Month: February 2019

Daily Writing Check-in: February 18, 2019

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Words/Time: 30 minutes working on the outline for “Outcast.”

I wrote a few more lines into the outline for the 2nd storyline. However, as I mentioned yesterday, I’m not sure sold on how this story went in the original storyline. I think I may actually need to take some time and write out some new ideas, maybe talk to some characters, just see if there’s something better I can come up with. For one thing, the person I really want to showcase in that storyline actually doesn’t get to do much for most of it.

I’ll start tackling this fresh tomorrow.

Daily Writing Check-in: February 17, 2019

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Words/Time: 31 minutes working on the outline for “Outcast.”

I did make some progress on the outline. I also stopped for a while to figure out how the middle of the 2nd storyline should progress, because I’m not in love with how it went in the original version. I also came up with a big question that needed address that, quite frankly, was a potential plot hole in the original version, but I didn’t really pay attention to it, and no one who read it ever asked either. I think I have it solved, but I’m not sure if it will be explained in the story or not, because it’s information the narrator most likely will never have. But if I know it works, then at least I know there’s not a gaping plot hole.

I didn’t post the last 2 days, because I worked 12 hours both days, not getting home until midnight or later. I’m very sleepy right now too, so I’m glad I got in what I did. Hopefully I can drum up something for tomorrow’s Monday Moment post, so I don’t just skip another one.

Daily Writing Check-in: February 14, 2019

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Words/Time: 41 minutes working on some prep for a series of posts for my Facebook author page.

I have all of the posts ready for “Pithea,” which I think is enough to set it aside for now. That will get me through at least 2 months, probably more, since I haven’t decided how often to post. I can tell that if I keep working on it right now, with that much already prepped, it will be more about stalling–putting off the harder work in favor of the easier work. So tomorrow, it’s back to the outline for “Outcast.”

Daily Writing Check-in: February 13, 2019

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Words/Time: 30 minutes working on some prep for a series of posts for my Facebook author page.

I have decided to post about each of the 7 Pithea books that are planned out enough for me to feel they’re worth sharing. For each book, I’ll post a series of posts with various information like a short synopsis, main character introductions, book stats, and small excerpts. I am currently working on the posts for the first book, “Pithea,” and what’s slowing me down is character introductions. I’ve always been terrible at trying to explain characters in a boiled-down sense.

Daily Writing Check-in: February 12, 2019

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Words/Time: 1 hour, 7 minutes, half again spent working on the outline for “Outcast” and half spent beginning a work on a series of posts for my Facebook author page.

Working on the outline brought up a question about whether or not Drear, the narrator of all of the Pithea books, would be around in this story at all or not. In the original version, he wasn’t really involved, but wasn’t far away either. But I thought I remembered writing in the first draft of “Vin” that Drear had been gone for several months, visiting his parents’ home country. I checked out my timeline to see how far apart “Outcast” and “Vin” are, and then made the mistake of bringing up the first draft of “Vin” to see what exactly I said about Drear in that story.

Granted, nothing is set in stone, so I can decide right now what I want to do with him, but I wanted to see what I’d thought before. Then I kept reading…because I really like that story. Even if it does need re-written because most of it is just the characters retelling events from the other stories.

I want to get this Facebook post series that I have planned going soon, so tomorrow may be mostly spent doing that. I’ll admit part of me feels strange for counting this as writing work, but I’m doing character studies for it, so that helps. Plus, this is my daily challenge, so it counts if I say it counts!

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Daily Writing Check-in: February 11, 2019

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Words/Time: 35 minutes, half spent working on the outline for “Outcast” and half spent beginning a work on a series of posts for my Facebook author page.

Working on the outline actually entailed writing out some questions that I needed to figure out for this half of the outline, and brainstorming answers. I think I’ve sufficiently answered the last of my big questions for this outline, though I’m sure smaller ones will still come up along the way.

As for my Facebook author page, it has been merely a place to share blog posts for far too long now. I never really knew what I could post there, because the format is better suited to smaller information (and I do tend to ramble), and because the work I’m doing doesn’t really lend itself to sharing information. So much of what I’ve written is either too complicated, too spoiler-filled, or just not solidified enough to share. But I do have some plans, and I’m looking forward to seeing how they pan out.

A Monday Moment: Engagement

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“Aunt Winnie, why are you acting so nervous?”

“Am I?” She absently pulled on the end of her sleeve.

“Winnie,” Nathan said more firmly.

When she finally looked up at him, her face made him concerned.

“Is everything all right?” he asked, suddenly worried about what might have happened.

