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Re-read, Re-Write, Revision
Guess what time it is?
Time to abandon my Camp NaNo project at ±17k to get back to work on “Inferno”. Time for re-reading “Incandescence” and opening up Scrivener to re-work “Inferno” from scratch. Time to get that last edit on Book One, then edit Book Two. Time for moving toward publication.
I’m inspired by a colleague who is making her writing goals come true – who just commissioned two great covers (sincerely, like… I was a fan of the first one, but the second one really blew my skirt up!) for her novel and who is getting ready for the release of that one all the while, preparing a whole slew of other projects for publication. Have I ever mentioned how much I admire her work ethic? She’s a freakin’ MACHINE, man. In the best way, that is. Hardly misses a day of word count, punching out quality work and an excellent blog day after day. All of that while
I strive to be more like her.
Anyway – why am I giving up on “Going Home”? I’m not. Just… I can’t get “Inferno” out of my head. I keep thinking about how its going to end. And then wondering if it still ends the way I originally planned. My first draft is incomplete, so I have not yet “discovered” the ending.
Unfortunately, I’ve just started another read-through of “Incandescence” and I keep finding things that seem asinine and which I want to change.
*le sigh*
I know, I know. A writer is really never satisfied and at some point, we just have to relinquish control and call it “done”. So, I shall finish this read-through (making notes as necessary as I go), then I shall re-work my first draft of “Inferno”. Then I shall probably give “Incandescence” one last edit before starting my final draft of “Inferno”. And in the end, I will (assuming I don’t find a publisher) commission two covers and release these babies out into the world!
Yep.
That’s the goal. By the end of 2013, one way or another, Hannah, Mike & their 102-year-old great-great-grandmother will be published. Boo-yah.
Plus, I want to finish “Going Home” and get back to “Rudabet” and I’ve got several shorts.
Love & Rainbows,
P.P.
NaNoWriMo 2012 – Day One
It’s here! It’s here!
Wheee! National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) began at midnight and I’m so excited I could spit.
Since I am going to be super busy meeting my daily goal (1667 just to reach the 50k, but double that to actually complete the novel in November) I will probably not do a whole lot of blogging. Which is par for the course, isn’t it? I’ve been a terrible blogger these past few months.
Please forgive me.
At any rate, I was going to stay up and write starting at midnight, but alas, I was tired and fell asleep at about 10 on 10/31. But, I woke around midnight-thirty and the words just wouldn’t wait. Thus, I put to pen the official ‘first words’ of “Inferno” (first draft) – a line six words long.
I then returned to bed and slept until four or so, woke, and wrote.
In total, despite reading 95 issues of The Walking Dead because I. Could. Not. Stop., I added 5211 words to the first draft of “Inferno”, completed the Prologue, Chapter One, and part of Chapter Two.
This may sound like a great start to NaNoWriMo 2012, but I really wanted 10k for Day One. C’est la vie. There are 29 days to go in this frantic month of writing and I shall make it to 50k for sure. Its the 100-120k I’m worried about reaching…
Wish me luck!
Love & Rainbows,
P.P.
Beta Reader #2
As the incomparable George Takei would say,”Ohhh myyyyyyy”.
I finally got a sincere and amazing email from a Beta Reader and it truly made my night. Not because it was a glowing review of how perfect and amazing I am (although, the part I’m sharing with you is sort of a rave) but because it was honest and had constructive criticisms. Due in no small part to this person having read much of my ‘work’ in the past, he really nailed some of my worst tendencies and called me out on some lazy tactics (just because it is set in the ‘real world’ in what is mostly the ‘modern day’… there’s no excuse for constant pop culture references).
He also mentioned the things he thought worked. Characterization. He loves Hannah, for instance. He felt that the relationship between Michael and Brandi was well done. The magic being somewhat in the background at first, then waking up as the story goes on to really move to the foreground by the end. Even the setting, which… you know… real life/modern day-ish…
Pacing is definitely still a bit of a problem, but if you’ve read this blog you know I tend to be a bit verbose. I really gotta rein that in, in the rewrites.
Anyway, the last paragraph of his initial feedback/review, is as follows:
I find [Incandescence] to be daring and delicious. Full of delightful details, even if they are heavy at times, and a gritty realism that grips [...].
There is plenty to fall in love with. Characters [...] to interact with and a magic that, at first, seems hidden, but becomes such a major player as the story unfolds. I wonder if by some means everyone will be saved by an unleashing of powers no one knew they even possessed. Personally, though, I think you know the magic you have, and it’s been beautifully unleashed on these pages.
Like, couldn’t you just die?
I could. I might. Now, excuse me as I decide not to sleep tonight and return to editing my poor bruised baby. Gotta get this apple polished before presenting it to teacher (and by teacher, I mean Harper-Voyager). Booyah.
Love & Rainbows,
P.P.
