Saturday 31 December 2011

Holiday Writing Challenge - Day 5 Word Count

Okay, so this balancing writing with holiday social obligations thing, it’s a lot harder than I thought.  Tonight’s word count was  a big fat 0.  Nothing solid planned for New Year’s Eve, though, so maybe I can make up for that void of writing tomorrow …

Do the 58 words in this post count?  Hm.  Thought not. ;)

Thursday 29 December 2011

Holiday Writing Challenge - Day 4 Word Count

I know, I know: No dday 3...

As it turns out, keeping track of my word count in the public domain didn’t make me as accountable as I thought it would. ;)  Yesterday’s lapse in recording was a result of my complete and utter failure to write a single word, which was, in turn, a result of my spending the afternoon and evening with a friend home from studying in the Caribbean.  After five hours of Dr. Who, supper, and a good deal of talking, I came home and dropped straight off to sleep.  

I made up for that today, though, as I have a word count of 2064.  Half of those words were notes taken in interview with Grandma in preparation for writing a paper on family history for the Ontario Genealogical Society’s essay competition.  I’ve got a good platform, and some interesting ideas, but there’s a lot more research to do.  Thanks to Grandma, I’ve got many more strings to pull!  

Tuesday 27 December 2011

Holiday Writing Challenge - Day 2 Word Count

Typically, I write in a linear fashion, starting at the beginning of the book and working my way through to the end.  This is probably because I like being surprised as a writer as much as I like being surprised as a reader.  I don’t work with an outline; although I usually have a very general idea of where the story will end, some of the twists and turns en route are unexpected and, for that reason, fun.  

Sometimes, if an idea strikes me as good for later in the book, I’ll go ahead and write it, then worry about linking it in when the rest of the novel catches up.  This is the case with The Harper’s Word.  The majority of the text’s first draft is written, with only the first part of the last section still simmering away at the back of my brain.  Today, though, I began what will be the linking in of that last section.  The word count was 1171, much better than yesterday’s total—probably due to the fact that I finally caught up on the sleep I’ve needed since exams ended.  :)

More tomorrow!

Monday 26 December 2011

Holiday Writing Challenge - Day 1 Word Count

So, after far too much turkey, stuffing, and death by chocolate, I finally sat down this evening and wrote.  Chapter two of Underground is now mostly written, with just a bit of fleshing out and some editing remaining.  

My word count for tonight: a not-so-whopping 526.  Better than nothing, right? ;)  

Holiday Writing Challenge

Making time for writing—especially when it isn’t your primary profession—is difficult at the best of times.  Every member of my writers’ circle has other obligations year-round—family, work, school, other hobbies—but we all have our own ways of making time.  This could mean waiting up until kids have gone to bed, then writing for an hour or so before turning in yourself; snatching ten minutes here, then minutes there between classes; frantically one-finger-tapping with one hand while you hold your lunch in the other.  Whatever the typical method is, the holiday season makes it exponentially more difficult to find time. 

I had intended to have the second chapter of Underground finished by now, with only editing to concern me between Christmas and New Year’s.  Unfortunately, this hasn’t happened.  I returned home after my final exam—Advanced Issues in Contracts—and found my calendar full of dates with friends.  I really ought to have realized this before setting my arbitrary deadline—after all, I was the one who made the dates—but it never occurred to me that by the end of the day, the effort involved in sitting down to write would be just a bit too much—and the idea of watching Big Bang and Murdoch Mysteries re-runs with my family just a little too tempting.  So, here I sit, on Boxing Day, preparing for one last family Christmas get-together, with no more writing done than I had before exams started. 

One of the ladies in my writers’ circle, recognizing the difficulties of holiday writing, has challenged our entire group to keep track of the number of words we write each day.  We’ve been emailing out the results each evening to the group list, and, while a number of people in the group have had impressive word counts, I’m feeling a little ashamed of all my zeros. 

So, here is my challenge:  Every day, from now until New Year’s, I will post the results of my writing for the day (the word count, not the actual writing, as you’ll hopefully see that soon enough on the website!)  In addition, I challenge any writers who are following this blog—whether you write novels, short stories, poetry, non-fiction, scripts, or even music—to post their writing results in the comment box of each results post.  We’ll be each other’s accountability. 

Good luck to all, and I hope to see some writing done!  Merry Christmas—belated though the wish is!

