When I first started this novel, I put each chapter in a separate Word document.  I wanted to put them all together in one document for this challenge so I could keep track of a total word count.  Well, heaven have mercy! I didn’t credit myself with enough words in all those pages. So here is the revised word count for the original pages.

Mills Crossing (quote, prologue, and first 7 chapters)

Today’s word count so far is 375 (yes, I know that sux rotten eggs). Clearly I have a long way to go to get back in the swing of writing every day. But today is not over yet, so I still have a shot at getting more words down. To tell the truth, I was discouraged over my failure to get a good start on this writing challenge. Then Jo Leigh reminded me that there’s more at stake in this challenge than just word count. Bless you, Jo! 

ps. I’m trying to learn how to do the trackback thing correctly, so please forgive me for any errors.  

I’ve had this story in my head for more years than I care to count. The working title has changed several times. I’ve written what I originally thought were seven chapters, but I’ve learned a few things since I wrote them and now I’m not sure they’re worth anything to the story. In my self-debate over participating in the 70 Days of Sweat, I wondered if I should trash everything and start the story over. I don’t think I will. I need to keep moving forward. The only way to have a complete first draft is to keep writing – no re-writing until the draft is finished.

Beginnings are important. Heck, the opening of a novel can make or break you in terms of getting agented and published. But a great opening is worthless unless something follows it – like a middle and an ending. As a starting point, I’m counting what I’ve already written. The challenge for me is to produce new pages. Lots of them. So let’s get to sweating!

Alison Kent is challenging writers to whip out a full draft of a novel in the next 70 days. She’s giving prizes, too. Now you’d think that would be awesome motivation and I’d just jump right in and say “Count me in!” But prizes weren’t enough to overcome my negative self-talk. I learned about the challenge last Friday, but have shucking and jiving with myself for this entire week. What if I signed up and couldn’t write 4–6 pages a day? What if I signed up and couldn’t write for 70 days in a row? Oh, believe me, the “what-ifs” can drive a body crazy. And it’s not like I haven’t been there/done that in the past. I have a friend who’s convinced I could start an excuse factory and make a fortune. LOL

So I’ve hemmed and hawed with myself, should I or shouldn’t I? Which of my stalled-out works in progress should I tackle? Should I start from scratch with something new? Then I got to thinking that maybe I didn’t really need to sign up and be a formal part of the challenge; I could just write my pages and not tell anyone. No public failure and humilitation that way, eh? Like that’s worked before. LOL

All week, I kept reading Alison’s blog, watching the number of challengers grow to over 200. I read all the comments, checked out a lot of blogs, read all the tips. And still I hesitated to take the plunge. I know I’m not the only writer who’s been stuck or discouraged or afraid of failure or just plain needs a good swift kick in the derriere.

The deadline to sign-up for the 70 Days of Sweat challenge is midnight CST. I’ve had my eye on the clock all evening, still debating. Maybe what I needed was that ticking clock. I finally made the decision. And Tony Robbins says to follow a decision with immediate action toward your goal.

So tonight my name went up as participant number 261.

Joy. Laughter. A celebration of life. My dear Clancy was only on loan to me these past eleven and a half years. On Friday, June 15, 2007, God took him home. Now my sweet boy romps with the other dog angels, and his memory will be forever in my heart. 

A writers’ group that I belong to recently decided to do an activity regarding premise.  Each member posted the premise of their current WIP. It was no easy task for most of us. 

Our group leader cited a number of writers and gave us a detailed explanation of premise.  Alas, I either had a blonde moment – or a senior one. Several of them. Strung together.  For the life of me, I couldn’t get the concepts.

So I drudged up my trusty dictionary and various books on the writing craft, looking for something to help me “get it.”  The result is a brief article on theme and premise.  I’d appreciate knowing if this helped anyone – or not – so feel free to comment.

Theme and Premise: What’s the Difference?

Theme and premise, while closely related, are not the same. Read more

It never ceases to amaze me how writers pull together and help one another in times of need. Case in point is the blog “tour” being conducted to assist mystery writer Elaine Viets. She has a new book coming out in May, but due to suffering a stroke, she may not be able to go on tour. Writers across the country have jumped in to help her by adding her books to theirs at booksignings. In some cases, her fellow and sister writers are standing in for Elaine at scheduled signings on her tour.

Other writers are passing the word about her new book Murder with Reservations. It’s the latest in Elaine’s “Dead-End Job” mystery series. One of the most interesting things about Elaine is that she researches her novels by working the “dead-end” job of her heroine, Helen Hawthorne. In her latest book, Elaine…uh…Helen is a hotel maid hiding out from an ex-husband. Add a dead body and…well, that’s all the teaser you get. LOL

Writers and readers can participate in the “tour by proxy” and get an autographed bookplate.

I’m busy reviewing entries in a novel writing contest.  It’s a privilege to be able to give back some of what I’ve learned about writing over the years. I tend to write more out of gut instinct regarding what works and what doesn’t, so providing feedback challenges me to be clear and specific. Writers often enter contests to get feedback on their work, and with the hefty price tag of $25 per entry in many cases, they have a right to expect a bit more than “This doesn’t work.”  There needs to be a “because.”  We preach about “show not tell” in writing a novel, but that can also apply to giving feedback in contests.  At least that my two cents. 

Later today, my webhost is moving my website to a new server – bigger, faster. Yea!! Access might be sporadic during the changeover. Not a big deal, just a minor inconvenience for a few hours, and mainly overnight at that. 

You know that saying “You can’t see the forest for the trees”? It applies to writing. Sometimes—well, in my case, maybe a lot of times—we writers think we know how to do something and it turns out that we just thought we knew what we were doing. LOL

Case in point: I rewrote a scene from one of my WIPs and cut it down considerably. It was the Heroine/Hero’s first meeting so I bobbed and weaved from her POV to his and back again. Hey, that’s supposed to be a romance genre technique, right? I successfully stayed in each character’s POV, but with my tunnel vision I missed the big picture until it was pointed out by another writer.

My scene had a “ping-pong match” feel to it because I wasn’t staying in one character’s POV long enough. A paragraph for her, two for him, three for her, another one for him. I wasn’t letting the poor reader have enough time with either character to get to know him/her. Which will translate to the reader not being able to bond, identify with, and care about those characters. My bad.

The lesson in this is to periodically step outside your own view of your work and welcome feedback from other writers.

It’s not too late to sign up for Linnea Sinclair’s online class, Character Torture 101, over at WritersOnlineClasses . Linnea is a dynamite lady and I had the privilege of taking several courses from her back in her private eye days. She shared her knowledge of investigative techniques and her exquisite sense of humor during her COFFIN courses. I’ll be spending March learning new “torture” techniques for my characters.

My how time flies! Linnea has given up her PI work and is now an award-winning author. She writes mostly sci-fi with a nice blend of romantic suspense. Her new book, Games of Command, will be out this week. More info on Linnea on her website.

Writers are encouraged to be voracious readers, but I don’t think the original intent of that advice was to read email lists.  I’m subscribed to 22 email lists (as of today) and several of those lists generate over 50 messages per day. Now who has time—really—to read all that chatter?

 The key thing should be to evaluate each list and determine it’s “cost-benefit” rating.  

• How will it benefit my writing craft?
• How will it benefit my writing career?
• Is it a resource that I need for my current WIP? Can I find the information elsewhere?

Just answering those questions makes going no mail an easy decision on more than half of my lists.  I can even put my resource lists on no mail until I actually need to ask questions or do research. (Getting organized for research is grist for another post.) That just leaves the announcement lists (sporadic posts), and my RWA chapter lists.  Hurrah!! There’s hope for me yet.