Coloring Outside the Lines

Okay, I’m finally getting to this. It’s always been delayed by other things getting in the way, or computers breaking, or just plain laziness. But now. It’s finally time. Unless right after I type this, something else catastrophic happens, and honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised.

I do a lot of things during my editing process. I use CTRL+F to hunt down overused word (manage, 42 times…I cut it down to six, because that’s how many times it wasn’t extraneous). I do a read aloud to make sure it reads okay when it’s not just my internal monologue. I also do a color partition to break apart the entire MS by what each part does. I got the idea from another blogger several years ago (unfortunately I can’t remember which one…I think it was an agent blog, though) and adapted it for my own process. It helps a lot because I’m looking at the blog in chunks that I can make sure fit together, as well as do what they’re supposed to.

Here’s an overview of the completely colorized draft.

Aw, I took this on my old computer...now I'm getting all teary-eyed...

And long distance is all you’re getting because it’s still in the rough stage and anything closer might burn your eyes out.

Now, as to how I divide things:

Yellow, the most common color, is for action and description. It either describes what’s happening, or the setting.

Purple is also common. I use it for dialogue. Not much more to say about that. If it’s in quotes, it’s in purple.

Gray is more common than I’d like, as it’s either memories, the protagonist talking to herself, or just plain telling.

Red is for external conflict, basically any action that the protagonist has to directly deal with.

Blue is the opposite of red in that it’s for internal conflict, things like emotions and problems that needed to be dealt with mentally before they’re dealt with physical.

Green is the last color I use. It highlights action and decisions resulting from conflict. So after most red or blue pieces, there will be a green spot (not always, as sometimes problems are not resolved directly).

When I’ve finished coloring everything, I look at it from a distance…well, from a really small zoom scale like the pic above. Too much of one color is generally a bad thing. If it’s all purple, the reader will get lost in all the dialogue. A lot of purple is just description or things happening that don’t incite conflict. Grey should only appear in small bits, as it’s telling-heavy and that’s just dull to read. And of course, ending chapters in red and blue, unresolved conflict, is a good way to hook readers.

So, at long last, this is it. What do you think of my color partitions? Any suggestions? Do you think it would work with your editing process?

December Goals

This time of month again. And shockingly enough, I got something done!

November Goals

1. Do the frigging REMEMBER notes, dang it. The italics mean I’m serious.

Apparently, the italics do mean I’m serious because I totally got them done, with plenty of time to spare. Sure took long enough!

2. If I finish the notes, then I can get back to work on my other WIP. I should also make notes of the other idea that’s rolling around in my head before I forget it.

I did go back to the other WIP, but now I’m having doubts about its viability. Maybe I took too long a break. Either way, I’m putting it aside.

3. Maybe try to get another apocalypse post up. Remember those?

Eh, kind of. It wasn’t a true apocalypse post (my idea well for those has seemed to have gone dry) but I tried.

December Goals

1. Do my color partition for REMEMBER and solve any issues in regards to pacing. I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this before as part of my editing routine. Maybe I’ll go into more detail later.

2. Do my sensory color partition for REMEMBER and solve any issues. Again, I should explain this sometime.

3. Christmas, yay!

Anyone else shocked it’s December already? And how are you recovering from NaNo?

November Goals

September was a total nightmare. October wasn’t, so was I able to get anything done?

Ha ha. No.

October Goals

1. Work on, and preferably finish, REMEMBER notes. For real. Seriously.

I swear I fully intended to do this. I just wanted to finish my other project first (the one listed right beneath this one). You know when I finished that project? October 31^st. I’m so sorry, REMEMBER.

2. Finish my non-writing side project (I don’t usually put these on the list, but I might actually be able to do this one).

I have no idea why this took so freaking long. I thought I’d be done the first week of October. Then the second. Then the third. Every single day, I swore I’d be done “tomorrow”. Every day I realized there was still more to do. I’m not saying I’m great at estimating how long it takes to do something, but I’ve never been this badly off. This was such a huge time eater. But it’s done, and I’ll never have to do it again.

