Skip to main content

An Update

Hello, friends!

     I thought I would pop in to give you a quick update.  I hope you don't mind.

     First of all, Broken Clouds is back in full swing.  This story is a bit of a learning curve for me, full of new things that I haven't tried before.  And I've added yet another new thing: I am now writing it with two POV characters.  So far, so good.  I am now on Chapter 19, more or less, but some of my chapters are really short and may need to be fleshed out later.  Also, I sent the first 5 chapters to a reader to get her initial reactions and received positive feedback.  So I am happy with the way things are coming -- at least for a first draft.

     In reading lately, I devoured Jill Williamson's Safe Lands trilogy.  It had pros and cons to it, but I did learn some useful things for writing.  And her multiple POVs gave me the courage to write with two POVs in Broken Clouds.

     It is only 5 weeks and a day until the Rooglewood Contest winners are announced.  It's hard to not think of things you wish you had done better before submitting your story.  I have purposefully not read my story since I submitted it because I didn't want to fret over new "errors" I found nor did I want to continue editing until my copy looked vastly different from the copy that the judges were reading.  But the story still lives in my head, and I occasionally think of something I could have done differently.

     I read several posts on http://ahalfbakedplot.blogspot.com/ today. She's taking a break from posting now, but she had several posts in her archives that I found quite helpful.  Her instructionals usually leave me teeming with excitement and inspiration.  I also caught up on posts by K.M. Weiland at http://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/ which were equally fascinating.

     That's pretty much it, as far as writing goes, except that I am living a full life.  One day, parts of it will end up in book form.  :)  How are you doing in your reading and writing?

Comments

  1. I just saw that Rooglewood Press is now announcing the winners on February 1st!! I follow them on Facebook, plus I have a friend who entered the contest so I've been keeping on eye on it. =) Oh, I love the blog "Helping Writers Become Authors" too! It sounds like you're having a good reading and writing month so far! I've been working on a novel about Hans and Sophie Scholl, resistance leaders in Nazi Germany. Also, my friend and I are writing a story together which we're alternating on our blogs. As far as reading, I'm currently enjoying, "Unbroken". =)

    ReplyDelete
  2. What?!?!?!?
    Oh, wow, Emily! Thanks for telling me! I had no idea that they moved the date to February 1st. That's only 3 days away now!!!
    Yes, I like KM Weiland's blog. :)
    Your resistance leaders sound amazing. I love those types of stories and am inspired by their courage. I have been watching your research posts as you are working on the Scholls.
    I have been reading your Ain't We Got Fun stories. They are quite engaging. I love the way that you and your friend are doing them together -- that's absolute genius.
    Thanks for commenting!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

More Snippets from Snow White Rose Red

    One of the shadows moved.   “Were you just going to chuck it in there with no thought for the poor folks on the other side?”   Flip’s voice drawled out.   It was a deep voice and it made my heart skip a beat.      He moved away from the trees and came to stand in front of me.   “Some hard-working fellow is plowing his field and then – whop!   Out of nowhere, a poisoned apple flies out and hits him upside the head.”   He clucked his tongue reproachfully.

A Short Story Break

via Pinterest     It has been a while since I penned a short story.  Usually it takes something like a "short story contest" to inspire me.  But I have noticed my writing skills improve with each contest so there is something to be said for writing short stories.      I say all this to lead into the fact that I am going to try another short story.  There is no contest looming on the horizon, but it has been so long that I think I am due to write a short piece.  Life cannot be entirely devoted to novel-length plots...      I am rolling around different ideas in my head.  There is no one to give me the first three words or a picture to base my story on.  There are no restrictions, no props, and no judges.      Methinks I will try something that is both epic and ordinary...something I have seen before.  After all, personal experience, great things, and the expression of the ordinary are part of what makes a story. 

The Countdown: Eight Days

Eight days.  Do you know what that means?  Barely over a week.  Tomorrow will be one week from the announcement date. Are you excited? I am. So, today, I want to talk to those who wrote something for the contest, whether or not you entered it in the end. What made you start writing your story?  What was the first inkling of an idea that tickled your brain?  What was it that you liked about your premise?  As you wrote, did you have a favorite character or a favorite scene?  And are you glad you wrote it down?  Do you feel like you learned and grew in your ability as a writer as you tried out things for this contest? And, if your story isn't included in this year's Rooglewood anthology (either because you didn't submit it or because it didn't fit with the other four stories selected), what will you do with it?  Will you market it elsewhere?  Or will you lock it away in a drawer?