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General Writing Discussion
@EloraI can't promise how fast I'll get it done because work and writing already eat up nearly all of my time and I have like 15 library books out. But if time isn't too big an issue, I'd look it over for you. Just note, I don't pretend to be any kind of an expert so I can only promise you some feedback from a reader's perspective. I will try and make notes as I go if I see anything that might need an edit.
My email is tommylikessoda@gmail.com
Go ahead and shoot it my way if you wish :)
Thanks, Tommy. Do you prefer PDF, mobi, ePub or a Microsoft doc??
Elora wrote: "Thanks, Tommy. Do you prefer PDF, mobi, ePub or a Microsoft doc??"I suppose good ol' ePub would be the best. I look forward to jumpin' into your world :)
Elora, I will gladly! In my beta/proofreading experience, most authors don't want you to worry about spelling etc but look for overall plot holes and things like that, so I get frustrated because I'm all about the little details instead. You already sent me a copy and I'll try to get to it ASAP!
Ashley *Hufflepuff Kitten* wrote: "Elora, I will gladly! In my beta/proofreading experience, most authors don't want you to worry about spelling etc but look for overall plot holes and things like that, so I get frustrated because I..."Thanks Ashley! :)
PS....how's your WIP coming along?
Tommy wrote: "Elora wrote: "Thanks, Tommy. Do you prefer PDF, mobi, ePub or a Microsoft doc??"I suppose good ol' ePub would be the best. I look forward to jumpin' into your world :)"
Just sent it your way. :)
Elora wrote: "Ashley *Hufflepuff Kitten* wrote: "Elora, I will gladly! In my beta/proofreading experience, most authors don't want you to worry about spelling etc but look for overall plot holes and things like ..."Stalling a little again because I got tied up in theatre unexpectedly -- however, this time I get paid for doing it so I don't mind as much. Still tentatively shooting to have it ready for beta readers by the end of the month!
Ashley *Hufflepuff Kitten* wrote: "Elora wrote: "Ashley *Hufflepuff Kitten* wrote: "Elora, I will gladly! In my beta/proofreading experience, most authors don't want you to worry about spelling etc but look for overall plot holes an..."Getting paid is always nice! Do you act or manage, or a bit of both?
Awesome! Can't wait to get my hands on it--I've loved all your snippets so far. :)
Manage, right now. The actors are friends of mine and the director is someone I've wanted to work with for a few years, so I'm enjoying this. Gonna try and pound out some more words when I get home from work :) We spent all day yesterday cleaning the house and I wasn't on the computer at all.
Ashley *Hufflepuff Kitten* wrote: "Manage, right now. The actors are friends of mine and the director is someone I've wanted to work with for a few years, so I'm enjoying this. Gonna try and pound out some more words when I get home..."That's fun! I have never done anything with a play, but I've had some friends who are really into it!
Ugh. chores. yuck.
Good luck hitting the keys today! :)
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Brigid *Flying Kick-a-pow!* wrote: "@Elora - I'd also be happy to beta your book! My feedback will probably be pretty general if that's ok, but I can definitely let you know which parts work for me and what I think could be improved...."That's great, Brigid. Thanks so much!
Brigid *Flying Kick-a-pow!* wrote: "Lol guys I haven't written anything in like ..... four months. I've barely even thought about any of my WIPs. It's bad. I've been throwing myself into art a lot more recently, which is good and I'v..."Ugh. I've been there.
I have two pieces of advice for you:
1. We all go through phases in life. If you are really enjoying art right now, maybe it's time for you to put writing to the side and focus on your art. Do what you love!
A lot of times, we can beat ourselves over the head trying to punch out work when we just aren't feeling it. Then we get burned out and need a break. I know for me, when I come back to something (even if it's been weeks or months), my mind is refreshed and I'm actually excited about digging back into it--and my work is better for it.
2. If you are missing writing, then I would write for a bit each day, to try to get yourself into it--but write something you want to write. If you really aren't missing it, then I suggest #1 from above. :)
I agree with Elora's first point, B. I've also found that when I really miss writing and don't have a lot of inspiration for WIPs, I go back to what I first started with and write fanfiction. Oneshots work really well -- I usually try to find a challenge on fanfiction.net to use as a prompt.
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@Ashley - You know.... I've actually been considering that, lol. Part of the reason why I haven't been super productive lately is because I keep getting caught up in fandom stuff. :P I read a lot of fanfic but I've never written any, so that might be fun to try!!
