First Draft Complete!

I can't believe I finally did it! I started this book three years ago! After stopping for months at a time I finally got into a good rhythm a few months ago. There is so much work to do on this draft. I changed names, character descriptions, and little plot lines throughout the book as I went along. I plan to re-write the first chapter too. But that's okay! I AM FINISHED WITH MY FIRST DRAFT!!! This was the biggest goal I ever gave myself, and I can't believe I finally accomplished it. I AM SO HAPPY!

First Draft Word Count: 68,833
Double Spaced Pages: 216 (I think that'll be around 275 novel pages.)

Should you be writing?

I've been having trouble finding the time to write this past week.  Really it's because I find the part of the story I'm on tedious....then I think the reader will find it tedious...then I'm loathe to write it...then more time passes....  Anyway I found this tidbit on facebook and thought I'd share with the group:

Seems like sound advice.  Happy writing. :)

-Kiera

16,047 words and counting

The Problem with Tensed Tense

One of the biggest problems that I face while writing is the use of tense. I have a habit of switching back and forth between past and present. When I start typing my story, I begin with past tense because it's a little easier to tell a story from that point. However, as I get into the story, I feel a part of my main character and get drawn into his world and begin describing the things I see in my mind's eye. Unfortunately, that includes switching tenses to the present.

By the time I've caught myself doing it, I have already written a page in present tense. The only thing I can think to do after that is ignore it for the time being.

Here's the way I see it: If you're on a roll and your creative bug is wanting out, let it flow. If you stop to worry about grammar early on in the writing process, you're going to be beating yourself over the head quite a bit and the next thing you know, you've given up on writing. I know. The book I'm writing now is about the fourth one that I've started on. With this one, however, I've made the decision to remind myself each time I begin typing that this is called a ROUGH DRAFT for a reason... It's supposed to be rough!!

What is your biggest writing faux pas? What have you done to correct it or get over it and continue writing?

-Joseph

Average Book Length

So I was discussing with my brother-in-law the average length of a book.  I had also discussed this with a friend of mine recently and she told me she thought it to be about 80k words.  I could have sworn that I had read a few authors blogs where their books were totaling way over the 100k mark so thought that this estimate seemed to be a little too modest.  Because of this I have been aiming at 125k words (as stated in my previous post on goals).  However, as I said, I was discussing this with my sister's husband on facebook last night and he also said that he had heard from a fairly reputable source that 80,000 words was a good average length.  So, after hearing this twice from two different sources, I decided it would probably be a good idea to do some research for myself.

What I found is that for a first time novel, publishers are much more likely to take a chance on a 60k-90k book than on a 150k epic (closer to Harry Potter size then average novel).  This confused me because I had also heard that a page of written text in Microsoft roughly translated to a written book page.  So I was picturing needing to write 250 or so pages in Word in order to have enough for a book (which given I'm averaging approx 675 words/page would make it about l69k words).  This is not true.  I found one website that listed the average number of words on a regularly sized paperback is around 250.  This varies according to margin sizes, type, spacing, etc...   So I went and picked up two random books from my bookshelf.  One was a paperback, one a hardback, opened to a random page and counted the words.  The paperback had 243 and the hardback 267.  So I would say that the 250 words/page estimate seems to hold true.

So this means that right now my manuscript is on page 24 on Microsoft Word.  However I have 14,136 words, which would be 56.5 pages in an average paperback.  So where I was worried that my first chapter of seven pages was far too short, it would actually be 17 paperback pages.  I don't know about you but this makes me feel much better.  Instead of worrying that I won't have enough story to be able to fill as many pages as I need I now worry about making it more concise and to the point.  Also, I don't need to write a page and a half every day to finish by Christmas.  But, if I continued doing that I would finish by the end of November.  That's right, it cuts three weeks off of my writing estimate.  So I think this is reason to celebrate.  Who's with me? :)

-Kiera
24 pages
14,136 words and counting.

Goals

So I was sitting around today thinking back to when I was in college and wondering how I managed to get all of those paper written in such a timely manner.  The first thing that came to mind was the acknowledgement that I didn't have four kids back then or a husband demanding my attention.  But I was in school full time, worked 60+ hours a week at my student job and still found time to get all of my assignments done.  The trick was that there were deadlines.  When I had deadlines I was forced to prioritize my time in order to get all of my work done by the day they were due.  So I've decided that this book will never get written unless I set up some very definite goals and try to stick to them.

The first goal I have decided is that I will be finished with the first draft by Christmas.  My tentative goal is 125k words (is that realistic? too long? too short? yes I know, however long it takes to tell the story, but still...).  So in order to reach this goal I have figured out that I need to write approximately 1.5 pages a day (excluding Sundays, which I take off).  One and a half pages doesn't seem too daunting when taken one day at a time.  Surely I can make up something that sounds good for such a short amount of space right?  It's only when I start thinking of doing this every day for the next 20 or so weeks that it seems to become an impossible task.  How can I possibly come up with that much stuff?  But I digress.

