tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-339278392024-02-08T04:20:24.689-08:00Mary KelaherYou're over the first hurdle as a writer and you're finally writing consistently. Now what?
<br><br> Join me as I trawl my way through all the writing tips, promotion tips and publishing tips to try and find the diamonds in the bedrock.MaryKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299340471207328994noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33927839.post-75650840137799060422007-05-14T22:27:00.000-07:002007-05-15T03:38:46.787-07:00Mailing listsCreating a mailing list goes hand in hand with telling people you are writing novel. I have been amazed at the number of people who have asked to read my book when I've finished and have given me their email so I could send it to them. <br /><br />This included people I met:<br /><br />* at work<br />* on the Internet through different groups<br />* at parties and over dinner<br />* at workshops<br /><br />All you need to do to get started is to create a group in the Address Book of your email application. <br /><br />Mailing lists are also useful if you decide to go down the Newsletter path later on. You have a ready made audience.<br /><br />Now I'm not dumb enough to think that every person that has given me their email really wants me to send them my book to read, but hey you've got to start somewhere.MaryKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299340471207328994noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33927839.post-65618534033708990792007-05-13T09:06:00.000-07:002007-05-13T19:34:18.011-07:00Free promotion tipsYou don't have to spend money to find good ideas for promoting your novel. You can find plenty of web sites, blogs and newsletters about book promotion published by public relations and marketing professionals, and published authors on the Internet.<br /><br />You can visit these sites individually, or you can use a blog tracking site such as <a href="http://technorati.com">Technorati</a> or a social bookmarking site like <a href="http://del.icio.us">del.icio.us</a> to link to and access your favourite sites from one spot.<br /><br />To get newsletters, all you need to do is to subscribe and they are generally mailed to you periodically.<br /><br />The most useful promotion tips for the unpublished writer I have found are at:<br /><br /><a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Karens_promo_tips/">Book Promotion Tips</a><br /><a href="http://www.inspiredauthor.com/Business_Career/Self_Promotion/Get_Start/TOC_writers_self_promotion_author.htm">Inspired Author</a>MaryKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299340471207328994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33927839.post-49527248702383879992007-05-12T17:55:00.000-07:002007-05-13T19:36:09.304-07:00Promotion for the unpublishedI'm stuck. I haven't been able to write for the last two weeks. So rather than waste my time watching Oprah, Dr Phil or Star Trek, I've been working on the promotion side of my writing.<br /><br />This lead me to the question:<br /><br />If you're an unpublished writer, when do you start using each of the promotion tools to promote yourself and your book?<br /><br />After all I don't want to rush out and spend a whole lot of time and money promoting something that doesn't actually exist yet. Well in its finished form.<br /><br />I read somewhere (don't ask me where, I've read so much about this topic over the past year, I really can't remember) that a writer should start promoting their book 2 years before they plan on sending it a publisher.<br /><br />I'm a least 18 months away from a finished product, so I've come up with a list of promotion activities that are easy for the unpublished writer to do that are free.<br /><br />* Read blogs and subscribe to newsletters that give free promotion tips<br />* Start a blog about your book<br />* Create your own web site <br />* Create a mini movie<br />* Start building a mailing list<br />* Put the URL to your blog and web site in your email signature<br /><br />Got any more ideas? Let me know.<br /><br />Good luck.MaryKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299340471207328994noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33927839.post-18992324830752518052007-05-11T18:13:00.000-07:002007-05-11T18:34:19.963-07:00Subscribe to this blogYou can now subscribe to this blog.<br /><br />All you need to do is:<br /><br />1. In the side bar, <b>Right Click</b> on the link <b>Subscribe to posts [<u>Atom</u>]</b>.<br /><br />2. Select <b>Copy Link Location</b> from the menu.<br /><br />3. Paste the content into your <b>Feed List</b> on your web page.<br /><br />Having problems? Let me know and I'll help you sort it out.MaryKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299340471207328994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33927839.post-34711935775353114882007-02-09T17:49:00.000-08:002007-05-11T20:46:37.536-07:00A critical eyeI've been floundering with the next stage of writing my novel. I know what I want to say and how I want to say it, however, when I see it on the page it looks a little ordinary. I'm left thinking that perhaps I'm trying to make to large a leap with this next draft. <br /><br />From all the accounts I've read about writing a novel, and there have been many, it is an iterative process. Perhaps I am trying to make too big a leap from the first brain dump / idea generation phase of the writing to the phase of writing a coherent draft.