• 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 did more last week than I had expected. I was able to complete the rough draft of the subplot I wanted to finish this week. It will require some more details later but I have the main events needed to complete that subplot.

I was also able to get a few scenes from the new subplot I came up with and combined two subplots together, thus eliminating one. This is a good thing because I realized that these two plot threads were essentially doing the same thing. I felt it would be better to combine them rather than add a whole repetitive subplot.

My goals for next week:

• Write scenes
• Outline last two subplots
• Begin scene details

This week I need to finish these last two minor subplots and get the basic scenes done. These are short plots and I should be able to get one or both of them done. In addition, I have the final quarter of the book I need to outline a bit. I have much of that done from long ago so I need to add that to the storyline and perhaps finish a few things there. Otherwise, I nearly have everything I need other than detailing each of these scenes.

What did I learn this week?

Not much here this week. Just keep moving along.

Hopefully summer break will be ending soon. Not very many people active during the summer.

--William

DREAMER'S ROSE: Work on chapter exchange revisions as they come.
Yes.

THE SHAMAN'S CURSE: Let it rest before the next (and hopefully last) set of revisions.
Easy goal.

THE IGNORED PROPHECY: Continue chapter exchange for this in FPNA (Future Published Novelists Anonymous).
Yes.

BLOOD WILL TELL: Spit and polish on the synopsis and query.
I'm doing that now. (Well, not right now. You know what i mean.)

MAGE STORM: Complete chapter 10.
Blew past it. I'm on chapter 13.

OTHER:
Update my blog twice a week.
Work on that short story. I need to find a way to make the first person POV feel more alien (not that kind of alien.)
Yes and no, respectively.

Next Week's Goals:

DREAMER'S ROSE:
Work on chapter exchange revisions as they come.

THE SHAMAN'S CURSE:
Let it rest for a while longer. When I've finished the chapter exchanges on its sequel, I'll take another look at it.

THE IGNORED PROPHECY:
Continue chapter exchange for this in FPNA (Future Published Novelists Anonymous).

BLOOD WILL TELL:
Incorporate the feedback from the Synopsis Challenge. Put a little shine on the query letter. Start querying again. Concrete goal: Two new queries out next week.

MAGE STORM:
There's not that far to go. Write through to THE END. I already know that parts of this are just the framework. There are places where I'm going to want to go back and hang some more meat on those bones. That's alright. It's run short so far, so I have plenty of word count to work with.

OTHER:
Update my blog twice a week.
Work on that short story. I need to find a way to make the first person POV feel more alien (not that kind of alien.)

THE GHOST AND THE NETHER - Finished my first draft a couple of weeks ago and I'm working on the first edit. This book is going with me up to the Dean Wesley Smith workshop in October. My plan is to get the second half of the book edited this next week and finish up entering my crits from my local group last night on the synopsis.

** Learning point - editing out the first person POV filters of the novel. Trying to get a wider view screen on the reader's experience. Writing first person present tense was an exhaustive experience. Happy to be moving back to third person past for now.

UNNAMED ALT HISTORY BOOK - Currently in the research phase. Not planning on writing this one until after the workshop since I have a lot to do before then. Plus it'll be my first novel that I'm writing that actually requires some research. Not going to overdo it though. Mostly just ruminating on the characters I have in mind and deciding the style of the book.

THE GODHEAD MACHINE - Book two for my THE DIGITAL SEA trilogy. Have about 35k/110k written. Currently on hold.

Short stories - Writing one, editing another, plotting out a third.

Mainstream novel: The aforementioned synopsis contest was also the reason no work got done on this story. No biggie, because the pause will ensure I come back to it with a roaring vengeance.

"Metzgerhund Empire" (YA): Writing an agent query letter allowed me to see a contradiction between my main character and how he behaved in certain scenes. I did not intend to go as overboard on the rewrites as I have, but I very much like the new results.

UPCOMING WEEK
"Agents of the Fourth Wind" (SF): The synopsis itself wasn't the point of competing in the synopsis contest. I used it as a tool to find the holes in the story so far. I found a few parts I'm not happy with, so that's what I will be working on next.

Mainstream novel: Since I've been away from this story for over a week, I have no expectations on what to work on next. Instead, I'll just pick a scene and just start writing.

"Metzgerhund Empire" (YA): I'm currently halfway through chapter four, so I expect to be finished it, and the next two chapters, by this time, next week.

