Limping along

by with 3 Comments ContestsNaNoWriMo 09Progress

That’s what my blog is doing … I haven’t been giving it as much attention as I should, I guess.

Unfortunately, I haven’t been giving the NaNo the attention it needs, either. After a great write-in with friends Wednesday morning (at which the MS topped 10,400 words), I was woefully lazy on Thursday and Friday. This morning, I managed to write another couple hundred words …

The good news is I realized this morning (as I lamented my lack of progress over the last few days) that I have 55 more pages of Blind Date Bride than I did before I started the NaNo on Nov. 1.

So I might not be where I should be word-count wise, but I’m much better off than I’d be had I not signed up for NaNo.

As for the GH entry, I spent some time last night making the edits from my last read-through. It looks like I’m going to be shipping off 500+ pages, though (6 copies of the 45-page entry, 6 copies of a 6-page synopsis and a 216-page full MS).

Wow! That’s a lot of pages. Wonder how much that’ll cost me?

DoingNaNo.png

I might be nuts …

by with 2 Comments NaNoWriMo 09Progress
DoingNaNo.png
I've signed up, for better or worse.

… But I did decide to go ahead and sign up for the NaNoWriMo. I figured that, if nothing else, it’d spur me to finish the last 40,000 words I need to write on “Blind Date Bride” so I can enter it in next year’s GH.

Now it’s Day 3, and I’ve still only written about 2,000 words. That already puts me hopelessly behind.

Even worse, now that I’ve let Kari and Damien out to play, I’m having trouble shutting them up long enough to go back and put the finishing touches on this year’s GH entry featuring Erin and the not-nearly-as-boring anymore Brad. (He’s come a long way in the last few months!)

I got some very good — and much appreciated — feedback on those pages from Anne Marie, one of the GH winners from 09. Needless to say, I’m taking her advice because she knows what she’s doing! 😀

To finish 50,000 words in 30 days, I need to write 1,667 a day. Since I only need about 40,000 words, I don’t have to write quite that much … it works out to 1,333 a day.

At 1,994 after Day 2, I’m not as far behind as I could be. I may even catch up later, when I get off work.

Hope springs eternal! 😀

P.S. If any of my blog readers (of which I’m sure there are a few) are doing the NaNo and want to add me as a buddy, my username is arlenemarie. Novel title: Blind Date Bride.

Shipped off

by with 2 Comments ContestsProgress

Hmm. I just realized I made it sound like my Golden Heart entry is in the mail.

Sadly, that’s not the case. I did, however, send in my query, synopsis and first 5 pages of MS to the Ohio Valley RWA Enchanted Words contest, beating their Nov. 1 deadline by two full days!

It was easier than I imagined, because it was an online submission. All I had to do was attach my document to the online entry form and pay through PayPal.

Totally cool. And now, it’s time to get back to work on the old GH entry.

Actually, I’m thinking it’s about ready to go. I’ve been finding myself re-adding words that I took out on my last read-through, and I’m pretty sure that means I’ve fiddled with it enough. 😀

I zapped it off to one of my writer friends who said she’d take a look.

Now it’s on to something else. I’m still contemplating signing up for the NaNoWriMo. I’d better decide soon, since it starts Sunday! I figure if nothing else, it’ll give me a kick in the butt to finish writing the 40,000 words I need to finish “Blind Date Bride.”

I’m half afraid that if I do sign up, I’ll spend more time fiddling around in the online forums than I do writing, though. Any words of wisdom on that subject from you who have done NaNo before?

Getting serious

by with No Comment ContestsProgress

I saw a link to this contest over the weekend and decided that since it’s pretty much what I’m already working to compile for the Golden Heart, I might as well go for it.

For the Ohio Valley RWA “Enchanted Words” contest, I need my synopsis (check), the first five pages of manuscript (pretty much as done as they’re going to get) and a query letter.

Query letter? Oh no! I know I need one of those to start looking for an agent, but I don’t have one yet.

Wait! That’s not entirely true. Last spring, NARWA had a hands-on query-writing workshop as a follow-up to Brenda Novak’s talk on query letters. I frantically dug through all the half-full spiral-bound notebooks in the house and car until I found it: My query letter.

Remarkably, it was pretty much finished — and not too bad. I spent some time this morning reworking it, and my contest entry is just about good to go.

Still working on the GH entry. A friend of mine self-imposed an Oct. 31 deadline so she can do the NaNoWriMo without the GH hanging over her head … I decided against doing the NaNo this year because I won’t have time — but I want to do it in 2010. (Last I heard, she was formatting her entry. More power to her.)