<br /><br />Many advise to let yourself write badly; to just get it onto the page. I took that approach with my pre first draft and it looks like I need to take it again with my first draft. <br /><br />Here I go.MaryKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299340471207328994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33927839.post-80796976832410892662006-12-11T13:26:00.000-08:002007-02-09T18:19:29.282-08:00I can finally log back in!I can't believe it. I can finally log back in. Typical. The week I get back from my two month holiday in Western Australia about which I had intended to blog, I can get back into blogger.<br /><br />I have notes about my holiday, so at least now I can type then up. You can follow along at http://cartentesky.blogspot.com/.<br /><br />While my experiment to see if you could travel and write an novel without a laptop revealed that technology is so popular for a reason, using blogger as my travel journal completely failed. I had to resort to the pen and paper method. Ironic.<br /><br />I'm afraid it took too big a commitment to keep going with the novel while travelling and camping. That's ok because I had a great holiday and found that I would really love to do some travel writing, but not before I get a laptop with a modem connection for a public telephone to take with me!<br /><br />I learnt so much about what can works for me as a writer at the Freefall Workshop in Perth that propelled me onto my journey around WA.<br /><br />The first surprise was the level of detail required for people to be able to "see" the setting. You don't have to have that many. In fact I think, for me, too much description gets in the way of my story. I learnt this on the third day after writing a piece without so much description because description does not come easy to me and I had spent the previous two days agonising over it. When Barbara finished ready it I was surprised by what people 'saw' from the scant details I gave. Interesting.<br /><br />The second surprise was that I don't have to feel like writing or have the muse singing to write something worthwhile. On the fourth day I wrote the first half of a story while I was in the zone and I was having a lot of fun doing it. On the fifth day, I really didn't feel like writing and I had to drag the rest of that story out of myself because it was a case of continue on with the story I had started or start something new and I didn't feel like writing anything new so I continued on with the one I had started.<br /><br />I was so surprised that you couldn't tell one day from the other. The content was seamless. So now I have the evidence that if you just sit down and do it regardless of how you feel you can write just as well on the days you don't feel like writing as on the days when you do.<br /><br />The third surprise was that my writing was a lot better than I thought it was and people responded to it. It wasn't the best at the workshop, but I wasn't expecting to get any of mine read at all. So I was pleased with hearing it read out and the responses to it.<br /><br />So now I'm back and ready to roll.<span style="font-style: italic;"></span>MaryKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299340471207328994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33927839.post-73431143354029684612006-10-28T19:54:00.000-07:002007-07-01T21:33:36.966-07:00Travelling & writingI'm two weeks into my experiment of writing and travelling and some valuable lessons have been learned.<br /><br /><b>Lesson 1 </b>- While it is possible to write without a laptop, it is defiantly more convenient to have one. Especially when you can't find an Internet connection for several days and the pages of written work just keep piling up and up.<br /><br />I had the opportunity to access the internet at Ceduna in South Australia before I headed across the Nullarbor, but didn't. Big mistake. My next access was two days later at Cocklebiddy in Western Australia and it was expensive.<br /><br /><b>Lesson 2</b> - It's so easy to let your writing slip for a couple of days and when you do it is really hard to catch up while you continue to travel.<br /><br />I have found that it is essential to schedule writing time in your day's intinerary. I now have to spend this week trying to catch up with my writing. I'm still about a week behind. But I'll have the afternoon's free from my writing course all week. So I'm hoping my the end of it, I'll be up-to-date with my Journal.<br /><br />The added pressure for the next month is going to be continuing on with my novel as well. When I find my next source of income, my number 1 priority is to buy a lap top. Second will be to buy a digital SLR.MaryKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299340471207328994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33927839.post-65693155375062064742006-10-10T14:41:00.000-07:002007-05-11T20:48:06.946-07:00Travelling libraryWe're leaving for Perth tomorrow and where all set to go. I've got my writing suitcase packed, which is the main thing. Talk about a travelling library. There are more writing books than anything else. <br /><br />It's my birthday today and I got more writing books. Specifically, the pockets size Writing Down to the Bones by Natalie Goldberg (I might need a magnifying glass to see the text in this one), the Lonely Planet's Travel Writing by Don George and Characters & Viewpoint my Orson Scott Card from Readers Digest's Elements of Fiction Series. Coupled with my other books, these should keep me busy writing on the road.<br /><br />Along with these books, my others essential reference books are: <br /><br />* Introduction to the Grammar of English by Rodney Huddleston<br />* The Elements of style by William Strunk Jr and E.B. White<br />* The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing by Meg Leder et. al.