process

16 November, 2013

Some 2013-Flavoured Notebook Geekery

hobbitnotebook

I’ve been meaning to do a post on my notebooks for a while. I go through them at quite a pace, enough that their passings and rebirths should be marked in this blog.

My preferred brand of notebook is Moleskine, because I get guaranteed high-quality, sturdy notebooks at an affordable price range. I’ve had too many cheaper notebooks fall apart on me in the past. (These days, I’ve also moved from the plain black Moleskines to fancy limited edition ones so I can tell them apart on my shelves.)

However, I’m always open to notebook recommendations. If you have a favourite notebook, let me know!

For the first half of this year I used my 2012 edition The Hobbit Moleskine notebook, a nice little thing with gold-effect embossed drawings from the first edition of The Hobbit. It doesn’t show up well in photos, but it was a pretty wee thing.

The 2012 Edition lasted approximately from 30th March 2013 until 25th September 2013. It was h0me to a lot of continuing work on DIVIDE and ALL THE BROKEN THINGS, along with a few short stories, a new middle grade project, and some chunks of the first draft of LEVIATHAN RISES.

Then the 2013 edition The Hobbit Moleskine turned up, and damn, it blew 2012 out of the water. Black with metallic red embossing, and with the first few pages filled with original The Hobbit drawings. It’s beautiful.

The 2013 Edition has been in service from 21st May and is still going strong. It should last me well into 2014 at my current rate. So far it’s been home to continuing work on DIVIDE, ALL THE BROKEN THINGS and LEVIATHAN RISES as well as the continuation of that middle grade project.

Okay, that’s enough notebook fangirling for tonight. Time to put pen back to paper!

hobbit2013inside — Drawings inside the 2013 edition

13 November, 2013

What’s Up Wednesday: Lucky 13th

I’m slowly getting used to the fact that it’s November. I *may* have been, for a few days, entirely paralyzed with fear at the thought of buying Christmas presents but my friends talked me down. So, November, I have sort-of the hang of you. December, I’m almost prepared for you too.

wuwfall

What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly meme geared toward readers and writers, allowing us to touch base with blog friends and let them know what’s up. It was created by created by Jaime and Erin. Want to join the party? Go right ahead, and remember to leave a link to your What’s Up Wednesday post in the widget on Jaime´s blog.

What I’m Reading

*looks around guilty*

I… I haven’t been reading much lately. I’m so sorry!

What I’m Writing

So, you remember how last time I talked about my editing process? It’s changed. Again.

I’m still doing a big picture edit but the “go offline, edit using Kindle and notebook” stage of the plan has fallen by the way-side. I know some artists think using computers all the time can mess up the creative juju, and I get honestly believe they’re right, but for now it’s working for me.

As I said last week, I’m learning to just let whatever works, work.

Editing is progressing steadily now, though as observed with my last first draft I don’t do well working in constant daily amounts. I work in a burst, have a day where my writing is dull and lifeless and the words just won’t come, and then the next day I’ll have another burst of work.

Is their a name for our kind? Sprint writers? Exhausted cheetahs? Flying greyhounds? If I think of something catchy, I’ll let you know.

What Inspires Me

Right now my main driving force is my other projects. Is that odd? Let me explain: I’m being motivated to finish this edit because I know, when I do, I can take on ALL THE BROKEN THINGS and turn it into the beautiful, kick-arse story I now know it can be.

I’m so excited to sink my teeth into that. The sooner, the better.

What Else I’ve Been Up To

I love this GIF. I can see many situations where I will use it.

I SAW THOR: THE DARK WORLD! I went to it expecting a fun, plot-lite movie, and what I got was a very fun movie with a surprisingly sharp sense of comedy.

It was really great. I recommend it.

I’ve also been studying for an Open University course, which is great fun. Scots get a small allowance towards learning each year, so I used it for a small, relatively low-stress course that appeals to my interests — “Start Listening to Music”, a foundation course in music composition and history. I get to listen to classic jazz like Ella Fitzgerald’s “Mack the Knfie” immediately followed by Queen’s “We Will Rock You”! It’s a great wee course.

