I'm about halfway through my own readthrough and I've got full feedback from two readers and nearly full feedback from two more readers. And all I can say is... another rewrite is in order. Which... I knew. And I'm pretty sure you all knew this too.
Version 5 is going to happen.
Monday, January 28, 2013
Monday, January 21, 2013
Who's reading?
A few weeks ago, I started sending out my story to my first-readers.
I've gotten complete responses back from two out of the original 11 queries.
Rar (my sister) and Mitch (my roommate) have completely finished this draft and given me feedback.
Bex (my good friend) is about 10 chapters away from the ending and I wish she'd just finish it already! :P
Out of my fanfic-based readers, KKBeckett has gotten back to me through chapter 18 via emails every few chapters. Flightfoot has gotten back to me through chapter 5 via emails ever chapter. Cookie has gotten back to me through chapter 3. I hope you all enjoy the rest of your read-through if you are reading this right now!
I believe my mother has not touched it as of yet due to no spare time... sadness.
My other good friend, Grim, didn't get the original PDF I sent him in a snafu with the emails. I resent it to him...
My boyfriend hasn't made the time to read it and he feels bad.
The other two queries have not replied back to me after I initially sent it to them.
Regardless, I, myself, am up through roughly chapter 20 of rereading it. I am noticing the things other people have said to me and thinking of ways to make it better. I had hoped that this would be the last major rewrite I would do for this book before I submitted it for publishing, but this is not the case. I have at least one more ahead of me.
I plan to start the next round of rewrites in mid-February. I wish that everyone I initially queried would completely get back to me by that time, however, I understand that life gets crazy and school demands more of your time than you want it to. (Coming from the girl who has been doing nonstop homework for the past two weeks, trust me... I know.)
If nothing else, I have two complete feedbacks and I can pester Bex enough to get me a third before I start rewriting.
I don't entirely know why I'm posting this...
Maybe just for my own personal record.
Ciao for now!
Monday, January 7, 2013
Finished! But... not...
Why yes, the writing is all finished.
But the editing has only just begun. I have given a number of people this draft and they, alongside myself, are painstakingly going through it to find things that don't quite line up.
Some things are easy edits "you have the word 'her' here when you really should have 'here'". Those edits, honestly make me facepalm, because they're so easily missed until someone points them out and everyone's just like... 'oh duh...'
Then there are edits like "are you sure that's the word you're looking for there?" "maybe you need to make this two sentences..." or "just take that phrase out, it's completely unnecessary." These are also relatively simple to work with. A quick-enough fix.
Then there are things like "you should rename that" or "you made this word up, so how is it pronounced." Those are.... well, hard for the first one and easy for the second. *I* know how everything is pronounced, so it's an easy answer (at least, out loud... one of my first-readers told me that maybe I should put in a phonetics pronunciation guide for the words I made up... and I'm considering it.) As for renaming things... ugh... I have a list of things that probably should be renamed because they're the names for things that I made up YEARS ago and they sound fine to me... but not to other people. Murrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Of course, then there are the questions... "Why is this special? You better make sure it stays special!" "Why does this species have this?" "You have *this* (magikal function) so why does *this* happen?" These don't necessarily even have to be discussed IN the text. *I* however, should know the answers to each and every one of these questions so I can write based on those answers.
And then... there's things like "this person's characterization is off, I need to fix that" and "this character's relationship to this character just plain needs help because it's affecting the story in ways that it shouldn't be" and "i need to change that because it's affecting how the story is read and it shouldn't" --all that stuff. Which is highly important... and a pain to fix.
I have my work cut out for me.
But the editing has only just begun. I have given a number of people this draft and they, alongside myself, are painstakingly going through it to find things that don't quite line up.
Some things are easy edits "you have the word 'her' here when you really should have 'here'". Those edits, honestly make me facepalm, because they're so easily missed until someone points them out and everyone's just like... 'oh duh...'
