Rewriting is Hard Work

[paragraphs]

I keep changing my 'I'll be done by...' date.

Current status: 97,332 words (had gone up to 98ksomething, but latter chapter had lotsa problems and had to be rewritten--tighter, sharper. Better.)

I have twenty-one chapters, and about to reread Chapter Ten's rewrite of a few days ago. It hopefully is good to go, and I can move on. End of Chapter Ten hits 41,762 words. I am just about to where I had left off after the initial mad writing with the GYWO group. Most of this part up to now was written in word wars which, while getting lotsa words down fast, is really actually pretty useless. Fast writing is crap writing, at least for me. I've had to do TONS of work on this story up to this point--tons and tons. From this point on, it was Nano writing: slower, more thoughtful, not rushing to get word count in, but writing-with-a-plan.

That worked for me oh so very much better. So much better.

While I don't at all disagree with 'just get the first draft down, dammit' is important, for me, the rush to just get anything down simply does not work. For the Nano-writing, I went back to how I wrote Red--scene by scene, with rewrites of the previous scene until satisfied, then moving on. It would take me all weekend to get 5-6 k, but when I moved on I was happy with what I had (knowing there would be another pass, later--two passes, as there will be one more final go-through).

Now I am hoping this puppy will be out of here by the end of the month. This past week was not the best (ugh, work, shakes fist) but am hopefully going to find this coming week better. Well, after I finish my $@#% review tomorrow.

Anyway...making progress, just slower than I expected. I'm starting to get my pseudonym's personae revived...not that she breathed much in the past. The epub world has changed SO very much since I sold Red to Loose-Id, so when (she said with conviction!) this book comes out, it'll be a very different process for me. Definitely different attitude! I've decided to center most of my pseudo-action around Goodreads...they have a fantastic m/m group on there already, and they recently chose Red as the book-read-of-the-month. They've got a very active group and I've been lurking. I've also got the pseudonym's website up and running, but still have lots of work to do on it.

I just want to get this done! I've got ideas how to save the other story (has 68k written on it so this is good!), and am itching, BAD, to get started on the new one. Really itchy-bad.

In other news...I'm bouncing all over, supporting Nick as he starts to plan for his move to Plymouth, UK. Trading in my German for a Brit! :) It is so, so darn exciting! I wish I could help him more than I can from so far away. Sigh. If all goes well I will be there in July. Gosh I hope so.

Better get cracking, I suppose! Need to switch laundry around, Son is cleaning upstairs, daughter is still fast asleep. Lazy girl. We may get the tree up around Tuesday. We don't like getting it up too early...and tree prices go down closer to Christmas. :) I'm sure we will have another TCU Christmas tree. Purple and silver. Pretty!

Any others out there not have their Christmas tree up yet? Nick's family puts theirs up the night before Christmas, which I love. Always has the cutest trees. We always seem to put ours up just days before.

Comments

[kel-reiley.livejournal.com]

we didn't do any decorating this year and we are not bothering with a tree - going to the sister's house instead!

also, CHECK YOU OUT WHITH ALL YOUR WORDS! congrats on that, bb!

[paragraphs.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Too long coming--I am vowing to be a word-machine in 2011. I want 3 books written. Heck yeah.

[kel-reiley.livejournal.com]

YOU CAN DO IT!!! ::waves pom-poms::

[cruentum.livejournal.com]

We put it up the morning of christmas eve. Because christmas eve is the big deal here, christmas day is only additional time off and food

[paragraphs.livejournal.com]

You get to put it up then this year! YAY! :) (or will they bother since they are leaving after?)

We decided to have Raclette for Christmas Dinner, so get ready for questions...I gotta remember all that must be included. LOL. Tiff's buying the cheese.

[heleninwales.livejournal.com]

I tend to put the tree up at the last minute. It has been Christmas Eve a couple of times, not out of tradition, but just because I didn't get it done until then.

Now we're both safely back from our trips, I might put it up tomorrow.

[paragraphs.livejournal.com]

Yay for being safely back, given the state of things over there! I enjoyed your thoughts about London though. Nick barely, barely made it out of there--the plane after his was canceled and that was it. Egads and shudder.

[klgrem.livejournal.com]

My dad always had ours up after Thanksgiving. I put ours up a couple days ago.
Just because I'm not feeling it this year.

If you're talking about your fantasy, changing your done by date to the end of the month isn't bad, considering how long it's been. ;-)

If it helps any, I'll be sending out good thoughts for Monday.
And the good thing about e-publishing? You can do it no matter where you live...

[paragraphs.livejournal.com]

No this is Lee's story actually. :) Yeah, my mom always did it ON Thanksgiving.

And yup that is so true!! I just wish I had more time in the day to devote to it. :)

[klgrem.livejournal.com]

Okay on Lee's Story.

And you will soon on the other. :-)

[misswinterhill.livejournal.com]

Man, you are going to write allll the words in 2011. The itching is a good sign! Well, I think it is...

[velvetcure.livejournal.com]

hope this isn't totally random: but my best friend, jason, does website design if you need some help in that area. i can get his contact info for you, if you are interested. he works in the IT department of a hospital but has a bunch of web-based side projects going all the time. he's good [and i promise i wouldn't say that if he really wasn't.] just a thought. :)

more of topic: i haven't put up a tree at all. probably won't. i'm just excited that all but one gift is wrapped! i'm done, baby! haha.
hope your review doesn't suck! your bosses sound like they are really messing with you.

[fictional-one.livejournal.com]

LOL. Aubrey and I just bought and put our tree up yesterday...partly because it is the only day we have off together, and partly thanks to my asshat bank, who still hasn't given me the money they owe me. All they can do is send me daily reminders that my hacked account is overdrawn.