formerlybostonchile

Last time I discussed my writing, I was moaning about how overwhelmed I felt about editing. Well, this past week I stopped whining and consulted my expert researcher Ms/Mr Google - s/he is an hermaphrodite- and discovered a nifty book called Self Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King. This book is so on fire that it impacted my writing before I even received it. How do I mean? Well, I read an excerpt of the first chapter online and realized what was wrong with my own first chapter right away. In a word -well several words- I was explaining too much and not letting the characters live. I was giving all kinds of background and history and what not. A whole lot of info that had me saying in my nephew's voice: "who cares?" I guess the avid reader in me knew the problem all along, but the writer in me resisted deleting a single word. I mean those words were agonized over and carefully chosen by committee. I was loathe to let even one of them go. But I ...

Haven't really been writing much, despite my resolution and despite my desires. I did finally read all the way through my first draft of The Cheat Reflex (tentative title). It wasn't as cringe inducing as I thought it was. It is ironic to me that the first few sections which I had already edited and had worked on for several months before the challenge were actually worse than the unedited words that I wrote during the NaNoWriMo challenge. Those latter words felt more ... livelier. I guess because those words were coming straight out, and had eluded the great internal editor! I don't know. Anyway, the hard work is now ahead of me. Of course I am trying to avoid it by reading about the process instead of being about the process. Sigh. Meanwhile, I have to get my act together. My thought life is neglected, I really have to work hard this year on destroying my addiction to the gossip blogs. I have too little time and I must be very stingy with it. But, it's hard th...

And just like that the last day of November is upon us. And I am happy to report that I did it, I completed the first rough draft of my second novel. Finally: after seven years of putting this story down and picking it up; after several months of trying to put words to paper and always finding a reason to procrastinate; I did it. I can now cross that off my list of goals for 2012.  Of course I have a lot of work to do still, lots and lots of editing, lots more research. The novel is set in Lagos, Miami and Ibadan, with the exception of Miami, I know next to nothing about those cities so I need to go visit, maybe I will be fortunate enough to spend a month in Nigeria and two weeks in Miami. But be that as it may, I am very glad that I took part in the NaNoWriMo writing challenge. It worked for me because I was ready to finally write this thing, and 2) i love a challenge, and I felt that I was letting down someone if I didn't sit down and write my words for the day....

So, it is day 16 of this NaNoWriMo thing, and I am happy to report that I am still here. Writing away. Last night was a good night. I came to the page with great reluctance, confused and sleepy and distracted but once I got into the groove, I got into the groove. I even surprised myself. At the end of the night was at 26058, and I added 3000+ words. Are those words any good? I don't know. I will deal with that at the edit stage. I found this cool writing tool called Scrivener . Actually, I read about it on one of these NaNo pep talk letters. At first, I was like why would I need a tool for writing a novel, like I couldn't get it. But then I actually read about the features and I got it. What got me was the fact all my scattered word files  could be stored in one place. So I have been writing this novel separated into years instead of chapters, with the major characters telling each year from their view. I would put each year in their own file and then after I edited, woul...

So, it's about eight days into NaNoWriMo and I have been pretty committed to it. I have stopped going back to sleep after waking up early in the morning, and started writing instead. I don't know if what I am writing is any good and sometimes that little editor in my head is in my ear whispering sometimes shouting that what i am writing is pure garbage.  But, I tell it i will edit after I am done and to leave me alone. I have stopped making excuses not to write. I tell myself that even ten minutes is something. So now, I write during my lunch hour, there is a park I drive to sometimes. I eat my lunch and then type as much as I can in the time that I have.  I even went to Starbucks after work on Friday last week, and this tuesday, in the hour between work and bible study. (Can I just tell you that it feels like there is a  Starbucks on every corner out here?) I don't know why I put off all those things that make me me. I love praying, and at one point, I thought I w...

So this month is NaNoWriMo . My friend put me onto it last year, and I was to work on Cheat Reflex. However, it was also the first month I started working at my new job so as always, my writing took a backseat to my job. But this month, I am committed to getting this book done! I don't know if it is a story worth reading but I must get it out, it's been too long. I made a plan to write during my lunch break and of course I found all kinds of ways to waste the precious hour of lunch that I had, self sabotage at its best. But I shall show up at the page no matter what, whether it's garbage or not. I shall write and not edit until after November 30. I have done it before, I can do it again.