<br />* Novel Writing 16 Steps to Success by Evan Marshal<br />* Writing a Novel by Nigl Watts<br />* Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary<br />* Between the Lines Jessica Page Morrell<br /><br />I’m really looking forward to just working on the technique side of my writing over the next 3 months while I sit in a tent in the middle of nowhere. Without a TV and the distractions of city living, it will be interesting to see what I’ve got at the end of my trip.MaryKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299340471207328994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33927839.post-4295163668451741392006-10-02T23:58:00.000-07:002006-10-03T00:05:26.301-07:00Zone outI’ve sort of been having a “I don’t know if I can write this book” kind of a week. I’ve been typing up my notes… sporadically… but most of the time of been in denial about the amount of work I still need to do.<br /><br />It’s really strange. Whenever I’m doing projects, I get to these points where everything is going well. I’m following a plan that I’ve made and everything is humming along and then I hit a wall. All of a sudden I just stop. And I can’t seem to get started again.<br /><br />I don’t think it’s writers block because I still have ideas and if I do sit down to write I don’t have any problems coming up with anything. I just seem to go into a space where I totally zone out. I seem to turn into a zombie and I can’t get off the couch and I don’t want to talk to anybody. It’s like I get sucked inside my head and get totally lost in my thoughts. Which are all about why I won’t succeed at this the task.<br /><br /><br />I didn’t realize I was in this space until this morning. While I have been doing some work, the days have been mostly sliding by without me doing anything. When I checked this blog today. I was surprised I hadn’t written anything for a week. Here that is. <br /><br />I think it’s been a lot easier to fool myself this week because I’ve spent a bit of time getting ready for my trip. Particularly over the weekend. And I have been collating all my work. But these really are diversions from the truth. I’ve been a slack arse when it comes to my novel.<br /><br />When I get like this I always go back to the point where I thought that maybe I might be able to write. And this was the first year I did fiction and script writing at University when I was in my mid thirties. I got a distinction for my first and second efforts at fiction and a high distinction plus for my first script. I had never written either before. Nor had even wanted to.<br /><br />Initially, I kept the assignments because I remember being beyond shocked that I didn’t fail. Now I keep them for days like this so I can pull them out as a reminder that just because you have never done something before it doesn’t mean you can’t do it regardless of your age.MaryKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299340471207328994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33927839.post-45215511218695709052006-09-27T15:54:00.000-07:002006-09-27T16:04:33.023-07:00A writing suitcaseI started packing my writing suitcase today and I have already made my first cull. The storyboard index cards. I don't really need them because I will have the full action / reaction descriptions with me. It was probably a little over kill taking them anyway.<br /><br />Because I don't have a laptop and will writing in long hand for the next three months, I really needed the room for notebooks. This is why I need to have a first draft of my plot organized before I go. I don't want to come back with books full of jumble of hand written notes and malformed ideas.<br /><br />That doesn't mean I plan to stick rigidly to my plot if I get a great idea or twist. I think I have reached the stage of writing the story where I need to hone the thesis and tracking the changes I am making. I don’t know how many times at work I have changed an aspect of what I am writing about only to change my mind later on only to discover I have forgotten to keep the previous drafts of the ideas.<br /><br />I've really got to get moving if I'm going to be ready with my writing by the time I leave. I still have to finish typing up my hand written notes, plot out the whole novel on the action /reaction sheets, capturing what I have about the characters and summarize a reference book.<br /><br />I should be ok. I can get most of the novel's plot from the brain dump. There are several glaring gaps I need to fill in, but I can do that later or use the freefall workshop in Perth to fill that in if I have to. As long as I have the guts of the book plotted before I go I will be happy.<br /><br />It's really funny, but one of reasons I chose not to write all these years is because of the amount of work it involves. Particularly, the rewriting and editing. It all looked just too much like hard work. But now, I find the reworking aspect of writing quite liberating. It takes the pressure off getting the story and the writing of the story exact in the first instance. I like that I can just get it down and fix it later if I have to. It makes the process a whole lot more enjoyable.MaryKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299340471207328994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33927839.post-75726490030430186042006-09-25T22:27:00.000-07:002006-09-25T22:47:49.644-07:00SortedI have finished sorting the content I got from doing the 30 days into rough sections. There is so much. After scanning through it, I think that I have could end up being too much raw content to work with. If there is such a thing.<br /><br />This task has really driven home the need to know what your theme is and exactly what you are trying to say about it. The task is then to use the best emotions, actions, reactions and characters that will supp0rt your thesis.<br /><br />The great thing about having too much content is the other ideas it generates for other books. The challenge is to stay focused on this one and file the excess away for next time.