Writing difficulties

I'm finding it easy to find and write down the ideas of what I want to happen, how I want it structured but committing it to actual writing is like pulling teeth at the minute. Had a spell like this whilst writing book, I just started and it came easily, then I stopped to think about it and it was like I was walking a high wire fine without noticing and then having become aware of what I was doing I find myself nervously tip toeing very slowly.

As for the book, well got about 3 weeks before the suggested deadline that one should expect to hear within will be passed. No great surprise, the rejection long anticipated isn't a huge bother it's the irritation that I know I have to at least try and punt it elsewhere, involving a more complicated process initial letter, a synopsis, a sample and so on rather than an in one simple submission procedure.

I need to kick myslef up the arse really, I'm going to tidy up my working space this afternoon and try and get a wriggle on. I've only got about 10 pages of what should be about 100 pages worth, I want it complete early in the new year, had hoped for it to be completed by end of this but nil chance of that now. If I can get a wee spurt before the end of the year that will be encouragement enough.

Submission of Novel

Little bit late with this news, but I have submitted my novel to a publisher. Taking the path of least resistance I went via MacMillan New Writing, because it didn't require me writing an a letter and selling the idea via a synsopsis just to get a literary agent or publisher to even read it. Barring being extraordinarily lucky in about 10 to 12 weeks time I'll be doing just that if I haven't heard anything but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. I have a list of literary agents and publishers to go through.

In the meantime I can move on and work on screenplay I started last year. It's all been written in a notebook until now. I've transferred what I've done so far onto the computer, I just need to get cracking now and decide where it's going to as what I've written aside I've only got a very sketchy idea of what is going to happen.

It is done! Complete, finished!

Well for submission anyway. I've spent this morning refocused and made the final small changes to the end that I mentioned. I also completed the edit on the epilogue which didn't need any signfiicant changes to it. So next time I take anything to do with this piece of work after I've been on holiday it will be to re-read through the writers and artists guidebook for tips on composing a letter and garnering advice on submitting it to appropriate publishing companies.

I feel pleased at having set my mind to this task and completed it. Although I should probably really only consider the task completed when some letters are in the post. Irrespective of interest in it after that it will have been job done. I will concentrate on other writing projects, a screenplay for definate because I already started it. I have ideas for other novel projects, slightly more ambitious in scale some of them. A short story or two I have ideas swirling around in my head. I'll take my notebook on holiday and possibly sketch them out a bit.

Anyway some basic facts and figures about my first novel:-

91369 words (including chapter titles)
500035 characters (as in letters not people)
22 chapters (not including a prologue and epilogue)
7 principal characters
12 secondary charcters (that I can remember right now some with a single speaking part, some almost main characters they involved quite a lot)
set in the year 2237
set in locations including but not limited to Dundee(Abertay Uni campus included), moon and orbital space stations, a space station orbiting Mars and a couple of spaceships in various locations.

editing, so close to being finished....

...to the point I could be finished this afternoon, but it might still be a few days. Basically I have went through the whole thing, fixed the annoying quotation issue all of 20 chapters worth(out of 23). Rewritten bits here and there, hopefully tightened up some dialogue, exposition and general pacing etc. Not to mention typos, spelling etc.

So I got to the end and I am still not done. Why? I think the end is to abrupt, I've chopped it a bit short and I need to write a little more. Not as lot though I don't think. I don't need screeds and screeds or lord of the rings style multiple endings. I just need a few paragraphs more to make the ending seem less like I just stopped in the middle of a scene.

I came ot this conclusion the other day as I read through those final pages and I already made a few notes. Just need to sit and put thinking cap on again and see if I can't find something I'm happy with. A little bit more of what has happened in other parts of the world is needed. After that do I leave it on some sort of a bombshell ending or quietly leave characters to continue on in some unknown future?

I have written an epilogue thing for afterthe final chapter, if I add an extra bombshell it might mean rewriting that considerably. I daresay once I start writing whatever feels write will come and I won't need to make to much of a conscious decision.

2 year anniversary more or less

Time has a habit of popping out in front of you and going "woo hoo, forgot about me didn't you," just noticed that it is about two years since I first set up this blog. The original intention was that I'd try and get into the habit of thinking about issues in the news or close to my heart and write about them for the purpose of getting some practice of putting my thoughts into words before thinking about applying to do a post grad in journalism. That didn't really come to fruition and for the past 18 months or I've tried to put creative energies into writing a book.

The book project is almost over. It's given me a certain level of satisfaction and irrespective of any publishing success I aim to continue writing for a good while yet. So I definately post less on things happening in the world and is there really a point to this blog? Not hugely no, but I've no plans to end it. For one thing I've grown attached to it and I like hopping blogs and seeing what other randoms feel worth writing about.

I do still like to put my thoughts down in written word and publish them now and again. If anyone reads htem then great and if they don't well so what.

I should finish editing on my book before I go on holiday at end of the month. I looking forward to reading books in the sun in particular and not feeling like I should be working. As opposed to now where I spent far to much time browsing the internet, playing games and feeling guilty about not working. I'll have achieved a goal however meaningful it is and I have another goal to start when I get back. Two really, putting some effort into trying to get book published and finishing screenplay I started during a novel writing haitus at beginning of last year.

