Solid Progress, But Slow

I did get back to writing since my last post, and have been working hard. I carried the story forward somewhat. I'm in chapter 6, and am still editing chapters 4 and 5. I think the first 3 chapters are pretty well done until the final review and polish.

It's slow going, because I'm trying to get it right as I go. I am tempted to break into a run and just finish off the story, then go back to edit, but I'm concerned if I do that then I'll end up with a rough draft that would require so much editing that it would be a waste of time. Slow, solid progress seems to be working well for this story, as long as I keep it moving forward, even at a slow pace. I can't let it stall or spend so much time rewriting that I inhibit any additional forward momentum. The balancing act has been working well enough thus far.

It's clear I won't have the story finished in time for this year's ABNA, which is very sad, since I had really hoped to have something, but at least I hitched a ride, so to speak, and the excitement surrounding that event has spurred me on to get really serious on bringing this story to completion. I'll just keep at it. It's hovering around 20k right now, and that's about 1/3 of the story (goal: 60-65k). I know the storyline, so it's just a matter of telling it as I go, not figuring it out. I feel more solid on having a handle on this story plot-wise than any other story I've worked with in the fast few years. I'm finding it much easier to keep it focused and on track. It's just a matter of drawing out the core of each scene and making each scene shine as I go along.

The characters are intriguing to me, the situation is very exciting, and there is much for the Reader to wonder about along the way, questions that a Reader will want to know the answers to. I'm getting better at leaving things unanswered and allowing the curiosity to develop.

I'm approaching this novel as character-driven even though there is a hefty suspense plot. That is helping give it a human quality that would otherwise come up short if I focused on the external aspects. Good choice and it's clearly playing off.

I have been storing away articles and notes from the research. Rather than trying to internalize all that information I'm finding it more useful to familiarize myself with it, so I know what it is, what information exists that I can draw from, and then I can look things up as I go along and get the details. Since there is a lot of information attached to this story, I could easily go overboard with exposition, but I'm purposefully avoiding that by keeping it to an absolute minimum. Story first, information only as absolutely essential to flesh out, validate, add realism, etc. Good approach.

So, at this point I'm happy with the story -- it has every potential to be my first totally completed project, and for me to get there within the coming weeks, no more than a few months. I'll postpone my end-of-January deadline and reset it as an end-of-February deadline, for completed, edited draft, which can then be reviewed, edited a little more as needed, and finally polished within the following month. Since I'm editing substantially as I go, and I'm working hard to keep it on track, I'm hoping to avoid the need for a second complete draft.

I feel many pangs of regret that I won't have something to send in for ABNA, but I take consolation that what I am working on appears to be worthy of sending out once finished, and I have a reasonable hope that this one might actually get to that point. That's something to be happy about!

Best wishes for completing your own work in a timely manner,

Adrian

Research!

I'm moving forward but slowly, since I needed to take more time to do some reading. There is a bit of material in this new WIP that requires research. I did some initial research in December but more was needed. It's very interesting, but I'm not allowing myself to dawdle in that fun -- I've been doing the minimum necessary, and am about done with it now. I look forward to getting back to the writing.

I did a LOT of editing of what I've already written (Chapters 1-3, plus part of Chapter 4). Word count is around 12k out of 60-65k. The existing material is very near to finished, unless I end up making story changes, which I hope I won't. I've planned and conceptualized in such a way that I have a good chance of preventing and avoiding that. The basic storyline is very solid and I'm following it easily. By getting this additional research done now, I'll be able to weave these elements into the story as needed rather than having to come back through and rewrite.

I'm not saying anything at all about this story other than it's "contemporary fantasy" and I'm really loving it. I'm swinging from the plot-side to the character-side of things to achieve a greater balance and loving that, too. I just picked up one of Sol Stein's books and look forward to getting into that eventually, once the story is moving forward again. I still have a chance to complete this manuscript by my self-imposed deadline of late this month ... must push on once I have the material I need.

With any luck, I'll start generating new text by this evening!

Wishing everyone else well with their WIP's,

Adrian

Solid New Story

The new story is coming along. Not nearly as quickly as I had hoped due to many and sundry distractions, but I have a solid footing. Current word count is around 11.6k (projected: 60-65k) and it's good stuff. I really like it. I'll keep it moving and not stop until the entire draft is done.

I planned enough to know the major plot points and the main ideas of the main suspense plot. I left open a lot of possibilities for the romantic subplot. That portion of the story has turned out to be much more engaging and lively than I had anticipated, which is great. It is helping make this story very character-driven, rather than settling for a plot-driven story.

I really like the dynamics in how the major characters interact. It's complex enough and it's unfolding step by step, so there's always a sense of mystery and anticipation.

This story would best be characterized as "contemporary fantasy". I won't comment at all on the details until this draft is finished. I'm editing as I go and the progress so far has been, as mentioned, very solid. I'll edit it all again when I finish the draft, but I have no plan at this point for a second draft. The goal is to finish this story and send it out pronto. I need to get something done and out the door! It's way overdue.

I'll still post soon on my "new way of working" that's working well for me at this point. Also, I've learned a new trick that's helping immensely. Not sure if I'll blog about that, though! ;-)

A toast to your own progress,

Adrian

About-Face, & Dealing w/ Those Horns

OMG -- this is not the next post I thought I'd post, but here it is!

Turns out I did an abrupt about-face during December. I was charging full steam ahead, holding the bull by the horns, committed to holding on and not letting go until the JASPER story is finished, and what happens?

I reneged!

[shock] -- [gasp] -- [more shock]

I was in the third draft and finding that while the story was on track as planned, the truth is the draft itself was about as lively as, well, cr**, and cr**'s not a particularly lively substance, if you know what I mean. At least, it generally fails to inspire me in any positive sense.

