Compelled into revision mode

The last time I posted a writing update, I was writing something new. Well, my writing ground to a halt when I suddenly got re-obsessed with editing my first SUNDOWN novel. I had been part of the way through a rewrite that was bringing it from present tense into past tense, last time I opened the file.

Since starting up with that again, I'm now almost done with the present-to-past transition. But a complicating factor is that my previous editing had led me to remove all sections of the novel that were from Jared's point of view, leaving me with some gaps to fill from Louise's point of view. I'm now nearly done with that part too, I think. Along the way, I've also done some other editing, like removing sections that were too wordy and / or boring, and unnecessary, and trimming unnecessary words here and there. I have a lot more work to do on that. The first few chapters I think are pretty strong, but after that there is a bit of bloating that needs to be addressed.

On another note, I was looking back through my blog posts here and found this one: Knowing your characters vs. showing them. It's a little scary that that was back in September 2012, and I am still grappling with the problem today. But I'm slowly bringing my characters into line with their actual character. I just have some more work to do on it. It's all part of the joyous editing process. ;)

This current rewrite is titled SUNDOWN III (whereas the one I spoke about in 2012 was SUNDOWN II, my first total rewrite). This current rewrite is less drastic, as the setting and plot aren't really changing. But it's still taking me some time and patience, of course. As much as I'd love to be done with this and ready to think about sending my book out to beta readers (again), I'm also enjoying the process of refining the book into what I hope will be its best shape to date. Maybe because I know that in not too long, I'll have to put it aside because I'll be studying for second semester this year.

I'm getting stuff done while I can! And it feels very good to be inspired about my writing again. I've had a tough few years on that front.

Write ... Edit ... Publish ~ ROMANCE (June)

It's that time of the month again when we participants in the WEP get together and share our thoughts on the monthly theme, set by Denise Covey. This month's theme is simply ROMANCE.

This time I'm sharing an excerpt from my novel SUNDOWN. As I mentioned last time, I'm happy to receive feedback. I know for sure that I tend to be one of those wordy writers, and I definitely welcome constructive criticism.

We move to the door and I turn to face him, realising with a jolt that he’s stepped really close. He towers over me with less than half a metre between us. He’s all darkness and shadow and on his face is a look of weariness so heavy it’s almost despair. I stare at him fixedly, unable to tear my gaze away.

“What?” he says, staring right back at me.

“You just…you look really tired.”

A slight twitch indicates something that was almost a smile. “Yeah. I am.”

“I hope you get a good sleep.”

“This is normal,” he says as if I haven’t spoken, gesturing to himself. “I mean, I’m always tired. I don’t get much sleep most nights.”

My face heats up at the thought of Jared Pearson trying to sleep. In bed. Or on couches, as the case may be. I’d really love to ask him about that—Why the couch? I bet there’s an awesome bed in the other room—but I’m too busy feeling for him. Sympathy, sadness, a fervent hope that tonight he sleeps soundly.

“Why are you staring at me?” he asks, his voice strangely husky. “Isn’t that meant to be rude or something?”

“God, I’m sorry. I’m going.”

And I’m just about to turn away when he steps fluidly toward me, reaches out his hands and takes mine. As he pulls me to him, excitement spikes inside me, and my purse drops to the floor. The closer he gets, the harder it is for me to breathe.

His hands trail upward, finding my face and framing it. He tilts it up toward him, his touch like fire on my skin. It draws a sharp, almost painful breath from me. My mouth falls open and I melt into him. He buries a hand in my hair, making my scalp tingle, gripping with his fingertips. The action sends sparks of pleasure all through me. His other hand trails down to rest against my neck, brushing my collarbone. I shiver almost violently and tilt my head back further.

Then he kisses me.

It starts out soft, a tentative brushing of his lips against mine. His mouth is warm, and then the kiss deepens and his mouth is hot. I’m still melting, but now I’m this hot puddle and I’m pretty sure he’s the one holding me upright. I lean against him and feel his heat, his hardness. My mouth opens further to let him in and I don’t know what the hell I’m doing but his hands are on my face and in my hair and his body is pressed against mine and it’s so warm and I can’t think any coherent thought anyway, so why bother trying?

