Author: tamaramorning

The Year In Review (Or Things I Did Not Accomplish This Year)

I started off 2008 with ten writing-related goals, and a books-read goal. I met some of them (most of them), but slacked off on others. I learned a lot about writing this year, and about what I’m capable of, which I’ve put into my plans/goals for next year. But here’s how I did on this year’s goals:

Read 150 books: I’ve read 154 books (and yes, that counts Gone with the Wind, of which I lack about 100 pages to read, but I’ll get that done today).

1) Finish first draft of NaNo 2007 (the Atlantis story). Done. I think I finished this in February or March.

2) Start subbing Through Shadowed Stone. Done. I started this in May, and actually stopped subbing it in the summer. Not because of the rejections I got, but because I realized this story isn’t ready yet. It’s on the back burner for now, until I’m ready to tackle its issues.

3) Finish first round edits on Atlantis story. Done. Finished this 12/29/08-Nothing like waiting ’til the last minute. I actually like this story much more than I remembered.

4) Finish first draft of zombie story. Not done. Took a 6-month break from the story, but we’re working on it again now.

5) Finish first round edits on Witches. Done. 10/12/08. I’m not entirely happy with this draft, and I still need to cut a large amount of it, but I cleaned it up some.

6) Finish first round edits on zombie story. Also clearly not done, since the first draft isn’t complete yet.

7) Do NaNo 2008. Done. 100k done.

8) Outline Witches II. Done. Finished the outline in October, and I’m looking forward to writing it, despite the fact that Witches still needs so much work. I have a complete outline for this one, so I don’t think I’ll wander quite so far afield.

9) Finish 2YN class. Done (more or less). It still isn’t quite ready for subbing, and I need to fix my synopsis and draft a query, but it’s been written and edited.

10) Write 250,000 new words. Not done. Not even close. My final word count for the year is 163,570 words. Which isn’t bad, it just isn’t what I’d hoped for. But that’s okay.

This year, I finished up two story drafts. I wrote one complete first draft. I did a lot of writing on the zombie story. I did a lot of editing, a lot of crits, and got a bunch of new ideas that will carry me over into 2009. I’m satisfied with my progress, and happy with what I learned.

Editing and Planning

I’ve been getting a good amount of work done lately. Editing on the Atlantis story is going well. The writing is still much stronger than I remembered, which pleases me. I haven’t made any major changes yet, but I know the latter part of the story will probably need some additional work. Nerina is a much more well-defined character than I remember her being, but being in her head comes back easily to me, and so does being in that world. I think that’s a good sign.

I’ve got two chapters to write in the zombie story. One of them is pretty straightforward. The other will probably end up being dark and tense, with the characters expecting the boogeyman to jump out at any second. (Hey, it’s a story about zombies. What did you expect?) Also on the zombie front, I ordered Mark Henry’s Happy Hour of the Damned. It sounds pretty funny, and I’m looking forward to reading it.

Last, but far from least, I’m still doing pre-work on the YA werewolf story. I was at the mall a few days ago, and saw a pair of shoes that the female MC would definitely wear. They were black Mary Janes with little skulls and crossbones on them.

Me: “Oh, those shoes are perfect for Chance. She would love them!”
My younger brother (looking confused): “Who is Chance?”

And then I went home and happily spent an hour Googling Goth clothes and picking out outfits for Chance to wear. It’s sad, really. And I’m afraid she likes pink. That, to me, doesn’t go so well with the whole Goth idea, but she’s determined she will also have a pair of hot pink Doc Marten boots. Go figure. I don’t even like pink! She’s coming through loud and clear. Now if only her brother, Cade, would start speaking up for himself…

Life After NaNo

Actually, there’s not a whole lot going on, at least not on the writing front. I’ve been editing my NaNo 2007 story (which is still untitled). I’m… surprised by it. I think the beginning of it is very strong, and although it’s early yet, I have hopes that it is better than I remember. (Of course, last year I had big goals for NaNo and for whatever reason, I lost all motivation two weeks in and barely got 50k. Good to know the story is stronger than that.).

I’m in the very early planning stages for a new story, and this one came out of nowhere, and has taken over my brain, demanding to be written now. So, I’m going to start it in January. Just as soon as I get a few more things figured out, and the characters named, and the plot in some sort of rational order. You know, the usual things. It’s something a little new for me. Another YA, but an urban fantasy this time. And, of all things, it’s about a werewolf. Or two. Or six. Not sure, but at least three. I don’t know why it’s grabbed me so much, but it has. Now I need to do some research on Goths to start with. That should be interesting. At least the characters that showed up weren’t emo…

The End, or 100,025 Words

I feel like either my brains are about to fall out, or my eyes are. Not sure which. But I finished! Yay! Dang, but the last 1,000 words were the worst. I know there are a lot of “he said” and “she said” that will need to be ruthlessly weeded out in edits, but I am proud of myself. I wrote every single day this month. Every day. Even that one brutal 15-hour work day. Woot! Congratulations to everyone else out there who finished (Way to go Walkingstick! I know your son is proud.) Now I can finally get some rest.

Today’s Word Count: 5,376
Total Word Count: 100,025

Day 29

Again, the writing flowed really well today. I hit my word count. The story is moving, and I am right in the middle of the action-packed ending. Is it sad that I feel like “only” having to write 5,000 words tomorrow is a good thing? I have three chapters left as well, one with quite a bit of action, and two wrap-up chapters. But I’m feeling okay with the writing right now.

Today’s Word Count: 7, 627
Total Words: 5,014
Words Remaining: 94,986

Day Twenty Eight

Another good writing day, thankfully, since I’m so close to the end. The words really flowed well today, and I hit my word count goal without too much trouble. I’m looking forward to finishing this story, though. And my brain is already burning with editing ideas. I did have a slight mishap this afternoon. There was some kind of error when I was saving a chapter, and my Word program closed. When I reopened it, the file was corrupted. Part of it was still there, mixed in with little boxes and funny symbols. I wanted to bang my head against the keyboard, but I managed to resist. I’ll just have to go back and fix it later. And yes, I did count those words.

Today’s Word Count: 7,563
Total Word Count: 87,359
Words Remaining: 12,641

Day Twenty Seven

Just as I was getting ready to post here last night, my computer randomly disconnected the internet. I decided that was a sign, and went to bed. I did get quite a lot of writing done yesterday, thankfully, and a little bit on Wednesday as well. I made a pretty good dent in it, actually, although I do have a nice chunk left to go. But the writing went well yesterday, and so far, it is going well today. The end is in sight!

Wednesday’s Word Count: 1,501
Yesterday’s Word Count: 7,526
Total Word Count: 79,496
Words Remaining: 20,504

Day Twenty Five

Okay, so I had another dismal writing day yesterday. I did make up for part of it today, but I have a grueling five days ahead of me to meet my goal. And I will meet my goal. I am determined. I have not come this close and this far to fail at the end. Is it a bad thing that I’m already mentally making notes about everything that will need fixed in the next draft?

Yesterday’s Word Count: 111 (I seem to like that number on bad days.)
Today’s Word Count: 4,015
Total Word Count: 70,469
Words Remaining: 29,531

Day 23

Apparently, I was still exhausted yesterday, since I got barely any words, even though I was off. I did a little better today. I’m going to have to work pretty hard to hit my goal, though. Only a week left!

Yesterday’s Word Count: 403
Today’s Word Count: 2,525
Total Word Count: 66,343
Words Remaining: 33,657