“Yes, everything’s fine. I just have…news, and I’m not sure how you’ll take it.”

“Just tell me. Is someone hurt? Sick?”

“No, nothing like that. No, Nate, it’s good news. I just don’t know…”

“Just tell me,” he repeated.

“Brian has asked me to marry him. I’ve accepted.”

“What?” Nathan broke into a wide grin. It was completely the opposite of what he’d expected with how she was acting. “Why would you be worried about how I would take that news? That’s wonderful!”

Oh,” she said, smiling with relief. “I’m really glad you think so.”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Well, it’s just that I know you and Brian have gotten close—”

“He and I are close? You’re my aunt.”

“Of course, I know, but I worried it might be strange for you.”

Nathan put his hand on her shoulder and tried not to chuckle at her ridiculous concern. “You saved my life, at the risk of your own. You have to know I want nothing but happiness for you. Even if it had been strange for me, I would never have stood in your way or made you feel bad for this.

She pulled her nephew into a hug, and he thought back over the time he’d known his aunt. He pulled back so she could see his sincerity when he spoke again.

“When I was in Maebor, my favorite days were those that you or Brian would visit. The only thing that topped those days were the ones when you and he came to visit together. It felt like…” He paused for a breath when he felt the emotion rising to the surface. He forced past a sob and continued, “It felt like I had real parents, for the first time in my life. Now you tell me that my surrogate mother and my surrogate father are going to be married? I don’t think anything has made me happier, except of course meeting Penny and making her my wife.”

Daily Writing Check-in: February 10, 2019

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Words/Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes working on the outline for “Outcast.”

There are 2 distinctly different, yet related story lines in “Outcast.” When I wrote the first version of this story, I wrote the story lines separately, and then intertwined them. The method worked perfectly, so that’s what I plan to do again. As such, I have outlined just 1 story line so far (which I just finished today). Tomorrow, I’ll start on outlining the 2nd.

I’ve come across an interesting conundrum that I will have to seriously consider. At one time, I thought I could just revise the fanfiction version of “Outcast” to fit into my current story world. It would be heavy revision, sure, but a lot of the story isn’t dependent on the setting or mechanics of the story world. But later, I realized I wouldn’t be able to do that, because it would just be too much change. And why would I want to, when I’ve grown so much as a writer since I wrote it?

However, in writing this outline, I noticed just how much really is the same from before. And while I have grown as a writer in the 10 years since I wrote it, it was also what I would consider a turning point in my writing ability when I wrote it. It was the best writing I’d done up to that point. So to save some time, and frankly to avoid making the writing process super hard by trying to re-write it without either consciously or sub-consciously trying to state things the same way, it still might be better to revise, but with heavy focus on re-writing any sections that are weak, not as well written as I feel it could be, or of course needs to change because of the different story world. There are definitely sections of the outline that are just completely different because the game mechanics that just don’t translate to the more real-world setting I’ve created.

In the end, it might just be laziness. I see a lot of writers talking about re-drafting stories, sometimes more than once, but I don’t like the idea of writing something, then writing it again (from scratch) unless the original just did not work at all. So after I finish the outline, I will set it aside, because my current long-term writing goals don’t include re-drafting or revising “Outcast” yet, but when that time comes (which might be before the long-term goals are finished, if I decide to work on this for Camp NaNoWriMo), I will most likely start with revising, and see how it goes.

This was a long explanation, I know. I often overthink things.

Daily Writing Check-in: February 9, 2019

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Words/Time: 30 minutes contemplating the outline for “Outcast,” and then abandoning it to free write, and finally come up with my first Monday Moment for this month.

I’ve been thinking about what to do next in the outline off and on since yesterday, but I think the next thing I need to do is write down what needs to happen during the next few days of the story, which will mostly be character development, so I can make sure it happens at a decent pace, so it doesn’t get too slow. I didn’t have the energy for that tonight. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll be more rested.

Daily Writing Check-in: February 8, 2019

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Words/Time: 32 minutes working on the outline for “Outcast.”

I worked 13-hour days yesterday and the day before, finishing after midnight last night. Today I worked 10, but was done earlier in the night at least, so I knew I needed to get some work in. Considering that my current task is not an easy one, I have to be very careful to not let it go too long, or I’ll likely end up on an extended hiatus again.

I had a few questions to answer for this story. The answer to one of them came to me out of nowhere tonight (and I’m not even to that part of the outline yet), though it will need a little ironing out. The 2nd question I brainstormed on paper, and I think I have a solution. There are more questions ahead, but I feel like these were some of the biggest ones, so I’m pretty excited.