next one. <- I've been doing this to keep the transitions and pacing smooth. When you keep writing new chapters every night without checking the previous chapters, there is a chance that some choppiness will develop and characters will morph several times (depending on your mood) before you finish the book. By reading over and editing the previous chapter before writing the next, I'm getting a feel for the characters and mood, so I can keep it consistent when I actually start the new writing.

Oh, Chapter 4 thru 6 contain the side character development and plotting development. I'm starting to show all my cards.

My plan for Chapter 7 thru 10 is reaching the climax or farthest point and beginning to resolve the plot and tie loose ends.

Chapter 11 thru 15 will be the completion of the novel. \(^.^)/

Yes - that sounds VERY SHORT for a YA Urb-Fant, but remember that those are very long chapters. I have five completed chapters and the novel is already 26,000 words. <- And yes, I know that is VERY, VERY bad. But that is what final edits are for. Weeding.

The novel is character driven (like everything I write), but there is a strong(ish) plot unveiling itself too - something that really makes me happy. It keeps me interested in writing the novel, and I think that will show in the finished product.

More posts to come later this week. <- And not all of them ENTHUSING about my own writing.

12:30 PM Update

Summons inner Urkel...

"Did I do thaaaat?"

During lunch, I sat in my car to enjoy the fresh early afternoon sunshine and practically balmy (when you have been through a frigid winter, 50 degrees feels like global warming, but in a good way). I had my mini laptop with me and pulled it out to do a little work or light reading.

Rather than look at an outdated version of the current WIP, I opened Gladiitor and I read through the first eight chapters. There are 40 (I think?) chapters in the novel (short ones, so don't freak out).

I did notice my weak spots, or areas where I could have tightened up the text or fixed things, but uh...

It is a GOOD thing when you open an old WIP and realize that there is something good about it, right? I was actually thinking that even though Gladiitor is a sequel, it stands the chance of going out on it's own without the support of the first book.

The first novel is essentially first love angst and figure skating in space. *puts on geek hat* The book ended with the protagonist giving the guy up in favor of pursuing her dream to be a Warrior.

Gladiitor was the dream cracked... um, the Warrior's League falls to shambles and the Warriors are all disbanded. The guy comes back with a renewed offer of partnership on the ice, though he's no longer interested in a real life partnership. He is engaged to somebody else who is wildly planning the marriage while the universe goes nuts around them. Oh and there was a love triangle in Gladiitor.

Heh. It was kind of a soap opera <- Which means it was fun to write and even more fun to read two years later. I forgot a lot of stuff and almost was my own beta reader. (._.)

On that note -

I was doing a little spring cleaning in my closet over the weekend. I'm old-fashioned (or just old) enough to have a huge stack of cd's in my closet. Cleaning means going through and switching cds over to their proper jewel cases.

Mixed in with all my cds was a floppy disk over which I wrote in a thick black sharpie marker - "Russian Skating 2".

I have no idea what that novel is... and I no longer have a computer that reads floppy disks. And even if I did, it is a sure bet that the floppy has demagnetized over the years. Ugh. So, unless I get up the courage to take the disk over to a computer place that specializes in demagnetizing floppy disks or whatever, I'll never know. "Russian Skating 2" will be one of those fragments from my teen years, a novel never completed.