Almost ready …

by with No Comment Progress

Today, I finished tweaking the ending of my first MS, the one I’m entering in the Golden Heart. I deleted some stuff, added in new things and am now pretty happy with it.

I also went through the on-paper edits in my first 48 pages, the pages that are going off to the GH.

Next up? Updating the synopsis a bit to reflect the new ending and another paper copy of both it and the entry.

I’ll be killing a few more trees, but it’s worth it to be that much closer to getting this entry in tiptop shape!

I’m also wondering if I should get a preview of what to expect by entering this contest. I’d need to write a query letter, but I’ll need one of those anyway if I’m going to start looking for an agent.

Using ink …

by with 2 Comments Progress

I’m not going to say “wasting,” even if that’s what it feels like.

That’s right. I printed out the first 48 pages of my MS, which is where I want to end my GH entry, and my still-6-ish-page synopsis yesterday. I figure that sometimes I see things on paper that I don’t see on my computer screen.

Odd how that works: I can read over something a dozen (or more!) times on-screen, and see something I totally missed on a paper copy.

I’ll chalk that one up to “things that make you go hmm” …

Great. Now that song is running through my head. Guess that’s better than Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the USA,” which was running through my head one day last week, driving me absolutely batty.

Dose of inspiration

by with No Comment Progress

I spotted this quote on a pretty leather-bound journal at Barnes & Noble when I took my extra-long dinner break there last night:

Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it, you will land among the stars.

It was a nice reminder to “go for it,” “just do it” or any number of motivational sayings. We all need a little shot of enthusiasm from time to time.

Today, I spent some quality time with my synopsis. I’d like to pare it to 4 or 5 pages. Right now it’s about 5 1/3.

Hard at work

by with No Comment Progress

A quick update: I’ve been editing up a storm on my Golden Heart entry. I’m 111 pages into the 213. I’ve been rewriting — adding things and taking some out — and am still right at about 58,000 words.

I’m looking forward to the next installment of the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood’s blog. The topic? How to write a great hook. I’m beginning to think I need to work on that, so it’ll be extremely helpful, I’m sure.

For the moment, I’m off to take a walk. Then it’s back to the computer to do some more work — in my workout clothes, most likely. I definitely don’t glam up to write. I don’t make myself fabulous to go to work, either. I’m definitely one of those gals who needs lessons on applying makeup. Guess I’ll cross that bridge when I become a GH finalist.

Note I did not say “if.” Positive thinking works wonders! 😀

More than I knew

by with 2 Comments MusingsProgress

I thought I was making good progress in getting my manuscript ready for the Golden Heart competition. I’ve edited 80 pages, trying to dig deeper into the minds of my characters and getting rid of a lot of “he said, she said” tags, replacing them with action tags instead.

I’ve even succeeded in making good, ol’ dependable Brad a little less boring — at least I think I have.

So I’ve been hard at work and I thought I was getting the job done. Then I read today’s entry over at the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood. Now I’m not so sure.

Am I choosing vivid enough nouns and verbs, instead of relying on adjectives and adverbs? Sometimes.

Does each scene end with a hook? Well, maybe. I want to keep reading … but that may be because I know what’s coming up next.

Do my characters’ speech and interior monologues sound natural and appropriate to their backgrounds, interests, etc.? I certainly hope so, but I’ve never given it much thought.

Do their speeches take gender into account? God, no. Do men really speak in shorter sentences than women? I didn’t know that.

Do the syntax and paragraphing creatively showcase my voice and make it distinctive? Hmm. I just write and my voice shines through — I hope.

Have I used short paragraphs to speed up the pacing? Ha! I have that one covered. As a journalist, I’m used to writing shorter paragraphs.

Is my synopsis short and concise, focusing on the hero and heroine’s GMC? Short, yes. GMC? Not so much, considering the story was until recently short on that.

There’s so much to think about — more than I realized. I really do have my work cut out for me.

Blogging seems to be falling by the wayside

by with No Comment ContestsProgress

As I get more involved in rewriting Brad and Erin’s story, I’m finding less and less time to blog — both here and on my other blog.

I guess I should take that as a good sign, eh? 😀

Today, I had a pleasant lunch (complete with sinful dessert) with a writer friend from NARWA. We’re both entering the 2010 Golden Heart (in different categories) and met to talk about our progress.

I passed along some of the tips I got in my critique, because they seemed to apply to her manuscript, too.

It’d be fantastic if we both were able to final in the contest … but I’m not counting on it, especially since I’ve never entered before. I’ve heard some people enter for years before finally getting the call that they’ve finaled.

Guess it’s a good thing that I’m still relatively young. I still have long years of writing ahead of me!