Snippet Sunday: [redacted]
Today’s excerpt comes from … uh…. *ahem**
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Well, I had hoped to have Part Two of “Pirate Booty: The Legend of Mim” ready for you all today, but alas… I missed my own deadline. Sometimes, a girl just bites off a little more than she can chew and this week (what, with Camp NaNoWriMo beginning, finishing the editing of “Incandescence” and starting “Inferno”, plus work, home life, it being a gaming week, and a multitude of other things popping into my brain) was one of those weeks.
That said, I am off to sprint my way through the opening chapters of “Inferno” this afternoon. I promise to have a new Snippet for you all next Sunday — and a music-themed guest post for the VBT in the next few days!
Until then, just keep swimming.
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What would you like to see next week on Snippet Sunday? More “PB: TLoM”? Something from the first draft of “Inferno”? Something new from “Incandescence”? Something else entirely? Comments, questions, suggestions appreciated – let me hear about it below!
Love & Rainbows,
P.P.
[PPNote: Oh, by the by, you can catch my post "More Than Words" at Natalie Star's blog this week! I'm so honored to be hosted by her!]
Hot like Fire
Aaaaaaand we’re off!
Camp NaNoWriMo officially began today, June 1st, and with it, I put the first words to page on “Inferno”, the sequel to my WIP “Incandescence”. The chapter I began with is not chronologically the first one in the outline (which is still incomplete…oy vey, too many irons in the fire!) but I could not wait to get back into OLDLADYNAME’s head again and find out what has happened in the interim.
Er… yeah. I was waiting for her to tell me.
I started with her because she is not (generally) in the middle of the action. She’s on the periphry, sharing her knowledge and experience, relating things about the world and plot that other characters (especially those who ARE directly in the fray) cannot. And she spends a lot of time thinking or telling stories rather than being out there, doing the deeds, so maybe readers would think to skip her POV chapters. I don’t know.
But I love them. I love writing them, I love re-reading them, I love her. I love discovering things she knows that I did not even realize she knew until it came out on the page. OLDLADYNAME is an enigma cocooned in a conundrum swathed in perplexity wrapped in bacon (because everything is better with bacon). She’s such a strange little old thing with such a big heart, this iron-clad faith, and great anecdotes about peeing the woods.
I know, I know. I’m babbling.
I’m just very excited to be (temporarily) back to composing rather than editing. I’ve really been struggling with some stuff in “Incandescence” – though mostly its just insecurity – and I’m ready to lay it aside for a few days so I can really concentrate on “Inferno”.
So. Show of hands – who out there is participating in Camp NaNo this year? I’m hoping to do both June and August, myself! I love the challenge and daily impetus to JUST WRITE that comes from NaNo. What’s your favorite part of NaNo?
Love & Rainbows,
P.P.
Zum Geburtstag!
PP.net may still be a babe in arms, but her mistress, ME, begins another year of life today. For those counting, that makes me a Taurus. An old cow. Nice.
This year is going to bring a a lot of changes to my world. Its going to be mean a lot of hard work and sacrifice. And a lot of posting here, I suspect. Although I am trying to keep this blog ‘writing centric’, it will inevitably contain some personal things and I ask that you bear with me. I’m just trying to get my bearings in this new and ever-evolving world of publishing/marketing/et cetera.
Anyway.
Today marks a re-birth of sorts, and as I mentioned previously, its a continuation of a theme that started in January with the commencement of the Year of Tangerine Tango. Like a phoenix I will rise from the ashes of my procrastinating life before and soar into the skies of… uh… well, I’m going to finish Incandescence and its sequel, Inferno. That’s my primary writing goal this year. I’ve set some new, hopefully hard-but-doable deadlines for myself. The first of which is to complete the edits on Incandescence and get it out to my betas. I’m just about half-way through right now, but I need to really get cranking.
Despite the powerful urge to open the document and WERK! (Yes, that is ‘werk’ ala RuPaul) Today is my birthday and Jack is taking me out to get his blood drawn (grrrrreat), then a Jason-Statham-better-take-off-his-shirt movie, and lunch with his mother.
After that, we’re going to drive all around this bloody town until I find an amazing piece of cheesecake! This area seems to be experiencing a dearth of good cheesecake and I don’t know why, but I absolutely Do. Not. Approve.
A world without Cheesecake is like… inconceivable.
Wish me luck!
Love & Rainbows,
P.P.
P.S. Oh! I did get a birthday present from the interwebs today. Someone in my Facebook feed posted Only1Noah‘s cover of LMFAO’s “Sexy And I Know It” and I found a new musical love. I have a well-known penchant for folksy covers of pop & rock music (also – punk covers of the same) and while I did enjoy the cover – it was his catalogue of other covers (Billie Jean, Set Fire To The Rain, Your Song, Crazy) that blew my mind. Check him out!
P.P.S. I’ve “pinned” most of my archives to my Pinterest page for easy browsing. So if you’re interested, follow me on Pinterest >>> Penelope Price.
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Cheesecake Birthday Cake Image from http://www.birthdaymore.com
