January Goals

Okay, so I think I’ve gone on enough about how I can’t believe it’s 2015 already (seriously though, can you believe it’s already 2015?!?). And since I posted my resolutions last week, it’s time to post my goals. But first, last month…

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.

I did do the partition and did some work on pacing, but then I got distracted by bad writing and had to deal with that, and then I got distracted by bad word usage (42 uses of the word manage…eek) and had to do that. So it’s a partial success. I didn’t get done what I wanted to, but I did get something done.

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

Did not do this, for reasons stated above. I feel satisfied that I’m still editing, so at least I’m doing something.

3. Christmas, yay!

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! PRESENTS! CANDY!!!! CHEESECAKE!!!!!!!

My blood must be fifty percent sugar by now. Anyway, goals…

January Goals

1. REMEMBER: continue word edits and writing edits, and finish the freaking pacing edits.

2. Figure out the story for the book I’m rewriting. (You’d think this would be easy, but because of all the problems it had, it’s going to need some thought)

3. Write A-to-Z Challenge posts.

Okay, so that’s the plan for this month. I believe I’m sticking to my realistic-goal resolution, as well as actually getting things done. So what are you up to this month?

Rewrite

It’s weird. When I have a lot of ideas for writing, I have no ideas for blogging. When I have no ideas for writing, I have many ideas for blogging. This is one of the former times, so I’m just going to write about what I’m writing and maybe that will count as a post.

Writing-wise, I have a lot to occupy my mind. COLLAPSE is deeply mired in beta reading, and with the WIP It blogfest I should be getting even more. So while I’m waiting to collect all of that, I decided, what the hell, it’s time for a new project. Well, a new old project.

My 2010 book was called A SAFE PLACE IN HELL. The name is…a work in progress? Anyway, I really liked the concept, but as time went on had doubts about my execution of it. Part of this was inexperience…okay, all of it was inexperience. I’ve heard that you need to do something for 10,000 hours before it can truly be mastered, and I was at about 8K there. Not bad, but not there yet.

So I decided that if I found the time, I would rewrite it basically from scratch. And I found the time. I’ve only got about ten thousand words down, but I have a plan for what’s going to happen and I think it’s going to come out as good as a first draft can come out. Same plot, same characters but evolved so it’s, I hope, a lot better. You’ll know that it’s good if in about a year I’m going on another beta reader hunt.

I know. I’m ending with questions, the written cat-picture (read: easy way out) of blogger tools, but I’d like to see what you, my fabulacious friends, have to say about rewrites. Have you done them? Have you wanted to? When do you think they’re warranted and when does an idea need to fade away?

Also? Disappointed that “fabulacious” isn’t in Word’s dictionary. They have frigging ginormous, but fabulacious is where they draw the line.

Resolutions 2013

Wow, it’s 2013 already. I feel like I didn’t get nearly enough done writing-wise last year, although I’m not sure if I didn’t try hard enough or had too much on my plate. Probably it was both. Maybe I can be a bit more realistic this year.

1. Get COLLAPSE to the point where it’s ready for beta reading.

            I certainly think I’ll be able to do this. I have a system for how I go about edits and I don’t have any trouble getting to the point where it needs outside opinions.

2. Find more beta readers.

            As I mentioned in my Reflections post, I haven’t had much luck with finding a long term crit partner/beta reader : (. I’d certainly like to find some new ones, not only for COLLAPSE when it’s ready but for GLITCH (I won’t give up on it!).

3. Rewrite A SAFE PLACE IN HELL.

            This won’t be just a revision, but a full on rewrite. I started on this book back before I got involved in social media and I honestly think it lacks a lot of the finesse I picked up from suggestions by my fabulous blogging buddies. However! I will not do this until both GLITCH and COLLAPSE are at the point where nothing more can be done. If I fail this resolution, it better be because I’ve finished the above two.

