A Round Of Words - Check-in 6

Not much to report.

I haven't got much writing done again. Part of the problem is my studies are gnawing away at me and I should be concentrating on those and I had to work on the website. And I'm miffed with myself for only working to a 100 words a day, I know I can do more than that and I can't figure out why I'm making this whole thing so difficult. I did make some more notes in my edits file. I like keeping the writing and editing separate. I can (in theory) keep writing to the end but I have an instant reminder to look at when I come to do the 2nd draft.

At the moment, I've decided to limit working on Shroud Of Death to work nights and keep the weekend free for my poetry studies. I also want to sit down over the next few nights and do some timed free writing to see if that helps get my writing stamina back.

It doesn't help that my best writing times late morning and late afternoon are taken up with work.

In other news, I have another idea for a new novella which I'm quite jazzed about and because that's all fresh and new I want to be working on this one and not Shroud. But Shroud needs to be written and will be written I just don't know when or how at the moment.

Daily word count goal: 100
Thursday: 105
Friday: 0
Saturday: Study Day
Sunday: Study day.


Hope everyone else is doing well.

Website Updates and blog updates

Hi All,

I've spent another morning tinkering around with the website.
1) I've replaced the archive page with a current issue page in preparation for the first issue of Dark Metre.
2) All links on the newsletter section of the site are now clearly visible.
3) The competition to win a free book is now closed and relevant sections have been changed to reflect this.
4) Book teasers have been updated.

Next updates to the site shouldn't happen until the 6th Feb now. (I hope.)

Also over on this blog, I've made my 2011 reading list a page. It will be easier to keep it updated as titles get added and crossed off. Also I'll be able to link to my reviews from there as well.

In other news, I discovered that the website now has a page rank of 2. Not really geeky enough to know the impact of such things but a step up, never the less.

Coming soon to the blog, slated to be posted between my sunday and wednesday check in's will be a review of Brian Keene's The Rising.

If you notice anything on the website that's not working right or looks wrong, let me know so I can fix it.

Have a great weekend.

The Friday 56 - Banquet For The Damned by Adam L G Nevill

Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Link it here.

It's that simple.


Back with another Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice. This time round the teaser line comes from Banquet For The Damned by Adam L G Nevill:


Night terrors might just be the beginning - the first telltale ripples before the contagion spreads.





Check out last weeks Friday 56

A Round Of Words - Check-in 5

I haven't touched Shroud Of Death since my last check in. I think part of the problem was I let the internal editor out and spent way too much time thinking about the story. I almost came close to scrapping everything I've written so far but after reminding myself that I need to get to the end of the 1st draft I managed to resist.

Last night, I did jot down a bit of a monologue for my antagonist on an index card. Tonight, I really don't know if I'll be writing or not. I feel like the story's taking too long to start, I'm worrying that there isn't enough in the plot to get me to a completely finished and edited novella of 30,000 words. Yes, I underwrite. Yes, I will need to expand and flesh some areas out properly etc etc. So I keep telling myself I need a finished 1st draft regardless of quality, coherence and heart stopping moments.

Also, I'm getting confused with my characters and plan on writing a brief outline of their goals and motivations and final outcomes within the story.

Daily Word Count Goal: 100
Monday: 0
Tuesday: 0 words but a later scene sketched on index card.
Wednesday: 0 so far.

Use the blog hop below to congratulate and commiserate with the rest of the crew participating.

A Round Of Words - Check-in 4

I came to a bit of a screeching halt with Shroud Of Death after my last check in. My energy levels seem ridiculously low and I'm sure I had more time to do stuff like this when I was living on my own.

After making a token attempt at writing on Thursday I walked away from it until Saturday. I came back to Shroud realising what was bugging me about chapter 3: The relationship between the two characters in this scene, they shouldn't be in love. I demoted Walter to long term companion and "protector." I also remembered a background element that runs through the story which I haven't been able to weave in because my location details are sketchy so I pulled open the Areas to edit file and made the relevant notes.

I'm moving forward again although I expect that after this check in Shroud Of Death may need to take a back seat while I crack on with my poetry studies.

Daily Word Count Goal: 100
Thursday: 11
Friday: 0
Saturday: 165
Sunday: 118

2nd goal set on my last check in:
Start Area's To Edit File: Done

Thanks to the ROW80 guys for their encouragement.

Missed my last check in?

Use the blog hop below to cheer on the other participants:

Website Updates

Hi All,

Been tinkering around with the website again:

Archived blog posts are now grouped by category.

Individual book review pages now have product details and links to the authors homepage.

I have given the Dark Metre pages a separate look to the rest of the site and there is now the Dark Metre blog. So you can check that for all updates rather than those posts getting buried on this blog.

I still need to tidy up the navigation links on some pages and as I'm back to writing fiction again I need to update the relevant site descriptions. But first more caffeine is in order.

The Friday 56 - Cell by Stephen King

Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Link it here.

It's that simple.


This week's teaser line is from Cell by Stephen King


For another, the tumult in the city beyond their little safe haven actually seemed to be increasing.





Other posts you might be interested in
2011 reading list
last weeks 56

Writing Reflections - Check In 3

it's the 3rd check in for A Round Of Words In 80 Days and the last few days have been tough. I'm severely  behind with my goals so I'm going to revise them. My original daily target was 375 words I'm cutting that right down to 100 words to take the pressure off.

I originally had a POV change planned for chapter 5 but I was presented with 2 problems, one that my protagonist had reached a point in the story where she needs to spend a couple of weeks arranging day to day stuff and two that this new POV character is indirectly but integrally tied to the conflict and theory of the story. I decided to bring this 2nd characters POV forward to chapter 3 because I could then come back to protagonists story at the point she moves further into the main plot and because setting this up in chapter 5 as originally planned feels a bit late in the day.

2nd POV character is the one I'm having the most trouble with, I know her purpose but getting the how's and why's down on paper is proving tricky.

I have a second goal slated for Saturday if I don't get to it sooner and that is to start a new word file named Area's to edit and I'm going to list down the various problem areas in this file. I will then have something I can go back and work over if the writing stalls again.

I haven't actually written any fiction for a few years and I'm feeling really rusty.

Word Count Log - daily target was 375 words
Sunday: 599 (out of the needed 880)
Monday: 86
Tuesday: 92
Wednesday: 122

New daily word count goal is 100

Hope everyone else participating is doing well

If you missed my last check in you can read it here