It also means I get to study in a Pikachu onesie, because every little bit of entertainment helps.

openuniversity

6 November, 2013

Hang On, It Was October A Second Ago

Welcome to my blog, where I am continuously confused by how time works. IT WAS THE START OCTOBER THREE BLOG POSTS AGO. But now it’s… November? And it’s December, aka Christmas-month, next month?

Next year, I hope time goes a little slower. I’m getting too old for this.

wuwfall

What I’m Reading

I picked up THE 5TH WAVE for free at World Fantasy Con 2013, and I’m really digging it so far. It’s a YA apocalyptic story with a very creepy take on an alien invasion. Though I just finished the chapter about the main character’s mum, and I’m not sure I’ve forgiven the book for upsetting me so much so early on.

I also attempted the packed TALES OF EVE launch party. TALES OF EVE is an anthology of stories where ladies try to create a perfect man, and there’s a whole host of spins on the idea inside: time travel! Robotics! LGBT stories! Sister issues! It’s really cool to see the unique twists everyone puts on the basic concept and I love the variety.

Other than that, I’ve mostly been doing reading for my own editing.

What I’m Writing

It’s NaNoWriMo! How’s everyone doing? I’m looking forward to seeing everyone’s progress in their blog posts today.

My plan for NaNoWriMo was to write 50,000 words of short stories, but you know what they say about best laid plans…

Instead, I’ve been flitting around doodling, making comics, and creeping through my editing. But I’m DOING THINGS, which is a huge improvement on last month, so I’m very excited about it all.

Am I actually doing NaNoWriMo, though? Strictly, no. I doubt I’m going to hit 50k words written, but I’m still catching a ride on the back of November’s creative rush and doing my own variation of artsy things.

My plan for this editing run was to focus on the ‘big picture’, and I tried, I really did. I wrote ‘BIG PICTURE’ in large letters on my notebook. I went offline with a Kindle and a notebook. I repeated the mantra to myself as I worked, ‘big picture only, big picture only’.

It didn’t work. I’m still making minor edits, changing word choice and structure, while I work on the larger edits. I’m going to keep trying the ‘big picture’ edit, but I suspect this editing style might just be my way. It’s like a one-pass edit, except I’ll do multiple passes this way, tweaking and rewriting in unison.

The writing process is odd. I’m slowly learning to just let whatever works, work.

What Inspires Me

NaNoWriMo, I love you. I love your energy. I love your community. Most of all, I love that you remind me it’s okay to suck and that getting things done is more important than getting things perfect.

So if you’re being creative this November, whether you’re doing NaNo or just doing your own thing, you inspire me too.

Also, this gif set of Mark Sheppard talking about fans is so sweet and true. If you are a fan, or just interested in fandom, give it a click.

What Else I’ve Been Up To

I’m just back from my first ever writing convention, World Fantasy Con 2013! There were ups and downs, but for the most part I absolutely loved it. I hope to have a post about it up some time soon, but for now I’ll point you to Laura Lam’s fantastic wrap-up.

Now, my lunch hour is ticking away so I’m heading off, but I want to hear all about your creative successes, your worries your plans in the comments below. See you there!

14 July, 2013

Half-Way to Editing Victory

The longhand, hard-copy edit of DIVIDE THE SKY‘s most recent draft is done. This was an in-depth edit of an 80,000 word manuscript, focussing on everything from typos to major structure issues. DIVIDE’s been through a few rewrites already, I had clear plans for this revision and could afford to set a fast pace.

I set myself a tight timescale to get this done, and I had to learn a lot about my process. I’m going ramble on indulgently about this now, because I love breaking down my own process so I can figure out what I did right and see how my process changes between projects.

I learned:

That my editing times aren’t as terrible as I thought.
That a hard-copy, longhand edit is necessary to stop me getting distracted by the magical world of the Internet.
That percentages and fractions are extremely motivating. It’s fine to say ‘I’ve done 50 pages’, but it be able to say ‘I’m a fifth of the way through’ or ‘I’m 30% done’ was so much more satisfying. I kept a spreadsheet up so I could motivate myself with the numbers. Maths was my friend, for once!
Having time off from work is super useful for these tight deadlines. I took a few days off from editing, such as the 12th, where real life just took priority over edits, but having time off from the day job through the 10th – 15th July really helped me keep motivated to get this done.
That I still had time to goof off and watch far too much anime, though my reading, gaming and social time suffered.
When it came to adding in scenes, it worked better if I just jotted down a quick scene outline and moved on rather than focussing on writing new sections. Those scenes will get polished during the electronic edit.

