New Plan

Yep. I changed my plan.

I'm sure I've mentioned that I don't deal with change well. So this changing of my writing plan required lots of thought and activation energy. But, in keeping with "Going with the Flow" I said I'd adopt, and in doing something that excites me, and hopefully others given that I want my writing to eventually reach lots of others, I've chosen a new course of action.

My new plan consists of three main activities:

1. Death's Revision: Figure out what needs to be done to the 1st draft to make the story shine and get it done. 
2. Akeva's Revision: As it is mostly revised, finish the type-in I started a while ago. Once I have enough of it in the computer, I'll figure out a schedule  and publish it to my blog. 
3. Shorts: Keep writing moments and snippets from various writing prompts, do those writing exercises that I skipped over, and post to my blog.

Putting this plan here on my blog declares my intentions, so that I stick to it and get it done. 

With that said, I'm off to find working titles and cover images for both stories.  Until next time.

Status and More

Life has been hectic with the holidays, NaNoWriMo, kids' activities and the like but I've kept with the writing. Here's the latest.

I won NaNoWriMo 2012. Here's the web badge to prove it. But, that doesn't mean that I finished the story. Eleven scenes still await my attention. My goal: finish the story by the end of the month. I would love to finish it all in a week, ala NaNoWriMo pacing, but with the holiday and kids' programs, I think taking the rest of the month is more realistic.

Last week, I listened to a free Writer's Digest webinar, Novel Revision: Craft a Story Readers Can't Put Down, by James Scott Bell. A high level overview of considerations/tips for the revision process. I was looking for tips on how to get through the process, given my hate/hate relationship with revision. I got enough out of the one hour event to tempt me into purchasing his Revision and Self Editing for Publication: Techniques for Transforming Your First Draft into a Novel that Sells. His "death overhanging" concept, as in does the story have a death (be it physical, professional, or emotional) looming, helped me see the "what are the stakes?" in a new light. After I've read the book, I'll let you know what I thought and what I plan to add to my revision process.

Which brings me back to revision. After I finish "Winter's Tango," I'll get back to revising Angie's ID theft story. After that, I'll pick another story to revise. How to pick from the other stories that need so much help, I don't know.

Maybe, I'll spring for some professional help. (Ha, ha. I heard that.) I'm at that stage where I need some guidance ... a strengths and weaknesses assessment of my craft. And as I've still not looked for a critique group, I've been thinking of a particular writer/editor/consultant, Rosina Lippi, to give it to me straight. 

Because of the various writers' blogs and a book that a family member sent me, I've also thought about blogging-a-book. Jury is still out on that idea, but if I do, I'll use my time travel/romance story as my vehicle. Excerpts from that story can be found here. If your interested in more of Akeva's story, let me know in the comments.

Until next time, I'm off to a crippling ice age and looming death.