Wednesday 14 December 2011

A Quick Note on Underground

I just wanted to let everyone know that, unfortunately, I am now officially lost in the wilderness of law exams.  8-12 hours a day slogging through class notes, case notes, PowerPoint slides, and outlines—not to mention writing the silly things!—has left me with very little time for writing at the moment.  I’m currently no further along with "Chapter Two: A Gentleman’s Education" than I was the last time I posted an update.  

I wrote my employment law exam last week and will be writing labour law tomorrow.  That leaves me with the weekend to prep for advanced issues in contracts, which is scheduled for Tuesday.  After that, I’m home free for the holidays.  I hope to have the chapter completed by Christmas Eve, and have it edited and posted before the last Friday in December.  With a little luck, that will put me back on track for the rest of the book.

Thanks everyone for your patience.

Writers' Circles: a Vital Part of a Writer's Life

Every week, I’m reminded how vital a writers’ circle is in the professional life of a writer.  Not only is it made up of a group of people who understand exactly what you’re going through, it’s made up of people who are ready, willing, and able to help you through the tough times—on the page and in your career.

I’m lucky enough to be a part of two writers’ circles: one at home, and one at school.  Both groups function differently, but are equally important.  My “home group” has six members who meet weekly, exchanging the latest chapter or short story via email.  At the meeting, we take turns reading the work we emailed out.  Reading aloud helps with flow, allowing you to catch phrasing that is awkward or finicky.  This is especially true if someone other than the author is reading.

After story time is finished, each attendee has the opportunity to ask questions about the overall concept of the chapter, how it fits into the novel, character development and so on.  She points out what she thought worked, and what tripped her up.  Finally, she comments on things like word choice, comma placements, confusing references, etc.

My “School group” is much smaller, consisting of only three people.  We send out between 15 and 30 pages each per meeting (single spaced!) then spend 1 hour per piece shredding the text.  This is a line-by-line analysis made up of comments like “you need a comma here;” “this sentence makes no sense;” “I’m not sure what you’re trying to do with this image;” “your formatting went wonky;” etc.  This kind of group is great for writers on the brink of sending work out to agents and publishers—it’s basically free editing.  The best part is, if you find the right group, you won’t be wasting your time with ego stroking.  My school group says “If there’re no comments, it’s good writing.”  There’s nothing worse for a writer who wants to be published than a friend who reads the book and says “I really liked it.”  That’s not constructive in any way (even if it does make you feel good).

Beyond the basic function of acting as a forum for writers’ to test their work and get suggestions for improvement, the writers’ circles act as support groups—cheering when a member gains accolades; commiserating when a contest is lost; sympathising when family members reduce efforts to “writing your stories again?;” and understanding the hardships of trying to make a career out of words while you try to make a living “in the real world.”  Many of my group members are parents, spouses, students, and employees.  Having that writers’ time once a week gives them the opportunity to develop as authors, not as moms or wives or workers.  I was reminded of this last function tonight, as I took a break from studying labour law (the exam is tomorrow) to attend at least a portion of my home group’s meeting.  Just being in a room with others who struggle to balance writing with work calmed me down, cleared my brain, and gave the information I’d been studying all day time to simmer into what I hope will prove to be a cohesive understanding of unions, unfair labour practices, and remedies by tomorrow.  I also received some great feedback on my newest short story—an offshoot of The Harper’s Word.  Thanks to the group member who slogged through the reading of all those wonderful vowel-less Welsh names! (Here’s just a sampling of the character names and titles she dealt with tonight: Pencerdd, Maeldderw, Annwfyn, Achren, Llwyfan, Cyoeraeth).  My father is Welsh, and even he struggles with them. 

But back to writers’ circles …

It’s important to note that not all writers’ groups are the same, and not every one will fit you or your style.  I have left writers’ circles in the past for a variety of reasons—including personality clashes; methods of critiquing that just didn’t work for me; and group members that refused to take criticism, insisting instead on wasting time by justifying their work in response to every comment.  Don’t feel like you have to pick a group and stick with it, because as vital as writers’ circles are, the wrong sort can be equally detrimental.  There have been times where I’ve walked out of a circle wondering why I bother putting fingers to keyboard—then I have a home group or school group meeting and remember why.  I am a writer, and my circles confirm that and improve both me and my work every time we meet.

If you already have a writers' circle, I'm sure you know exactly what I mean.  If you don't, and you are looking to improve, I highly recommend looking for a group to join.  Writers' communities, like the Writers' Community of Durham Region (WCDR), the Writers' Community of Sympcoe County (WCSC) and the Writers' Community of York Region (WCYR) typically have links to local circles on their webpages.  You can also try looking at your local library.