His tongue flicks against mine and I twitch and make this weird soft sound. I try to remember being kissed like this ever. Steven is a good kisser, but this? Orestes was good, too, I remember. But even he wasn’t this.

Nobody’s ever been this.

I’m melded against him and my hands start to rise, they rest on his shoulders and squeeze. He pulls me even closer and I wonder if I’m feeling my own limbs or his. My hands trail down over his solid arms, drinking in his delicious warmth. It occurs to me that this is only the beginning; that there’s so much further to go.

With that thought, I wrap my arms around him, resting my palms against his back. I press hard to pull him closer into me.

~585 words

Write ... Edit ... Publish (edited with my Holiday "story")

Today we kick off the very first Write ... Edit ... Publish monthly bloghop, and my post appeared too early. So early, in fact, that I hadn't even written it yet! I've edited now and here is my post for the bloghop. For the record, I usually hate to schedule stuff on the off chance something like this will happen, but this month I had sooo much on that I thought it was the only way of remembering to post everything. Clearly, though, it's better to forget stuff than schedule if you're not able to stay on top of even that. ;) Anyway, here is the info about this bloghop:

FLASH FICTION, POETRY, NON-FICTION, PLAYSCRIPTS, ARTWORKS, PHOTOGRAPHY...

1. SUBMIT your name to the Inlinkz list below NOW if you wish to participate
2. CREATE your entry according to the monthly theme - August = VACATION. More infohere
3. EDIT your entry until it sparkles
4. POST your entry on your blog/facebook on the dates shown - remember to state feedback preferences (full critique to general comments) and whether your work is copyrighted - ©
5. READ other entries, giving feedback as requested

Open to all genres - Fiction works can be - Adult, YA, MG. All entries maximum 1,000 words or thereabouts.

For feedback I am happy to just get general thoughts or really nitpicky ones - whatever you want to give and whatever comes into your mind as you read. My work is not copyrighted except that it is to me, if you know what I mean? But yeah, it's not a published work elsewhere. And with that out of the way, here is my submission, which measures at 780 words (and, sadly, it's not yet sparkling. But I'll continue to work on editing it):

I arrive on Vatulele Island on a private jet, and am transferred immediately to a sleek car that takes off from outside the airport with a soft hum. As we drive along Vatulele’s east coast, I keep my face plastered to the window. The beach is all blinding white sand and bright azure sea, and while we’ve definitely got gorgeous beaches back home, this is something else.

It must be pretty amazing if it can distract me from this sleep deprivation. And from Jared, for that matter.

After only eight minutes on the road, we cut inland, moving into vibrant green jungle. I’m as mesmerised by what I’m seeing here as I was by the pristine water and searing sand. But still the only thing I want to see is Jared.

Seven more minutes pass before the car slows to a stop. I step out onto firmly packed earth and find myself in the middle of the jungle. Except when I turn around, there’s a white plaster archway and a narrow pathway beyond it, winding upward to places unknown. I feel like some princess on the outskirts of a fantasy world. I should probably pinch myself just to make sure I’m really here. But my hands are kind of full with a purse and camera.

My driver ushers me up the walkway, and I move steadily upward, shaded by surrounding jungle. I reach a turn in the path where going right gives a glimpse of a bright turquoise pool glittering in wait below. Turning left takes me up some stairs to a doorway leading into the most amazing-looking villa I’ve ever seen.

I try not to run as I head up the stairs and inside, where white walls are decorated by ancient artefacts and other beautiful artworks. As I turn right, I’m quickly blinded by sunlight streaming in from tall, rectangular windows. Everything glows. I stand there awestruck, wondering how little working class me can possibly fit into this world.

I step forward, hungry for more.

The living area is an artwork in and of itself. I just want to perch on one of those bright white couches and take a moment to drink in every little detail. Underfoot I see red and white flower petals spelling out a word of greeting: BULA. I break into a smile and find that it’s soon stuck in place. I can’t dislodge it, and it’s starting to hurt my face.

