Image by thorinside via Flickr
I haven’t been racking up the page counts as I’d expected to this past week, but then again, I didn’t expect to write much of anything in the month of August knowing how challenging my paythebills job would be this month. So, if I think about it, any progress I made this month is a good thing.
BUT. I still have a goal to get this draft finished by September so that I can get feedback on it from my dear crit partners (*waves hi*).
Seeing that I haven’t made a lot of forward progress in the storyline, I decided to summarize what I had so far, and really think about my MC’s motivations, backstory, basically, evaluating the characters’ goals, why they had them, and what’s stopping them from reaching those goals.
Admittedly, I started out with a lot of nothing.
http://twitter.com/#!/lizakane/status/108737159997042688
And then, Snow Patrol’s Olive Grove Facing the Sea started playing on my Pandora Radio station, which is the first song that I have ever associated with WIP2 back in January. I let myself be transported back in time, and relived the emotion that I wanted to capture. Soon enough, I was able to brainstorm a little and add in little details that I forgot about; I even added in little bits here and there to make the story more logical and believable.
I have a long way to go. Those little bits are not smoothed into the story at all, and I’ve added a lot of [insert something here], but even these little tweaks have helped me stop fixating so much on some issues I’ve had with the beginning, issues that were holding me back from making forward progress because I knew they were there, being all…wrong.
Anyway, I hope that in a few weeks, I’ll be able to report that I’m 85% done with WIP2. Until then, I hope you enjoy some Snow Patrol. I love their live performances, which are sometimes better than their studio recordings. There’s a long introduction here, but he’s funny and cute so please humor him. ^_^
Liza Kane 
Hi there! I’m pleased to present you with the Versatile Blogger award – further details and fine print available at http://kelworthfiles.wordpress.com/2011/09/14/its-blog-awards-time-again/
Aw, thank you!
Thank you so much! I’m so motivated and inspired by all the encouragement! 😀
85% is amazing. Do what you can, while the rest of life demands so much of you. I’m rooting for you! 🙂
You can do it! *waves pom poms*
Thank you!! 😀
Hello,
WIP 2 is a great thing in itself! Kudos! I wish I got there sooner, but I’ve learnt my lesson here. Done rush the greatness 🙂
Aw, thanks, and yes, no rush! And, I’m happy to see you’re blogging again! ^_^
Sounds like you’ve gained some good perspective. Best of luck meeting your goal!
Glad to have found your blog through the campaign. Thanks for visiting mine. : )
Thank you so much! and Thanks for stopping by! ^_^
Sometimes you just need a little reminder of what you’re trying to accomplish and how much it excites you — I recently experienced that myself! I’m glad to hear that the WIP is coming along! And I sure wish I could say I was 85% done!
You, too, will get there! And, yes, I was so bogged down with the little things, like wording things just right that I lost sight of the Big Picture: writing the rest of the novel.
Don’t you love how music can be such a great part of our writing. When I find a song that fits my story, I add it to the track and replay them over and over while I’m writing. I love imagining the scenes unfolding. Good luck this next week.
Thanks Miranda! And, yes, I love music for my writing….it really helps to capture that mood just right (and also shields me from random distracting noise!) 🙂
You’ll get there. I couldn’t even say when I might be 85% done…did I mention the turtle-like quality to my writing? It’ll smooth out, flow, and all that good stuff when it’s supposed to. Don’t rush the greatness! Hope to see you soon:)
“Don’t rush the greatness”–>I love that! ^_^ I don’t know about greatness, but I *am* appreciating the process for what it is, and focusing more on that than on the frustration that I’m not getting anywhere. I think that’s a sort of progress in and of itself!
And yes yes yes, hope to see you soon!!! 😀