3. More stick figure comics! You guys are weirdly easy to please.

At least I did this one…

All right, here we go. Maybe I’ll get something important done this month…

November Goals

1. Do the frigging REMEMBER notes, dang it. The italics mean I’m serious.

2. If I finish the notes, then I can get back to work on my other WIP. I should also make notes of the other idea that’s rolling around in my head before I forget it.

3. Maybe try to get another apocalypse post up. Remember those?

Okay, so let’s see if I can actually do something this month. Fingers crossed. So what are you going to be up to? And if you’re doing NaNo, I assume I won’t be seeing you until December 1^st : ).

October Goals

Ugh, September. UGH!!! It started out bad and only managed to get worse from there. One of my cats got out of the house and never came back, and honestly I’ve been devastated about that. Then I got sick—me!—and that included double ear infections (you saw the comic) which made me feel like I constantly had cotton in my ears. You know what I do when I’m writing? Listen to music/television. You know what’s really hard to do with ear infections? Exactly that.

September Goals

1. Work on REMEMBER notes. I’d really prefer getting them all done, but…it’s not going to happen and no amount of goading myself will help, so I might as well be realistic and promise myself to do something.

Nope. Not a bit, which I’m disappointed in, but I was also depressed and unable to concentrate, so I should probably cut myself a little slack there…

2. Add 10K to the new WIP. Only ten because I really want to make some headway on those notes, and I figure it will be better not to over commit.

See above.

3. Work on making the stick figure comics a regular part of the blog. Honestly, I’m surprised how many people seem to enjoy them. I probably won’t be able to think of something funny every week, but maybe every other.

At least I managed to do this one…

This month’s goals are going to be modest…I just hope I do them this time…

October Goals

1. Work on, and preferably finish, REMEMBER notes. For real. Seriously.

2. Finish my non-writing side project (I don’t usually put these on the list, but I might actually be able to do this one).

3. More stick figure comics! You guys are weirdly easy to please.

All right, that’s it. Was your September a month of unending horror somehow still going on despite being over or did something good actually happen? What are your plans for October?

August Goals

Ugh, I really didn’t get enough done in July, and I don’t even have to look at my list to know that.

July Goals

1. Do something about that query and then send out another set. Not that I’m expecting much…

Did not do this. Honestly, I was feeling too disheartened. After getting so many rejections, I needed a self-esteem break.

2. Finally get to the read aloud of REMEMBER that I meant to do months ago and never did. If I’m not too distracted by something shiny.

Ha-ha! Take that, shiny distractions! I got this done!

3. Work on recreating some of the projects I lost when my computer crapped out on me. Most of them I could care less about, but there are a couple of things I really liked, even if they’re just for me.

This too. Kind of. It’s not like it was a well-defined goal. I guess it’s a win since I can’t technically lose.

All right, let’s see what I’m up to this month…

August Goals

1. Work on REMEMBER notes. I’m only putting “work on” because it is vacation month after all. Plus…well, you’ll see in my next goal.

2. Add 20K to my new WIP. Yes, you read that right. I started another one. The idea was nagging at me and I couldn’t ignore it!

3. VACATION!!! WOO!

Well, I know I’ll be able to do number three. What about you? What are you guys up to this month?

Half Done

The year, I mean. Which is actually more than half done.

MJ does a midway check in of her yearly goals, and I thought that was a good idea, so even though it’s a few weeks late (anyone else wondering how it can possibly be July?), here’s my progress report for my 2014 goals.

2014 Goals

1. Get my newest book, REMEMBER, to the point where it can be beta read.

            It’s still pretty rough right now (the first draft still isn’t done), so it will take a lot of work to get it there.

            Not even close, as I got distracted by a shiny new project. However, I’m back at it again, so I could still make it by the end of the year. Possibly.

2. Start working on a (gulp) query for COLLAPSE.

            I have a few rough copies, but I doubt any would entice readers. Ooh, this is the most terrifying goal.