I dump my purse and camera on the coffee table in between two couches, then walk to the left where a door leads to a balcony overlooking the lagoon. My eyeballs are seared by the blinding blue of ocean and sky, the bedazzling white of the sand even at this distance, and the light refracting off the white building I’m standing in.

Then a voice sounds behind me, and my heart stutters in my chest.

“Hi,” is all he says. Turning to face him, I see him smiling at me, a pair of sunglasses hiding his eyes. I regard him in mounting awe and suddenly feel all shy, even though we’re not nearly strangers anymore. We’ve learned a lot about each other in a short amount of time, this man and I.

“Hey,” I breathe, moving toward him feeling unsure of myself. But my smile is still firmly in place.

It’s not going anywhere.

“You like the place?” he asks, gesturing around him.

I stare at him like he’s grown two heads. “Like it?”

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

“It’s beautiful. Enough to bring a tear to a girl’s eye…”

I trail off and shake my head, truly lost for words to describe it. Because I am a princess and this is my fairytale.

And he is my prince.

“It’s pretty cool, huh? I like the privacy. It’s…”

“Secluded,” I say with a smile. “Yeah, I can see the appeal for you.”

He moves toward me, gesturing towards a little table bearing a chiller full of ice and a glistening bottle. “You want champagne?”

“That…would be awesome. But there’s something else I need first.”

He pushes his sunglasses up and I see his eyes at last—they’re a colour far more searing than any ocean. They’re currently alive with a mixture of delight and passion. Something that’s missing, I realise, is nerves. I’m the only one who’s nervous here. But seeing him so comfortable helps to calm me down.

“If it’s in my power to do, I’ll do it,” he says.

“Oh, it’s in your power.”

He laughs. “Well, don’t keep me in suspense. What is it?”

“Kiss me.”

He pulls me closer, draws me into his arms. “Your wish is my command.”

ABNA, other & Inspiring Sounds #1

ABNA & other

• I entered ABNA with SUNDOWN II (latest revision), but with new title. The story was set during the Sundown Music Festival, a fictional festival, but now the setting has changed, so I need a new title. But a permanent title is a dilemma for another day.
• Next project (decided on a slight whim) = revise DAPHNE II. It's NA, but I'm not sure what else. Not romance, but with romantic elements. Women's fiction? It seems more like...general contemp. "General" though feels like a bit of a cop-out.
• I always struggle with genre labelling. Is this because I don't know my stories well enough? I thought so, but maybe I just don't understand genres. Do I need to attend genre school?
• The is a year of revision (I hope). I'm already committed to BuNo and NaNo for writing new stuff (though possibly I will do rewrites). The ludicrous thought of working on RAGEWATER has occurred to me. But...I dunno. Daunting. But I do love this vast realm of possibility!

Inspiring Sounds

In other news, here is the first bit of music I want to share this year:


Kauan is a band I found on Last.fm. Of unknown origin (except that I'm pretty sure they're from Earth), they are currently Anton Belov (guitar, vocals, keys and programming) and Lyubov Mushnikova (violin). Somebody on Last.fm asked, "Are they Russians that sing Finnish?" You can download "Föhn" for free, courtesy of the band. So what is it that I love about this music? Well, I guess it makes me think of some magical land where all sorts of haunting things are happening. I also saw someone on YouTube mention they were listening to it while watching a snowfall outside (jealous! we never have snow where I live!). It's interesting, too, because I don't understand the lyrics, so I can't dwell on them. Usually for me, meaningful lyrics are a must, so this is a different experience.

One week down, 51 to go

It's amazing how quickly it happens, isn't it? Already, the first week of January is over! I went back to work on January 2, so I'm mostly back in the swing of things. But I guess you could say I'm making slow and steady progress, intentionally.

I'm on track with week 1's goals, and I have:

• Reviewed a Grimm story (so easy with the ones that are only 2 pages long!)
• Created a new piece of art
• Wrote 1k of new material (working on IVY NIGHT)
• Revised a chapter (from SUNDOWN II)
• Sorted out some crap in my spare room, the room where I put the crap I have nowhere else to put
• Did a blog post, and
• Sorted 100 photos.

I didn't attend a body balance class, because my usual class fell on New Year's Day, but as of this week I'll be getting right back into that.

