WIPs, Lightbulb Moments, and Virtuous Resolutions

The WIP

Finishing a novel means saying goodbye to characters, places, and adventures I’ve invested time and effort in creating, and a sense of loss accompanies their departure. However, this rarely happens till after the book is published. In early March, as I came to the end of the first draft of Book Three of my urban fantasy trilogy, I was surprised to be experiencing a degree of sadness, though this journey wasn't yet on the home stretch.

I had  settled on a title, but discovered the one I'd chosen appears on several books already...so back to scratch. And without doubt, I have several painstaking edits to complete before a version is ready to send to a professional editor, plus the cover, and formatting to organize before I say adios. Yet, after two and a half years with Tatya, Vanse, Forked Lightning, and not forgetting  Angelus, whose evil scheming knows no bounds, part of me already laments their upcoming departure from my internal landscape.

A Lightbulb Moment

I’ve found the best way to deal with this phase is to throw myself into writing something else straight away. While resting the previous books in the series, I’ve worked on a science-fiction nano novel written a few years ago, and this is about seventy-five percent finished. As I prepared to continue with this book, an idea I’ve been nursing for a while burst, more or less fully formed, into my head. The seed came from a business sign I'd noticed one day, and the instant I saw it something sparked in my brain, and every time I passed that way, I'd think about what kind of story this could be. Before I could start on the sci-fi revisions, a flood of potential images and ideas flashed through my mind about a new novel stemming from that sign - in the detective/mystery genre. Maybe I could write a novella? Three 20-25,000 word novellas could perhaps be published later in a single volume?

With the WIP laid to rest, I took a deep breath and plunged into an exciting new world. Five weeks later, I'm trying hard not to feel too smug, because I've completed the first draft of a novella. Yes, it’s more minimal than usual, because I wasn’t sure how many words I’d have to play with to stay within my target, but it currently lies resting snugly side by side with the WIP. I'll spend what’s left of my scheduled break with my older sci-fi friends,

Suddenly I feel like one of those TV chefs who have half a dozen pots on the boil, rushing from one to the other in a manic frenzy of chopping, stirring, and flinging spices into bubbling concoctions. But there the comparison ends, because I’ve no guarantee of producing a story readers will like, although the chefs always seem to serve an acceptable gourmet meal when they’re finished. But still, I live in hope, and the more I practice my craft… at least in theory… the better my stories should be!

Getting organized

I’m the first to admit I find it difficult to achieve the basic mind set needed for the marketing that an authorpreneur ought to do, and a dim light is slowly dawning that neither good intentions nor will power are enough to achieve my goals. But determination to change this around is growing. (Really? mutters my inner cynic. I’ll believe it when I see it.) A friend told me recently, if you want to get something done, you must have a plan of action. And even more necessary is writing down the steps needed to accomplish your goal.

Consequently, I’ve become a compulsive list compiler, but don’t laugh, because although I hang my head in embarrassment that after a year of checking out printing websites, I still hadn’t ordered any business cards, I can congratulate myself on achieving that goal! Well, they’re in the mail en route, and just now coming.

The second goal getting closer is setting up an email list of subscribers to a newsletter. (A Very Important step for the indie writer my research informs me.) By announcing it, I’m increasing my chances of attaining it, if for no other reason than to save myself a measure of embarrassment. I have considered, and investigated this previously, but as is my pattern, proceeded no further, letting the idea slide merrily off the cliff of virtuous resolutions, and into the muddy swamp of my subconscious where it's been partying with my other neglected goals. Step one is taken as I’ve signed up to mail-chimp, the to-do list is waiting, and hopefully everything will be in place for mid June. 

