ROW 80 Check In: Importance of Foundation
Sundays and Wednesdays seem to roll around with greater speed since I joined the A Round the Word in 80 Days challenge. Not a complaint, just an observation.
For those that might not know, my mother and I are writing the sequel to Depression Cookies, our coming-of-age story. Continuing with the two-author theme, Mom again writes the mother's point of view while I write the now college-age daughter's point of view. It's a delicate balance. We often need to discuss plot and character development and how our characters' stories weave together.
Wednesday, before I rebooted my 750-word-a-day writing goal, it was time for a strategy conference. Two hours later, I was exhausted. Armed with tons of notes and ideas, I was also inspired.
Somtimes over-stimulation is a curse. I found myself so overwhelmed with ideas, it was hard to harness them. I was ready to jump straight into the juicy scenes, but building takes patience. Without a good foundation, the structure falls.
I find it easier to write "in time" instead of skipping around and then sewing it back together. But I might have to give into the urge to write a few pivotal scenes and then go back. What to do, what to do.
My progress this week:
Wednesday, 7/20
Results: Lots of story consultation and pages of notes, but no words written toward my goal. Did post.
Reaction: Happy with the progress in the story even though I didn't write.
Thursday, 7/21 to Saturday, 7/23
Results: 2,034 words written on the sequel (averaging 678 words per day). Posted every day.
Reaction: Mixed. I wanted more, but I also feel I'm in the "building momentum" stage. I'm ramping back up for some big writing days. Now, I just need my co-author, AHEM, to catch up.
My new WIP total: 8,109 words!
One thing I've definitely learned... if I'm going to seriously consider doing NaNoWriMo, I must go in prepared. Writing 50,000 words in a month won't leave a lot of time for plot developing, outlining, and other tricks of the trade. We featured a great guest post about NaNoWriMo this week. Check it out if you missed it.
What do you do when you find yourself over-stimulated?
For those that might not know, my mother and I are writing the sequel to Depression Cookies, our coming-of-age story. Continuing with the two-author theme, Mom again writes the mother's point of view while I write the now college-age daughter's point of view. It's a delicate balance. We often need to discuss plot and character development and how our characters' stories weave together.
Wednesday, before I rebooted my 750-word-a-day writing goal, it was time for a strategy conference. Two hours later, I was exhausted. Armed with tons of notes and ideas, I was also inspired. Somtimes over-stimulation is a curse. I found myself so overwhelmed with ideas, it was hard to harness them. I was ready to jump straight into the juicy scenes, but building takes patience. Without a good foundation, the structure falls.
I find it easier to write "in time" instead of skipping around and then sewing it back together. But I might have to give into the urge to write a few pivotal scenes and then go back. What to do, what to do.
My progress this week:
Wednesday, 7/20
Results: Lots of story consultation and pages of notes, but no words written toward my goal. Did post.
Reaction: Happy with the progress in the story even though I didn't write.
Thursday, 7/21 to Saturday, 7/23
Results: 2,034 words written on the sequel (averaging 678 words per day). Posted every day.
Reaction: Mixed. I wanted more, but I also feel I'm in the "building momentum" stage. I'm ramping back up for some big writing days. Now, I just need my co-author, AHEM, to catch up.
My new WIP total: 8,109 words!
One thing I've definitely learned... if I'm going to seriously consider doing NaNoWriMo, I must go in prepared. Writing 50,000 words in a month won't leave a lot of time for plot developing, outlining, and other tricks of the trade. We featured a great guest post about NaNoWriMo this week. Check it out if you missed it.
What do you do when you find yourself over-stimulated?
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