A view from the bridge
Hello friends. It has been a busy few weeks at The Wee Writing Bureau. I’ve managed to get back into my creative flow and writing regularly. As I recover I am finding that what works best for me is writing in short but focused sprints of 25 minutes or so. It is surprising just how much progress you can make doing that. Project Pearl now has well over 30,000 words. I have also had to start sketching out the next few scenes in each timeline before I write. That allows my writing time to be more focused and I don’t get sucked into the research rabbit hole quite as easily. It felt like going against the grain the first couple of times because I am, as those of you who have read previous blogs will know, a ‘pantser’ by nature. Writing the first draft is telling myself the story and I found the outlining assignment for my course a form of torture. However, I will admit that it has made the writing process easier for such a huge piece of work. Although, that was the point of undertaking the course. To learn how to write a novel as I go along with some expert support and guidance.
I have now almost completed my course and have the final assignment to submit, the first 25,000 words of the novel. I have set aside some time over the next couple of weekends to edit and then format my work into something that resembles a coherent manuscript. So far I have had a first go at arranging the chapters from both timelines into something that flows. I have also done a quick read through and identified a couple of issues. One of my poor characters was sent to look for something in a room deep in the tower and was still there 5 chapters later. I had to bring her back to send her to the archives to look for a letter and I am now hoping she doesn’t decide to punish me by taking another 5 chapters to locate it.
My children have been somewhat alarmed by my cries of ‘what did you do that for? Now I’m going to have to re-write chapter 2!’ and ‘Did I write that? I don’t remember writing that…’
The quick read through gives me a different perspective on the writing, like a view of it from a bridge. I can see how the parts are coming together. This weekend I am going to read it through aloud to myself and see if it flows. If the dialogue works. I am going to be brave and record myself so I can play it back chapter by chapter as I edit. The thought of that is actually a little bit uncomfortable but I know it will really help me.
I have also volunteered to be a beta reader for other authors. As a beta reader you get a rough copy of the manuscript, in the early stages of editing, and give feedback. Does the story work, are there any plot holes, are the characters engaging and so on. The author then has feedback from a few different people and can see if some common themes emerge or the points resonate. I have started reading my first manuscript as a beta reader and it is in a completely different genre to mine which is nice. It is also fulfilling to be able to support another author to get their book published. It is a hard thing to do, to hand your work over to somebody else in such a raw form but I can see the value in it. If any of you would be interested in being a beta reader for me then I would love to hear from you.
Picture Credit: @bendavisiual