To break the timescale down:

Edit started on the 24th of June. Finished the chapter one edits by the end of that day, and hoped that I could maintain a steady chapter-a-day editing rate to get through all 42 chapters.
That was wishful thinking. The first three chapters were hands-down the hardest to edit and they dragged on.
Hit 50 pages done on the 4th July. Up until this point, I was trying to type up my edits as I went, but this was too distracting so I started focussing entirely on the written edit.
By the 9th, I was 100 pages in and more than a third of the way through. I wasn’t looking forward to editing the ending, though…
By the 11th, 655 done. Under a hundred pages to go.
Hit 81% on the 18th and powered through to the ending, which was surprisingly easy to edit. Victory at 1am!
About three different red pens died for the cause. Rest in Peace, red pens. Your sacrifice will be remembered.

Looks like I did manage that chapter-a-day rate, though as usual with writing-related tactics I did it in bursts instead of a steady daily rate.

Now, I wonder if I can meet my one-month deadline and get the electronic edit done by the 24th… only one way to find out. In the morning, it’ll be straight back to work!

1 May, 2013

What’s Up Wednesday?

I’m trying something new today instead of my usual Road Trip Wednesday post — blog friend Jaime and her sister Erin are hosting What’s Up Wednesday, a new blog meme. Let’s give it a spin! what'supwednesday

What I’m Reading

I’ve just finished UNRAVEL ME by Tahareh Mafi, which I enjoyed, and now I have a host of new books to chose from — I’m looking forward to Chuck Wendig’s THE BLUE BLAZES in particular. (ARC Provided by Angry Robot.)

What I’m Writing

I’ve just passed the 30k mark on Leviathan Rises, and the voice is finally starting to feel solid. I managed to go back and fix the first chapter, which had been not-quite-right for a while, and now I’m working on the rest.

This story is proving tricky because I wrote those 30k haphazardly: jumping around the timeline, skipping to exciting scenes, writing sections with no idea where they’ll fit. Now that I’m on the end stretch, I need to go back and pull it all together into solid chapters, and that’s rough going.

Worth it, though. I really love this ridiculous oddball of a story.

What Inspires Me Right Now

I’m on a musical kick! Mostly listening to Fall Out Boy’s new album Save Rock and Roll, and this gorgeous track by a new musical find, the band Les Friction:

“This force is in love with you. It wants you safe. It wants you well.”

What Else I’ve Been Up To

I’m thinking very seriously about doing my theory test in the near future, and I’ve been studying for it in my spare moments.

I’m also trying to eat healthier — more fruit, less sweets, more water, no fizzy juice, and multivitamins ahoy. It’s working reasonably well, my sleep is settling down and I’m more aware of issues with my blood sugar level. I just need to up my exercise amounts to go along with the new regime.

Last but not least, I’m playing the free horror game Ib. I wasn’t convinced an 8-bit game but be creepy, but I’ve jumped out of my seat a few times. It’s a great little game.

25 April, 2013

Reporting in from the Sea Cave

Just checking in to say I’m still here, but currently drowning in Camp NaNo scribbling. My writing cave has now become a seacave, where I spend my days raging at imaginary seamonsters.

Ryugu Sea Cave, Japan. File ©Batholith, released into the public domain. — Ryugu Sea Cave, Japan. File © Batholith, released into the public domain.

I’ve also been asking my friends what messes these seamonsters-in-human-form could get into as they run around the British coastline. Some of my favorite suggestions: getting angry at chavs in the cities, taking a dive to some underwater wrecks, visiting the Giant’s Causeway…

Thanks to a spree of bad health I’m not sure I’m going to be able to meet my Camp NaNo deadline — I’ve just passed 15k and my target was 30k by the 30th March.

But hey, progress is progress, so I don’t feel too bad about it. Now, I’m off back to work, but before I go — how’s it going? What are you writing? Is it going well or are you running into problems?

Sound off in the comments. I look forward to hearing what everyone’s up to. :)