Then there are the goals on my "main goals" page.

• I changed my blog's style a bit, but what you currently see is a temporary style while I play around with other potential designs. I had another one that was a LOT bolder, but I was a bit fearful it would break people's brains. Still, I think I'll eventually put up a poll and ask people to vote on their preferences :)
• I read my first new book of 2013 (a library book, no less!)
• I scanned a bunch of photos from my 1998 trip.

So I think that sums up my first week.

How has your first week of 2013 gone?

GOALS (a 2012 summary) and a Blog of the Year

With the end of the year so close, it's time for me to reflect on what I achieved/did not achieve in 2012. After 2011's goal blitz, I was feeling pumped this year, but I didn't quite live up to 2011's high standards. Don't get me wrong, though - I'm perfectly fine with it! I just didn't get a perfect score this year. ;) Anyway, let's break it down, referring to my 2012 Goals page and also my 52 weeks of tasks page:

Failures:

• NaNoEdMo - I was travelling for a bit of this month, but still, I failed!
• Writing one book review each month - I missed November
• Attending one yoga/body balance class per week
• Doing a beach walks on Saturdays/Sundays - failed this particularly as the year came to an end.

Successes:

• Read 43+ books in 2012 - my goal was at least 43
• Read The Catrina Chronicles stories up to date (though as of now I am behind again)
• Wrote and recorded 52 songs for 2012's Chrysalis Experiment
• Finished both 2011's NaNo novels, DANNA and VICTORIOUS
• Hit 50k in BuNoWriMo 2012 with IVY NIGHT - though the draft is not finished
• Won NaNoWriMo 2012, rewriting DAPHNE
• Posted one Globetrotter post per month
• Did a preliminary read-through/edit of FIRE (had no recollection of this till coming to write this post. ha)
• Sorted the equivalent of 100 photos a week
• Wrote the equivalent of 1k of new material each week, not counting BuNo and NaNo projects (worked on DANNA and SUNDOWN II for this)
• Reviewed all 52 Chrysalis stories, except 2 that were DANNA excerpts

"Somewhere in between"s:

• I did read 9 eBooks from my writer friends, but not always the books I had on the original list. I kept swapping really long books for short novella-length stories (with no e-reader, it's not easy reading eBooks!)
• Complete edit of DAPHNE - I do count this as an achievement, but it was actually more of a total rewrite, and I didn't do what I originally wanted and put more of Daphne's mother's history into the plot
• As of this post, I will have written the equivalent of at least one post a week this year. But I'm pretty sure I went more than 7 days between posts at least once this year.

Extra achievements:

• Finished my rewrite of SUNDOWN, which was not on my goals list anywhere, but which I made use of in the 1k of new material per week goal on my "52 tasks" chart.

Aaaand that's a wrap, folks! But what about next year? Yeah, I've got plans, and I'll talk about 2013 goals in a few days... :)

In other news, the lovely Deniz Bevan received the Blog of the Year Award, and chose to pass it onto me and Laurel Garver. I feel very honoured to have received this award, so thank you Deniz! The official rules of this award are:

1. Select the blog(s) you think deserve the Blog of the Year 2012 Award
2. Write a blog post and tell us about the blog(s) you have chosen – there's no minimum or maximum number of blogs required – and present them with their award
3. Please include a link back to this page Blog of the Year 2012 Award and include these rules in your post (please don't alter the rules or the badges!)
4. Let the blog(s) you have chosen know that you have given them this award and share the rules with them
5. You can now also join our Facebook group – click like on this page Blog of the Year 2012 Award Facebook group and then you can share your blog with an even wider audience
6. As a winner of the award please add a link back to the blog that presented you with the award and then proudly display the award on your blog and sidebar... and start collecting stars...

The people I'm going to pass this onto are:

• Hart Johnson at Confessions of a Watery Tart, whose posts are often entertaining but also tackle the tough issues many people are too scared to mention.
• Jordan McCollum, who doesn't tend to get a huge amount of comments on her blog but who still gives a whole lot to the writer blogger community with her very helpful posts.
• Michael Atkinson at Hypothetically Writing, whose little snippets of fiction shared throughout the year have brought delight to many. Michael's creative wit is, in my opinion, unparalleled, and he also makes a great bloggy friend!

