On editing

I think I have mentioned several times already that part of my "writer" training is editing a "current" project of mine.

I have thought a lot about this recently... especially since I just finished a sporadic half hour of editing.

Editing the stories, making them the best that they can be has always been my weakest point. I used to be the kind of writer that fell in love with every little couplet of words and thought that change would simply ruin the entire piece. Besides, it took too much time.

While I still agree with the time aspect, I know now that if I want a product of my hands to be worthwhile I have to be willing to invest a little bit more of my time. I think that the pride that comes from looking at a good finished product is an excellent reward to time spent.

Also, though many seemingly harsh marks made by my history professor (of all people) I have learned to fall out of love with my words. I now take a step back and look at the story almost as if someone else wrote these words. I find that the critic's job is a lot easier when you don't constantly think about the fact that this is "your baby".

When I started the editing process on Children of the King I fully intended to read the story through, get a grasp of the overall story line and then return once more to the beginning and start making criticisms. I didn't make it. Currently I have numbered page 69 of 272 pages give or take some funky formatting at chapter breaks.

Right now I'm being easy on myself and simply pointing out the wrong stuff but not actually fixing it. We will see how much of a happy camper I am when I go back through the manscript a second time and force myself to change when I marked.

On... well... I'm not sure yet

As you have most likely gathered from the title... I'm not exactly sure of the direction in which to head.

As of yesterday I finished the last book on my to do list. Granted, I have other books to read but by reading them I will not be crossing anything off this list. Because I have reached this point I figuratively have more time to work on my brainstorming, and plotting (I actually have done none of that) and editing.

As usual something crops up to take away that time. There is one rather large thing that took up most of my time this morning but I will not get into that because that is definitely a personal thing and I am trying to keep this blog about my writing and my ups and downs. The other thing has to do with school and textbooks.

I felt so accomplished when I ordered all of my textbooks right at the end of first semester. As the books started arriving I noticed that one of them didn't quite fit the class that it was ordered for. That textbook would be my Art History book. It turns out that somehow I ordered volume one for a second semester class dealing with Renssanice (I know I spelled that wrong but my brain will not get the right spelling out and I do not feel like asking anyone) Art until modern art.

To make a long story short I found the second volume but the price doubled while I waited to recieve my most recent paycheck. After a slight headache and some more searching I found what I think is a combined volume (I hope) for much much less.

Of course, I say all of this to say that my morning is completely gone and I have accomplished little of my goals. Of course, if I do not end up crossing everything off of my list at the end of vacation that will not be a bad thing.

I think the most important thing about my list is improving my writing ability. Of course I have mentioned that many times recently. I don't think I can mention it enough. I need to keep telling myself to get out there and expand my writing ability.

The more that I write the more I discover how rusty my skills are... like the kickstand on my bike. We went for a ride on the trails yesterday but before I could get started I had to wrestle with the kickstand just to get it up in a ridable position. Many times when I work through various exercises it must be like wrestling with the kickstand to pull it up. As I was writing this paragraph I remembered the direction I meant to take earlier... several hours ago... before I sat down with this entry.

Once again, while we're at the beach we are working on a puzzle... a very frustrating puzzle I might add. Instead of having a square or rectangular shape, this puzzle is formed in the shape of an eagle. The outside edges are definitely oddly shaped and from one to another one doesn't know which direction the piece will end up fitting.

I wrote the previous paragraph to say that several times while I was working on the puzzle I found myself getting frustrated and wanting to give up. This entry is getting long and I am starting to ramble so I think I will bid the entry goodbye and return when I have something profitable to add.

On continuing

I'm not sure if I will end up continuing this series of titles but this type seems to work the best for what the post is about. Perhaps as time goes on I will have exhausted the resources of the clever little word "on". Until then I plug on. :D (no pun intended)

There certainly is something to be said not just for starting a major project... which is what I consider this (a lifestyle project if you would)... but also for continuing. As I approach the New Year this seems a fitting topic to be dealing with. Many people make large New Year's resolutions... or at least resolutions that they have no hope of keeping throughout the entire year. I don't think that people realize just how long a year is.

I certainly didn't.

Last year at this time I joined a year long writing support group I guess you could say and determined to write 250k in a year. As I discovered... that's the easy part. I wrote my 250k + words in probably what would amount to six months solid work. I spread it out over the year of course.