THEN...

I caught wind of the changes to the ABNA this year (if you don't know what it is already, don't ask, it's too late for you). I was prepping JASPER for ABNA and with the changes to ABNA, there's no way it's suitable!

SO...

I had to take a quick look around for another WIP that might be suitable, given the changes to this year's ABNA (2010), and I found an idea I like and so THAT'S what I've been working on during December. I had to do some in-depth research, some plotting, and now I'm writing. I have only an outside chance of having this new story ready in time, but I'm going to have fun trying.

AND...

This has inspired me to an exciting new way of working that I'll blog about soon.

The important thing is, although it may look like I had the bull by the horns and let go, the truth is: Not Really. You see, I'm still holding on to what's important: a finished work, ready to send out, ASAP. That's the real issue, and I'm still tightly focused on that.

IF YOU HAVE NO IDEA what this posting has been about, check out ABNA.

Best wishes for staying true to your real goals, whatever they may be,

Adrian

OMG -- Draft 3 ???

[Note: this blog entry contains a Q&A format designed to break an otherwise rambling post into discrete chunks of ... well ... chunkiness.]

What's up?

I got most of the way through the 2nd complete draft of the JASPER novel before it started unraveling on me -- again!

Reaction?

I hate it when that happens! I realized that what I was writing had deviated from the plan. This was not due to my not being able to follow a plan. The problem was the plan itself was lacking (*gasp*) in spite of substantial work on redeveloping it before commencing the 2nd draft!

Was there any clue this was going to be the case?

As I mentioned previously in my blog, I had found a few minor plot holes along the way while writing the 2nd complete draft, nothing that couldn't be fixed by minor editing, but by the later part of the story there were major fissures, at least to my sensitive plotting sensibilities.

What to do about it?

Rather than finish a draft that was no longer working, I saved myself another 10k of drivel and went back to the drawing board. Result: I have revamped the plot YET AGAIN and this time (like last time) I could almost swear I've got it down perfectly. Result of the result: I have already launched DRAFT THREE, which is off to a good start.

Is there any good news?

The plus in all this is that I'm pushing my way through, keeping up the productivity. Now that I'm back to work after my extended Creative Break, I'm willing to take on the yoke of productivity and keep on wearing it until I get results. I want this novel FINISHED and am willing to plug away at it until I get there.

This seems rather goal-oriented?

Yes, I'm striving for a finished product here. I've been working at my writing in earnest for a few years now and in spite of having completed a veritable mountain of work, I have not yet produced one completely finished manuscript. That will change soon. It must! I'll keep at it this time. I have the bull by the horns and I'm not letting go.

What's different in the current plan compared to the previous plan?

I removed the second POV (the character and events are still there, just not those 2nd POV chapters). The story unfolds now again as it did in the first draft, all events being filtered through the MC's POV. Also, I have downplayed and will probably totally remove the one other significant subplot. I have kept the improvements of the 2nd draft while simplifying the story.

Why the need to simplify?

I realize that the length recommended for Middle Grade fiction (30k - 40k) is too short for me to include all the pieces of the original story. By simplifying somewhat, I have pared it down to the essentials, which are still more than enough for a solid story. It's liberating to see the broad clear strokes of the major plot line as they sweep across the canvas of the entire story ... without all the other distractions that used to be there. I had made the story too complicated (something I tend to do). It's like Spring Cleaning without the Spring or the Cleaning. Feels good once it's over.

Is there any other good news?

Another plus in this new work is that I'm separating in my mind the difference between the macro and micro levels. I've always understood the concept, but I haven't been strict in applying it. First, I have to edit on the macro level, making sure the story works and all the pieces fit together and there is nothing unnecessary in the plot. Then, when the story holds together well, I can shift to the micro level and edit the actual words on the page. I've wasted time doing micro editing on stories that still have macro problems, and, well, that's a waste of time.

What is the next deadline?

I plan to finish this draft within December. The word count will probably run long, up to 60k or more, because I tend to run long with word counts. That's okay. I just need to get all the way through knowing that the story I've written fits the story I need, and all the pieces are in place ("macro bliss"). Once I achieve that, I can then focus on editing and rewriting/deleting to pare it down and bring out the good stuff.

How will visitors to this blog know you are on track?

I'll blog about my progress of the 3rd draft and will hopefully be able to report that this time my plan held all the way through. If so, macro bliss will be mine and the final assault can begin.

Say good night, Gracie.

Wishing everyone well with their continued word counts through the Holiday Season,

Adrian

Happy Thanksgiving -- & More Progress!

My word count now stands at 51,721. I'm in the middle of Chapter 30. The plan calls for 40 chapters.

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving,

Adrian

Big Step Forward!

The past two days I've been a writing machine. My word count on the second complete draft of the JASPER novel now stands at 46,700+ words. I just finished Chapter 27. There are a few more longer chapters (but not long by my old standard of 10k words!). After that, the chapters will get shorter as the story moves faster toward its conclusion.

I'm still finding my plan is working but there are a few holes in it, which is to say there are things I don't see clearly myself, and I can't write clearly what I can't see clearly in my own mind. The current issues surround the antagonist. Nothing that can't be fixed without too much drama on my part (though there's lots of drama on the antagonist's part, of course). I see what's wrong, what's missing, and have a sense of what it needs to be. I just need to fine-tune it. That's what this draft is for. I'm seeking how the story plays out according to this new plan, and whatever shortcomings remain will come to light in the process. They are. Everything is on schedule. The next draft should finally fix the remaining problems, and then it's a matter of style, storytelling, and cutting it down to an appropriate length.

Glad to see the word count go up. Glad to see the momentum building. Love this story. It's flowing nicely now (which sort of makes up for those times when it wasn't flowing so well).

Best wishes for your own writing progress,

Adrian