<br /><br />I've just remembered another task to do I forgot about. I have to summarize a book on living in children's home before I leave for Perth (see http://cartentesky.blogspot.com/). It is going to be interesting to see how I write on the road without a laptop. I guess I'll be using up lots of notebooks and a hell of a lot of typing to do when I get back.<br /><br />Whew this is one hell of a task.MaryKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299340471207328994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33927839.post-53945238391799329792006-09-24T12:55:00.000-07:002006-09-24T13:00:06.599-07:00Grunt workWell I started sorting my notes into sections and chapters yesterday and it left me with a migraine. What a horrible task. But it has to be done and I'll be spending the next couple of days doing it.<br /><br />Unfortunately in the short term it is going to get worse as I continue to type up my hand written notes.<br /><br />The real down side to this task is knowing that most of the work is going to be tossed or reworked in some way. But that's ok. It's all part of the job.<br /><br />The up side is that by the end of it, I will have the beginnings of the content I need for my action/reaction sheets. And once I finish plotting out version 0.1 of the novel, it will be a lot easier to track where the content goes.MaryKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299340471207328994noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33927839.post-13409288163216205012006-09-23T15:20:00.001-07:002006-09-23T15:20:21.798-07:00Focusing the mindA solid deadline has a way of focusing my mind. So I have created one.<br /><br />I have signed up to a weeklong Freefall workshop at the end of October. To tighten the screws a little more I have registered for the one in Perth which is three and a half thousand kilometers away. Then for some extra tension, I have decided to drive there and to hang out around Margaret River for a couple of weeks before the course. All while I continue to write. And check in here to tell you about my progress.<br /><br />There that should do it.<br /><br />To get the most out of this workshop I need to have identified the gaps in my story and the parts I need to flesh out some more.<br /><br />To do this I must have my action/reaction sheets, my storyboard cards finished, all my hand written notes summarized and character profiles fleshed out with the information I currently have about before I go in three weeks. Otherwise I will be wasting my time and money.<br /><br />Nothing like a bit of pressure.MaryKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299340471207328994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33927839.post-42113271946058208912006-09-21T22:10:00.000-07:002006-09-21T22:17:28.571-07:00The essence of a characterI've just started filling in the Character Profile sheet for Nancy and its killing my character. This sheet is pretty detailed, but it doesn’t bring out the essence of who she is or what she has become.<br /><br />Its just a fact sheet. And facts in a story are pretty boring. Also, the age of my main character changes throughout the story. She is introduced at six and we say goodbye to her at sixty. So to describe the "Current Family and Relationships", well that’s what the books is about.<br /><br />Her current family and relationships between the ages six to fifteen, fifteen to twenty one, twenty-one to twenty-eight and finally at sixty change.<br /><br />As I'm reading through my notes, I feel there are details about Nancy that would better tell who she is at a particualar age than her overriding familial and social relationships and where she lives.<br /><br />Although I can see the value in knowing this. It is sucking the life out of what I already know about my character by pulling it out of nowhere, or making up right know to get the task done rather than wait until it folds inself into the story through my research and writing tasks as what has happenend thus far with the information I currently have.<br /><br />An example.<br /><br />By twenty-five my main character, Nancy, is so bitter that to be around her is like being bathed in acid. Her bitterness has seeped into every nook and cranny of her body and every aspect of her personality. She is so caustic that even when she is alone, the muscles in her face pull at her mouth so tightly it leaves the uncensored look on her face just a twitch away from a sneer.<br /><br />I feel as though I have a lot of information about my characters in my story that better shows their distinctive personalities and, thus, bring them life on the page. But this information does not translate neatly into the character outlines I have found around the place.<br /><br />Solution.<br /><br />Create new character sheets that capture the essence of who they are rather the facts and dry details about there life.MaryKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299340471207328994noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33927839.post-76196671511625609292006-09-20T16:25:00.000-07:002006-09-20T17:16:50.634-07:00Story bitsWhen I started sorting through all of my notebooks looking for the bits that would fit into the action / reaction sections for the first chapter I got a bit of a shock. There is so much material.<br /><br />I'm not sure which would be the quicker way to sort it all out. To type it all up and file it into directories labeled Beginning, middle, end, to finish all the action/reaction sections and then go through and map the content I have to each one. Or to keep reading to find the bits I need to for the first chapter.<br /><br />The problem with typing it all out is that I tend to edit it along the way and this is time consuming. A lot of the notes are bits of character development, bits of showing, bits of telling what the story is doing and bits of nothing really worthwhile. So I start fixing it up as I go; moulding into a story and it takes ages.