Marie Alice Writes & Reads

This week word count goal: 15 000
Word count so far: 11 047

I got an eye cramp.
Did you know that you can have a cramp in your eye?
35 to 44 years on Earth, and I first experienced it today, while drafting away! Ha!

Today, I used my list of to-do’s before writing, to see if I could be as productive today as I was yesterday.
I guess I could have done better but I’m fairly happy with the results.

This story is going very well – of course, I’ve only just started writing it!
Nevertheless, I feel at ease in a contemporary-ish setting. It has been a while…

Also, I can see the writing tips science paying off on that new project. I can’t remember where I got that writing the backstories at the same time as the outline tip, but it is a good one. Must confess, I find the backstories more useful than the outline.
I love being able to go to my characters’ backstories in a heartbeat instead of figuring it out as I go. It really does help.

Although they are rough backstories, it still super useful to have the basics handy. I am still adding some stuff, erasing other stuff. Overall though, I can find their family history, the main events that shape them to be the characters they are at the beginning of the novel.

I say this, when I look back at the manuscript, I feel a bit scared. It still follows the outline main « guidelines », but the story is so different now.

My main concern now is the flow of it all. Conflicts follow action follow consequences. It’s all there, but it might be too much. I feel the urge to edit and clean up that beautiful mess.
However, powering through has proven to be much more effective… and fun.

Thanks for reading the diary ramblings of a crazy writer on a quest. If you wanna start at the beginning, be my guest.
Until next time!

This week word count goal: 15 000
Word count so far: 8 829

It went so well yesterday. For one good reason: I needed to think about something else then – oh, too many things.
Working on the new writing project provided a most welcome escape.

Writing is as much an escape for me than reading books. Sometimes, even more so. It’s probably the same thing for many authors.
Of course, when deadlines come knocking on the professional author’s doors, now, that is another story.

I did take some notes on what worked well during the writing session:

• No interruptions
• No distractions
• A brainstormed story
• A back-up detailed outline

Let’s see if I can beat my word count today… Doubt it, but we’ll see. Until then, thanks for reading and enjoy today!

This week writing goal: 15 000 words
Word count so far: 6 557

I love writing. I love writing novels even more.

Yes, it is difficult to write a novel. Sometimes, I get or lazy or stuck, or downright frustrated. And when those rejections letters hit… aie aie aie!

Still, writing novel is my life, the one thing I feel really confident about, even though I have not been published yet. I work hard to better my writing craft and I always learn.

One thing I really, really love writing is the meet-cute scene. I get all giggly and excited and ultra cheesy.

And today in Ya-Wip, it was time to write meet-cute moment. Hooray! I wrote, wrote, wrote, stopped to look up a detailed (it bugs me to leave a note; I need on-the-spot accuracy or back-up proof, or I froze) and while doing so, stumbled upon some writing tips about story beats.
Of course, doubt rosed its hands.
It’s too soon, isn’t it? Yes? No? Since it’s not a romance, since the focus is on long-gone friendship reconquered through weird, fun, sort of spooky times?
I looked up the tossed away outline I wrote. Turns out I did planed the meet-cute way later in the story.
But the story I am writing now is already taking a different path then the outline – that feels like a creative writing class homework now.
In this rough version, it definitely makes more sense for that meet-cute to happen right after the inciting incident.
I think the intro will have to change a little.

Sooo, I am left tonight with this interesting dilemma: should I just re-write the intro right away or should I move forward with the story?

The decision will have to await the rise of a new day. I got yet another 4:30am Peppa Pig wake up call this morning, and it has been a long work-chores day.