The magic of a 3-day weekend

The last few months have been hectic, with a work trip away, an overnight walking marathon and two 30th birthday parties at opposite ends of the country (plus all the usual knitting, reading, cooking and, oh, working etc...). I can't WAIT until this weekend - 3 days with nothing to do unless I really want to do it. Knitting buddy Kathryn has invited me to potter around with her on her new allotment, and other knitting buddy Charlotte is having a 'first night in a new flat open house with takeaway' on Friday, but other than that, I am free and I have the flat to myself...

I have already stocked up on yummy treats (Waitrose fish-finger sandwich, anyone?), and am planning what I'm going to read. There are several things that I've started over the last month, but haven't finished, so some quality time with a book and a pot of coffee on the balcony will help me polish them off. I am also really excited about the writing I'm going to do. Some of the massive tangly plot disasters from the first draft have resolved themselves in my head over the last few weeks, and it's going to be very interesting going back and seeing how much I need to change. And I may even squeeze in a blog or some tweeting!

Bullets bitten

So I'm back from Milan (although my case is not. It should be arriving at my office at around 9am tomorrow. Nice.), and while there I did a lot of things. Read, shopped, ate, drank, talked (sometimes in Italian!), and.... WROTE! Not much, but it's a start. Draft 2 is now underway, with one whole chapter done. I've got a bit of a plan, and also some ideas for other stories, one I could start writing soon, and another which will take a lot of research. But research means BOOKS, so I'm all for that!

Here's to finally getting on with the damned thing.

Plunge...

I've only gone and done it... Wednesday afternoon was never a good time for productivity, so follow me, @eleanor_steele, and help me pass the time!

Ponder...

I've just come out of a digital training session at work. It's given me lots of ideas for projects I'm working on with my clients, but it also made me think about what I'm doing online just for me, like this blog and being part of the Novel Racers. I read the BubbleCow blog, and have been quietly absorbing what they say about Twitter and other online tools for raising one's profile, but haven't quite taken the plunge yet. Part of me is worried that it'll take too much time (something I really don't have a lot of). I mean, I barely update my blog once a week, I never get through the backlog of blogs I read, so when would I have time to tweet and follow other people?

But now I have an iPhone, and things just look a little easier to manage - I can read my blogs in bed without my laptop, I can blog from the tram, so maybe I'm ready to dip my toe into the waters of Twitter...

Pause...

This year has been rather strange so far. There have been some big changes, and some small ones, which add up to massive changes when combined, so my focus has been somewhat blurry. Things are starting to feel a bit more normal now, and my optimism is gradually returning.

I haven't forgotten about writing exactly, but other things have sort of taken over the time I would normally use to write and to plan, but it has all been ticking away in the back of my mind. I've had a few minor epiphanies along the way, and I'm really hoping that this month I'm going to get the ball rolling on my second draft. Now, I just need to remember what it's all about...

Seriously?!

I have ONLY JUST noticed that I have three characters with the same name. Oh well, I've only been writing this for A YEAR.

This has not been a good weekend for my brain. I'm going to take a brief chocolate break before I carry on with the text edits.

Blushing retraction

In future, when I am driven to such lengths of frustration by my computer that I am compelled to post a ranty blog on the subject, I will endeavour to check that, for example (hypothetically, of course), I haven't set the default language to Italian.

Sigh.

I growl at technology

I am taking a break from re-plotting to go through the top-line text edits of my first draft, and for reasons of version control, am doing these edits in Scrivener, rather than in my over-sized and rather lumpy Word document of the whole 100,000 words. But, for some INFURIATING reason, EVERY new word I type comes up with a red line underneath it. And sometimes the word next to it too! I KNOW HOW TO SPELL 'THERE'. AND 'MIND'. AND 'TO'. But currently, my computer doesn't believe me.

That autumn feeling

It's been a while since I posted, but lots has been happening behind the scenes. I finished my read-through of 'Unseen' last night - it's taken me ages! At the moment the holes are so big I'm feeling rather daunted about what I need to do to patch the plot up, but at least I know where they all are now. Tomorrow night I'm going to have a massive plotathon, then start writing the missing scenes and cutting the rubbish ones. S says he wants to read it too, and I think it would be useful to have someone else's opinion, though it's too shaky for me to show to any of my readers yet...

But while I am excited about moving 'Unseen' to the next level, the chill in the air is making me think about NaNo. I know it would be crazy to start a new WIP now (not least because I've just signed up to do a part-time degree in Italian Literature... gulp!), but I've been working on 'Unseen' for so long that it's only natural that my brain is percolating the ideas for the Next Big Thing. I just need to let them simmer a bit longer!