<br /><br />I see draft 0.1 as the general gist of the story. Almost an outline of an outline. So I don't want to spend a lot of time getting bogged down in the perfecting the writing. Particularly the descriptions. Which is what is happening.<br /><br />I just want see the logic of the story, how it hangs together and how the characters, settings and plot fit together. I am hoping from this that the characters will start to become more distinctive. At the moment, I only have a ghost image of most of them. Nancy, Charlie and Freida are the only ones that having have a bit more substance.<br /><br /><span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Ok</span>. What to do. <br /><br />I think I might fill out the action/reaction cards from my notes, but not number them. Just describe the basic conflict/emotion of each action and which plot theme it supports. From there I will fill out the action/reaction sheets with the essential information out of my notes and the character profiles where appropriate.<br /><br /> I'll give that a try and see how it goes.MaryKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299340471207328994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33927839.post-70972584059933556282006-09-19T11:12:00.000-07:002006-09-19T11:14:35.530-07:00Bits and piecesYesterday, I started sorting through all of my notes for the bits and pieces of the story that would fit into the scenes outlined in the action / reaction section cards for the sub them abandonment. To my surprise, it now looks as though I have enough content to start writing my synopsis and the beginnings of what looks like a chapter.<br /><br />Using this journal to create some type of accountability and to record my thoughts throughout the novel writing process is working really well for me. It has really sharpened my focus and has helped seeing what is working and what isn't a lot easier.<br /><br />Writing this novel is starting to get really exciting. Over the last few days, I put together the synopsis and manuscript templates, and created the title page based on the standard outlined in Even Mars<span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">hall’s bo</span>ok.<br /><br />All of a sudden my novel feels real. I haven’<span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">t felt</span> so much positive energy around anything I’ve bee<span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">n </span>wo<span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">rk</span>ing on for so long it’s a bit<span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"> ri</span>diculous. And sad.<br /><br />It doesn’t feel<span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"> as if</span> I’m on a tread<span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">mi</span>ll of just producing page after page of text that is supposed to all magically fit together as a story anymore. It now feels like I’m crafting a s<span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">to</span>ry. It is like I am both recording what comes up about the topic during my writing tasks and creating how the story hangs together or how the story will be told with the action/reaction sheets.<br /><br />I love this job.MaryKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299340471207328994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33927839.post-85969028542390066452006-09-18T14:06:00.000-07:002006-09-18T14:28:50.702-07:00Words and structureWhen I sat down to do my hour of freefall yesterday, I found I had run into an problem. I wasn't sure what I needed to write about to add to the story. <br /><br />I was rummaging through my memory trying to think of where I could add more content when I realized that I really needed to do was to put some structure around the story I have already.<br /><br />It is time to plot the current story using the action and reaction cards, so I can see how what I have already fits together.<br /><br />So, for the next couple of days I'll be dropping the freefall and focus on plotting instead.MaryKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299340471207328994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33927839.post-74420102603769094692006-09-17T15:22:00.000-07:002006-09-17T16:13:39.945-07:00Promotion shomotionPromote your novel I read. Get out there and set up your web site and start a blog. Get readers interested and involved so you can tell an agent or publisher that you have an audience when you send out your query letter. <br /><br />It all sounded so innocent. Something quick and easy that I could put in place and then get back to the real task of writing my novel. Alas, it looks as though I have fallen into the sticky maze of threads that is the World Wide Web.<br /><br />After knocking up a quick web site (<a href="http://www.marykelaher.com">Mary Kelaher</a>) and starting this blog, my attention turned to getting my blog read. It is this task that has left me scouring the horizon for the path out of the maze and back to my novel writing.<br /><br />My attention turned to getting my blog under the nose of potential readers so I registered my site on my first blog directory, which led me to another and another... <br /><br />Two weekends later and I’m still finding them. And registering. Of course.