When It's All Said And Done...

No, I'm not done with a rough draft, but the study is nearly back together and I'm back at the computer. And it struck me how like writing house renovation is.

We have the first big project completed--new sub flooring, new carpet, and the trim painted--but we aren't done.There's still a door or two to paint, nicks to be touched up, and putting all the clothes and furniture back in place. But you can tell what we aimed to do this go around is done. Not to mention the fact that we want to continue with new flooring in the dining room. Ultimately we want to paint the bedrooms and gut the kitchen.

Writing is a lot like that. Once we have a rough draft completed, we aren't completely done. There's reading for holes in the story, word choice, consistency, and grammar. Then there's the query, synopsis, and more editing to do.

And even then, when we get a contract, there will be even more edits as our agents and editors speak up.

So, I'm celebrating a partial completion today. The study is usable again and that means I'll be able to get back to writing....At least until my hubby calls on me to hold a door, go get a tool, buy supplies, etc., etc., etc.  ; )

What about you? What interim points do you like to celebrate on this journey of writing?

And now a comic that says the same thing--only better.
Check out Writer Unboxed

U-Turns

• Have you neared the end of your manuscript and wanted to chunk the entire thing?
• Reread the rough draft for editing and wondered why you spent so much time on that?
• Get a few agent rejections and cease trying to send the WIP out?

If so, you are not alone.

THE ARTIST'S WAY explains this phenomenon.

• "An artistic U-turn arrives on a sudden wave of indifference."
• "Creativity is scary, and in all careers there are U-turns."
• "Typically, when we take a creative U-turn we are doubly shamed: first by our fear and second by our reaction to it. Again, let me say it helps to remember that all careers have them."
• "A successful creative career is always built on successful creative failures. The trick is to survive them."
• "Creative U-turns are always born from fear--fear of success or fear of failure.

I know these U-turns all too well. Nearly two decades ago, I stopped writing altogether. My SF WIP --THE DAWN AND THE LION--was deepening. I needed mountains of research to pull it off. My ability to describe the many fantastic settings was not good enough. The plot seemed to be stagnating. Even though my history students (who knew math and physics far better than I ever will) were enchanted with the story and had helped me create a simple time dilation equation, I  stopped. Even with a rapidly filling four-inch binder. Writing felt too much like work.

I had no clue then that a rough draft isn't the same as finished. All of them take revision and revision and some more revision. I didn't have a clue what craft skills I needed, but I knew I couldn't do the story justice. At that time, I had no clue where to go to find out about craft skills.

That was then and this is now. Besides having two published devotionals, I have not only the SF trilogy on the back burner, but a rapidly growing comtemporary trilogy that I'm calling women's fiction for the moment. That's subject to change. But far more importantly, I know that this isn't a quick job, and I know where to find instruction on craft--both in books and on line.

My U-turn is over...for now. ; ) I know I'll see a more down the road, but I won't stop this time--not now, not ever.

What have your creative U-turns been?
How did you get back on the road?

A Well-Watered Brain...Or Where Do the Words Come From

~~Many writers swear that their best ideas come right before they go to sleep or when they are in the shower. Whatever the reason is, it seems that we find words when we quit looking too hard. Sometimes I get out of the shower with entire scenes playing out in the most amazing and perfect words. In fact, if I get into my shower after looking over the scene I'm working on, I usually get out with a great idea for carrying the story forward.

~~So how do we not lose all these great ideas and words down the drain? I've always hurried to dry off, running to my nightstand, and grabbing up the notepad and pen that I keep there for the night time ideas and scribble away--in the nude! ; ) But there's a new way to keep from washing the words away with the soap suds--AquaNotes. Yes, it's really a product that is available now. "AquaNotes® is a waterproof notepad that allows you to record your great ideas while you're in the shower. It's so durable you can even write underwater. They're recyclable, environmentally friendly, and the notepad is printed with soy-based ink." If you don't believe me, go HERE to see for yourself.

~~However the words come, I have to say, my word production has really increased in the last 3 or so months. Since the last week of October, I've written, edited and saved over 32,000 words into my Rough Draft file for FRIENDLY FIRE. I've made completing the Rough Draft by the end of March a resolution for my new year. This week, I've gone back into my outline and notes in color what stage each scene is in. It was eye opening and far better than I thought it would be. Here's the stats:
***Scenes that are typed and in the Rough Draft file--26% of the work in progress
***Scenes that are typed and waiting for editing--18%
***Scenes that are still in long hand--36%
***Scenes that are still just a title or possibly a jot list of notes--19%
The last category was the one that pleasantly surprised me. I thought there were far more than there are. So back to the shower for me. Let's get this Rough Draft done! ; )

Done!

~~Well, it's as done as a rough draft can be. I finished A Christmas Walk's rough draft and now I'm planning to start the rest of the process. As many of you know, editing, formatting, and getting a manuscript ready for printing is a much longer process than writing the rough draft. In fact, this rough draft is a record. I've written it in about four months! I'm amazed and thrilled that it is done. Now on to the tough job. ; )
~~I'm going on the record of when the rest of the job will be done. In April, I'll do the first rough edit and type it in. Yes, I'm a long hand composer. If that is complete by May, I'll let my husband John and Susan Edwards at it. June is scheduled for two more of my close readers. In July, I plan to finish the ticky formatting stuff and in August, if all is going well, we print.
~~So wish me luck and fast fingers. ; )