Then there are edits like "are you sure that's the word you're looking for there?" "maybe you need to make this two sentences..." or "just take that phrase out, it's completely unnecessary." These are also relatively simple to work with. A quick-enough fix.
Then there are things like "you should rename that" or "you made this word up, so how is it pronounced." Those are.... well, hard for the first one and easy for the second. *I* know how everything is pronounced, so it's an easy answer (at least, out loud... one of my first-readers told me that maybe I should put in a phonetics pronunciation guide for the words I made up... and I'm considering it.) As for renaming things... ugh... I have a list of things that probably should be renamed because they're the names for things that I made up YEARS ago and they sound fine to me... but not to other people. Murrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Of course, then there are the questions... "Why is this special? You better make sure it stays special!" "Why does this species have this?" "You have *this* (magikal function) so why does *this* happen?" These don't necessarily even have to be discussed IN the text. *I* however, should know the answers to each and every one of these questions so I can write based on those answers.
And then... there's things like "this person's characterization is off, I need to fix that" and "this character's relationship to this character just plain needs help because it's affecting the story in ways that it shouldn't be" and "i need to change that because it's affecting how the story is read and it shouldn't" --all that stuff. Which is highly important... and a pain to fix.
I have my work cut out for me.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Climax of a Story
In regards to why it took me so long to finish this darn draft...
Another reason I think may be a possibility is that this draft didn't had a similar climax to the other drafts (or the sequels, which I haven't touched yet...)
See, because of the split, I had to create enough drama/rising action to justify a climax to justify an ending to this novel. My roommate warned me that I needed to make sure it wasn't half-baked because she'd seen stories that had done that. So I may have given myself a small complex trying to make sure it was "just-right."
I'm still not sure if it is or not. It's functional, but... I have half a dozen first-readers who may tell me otherwise. If they do, it's back to the drawing board for me... *doesn't want to think about this*
It's probably just nothing. It's probably just because this draft is radically different.
In previous drafts, before the split, I had chapters and chapters... (okay, that's a generalization, because this newly completed draft is the first one I've done that's actually HAD chapters as opposed to just little visual breaks (* * *).) Regardless, it felt like I had several chapters leading up to the climax, a chapter for the climax, and then a chapter or two of falling action before the epilogue.
The way this draft is written, with the climax at what it is, it's like I have several chapters of slowly rising action, then one or two chapters of quickly rising action, then one chapter for climax and falling action all in one before the epilogue. It's... just... different...
*shrug*
I don't know. It's not like I'm not happy with it... it's just different...
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Not wanting it to end...
Sometimes I have to wonder why it took me a whole month to write 20K words when in the previous month I wrote 80K in the same amount of time (technically, a whole day less, too).
I mean sure, December meant finals and Christmas and The Hobbit and finals and paperwork and crazy stuff at school and seeing family and all that stuff.
But November had Thanksgiving and seeing family and final papers and stuff too!
Though, November was NaNo, which means more of a drive, I suppose.
Regardless, I honestly think the main reason why it took me so long to write the last 20K is because I didn't want it to end. Would it be the same way had I not split it and just kept writing for another month or two? Maybe, I can't say for sure. But I came to the end of this draft a few days ago. And I think I was stalling to spend that much more time with the characters this time around.
I'm serious about this, guys.
I mean sure, December meant finals and Christmas and The Hobbit and finals and paperwork and crazy stuff at school and seeing family and all that stuff.
But November had Thanksgiving and seeing family and final papers and stuff too!
Though, November was NaNo, which means more of a drive, I suppose.
Regardless, I honestly think the main reason why it took me so long to write the last 20K is because I didn't want it to end. Would it be the same way had I not split it and just kept writing for another month or two? Maybe, I can't say for sure. But I came to the end of this draft a few days ago. And I think I was stalling to spend that much more time with the characters this time around.
I'm serious about this, guys.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Impressive Word Count
You can tell I'm not doing much besides sitting at my computer. This is the third blog all night! But, I'm sworn-off Tumblr until tomorrow to increase productivity, and this is more productive than that.
