For anyone else who wants to start/progress/finish writing a book in 2012

[BsshBossh]

Sign in here, whether you are published or not :) Perhaps we can keep each other motivated.

I am a first time writer, never been published, have completed two drafts of my novel and am now working on the third - revising/editing.

How about you?

You are so right, Lady! I only have a rough idea. The story really writes itself, nice to know that's how it is for you too!

I've just finished mine (bar an edit). I've read through it and there's a few parts that I can't remember writing.

Allbie I once wrote a story where a character was talking about her own death and I had to keep pausing while writing it to have a good sob.

I'm writing whenever I have a spare moment at the minute, I've always wrote when I've had a couple of hours spare before so getting used to doing 5-10 minutes here and there is a slow process but I've made quite a bit of progress doing this.

Flying, that's how I have to write too...short bursts when I can but I have found it means I'm productive and can revisit and edit on the go. It's really emotional at times but I've really scared myself too with certain characters..so much so that I've had to check the house! Ha! Lady, to have finished must be fantastic although do you feel a loss or are you onto the next?

I'm just going through it at the moment. I enjoyed writing it so it's sad that it's finished. There's always the sequal though.

Checking in again. Revision going well - managing to work on it each day (except for weekends) by working after DD's bedtime. Need to make the most of her early bedtimes before she gets older! Nearly halfway through and can see it will need another (4th) re-edit but hopefully that will go even quicker.

Lady, yippee, you've finished!

I feel quite sad really, a little lost without doing something to it.

Checking in! I'm determined to finish the second draft this month (I've been letting it drift since November) - there are quite a lot of extra scenes that need writing, plus existing scenes that need editing to fit into the correct places. I'm trying to keep myself motivated by thinking of it as a second Nanowrimo, with chapter targets to meet each day. I've even done myself a little Nanowrimo style graph so I can look at it and feel it's getting somewhere!

Come on, you lot? No-one else still plodding away at their novel in March?
I need you all to keep me motivated.

I'm still on track to finish my second draft revision by the end of March, although I'm having intermittant worries that the plot / motivation arc isn't quite right (the sort of 'but why does she do that?' feeling). Still, I printed off the last few chapters and read them over last night, and it seems to be okay, or rather it will be okay with polishing.

However, if this goes well, then I'll be ready to start work polishing the writing in April, and who knows, maybe start touting it to agents by summer.

Hi GrendelsMum! I'm still plodding away. Have finished episode five of six (almost there, whee!) and am editing today. Hope to get it to my editor tomorrow. I keep remembering the oddest little bits and pieces to change throughout the whole series and have notes all over the house!

How are you approaching the editing? One chapter at a time, or doing huge read throughs for specific things?

Hi Novelist! I'm doing a big read through for plot and motivation at the moment, writing new scenes where necessary, and changing existing scenes. It all seems to be hanging together pretty well at the moment, despite occasional worries. Then when I'm done on plot (at the end of this month, hooray!), I'll go back and work through for style. I've started checking out what agents are asking for as well, although that's a little while off.

I'm still here but Easter holidays have begun so no work for 2 weeks. I could work evenings I suppose but won't as I am in holiday mode too .

Triumph! That's the second draft finished and printed out ready to scribble all over in despair

Well done GrendelsMum!

thanks very much, Bsshbosshh! Enjoy your holidays and hope you return to it refreshed after the break.

Congrats, Grendelsmum! In Berlin on hols and secretly itching to get back to episode six. I must be mad!

Can I join the group please? Only now discovered this thread. Trouble is , I am like booboostoo on page 2, in that it is a boring acedemic book , sort of.

Never done anything like this before. I write stuff down in books, as my memory went out of the window and never returned after I started having kids. Sort of realised one day that some of it could be made into a book[assuming somebody takes it on].

I am so not knowing what I am doing, that I assumed that all writers loved writing at all times!
I have been bemused at myself that I only do 10 minutes a day, and dont really want to do more than that at any one time.

Sorry to intrude if i should wait for another thread to start in another 6 months?

Welcome, AMillionYears.

I've returned to my novel after the Easter break (my DH kindly acted as beta reader), to discover that the first half is really very slow and episodic. I'm not sure that you'd want to keep reading after chapter 3 at the moment. So I'm revising the plot again to try to get that sense of pace and peril in earlier.

On the plus side, some of it's really pretty good. I'm quite chuffed with the quality of the writing, the scene setting and so on. It's just that there's a heck of a lot of scene setting and people wandering round, and not nearly enough of people having a strong motivation to get a move on.

DH is a bit too tactful as a beta reader - took him a while to just come out and say 'the first half is too slow'.

I suffering from flagging beginnings too. The best advice I ever had it cut out the padding and start where the action does. Make chapter 4 your first chapter and see how that reads. No one wants to hang around watching the mist slowly uncurl from the hills etc etc however poetic!

oops misread that, you are happy with the first bit. that's trickier!

I've ditched the first 2 chapters (from the first version) and I don't regret it. Key is to just jump in there, don't build up. Seems to work most of the time. Drip feed information to build up the character throughout all of the book.

Hi ninah

Thanks very much - all interesting ideas! I had a cracker of an opening, but even I got bored between pages 100 and 200, although it perks up substantially at page 200.

The problem's really motivation rather than plot - they keep meandering round doing these things, but without any particularly strong reason for it, and there's no sense that it matters whether they do anything or not. I think all they need is a better motivation in chapter 3, and it should give it more of a sense of peril.

First book- Non fiction looking at food/kitchen culture amongst ex pats. I love the work of The Kitchen Sister's in the USA (On NPR) and my research is uncovering some wonderfully diverse experiences/memoirs.

I interview,transcribe then draft each chapter. There's a lot of historical / geographical background research to be done.

Hi LadyS! you said what I was trying to say - only more clearly! I swear they put something in the chocolate at Easter, a kind of IQ flattening, energy sapping, addictive serum ...
Brooklyn, sounds an interesting project! are you illustrating?

How's your course going, ninah?

Drip feeding is the key! If your writing doesn't move the story on then cut it out. You don't need it. It's hard to do but is worth it. You don't need to bulk your story out with words that you don't need, it will piss the reader off. You want to send them on an emotional rollercoaster so they carry on reading.