I am going to take a notepad with me, just to note down any ideas that might come to me and possibly flesh out some ideas I've already had but not put to much thought into due to being busy elsewhere.

I ordered seven books today. I'll post shortly waht they are and why I chose them.

No I'm not dead

It's been a while since I posted. Still grinding away on the novel editing, about half done. Trying to pick up the pace and get it completed by end of next month at the latest. I really should have had it finished by now but it's such a picky process due to earlier schoolboy error I mentioned in several earlier posts.

I'll be off on holiday end of June, so it would be good if it was really finished. Then I can look forward to new challenges when I get back, not least pimping the book.

I shortlisted about 30 odd books I'd like to read on holiday. A half dozen or so I'll order via amazon most likely to take and then try not to lose the list with rest of them on it as I'll likely forget that I want to read half the rest.

Anyway It's 20 past 10 in hte morning just now, I've been working since before 9 and had no breakfast yet so I'm off to remedy that.

Nintendo Wii is great....

....editing is tedious!

That really says it all, but I'll elaborate. After much searching and frustration an available to buy at reasonable price a Nintendo Wii finally landed in a shop near me, a worry over a corner of my credit card having snapped off turned out to be no big problem as the important chip was unharmed and the Wii was secured. It's tremendous fun, Wii Sport, Wario Ware and Tiger Woods 07 providing hours of entertainment already. Had it more than a week now and it is far more fun than editing my book for submission, not that it's a great deal of rewriting or anything, it's just a bit bitty and slow process. How i wish I had double checked earlier and not used so many quotation marks for dialogue, not really sure how important it is but after more closely looking at other books I think it's important to tidy things like this up a bit.

I'd really rather be playing my Wii, or even writing something new I can't wait until i finished this editing process one way or other to move onto a new project. I really can't reccomend the Wii enough and in eternal debt to the person who strickly speaking bought it for me my girlfriend who actually likes it too, despite generally hating computer games.

pro Evo 6 hasn't been touched since I got it, barely went a day without playing pro evo of some sort in 6 years! Says a lot, though still playing Final fantasy 12, once i'm finished that might free up a little time for Pro Evo to reclaim it's place in my affections.

Just printed out...

...the 250 A4 sheets of my all but fnished novel. Completed the mini editing of the last three chapters. So you could say it's finished, I've written, read over and edited every chapter already. I am using this print out for a first complete read through and will make some changes, hopefully won't feel the need to change to much. I fairly sure though there will be a few bits i not entirely happy with and will do some rewriting but nothing major that will change the structure or cause massive changes. Just make a line sound less clunky here and there.

Wow, think it's finished

Ok not 100% finished but first draft kind of thing, last chapter done and dusted. If you wondering how so quick, no not a sudden burst of hard work, I spent nigh on all yesterday playing FF12, Pro Evo 6 and Project Gotham Racing. It just happened that last chapter is really just an epilogue, two and a bit pages. Just wrote out there in last hour or two.

Well what now? Still work to be done. A last mini edit. Last 3 chapters i'll print out, read over and make changes where I see fit. Still unsure about penultimate chapter, think it's ok but it's more or less the end of the story and well didn't realsie until I finalised that following chapter was just an epilogue style thing. It's a message from one character to all the rest a few months after, tieing up a loose end or two and a small overview of how things that happened during story have had effect elsewhere and letting you know roughly where characters are now.

Once I've done that I'll print out the revised first draft, what's on my computer now after first changes. I'll read it, try and spot any typos and blatant small mistakes i may have missed. Same sort of changes to dialogue and writing as i make with mini edits if I'm not happy with what is on the page, of which I know there is some. The thing with quotation marks I mentioned a few posts ago will need sorting, that'll be a pain.

Then reprint the 2nd draft. Put it aside for the moment. Dig up by copy of writers and artists handbook and take the advice in about trying to get a novel printed. Involving writing letter(s) describing novel and seeing if there is any interest in it. If there is I'll be both amazed and over the moon and if there isn't I'll be utterly unsurprised but quietly depressed about it.

After that I shall attend to my screenplay, which will be a considerably shorter project before i begin again.

*word total 90163 subject to revision in editing. Probably go down a touch if anything as it includes a pro logue or indeed two at the beginning which i'm deleting as think they redundent but were handy as guides near the start when I was still quite unsure about what I was writing.
90,000 words of rubbish is still rubbish but I quite pleased still that I wrote irrespective.

Another chapter done

Well i think it is, chopped and saved elsewhere a bit at the end i thought was opening up further storyline. I might go back and change the end of it a bit but it felt like an ending to me, almost could have ended the story itself I thought. Still got one more chapter to do, which is more or less an epilogue, the story has largely played out and anything of import that happened now would really be for a sequel, which there won't be unless this gets published.

Therein lies the really onerous task once editing is done with, writing letters and stuff and trying to sell it. Still if nothing happens there I shall not get to despondent, I have other ideas and in particular a screenplay thing which is already started. Get back onto that, pimp it when done and another novel project. What exactly I'm not sure but I have a few ideas, whatever seems easiest to flesh out I should think. My favourite two ideas just now might need quite a bit of research which I'm not renowned at being good at.