I haven't said it officially, but I've implied it.
I finished this draft!
I've got quite the word count: 100,153.
Granted, it's 30K less than the draft before it because I've split it. I split it slightly more than halfway through, but with all the things I was adding for development, my word count jumped a ton. I'm expecting to do a lot more expanding in the second half to make it a comparable length to this half.
The word count is not set in stone, it will mesh and meld around 100K as my first-readers get back to me with their feedback. I've sent it out to 7 people. (Well, 5 in addition to the 2 that were already reading it.) Anyway... yeah...
I remember talking to one of my first-readers last week or so and he asked me how long it was. I gave him the word count and he looked at me, very impressed that I could write so much. Particularly in so little time. Basically 100K words in 2 months. Though, 80K of that was in November and 20K of that was in December.
TECHNICALLY, the last 300 words were written in January, but it was on the 1st, so I can still kinda lump it into the two-month timeframe.
To me, it was hardly anything... this is what I do... this is what I'm getting my degree for... even though you don't need a Creative Writing degree to be a writer. You don't need one to get published. I just... don't know what I'd do with my life if I wasn't writing.
And... aside from that, I've forgotten the original reason why I started posting. So, bye for now!
I haven't said it officially, but I've implied it.
I finished this draft!
I've got quite the word count: 100,153.
Granted, it's 30K less than the draft before it because I've split it. I split it slightly more than halfway through, but with all the things I was adding for development, my word count jumped a ton. I'm expecting to do a lot more expanding in the second half to make it a comparable length to this half.
The word count is not set in stone, it will mesh and meld around 100K as my first-readers get back to me with their feedback. I've sent it out to 7 people. (Well, 5 in addition to the 2 that were already reading it.) Anyway... yeah...
I remember talking to one of my first-readers last week or so and he asked me how long it was. I gave him the word count and he looked at me, very impressed that I could write so much. Particularly in so little time. Basically 100K words in 2 months. Though, 80K of that was in November and 20K of that was in December.
TECHNICALLY, the last 300 words were written in January, but it was on the 1st, so I can still kinda lump it into the two-month timeframe.
To me, it was hardly anything... this is what I do... this is what I'm getting my degree for... even though you don't need a Creative Writing degree to be a writer. You don't need one to get published. I just... don't know what I'd do with my life if I wasn't writing.
And... aside from that, I've forgotten the original reason why I started posting. So, bye for now!
Writing New Material
What!? Two posts in one day!? Unheard of!
Well, I have time, so I'm posting stuff.
I'm not sure if I mentioned this, but I did decide to split it. (Oh, I mentioned it... well, shows how good of a memory I have about these things...) Well, whatever. Because of the split, the last several thousand words were entirely new material. Well, mostly anyway.
A good portion of it was literally just me recreating the story as I went along. Parts of it were rather fun, actually. It was like "this is what the story would have done if I had written it like this the first time." Sure, if I had gone with the plan of not splitting it, not every one of these additions would have made it in.
But my protagonist had business she really needed to take care of, and it really was quite logical that she take care of them now, as opposed to when she halfheartedly got around to them in the previous drafts.
Granted, some of the new writing was scary. I believe I mentioned a few posts ago that I was writing slow in an effort to make every word count. Boy, was I doing that! However, I am generally pleased with this outcome. Is it quite the ending I had planned? I'm not sure. Is it a functional ending. Yes.
So... yeah...
Well, I have time, so I'm posting stuff.
I'm not sure if I mentioned this, but I did decide to split it. (Oh, I mentioned it... well, shows how good of a memory I have about these things...) Well, whatever. Because of the split, the last several thousand words were entirely new material. Well, mostly anyway.
A good portion of it was literally just me recreating the story as I went along. Parts of it were rather fun, actually. It was like "this is what the story would have done if I had written it like this the first time." Sure, if I had gone with the plan of not splitting it, not every one of these additions would have made it in.
