This blog post is going to be short and sweet, dears. I am a woman on a mission. I’ve set myself a mini-NaNoWriMo challenge – a MeAugWriMo, if you will. Doesn’t just roll off the tongue…
What are you babbling about?! you say.
Because I’m babbling already, a bit of background. We three have mentioned the marvelous Jami Gold before – writer, blogger, editor, writing guru. She recently celebrated her blog’s sixth anniversary and offered a contest that included an array of enticing prizes to a few lucky winners. Included in the extensive list are two things that drew me in – her critique of the first 2000 words of a manuscript or her beta read of the first 10,000 words of a novel. I was one of the lucky winners.
As it happens, I have a significant amount of Winter’s Thaw drafted. One of the biggest gaps — and the most important one — is the very beginning of the novel: the opening chapters that are supposed to hook the reader, introduce the protagonists and make them interesting enough that readers will want to know them, and bring in the Big Bad and set up the plot. All while showing, not telling.
In part, this gap exists because I’m in the Procrastinator’s Club around here,
but also it’s because we three have been focusing on Eden’s Fall, the first book in the series, and its ending, in some ways, sets up the opening of the second book. But, that’s no longer a viable excuse — we know the ending to Book One and I know how Book Two is going to open. I’ve been crafting its bones and now it’s time to flesh it out.
I am determined to get 10,000 words written, edited and as polished as I can by August 31, 2016 so that I can submit my baby to Jami for her beta read.
And, it takes a bit longer to type with my sidekick in the chair.
Enjoy your weekend!
But he is an inspiration…right!? I love Fergus!
He’s a wonderful companion, no matter that he has caused me to perch on the very edge of this chair while he sprawls across the rest.
Good Luck with your endeavour! 🙂
You go girl!!! If anyone can do it then its you! Cant wait to read it myself!
Thanks, Dawn! I’m right at about 2000 satisfactory pages, at the moment….10,000 seems like a very big number.
I’m as excited about this as I am about typing The End on Eden’s Fall!! It’s a great 2K! *grabby hands for the next 8K*
You make my heart go pittypat!!!
Just read the first 2K and my stomach clenched with how good it is and disappointment that I couldn’t keep going! I’ll see K’s grabby hands and raise you a *demented poodle dance*!
YAY! And, I saw what you did there 😘
Cool challenge. I’m at the 10k mark in my own novel now. Did you manage to hit your goal? 🙂
Good for you!!!! Actually, I missed the goal, but still working at it. Thanks for visiting! 😊
Cool. I’m sure you’ll get there! 🙂
I will! I’ve been doing some intensive work on description (something I think I fall a bit short on) and I think I’ll go back to the beginning and see what I can do to do more “showing”.