Becoming the writer I want to be

Good to have you back! I was starting to get worried you fell into lava or something...

 

Very nearly 1900 words today. Act 2 is technically complete, but there is one more chapter I want to get done tomorrow that is very short, maybe 2-3 pages tops.

 

Ah cool! Thoughts on the structural integrity of pipelines then!? Big area of contention up here in Canada. Also, I heard that cortisol levels found in culverts is off the charts ; )

 

Started and finished a chapter today. A very short one at only 500 words, its designed to act as a bit of a tease for future events rather than function as a full chapter by itself. Now that is done, time to take a week off!

EDIT: I really wasnt happy with what I wrote when I read it back, so I deleted it and did it all again. Ended up with a better version of the chapter at 550 words. My issue was related to the chapter being a tease, but the original version was honestly just confusing and didnt tie into anything the read would understand, it only made sense to me, knowing what it related to. The new chapter is still not perfect but its better, it sets things up far better.

EDIT 2: I've decided to just get rid of the entire chapter, save it outside of the document so I dont forget it but I probably wont put it back in. It was an idea that I think is strong but doesnt fit with what the story has morphed into. This means I will need to reorganise the story somewhere down the line but thankfully this plot thread wouldnt have been addressed in this book, it would have happened in a sequel, so I can remove it and lose nothing.

 

I wish you the best of luck on becoming a better writer. I too want to become a better writer, but in the fictional novel space. Writing a doctoral thesis sounds very tough, but I know you have what's needed within you. Here's to the constant pursuit of greatness!

 

I actually did think of this. I think the story elements I am cutting are good, they just dont work within the context of the story as presented. They perhaps work to undermine the "main" plot and to some extent the other teased plots, and upon reflection I want the other teased plots in far more than the one I cut. With that in mind, it could be doable to incorporate the cut content into something else further down the line.

Thankfully, I thought of a solution that allows the story to move forward without chucking everything else I thought of for possible continuations of book one (the cut chapter eludes to stuff in book 2, so cutting it loses nothing from the book its actually in, its kinda like the first bit of game of thrones with the white walkers in that regard). In my original concepts for the entire trilogy, the two main characters dont meet each other, they take part in events that impact each other but being on different sides of the galaxy they never actually meet. Then it hit me, what if I changed it so they did? And it fell into place from there.

 

Reading through what I wrote over the last week, I have hit 275 pages and nearly 97,000 total words. I firmly believe the finished book will end up close to 400 words which is ideal.

I also put a lot of thought into the continuation of the story. I think it works best as a trilogy, but with the second book taking place some time after the first and the third literally taking place just as the second ends. I based this decision on how I want the two main characters to meet, having the second book lead up to this dramatic and hyped up moment and have it be very impactful and cool when it does happen. Then have the third book take place right after and consolidate all the plots into one final endgame for the narrative.

 

Yes. I'm working on a short science fiction story and a longer fiction novel. Can't wait to share them!

 

Is the novel also science fiction? I would be interested to know what the two stories are about if you are willing to share.

 

I'm starting to feel like that with me taking a week off. I know I needed to because this time a week ago I was kinda burnt out but now, the day before I get started again, I've been itching to get started for like 4 days now and I need to keep stopping myself. Its a weird problem to have, having to hold off on doing something you have fun doing, knowing that if you push yourself too much it will stop being fun, but at the same time not actually being able to envision that actually happening. I think its also related to what the next chapters to write actually are. With the exception of one chapter on the female protagonists side, everything from here till the end is the climax, and that entails balls to the wall action scenes that are so incredibly fun to write, and one specific extended sequence that I have been frothing at the mouth to write since the very start, everything has led up to it.

 

Got back to daily writing today, started anew chapter and got nearly 1500 words done.

 

Hello, fellow travelers on the road to Hell! Writing sucks. Been at it most of my adult life -- even before. I really hate that the machine I use for writing is the same one that gives me porn. So easy to slide from, say, a quick look at dictionary.com over to . . ., well, you don't need to know the crazy sites where I avoid work and waste time. Those of you have to write, I salute you!

 

Made some good progress today, with just under 1600 words. I expect to finish the chapter tomorrow.