            Yeah, I did this. It’s not exactly going well, but I did it.

3. Try to find some way to post my progress on my goals, both yearly and monthly.

            I’d like to see how I’m doing and whether I need to work harder.

            Monthly, yes. Yearly…well, I guess this counts, right?

4. Read more dystopian/apocalyptic/paranormal YA.

            For, you know, research. This is probably going to be an easy goal.

            Truly, I’ll never read enough : ).

5. Think of ways to make my blog posts more interesting.

            And implement them. That last “Informal Poll” thing was a huge bust. I have some other ideas in mind, but who knows if they’ll be successful.

            I guess not…but it hasn’t gotten less interesting, has it? I could stretch that into a win.

6. Try to start a movement to simplify the English language.

            Seriously, is the letter C really necessary? And don’t say we need it for the “ch” sound. We can use Q for that and not for “kw”, which is weird anyway. Every other use of C can be replaced with K or S. I’m also not a fan of using G for the “juh” sound, but one thing at a time.

            Blast people who want to keep English the way it is!

7. Get over my doubts about selling an apocalyptic story in a glutted YA market and just DO IT.

            I feel like this one is self-explanatory.

            Sigh…Well, I’m trying…

I guess I’m not doing that bad. The REMEMBER one is the only one I haven’t put a lot of effort into, but at least I have another first draft to show for my wasted time. And there is still six months (almost) left. Maybe I’ll make it.

Seriously. We don’t need C! If we all agree to just stop using it, we can lower language confusion by like thirty percent!

Switching

Recently, after finishing my read aloud of MALICE, I realized something: I was sick to death of it. Not that I think it’s bad or I’m giving up on it. I just can’t stand the sight of it for a while. I need a break. Well, from it.

So, this means I’m going back to REMEMBER. Remember that (pun intended)? I started on MALICE several months ago because I realized I was tired of it. One of my goals for this month is to finally get around to doing the read aloud for book R that I made a goal for months ago. I intend to start this week, barring any unforeseen circumstances, like a mysterious bout of laryngitis or something. Knock on wood.

I like having multiple projects to work on for just this reason. Often I get to a point where I need a break from a book I’m working on. What better way to take said break than by working on something else, something completely different? I was so glad to put REMEMBER away for a while—now I can’t wait to sink my teeth into it. Man, I hope this feeling lasts.

Question time: what do you do when you’re sick of your WIP? Do you move on to something else? Take a break from writing entirely? Do you think ending a blog post with questions is a cop out or a good way to elicit responses? I realize that last question is a little off topic, but sometimes I just get curious.

July Goals

Is it just me or do the months seem to be flying by? I wish I was a robot that could work 24/7. Then I’d feel like I was getting something done.

June Goals

1. Read aloud of Malice, including taking notes, and then fixing said notes. I’m fairly certain I can get this done, although reading the entire thing out loud might take longer than I expect.

Did this! It did take longer than I expected, but not by that much. I did start working on some of the notes, and even created a timeline (where I discovered even more problems to fix!), but honestly, right now I’m kind of burned out on MALICE. Maybe it’s looking at those 800+ notes I have to fix and all the rewrites it needs.

2. Sigh…do SOMETHING about my query. Obviously it’s going to need a complete and total rewrite. I may end up having to join some forum or other just to get some opinions, which I’m really not looking forward to. Did I say sigh yet?

Kind of? I did write another query, but I didn’t solicit any outside opinions. I know, there are all these great sites out there where you can post your queries for critiques, but I so hate doing things like that…I guess this one is a partial fail.

3. Two more apocalypse posts! I’ve kind of done zombies to death lately, so I’ll see if I can whip up something about one of the million other apocalypses waiting to take us out.

I got a little derailed by the whole computer thing, but I managed to get both in! Barely. I think I might need a month off from the apocalypse. (I can’t believe I said that!)

Now for this month. Wow, the year is half over…

July Goals

1. Do something about that query and then send out another set. Not that I’m expecting much…

2. Finally get to the read aloud of REMEMBER that I meant to do months ago and never did. If I’m not too distracted by something shiny.