The Game of 7s [a meme]

Years and years ago (okay, back in April) I got tagged by Dangerous Dan with the Game of 7s meme. I saved the link to his post in draft form and am only now getting around to getting this thing done. What can I say? I like to let things stew a good while. ;) Anyway, these are the rules as stated on Dan's blog way back then:

The Rules:

1. Go to page 77 of your current MS/WIP.
2. Go to line 7.
3. Copy down the next 7 lines – sentences or paragraphs – and post them as they’re written. No cheating.
4. Tag 7 authors.
5. Let them know.

My lines are from the rough draft of the novel I just rewrote, which I am now planning to rewrite again...yay! But here are the lines as they stand currently:

My nose wrinkles but I take the cup, knowing beggars can’t be choosers. I sip from it and crunch on an ice cube. And all the while I think about what he just said: I don’t drink. So it’s true, then. But why?

I shove the question aside, focusing on the present. “Thanks.”

Thrilling stuff, I'm sure. And just so you know, I did cheat, by fixing a typo. ;) I don't apologise though. And now I shall finish this thing off by tagging some lucky, lucky people who get to either ignore this or share some of their own lines, depending on their energy levels at the moment of tagging. I tag:

• Chris K (Kelworth Files)
• Kyra Lennon
• Brooke R. Busse
• Susan Fields
• Danette Baltzer
• Madeline Jane
• Laura (Daily Dodo)

Knowing your characters vs. showing them

I know my characters pretty darn well, I think. I knew them well during my SUNDOWN revisions, increasingly so as I went through second, third, fourth and fifth draft revisions. And during my recent total overhaul, which resulted in SUNDOWN II, my intimate (ahem) knowledge of these people ("people"?) was right there in my mind.

That's why I got these feelings now and then while in the midst of the rewrite, feelings that I was not writing my characters properly. For instance, I recognised that Jared wouldn't be talking so much, and he wouldn't be understanding his own thoughts and feelings so early on. In reality it would take a good smack over the head with a tree trunk for him to get it. I guess it doesn't help that halfway through my rewrite, I changed my mind about some important aspects of the plot, so "early Jared" doesn't fit "later Jared". Basically what this means that when I get stuck into revisions, I will need to bring the guy into line with his true core nature. And with the new plot.

As for Louise, well, I know she's surrounded by people but feels she has no friends. She's living the dream, but wants only for it to be over. She's angry - many layers of angry - but in truth, she's mostly hurt, lonely, and...in limbo. I knew all of that already, but I'm pretty sure it didn't come across in the rewrite. So, again, revisions will need to take care of that.

I thoroughly enjoyed the rewrite, as mentioned previously. But I happen to be one of those weirdos who gets a huge kick out of revisions. So I can't wait to get started on those. Again.

WIPs, goals, music and the weather

I had a dream in recent times that stuck with me after waking, and I just knew I had to write it up as a story. I've written a little bit, and yet I don't really know how to proceed. This is one of those situations where I think some sitting and some stewing on the idea for a while may be in order. I've already shared my dream with my CPs who are awesome at giving me direction for my plotlines. So right now I'm just sort of feeling my way through the story (as it unfolds in my head, not yet on "paper"). I will say that it's a love story but there's a lot more to it than that. It requires world-building. And it could be steampunk-ish, but I'm pretty sure it's set in the future. Maybe an alternate reality? Anyway, as you can see I'm not sure where I'm going with it. But I love being inspired, and I love my cool dreams.

In other news, I finished my rewrite of SUNDOWN, and I'm quite happy with how it went. I'm not quite satisfied with the ending, but that's yet another project I'm letting sit for a while. My CPs have already given me plenty of inspiration for revisions/partial rewriting, so I'll be making use of those ideas when I get around to revising. For now, I'm happier with where the story went this time. My MC, I believe, is more likeable (including by me, her writer) because she's stronger and more independent (I always intended her to be that way, but somehow she turned out whiny and passive. Passive! No MC of mine should ever be passive, unless s/he's planned that way. ;)

What I'm focusing on mostly right now is my music project, the collaboration involving me putting vocals on a guy's songs for him, and in return him making my simple acoustic numbers into proper songs with drums, bass and all that (which I also then put vocals over). Then I need to get back into my actual goals that I set myself this year, because I have fallen behind with many of them. Shouldn't be long before I can get stuck back in!

