Alyssa Drake's Blog, page 11

Day 10 - Technology to the rescue

Since I knew I was going to edit last night, I turned on my laptop at 9pm (because it's easier to edit with a big screen) and began working through the first chapter. One hour, and one hundred words later, I finished the edit and shut down my laptop.

But did I stop? Nope. Since discovering how to connect to my desktop through my phone, I write on my phone at night. While it does have it's drawbacks (my spelling is atrocious) I found it easier to write without pulling out my cumbersome laptop.

I reached the halfway point without even realizing it.

Day 9 - Out of order

Confession: Not all chapters are written in a linear order... including the one I'm currently working on.

With the exception of the first paragraph, yesterday's words were all plot (more like a skeleton than an actual story). I went back through and added a layer of detail before continuing with the rescue attempt (because a gentleman can't let a lady drown, despite her trespassing on the property). However, as I'm thinking about tonight's words, I realize I will need to expand upon the scene, because the image in my mind is much more desperate than it currently reads. And, if Patrick is voluntarily drenching his clothing and suffering through an invasion of his privacy, it better be a life or death situation.

Day 8 - The Wanderer

With my focus moving back to the Wiltshire series, I started off A Perfect Recluse in Patrick Flannery's POV. Alana's eldest brother is by far the grumpiest hero I've had the pleasure of meeting.

I began the scene several times, tweaking the opening sentence until it flowed into the second sentence, and then I had to pause because the word I needed to use wasn't something I'd learned.

Cue: The Anatomy of a Lighthouse

This was actually quite interesting to read about. I've been fascinated with lighthouses since the original Disney version of Pete's Dragon, and as a child imagined how delightful it would be to live in one... This is not the case as an adult. Although, they still hold wonder for me, I have no desire for that kind of perennial solitude (nor do I want to climb those stairs).

Patrick's brooding character stems from the painting Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog. The intriguing image invokes different responses in people. For me, a bittersweet melancholy flows from the man, as if he is waiting for someone who will never return to him. However, that actually isn't Patrick's reason for choosing the lonely life of a lighthouse keeper.

The meet-cute is underway, and I must send Patrick to rescue Sarah before she drowns in the ocean.

Day 6 - The Double Life

I almost missed last night's writing session, which doesn't bode well for my trial period. After tucking my lil man into bed, I curled up beside him, told him a story, and promptly fell asleep. I was awakened at 11pm by my older son and spent the next five minutes arguing with myself about the importance of 500 words verses sleep.

But, since I had to get up, I took a full lap around the house (including a check on the dog), turned on My Life in Ruins for background noise, and wrote. Two plot points, and one flaming witch later, I turned everything off and went to sleep. Tonight, I'll wrap up this chapter, edit it, and cross chapter 28 off my list.

 

Day 7 - Mission completed

Chapter 28 is done and its way. There's only two more chapters remaining in the first book of my historical co-write. I've left my heroine facing certain doom, but I won't leave her there (I swear). I promise a happy ending, or in this case, reunited with the one she loves (this is a romance after all), but its a trilogy, so don't expect the journey to be easy for her.

 

The end of a chapter is always my favorite stage in writing. There's a dual feeling of completion and anticipation that accompanies the last sentence on the page, which is in this case was...

 

"We burn."

 

Don't you want to know more? I do, and I'm writing the story. But, I must stop and switch projects because the next most important item on my To-Do list is the first chapter of the historical romance going into the 2022 boxed set. That means tonight is one of the most difficult writing nights: the opening line.

Day 5 - Threading

Sometimes I think it would be easier to write using dolls to visually represent the scene...

I worked my way out of the small magical rule difficulty, and found myself needing to thread. What is threading? It's a term I use to describe planting a seemingly trivial prop or piece of information for later use in the story. JK Rowling does this masterfully!

What did that mean for chapter 28? Two-thirds of the way through and I had to stop to edit a previous chapter to include the crucial evidence. However, this also fixes a plot hole, and nobody likes those.

Three plot points left to hit, and then one more edit before chapter 28 is off to the next stage.

Day 4 - Halfway

When my publisher asked for backmatter for the upcoming release of For Better or For Cursed, I used the opportunity to update my bio... and then had to transfer the changes to all my online bios... and then had to add Update Backmatter as an admin task because now I have to update all my published books too.

Yup. Created more work for myself.

On the plus side, I'm halfway through chapter 28 of the historical co-write, but I had to stop last night because I hit a small snag. For the next part to happen, I need to work around a magical rule I've got in place (the joys of loose plotting-I actually do enjoy this part of writing). This means I'll spend the day twisting things in my mind until I can find a solution, or in layman's terms... Daydreaming ❤

Have a beautiful Saturday!

Day 3 - Technical difficulties

Today's stress level has been brought to you by technical difficulties...

Now, if you're paranoid, you back up onto a cloud. I am. I did. So, the first thing I did is verify I could see all my projects on my Mac (we share a love/hate relationship with each other). If worse comes to worse, I could write on the (shudder) Mac.

Deep breath. Waiting... Waiting...

My first computer was an Apple 2e...Waiting...

The Screensaver appeared (fist pump), and I unlocked the laptop. Everything looked okay, but when I checked the notifications there was a request for updates and a reboot.

I am not going to panic. I'm going to calmly reboot my laptop, and patiently wait (I am so panicking).

Then, like magic, everything went back to normal, except for the part about losing five hours. While I was down and out, edits and notes came back on two chapters of the historical co-write. Those took priority (and the rest of my day).

And at 10pm, as I stared at the 80 words I'd forced out while making dinner, I debated putting it away. But, I'm a reader, and talking myself into "just thirty more minutes" was fairly easy. 460 words later, I left myself of a cliff and went to bed. (see, writers are mean to everyone)

Day 2 - Testing the waters

With my task list in place I was able to thwart the desire to play around with creating covers instead of writing. I'm happy to report (and a bit grumpy too) that my time was dedicated to the correct task and I did hit my goal of 500 words last night. And yes, when I'm given permission, I share the title and the gorgeous cover with you, but until then, you must use your imagination.

I'm working on chapter 28 of the historical co-write, which is the apex of the story, and the final OMG moment before the heroine escapes (even though I did threaten to let her burn). She's having a small reprieve before I light up the torches again...

*** Did anyone else hear evil cackling? ***

Day 1 - It's time for a change

I spent Monday determining the best way to roadmap the shifting demands of my current and upcoming projects, and created a sheet (organized by series) of steps that need to be completed. This will (hopefully) quiet the nagging voice in my brain since I'm working on several projects at the same time.

My focus is currently historical, but two different time periods. Here's an update as of yesterday:

Wiltshire Chronicles - The first chapter of A Perfect Recluse, which is book six and slated to appear in the historical list run boxed set, is due at the end of September, but for that to occur I needed to complete the beginning plotting steps. This means, a hook, a blurb, and a plot/outline is needed prior to writing that first chapter. I've been working on this since last Thursday, and completed the outline last night (love crossing things off).

What does that mean for today? I'm switching to my other historical series (the co-write) because I owe a chapter and my speed is currently one chapter per week (sigh). However, I am only 3 chapters away from the end of book 1 and I can't wait to celebrate completing my longest book to date!