20 Weeks to a Book - Weeks 6 & 7

Disclaimer - I did indeed read week 6 last week, but completely forgot to blog about it!

I finally finished up the 20 pages and sent it off to be critiqued. Prayed it would get there in time! I've written almost another 10 pages. My goal is to have 340 pages rewritten by the end of the twentieth week. Going to need to write more than 10 pages a week! (but not much more)

Here they are, weeks 6 & 7:

Week 6 - "Sustaining Progress" We've all been there. A great idea inflames our imagination. We sit down and pound out the introduction. Soon - hours, days, weeks, months later - the passion dies. The enthusiasm is gone. Unfortunately you cannot write on passion alone. If you did, nothing would be finished. This has been me. What do you do when the passion is gone?

This is where true authors persevere and wannabes quit. As Maeve says, "It's all a matter of discipline." And when discipline gives out "a series of threats and rewards" may help. Bribe and punish yourself. For example: If I finish my quota for the week, I'll be able to go out with my girlfriends. If I don't, I won't get to go (and miss out on all the fun) and I have to clean the bathroom during that time instead. What rewards/punishments work for you will be different, but set them up and see how much writing you can achieve!


Week 7 - "Finding Your Voice" What is your voice? I can assure you it's not J.R.R. Tolkien's, J.K. Rowlings, Maeve Binchy's, or any of your favorite author's. You won't get far attempting to copy another's voice. Maeve says, "It's finding the method to tell your story that seems natural and unaffected." Continue to study the techniques of other writer's, but don't attempt to write like them. No one will read your story in someone else's voice if they can read the real thing! In writing there is a difference between generic and brand name! Write what you are passionate about and write in your natural voice. You'll go farther and be more apt to have your story published.

Brilliant

At least, that's how I was feeling this morning. Grocery shopping with 4 kids can be a crazy, trying, annoying, frustrating, difficult, loud, embarrassing, draining (you get the picture) experience. With only one contained child, the rest feel they are on an adventure. An adventure to torture Mommy. They seem to instinctively know that they can get away with a lot more in public than at home, and they do it! The stores are giant play places. One can run around, screaming, moving food around, removing price labels, and opening all the freezer doors. I've even had to drag at least one child out of the employees only sections.

The past 9 months I've been shopping with only 2 (occasionally 3) children in tow. Much easier, trust me. School is out and I am back to shopping with all four kids. I spent the past couple of weeks racking my brain for ideas to entertain my children quietly. Then it hit me, letters. My middle two children are busy learning their letters. They hate to sit down and look at flash cards, so I have to be creative with education (something very hard for me!). I decided to have my children look for letters as we wandered the stores.

Before we headed out this morning I printed out 6 letter boards, one for each store. My oldest can read, but she likes to play games and would have felt left out if I did not print her a board. (I can only handle 2 stores at a time with all four of them.) I told them we would be playing a seek and find game at the stores. Excitement abounded. They could not wait to get to the store.

At the first store I handed them each a board and a writing utensil. I explained that they were to look for the letters on their boards. If they had capitals, they needed to find capital letters, and vice-versa. They spent the time searching diligently for letters while I shopped. They only ran out of letters while I was checking out at the last store, and then chaos began. But I had made it through 2 stores without dirty looks, noisy children, or frustration! Brilliant...



...Then I arrived home and realized I had forgotten to purchase vegetables, yet again. Looks like another run to the grocery store.

20 Weeks to A Book - Week 5

This weeks reading was very informative, but I'm not sure if it applies to me. In week 5 Maeve speaks of Agents. She is very clear on the fact that one is needed. Basically she says that agents are more likely to be heard by a publisher and is in your corner. Two very important things. They also know the markets and what sells. They are good resources and can be very encouraging. Searching for an agent? Maeve suggest doing your homework when it comes to choosing agents to contact. Like publishers, not all agents accept all types of work. Check out this website: www.aaronline.org for a list of recommended agents.

I've officially completed the bare bones of my book. Now to fill in the details. I've rewritten the first 20 pages. I will be sending those off to be critiqued for the writer's conference. I will continue to rewrite and edit during the next few weeks. Maybe I'll have a complete book by the end of these 20 weeks!

Finished!

I finally wrote the whole thing! I have the beginning, the climax, and the conclusion. I'm very excited. I went to tell my husband and he was very surprised I finished writing it. His disappointment showed when I told him just the first draft. I guess he thought it would be more "done" than that. Now I start the long process of editing and rewriting. Hopefully I will be able to add all the details and interesting information to make this a truly readable book. Will keep you posted.

20 Weeks to a Book - Week 4

Here we are at week four. I've written some, but not as much as I wanted to! Also need to get to editing 20 pages to send on a head to the Writer's Conference. I need to finish that this week.

This week Maeve speaks to us about writing short stories. In this chapter she goes through her thought process when she writes a short story. While informative, the "8 Steps to a Short Story" by Ivy Bannister gave some great advice for any kind of story. Here are three quotes that struck me...

"Finally, enjoy! If you don't, your reader won't."

"Dump everything you have to tell onto the page as fast as you can, not bothering at this stage with polished sentences or choosing exactly the right word. Aim for you goal."

"Producing a Polished Draft This is the bit that separates the writers from the scribblers, and it takes a long time...Good stories are not written: they are rewritten."

Goals this week: edit the first 20 pages to send off to the Writer's Conference, write 5 hours, and do so before Thursday of next week!

Sumer Vacation

Summer vacation for the kids started today. They slept in until after 7am, not great, but it's a start! So far all four of them are playing happily together. A few of them need to get dressed, but I'm reluctant to disturb the peace they formed this morning. It won't kill them to be in their pj's for a while longer. I'll hold off getting them dressed until they start getting on each others nerves and need a change of pace. And since they are playing with each other and not bugging me, I'm going to try to fit a few things in - like vacuuming and laundry. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? I'm keeping my fingers crossed that once I finish vacuuming and doing at least 1 load of laundry they are still happy and I can write. But, don't tell them, because I know they will immediately start causing troubles and nothing will get done...

20 Weeks to a Book - Week 3

Here we are on week 3. I did not fit in 5 hours of writing last week. The inspiration to write seems to come when it is most inconvenient for me - while I'm doing laundry, when I need to go to bed, while at work, etc., etc. I'm working on disciplining myself to write right after the kids are in bed. I'll let you know how successful I am with that. I did find a good friend to set a dead line for me every week and to bug me if I am tardy with sending her the next part of the story.

This week Maeve encourages us to write about interesting people. People who interest us and who grow as the story is told. We need to remember the story is a journey and things change as the journey takes place. She also expects us to know what kind of pace the story should have. We need to decide what kind of story we are telling to determine that pace. The story I am currently working on is a medium speed story, not adventurous nor lyrical, but with a mix of both.

Next week, we will explore week 4 and see if I have stuck to my goals.