I awoke this morning with a vision that my book was not finished. This is obvious as I’m only one 5th of my way into the A Nation lost. Then it must be my first novel Purple. Some people tell me they rewrite there books eight even ten times before feeling a little satisfied. I have only done this five times. So I have made myself a promise.
Is that in the down times when i am slow on words for A Nation Lost, I shall rewrite Purple chapter by chapter page by page.
I am strangely excited by this, can I make the prose tighter? I know I can. Can I make it flow smooth? Yes.
Should i just leave it and move on, Am I a fool for trying this? Maybe but I have learnt so much going over my stories and my novel that I can only believe that this is helping me be a better writer. After all this comes from within us. In the end it is us that have to say we are finished.
Monthly Archives: November 2011
First person, third person. narrator, omniscient or limited which one?
This is one of the biggest shell we say surprises I have had since I began to write fiction. For instance when I wrote the hundred and fourteenth word and that word being ‘END’ I was not aware of the amount of work that will go into this fictional journey. I have been over the manuscript at least four maybe five times each time thinking this will be the final time. Then I find myself picking it up a few weeks later and bang it’s crap again.
Second and third draft, I would say spelling was an issue. Third draft was more more plot holes. Now I have started the next novel to this story, and I now find I have a problem with the way I wrote the point of view of the first book. I wrote first person in the first book, my narrator is third person. This I’m fine with, its the amount of each that is the problem. for instance in the first book I think I was more narrator and less first person. where in the second I’m edging the other way.
I suppose the question I’m asking is this ok considering these are different books or do I try and keep the same flow throughout all the books could this be my inexperience speaking? Could this be the show don’t tell thing? but surly you have to tell sometimes.
I may need to go have a cup of tea and sort these out, it seems my mind maybe running away again, it’s small grey and round, very wrinkled probable throbbing too, if you see it running down the road, please don’t tread on it, I need it.
Black friday is here :-)
Yes we have all been waiting for this day 365 days apart black Friday da da daaaa.
But I’m afraid that as last year I’m left disappointed yet again this year. It’s Apple and I don’t mean the enable kind. Black Friday is the only day of the year that you can get a deal on any Apple product. I learnt this the hard way by buying my 27″ iMac a few weeks before black Friday (this was two years ago) and missed out on at least two hundred pounds in savings. So like a good boy I waited last year to but my wife an iPad only to find that iPads were not part of the the apple sales last year. Guess what I want this year an Apple tv and yes you would be correct to presume that it is not part of the sale this year. (neither is the iPad) macbook pro, MacBook air, and iMacs are, also track pads and time machines. But no Apple tv, I am English and being so means that like last year I will just go and pay full price in defiance of sales every where. Ha ha ha I have the last laugh.
Or do I me think not.
Wow nanowrimo Hell
It’s been 22 days since my last post (sound like a confession [maybe it is] but I assure you it’s not) and it’s not for negligence but for the great nanowrimo. I am not doing to well in this front. And I say front because it sometime feels like a battle. A battle of will power and the over wheeling feeling that the world dose not want me to compleat the 50 thousand words. I have been reading Stephen kings new novel and this involve time travel the main protagonist has gone back in time to compleat an action to change the present. I won’t go into it incase you wish to read it but I don’t think I’m giving to much away here. During this he feels that time it’s self is in a not so direst way trying to stop him from completing his task.
I feel the same last year it was the same I told every body that I’m spending the month of November writing and will be out of action. No night visits no house repairs and no disturbances between 7 and 9 pm. So what happens the bed breaks I seen to be working late every night and I have no chance at all of siting in my office chair until after nine by which time I’m so tied I could fall asleep there and then.
My word count is about 14,000 or so and I have 36,000 to go in the next 7 days. By my maths that’s 5,143 per day . With a smile I say I don think I she’ll compleat this year but ( time to be positive) I have learnt a lot, firstly in which tense to write i.e. first. And how to commit one project at a time. Spread your self too thin and your no good to anyone.
Nanowrimo
Well here we go national novel writing month starts tomorrow. I went to a regional nano meeting sunday night and found it quite cool to talk to other writers. I thought I would wish everyone a good journey, you know fifty thousand words is not that big a number.
Now fifty one thousand words that is scary.
How come nano is through November? I bet most story’s start as a horror. If it started in December they would be all Christmas themed. Although thinking about it no one would ever finish one as the last week is spent to much rich food and wine. That’s no fuel for writing, not for me I need coffee and every now and then a little whisky just to wake me.
Good luck to everyone taking part and if your not, well good luck to you too.
Steven Glenn Writing Words 