Today's Haiku

COFFEE SHOP

the muzak's fast beat

speeds the caffeine junkie's pulse

and time fast-forwards

Useful Links:

I'm officially a fan of Ashley's brilliantly tech savvy blog.

https://www.nosegraze.com/build-email-list/

Sacha writes a lively newsletter full of great hints and tips like the following post:

https://sachablack.co.uk/2016/02/29/7-tips-to-create-your-perfect-author-newsletter/

If you're a Wattpad member, I have several short stories posted on the site:

https://www.wattpad.com/teagankearney

And you can find me at the following sites:

https://twitter.com/@teagankearney

https://uk.pinterest.com/teagankearney

https://www.facebook.com/teagankearney

Thanks for visiting my blog, and please do leave a comment.

To all story lovers out there, good reading, and to those of you who write, good writing.

SIMPLY GETTING ORGANIZED

Holding an entire novel of however many thousands of words in your head is quite a feat, and having your novel laid out in front of you in small bite sized pieces is an excellent way to spot weaknesses in plot lines and structure.

For instance if you’ve ever lost track of which characters did what, where and when, or if you’re reading through that last intensive edit you slaved over, and you notice your main character has a meeting in one chapter and in the following one happens to leave for the same meeting, then making use of index cards is a simple solution which enables you to look over your story in a clear-cut manner. 

You can summarize one chapter per card, noting what events take place and where. This enables you to move the cards and play around noticing if some chapters work better either earlier or later than your current order. Or cut chapters/events – if that is what is needed.

If your novel is multi-stranded, have a different colour card for each strand; when laid out in columns it’s easy to perceive how the rising action/climax/falling action/conclusion arcs complement each other. If you have chapters containing flashbacks, using another colour for those chapters shows you at a glance if the balance between current action and recall of past events is a good one. 

However, another way to benefit from these handy little bits of card is for scene assessments. Choose a chapter that has several scenes, and using one card per scene, write the outline of the action that takes place. 

For example:

Immediate and extended family gather together for wealthy grandfather’s eightieth birthday at family mansion.

Younger children are playing outside in the garden, one climbs a tree, falls and breaks a leg.

Old rifts resurface as an argument breaks out between adults as to who is at fault (main action).

Upset parents go with child to hospital in ambulance.

After you’ve written out your cards in this way, check each scene has a definite beginning and end point plus a mini-arc of rising and falling action. You can also move scenes around to see if placing them in an alternate order moves the story forward more smoothly. Transitions between scenes, as well as the rhythm of action scenes contrasting with quieter ones become clearer.

I don’t work with Scrivener or any of the other excellent writing programs available, because I haven’t found the time to explore how they work, but I imagine they must eliminate most of the above problems. In the meantime, index cards as an organizational tool are a great aid to visualizing your story, are cheap, available at all stationery shops, and don’t need any instructions or practice!

Writing Update

I’m making good progress adding research details and working through the second edit of The Unforgiveness of Blood©, and I hope to finish by the 25^th May as I’m managing two chapters a day...so fingers crossed! One aspect I’m paying attention to is making sure my protagonist’s internal conflict doesn’t disappear amongst the multitude of swarming supernaturals that constitute the external conflict (okay, I’ve used a little artistic licence in the latter half of that sentence).

Part of my brain is meditating on a cover, for both the current WIP and for An Unstill Life©.  You can find great covers over on Wattpad, so more research coming up in that direction. And I’m getting flashes of ideas for the second book in my supernatural trilogy, and keep having to run and scribble them down before they fly off into the ether. I have to admit, that even if no-one ever buys a single copy, I'm enjoying myself.

Today’s Haiku

conversation ebbs

and flows, threatens to drown me -

I breathe deep and wait

Useful links:

A detailed look at using index cards from The Writer’s Digest.

http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/there-are-no-rules/create-structure-in-your-fiction-using-index-cards

I’d love it if you popped over to Wattpad and read any of my posted stories...just click on the titles to the right.

Join me on Twitter at: teagankearney@modhaiku  

Thanks for visiting my blog, and please do leave a comment.

To all story lovers out there, good reading, and to those of you who write, good writing.