The Wonder Of To Do Lists

Today is the first in a long time in which I have had nothing planned through the day. Last night I wrote a really strong to do list. the things I was avoiding don’t seem quite so daunting written down. After a bit of a lie in I checked the master list, then wrote a to do today list, picking out the most pressing tasks, ordering a cheque book, paying bills etc.

I also got the chance to sit down for a good couple of hours and revise the opening of my novel. It’s my piece to read aloud for the writing group tomorrow. Super nervous but also excited.

Today’s Wordcount: 830

The Hook?

Back to writing group tonight. The homework this week was to write a ‘hook’. I am supposed to make the reader irresistibly hooked within the first couple of sentences. The tutor told said to make it as shocking as we wanted.

I am being ever so brave and bringing in the first paragraph of my novel. I fiddled with it a bit today and swapped scenes around to have the reader jump straight into the action.

Wish me luck

Today’s Word-count: 142

First Scene Done!

I’m working on the ‘final’ revision of my novel. Today I wrote that tricky first scene. After writing and re-writing, and then re-re-writing the first line, I managed to get out of my own way and crack on. This is not after all a final edit, only the final revision. I’m actually pretty happy with it. However, I shan’t be looking at it again for a while so we’ll see if it changes.

Todays word-count: 507 words

Hello There? I’m Back

My routine has been shot to hell due to various disruptions; ranging from a funeral to a nasty illness in which I slept for five days straight. It’s bee about a week since we’ve gotten back and I’m beginning to chisel back some form of routine.

Today I tackled the muddle that is the resolution of my novel. I now have a fully formed plan and am super excited to get out of the planning phase and into writing!

Not really sure what my word count is today because there’s been a lot of copying, pasting and reorganising.

Hopefully, today will be my kick start back into writing!

So Many Pieces Of Paper

I’ve been trying to figure out where on earth I am in my novel, at this point there are so many revisions it’s a bit terrifying to delve back in. I think I have somewhat managed to puzzle the versions apart. Now it’s time to un-pick exactly which plot line I am following.

Sticky notes, space and a tsunami of paper led to some vague form of clarity. I am religiously staying to my schedule and as soon as I’d unravelled the mess it was time to take a break and then start something new.

At least now all my notes are in a row and I have a good starting off point for next time. If I’m sticking to my routine, that should be tomorrow!

Today’s Word Count: 350

Inspiration From The Mountains

I’ve been inspired by the, quite frankly , Inspirational Dolomites. I spent a week in exuberant luxury,walking about the mountains and lounging in the hotel spa. Tea and cake served each day at three, then a five-course meal at quarter past seven. fifteen minutes after the spa closes. I cannot forget the Aperitifs, my favourite was the Hugo, pronounced Ugo. made up of Prosseco, Elderflower and soda water, all served with fresh mint and a slice of lemon.

I wrote every day, pulling out my notebook whenever we stopped for a hot chocolate or just to admire the view. It’s my plan to write it up here, alongside my musings are numerous plot and character developments for my novel. If you are ever feeling uninspired then I highly recommend a trip to northern Italy, preferably to stay at Hotel Armin in Selva Val Gardena.

It’s just a short post today with a promise that more will come. In the meantime admire the beauty of the Dolomites…and perhaps check out my other blog.

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Today’s Word Count: 706

Ha.

I may sound like a broken record but here goes anyway.

I’ve been feeling a little down recently.

I bet if I bothered to check, that phrase would be the most common throughout my blogging. For those of you who don’t know, I’ve suffered from depression for a fair while now. For the most part, I’m coping far better. but the problem is…depression doesn’t go away just because you’ve figured out all the coping mechanisms. It comes back in insidious ways. Right now my depression is taking the form of lethargy. Everything is just that bit harder to do. Particularly anything involving social pressure.

Today I managed to revise a couple of scenes before succumbing to exhaustion.

Today I wrote: 870 words

The magic is back

I now have a couple of months in which to edit my first 10,000 words. Reading back over my previous revisions I realised it was a little dull. The information is there, laid out in a concise effective manner. The world has magical aspects but the wonder of that magic has been lost. Today I spent time re-writing the first paragraph. I went to it with fresh eyes and no pressure.

I absolutely love what I’ve written.

Todays word count: 180

And Breathe

I’ve given myself a bit of a breather for the past couple of days. It’s been exhausting trying to get my novel ready to be sent away for a competition. There is just not enough time. I’m proud of the revision I’ve done. The first 4000 words are more or less cohesive.

My original aim was to send a piece of writing off a month. I have succeeded in that goal by sending two flash fiction stories this month.

I have another chance at the end of July with the Cinnamon Press Novel Prize. In the meantime, I will go back to writing a scene per day and working on other fun short stories.

Today’s Word Count: 300

words words words words words….

At this point, I am fairly certain I will not manage to get my first 15,000 words off by the end of the month. I’ve been revising scenes since around 3.30 this afternoon and completed two scenes. On any ordinary day, this would be fantastic, but I am still only on 3897 fully revised words. I’ve managed to smash together my very early drafts and later revisions to get a nicely rounded introduction. It’s turning out pretty well but there just isn’t enough time to thread together all the scenes.

To complete the required amount I will now have to revise 2200 words per day. I will be working two out of the five days.

Today’s total word count: 3126

Today’s revised word count: 873