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Welcome to this week's Novel Support Group. Anyone can join. If you're new, tell us a bit about who you are and what project you are working on. Feel free to update the NSG Work in Progress thread with your current projects. Although we can report on any number of things, here is a list of suggestions (suggestions welcomed).


What were your goals last week and did you accomplish them?
Describe what you worked on.
Set goals for next week.
Did you learn something during this week?

Here is a list of things that you can do each week as we work on our novels (suggestions welcomed).


Writing on a novel
Characterization
World Building
Relevant research

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As for me:

Last Week's Goals:

DUAL MAGICS SERIES: As time permits, go through the x-ray listings for the Dual Magics boxed set and THE BARD'S GIFT. This is here to remind me that eventually I need to get back to this.


BECOME: TO CATCH THE LIGHTNING/BECOME: TO RIDE THE STORM:
Promote through social media. I now have two books on social media marketing. So . . . I need to schedule some time to read them.
Some. And no, I haven't read those books yet. But "Become: Brothers" does have a new cover.

MAGE STORM: Move forward. Try to build momentum.
Nope.

MEADOWSWEET: Continue to work on this one whenever MAGE STORM stops my forward momentum.
Not really.

OTHER:
Update my blog twice a week.
Yes.

Next Week's Goals:

DUAL MAGICS SERIES:
As time permits, go through the x-ray listings for the Dual Magics boxed set and THE BARD'S GIFT. This is here to remind me that eventually I need to get back to this.

BECOME: TO CATCH THE LIGHTNING/BECOME: TO RIDE THE STORM:
Promote through social media. I now have two books on social media marketing. So . . . I need to schedule some time to read them. Also, starting on the boxed set of this series.

MAGE STORM:
Move forward. Try to build momentum.

MEADOWSWEET:
Continue to work on this one whenever MAGE STORM stops my forward momentum.

OTHER:
Update my blog twice a week.

List of published books just to remind me of all the things I should be paying at least some attention to:

Blood Will Tell (Chimeria #1)
Blood Is Thicker (Chimeria #2)
Fire and Earth
The Bard's Gift
Daughter of the Disgraced King
The Shaman's Curse (Dual Magics #1)
The Voice of Prophecy (Dual Magics #2)
Beyond the Prophecy (Dual Magics #3)
War of Magic (Dual Magics #4)
Become: To Catch the Lighting (Become #1)
Become: To Ride the Storm (Become #2)

I need to schedule something for the Become series. It'd help if they had any reviews.
Yeah, that's something else I need to do.
 

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Posted by Grumpy old guy (Member # 9922) on :
 
I have been distracted. The good sort of distraction: trying new recipes, investigating composting solutions for my tiny little carbon footprint upon the world and finding new ways NOT to use plastic. How did I suddenly become some sort of greenie, eco-warrior? I haven’t even contacted my source at The Australian and New Zealand Association of Bellringers. Oh, well. Time for that tomorrow.

Now things are heating up again. Two nights ago while enjoying my nightcap of a good Tawny Port and some Pecorino Romana, I had an epiphany concerning my long suffering opus, Æsir Dawn. This began as a test story trying to see how difficult it is to write a story in first person, immediate POV. Let’s just say I don’t recommend such an undertaking. But, in the writing of it, I created a back-story legend which has since become the first novel of a planned trilogy.

I have struggled with the start of this story for almost seven years. Recently, I’ve had a couple of revelations which have given me hope I might someday nail it. The first one was I had chosen the wrong POV character to start the story with. The second, a couple of weeks later, was to reduce the opening chapters to their essence: Folcwyn refuses to go to the party. Saethryd crashes the party searching for Folcwyn. Then two nights ago I realised that all the motivations which drove my characters to act as they did were author driven, not driven by the characters own personalities, wants and needs. This created, not just within the narrative, but in my own mind as well, a dissonance which developed the story in an obviously contrived manner and left me wondering if I would ever solve the problem. Last night I think I did, which means a whole lot more character and scene development work for me. Damn and blast!

But, at least something has started moving again. For now.

Phil.
 

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