So I've decided to start a blog about my journey writing the novel--it's really setting in that I have far to go. If you read my devotional blog, Thursday's Child, I'll just tell you now that this is not going to be like that. If you are interested in devotional thoughts, this is going to bore you. If you're interested in discussing critiquing, publishing, and some literary theory, then maybe you'll get something out of this with me.
The general process is getting kind of overwhelming, and I think it would be good to get some feedback about the things I'm experiencing from someone else. Writing in a household of four kids is not easy, especially since I cannot write at night. I think I am too drained, or whatever. I have little creativity (unless I'm wide awake from caffeine, in which case the morning that follows is never good). I started with an outline, which has evolved somewhat, and now I feel more unsure of what I am doing here. On the other hand, I think what I have is more involved and riskier, which could equal more exciting, but I don't know.
I'm also trying to figure out where to go from here. I'm "almost done" with the first draft, and I really miss the environmental editing of college writing courses. Professors are ideal editors: you know their motives and credentials. An awesome friend of mine is serving as a kind of "pre-editor" simply because she is interested in my novel, and wanted to read it. This has been great for me, but I wish I knew someone professionally and personally in this line of work.
Thoughts? Arguments? Sympathy:)?
More later...
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-- Henry James
"Then there is Me of course; but I am only the chorus that comes at the end to explain things. So I do not count." --Rudyard Kipling
i'm feeling...
Novel Progress
Categories
- inspiration (2)
- just funny (1)
- mid-week motivations (2)
- moods (7)
- observations (6)
- process (11)
- questions (5)
- writer...interrupted (2)
Of Interest
"Inspiration is wonderful when it happens, but the writer must develop an approach for the rest of the time...the wait is simply too long." ~Leonard Bernstein
"Always be the beautiful answer who asks a more beautiful question."
e.e. cummings
"Let me live, love, and say it well in good sentences."
--Sylvia Plath
"'Classic.' A book which people praise and don"t read."
--Mark Twain
"Writers are a little below clowns and a little above trained seals."
--John Steinbeck
"Celebrity is the chastisement of merit and the punishment of talent."
--Emily Dickenson
"Reason is the natural order of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning."
--C. S. Lewis
"The only reason for the existence of a novel is that it does attempt to represent life."
"Find out what your hero wants, and when he wakes up in the morning, just follow him all day."
"The best time to plan a book is while you"re doing the dishes."
--Agatha Christie
"You have to get up in the morning and write something you love, something to live for."
"Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them, disbelieve them, glorify them or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire. They push the human race forward. Maybe they have to be crazy. How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art? Or sit in silence and hear a song that's never been written? Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels? We make tools for these kinds of people. While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do. Think Different!"--Steve Jobs
Some reading in 2007
- Animal Farm--George Orwell
- Bad Girls of the Bible--Liz Curtis Higgs
- By the Light of the Moon -- Dean Koontz
- Collected Stories -- Rudyard Kipling
- Dirty Hands--Jean-Paul Sartre
- Friend of My Youth--Alice Munro
- Get Out of that Pit--Beth Moore
- Redeeming Love -- Francine Rivers
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn -- Mark Twain
- The Creative Call--Janice Elsheimer
- The Flies--Jean-Paul Sartre
- The Heir--Paul Robertson
- The Last Juror -- John Grisham
- The Pelican Brief -- John Grisham
- The Picture of Dorian Gray--Oscar Wilde
- The Proper Care and Feeding of Marriage--Dr. Laura Schlessinger
- The Screwtape Letters--C. S. Lewis
- The Silver Chair--C.S. Lewis
- The Sin Eater -- Francine Rivers
- The Street Lawyer -- John Grisham
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"Writing this story -- writing any story, really -- is like exploring a land for the first time while simultaneously serving as a tour guide." ~~Jared Wilson
3 comments:
I wouldn't let go of that awesome friend! She is a special find.
I'm also not sure that professors are ideal editors. Academic style is quite a bit different from trade. Some professors appreciate trade books, but most of them spend their time reading literary works and academic journals. That is all wonderful and necessary, but it doesn't sell particularly well.
And if you are writing for publication, you need to know the raw truth. Books are a business.
That's it. Have fun. Write great stories. But if you want to sell books, keep that business stuff in the back of your mind at all times. Who am I writing for? How am I going to help them find my book? Why would they buy my book? What will they get from reading my book?
The more specific you can be in your answers, the better.
I don't know if this overly long comment counts as a thought, an argument, or sympathy... Or all of the above?
Just keep writing!
Chanda, I'm impressed with the progress icon that shows how many words you've written on your novel! This shows your persistence.
I've just tagged you for EIGHT RANDOM FACTS BLOG TAG!
First, these are the rules:
1. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight
things and post these rules.
3. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged
and list their names.
4. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged, and to read your blog.
I'd love to have you join our game of tag.
Read my Eight Random Things at my ShoutLife blog:
http://shoutlife.com/profile_view.cfm
Well get a critique group going this summer! And what to do next, I'd say if you can swing it, plan on attending ACFW in Dallas!!!!
I'm also impressed that you're almost finished. Early on I would edit my chapters so much that I wouldn't move on and have several unfinished WIPs because of it. This time I'm determined to finish my current WIP before the end of summer!
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