I am officially halfway done with book #3!
Well, I am probably halfway done. I have 56,000 words and the longest thing I've ever written was Black & Gold. The first draft of that was 84,000, the current draft sits at 102,000. So yeah, I better be halfway done with this one.
It's an interesting feeling. On one hand, I'm absolutely ecstatic because I've had so much fun writing it and I've been writing it since the middle of May, so I have actually been writing it for quite a while.
To be fair, I think anything past 30 days is a long time to be writing the same thing. Thanks for that, NaNo.
So yeah, I'm really excited about it. Until I think about how much I still have left in the story. Then my metaphoric self starts hyperventilating. Because how the hell can I finish this book when I have so much going on the rest of the summer? And then oh god, what if I don't finish it before school starts again? What if what if what if?
Then the truly cruel reality hits: I am halfway done with the last book in this trilogy. I will be writing the ending I've dreamed about for two years in a matter of weeks. I will be writing the end (and yes, there are quite a few character deaths in this book, so that will be heart-wrenching) and then it will be over.
Except not really, because revision, but it will be done. There's only one first time for writing this book, for writing with sheer unadulterated joy.
All that being said, the writing itself doesn't seem terrible. This time last year, when I was writing Throne & Fire, I knew it was mostly bad and it was going to require a lot of work. I knew I was going to be adding a ton of scenes.
This go round, I have the opposite problem. I think I might be cutting some stuff. I will still need to add certain things in. These will be the subtle character things that carry throughout the book and are a pain the frickin ass so I ignore them during the first draft. Why? Snotty writer answer: Because you have to get the bones of the plot down first and then you can deal with the more nuanced character moments.
Real answer: Because sometimes that shit just isn't fun.
Then of course there's the challenge I've never faced before, which is not pulling a Shakespeare. Characters are going to die and most of them are going to die at the end, simply because of the structure of the story. I have to figure out how to make the important deaths memorable and meaningful. I have to figure out exactly how many bodies I can throw on the pyre before I cross over into Hamlet/King Lear/Romeo and Juliet territory.
Oh, and I have to figure out what the actual, words-on-the-very-last-page should be.
But hey, I get to write some scenes where my characters have come to the end of their character arcs, which means they have evolved and changed and questioned themselves and now they get to be badass. Without giving too much away, I also get to write some very cool dialogue and fight scenes.
But please don't ask about the title.
Monday, June 27, 2016
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
It Isn't Easy
Writing isn't easy.
Which, I'm sure, is not a shocking statement to anyone reading this. You have all sat at a computer at some point in your life, forcing words out of your poor fingers like you're trying to remove a dozen splinters. If you've spent a significant portion of time around me, you've heard me bitch about how writing is hard.
The strange thing is that some of you (or maybe none of you and just people who don't read this) have scoffed at my choice of major because 'English is easy' and then you turn right around and give me horrified looks when I tell you I have to write an 8 page paper and read an entire Shakespeare play. Seriously, the cognitive dissonance between "Oh, people write for fun so it must be easy" and "Oh my God you have to write 5,000 words that's awful and I am going to pick a career where I never have to do that" is astonishing to me.
I think I should acknowledge that there are two different kinds of writing implied in the above exchange. One is writing essays or reports for a purpose with a deadline. No one likes doing that. Well, I did really enjoy my final essay for Shakespeare. I wrote about the power of gender, masculine vs. feminine in Macbeth and it was a lot of fun. But usually, no, I don't particularly enjoy writing about theme and character development in old-ass shit no one except English majors read. I still enjoy it way more than doing math or chemistry-kudos to all you people who do any of those things.
The other kind of writing is the "fun" kind. I say "fun" because it's a choice and yes, sometimes it is fun. A lot of fun. That's the time when people are right to think it's just fun.
The big secret that no one tells you, even when you're an aspiring or beginning writer, is that the "fun" part of writing is only like 10% of the time. 13% if you're very lucky. The rest is just work. And if you aren't a writer and you doubt that for one second, imagine writing 2,000 words in one sitting. Imagine writing 7,000 words in a single day. Imagine writing 50,000 words in 30 days. Could you do it?
Not to be an ass, but the answer for the majority of you is no. Do I write 2,000 in one sitting every day? Of course not. Some days I only write 500 words and every single one is a struggle. Those are the days that aren't easy. Yes, it's a choice to keep writing and no, I'm not complaining. I love writing and I love stories. But I want it to be clear that even though I have been doing this for over half my life now, it is not easy for me. I've had a lot of practice and I am stubborn and persistent, so I don't give up. But it isn't always easy.
The most glamorous part of writing is the finished product. The story I give you to read, all nice and revised, or the nice new book you buy at Barnes & Noble or off Amazon. And unlike most other things, I can't take a picture that will show you exactly how hard it can be.
So I guess you'll just have to take my word for it.
