• What were your goals last week and did you accomplish them?
• Describe what you worked on.
• Set goals for next week.
• Did you learn something during this week?

Here is a list of things that you can do each week as we work on our novels (suggestions welcomed).

• Writing on a novel
• Characterization
• World Building
• Relevant research

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Last Week's Goals

I finally made my goals for the week last night. I feel I could have gone into more detail on the two story arcs I worked on this week but at least I have a start on them.

My goals for next week:

• Insert scenes into spreadsheet

This week I want to continue inserting missing novel scenes into the spreadsheet. This will help connect the plausibility scenes with what I have already written.

What did I learn this week?

What I learned this week is to be patient. For a while I was discouraged using this new Outlining Technique. This changed last night.

Until last night I had difficulty seeing the novel's overall story arc. I have been using a word processor to track individual story arcs. I had to scroll up and down this document to reference parallel arcs or to compare varying arcs with other characters.

Earlier this week I decided to try lbdavid98's suggestion and use a spreadsheet for the scenes. Even after I had finished entering all of the scenes I was still focused on individual story arcs as I finished the second character's list of scenes. Last night I worked to get the scenes sorted in the order they would appear in the novel. What a difference.

Even though I had to move some scenes around to get the two points of view in the correct order it was worth the effort. For the first time since using this technique I felt that I had a novel in progress rather than a bunch of vaguely related parts. I could see the novel unfold as I read the scene descriptions in the correct order.

Later I will add a follow up to the other thread detailing exactly how I set up this spreadsheet and how I'm using it to track both the individual story arcs and the novel's overall story arc. I'm quite pleased with it so far.

I hope you all had a good week also.

Last Week's Goals:

Dreamer's Rose: Continue to let it ferment.

Really easy goal to meet.

I actually think it's beginning to pay off. I think that perhaps this story should be written in first person, as a cautionary tale. The (mostly) indestructible MC would tell the story of his rise and fall (crash and burn) to his similarly confident/virtually infallible son so that the son will understand his choices better and not make the same mistakes.

The Shaman's Curse: Start going through The Shaman's Curse--and for some things, the query and synopsis, too--chapter by chapter with the checklists from SELF-EDITING FOR FICTION WRITERS.

Technically, I met this goal. I have started. But I haven't gotten very far.

The Ignored Prophecy: Get to work on those revisions.

Nope. Didn't touch it.

Blood Will Tell: Finish the first draft and let it rest.

Well, I finished the first draft. Now I just have to resist the urge to tinker for a while. But I have been getting some good ideas from a first-draft, plots and characters, chapter exchange with Owasm.

Next Week's Goals:

Dreamer's Rose:
Try a chapter or two in first person to see how it works and whether it really does fit the story. I've never done anything in first person, so this could be interesting.

The Shaman's Curse:
Get through those Self-Editing Checklists on at least the first five chapters, and the synopsis. Really. I'm holding up any further submissions until I get this part done so I need to work on it. It's just reading through the same chapter several times, it all starts to blur and my mind won't focus. I need to space it out some or figure out how to concentrate on fifteen things at once.

The Ignored Prophecy:
Revisions. I know what they are. I've got them marked up. I just have to do them.

Blood Will Tell:
Evict those characters from my brain so I can put it away and let it rest.

BUT--

I didn't get quite as far along in my novel editing as I wanted to. I'm not too far off though. Another chapter or two ought to do it. A little embarassed at the mushiness of some of these chapters, but they are FUN.

Critiquing:
I just realized that I never sent your chapter back to you Meredith. I finished critiquing it and moved along. I'll probably be sending you your chapter and mine in the next couple of minutes.

Next week's goals:
Finish critiquing up to the point where Arram leaves his sister. Add a section from her POV and try to figure out where Drew's next chapter fits in.
Melanie

quote:

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Meredith, I am in awe. Do you have a day job?

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Not at the moment, which does tend to give me more time for writing. Of course, there are other problems with that.

Anyway.

Hi again everyone! I've been gone for a while now, all that moving and so on and getting into a new life in California. But I've been writing every night, so I'm only behind in sending out crits.

This week:
-send Graveyard Ch 15 out to get more feedback
-work on Ch 16
-finish editing my novelette, StM, to send out for readers

Looks like not much, but I'm trying to be as painstaking as possible about the edits. I have big plans for my novelette where submissions are concerned, so I want it to be as perfect as possible.

And at some point here, I'm going to have to start searching for agents again. I've been not doing that lately.

I'll probably start rewriting a novel I shelved last spring. I made the mistake of doing it in 1st person. My skills have improved and I realize that it needs to be rewritten in 3rd. So that will be my next project.

Goals?
1. Begin rewriting Panix
2. Start re-planning Motes & Meddles

1) Work out at least one of the Mudlarks revisions I've noted down and write out the storm scene before I lose it - this one fell a bit by the wayside.

2) Continue revisions on TKS material; outline is on hold - check. Feeling better about this, too.

3) Bang out the rest of a rough draft of the short story - check. All finished, now just needs to sit for a bit before I do revisions.

4) If I have time, play around with rewriting 2nd chapter of TSB from both brothers' POVs and see which I like better - check! This is the one that got me distracted and I spent way too much time playing around with this, but I think I'm now back on track here, which is exciting.

quote:

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I've been involved with a rapid chapter exchange with Meredith. This has led to a lot of great perspective and ideas for pacing and characters.

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You should see all the red ink on my manuscript. Notes for things to change or add. New depth, or at least expansion, for the antagonists motives. Some cool new magic. At least a nod to the appearance of a few other beasties.

It's really helped generate some new ideas. The tough part may be to keep it from getting too long.

quote:

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So how does this rapid exchange thing work? It sounds interesting.

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Well, it depends on how much time you have. We exchanged blocks of approximately three chapters pretty much every day for the last week.

Edit:
Actually, a better way to describe it is blocks of 7500 to 10000 words. We knew we were exchanging first drafts, so we were concentrating on plot, pacing, characterization. Not the fine points of polishing the writing.

I got a lot of good ideas from it.

quote:

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Meredith, I am in awe.

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I have to agree with this. Meredith, didn't you just start writing BLOOD WILL TELL a few weeks ago? How do you write a novel that fast?

I have not been very productive. I did not meet my one little goal.

quote:

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didn't you just start writing BLOOD WILL TELL a few weeks ago? How do you write a novel that fast?

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This one just sort of spilled out. Not usual but I'm not complaining. But the first draft chapter exchange helped point out places where I need to add things that got missed going that fast. It will be a lot better in the next revision. I think its got good bones now, though. Just needs some more flesh.