We’re half way through the month of November. Despite the fact that I have been writing, it feels to me like the month has gone by rather quickly. This upcoming week is Thanksgiving and then …
Source: When Stares Kill
Tag: process
A night out and some progress
I feel like I’m repeating information. Or that all my writing is a word vomit. I hope this feeling goes away. It doesn’t help that I was out tonight and by “out” I mean more…
Source: A night out and some progress
Step One: Summary
With a little over a month until National Novel Writing Month starts, I have been busying preparing. My outline is nowhere complete but as November 1 approaches, I’m confident that I can figure out more of my plot. I have the beginning and I know how it’s going to end, now I have to figure out the rest of the novel.
In order to accomplish this and too keep “on track” on what I want the story to be about, I have composed a rough draft of my summary. I have written it about ten times and this will be last draft for a while. I won’t pretend to know how to write a summary. Usually, it’s what the story is about while highlighting the important key points of a story. I’m no expert which is why I have been browsing Goodreads and reading summaries for different type of books. This way, I was able to format my summary with what I read.
I decided to post my summary of Phantom Blade on here for a little bit of feed back but also to let you guys know about what I have been up to. This is what I have so far:
“Humans must never know the truth . . .
Breaking that rule is the sole existence for Enforcers – the Fae powered individuals who have sworn to keep the paranormal existence from humans. At any cost. At least, that was what Avon believed.
Now, as an ex-Enforcer, Avon only has one thing on her mind: hunting and killing the demon that slaughtered her team. But after two years of tracking down every lead and killing anyone in her path, the trail has started to grow cold and the Council won’t sit idly be. Reinstated at an immigration office for demons – run by demons – it’s taking Avon every ounce of her will power not to kill them and continue her hunt. But when paranormals start disappearing, she is partnered with the demon, Samael, to discover the perp.
Samael was living the dream – as well as any demon could – on the Council’s payroll as an immigrant officer for his fellow demons. But when the higher-ups force him to work with Avon, a permanent trip to hell seems like a better option. But Samael is no detective and it doesn’t help that the two are always butting heads.
With no one cooperating and the werewolves acting strange, trust is the last thing on their minds. Avon knows that the only one she can truly trust is her blade even if it means giving into the power inside her. Nothing is as it seems and the case might be closer to home than Avon realizes.”
It’s not perfect and it can definitely use more tune up but for now, it will have to do. Having a summary will keep me on track for what I want to accomplish in November and I’m looking forward to developing this story.
Thanks for reading.
Preparation for NaNoWriMo
I haven’t mentioned this before, or maybe you got the idea but, I have a lot of projects I work on so I’m always busy with something. This also means that I never lack any ideas for stories/novels which is why this year, I already have the story I’ll be working on in mind. A little background on this story is in order.
The story is titled Phantom Blade. I posted it on wattpad a few years ago but somehow, it just wasn’t coming out right and it started to drag. I called it quits before I started hating it. Over the years, however, I have reworked the world and the characters and reworked the plot. Sure I don’t have everything set in stone but I have an idea of what’s going to happen and how it is going to end (more on endings later).
This also means that I have most of the characters already set and so I don’t have to start from scratch. I think that’s one of the benefits of having so many projects. You’re always working on something and, when you finally start writing, there’s not a whole lot that you have to worry about. Just like this story, all I have to do is write. Editing comes later.
Sure I’ll keep planning before NaNoWriMo 2016 starts but for now, I’ve started outlining my novel. For me, this is sort of like writing a synopsis. I basically type of the plot, scenes, and/or details of what I want to write for the story. These aren’t always concrete but sometimes I do write out dialogue or character development moments. It all depends. My outline isn’t always complete. I don’t write out the entire story because a. there would be no creativity left and b. I don’t know what’s going to happen.
The one thing I make sure to do is to be flexible. I know I have an outline but I use it more like a guideline. I allow the story to change because, otherwise, I would feel like writing would become a chore. I like writing and I don’t like being forced to write (like college essays for example *cough*). Not to mention that having an outline helps me keep writing without hitting a wall so soon.
Has anyone else started preparing for NaNoWriMo 2016? What tips or advice would you share? Thanks for reading.
Stand Alone Novel
I have talked about the second book of my half blood series and how I feel like I don’t know how to write. This time, I’m having trouble separating this novel from the first one and the rest of the series. In part, I think it’s because this novel is a continuation. Perhaps I didn’t give myself enough time away from the series. Or perhaps it’s because the characters are so fresh in my mind that it’s making difficult to separate the plots from each other.
My mentality is like a train trying to go uphill. I think I can. I think I can, right? It starts lagging (like all my pc games do). Not the story (I think) just the way that I am able to keep writing and figure out all the tiny details of the plot. I’m not much of a planner and when I do plan, I always allow the story to breathe on its own. I don’t like to limit myself to the confines of an outline. Yet, I feel like the story just keeps going without a breather. Maybe I should have waited for longer to start the second book. But I don’t want to stop now.
To put it simply, I have never done anything like this before. This is the first series that I’m actually writing and it’s scary. I’ve bought reference books and read through them for plotting, description, characters, etc. I can gladly say that the series arc has always been fresh in my head. I know where I am going with this series. It’s how to get there that’s giving me problems.
I wish I could say that I found how to separate the two novels from each other but I haven’t. It’s a learning process; one that I fear and feel excited about. The doubts are still present but I’m pushing through. When I write a scene, I just can’t stop until it’s completed. I tend to rush the scene and end up skipping some description because I want to get to the juicy part. Lazy writing. Sure there’s always editing but I think, just like before, I’m trying to get everything done right.
In general, I think I need to start looking at more articles about writing a series and second books. I know that sometimes the second book isn’t all that great but I really want mine to be decent. Maybe taking a break is all I need. We’ll see.
Dabbling in the Art of Writing 