Did I write THAT?!

So, after a bit of a break, I've started on the bizarre process of the Second Draft. I've never got this far before, so I'm slightly making it up as I go along, but that's fine. It's fun, and fresh, and different from trying to churn out words. Now I'm trying to recognize the ones I wrote 8 months ago.

I've got a shiny new notebook with handy sections, and I've started reading through the 1st draft, making notes on what happens in each chapter in the blue section, while I'm making notes about the characters in the red section. I found that when I was getting to the latter stages of writing, I couldn't remember what I'd called some of the more minor characters, and other little details, so having the main points jotted down should help when I start putting it all back together. My 1st draft is printed out in a big blue folder, and I've been making quick edits on obvious things I've spotted as I go, and also underlined important things in green. It's quite weird - I've foreshadowed things that I hadn't even thought of when I wrote the beginning and I'm also trying to highlight all the little clues I've left through the text to make sure they all come to something later on.

When I've finished my read-through, my plan is to draw a map of the book on a piece of A3 paper, and start working out what needs to change and where the extra chapters that I've thought of need to go. I might start off with this on Post-Its so I can move them around, but I want to end up with a chart I can stick on the wall (if I can persuade S to let me stick something up! Blue tack stains, you know!). And then comes the actual writing again. Phew, it all seems rather complicated now...

FINISHED!

At 100,794 words, the first draft of 'Unseen' is finished! I would have posted about this earlier, but I actually typed the final words in the car on Friday night, while being whisked away to the wonderful Losehill House Hotel for a surprise birthday getaway. I haven't drunk the pink prosecco yet, but I think a glass or two might be in order this evening...

Almost... there...

2.5% left. I can do this! I think I've sorted out what the ending is going to be, and even realised I have another little twist left. Despite distractions (like my birthday on Friday), I am GOING to finish it by Sunday. Honest.

Another inch

With 1000 more words since yesterday lunchtime, and a revelation that I've just started my penultimate chapter, I'm another inch closer to 'The End', and drinking the bottle of pink prosecco that's been tempting me from the fridge for months now. I just have one, tiny problem. I know what goes in this chapter, and even the first half of the next one, but I have no idea what needs to happen once all the loose ends are tied off and everyone knows everything. Is it good enough just to say '...and they all lived happily ever after'?

Did you see that?

My word count just crept up - 1500 words since Sunday. At this rate, I may actually finish it this weekend.

SQUEEE!

Another week, another lack of words...

Yep, you guessed it, no writing this week. I don't even really have time to add this, but I've got 2 books to add to my 'Read in 2009' list (I know, I know - reading, not writing...) and I don't want to get behind in that as well. My only excuse is that I have been writing, but in Italian, preparing for my exams over the next 2 weeks. When they're over, I'll have completely run out of excuses so I'll have to start writing again!

Zzzz

Maybe it was slightly over-ambitious to think that I would have the brain-space or time to start writing last week, but I've got so many ideas and I really miss it so I thought it might happen. But, unsurprisingly, it didn't. I did have a lovely weekend, with a barbecue (somehow avoiding the customary Mancunian rain), a Eurovision spectacular and a meat-filled birthday dinner for a carnivorous friend keeping me busy.

This weekend does have an extra day tacked on the end with the lovely second May bank holiday, but it also contains a friend's wedding in Devon. And, yet again, S and I are both singing, which will be lovely, but does take up a fair bit of time, especially considering the groom's composition (rather tricky...). That said, I have recently perfected the art of typing while S drives, and it's less anti-social than reading, which is one of the only other methods I have of staying awake when being driven. Maybe the journey to Devon and back is just what I need to finish off those last 7,000 (ish) words?

Normal service will resume shortly

Last week was one of the busiest I've ever had, culminating in a big meeting in Dublin. Despite having a day off last Monday for the May bank holiday, I managed to work over 60 hours, and am still a little bit drained. I've found the lack of time for anything other than work really frustrating, and I want to try to address this, but I think that it might have to wait for a while... But hopefully, if all goes according to plan, I should have some time for writing before the end of the week.

90,000!

A slightly unexpected burst of speed (possibly induced by the contents of Calistro's Pay It Forward gift, which I'll post about properly on Wednesday when I've taken the pictures) on Saturday has taken me past the 90% mark!

It's arrived!

If I wasn't just about to leave the house (we're spending Mothers' Day with my in-laws and we need to get on the road!) then I would SO take pictures and put them up immediately, but frustratingly, I don't have time right now. But, my Pay It Forward package from Calistro has arrived and it is FABULOUS.

Busy

Still writing, just busy. Will blog again soon...