Writing update #4

The struggle is real people!

The last two weeks has seen my day job take over to the extent that I got very little writing done. It is ironic that we were working on a pitch that if successful, would allow me MORE time for writing, so I felt the loss of the two weeks justified.

Just before the madness kicked off, I got to the end of my novel. This is the point where I would normally have jumped for joy and done the proverbial cartwheels, but I didn’t celebrate for the following reasons:

• I was thrown into the all-consuming pitch and had no time to reflect on the fact that I wrote my way to the end of a novel.
• I had left quite a number of TBW (To be written) sections in there, so it didn’t feel like a first draft.
• Partly because of the above reason, and also because I concentrated mainly on action and dialogue, my word count stands at a paltry 67 000 words. This is not quite enough for the genre and arguably not enough for a novel to get your teeth into.

So I’ve spent this week going back over each scene in Scrivener, summarising the main beats of each using the synopsis section. This I plan to print out and read to get an overview of where I am at, as well as show some of the more glaring plot holes.

I am sure there are many.

Things I learned this week:

• Life happens while you’re busy making other plans. Enough said.
• My ambition for the amount of writing I’ll be able to do with business, kids etc. might be a touch unrealistic!
• I learned that the work really starts at this point, where you’re kinda done, but you’re not. I have a feeling I’m either going to love the editing process or hate it. Marmite.
• There are many many good writers everywhere, lurking just underneath the edge of true discovery. I’m constantly amazed at the quality of writing I come across in the writer’s meetings I attend. Case in point is this lady:

Chantell Atkins

Loved this freaky short story of hers:

Leaf

And Shirley Golden, an established author who’s already been a tremendous help to me in my fledgeling writing career.

Anyway, I have a mammoth post on plotting vs pantsing brewing on the stove, hoping to get that out this week.

Hope you’re rockin’ in your writing…