BLOG ENTRIES
"Ends of Looselessness"

NOTES
(1) During this time, I will also be working on my next WotF entry.
(2) ...and I believe I also owe somebody a chapter exchange crit.

Right now almost exclusively SF due to my technological inspiration, but that's slowly changing. Working on a Dark Fantasy short and I'm not sure how you would classify an alt-history novel set around 55AD (nothing to do with religion)?

I've written two and a half novels (first novels of two different trilogies) and about ten short stories based on the technology of augmented reality. I still have dozens of other ideas brewing using AR as it has such diverse uses.

If you've never heard of it, stop by www.gamesalfresco.com and you'll see some current examples.

On the side right now I'm working on article writing, the great thing about this is it require a lot of research and I often stumble on unique things that would be interesting within a story.

To date the only thing published writing wise was an article with illustration for The clock magazine on a tech convention. Got a whole $55 dollars but it was cool to have a press pass -- boy do peoples eyes change when they see that ID badge. I should have pursued it more then, but of course my thought at the time was 55 dollars after tax. I can get triple this for the art alone. So I foolishly never returned the editors e-mails. I could kick myself now, though my art career did take off.

I also wrote a comedy 1 act play about Julius Caesar that got as far as actors doing a cold read. It was fun but needed a rewrite and foolishly again I figured I had better things to do.

Currently now working on short stories, but have two large novel projects in the works:

The Unbeliever's Realm: currently on chapter 4 but came to the realization that I'm unhappy with chapter three which starts introducing most of the sub-characters on both the good and evil sides. I'm really unhappy with the evil teams personalities. I want both sides to almost be interchangeable, close to the gray line, this is an action heavy book, and literally starts with a survivors escape from a final climatic battle on his own lost world. It needs to flow from scene to scene and keep the pace of the action as it unfolds. There are only brief moments where the characters have a chance to stop and think. So goal for next week flush out the evil hunt team hot on the MC's trail and rewrite chap 3 and 4.

The Seeds of Persephone: I've already researched and created all the back history for this story. It's prelude is the short story I will probably submit to WotF. The novel unlike the short story is dark. It is only outline right now, but I'm just about to start chap one. A lot of thought and research went into both the short story and novel. There is a good chance that if I start 'Seeds' this week that everything else except fine touching the short story (Still unsure of title) will be put on hold. I'm a little guarded about 'Seeds' because the concept is so unique, but after spending time now here at Hatrack, I've started to grow to respect some of the truly professional minded people here and their opinions, so I figure it is worth some risk when the time comes to get some feedback on it.

Goals: Chap 3 & 4 'unbelievers', Possibly start 'seeds', finish fine tune 'short story' for wotf

Cheers,

W.

quote:

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The Unbeliever's Realm: currently on chapter 4 but came to the realization that I'm unhappy with chapter three which starts introducing most of the sub-characters on both the good and evil sides. I'm really unhappy with the evil teams personalities. I want both sides to almost be interchangeable, close to the gray line, this is an action heavy book, and literally starts with a survivors escape from a final climatic battle on his own lost world. It needs to flow from scene to scene and keep the pace of the action as it unfolds. There are only brief moments where the characters have a chance to stop and think. So goal for next week flush out the evil hunt team hot on the MC's trail and rewrite chap 3 and 4.

---

Slight cringe when I read this. It reminds me so strongly of myself a couple of years ago--when I couldn't finish a novel to save my soul. It's so easy to get lost in just going back to touch up or even rewrite the chapters you've already done. First drafts aren't supposed to be perfect--especially for us beginners. (I think they do actually get better with time and practice.)

My advice: Make a few notes on things you want to change, then move on. The first goal is to get the story--the whole story--down. After that, anything is fixable.

That makes a lot more sense.

I knew their was a reason I joined.

Editing is soul-searching, and I think that it gets in the way of the creative process, of communing with your muse. So by just sitting down and not self-editing, and just writing, you tell the fear part of your brain to f-off. And once it's done, give yourself a time limit on editing (a few months) and then ship it out and start working on the next one.

(Hi y'all, I am alive)

Progress from last... uh... month? Two months? Um, yeah.

Got a bunch of short stuff done and in the mail (or email), though last quarter's WotF fell through the cracks. Oh well.

TGS is out with my beta reader(s) still, waiting for feedback and polishing up my query, getting ready to start submitting to agents. On the bright side, I've pretty much figured out the main plot threads for books 2 and 3 of a potential trilogy in this world.