Wednesday, December 17, 2008

A Little More on Writing

I kind of forgot to include the whole point of my post yesterday. If you recall, my goal for NaNo was 60,000 words, but I ended at just under 55K. Well, on Monday I finally reached my goal AND passed the 200-page mark. As of right now I'm at 62,500 at roughly 207 pages, but I have a lot of dialogue so I'm sure that's bumping up my page count.

I read through my beta's comments on The Other Side and there are some very good suggestions on how I can make things longer. She suggested expanding several scenes, adding a couple chapters, and getting more in-depth with a few other characters. My main concern there is I wrote it in 3rd person limited, meaning everything is told from the main character's perspective. It'll be a challenge for me to figure out how to tell more about them while staying inside Mateo's head. Regardless of the challenge, I'm excited to get back to work on it.

My next concern is whether I should set aside Nanonovel08 (lol, yes that's the title) or finish it and THEN work on TOS edits. I'm worried that if I stop writing the current wip now, I'll lose my flow and have a hard time getting back into it, but I really want to start querying by February and to do that I'll need to start the edits now. I know I could work on both at the same time, but then I'm concerned the voices will start to merge.

Any suggestions?

20 comments:

Robin said...

I'd definitely change the title of nanonovel08. It's not very catchy.

Everytime I stop and restart my fiction attempt, I have to spend time getting into the characters again, so I can make it flow, and keep it straight. If that "problem" can be generalized to others, I'd say you should finish "The Other Side" first, and then work on the nano novel.

WendyCinNYC said...

I'd finish TOS first. But I'm linear like that. I couldn't work on two at the same time.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Robin, I know, right? Kind of a tongue twister.

That's my concern but right now my head is in the nano novel. But my heart is with TOS, which leads to Wendy's comment.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Wendy, I'm the same way. I might still try to write a teeny bit with my current wip in the meantime, just so I don't lose momentum. We'll see.

Ed Wyrd said...

Well, you set yourself a deadline of submitting by February. I guess that should take precedence. Get the editing done and out of the way and then you'll be free to throw all your energies at Nanonovel08.

Janna Leadbetter said...

I don't know, Melanie, because I have the same trouble figuring out which project from a list to follow closest. Let us know what you decide!

And I'll be curious to see how your edits of TOS play out. I've always had trouble finding ways to extend a plot, and I'd like to hear what you do. :)

Anonymous said...

I'd work on finishing TOS. What's the point of having severval WIPs? Nothing ever gets finished or submitted.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Ferret, good point. My plan all along was to finish novel #2 while submitting novel #1, so I don't know why I'm questioning it now.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Janna, I'll keep you posted. :)

Melanie Hooyenga said...

AC, and there you have the most logical point. Thank you.

Anonymous said...

I think you should work on TOS since you want to send that out for submission. You can always come back to NaNo after February.

Travis Erwin said...

I say polish the one you want to query and then write while waiting out those queries. You may have a bit of trouble getting in the flow again but I bet you can read yourself back into the story after a few days.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Blog (?), that's what I'm thinking.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Travis, that's a good point. I guess I have this fear that if I stop before I finish it I might never go back to it, but I just have to have faith in myself that I will. I'll need something to work on while queries are out anyways. :)

Spy Scribbler said...

Well... write on nano08 for a week, and then hopefully I'll have a couple notes for you (whether useful or not, LOL) by then. :-)

No, just kidding. Really, flow and interruptions can both work to your advantage. Do what you're most excited about!

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Spy, hurry! I'm so anxious to hear your thoughts. :)

Anonymous said...

I'd say, go with your gut. What would you prefer to do?

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Finish TOS.

colbymarshall said...

I'm working on two at once and it's a challenge, but I try to take little breaks in between working on one and on the other so I can get in the "zone" for whichever I'm working on. So far, I don't feel like I'm merging...

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Colby, my first novel is so different from my second I'm worried he'll start sounding different. I wrote a couple lines last night and already I'm having to remind myself he's not college educated, lol.