But my protagonist had business she really needed to take care of, and it really was quite logical that she take care of them now, as opposed to when she halfheartedly got around to them in the previous drafts.
Granted, some of the new writing was scary. I believe I mentioned a few posts ago that I was writing slow in an effort to make every word count. Boy, was I doing that! However, I am generally pleased with this outcome. Is it quite the ending I had planned? I'm not sure. Is it a functional ending. Yes.
So... yeah...
Wordness
It's been a while since I've posted. But... see... I've been busy. Finals really takes it from you. And then, after finals, there was going and seeing the Hobbit with my friends (which, was amazing, by the way, though I do need to re-read that book--when I have time!)
Then it was the last-minute holiday shabangs in my college town before heading back up to see my family for Christmas.
Oh, and then there was Disney! I went to Disneyland with my boyfriend and some of our mutual friends. We had a blast. (Though, this can kinda be filed under 'last-minute holiday shabangs'.) Whatever. I went to Disney.
Then Christmas happened.
Then I was writing. Boy did I write!
And then there was New Years.
And some more writing!
And now I'm here blogging. I hope to be blogging a tad more regularly, but... the semester starts next week, so I really can't make any promises based on my track record.
I'm here really just to make a note about how different it is for me to reach a word count with my books as opposed to my papers.
A professor assigns me a paper, usually with a word count anywhere between 1,000 and 5,000 words. (Depending on the type of paper. 1,000 words double-spaced is about 3 pages. 5,000 words is about 15 pages. Ish.) I always get the first few hundred out pretty fine... but then I'm struggling to continue. It's ridiculous! I think to myself, 'man, this is rather hard'.
But then... 1,000 words is less than a chapter for me in my book (or fanfics--I feel the need to mention those.) Usually my chapters are between 2,000 and 4,000 words. And I can write a chapter in a day if I'm in the mood. I strive to write at least 1,000 words a day with my book. Though, NaNo had me doing at least 2,000, really. It comes easily to me most days. (I do have my days where I'm like 'nope, this is not happening'. But, I still write SOMETHING.)
For me, writing my books just comes easier than writing papers. It's who I am. I'm more invested in my books than I am in papers. And I think it's just funny the way 1,000 words seems really hard for a paper, but virtually nothing for my book.
Then it was the last-minute holiday shabangs in my college town before heading back up to see my family for Christmas.
Oh, and then there was Disney! I went to Disneyland with my boyfriend and some of our mutual friends. We had a blast. (Though, this can kinda be filed under 'last-minute holiday shabangs'.) Whatever. I went to Disney.
Then Christmas happened.
Then I was writing. Boy did I write!
And then there was New Years.
And some more writing!
And now I'm here blogging. I hope to be blogging a tad more regularly, but... the semester starts next week, so I really can't make any promises based on my track record.
I'm here really just to make a note about how different it is for me to reach a word count with my books as opposed to my papers.
A professor assigns me a paper, usually with a word count anywhere between 1,000 and 5,000 words. (Depending on the type of paper. 1,000 words double-spaced is about 3 pages. 5,000 words is about 15 pages. Ish.) I always get the first few hundred out pretty fine... but then I'm struggling to continue. It's ridiculous! I think to myself, 'man, this is rather hard'.
But then... 1,000 words is less than a chapter for me in my book (or fanfics--I feel the need to mention those.) Usually my chapters are between 2,000 and 4,000 words. And I can write a chapter in a day if I'm in the mood. I strive to write at least 1,000 words a day with my book. Though, NaNo had me doing at least 2,000, really. It comes easily to me most days. (I do have my days where I'm like 'nope, this is not happening'. But, I still write SOMETHING.)
For me, writing my books just comes easier than writing papers. It's who I am. I'm more invested in my books than I am in papers. And I think it's just funny the way 1,000 words seems really hard for a paper, but virtually nothing for my book.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)