<br /> <br />Add this to trying to understand pinging, RSS feeds, trackbacking, tagging and all those other essential tools I need to hook into in the name of getting my name and novel noticed by readers, agents and publishers, day after day is being whittled away by staring into my monitor in a vain attempt to rescue my attention from the spider web and guide it back to the task of writing my novel. <br /><br />Hmmm, promoting my novel is starting to sound like a seriously time consuming aspect of the novel writer’s job. That’s probably because it is.MaryKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299340471207328994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33927839.post-4212933864493048202006-09-14T17:12:00.000-07:002006-09-14T17:23:36.083-07:00Tweaks and adjustmentsI fell off the wagon again yesterday. My partner suggested going out to lunch so off I went. But today is another day.<br /><br />Ok, rather than berate myself about what I didn't do, lets look at what I did do.<br /><br />* Created a template for my action/reation cards<br />* Printed all the action/reaction sequences and updated the storyboard<br />* Updated my website with the latest story overview<br /><br />I've decided to drop the character sheets from the daily task list for now. I'm developing the characters through the 1/2 topic specific writing. I pick one of the characters and write about the topic from their point of view. I'll schedule completing the character development sheets as a task after I finish the action/reaction sheets. The revised check in should be enough for now.<br /><br />Check In <br /><br />* Journal entry <span style="font-weight:bold;">Yes</span><br />* 1 hour FF writing <span style="font-weight:bold;">Yes</span><br />* 1/2 hour topic specific writing <span style="font-style:italic;">No</span><br />* 10 min. sensual detail topic <span style="font-style:italic;">No</span><br />* Action / Reaction Sheet <span style="font-weight:bold;">Yes</span>MaryKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299340471207328994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33927839.post-57239030064601733892006-09-13T15:55:00.000-07:002006-09-13T16:48:23.004-07:00But what if it does happen...I had a busy day yesterday so I didn’t get most of my tasks done. I had to go into the city to see my doctor in the morning and I didn’t get back until 10 am and I had to go to see Gaye-Cheryl about some natural therapies at 1.30 am so that took up most of the afternoon.<br /><br />So there I had it. While I did do a a couple of my tasks, I had my excuse for not getting the rest of them done.<br /><br />But this morning as I prepared to write my journal, I started to wonder how yesterday’s events would have affected my progress if I had been working with a publisher through the editing process of my book. And came to the conclusion: badly.<br /><br />Thus far, I’ve cocooned myself from this reality by using the rationale: It’s so far into the future and it probably won’t happen anyway, so it doesn't matter and I can just ignore it for now. <br /><br />I then started to think: What if it does happen? What if a publisher does pick up my book and I have to start working to deadlines? And delivering. How am I going to manage the creative side of working to a hard deadline that could make or break my ambition of being a novelist?<br /><br />The conclusion that I came to is that I can only achieve this if I have the right kind of attitude toward the task. But not just from the point of having my book accepted from a publisher, right from the beginning. <br /><br />I don’t think your attitude toward something is something that can be changed easily. I think it’s sort of like an imprint. That maybe if you have the wrong attitude when you start a task, then you are going to have the wrong attitude all the way through it. <br /><br />Thus, if it isn’t important enough to me to get the commitments I have made to myself done now when there is no pressure and when it is entirely my choice, then it will not be important enough to me when I have to start working under pressure from the commitment I have made to a publisher. <br /><br />The attitude I have imprinted on the task right from the very beginning will shine through all the way through it. And when I’m working with an editor, they will see it.<br /><br />Which means I will end up under more pressure because I will also have to deal with changing my attitude at a time when I need my creative stamina to be at its peak. When I am getting input from an external source and I have to balance the incorporation of it into my story.<br /><br />I also see now that the tasks I have set myself are a good start, but I also need to set aside time to take the output of my idea generation tasks and turn them into prose. I think that waiting until I finish the plot would be a mistake because, for me, one seems to feed the other.<br /><br />So really what I need to be doing now is building my creative stamina. I need to do all of the daily tasks I have set my self regardless of what else is going on in my life. And I need to mould the ideas I am generating through the daily tasks into the final product everyday. Just like I would if I was working for a client, but, for now, the client is me.<br /><br />Check In:<br /><br />* Journal entry <span style="font-weight:bold;">Yes</span><br />* 1 hour FF writing <span style="font-style:italic;">Yes</span><br />* 1/2 hour topic specific writing <span style="font-weight:bold;">Yes</span><br />* 10 min. sensual detail topic <span style="font-style:italic;">No</span><br />* Action / Reaction Sheet <span style="font-weight:bold;">Yes</span><br />* Character development <span style="font-style:italic;">No</span>MaryKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299340471207328994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33927839.post-85598380882292583722006-09-12T13:22:00.000-07:002006-09-12T13:28:44.736-07:00Getting through the tasksI’m still not getting through all the tasks I’ve set myself, but I am having some great results from the tasks I am completing. <br /><br />For freefall, I focus on the story before I start and write to see what comes up. Yesterday I had a great breakthrough with the argument between the mother and the father that is the catalyst. Rather than spell out the whole argument heard through the wall, all I need to do is to put in the key phrases the give the gist of what they are fighting about. The things they say to each other will set up state of the relationship between them now and the backstory without having to spell it out. <br /><br />For the 1/2 hour topic specific, I write it from a characters point of view. I am getting a lot of material that I could use in the character development sheets, but I haven't entered it in yet. That's why I say I haven't done it on the check in.