Day two is here and the editor doesn’t want to sit on the sidelines.
Source: Distractions, Distraction
Category: Uncategorized
Blog update 9/9/16
So I said before that I will have a blog for NaNoWriMo 2016 and I still plan on having one. However, I decided not to post on it until November starts. This means that all my preparing posts will be on here and during November I will only be posting on the other blog. I’ll have the link on this blog for that blog. When the time gets closer, I will make another announcement about it. Thanks.
Random thoughts on Chapter Titles
As a wattpad member, I like to name my chapters no matter what story I write. It’s a way for me to basically summarize what the chapter is about and to give the reader a hint about what they are getting into. It adds mystery and the ‘theme’, in a essence, of the chapter. At least, that is the plan. Sometimes I hit the nail on the head and sometimes, I miss completely. Personally, this is something that I like to do.
In my novel, Clan of Ash, I don’t have any chapter titles which is totally fine by me. There’s pros and cons whether or not to name chapters. Say for example, you stop reading (online) and for some reason, you last page wasn’t saved (I’m speaking hypothetically here). You come back to reading and then there’s a problem. What was the last chapter you were on? Who knows. All the chapters are named but there’s no number. Okay, so I’m exaggerating a bit. All of this can easily be fixed with: 1. Bunny. You got a number and a name. Everything is fine.
However, whether to name your chapter is ultimately up to you. But what do you call a chapter if you have a lot of juice things happening? Do you make the chapter shorter? With Wattpad, cutting chapters into two parts or having small chapters work. Personally, while reading chapters in novels, I’d like for them to be average. Not to long, not too short. Heck, I like reading books that make me keeping reading without making me worry about what chapter I’m on.
Anyways, naming chapters all have to do with preference. It’s not really a must.How discreet do you want to be? Do you like giving your readers a hint on what to expect in the next chapter? To me, chapter names allude to what the chapter is going to be about. It’s a window into the next segment of the book. Over the course of the many books that I read, I know that someone of them use quotes and other creative ways to let the reader know what they’re getting into and, as a reader, I really enjoy that.
It’s all about the hints and the mystery and, at the end of the day, it is up to you.
Coming Back to a Habit
Before I had ever attended college, I can clearly remember a time where I used to write every chance I got. I can clearly remember writing even during some of my high school classes, lunch . . . I was in creative mode all day. Gradually over the years, that sort of commitment changed. My writing schedule consisted of many two or three hours a week when I wasn’t reading novels for classes, writing papers, studying, going to class, working, etc. My concentration focused more on getting good grades and passing my classes (didn’t want to retake anything mostly because I didn’t have the money for it). The worst part was when I did get a break, I took a break.
Sure I had creative writing classes where I got to read short stories, write them and critique them and that experience taught me a lot. What I really missed the most was writing for myself and not for a participation grade. Saying that, now that I have the time to write, I’m not writing as much as I should or used to and I miss that. In part I think it is because I have spent so much time revising and editing that the creative side of my brain has shut down temporarily.
Not to mention that I’m waiting for more of my beta readers to give me feedback. I’m slowly working on book two of what I call the Half Blood Series. I’m not actively on wattpad which is sad because I really like the community. Wow, it feels like I’m just throwing myself a pity party.
So, now I have to get back into the driver’s seat and write. It’s time to wake up that creative side of my brain. I heard about some advice a few years ago and I didn’t think I would ever use it but I think I have to. I got to set a specific time to write. Sure I might write at work for a few minutes sporadically but now I have to take the time to sit at my desk and write. Of course that probably should come after my priority list of what I’m going to write.
I’m still working on the last chapter of a book for wattpad and somehow it has been difficult to finish. Anyways, I should also look at how to form a habit and how to break other habits too but in the long run ease into the driver’s seat will be better. I’m hopeful that soon I’ll be able to write twenty pages like that one miracle day. After all, writing is a process.
My ‘Preparation’ for NaNoWriMo 2016
It’s a bit early for National Novel Writing Month (which starts Nov. 1 until the 30th) but I can’t help but think about it. It’s 1.5k+ words a day just to finish on time. Plus, most of my social life during that month is next to nothing. I can’t read many books. I can’t any videos games. It’s a dark times ahead for me. BUT . . . I have made a different blog for NaNoWriMo 2016 and later this year, I’ll be linking it to my main blog. If you have noticed, I did change the layout and I added a page with NaNoWriMo 2014 and you can read all about how I didn’t finished my goal but ended up almost half way. I hope that this year I will be more successful because I won’t be attending graduate school until wayyyyy later. And I don’t have an excuse.
So, I have been working on getting my first novel published; the one I wrote almost five years ago and edited many, many times. I only bring this up because I have started to work on the second book. For the most part, I have the overall plot and subplots figured out. It can be tweaked a bit more but that’s not going to stop me from writing a few scenes.
We’re four months away from November (give or take) and I’m planning on sending out my query letters by the end of the summer. Hopefully, more of my beta readers have finished reading my story by then. Fingers crossed. Technically, I could start writing the second book during November but I think it would be better to seriously start writing the second book now.
It seems like my creative side and planning side are unbalanced at the moment. A part of me knows that if I don’t have some idea of where the story will go then, there are problems later on. Another part jut wants to write and not care about the little things. That can all be fixed through editing. Where do I draw the line? I don’t think I will be able to finish writing the second book any time soon. Perhaps I’ll get much of it done but knowing me, I’ll rewrite the same scene over and over again until I like it.
Or perhaps I’m over thinking this. Maybe all I need to just keep writing. Usually, inspiration hits when I’m writing. Right now, the only thing going for me is that I got time.
(Rants also help me come up with ideas.)
Dabbling in the Art of Writing 