WIP Wednesday: Week 26+27+28

Pahaha . . . it's been a while since we've had one of these posts. Oops.

Days Worked On: I was doing good, then my mother visited and I didn't do anything for a week, and then I was doing good again. *shrug*
Morale: GOOD?!
Total Word Count: 96,213 (that's right, -4,614 from whenever ago) . . . and most of this was actually done in one week of breakthrough awesome

What I Worked On: Chapter 8. But you know what? It wasn't horrible.

Thoughts: I've talked about how I like to marinate on my writing. Or, at least, I think I have . . . I can't actually find a post on it . . . which I probably a sign that I should just write another one. Or a first one?

Anyway, thinking about writing. I like to know exactly what I'm doing before I'm doing it, which has gained me a bit of a reputation of being able to sit down and just spit out 5,000 words. Unfortunately, if I haven't thought out what I'm doing, I end up staring at my computer screen like everyone else and ripping my hair out.

There is also another major issue with this process: over thinking. Which, holy crap, is my kryptonite of editing. Seriously. I talk to one of my lovely CPs for 45 minutes and she fixes everything in 5 minutes.

So yeah. Chapter 8. Still a little like pulling teeth. But at least I'm not re-writing the opening scene again and again and again anymore (seriously, how did you think I got rid of 4,000+ words so quickly).

Random Quote of the Week:

"I'm fine," Eva said, plopping to the ground and folding her good leg beneath her. "All that sitting was getting boring anyway."

She'd washed the last of the grease from her hair, which shone a soft, butter yellow, and new freckles spotted across the bridge of her nose like pale flecks of amber.

WIP Wednesday: Week 23+24

Days Worked On: Probably most of them . . . once again, didn't pay attention
Morale: It was low, then it got higher
Total Word Count: 99,543 (-485 from last week) and several thousand words in the story bible

What I Worked On: World building. ALL THE WORLD BUILDING.

Thoughts: In case you're wondering, there was no post last week because there was really no point. I hadn't done anything and there wasn't anything to say on the matter. I figured I wouldn't bore you.

This week, instead of working on the same nightmare section that I've been looking at for the past forever, I worked on something different. It was fun and therapeutic and reminded me that I actually do enjoy writing. What did I do? Worked on the story bible . . . which I have been ignoring for a long, long time.

Thus, I've been writing out super detailed sections on culture, class structure, character histories, locations, etc, etc, etc. It takes forever, but I think recording all of this information can be super helpful for several reasons:

• It's easier to look up small details without searching through the text
• Plot holes show their faces, so you can fix them now
• Editing is better when you already know everything there is to know

So, you know, that's what I've been doing. Yay!

Anyway, this all brings me to a point I've been wanting to bring up for a while. But first, go look at the WIP Wednesday posts by Jessie at Little Bonobo's Book Café. Note the awesome cultural tidbits that she throws in at the end of each post. Is that not awesome? Yes. Yes it is.

Why is this relevant? Well, I've been wanting to throw in similar, interesting tidbits about my WIP in these posts, but I never do because I can't figure out what to share. What's too spoilerish? What's interesting to read about? Do you even care? I've spent the last week fleshing out more of these details, so I want to tell you guys things. SO MANY THINGS.

So please, help me! How do you know what to share and not share when it comes to your WIP? I feel like I'm over thinking this, so I need your voices of reason. Give me a heads up in the comments.

But first! After a lot of brainstorming, let me share something! Presenting a kinda old, mostly but not completely accurate because of the distances, map I drew of the world in my WIP:

Lovely, yes? Click to make it huge!

WIP "Wednesday": Week 19

Days Left to Deadline: -59

Days Worked On: Good question. Three or four? Or two? Or something?
Morale: A little frustrated, but not horrible.
Total Word Count: 98,375 (+191 from last week)

What I Worked On: Research. All I did this week was research. FOREVER.

I also made a shiny cork board timeline thing:

I know. It's sexy.

Don't mind the blank notecards. Stuff does happen on those days. Really.

Thoughts: So I've been researching a bunch of random crap that may or may not even appear in this book. It's important--don't get me wrong--but it's a hidden kind of importance. Which is frustrating.

Anyway, I've been trying to figure out how long certain events should take, which equals lots of research about airships, freighter ships, and tanks . . . specifically their speeds. Yes, I now know the fastest tank in WWII (the M3 Stuart at 36mph, since technically the M18 Hellcat isn't a tank), have discovered that tanks and freighter ships move about about the same mileage, and can tell you how air currents effect airships. Thrilling, I know.