Which, I'm sure, is not a shocking statement to anyone reading this. You have all sat at a computer at some point in your life, forcing words out of your poor fingers like you're trying to remove a dozen splinters. If you've spent a significant portion of time around me, you've heard me bitch about how writing is hard.
The strange thing is that some of you (or maybe none of you and just people who don't read this) have scoffed at my choice of major because 'English is easy' and then you turn right around and give me horrified looks when I tell you I have to write an 8 page paper and read an entire Shakespeare play. Seriously, the cognitive dissonance between "Oh, people write for fun so it must be easy" and "Oh my God you have to write 5,000 words that's awful and I am going to pick a career where I never have to do that" is astonishing to me.
I think I should acknowledge that there are two different kinds of writing implied in the above exchange. One is writing essays or reports for a purpose with a deadline. No one likes doing that. Well, I did really enjoy my final essay for Shakespeare. I wrote about the power of gender, masculine vs. feminine in Macbeth and it was a lot of fun. But usually, no, I don't particularly enjoy writing about theme and character development in old-ass shit no one except English majors read. I still enjoy it way more than doing math or chemistry-kudos to all you people who do any of those things.
The other kind of writing is the "fun" kind. I say "fun" because it's a choice and yes, sometimes it is fun. A lot of fun. That's the time when people are right to think it's just fun.
The big secret that no one tells you, even when you're an aspiring or beginning writer, is that the "fun" part of writing is only like 10% of the time. 13% if you're very lucky. The rest is just work. And if you aren't a writer and you doubt that for one second, imagine writing 2,000 words in one sitting. Imagine writing 7,000 words in a single day. Imagine writing 50,000 words in 30 days. Could you do it?
Not to be an ass, but the answer for the majority of you is no. Do I write 2,000 in one sitting every day? Of course not. Some days I only write 500 words and every single one is a struggle. Those are the days that aren't easy. Yes, it's a choice to keep writing and no, I'm not complaining. I love writing and I love stories. But I want it to be clear that even though I have been doing this for over half my life now, it is not easy for me. I've had a lot of practice and I am stubborn and persistent, so I don't give up. But it isn't always easy.
The most glamorous part of writing is the finished product. The story I give you to read, all nice and revised, or the nice new book you buy at Barnes & Noble or off Amazon. And unlike most other things, I can't take a picture that will show you exactly how hard it can be.
So I guess you'll just have to take my word for it.
Thursday, June 9, 2016
Rambles/Attempts at Humor
Well hello there. It's been a hot minute since I blogged so I thought I'd give you some highlights.
1. Finished junior year of college.
2. Moved home.
3. Decided I needed to take the LSAT in September instead of this past Monday and my stress levels decreased enormously.
4. My computer keyboard broke. You read that right: B-R-O-K-E. As in, I had to send it in to get repaired.
5. I switched to writing on my old laptop (which, by the way, is only five years old at this point) and holy mother of dragons do I appreciate my shiny new laptop because that old one was SLOW and LOUD and would not play Netflix.
6. Currently working for my dad and, finally, the most important and fun thing,
7. I am writing the third book!!!!!
(I frown on the use of exclamation points unless in dialogue but I am very excited, so bite me. (Not really, please don't bite me.))
I have roughly 26,000 words (62 pages with the font and spacing I use). If you're wondering, the first draft of Black & Gold came in at 84,000 and the first draft of Throne & Fire came in at I think 58,000. So, it's going very well.
*insert Cheshire cat grin here* *insert excited dog dancing here* *I should learn how to do GIFs.* *or is that just a Tumblr thing*
Anyway, that's where my life stands this fine Thursdays night. Tomorrow is Friday, I wrote an amazing scene tonight, I am getting paid tomorrow, I got to have wine with a friend, and did I mention that I wrote an amazing scene tonight?
Just you wait.
1. Finished junior year of college.
2. Moved home.
3. Decided I needed to take the LSAT in September instead of this past Monday and my stress levels decreased enormously.
4. My computer keyboard broke. You read that right: B-R-O-K-E. As in, I had to send it in to get repaired.
5. I switched to writing on my old laptop (which, by the way, is only five years old at this point) and holy mother of dragons do I appreciate my shiny new laptop because that old one was SLOW and LOUD and would not play Netflix.
6. Currently working for my dad and, finally, the most important and fun thing,
7. I am writing the third book!!!!!
(I frown on the use of exclamation points unless in dialogue but I am very excited, so bite me. (Not really, please don't bite me.))
I have roughly 26,000 words (62 pages with the font and spacing I use). If you're wondering, the first draft of Black & Gold came in at 84,000 and the first draft of Throne & Fire came in at I think 58,000. So, it's going very well.
*insert Cheshire cat grin here* *insert excited dog dancing here* *I should learn how to do GIFs.* *or is that just a Tumblr thing*
Anyway, that's where my life stands this fine Thursdays night. Tomorrow is Friday, I wrote an amazing scene tonight, I am getting paid tomorrow, I got to have wine with a friend, and did I mention that I wrote an amazing scene tonight?
Just you wait.
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