My next goal, upon completing the first draft, is to finish editing my manuscript by the end of March.  This may be a little optimistic, I don't know as I've never edited an entire book before, but I think I can do it in that time frame.  So once I am finished editing then I will be ready to shop around for agents/publicists or what have you starting in April.  Hopefully this will not be as time consuming as the actual writing of the book as I plan to then start on my next book in May.  I read on Kim Harrison's blog that you should always have something you're working on so that should you find a publisher that loves you and they then ask to see more of your work you actually have something to show them.

Reading full time author's blogs I feel like I may be allowing entirely too much time to write/edit/etc.. this book.  They seem to be whipping them out start to finish in 3-4 months.  However, I've been trying to console myself that most of them are doing this full time as in eight hours a day whereas I am lucky if I get one or two.  Maybe if I didn't have all these other life details distracting me I could finish my book in four weeks instead of twenty, edit in two weeks and have a deal with a publisher by Christmas.  But I don't have that kind of time at this point in my life, so I will be content with my 1-2 hours.  Of course...maybe when all of my kids are in school for 8 hours a day and I'm a world famous author, I can devote more time to my craft. ;)

What are your goals?
-Kiera
20 pages,
12.353 words and counting...

Slump

I am in a writing slump.  "But Kiera," you say, "you've only been writing for three weeks, surely you can't be in a slump already?"  Yes, it's true.  Here is the problem.  My book is very location specific.  It is based in Istanbul and a lot of the plot hinges on it being in this specific location and on my ability to accurately describe said location in a way that makes it sound exotic and exciting while still maintaining more then a passing degree of accuracy.  So after writing a bunch of fluffy plot filling bits I find that I must now do much more extensive research then I had planned....
"Luckily," my brain says, "I have a masters degree!  and we all know what having a masters degree means!  That's right!  We know how to research!"
"But," says the whiny dominant voice in my head, "I hate researching stuff.  I'd rather lounge about all day reading silly romance novels than doing any real work....and...I have those kids!  I think they need my attention!  I'm almost certain they need my attention more than a research paper on Istanbul does!  and so does my netflix queue!  It's been sitting around in cyberspace just waiting to be dusted off!  Look at all those shows I've been meaning to watch."
At this point my brain is apt to roll it's eyes in disgust and walk away...or it would if brains had feet...or eyes...
Anyway, the point being, I am lazy and I don't want to put in the time doing the research for this book. However, I'm sure this will prove to be a momentary lapse as my logical brain seems to be coming back into the room and reminding me that writing is a job that requires effort on my part and that if I want to be an author I will put on my big girl panties and go to it.  *sigh*  Stupid brain, I knew it was a mistake to let it out again after all these years. ;)

Anyone else run into snags like this?

-Kiera
18 pages
11,069 words and counting.

My Writing Progress and Goals

Hi Writing Friends! I wanted to share my writing progress and goals with you.

I got the idea to write a book over three years ago. At first I thought I'd write a picture book. I even submitted one to a few publishers. I enjoyed the writing and submitting process. At that time my love for reading young adult books was quickly growing. So I made the life changing decision to write a young adult novel.

I really love making up my own fictional characters and world. After reading everyone else's books it's my turn to decide the story and share it with the world. It's taken a long time. I struggle with Writer's Confidence. I have to fight thoughts that tell me I can't write, and everyone will laugh at me. Sad, but true. I also am a stay at home mom for three energetic boys, 5, 3, and 1 year olds. My life isn't too crazy or anything. ;)

I hope to finish my first draft in the next month or two and start on the editing process. I'm actually looking forward to editing my book to be its best. Now that I see the end of my first draft in sight I have the motivation to write faster.

Current Writing Stats:
180 pages
56,707 words

I'll keep you posted. Happy Writing!

Attempts at early morning inspiration...

Yay! I hit the 10,000 word mark!
So my plan this week was to wake up every morning at 5am and write before the kids got out of bed.  Monday, my alarm went off and I hit the snooze repeatedly before turning the clock off and going back to sleep.  Tuesday my alarm didn't go off as the am/pm was switched.  Wednesday I decided to wake up at 6 instead of 5 since we had a late night.  I only pushed the snooze button twice and got up at 6:20.  Before I had even left my bedroom however, my four year old wanders in, sees me up and thinks it's time to wake up.  I convince him to go potty and get back in bed, make it into the computer room and sit at the desk.  At first my brain refuses to believe that I am expecting it work at such an early hour, but with a little persuasion, it finally kicks in and I begin writing.  I got a little more than a paragraph done before all three of my oldest kids come running in, the six year old fully dressed, and asking for food.  So much for that attempt.  Thursday my alarm didn't go off once again because I forgot to switch it back from the "set the alarm" screen to the time screen.   So here I am once again typing late into the night.  My husband is out of town this weekend and I was hoping to get some work done during the time we would normally be watching shows.  So I've worked/searched the internet for about 45 minutes and I'm calling it quits as I had high hopes of watching Thor or Captain America tonight...though seeing how late it is I may just settle for an old Highlander episode instead.  Happy Writing!
-Kiera
10,179 words and counting.