It is now springtime over here in Aus, and I wave a sad goodbye to winter for another year. I love spring, don't get me wrong, but I cower in dread of what follows after it. ;)

"I just don't know what to doooo...with myseeeelf..."

If I had posted my Sunday Session on Sunday where it belonged, I would have posted this video:

I've been listening to this song A LOT in the last week. Matryoshka are an amazing (Japanese, despite the Russian name) two-member band I found via Last.fm (to which I am addicted), and who provide the public with a heap of their music for freeeeeee (yes, freeeeee!) on that site. Their album ZATRACENIE is one of the most glorious collections of sound I have heard in my life, and you can get bits and pieces of it for free, straight from the band. Check this band out here.

But you know what? I didn't post that yesterday! And I haven't posted anything since the 29th of July. That's over a week ago! You see, people, I believe I have lost my blogging mojo. But at least I'm distracted by all the right things - working feverishly on a rewrite of SUNDOWN, which I am enjoying a whole heap. It's not on my Goals list, but oh well, at least I'm doing something creative, right? And I do still have my other goals on the table.

I also know that I have been kind of out of touch with you, my fellow bloggers. But I've realised that I do go through ebbs and flows on this blog, and I'm okay with it. Just as long as you know that I will be back in fine form and repaying you for all your commenting kindness at some point. :)

P.S.:

I've been horribly busy and it ends now!

Here's a photo I ruined tonight (lost the original)
while trying to figure out the new iPhoto.

Lately, life has been a little bit crazy. I've had family visiting, and I've been travelling. And in the last week, for various reasons (including a *gasp* 32nd birthday!), I haven't had a single night totally at home. Thankfully things should calm down now, 'cause though I love my friends and family (and...work?), I sure do crave my "me" time when I don't get enough of it.


I'm also currently grappling with the disappointing reality that is my shiny new MacBook Pro. Okay, I'm not disappointed by the laptop itself - not at all; it's delightful...except when I mess with permissions and suddenly can't find any of my files in Finder - but I'm very disappointed with iPhoto. On my old laptop it was at least serviceable, and I could at least find my photos when I searched for them on my computer. In this latest version of iPhoto, it seems they're just not having that. But I won't rant anymore, 'cause it's pretty boring.

I'm still working on my rewrite of SUNDOWN, and enjoying it a lot. But I haven't done much in this last week of madness. Hopefully from here on in I won't have any more weeks where none of my evenings are entirely my own. I do hope to get to work on a first revision of DANNA, 'cause I think it's one of my more promising works.

---

In recent times The Smashing Pumpkins brought out a new album, Oceania, and kicked off a tour (I attended the show in my town this Thursday just gone). I've been listening to Oceania a lot. But for the last few days I've been newly addicted to a song by Lacuna Coil called "Daylight Dancer". It's from their album Comalies, which apparently is coming up on its 10 year anniversary. There's talk of a tour where they play the album in its entirety. I'd love to see that show, though I'd prefer to see a show where they played the entirety of the previous album Unleashed Memories live. ;)

Permission to fail

In 2011, I set myself some rather hefty goals. I achieved every single one of them. It was a hard push towards the end of the year to get everything done, but I did it! And it felt good. This year, I decided that if I could do all that stuff in 2011, I could sure do a similar amount in 2012. But this year I've found that, all too often, life has got in the way.

I'm still achieving some things, I suppose, but I'm behind in most of my goals, and it's going to take quite some effort to catch up. I know I can do it, but I've also realised this year that if I fail at some things, it's not the end of the world. I suppose I've given myself permission to fail, here and there. I have failed, here and there - like with NaNoEdMo, dismail failure there. I don't really want to take that too far, though...'cause who wants to feel okay with becoming a slacker?

Perhaps instead of working on my goals,
I'll just stare at this photo for a while...
Ahhh, Australian winter!

