Tag: writing

Still on Track

Laura Highcove

Okay, so it’s October 17 (when I’m writing this, not when I’m posting it) Meaning I have exactly two weeks and one day until Nanowrimo starts. I got a little behind with all the traveling I needed to do for weddings the past two weekends while on one of the hardest parts of the story, a very important fight/turning point scene.

I have now, gotten past that scene and am into the final push to the climax. There are seven chapters left. Which means a chapter every two days if I’m to finish on time. Not ideal, but I am going to get this done.

I feel like I should have more to write for this post, but a lot of what I’ve been doing has been traveling, so while it’s a lot of stuff, it’s not really good material for a blog post.

I have also started a youtube channel where I talk about the plants (mostly succulents) that I have. It’s a fun little side project for me because, well I love showing off my plants in case you’re interested in that.

Other than that, it’s a countdown to Nanowrimo, which is exciting, as I hope to finish the draft of the Wizard, or at least get about 50k words farther with it.

Back from the Boat

Laura Highcove

So apparently I went so head down about the Writing Excuses Cruise coming up that I just simply forgot about writing anything for my blog in over a month. That being said, once again Wxr was awesome. If you remember last year I was so impressed by the Wxr cruise, that despite telling my husband and myself last year that it would be a one time thing, I simply had to go again, and this time I brought the husband.

I was far more relaxed this year because I knew what to expect. It was all the same airports, hotel, cruise ship, and many of the same people, who actually remembered me! We were on shore for an extra day this time which I wasn’t super keen on. Mostly because it felt like I was just hanging in limbo before getting on the boat, and it also meant more meals to pay for. By the time we woke up Sunday morning everyone was talking about how it felt like we’d had a whole convention already but yet we still hadn’t gotten on the boat.

The lines to get onto the cruise ship practically flew compared to last year. I was prepared for the waiting in line, but there was only a minimum amount of waiting before we were on the boat and our rooms were ready shortly after. (We got a little pizza first.)

We had fewer classes this year. Last year was very class heavy and even I, ever the dedicated student, had trouble keeping up. This year they cut the number of classes. I think a little too far. Added to the fact that I didn’t go on any excursions this year, I ended up with a lot more free time than I expected. I did spend much of that with my husband, which may have helped stave off the depressive episodes I had last year, and I still felt like I got in my Wxr people time.

The classes were good. Piper’s class on animals in novels was fun and informative, and Mary Robinette’s impromptu 8am class on short stories was very helpful, even though I’ve heard her give bits of it before. I think the fact that we wrote a flash fiction helped to cement it better, and I’m feeling much more confidant about short stories in general.

I was apprehensive about Dongwon’s class on Writing Good Beginnings because I feel like I’ve been though so many of those classes before, but something about this one struck a chord with me and I realized my first “page” in The Law of the Prince Charming doesn’t have any stakes or reason for the reader to be invested in Tabitha. I had gotten that feedback before but didn’t “see” it, much less understand how to fix it. After Dongwon’s class I was able to see what I was missing and how to fix it. That gives me some more hope for when I send out another batch of queries.

I also went to watch the karaoke, which was far more populated that I expected from a group of writers. They had to close sign-ups at one point because they had so many people already signed up. My husband and I also participated in game night a bit more, which was good because the bar under our room played music that vibrated through the floor until ‘late’ (11:30-11:45 pm). I also recognized a lot of the food offerings at dinner from last year so I was able to avoid the bad ones and get extra of the good ones. Mwahaha! It was wonderful and fabulous, and I’m so hopeful we’ll both be able to go back again next year.

Ahead of Schedule

Laura Highcove

I am now three weeks in on my schedule of just getting a rough in of all the things I need to add. But, that has gone so easily that I’ve also gone back and been able to smooth those places in as well. The first 12 chapters of this story (except for one fight scene) are looking rather polished and it’s a great feeling.

And yet I’m still struggling with not thinking I’m spending enough time on my writing. Why is it that we always feel like we have to be doing more? Why isn’t what we’re done ever enough? /flops around on the floor

Next week, however, takes me into the dreaded chapter 15. The place where the ‘done’ colors in Scrivener move from yellows and oranges back into the less polished reds. I have made great strides in these chapters, but they’re still rough and I’m not yet sure exactly how rough or how much work it will take to finish them. This coming week will let me know if I can keep up with my current speed, or if it will turn into a slog. I’ll keep going either way, of course. I can still remember when I thought I would never figure out this story and now it’s pretty close to being a cohesive whole. I’m really excited to getting it to beta reading stage.

Also, we’re at under a month until the hubby and I go on the Writing Excuses Cruise again, the cruise that very much changed my life last year. I’m hoping for some more great interaction with other writers, learning a lot of great stuff, and a huge burst of motivation. So excited!

Changing the List

Laura Highcove

Last weekend I went to Otakon with my husband and two of our friends. One of these friends I will refer to as ‘The Cheerleader’ and they drove up with us. The Cheerleader has been beta reading for me since LotPC because …well they’re good at stories and good at encouragement. Anyway, we all ended up talking about LotDK for a good portion of the trip up. I had lined up questions to ask my Hubby and the Cheerleader and I got a lot of good answers.