3. Work on recreating some of the projects I lost when my computer crapped out on me. Most of them I could care less about, but there are a couple of things I really liked, even if they’re just for me.

Seriously, I’m so hella pissed that my computer crashed like that. You piece of crap! I gave you everything!

Confessions

I have a confession to make. When I wrote my last book…I used an outline.

Wait, don’t make me turn in my pantser badge! Which sounds like it means something way more inappropriate than I’m intending!

See, four books ago, I only wrote by getting ideas and typing them out (known in the vernacular as “by the seat of one’s pants”). I certainly saw the benefits of outlining. In fact, I got in the habit of typing them up after I finished with the book, if only to be able to look at the story from a wider perspective. For the most part, I nodded along when others spoke of the joys of outlining, for some reason feeling proud of myself for not using one. Yeah, it’s kind of weird.

Then COLLAPSE came along, and I blame it for this abundance of outlining. My idea for the story was that it took place over a year—each chapter is a different day along the timeline. In order to execute it without tripping over continuity, I needed to (shudder) outline what happened, on what day, and make sure things were happening at an appropriate pace. It’s not my fault. I needed the outline.

My next book was REMEMBER, and I told myself I wanted to outline it because I didn’t have a clear idea for the ending and besides, it would be easier to get it out of the way ahead of time (seriously, that’s what I told myself). Same thing for MALICE, my current WIP. I just want to know the ending.

Am I an outliner now? No, but that’s only because I don’t like to label myself (it restricts my ability to completely change my mind about something in the middle of doing it). I’ve just…realized that people were right. It does help to have it all out there. Not like it completely solves all writing problems. I still throw in new ideas as they come to me, and some of the ideas that I wrote in because they were in the outline didn’t pan out the way I want them to and will probably be cut when I’m finished with draft 1. So while I like having an idea of what I’m supposed to be writing, sometimes it kind of gets in the way, too. There are goods and bads to outlining…and I’ll probably be doing it for my next book.

Seriously, it hooks you.

Any thoughts about outlining? Have you ever radically changed your mind about something?

March Goals

Ugh, February. It really is the Monday of the months. The newness of the year that comes with January is stale, plus the weather is, at best, frigidly cold, and at worst a slush-filled blanket that you have to get out of the driveway before the temperature drops and it freezes over until mid-March. So in summation, February, I hate you.

I already know I didn’t do a good job on my goals this month, because of that list I made staring me in the face every day. Ugh. Again.

February Goals

1. Finish outline, read aloud, and notes for REMEMBER. This is going to be a big one…

Nope, didn’t do this. I opened up REMEMBER and found out it was way more unfinished than I thought it was. The outline is done except for the places it’s STILL unfinished, and I obviously wasn’t able to get to the rest since there’s no point in starting if the rough draft isn’t complete.

2. Send out 10 queries for COLLAPSE (AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!) and revise query as needed.

This I did, netting me two rejections already. I’ve worked on my query a bit, gotten it to the point where I actually think it’s good. I just have to wait and see, which I totally hate.

3. Work on Apocalypse Blog.

Uh, kind of? I posted another apocalypse thing last Saturday, which means it was technically in March, although I wrote it in February. I didn’t start up the actual blog yet, because I’m still not sure it could stand alone as its own blog. I might keep this as a feature here.

Not a very good job. Querying was even more stressful than I anticipated (and I anticipated stress!), so I kept working on my shiny new project rather than REMEMBER like I was supposed to. Anyway, now for March.

March Goals

1. Send out 10 more queries for COLLAPSE (still AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!).

2. Write two more Apocalypse posts for (I hope) your entertainment.

3. Actually finish REMEMBER. And maybe, if I do, write the book that’s been rolling around in my head the past couple of weeks!

Okay. I think this is doable. What are you up to this March? Do you other A-to-Z-ers have your posts ready yet?

February Goals

Ugh, it’s February already? Well, at least none of us have to worry about our resolutions anymore.