So far in 2012, I've accomplished the following:

• Preliminary read through/edit of FIRE
• Write 50k for BuNoWriMo 2012
• Finish off NaNo 2011 novel #1 (DANNA)

But I still have to do the following:

• Finish off NaNo 2011 novel #2 (VICTORIOUS)
• Win NaNo 2012
• Rewrite DAPHNE from scratch (I am thinking I'll probably use November to do this one)
• Revise all Chrysalis stories (I'm only up to #11...yikes!)

Amongst other miscellaneous things (photo sorting, blog posting, song writing, etc.).

But what am I doing instead? Working on my rewrite of SUNDOWN. It's fun, it's exhilarating, I love it. I guess I should give myself permission to do what I love, instead of what I said at the end of 2011 I would do. Right? But I'm one of those weirdos who really wants to do what she said she'd do, even if it's a little bit akin to watching grass grow.

How's this year shaping up for you so far?

First goal victory of the year!

I finished one of the year's tasks last night (or was it the night before?), that being a rough draft of last year's NaNoWriMo novel, DANNA. That tentative title comes from the name of the main female character, Danna Karlsson. That often seems to be the way I title my novels-in-progress.

Now that DANNA is done and dusted, it's time to move onto completing my second NaNo 2012 novel, VICTORIOUS. Nope, there are no actual people in that one called Victorious. Rather it's the name of the space ship in the story. Do you think space ships count as "people"?

I've also started a casual-ish rewrite of SUNDOWN, cleverly referred to as SUNDOWN II. I'm really enjoying the writing so far, and while I couldn't help myself and had to jot down some notes for a plan (this from me, a notorious pantser from way back!), I don't feel 'hemmed in' yet. Maybe it's because I've already written the damn novel once, and feel quite at home in the world.

Elsewhere, somebody (argh, I can't remember who it was...I know I left a comment on their blog post though!)  (it was Ruthie!!) mentioned that NaNoEdMo has begun, and...I'm meant to be doing it! Today I see that the NaNoEdMo site has been attacked, and is down. Boo to that! I can still report on my revision status for the year, though - I'm working on FIRE, and so far I have got the word count down from 146k to 138k. It needs to be 95k.

Now, to conclude...how are you? How are your goals coming along? Feeling inspired? Needing chocolate? I can tell you I'm having at least a glass of full strength champers this weekend.

On rough seas - where the heck's Wilson?!

Yep, I love Wilson from CAST AWAY. Who's with me? I promise one day I will stop talking about Wilson.

I definitely will for now, because I have something else to talk about: the amazing advice I got recently about my "closest to being ready" novel, SUNDOWN. Turns out, it's not quite so ready! The advice was worded in a very nice way, i.e. a way that didn't even make me want to cry and give up my writing dream forever more. But it amounted to this: 1) My main character is so annoying readers may well be hoping she'll die at the end, and 2) I need to rewrite my novel.

I've never done a complete rewrite before. Not of a novel, or of a short story. Or even a poem. So, you can imagine that this is quite the daunting prospect!

So what's the problem with my novel, other than the fact that my MC may well get murdered if I don't do her a favour and rewrite her? Well, let's start with this: I've long had a problem with identifying my MC's main goal, her burning desire, in life. Way back when I was first attempting to create a query for this story (ha, how utterly premature that idea seems now!), people would ask me, "What does she really want?" and though I was sure I was really thinking hard about it and coming up with good answers...I guess I wasn't.

That's what I've done now. I've given my MC a purpose, a great burning passion, and with that, the means to stop being passive and melodramatic (yep, this too was a revelation! My MC's a drama queen! Oh. The. Horror.). With this new purpose, I have high hopes that the main weak spot in my story will be eradicated. The story will emerge strong and shiny and awesome. As will my MC.

I'm excited. I really am. Even if it means scrapping what I have (it's up to Draft #5, people!!) and starting fresh. I'm not the rewriting type. I'm the edit what you've got till you drop type. But in this case, there would just be no point in editing.

I know lots of you have been in this position before. Maybe all of you! Right?!?!!? (I'm going off to find Wilson now, I need a volleyball hug. hehe)