Melissa:
February was a huge month for me. Why? Well, I'll tell ya...
That moment when you move the HUGE clip to the beginning portion of noted pages and the big clip to the last part to do. Yep, that was me this month! That's a cool feeling to know you are on the downward slide.
I went on my Friday Pub Writing day and on this afternoon excursion, I added a 2000 word scene, that needs lots of work and focus. But it's a start. Now after the months done, I know what to do with this scene, and it's going to lead to a whole section I need to add to round out a few things.
And to close out the month.....*drum roll* I finished the whole first read through!!! Wow. I have to say I was getting tired of not being done. So I kept at it. I have a patience issue, I do think. I felt I was taking to long and possibly forgetting things, so wanted to get through it all while still fresh in my head.
Now what? I'm not sure. Is there any suggestions?
I've found there are many things I have decided on which way I'm going, and things I still need to make choices on. I've got the scene started from that Friday afternoon at the pub, and it has lead to (along with another scene I read) a whole new run in the story as well. I'll have to sit down and map what my point of the run it, what the characters will come across and why, along with what we will learn about them on this trip. This is a great thing. I've filled in some gaps in my mind for future about the world as well. I just need to drop hints to have the reader think and question things so I can explain them later and they won't feel like they are hit out of left field when they come.
One thing I do keep noting, "Show, don't tell." I found I made notes of simply telling me what's to happen. I need to create the scenes to show it. There is lots of that to be filled in. So still lots of creating and writing to come. Then maybe I can go through and pretty up the sentences adding together two sentences that describe the same thing. You know, make it make sense.
I did start filling in what I want to add to a few sections, and I'm really enjoying what I'm creating.... at this point. I go through phases of love then hate and want to scrap the whole thing. But right now, I'm feeling the love. The hate will come again soon, I'm sure.
For me, it's on to adding/deleting words/sentences along with reading as I go. I'll be writing up the gaps too. This will be a long phase and I think will take me longer than the two months to get to this point.
Jackie:
Melissa has been awesome in her dedication to getting through the first draft. Me? Not so much. I have screwed the pooch more times than I can count when I should have been writing but....
My positive spin lies in the fact that I actually made it beyond the 25% mark! That sounds bad in comparison with Melissa's amazing progress (I'm so proud of her!), but for me it's a good thing because I haven't tossed it aside, or set a match to it, etc. I may be slow in reading it, but I'm not giving up! (I'd be pumping my fist in the air now if I wasn't typing ;) )
I still have my project divided into two parts (mainly because I didn't have the huge clip that my writing buddy spoke about above) but more pages get flipped kitty-corner as the days pass.
What I have done is decided on a whole new title and undercurrent to the story. I think I'll still be able to keep much of the original scenes, and I hope all of the original humour in it, but there is definite room for growth and change throughout the whole piece.
On that note, I just want to mention the feeling of "I've bitten off way more than I can chew" with my new approach. Normally, this would be enough to find the matches and ignite; I don't like being a quitter but sometimes it's the easy way out, right? NO, darn it all! And this is what I keep telling myself: I will not quit just because my ideas are....well, a bit grandiose, considering my lack of knowledge on the subject. I will grab the bull by the horns and make him my household pet, dammit! (Was that a good metaphor? LOL. I need all the help I can get.) To this end, everyday I'm thinking over how to tackle the subject, how to make it plausible and how to make it interesting to any future readers out there (I'm nothing if not hopeful of the end result.)
So, as February closes out and March brings the promise of Spring, I renew my vow to have this first draft read and a firm grasp on the new material before the month is out.