Oh, and if you know anything about driving tanks off-road (specifically in sand and how that effects speed), I'd love if you gave me a heads up. Because that information is scarce.

Things I write with

I talk about the software and computer-based goodies I use to write quite often. *cough*ALL THE TIME*cough* So I figured it was time to address some of the physical things.

1. The steampunk headphones
   Music plays a HUGE part in making my brain happy while writing. I struggle without it. And as a person who used to be a big fan of earbuds (so small, so portable!), let me tell you, these monster headphones changed my life. Let me tell you why:
• Earbuds hurt after a while--big happy headphones do not
• The sound quality is like singing angels
• People are theoretically less likely to talk to you if you look irritated about having to take the large headphones off to hear them speak
• On a similar note, putting them on is a little like blocking out the world and all of its delightful distractions
• Holy crap are these things are so comfortable they deserve two bullet points 
• If you're like me, the headphones become something of a tradition--wearing them means it's time to get writing
• Did I mention the steampunk aesthetic?


2. Smiley face computer
   I don't know about you guys, but I find it incredibly difficult to write with paper. Seriously. I think faster than I write, so writing by hand always turns into an exercise of frustration. On the other hand, I'm a super fast typer (we're talking like 70+ WPM people). Also, Scrivener can have my babies.


3. Notebook
   I know, I know. I just said that I don't like to write by hand, which is totally true. Then why do I need a notebook? When I get particularly stuck (and I'm talking REALLY, REALLY stuck), I like to brainstorm/free write by hand. There's just something about getting all of my messy ideas down by hand that actualizes them.


4. Crappy pen
   This is an important one. I love crappy BIC pens. They don't bleed through the pages, they's about the cheapest writing implement you can find, and despite everyone's whining, the ink flow is actually pretty decent. Also, if I lose my pen, there's no writerly drama about my perfect pen.

Okay, so most of that was pretty clean cut. I'm lacking the highlighters and the colored pens and the post-it notes and all of that good stuff . . . but in my defense, I'm a pretty green writer. I do most of my editing on the computer screen. HOWEVER, I will be whipping all of that crap out when I get to the line-edits stage. Maybe I'll do another post then, eh?

So what items do you guys need in order to write? Do you function on a level that's even more barebones than my own? Or are you a nightmare color-coding and wite-out? Tell me in the comments

WIP Wednesday: Week 13

Days Left to Deadline: -15
Days Worked On: 2
Morale: Melodramatic with a hint of good cheer
Total Word Count: 98,853 (-1072 from last week)

What I Worked On: CHAPTER 6. ALWAYS CHAPTER 6. Or, in the case of this week, chapter 6-3 and a teeny, tiny bit of 7-2. And because no one but be actually knows what that means, chronologically these are chapters 10 and 11.

Thoughts: This was my fake editing process*. I suspect my real editing process goes something like this:

1. Read drafted chapter and cringe.
2. Try to fix the hard parts.
3. Give up.
4. Go fix the easy parts.
5. Feel accomplished.
6. Realize that things would make more sense if I combined a few paragraphs or moved them around or some random little crap like that.
7. Implement #6, which takes far longer than it actually should.
8. Repeat #6 and #7 one more time.
9. Go back to #2.
10. Whine a bit.
11. Succeed this time around.
12. Revisit #8 for kicks and giggles.
13. The end.

The most important step is #8. Seriously, I feel like all I do is re-write things and then move them around six times. *rolls eyes*

Anyway, despite a bunch of whining and procrastinating, I got a decent amount of work done. Deleted a crappy info-dump flashback that's been pending for a whole. Re-wrote the entire dramatic rain sequence since it was lacking the appropriate drama. Also, finally got to the introduction of a character I've been looking forward to for a while now. *rubs hands together*

How about you guys? Get any work done this week, or did you procrastinate the crap out of that WIP? Tell me in the comments.

*Discovered as being fake as of 08/03/11.

NaNoWriMo as an extended free-write

In the last two years I have completed my NaNoWriMo word goal really quickly (13 and 15 days respectively). Yeah, I've become one of those insane people that finishes early. *shrug* What can I say? I draft quick.

However, I must admit, I don't like to think of my NaNo novels as drafts. They're not drafts. They can't be called drafts. They're more like extremely long free-writes.

Let me explain.

When I NaNo, I don't expect anything to be truly publishable. Seriously. It's all drivel. I knowingly re-use metaphors until they're so frequent, it's cliche. I write scenes that clearly have nothing to do with the end goal of the story. I don't worry about anything like plot, and thus, my villains have been known to switch sides.