Not only that, but I was able to just talk about my story and hear what other people thought about it, which is very valuable. I know how the story goes in my head, and it’s interesting to see if that’s translating properly, and if it’s not, where the disconnect is and why. And even, if sometimes the way someone else takes it is even better. Or if I get to be all superior in thinking that my ideas are better and I can’t wait until they get to read it. Mwahaha!

As such, once I got back I was able to finish writing up my List of Revisions for LotDK, which after a few passes turned into a chapter by chapter list. I also managed to make a schedule for how many chapters I need to get done per week in order to be done by November (for Nanowrimo). I start out with four chapters per week and eventually end up at two a week. Obviously because the later chapters are far messier and will need much more help.

I have already started, and so far things are going well. I do anticipate problems, but every bit I get done is still done, even if Wildrose and Gabir continue to give me problems. I feel like a lot more things are starting to come together though, and that’s good. And I’m still enjoying the story, which is also good.

Making A List

Laura Highcove

And I’ve checked it more than twice. I’ve been over it at least three or four times and there’s more to go as I sort through things. My time sheet has been getting a lot of ‘organize’ time, but I’m feeling like I’m making some progress at least. All those little things I ‘put off until later’ as well as the big issues that I would ‘figure out later’ are all coming due.

Some of the little problems will likely only take a few lines to fix, and I’ve already fixed some of them, but the larger issues often either span a large part of the novel, or I haven’t figured out how to fix them, or both. But this is the point of the revision process where everything starts coming together one way or another. Hopefully with my only being reduced to tears of ‘this will never work’ a few times.

Can’t give you a lot of detail, obviously, without spoilers, but I did realize I’ve been describing my Laws and magic backward the entire time, which will require some fixing, and I’m still rough on both Gabir and Wildrose’s motivations throughout the book. Good times.

I should have more information, and maybe even more of a timeline, in my next update in two week’s time. Also remember my newsletter will be going out next week, so look forward to another Chapter 1. This one takes place in space, but is still fantasy.

Hiatus is Over

Laura Highcove

My hiatus is now over, as by the time you’re reading this, the Show Team is back from the National Appaloosa Championships and Youth World Show. Because of the extra hours I put in to make up as assistant manager while the manager was gone, I took the past two and a half weeks off from writing, and let myself play lots of Disgaea 5. But now it’s time to shift back into work mode. First thing on the list is to start reading the comments from my wonderful beta readers for the Law of the Demon King. Looking forward to the inside I get there, as well as regaining some of my motivation for working on that story.

There will be a few days of reading comments during which time comes one of my favorite parts of revision, making the list of edits! Even though this list ends up being extremely long, especially at first, it always encourages it because it’s tangible. Lists also help me organize the story in my mind since I’m looking at the whole thing at once, instead of piece by piece. I even color code the list items based on how much work I estimate it will take, which usually determines in which order I will tackle each item. In addition, my beta readers are both coming to Otakon with me this year, which will afford us more talking and brainstorming time. Mwahahaha!

Once I have a list, I’ll be able to estimate my timeline a little better. I’d like to get through with this book by the end of the year, but right now I have no idea if that’s feasible, or way too easy. And who knows, maybe I’ll get some more done on the Wizard in between bursts of revision.

Week 4 of April

Laura Highcove

Every once and a while, life happens. Well okay, you’re right, life is always happening, but now and again it really happens and you get swept up in just going because that’s all you have the time or energy for. That is the general explanation for the reason that I haven’t got much of anything done in the past month.

In a bit more detail: I had serious trouble with motivation on the Huntsman. Copper continued to lose weight. My new antidepressant suddenly made it so I could only get four hours of sleep at night and I had to deal with not sleeping and getting the medication changed. And I had a horse show and the practice and preparation for that.

As such, all of my writing goals fell by the wayside. I basically got next to nothing done. Luckily, despite the sleeping problems, the antidepressant was working and I didn’t fall into depression during this time. I simply decided I had to keep doing what needed to be done. (I did still get out my Newsletter, I was very proud.) And now that I’m on the other side of the horse show, and Copper has gained weight, and my sleep schedule is mostly under control, I was able to finally hit the reset button.

Because that’s the way I get back into the swing of my life when it’s gone off kilter, hitting the reset button. I basically had to let go of any lingering regrets about my lack of productivity (not easy) and just make a whole new plan. I joined up in Camp Nanowrimo for the encouragement of fellow writers that helped me push through finishing the draft of the Huntsman. I started working on a completely different story, to give myself a break from my Storyteller series. I wrote about six versions of this post that I was completely unhappy with before reaching the current version. I got my laundry done. (big deal after a horse show) And my hubby and I signed a design contract as the first step for finally getting our basement finished.

I went back and looked at the quotes that I put as the featured images for my writing journal posts, and I’ve noticed that a vast majority of them talk about doing things a bit or a step at a time, and just keeping that up as consistently as possible. I don’t choose those quotes at random, I look for something that speaks to me in the moment, so that’s just something at the heart of my outlook on life. And I think I’m okay with that.