My username on ff.net is wickedphoenix93 if you want to read some of mine
Hey Ashley, I sent you an email, but I might as well ask here.....do you mind being my "final eyes" for me?? After I get feedback from everyone else, can I send it to you for final thoughts and to help me catch all those pesky misspelled words? :)
Ashley *Hufflepuff Kitten* wrote: "Totally fine with me Elora!"Thanks! :)
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Thanks! I will check it out. :D
So about a month ago I gave myself the goal of having a finished draft of the mermaid story DONE and sent out to my beta reader people by the end of this month, and damn if I'm not waiting til the last minute to write the ending of this. The self-loathing is intense right now.Cheers, my fellow writer people.
You can do it, Ashley!Two weeks left!!! :)
Next month is October, and I so badly want to participate in Nano this November, but I still haven't finished my last Nano project, even though I got half way through it that month (yikes).I'm buckling down to finish it, something that should be very doable by then. If I can do it, I will bust @$$ to finish the next thing during that month, then have two first drafts to burden me haha.
Also, I'm trying SO HARD not to ditch this monster hunter project, but by god a new project burst into my head that I just love. It's sci-fi starring a mixed-race girl(back to the subject of writing out of race and gender) who's mom helped create robots with advanced intelligence and emotions and her bond with the robot after it saves her life early on.I wrote out the initial scene on paper and I just love it.
But, first, to finish this first beast.
Since I last posted a few hours ago, I came up with a new writing method I may be using regularly.So like many aspiring writers, at one point I spent way too much time googling writing tips. One I kept seeing was "treat writing like work, not like a hobby". I took that to mean "take it seriously". Today I decided, what if I took the "treat it like work" advice a little more literal? I work 8 1/2 hours every day, but that time is broken up by breaks into 4 shorter sections. So I thought, what if instead of sitting and trying to force 1,000 words in one sitting, I broke it up into four sessions with a minimum of 250 words each?
The result: Before I posted here today I wrote zero words(for three days straight. No bueno).
After posting here, I did a session of just over 250 words, then played some video games. Followed by another session of just over 250 words, then ate something. Followed by a third session of just over 730 words for a total of about 1,240 words over the course of about 4 hours, while spending an hour and a half of that time not writing.
For some reason one long session feels daunting to me, where 4 short dips in was super easy.
A sample size of one is hardly enough to say I cracked the code, but If I can do that consistently I should be good come Nano :)
Tommy wrote: "Since I last posted a few hours ago, I came up with a new writing method I may be using regularly.So like many aspiring writers, at one point I spent way too much time googling writing tips. One ..."
Awesome, Tommy!
I think that we can get wrapped up into what works and what doesn't. Everyone does things differently...do we all get up and get ready for the day in the same way?? Yet we all make it to work (for the most part).
I think the same goes with writing. Everyone is different. Not only that, I think that different days will be different. Sometimes we need a day off to think about our work (even if we aren't actively thinking about it). Just having a day off allows our brains to process and sift through things.
Do what you gotta do and don't worry about the "right" way to write. :)
You're definitely right, Elora. Just in my case, I'm a bit of a creature of habit, so if I don't "work" on getting things into my days, they will pretty much just stay out haha. And not just writing or anything "productive". I accidentally quit playing basketball, music and video games at separate points in my life. All things I love, but if I don't have plan to incorporate them, they just kind of fall to the wayside haha.I don't overly beat myself up about a "right" way, so much as try to keep writing a habit. Plus, weirdly in my case, most of my best work comes from when I force myself to write rather than when I feel like doing it, if that makes sense. The bigger the barrier I have to break through to get started, the better the work ends up being haha.
Either way, thanks. I also agree on the time off thought. Sometimes taking a day or two away will shape the story in unexpected ways.
That's a fantastic way to look at it, Tommy!I got another research book from the library -- paraphrasing/adapting an old native mermaid legend from it for part of my story. I got it started on Saturday evening and had hoped to finish up yesterday but I had no time -- was at the theatre from noon til 11:30 at night and then straight to bed when I got home. I WILL find time to fit the rest of it in this week during tech, and then continue with the overall story -- I still need to write the climax and resolution and that's a pretty decent chunk before the end of the month. The show opens this weekend so I'll have Monday (and hopefully Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday) off for writing :D
3 days into my new approach, 3 days of writing 1,000+ words a day :)Now to see how it holds up against the next 5 work days.
Ashley *Hufflepuff Kitten* wrote: "That's a fantastic way to look at it, Tommy!I got another research book from the library -- paraphrasing/adapting an old native mermaid legend from it for part of my story. I got it started on Sa..."