What I'm trying to say is that it's bad. Super bad.

And this is the point where everyone likes to step in and ask why I don't just spend more time on it then? After all, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month, and if I'm writing crap in 15 days, why not write something classier in 30 days?

Because that's not what I get out of NaNo.

You might think that it's a waste of words and waste of time, but this "extended free-write" of mine is part of the process I've come to embrace. To have that freedom to explore the world of my story, before it's important to nail down plot and character motivations and all of that hard stuff . . . well, that's important to me. The quality doesn't matter, but the act of writing these ideas out does.

Now, maybe I don't end up with anything publishable during NaNo, but when it comes time for the re-write, I understand the story and characters a whole lot more than I would've without my requisite NaNo crap draft. And hey, if my extended free-write can be written super badly in 15 days versus moderately badly in 30, well, I'm cool with that. :)

So how do you guys draft? Is your first draft something that you're proud to call a draft, or do you collect a mess of words and ideas like I do? Have you ever taken a NaNo draft and perfected it? Or, if you're working on a NaNo novel right now, are you spending the time to make sure everything meshes? Tell me in the comments.

Confessions of a plantser/pantter

I live somewhere between the realms of pantsers and plotters. For the curious and uninformed, some quick definitions:

• Pantsers: Writers who draft without planning anything out. Or rather, "by the seats of their pants." Hence the name.
• Plotters: Writers who meticulously outline their story before drafting. This may involve creating a super intensive story bible.

As you can see, pantsers and plotters make up two ends of the writing spectrum, so it's easy to see how one might fall in the middle. However, most writers seem to identify with one over the other. And for a long time, I thought I was a plotter.

See, I love making outlines and hoarding information about my stories. It pleases my neurotic side to make timelines and such. You guys should see my research folder in Scrivener . . . it's insane.

However, I'm not very good about creating an outline with much depth. My plot points are just that. Points. Meager, pitiful points. Sure, they make an arc, but there's absolutely NO substance. Also, I have yet to outline an ending. Ever.

And this is where my pantsing side comes in. Oh, my characters need to get from A to B? Well, hmm. Not sure how that's going to happen. And they need to start hating each other by C because the first character needs to betray the second one? Yeah. Don't know about that either. And the ending? Oh, well, "dramatic climax" doesn't help at all, so I'll just completely pants the last 17,000 words.

It's a bit ridiculous. How did I ever call myself a plotter when I spend most of my drafting time trying to figure out how to make the pieces of my outline fit together? Yet, I can't call myself a panster either, because I always know where the story is headed.

So, does think make me a planster? A pantter? Eugh. Maybe I should just go wallow in the corner.

However, before that, I'm curious where you guys fall on the scale. Pantser, plotter, or somewhere in between? Tell me in the comments!

Finding my editing process

Unlike many writers, I've never been very good at thinking things out on paper. What that really means is I don't like writing longhand. That's right, I have no nostalgia for ink flowing across paper and special writing pens and all those things that so many writers are attached to. I like my cold, clinical word processor. *pets computer*

The thing is, I can type around 70 WPM, but I can't handwrite nearly that fast. There's something to be said about being able to record my thoughts as quick as they come. And the actual writing bit? I like being able to read what I've written and then change it without messy scribbles and wasted paper. Cleanliness is awesome.

Word processors are flexible and they help me focus on what I'm supposed to be doing, whether it's big or little or spread out between four different chapters.

Now why am I telling you this? Because my supposed "editing process"--the one I outlined a few months ago--is completely wrong. Well, not the procrastination bit. That's super accurate. And really, it's not so much that my process was wrong. It was just wrong for me.

How so? Well, I realized how so many writers like to work with paper, and I somehow I convinced myself that it'd would work for me too.

The problem is, when I start editing on paper, I don't think about the rest of the story, just the lines in front of my eyes. I don't even think about the rest of the chapter, just the lines. So my lines become beautiful, but I don't notice that the pacing is bad, or the dialogue is out-of-character, or any of the really important things. My "editing" falls flat because my story lives in my head and somewhere in my fingertips. Not on paper.

So I'm starting over. This time I'm sticking to my word processor. Because while it might be lifeless and dead to you, it's not for me. And maybe I'll get some actual work done this time around.

But before I go, I just wanted to you guys to know: Sometimes it's hard to tell what's working and what isn't. Sometimes you don't realize there's a legitimate reason behind your problems. But that's not a bad thing. In all honesty, you probably needed to do things wrong to understand how to make them right.