4. Start posting my writing goals.

            I think this will help keep me honest. On the first Tuesday of the month, I’m going to post what I want to accomplish and how far I’ve come (basically these resolutions/reflections posts on a monthly basis). Also, I’m going to keep the list posted on my sidebar with progress reports. The guilt should definitely keep me going.

5. Start up a Tumblr.

            You heard that right! More details later.

6. Start my own utopian society.

            Well, I’m starting a bunch of other things.

7. Never give up on my books!

            Namely, the above three that I mentioned. I will edit them, I will send them out to beta readers, I will hunt down and capture said beta readers, etc. It might seem redundant to have this here, but I need the extra reminder.

Okay, that’s it! I hope I get these done. Anyone have any resolutions they want to share?

What I’ve Learned

Lately, I’ve been thinking of reusing an old idea I had, one from a book I discarded long ago. The book itself isn’t great. The characters aren’t very distinct, there’s no real antagonist, and honestly I have no idea who the audience for it would be. It’s just a great big blah in manuscript form.

But the core idea, which involves time travel, might still work. It would have to become a plot thread in a whole new book though, meaning ninety nine percent of that effort would be discarded. Basically, I’d be back at square one with it.

It’s kind of a daunting prospect. Part of me whines “I already did this once! I shouldn’t have to do it again!” But I know that salvaging any other part of this book is impossible. It’s either a new effort by a (I hope) more experienced writer or it continues to linger on in the limbo of my idea file.

It happens. Some books don’t work, no matter how much you want them to. Heck, some ideas don’t work no matter how much you want them to. I can tell you that I’m not doing it again without a clear, workable plan in mind. Not necessarily plotting (I’m still a confirmed pantser!) but rather the assurance that I won’t make the same mistakes.

Have you ever tried to reboot a new idea? How did it go? Has experienced helped you evaluate your ideas?

That Makes Sense

In order to be well received, a story must be coherent. This doesn’t mean that every detail must be accepted by every reader—that is a task I’m sure we can all agree is impossible. But everything in the book must fit together. If you want the picture on the puzzle box, you can’t force any which piece into another.

The best way to tell if your book makes sense is to have someone else read it, preferably someone with an analytical eye who isn’t afraid to tell you that the bloody footprints aren’t a red herring, they’re just nonsensical because the victim was strangled.

There are usually bits in books that jibe with most people, but not all. The twist seems contrived or the betrayal confusing…it happens. When I read SHUTTER ISLAND, I thought it was ridiculous that (first of all: SPOILER ALERT) everyone went along with the charade, including criminally insane mental patients who, as far as I know, had no reason to help. It bothered me that one woman scrawled “Run” on Teddy Daniels’s notepad when she apparently knew exactly who he was and that they would never let him leave.

Did this distract from the book? A little. Did it ruin the book for me? No. I think Dennis Lehane is an excellent weaver of words. It just didn’t fit with my mental processes. And maybe those of others, too.

While you can’t please everyone all the time, you should always listen to your critique partners. Especially if they’re all pointing out the same problems. Yes, it will mean more rewrites. But the truth about being a writer is that it’s actually mostly editing.

Stay minty fresh, everyone.

EDIT: Whoops. I accidentally clicked "do not allow comments." For shame! 

Outside Opinions

Today the fabulous C.A. Marshall sent me her thoughts on my book. If you don't remember, I won her contest last month (I still haven't stopped smiling about it). She brought up some very good points, things that made me slap my forehead and go "duh! Why didn't I see that?"

That's the thing about writing, for me at least. I get so wrapped up in the world I'm making that I forget some of the obvious parts of the story. And I know this world, I've dreamed it, I've imagined myself living in it. I know every single detail. But sometimes I forget to share said details with the readers!

Outside opinions, especially those of generous freelance editors, really help you see what else you have to do for your book, which must be cajoled, scolded, worked on diligently, ignored, stripped down to the bare essentials and rebuilt from the foundation up, given up on in disgust only for you to wait nervously by the phone for it to call begging for help, and allowed back in, coddled, because it is your baby.

A good critique is worth its weight in gold. Plus about four hundred dollars because it's actually weightless.