<br /><br />I'm really pleased with the way things are going. The tasks setting has worked really well for me.<br /><br />Check In:<br /><br />* Journal entry <span style="font-weight:bold;">Yes</span><br />* 1 hour FF writing <span style="font-weight:bold;">Yes</span><br />* 1/2 hour topic specific writing <span style="font-weight:bold;">Yes</span><br />* 10 min. sensual detail topic <span style="font-style:italic;">No</span><br />* Action / Reaction Sheet <span style="font-weight:bold;">Yes</span><br />* Character development <span style="font-style:italic;">No</span>MaryKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299340471207328994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33927839.post-26082052243313737562006-09-11T16:24:00.000-07:002006-09-11T16:37:11.435-07:00AccountabilityThe other aspect to my most prolific writing / creative periods was that I was working with a partner during the tasks that held me accountable. But thus far my efforts to find an ongoing writing partner have been disappointing. My experiences have shown me that a lot of people like the idea of a writing partner, but not the reality of actually doing the tasks required week in and week out and being held accountable for them. So I need to put tools in place that create that sense of accountability.<br /><br />What I need is that same sense of a check in. Like daily tasks, a daily check in seemed to work best. I might set up a daily check in that recording whether I have achieved my daily tasks. I display a graph showing my progress toward my goals that I could update weekly. Sort of like a project plan.<br /><br />The other aspect to my writing that I need to get a grip on is the effect that the topic is having on me. It is leaving me a bit down. Researching and creating a story about the inside of an abusers head can leave me feeling really bummed out. Which leads to the question: Would readers want to spend the time inside the head of an abuser?<br /><br />I think it could sell because so many of the topics covered in Women's Fiction genre are depressing. And I got through Joyce Carol Oates book Zombie which is a walk around inside the head of a phsycopath. I also really do believe that this topic is worthwhile.<br /><br />Time to post my first check in from yesterday.<br /><br />* Journal entry <span style="font-weight:bold;">Yes</span><br />* 1 hour FF writing <span style="font-weight:bold;">Yes</span><br />* 1/2 hour topic specific writing <span style="font-weight:bold;">Yes</span><br />* 10 min. sensual detail topic <span style="font-style:italic;">No</span><br />* Action / Reaction Sheet <span style="font-weight:bold;">Yes</span><br />* Character development <span style="font-style:italic;">No</span>MaryKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299340471207328994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33927839.post-24591455567884104242006-09-10T15:25:00.000-07:002006-09-10T17:39:45.877-07:00A cork boardI found a corkboard yesterday large enough to cover the windows in my office. My partner mounted it on the wall and I pinned my first Action and Reaction section sheets up under Abandonment. And now it's looking a tad empty.<br /><br />So today is the day that I begin to rectify the problem of the empty corkboard. There are a total of 58 characteristics of all the behaviours associated with the theme. If I complete an action/reaction sheet per weekday for 58 days I should have a basic outline of the plot of the book by the end of November. But I need to do more than that to get this book really going.<br /><br />Upon reflection, I was my most prolific (after Nano month that is) when I was working through the exercise Discovering Your Creative Time in Linda Seger's book Making a Good Writer Great and applying the freefall rules of writing for one hour a day on what ever comes up for you and ten minutes a day about a topic designed to evoke "sensuous detail".<br /><br />So I need a daily work schedule. And I really need to start setting some goals based on that schedule otherwise I can see this being a work in progress forever. So I need to define the minimum I should be doing each day to get me rolling again.<br /><br />Goal: All the action/reaction sheets for each behaviour completed by 1 December.<br /><br />Daily Tasks:<br /><UL><br /><LI> Journal entry<br /><LI> One hour freefall writing<br /><LI> Half hour topic specific writing<br /><LI> Ten minutes sensual detail topic<br /><LI> Action / Reaction Sheet<br /><LI> Character development<br /></UL><br />The exercise about discovering my most creative time revealed that my most productive freefall style writing time is in the morning. But my most productive time for writing specifically about the story Long Grass is in the afternoon. So, in theory this should work well. Journal entry, freefall, and half hour of topic specific writing in the morning and ten minute sensual detail topic, action/reaction sheet and character development in the afternoon.<br /><br />Well time to get started on the second task of the day. One hour of freefall writing.MaryKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299340471207328994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33927839.post-1157850103062200512006-09-09T17:23:00.000-07:002006-09-09T21:55:25.416-07:00Plotting my plotI've decided to spend today finding ways to plot my plot.