January Goals

1. Write a query, one sentence pitch, plot summary, and synopsis for COLLAPSE. (Just thinking about it sets my anxiety levels spiking!)

Check, check, check, and check. The synopsis could use a bit more work, but I have the rest in order. And super thanks to Dianne for reading my query for me. Your opinion was invaluable : ).

2. Work on some of my ongoing projects (pretty much everything except REMEMBER).

I spent most of the month going over COLLAPSE, and seeing as it’s a different project, I think this is a win.

3. Find a way to post my goals and progress on my blog.

I did post my goals, but I haven’t found a good way to post my progress. Of course, it’s hard to gauge them anyway. Trying to write a query isn’t like meeting a word count goal. I did however post my goals on a sticky note on my desk top, so it’s always there for me to look at. I’d say this one is a “mostly”.

Surprisingly good. I guess because it was January, I have a lot of “New Year” energy. Anyway, for this month…

February Goals

1. Finish outline, read aloud, and notes for REMEMBER. This is going to be a big one…

2. Send out 10 queries for COLLAPSE (AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!) and revise query as needed.

3. Work on Apocalypse Blog.

And as a fourth goal, try not to freak out about querying. It’s going to be tough.

What are your goals for this month? Any big plans for February?

January Goals

Man…my vacation is over. Now I have to get back to doing stuff. This sucks. All right, let’s check in on my goals.

1. Finish the rough draft of my previously mentioned paranormal apocalyptic story.

            Not completely, but it’s very close, with a few scenes still needing to be written in various places. Since there’s maybe six thousand words left, I’d call this a win.

2. Think about ways to make my blog more fun for my readers. I’m not good when it comes to things like this, so it will take some work.

            Nope, total fail. I’m terrible at thinking up fun things for my blog! Or, if I’m being honest, in general. Do not come to me for party ideas, is what I’m saying.

3. Screw it, it’s December, I’m taking the last week off. Yes, this is totally a goal. Even though I just took a week off in November. Ah, screw it.

            Heh, well, this was definitely completed.

Not bad. I did the major writing I wanted to and now my YA Paranormal/Apocalyptic has a beginning, middle and end. REMEMBER is going to take a rest this month while I go back to COLLAPSE.

January Goals

1. Write a query, one sentence pitch, plot summary, and synopsis for COLLAPSE. (Just thinking about it sets my anxiety levels spiking!)

2. Work on some of my ongoing projects (pretty much everything except REMEMBER).

3. Find a way to post my goals and progress on my blog.

So that’s what I’m up to this month. What about you guys? What do you do to make sure you’re on track?

Happy New Year! Hugs!

Resolutions 2014

I think this year, when I forget to write 2014 instead of 2013, it’s going to be because I’m still in denial about it.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Anyway, what should I accomplish this year?

1. Get my newest book, REMEMBER, to the point where it can be beta read.

            It’s still pretty rough right now (the first draft still isn’t done), so it will take a lot of work to get it there.

2. Start working on a (gulp) query for COLLAPSE.

            I have a few rough copies, but I doubt any would entice readers. Ooh, this is the most terrifying goal.

3. Try to find some way to post my progress on my goals, both yearly and monthly.

            I’d like to see how I’m doing and whether I need to work harder.

4. Read more dystopian/apocalyptic/paranormal YA.

            For, you know, research. This is probably going to be an easy goal.

5. Think of ways to make my blog posts more interesting.

            And implement them. That last “Informal Poll” thing was a huge bust. I have some other ideas in mind, but who knows if they’ll be successful.

6. Try to start a movement to simplify the English language.

            Seriously, is the letter C really necessary? And don’t say we need it for the “ch” sound. We can use Q for that and not for “kw”, which is weird anyway. Every other use of C can be replaced with K or S. I’m also not a fan of using G for the “juh” sound, but one thing at a time.

7. Get over my doubts about selling an apocalyptic story in a glutted YA market and just DO IT.

            I feel like this one is self-explanatory.

Well, it’s 2014. What are your goals?