I say that to say (getting back to my original direction for the post) that New Years Resolutions/continuing a long-term project/goal is more difficult than it looks. I intended to make myself a "writer" by devoting so much time to actual writing. I certainly put myself on the path but because of my time limitations I did not really go any farther than that first step or two.

Becoming something different than one is certainly has its challenges. I think that I've always been a writer but now I am honing my skills and working towards a more definable goal.

Keeping up the routine that I have set for myself is a difficult task. I let myself get swallowed up with work and reading all of the books that I put on my to do list as well. I often find it much easier to open a good (or sometimes not so good) book and rest on the laurels of someone else that has had to do the hard work.

Does this seem like rambling to anyone else? I most likely am rambling but I think there is a discernable path through the woods.

P.S. Can anyone help me find a better word (or at least some alternatives) to seem? I "seem" to be using that word a lot in my writing. thanks!

On procrastination

I had a completely different direction in mind when I set about to write this entry but as I looked at the dates of the other entries I changed the direction.

I mentioned earlier that I created a rather gargantuan to-do list for Christmas vacation in order to make sure that I didn't waste my vacation. Several of those things on the list were blog posts and brainstorming and editing.

I hate to admit it but I did not start the editing process for Children of the King until just yesterday. I realized that instead of having a simple half hour three times a week for the entirty of vacation I now have enough notations to make for half an hour every single day and a couple days with at least an hour. Hopefully I will use my time wisely here at Hilton Head and progress far enough this week to put myself back on track.

Speaking of editing, when I started work on Children of the King yesterday I realized just how much Historical Research and Writing has affected me. In that class I had to criticize every word of my writing to make sure that it conveyed exactly what I want it to convey.

Even though I don't think that I will end up writing history (historical fiction is more likely) this class helped me in more ways than that.

Thoughts on a letter

I received an interesting piece of mail yesterday evening, a piece of mail I had completely forgotten. What first caught my interest was the return address. It was from Miss Thornton or rather Mrs. Zeismer. I wondered what her reason would be for sending a letter after this many years. I thought that if she was sending a Christmas card/letter that it was odd for her to start after three years of nothing.
What I found inside the envelope was not a letter from her but a letter from myself to myself. I know that sounds strange but once I saw the letter inside everything came back to me piece by piece.
I looked back at the front of the envelope and realized why I’d recognized the handwriting. It was my own. I remembered writing the letter all those years ago in journalism class. The funny thing is that even as I sit here and look back on it I don’t remember the exact details surrounding the assignment but I vaguely remember the act.
I found one part of the letter extremely amusing... the part where I hoped that Caleb and Elena would stay together because they were perfect for each other but I still thought that Caleb was annoying. Well, four years have passed. Caleb turned out to be a jerk, dumped Elena, married another girl who is now expecting their first child. Interesting how things change over the years?
It is also interesting how things don’t change over the years. Four years ago I hoped that I would have a significant other and be able to marry soon after I finished college. You know where I stand on that. I also still had much the same writing/journaling style. I can look at that letter and see where I’ve improved and yet where I’m still the same.
I admire Miss Thornton (she married after I last saw her) for remembering to mail those letters four years later. It certainly has been a thought provoking time loop for me and most likely for the others in the class who received their letters.

On beginning

I sincerely apologize to my non-existent readers for my lack of posts. Hah. Actually, I apologize to myself. Never mind that train of thought. How about that for an odd beginning.

Christmas break has officially begun and I have grand plans for my time. I am determined to make good use of my time and not waste it by sitting around and vegging or some other form of that such thing. I've made myself a to do list and hopefully that will motivate me to cross everything off that list.

I have several writing things listed including blog posts. I consider this a form of enhancing my writing... making it second nature. The other two things I have included are things that I usually avoid like a plague, things that separate a casual writer from a serious, dedicated author. I think you know what I mean. These things are editing Children of the King (Abby is still editing Memoirs... when she can find it) and plot and character brainstorming.

yes, these are things that I don't normally do but now I know that I need to after plugging through Nanowrimo without clear direction for my novel.

Now that I've gotten myself started on this journey, invisible readers, keep me accountable. :D