<br /><br />I have so many story threads, ideas, action and reaction points, imagery to follow through on, whew the list goes on and on, that I'm finding I can't keep track of it all in my head.<br /><br />I've known for some time that it would come to this. I started a notebook a few months ago and I've tried to keep as many of my ideas in it as I can. But now I have the initial idea recorded pretty thoroughly and I'm building the plot action/reactions sheets, I'm finding that I can't keep track of all the information I am gathering around the plot points, characters, imagery, theme and the list goes on and on.<br /><br />The action/reaction section sheet idea I got from Evan Marshal's book have been a life saver, and the real catalyst around my recognition of the need to find a way to track everything I need to remember about the books.<br /><br />I've started using index cards to note the information I need to keep track of for each scene and today I'm off to try and find a cork board large enough to fit over the windows that cover the wall at the end of my office. I don't really need to worry about blocking the light because I the wall to which my desk is parallel is also covered in glass.<br /><br />Writing this book is starting to get exciting again. I've been in a bit of a slump since I did the novel in 30 days workbook in June.<br /><br />While I've kept reading as much as I can about novel writing and writing in general and jotting down notes of the ideas, I've been only doing a cursory amount of work toward my novel, and to be honest it was just for show.<br /><br />Just enough to keep myself convinced that I was still doing it. It coming up to 10 weeks since I finished the 30 days task and when I realized this, it became embarrassingly obvious that I haven't really made any real progress since then. It's hard to keep yourself fooled forever when you start looking at what you have achieved from a point in time. The facts have revealed that I've been a bit of a slack arse.<br /><br />I've spent too much time thinking about the story instead of finding ways of getting it down. Hopefully, the index cards and cork board will help me keep track of it all and get me back on the yellow brick road.<br /><br />minMaryKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299340471207328994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33927839.post-1157747042997183282006-09-08T13:22:00.000-07:002006-09-09T18:05:48.923-07:00Story lines and researchThe thing I like most about research is the story ideas it generates.<br /><br />I had initially decided that Nancy's father did sign up to join the forces in WW2 and it was a couple of years after the war when the story begins. That part of the problem between he and his wife was that she had tasted independence during the war and she liked it. She didn’t like having to go back into the role society had deemed appropriate for her and she resented it. But thinking about this story line now, it’s looking a tad cliché’.<br /><br />So I started wondering how realistic it was for him to not to have signed up at all. I knew that initially men would volunteer, but I wasn't sure if there was conscription as the war progressed. So it was back to the library.<br /><br />I found that there was conscription when Australia was under threat by the Japanese, but up until then it was signing up was voluntary. And during the conscription phase of the war you a man could still get out of it if you were a conscientious objector. Interestingly, officially you could still be forced to serve in the military in a non-combative role or assigned to work under civilian control, but due to the administration problems involved in managing this and because the number of men doing this were so low, it wasn’t really enforced.<br /><br />A whole new story idea came from this information.<br /><br />I could change the time of year my story begins. Again. But if I do change it to Anzac day it won’t fit in the Nancy having been to the show if I set the novel in Victoria. Wrong time of year. And it is important to the story lines in the second part of the book that she has recently been to the show.<br /><br />But if I have the father getting out of going into military service because of a conscientious objection and having him getting called into non-combative service, it open’s up a completely different aspect to the dynamic between the mother and father.<br /><br />Because of the conventions of the day around girls that get themselves pregnant out of wedlock, the story could instead begin with Nancy’s mother finding herself 5 years into a marriage with a coward and a liar.<br /><br />This way the father is more complex and there would be more intensity in the conflict that sets off the argument between he and his wife that is the catalyst of the story. It also has the added bonus of making it easier for me to show more about his character quite quickly.<br /><br />I really wanted to use the Royal Show in either Sydney or Melbourne because it is links in to the second part of the book. If I set the book in Sydney instead of Melbourne it is easier to establish the father’s character quickly and show the information I want to give about him rather than tell it. The Anzac motif also opens up other potential story lines in the second part of the book.<br /><br />But if I use Anzac day and the show it doesn't fit in with my decision to set the story in Melbourne instead of Sydney, thus making it easier for me to research. Decisions. Decisions.<br /><br />minMaryKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299340471207328994noreply@blogger.com0