On this last day of February, I find myself counting down the hours until the start of EdMo. Am I prepared? A little. Am I nervous? A little. Have I any clue as to what I'm letting myself in for? No. Am I going to stop this whittering and get on with it? I hope so!
Somewhere along the way, I managed to persuade John, one of my writing buddies from Skeealleyderyn, that he should join me in this madness. (He called it bullying, but I prefer persuasion). It might seem crazy to attempt this now amongst all the other commitments we all have but I think, if not now, then when? A strange thing happened last week when I was working with my spreadsheet. When I came to a difficult bit, where I'd normally give up, with the intention of coming back to it with a magically conceived solution, I made myself stick at it. It was this sense of, "It's now or never" hovering over me. I don't want it to be never, so I'd better make it now.
Sunday 28 February 2010
Wednesday 24 February 2010
Regaining some focus.
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I know I said I wasn't going to bother waiting for EdMo, but I looked at their site again today. It seems that, unlike WriMo, you can use an existing WIP for your EdMo - yay! This is good as it means I can use EdMo to help me to focus.
I made some progress today by setting up a spreadsheet with five basic columns: chapter number, chapter heading, brief chapter description, problem and suggested solution. So I broke down the main outline chapter by chapter adding my thoughts to the last two columns as they ocurred to me. I can now feel a sense of clarity - and more importantly, enthusiasm once again!
I know I said I wasn't going to bother waiting for EdMo, but I looked at their site again today. It seems that, unlike WriMo, you can use an existing WIP for your EdMo - yay! This is good as it means I can use EdMo to help me to focus.
I made some progress today by setting up a spreadsheet with five basic columns: chapter number, chapter heading, brief chapter description, problem and suggested solution. So I broke down the main outline chapter by chapter adding my thoughts to the last two columns as they ocurred to me. I can now feel a sense of clarity - and more importantly, enthusiasm once again!
Monday 22 February 2010
Don't want to wait for EdMo!
~
In keeping with my last post, I had an email from NaNoEdMo this morning, reminding me that this annual event is to start 1st March. To be honest, I don't think I'm going to wait another week to get stuck into my editing, but I'll keep it in mind if the going gets tough... which it probably will. There seems to be a specific month for every stage of the process. I've survived three NaNoWriMos but never attempted an EdMo, or any of the other spin off events if it comes to that. Mind you, I don't feel I have to have my hand held the whole way. In fact, it's possible that I might have had my hand held a little too tightly over the past five years. It's a bit like learning to ice skate; you need some support and guidance in the early stages. But, sooner or later, you have to let go of the sides and just go. Hopefully, you'll glide along, regaining your balance. If you're really lucky, you might do it so convincingly and elegantly that people believe you can do it. You never know, you might even begin to believe in yourself!
In keeping with my last post, I had an email from NaNoEdMo this morning, reminding me that this annual event is to start 1st March. To be honest, I don't think I'm going to wait another week to get stuck into my editing, but I'll keep it in mind if the going gets tough... which it probably will. There seems to be a specific month for every stage of the process. I've survived three NaNoWriMos but never attempted an EdMo, or any of the other spin off events if it comes to that. Mind you, I don't feel I have to have my hand held the whole way. In fact, it's possible that I might have had my hand held a little too tightly over the past five years. It's a bit like learning to ice skate; you need some support and guidance in the early stages. But, sooner or later, you have to let go of the sides and just go. Hopefully, you'll glide along, regaining your balance. If you're really lucky, you might do it so convincingly and elegantly that people believe you can do it. You never know, you might even begin to believe in yourself!
Thursday 18 February 2010
Dusting Off The Cobwebs
~
Yes, it's about time I updated a few things around here. On the one hand, I've been debating (with myself,) whether I want to continue with this blogging malarky and if so, on what basis? One thing's for certain, I don't think I can get away with one post a year! So, if I'm going to do it, I should do it properly - ie regularly - or not at all.
The same is true of writing. Again, I've been having some serious discussions (again, with myself - and at this point, you're probably wondering whether you even want to tune into anything I might have to say...) The main question has been, "Do I want to write? If so, then why the hell am I not writing?" OK, so that's two questions - I think I'm allowed two questions? The truth is, I have written, amongst other things, a novel which is still very much in a fledgling state. In other words, it needs editing. I am at the editing-thinking-rethinking stage and whichever way you look at it, it doesn't feel very much like writing; it's so much harder. I miss bashing off thousands of words, but there comes a point when the splodge of words you have in front of you needs careful sculpting into something (hopefully) worth reading. So there you have it. I'm not writing (much) at the moment because I'm sculpting splodges of words...
Yes, it's about time I updated a few things around here. On the one hand, I've been debating (with myself,) whether I want to continue with this blogging malarky and if so, on what basis? One thing's for certain, I don't think I can get away with one post a year! So, if I'm going to do it, I should do it properly - ie regularly - or not at all.
The same is true of writing. Again, I've been having some serious discussions (again, with myself - and at this point, you're probably wondering whether you even want to tune into anything I might have to say...) The main question has been, "Do I want to write? If so, then why the hell am I not writing?" OK, so that's two questions - I think I'm allowed two questions? The truth is, I have written, amongst other things, a novel which is still very much in a fledgling state. In other words, it needs editing. I am at the editing-thinking-rethinking stage and whichever way you look at it, it doesn't feel very much like writing; it's so much harder. I miss bashing off thousands of words, but there comes a point when the splodge of words you have in front of you needs careful sculpting into something (hopefully) worth reading. So there you have it. I'm not writing (much) at the moment because I'm sculpting splodges of words...
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