My lack of achieving my goal does mean that I don’t get to play Kingdom Hearts 3 for a bit longer than I was expecting. My new goal is to reach my Camp Nanowrimo goal and see how far that gets me in my new story, and to get my April Newsletter out. Nothing huge, but for now, it’s enough.

Week 1 of March

Laura Highcove

I swear, I have the hardest time with titles for these posts…

Had a pretty great weekend and was rather productive. This past week’s goal was smoothing the Wizard. I realized I had gotten a little caught up in trying to get to a revision stage instead of straight up smoothing, so I pushed myself over the weekend to work just on smoothing and it went a bit better. I also played some Hyrule Warriors because I love that game.

According to the plan I made for myself, I was supposed to finish a rough draft of the Huntsman, smooth the beginning of the Wizard. I was unable to get done with the Huntsman. There was simply more to do than I originally thought. Rose is still giving me trouble as well. This led to some motivation problems and low level anxiety. As such, I shifted to the next thing on my goal list, which was smoothing the Wizard.

The next two weeks are now going to be writing 1.6k words a day on the Wizard. And I seem to be perfectly ready for that. I’ve already done a lot of rewriting while smoothing, which has been enjoyable. I’m also hoping that exploring Rose in the Wizard will help me with the problems he’s giving me in the Huntsman.

So the current goal is: Two weeks of 1.6k words a day, with smoothing as necessary. AND I’m going through the Huntsman again to figure out what is actually there, and aim toward an alpha read. Last time I had an alpha read of the Huntsman, just the feedback and straight up talking about it helped me move forward, so I’m hoping another push will get me to the finished draft I’m aiming for.

February Goals

Laura Highcove

Now that I’m into February and my first newsletter with a Chapter 1 has gone out, it’s time to shift focus to the next thing on my list. My current wips, the Huntsman and the Wizard. At the end of last year I vaguely told myself I was going to give myself until the end of this year to finish my rough draft. Now I’ve actually sat down to work out how long it will take me and it came out for 17 weeks, or four months exactly.

And, if I make my goal, I’mma buy Kingdom Hearts 3.

Measurable goals:

Make the Huntsman readable: There are a number of scenes that still need to be written. Bits of foreshadowing. And the ending needs to be solid. Basically I want it to readable straight through, even if it’s not polished.

Feb 4 – 1 week to solidify the ending.
Feb 11 – 1 week to fill in any big holes in events/foreshadowing with scenes.
Feb 18 – 1 week to smooth the whole thing.

Rough draft of the Wizard: I have only a basic idea of what this story is going to do, despite having 44k words written already. I want a beginning, a middle, and especially the end, so I know where this whole thing is going.

Feb 25 – 1 week to smooth what I already have.
Mar 4&11 – 2 weeks of 1.6k words a day (23.3k)
Mar 18 – 1 week of smoothing
Mar 25&Apr 1 – 2 weeks of 1.6k words a day (23.3k)
Apr 8 – 1 week of smoothing (Horse Show)
Apr 15&22 – 2 weeks of 1.6k words a day (23.3k)
Apr 29&May 6 – 2 week smoothing (Vacation here)
May 13&20 – 2 weeks writing important scenes
May 27 – 1 week final pass

New Year’s Projects

Laura Highcove

We’re into the new year and I’ve been using my new spreadsheet to keep track of my hours and so far! …well it isn’t much different, truthfully. The changes I implemented are more important for summarizing and ease of looking back, for now I’m working on a few new projects into the new year.

I did a pass through of the Huntsman and sorted through everything I’d written. When I finished writing the rough draft the ending was sort of all over the place in terms of order and all stuffed into the same folder. I have since pulled those pieces apart and reassembled them into chapters.

After I got that done, I sat down to determine what my biggest problem is right now. And I’m pretty sure it’s ‘what the heck is Rose doing!?’. I know what I want him to do, but the path there is a hodgepodge, so I did notecards of scenes to figure out what I did have, what I needed, and then I went back and started smoothing. I haven’t hit the “messy” place yet, but I’m trying to tighten his focus a bit. Not sure if I’m being successful yet, but as I try to remind myself I don’t have to fix everything in one pass, just made it a bit better each pass.

I also have a new announcement for my newsletter which disappeared in August of last year. I am going to be restarting that with a new focus. I’m still going to use it as a place to talk about the lessons I’ve learned from life’s difficulties, but I am also going to be posting the “Chapter 1” of stories I have written, a new one each month. I’ll also be including a quick (like only 1 question) questionnaire at the end of each chapter for feedback. I want to use this feedback as a way to gauge interest in my projects and use it to determine what my next project may be.

For the newsletter going out at the end of January, I am going to be sending out the first chapter of Angelic Links: The world is run by computer code and only heaven has admin access. If you’re already signed up for my newsletter, then you don’t need to do anything to get this chapter. If you’re not yet signed up, you can do so here, and you’ll receive my newsletter at the end of the month that will include the first chapter of Angelic Links.

As for my goals, I am hoping to get through to Chapter 15 in the next two weeks with a lot more focus in Wildrose’s motivation. If I can get through Chapter 18 without any major problems, that will be a huge success.