Best of luck, Ashley. Although you seem pretty determined, so I'm sure you'll get it all done soon enough :)
Ashley *Hufflepuff Kitten* wrote: "That's a fantastic way to look at it, Tommy!I got another research book from the library -- paraphrasing/adapting an old native mermaid legend from it for part of my story. I got it started on Sa..."
GOOOOO, Ashley!! :)
Tommy wrote: "3 days into my new approach, 3 days of writing 1,000+ words a day :)Now to see how it holds up against the next 5 work days."
Nice!
Tommy wrote: "3 days into my new approach, 3 days of writing 1,000+ words a day :)Now to see how it holds up against the next 5 work days."
Yayyyyy, excellent!
I love this show but it's kicking my ass. I'm so looking forward to getting home from work and relaxing today pre-rehearsal. Yesterday I don't think I stopped moving from the time I woke up til I went to bed -- 7am to midnight, basically. Work, grocery shopping, dinner, theatre, bed. GAWD.sidenote: totally the wrong place to spew IRL stories but I JUST WANT TO WRITE OMGGGGG.
Also! Speaking of trying to write solid POC characters if you're white / women if you're men and vice-versa / worrying about being PC and all of that, I've been listening to this podcast called Interrobang lately and the episode I'm listening to right now really struck me as wanting to share it with you guys.http://www.interrobangcast.com
Episode "From Names to Old Racism", jump to the 14:20 mark
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Kept up my word-count goals through the work week. If I can keep it up I'll be doing Nano this year :)
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Oh man, NaNo is so soon. And I'm kinda nervous because I'm gonna be in Germany for a week in November and I probably won't have much time to write. So .... I'm hoping I can get way ahead of schedule during the first two weeks before I leave. *screams* I don't even know what I'm going to write yet! I'm considering using NaNo to continue two of my WIPs that I haven't worked on in ages. Or I could use it to rewrite/revise something. Orrrr I have a couple ideas that I haven't started yet, but they're not as developed right now, so .... AHH I DON'T KNOW. :P
I'm planning on using #weirdfam for NaNo, assuming I can figure out a plot. ish.
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Yeah I'm not sure how much plotting I want to do for NaNo .... some years I really get into outlining beforehand, and some years I just wing it, lol.
oh....NaNo....I haven't even thought about that this year....the tweaking of Redemption is really kicking my butt this week, but I'm almost done. Then I'm back to work on revising my WIP. I just started a new work...but I'm not too happy with the opening. Maybe I pick that up for NaNo, assuming I'm brave enough to try! ;)
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Ooh, that's exciting that you're starting something new!! :D And if you decide to do NaNo I will definitely cheer you on!
Brigid *Flying Kick-a-pow!* wrote: "Good luck with revisions Elora! Oh yeah, did you send me the updated version of Redemption?? (Or is that the one you're finishing right now?) Just wanted to make sure I didn't miss it! :)Ooh, tha..."
Yeah....that's the thing i'm working on right now....so much for thinking I'd finish by the end of last week!
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Yeah I need to get in gear with the mermaids this week. NK Jemisin is a heck of an inspiration, posting about her WIP word count on Twitter.
Another cool bit in my podcast-obsessed world, if you need help getting a jump on stuff:http://www.interrobangcast.com
Episode "From Breastfeeding to Not Looking for a Relationship"
from 11:25 to 16:45
Hi guys! So I just finished the overhaul of Redemption and sent it your way.....as a word doc.After checking this thread, a few of you need it in other formats, so I'll try to convert it over tomorrow and resend.
Sorry about that!
Thanks again!! :)
YA and Beyond
Books mentioned in this topic
The Lies of Locke Lamora (other topics)Daughter of Smoke & Bone (other topics)
Daughter of Smoke & Bone (other topics)
Our wonderful friend Kristen Taber (yep, that one) signed up to read my book on a Read 2 Review thread on another site. A few days later, she messaged me and (very nicely) suggested I get some beta readers and/or an editor. She's kindly agreed to send a whole bunch of notes my way....
I honestly can't afford an editor.....I'm looking for volunteers. What I'd love to have is a few extra eyes on this....I don't need a huge overhauling edit (I think), just one that catches the misspelled words and repeated stuff in my work and areas that you find lacking. If a couple of you are willing to do that for me….(especially after I make all the changes), that would be awesome.
Knowing this is a lot to ask, I'm totally willing and committed to returning the favor for any of you! Here's a link to my book....
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2... If this sounds like something you'd like to do, let me know and I’ll get you a copy to work on. :)