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Welcome to this week's Novel Support Group (NSG). 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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Last Week's Goals
The new project continues. Going well, but slowly.
My goals for next week:
[list]
Read/list]
Since will not have much time to write, I should read instead. Normally when I'm writing I concentrate so much on writing that I don't read. So, now is a perfect time to catch up on some of the books I've been meaning to read.
Overall, a good week. Although, I'm befinning to get itchy to start something new.
Next Week's Goals:
On the Shelf: THE SHAMAN'S CURSE THE IGNORED PROPHECY DREAMER'S ROSE:
I'm adding DREAMER'S ROSE to the shelf for the time being. I need to re-imagine the story, let go of some things that have been there since the beginning, and either rewrite or do some heavy revisions.
MAGE STORM: Hopefully, get started on those revisions so I can get it back out there.
Quarterly Submission Stats: THE SHAMAN'S CURSE: 23 queries, 23 rejections, currently on the shelf for a rewrite. BLOOD WILL TELL: 34 queries, 32 rejections, 2 requests for partial that turned into rejections, currently finishing up a major revision. MAGE STORM: 23 queries, 21 rejections, 1 request for a partial and 1 request for the full both of which turned into rejections. I'm going to make a few revisions based on comments from the agent who read the full and start sending it back out. "Mage Storm" (the short story): 7 rejections before I withheld it. It made it as far as the second round at Daily Science Fiction "The Bard's Gift": 8 rejections and currently out. A (momentarily) nameless short story: 11 rejections. Expanded to a novelette, renamed and submitted. "Heart of Oak": 6 rejections and currently out.
What I learned last week: I have not been sending nearly enough queries. When I get BLOOD WILL TELL and MAGE STORM ready again, I need to start sending at least four times as many queries as I've been doing. Also, I need to let stories and novels rest a little longer before starting to send them out if I want to give them the best chance.
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No writing this week, but I did read through my middle grade and make some line edits. Now I let it sit for a while to get some distance. Probably a month. Then I'll print it out and look at it in a different place, and hopefully from a different perspective.
This trick works wonders, but I hate when I say, "I wrote that?" in disgust. I'm referring to individual sentences, not the whole work.
That was such a rush, writing something that quickly. I want to do it again, but alas, I don't have a solid idea spinning around my brain waiting to come out. I need to see something different to stimulate the creative juices.
posted
Hmm, managed to work on New Mage this week... my MC is now trapped in a pocket universe base on the Labyrinth. And she's been there long enough for her bladder to be full.
I was going to say that I still haven't figured out how the bad guy knew where she was going to be but I just did. Of course---Duh.
Worked on "Angel Kin" I need another title for this one. That is more the working title and maybe the title of the series. "She Finds Herself" maybe but something with a little more punch.
Oh, and I'm having a little problem I don't want her to be a super hero or a Buffy clone but there's a reason she is stronger than normal and can resist spells etc...
Did a tiny bit of work on revising "Storm Born" . Still need a reader or two---no bites over at the F&F for novels thread. Even though I got a couple of nice crits for the opening.
Want to do a Urban Knight tale of some type. Hmmm, almost have the opening but not the organization that makes him a knight. Hmmm, have a short story about a guy who ends up joining a real Viking--yep, the viking is that old-- to fight supernatural creatures and bad wizards but I don't think that is what I want for this novel.
and axeminister you could try reading some short stories, or look over a bunch of new books. Or try to come up with some what if scenarios.
But as to your reaction to certain sentences- I do that to. Sometimes I say I wrote that, Yuck--Yicks. But I even did that with the one story that sold. They sent me the proofs and I wanted to change a couple sentences so bad but the editors-there were three- had already approved it. So I had to trust them.
[This message has been edited by LDWriter2 (edited July 04, 2011).]
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So far I've stayed on track with my goals for BD&L and The Other Book which I really need to come up with a title for.
This week: Keep going on BD&L I'm up to Chapter 6 on the re-write and ultimate goal is to get it finished and sent out yet this year. Keep making progress on TOB. I did settle on a new version of Chapter Three so making headway there. Need to continue on at a good pace. I've been toying back and forth with two other pieces but really have no idea where they're going or what they are.
I've finally accepted the fact that my multi-tasking isn't working, at least when it includes a first draft. I've already lost momentum, so MINDWALKER is getting put aside until I finish my NULL PROPHET revisions.
On NULL PROPHET, I revised four scenes, cut one and added one, and got my word count down to 122,245 (from 125,978). I also had a really good conversation about it with my sister, who's forcing me to think about all kinds of things I hadn't considered.
Next Week:
I'm going to aim for five scenes this week, since I've already been over some of them, and it'll take me up to the halfway point (with this character, anyway). Continue to cut word count (aim for 120k).
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I am new to hatrack. My husband is a long time fan of the site and suggested it for me. I live in an area where writing groups aren't very feasible. I have two novels written (one of which is for a specialty market) and about 4 more in the works. I am trying to get my story The Pea's Curse ready for sending out to agents/publishers. I have done all the revision my husband and I can think of so I am hoping to hear from some people on the forum. I am starting to see that this is going to be a long process so I need to start working on other things again.
My goals this week: Write every day on my blog. Resume writing on Glory Springs. Write down a simple outline for second book in Pea series.
IP: Logged
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[This message has been edited by MDBHarlan (edited July 06, 2011).]
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