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Write On with Michelle
Michelle Rowen
One of the bloggers I read avidly is Michelle Rowen. She's a writer, published and everything, and I loved her first book, and I got to meet her at her first book signing, and... I'm a total fangirl.
Anyway. She is working on the sequel to her first novel, Bitten & Smitten. It's called Fanged & Fabulous and she's got a deadline of August 1st for the first draft. In the spirit of "misery loves company", she's issued a challenge - Write On with Michelle. In other words, she's invited her blog readers to work on their novels with an eye to completing a draft at the same time she finishes her first draft, and blogging the process. Obviously, all this is leading to this: I've signed up.
I really want to be successful at this. I've attempted Nanowrimo twice and didn't finish either novel. I'm hoping that having 4 and a half months instead of just one month will keep me from getting overwhelmed. Of course, the inverse of that is the danger of losing interest after focusing for so long on one story.
Now that you have the backstory, I can start in on my issues. Yes, it's the first day, and I have issues.
1. I haven't decided what to write. It would be nice to start something brand new, something from scratch. It would also be nice to finish something. Anything less than 50% finished is an acceptable project for this. And neither of the projects I'm considering is anywhere near 50%.
Projects under consideration:
1a: Learning Curve - A YA fantasy that I started for Nano '04.
Pros: I'm at about 15,000 words over 4 chapters. I love the idea.
Cons: I haven't figured out the middle.
2a: The Novel - A Chicklit novel that I started a couple of years ago.
Pros: I have 2 very, very short chapters written.
Cons: Not quite sure of where it's going.
Not quite sure if it's going to end up being novel-length.
Love, love the idea. I think it's publishable, but I could easily wreck
it by trying to write it before I'm ready.
2. I still need to work on some fanfic - I want to have a reasonable body of work before WriterCon in July. At the moment, I'm feeling a little like a fraud. I only have 4 stories posted, and one of them is a WIP. A WIP I haven't updated in months. My roommates are awesome writers with great imaginations and great talent. I know I'm going to learn a lot from them, but I would like to have something, some small skill, to offer in return.
3. I don't have an issue number three. Yet. I'll get back to you.
One of the bloggers I read avidly is Michelle Rowen. She's a writer, published and everything, and I loved her first book, and I got to meet her at her first book signing, and... I'm a total fangirl.
Anyway. She is working on the sequel to her first novel, Bitten & Smitten. It's called Fanged & Fabulous and she's got a deadline of August 1st for the first draft. In the spirit of "misery loves company", she's issued a challenge - Write On with Michelle. In other words, she's invited her blog readers to work on their novels with an eye to completing a draft at the same time she finishes her first draft, and blogging the process. Obviously, all this is leading to this: I've signed up.
I really want to be successful at this. I've attempted Nanowrimo twice and didn't finish either novel. I'm hoping that having 4 and a half months instead of just one month will keep me from getting overwhelmed. Of course, the inverse of that is the danger of losing interest after focusing for so long on one story.
Now that you have the backstory, I can start in on my issues. Yes, it's the first day, and I have issues.
1. I haven't decided what to write. It would be nice to start something brand new, something from scratch. It would also be nice to finish something. Anything less than 50% finished is an acceptable project for this. And neither of the projects I'm considering is anywhere near 50%.
Projects under consideration:
1a: Learning Curve - A YA fantasy that I started for Nano '04.
Pros: I'm at about 15,000 words over 4 chapters. I love the idea.
Cons: I haven't figured out the middle.
2a: The Novel - A Chicklit novel that I started a couple of years ago.
Pros: I have 2 very, very short chapters written.
Cons: Not quite sure of where it's going.
Not quite sure if it's going to end up being novel-length.
Love, love the idea. I think it's publishable, but I could easily wreck
it by trying to write it before I'm ready.
2. I still need to work on some fanfic - I want to have a reasonable body of work before WriterCon in July. At the moment, I'm feeling a little like a fraud. I only have 4 stories posted, and one of them is a WIP. A WIP I haven't updated in months. My roommates are awesome writers with great imaginations and great talent. I know I'm going to learn a lot from them, but I would like to have something, some small skill, to offer in return.
3. I don't have an issue number three. Yet. I'll get back to you.
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As for concern #2, no worries. I'm all about write what you want to write, what you need to write, whatever shape or form.
I mean, I'm glad to hear you think we're awesome writers and all (actually it makes me giggle a bit - I can't claim I've been part of a group described that way before) but there will be no "my portfolio of fanfic is longer, wider, better than yours..." Trust me. We're a humble... or possibly neurotic... group who will be tripping over each other in appreciation of each other's work, not our own.
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But I'm still crazy excited about going to Atlanta and meeting everyone! :-D
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And I don't believe that someone as devoted to her writing as you are could "wreck it," and I also don't believe that there is ever such a thing as being ready to write a novel - If one waits for an ideal state of readiness, one will probably never feel ready enough to settle in and write.
So jump right in there. It'll be fun. ;)
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I just keep thinking about what Miss Snark says about every writer having a first novel that should never, ever see the light of day.
But then again, there's an exception to every rule!
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/silly mote
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I hope you get it all solved soon and all. :D
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I would love to start something new, but I don't want to spend too much time outlining. Of course, if I pick something I've already started, I still need to do some outlining.
Bah. I think I'll just start freewriting on each of them for 30 minutes and decide based on the outcome of that.