Just don't worry, because you're not alone and you will figure it out. <3

So how do you guys feel about the editing process? Have you ever tried to force one method of editing to work for you? Or has everything been hunky-dory from the start? Tell me in the comments.

30 Sarah-steps to editing

So, I've been doing a bunch of editing lately. It's had it's own, unique ups and downs, but I've settled into a relatively stable schedule . . . which I thought I'd share. Yay! So here we go, how I go about editing a chapter of my manuscript:

1. Sit down at desk to start paper edits. This is a very serious process.
2. Check email, Twitter, and RSS aggregator.
3. Turn on appropriate music. Loudly.
4. Doodle flowers in red pen on scrap paper.
5. Make notes on manuscript in same red pen.
6. Write out extended bits of dialogue on a post-it note.
7. Highlight passive verbs because they suck.
8. Chew on red pen while reading.
9. Laugh hysterically and exclaim, "Now you're a horrible sentence!"
10. Repeat steps 3-9 until paper edits are completed.
11. Cheer.
12. Move computer to bed because it's comfy.
13. Look at email, Twitter, and RSS aggregator.
14. Work through chapter and start implementing paper edit notes.
15. Re-write some sentences.
16. Delete giant chunks of unnecessary wordage.
17. Glare at cranky paragraphs.
18. Eat some Lifesavers.
19. Re-work cranky paragraphs. Pages worth of cranky paragraphs.
20. Exclaim to manuscript, "I hate you!"
21. Look at Twitter.
22. Look at manuscript for two minutes.
23. Look at Twitter again. No one has said anything.
24. Look at sleeping cat and exclaim, "You're so adorable!"
25. Manhandle cat for several minutes.
26. Sigh.
27. Option 1: Have a meltdown and call critique partner for help.
28. Option 2: Break for food or something mindless.
29. Option 3: Suck it up and repeat steps 14-20 until chapter is done.
30. Cheer.

And that's it! A lot of procrastination, yes, I know. But I still get stuff done in the end, which is totally all that matters. But now I'm curious about the rest of you. What is your editing process? Do you lock yourself away in a study, or are you at the kitchen table with everyone else in the family? Do you need silence? Can you edit and watch TV at the same time? Tell me in the comments.

Lessons from my drafting process

So a while ago I finished the rough draft of my manuscript. It was pretty sweet. Then someone asked me about my drafting process. This was both awesome and horrifying because suddenly it seemed like the world had deemed me qualified to answer such a question. I definitely don't feel qualified!

And when I considered the answer, I realized that my drafting process is kind of a mess.

I munch on junk food of all sorts. I waste time researching random crap on the internet (ie: flowers) when I should be focusing on my work. I spend an embarrassing amount of time staring at my Twitter feed and urging it to update. I'm a lazy plotter, so when my outline is sparse I bemoan my woes and whine at Boyfriend until he tells me to stop being a drama queen. I avoid reading blog posts because I'm supposed to be writing, but then I don't write, and then I don't get anything productive done.

Unfortunately, most of these things aren't very helpful. Not to you, not to me, not to anyone. However, after some immense consideration, I managed to weed out what I think are the most important bits of my drafting process.

1. I wrote (almost) everyday
   This is helpful in two ways. The obvious is the fact that you're always getting something done on your WIP be it 10 words or 10,000 words. The not-so-obvious is that writing everyday makes it so you're thinking about your story all the time. Not only does this make it easier and faster to get in the zone, but your writing sessions become more productive. Also, for my first several months of drafting I wrote at the same time everyday, which helps cement the routine.


2. I sucked it up
   It's very easy to whine about writing. I am particularly whiny about writing. Those of you who follow me on Twitter understand this firsthand, considering that I make exasperated comments with each chapter I write. Writing breaks are important sometimes, but the other 90% of your time should be spent writing. You don't want to? You'd rather work on something else? Suck it up.


3. I set myself a scary goal
   I also told you guys about it to round myself up a nice big dose of accountability. If you have a goal--a realistic one--you start producing more and quicker. Especially if there are prizes at the end. Because prizes rock. Just look at NaNoWriMo, it's the ultimate goal-setting challenge for writers and thousands of people finish every year. 

There are my three tips. They're pretty basic, but I think they're pretty important. What do you guys think? What's your drafting process like? Do you have any other important tips? Or are you a big fan of the crappy process parts too? Tell me in the comments.