Confession time

Okay - I'll admit I haven't done much writing this week. The trouble with having a long weekend away is that it's so hard to get back into a routine afterwards. Also I got a kindle as a belated birthday present and I've been busy downloading all the free books that I can find, including several Mills and Boons. I suppose I can put it down to research...

I'm still mulling over what to do with my opening chapter. I think my task for tomorrow is to read through the first three chapters again and see if I get any fresh inspiration.

More computer problems

The day after I made my last post my laptop started playing up again. It completely stopped registering clicks on the trackpad, which made it impossible to do very much at all. I could open a document and read it, but without being able to select text, editing was too laborious to contemplate.

What I was able to do, however, was read my ms from start to finish. I didn't make any notes, I just wanted to get the feel of the whole thing, as if I was reading it for the first time. The verdict? I'm much happier with how the conflict evolves in this draft. I also think the writing gets stronger in the later chapters - I was almost able to forget I'd written it and was just enjoying the story while I was reading it. However, the earlier chapters feel a bit rushed, as though I'm too desperate to get to the good bits to give the reader time to catch her breath. I also don't think they have a well developed sense of place. When I wrote them I was wary of swamping the story with too much description, but I think I went too far the other way. Also, on re-reading Kate Walker's excellent 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance, I think I'm short on sensuality in my writing - i.e. engaging all the readers senses. So my challenge is going to be to rewrite the first three chapters, throwing in glimpses of the world my characters are moving in using not just sight, but scent, texture, taste and sounds. Only I mustn't overdo it - it's a precarious balancing act!

My biggest problem is Chapter One. I completely rewrote it for the New Voices comp, and as it didn't get so much as an honourable mention I clearly can't leave it as it is. I'm still looking for inspiration on that one...

Anyway, back to the laptop - after spending hours at the weekend, I managed to find something called 'mousekeys', which are a set of keys that can be used to replicate the mouse functions. So although my trackpad button still doesn't work, I now have a way of selecting text etc, making my laptop usable again. Halleluia!

Milestone reached

I'm feeling very proud of myself today. I'd set a target of having my continuity/gap-filler edit finished by the end of the week, and I finished it today with two days to spare. Go me!

So now I have the story set out how I want it, with conflicts that evolve and are resolved in a logical sequence. Next I need to work on making each scene come alive on the page. I get the feeling that that's going to be the toughest task yet!

I'm going to stick my neck out now - I would very much like to get to the point where I can send off a partial (first three chapters plus synopsis) by Easter. I don't know if that's a realistic aim yet, but I should know by the end of next week, once I've read the whole thing through in one go - something I haven't done in a while. I'll have a better idea of the magnitude of my task when that's done. Listen out for the wailing and gnashing of teeth...

Tomorrow's my birthday, so I'm taking the weekend off. Then it's back to it on Monday.

Always back up your work...

...and back up your backup!

I had a heart-stopping moment yesterday, when the touch-pad of my beloved mac suddenly became unresponsive. I could turn my laptop on and see everything on the screen, but I couldn't click on anything. Disaster!

To make matters worse, I'd done a lot of work this week and forgotten to back up the five chapters that I'd edited. All I could think of, as I desperately tried restarting several times, was that I was going to lose a whole week's work if I couldn't get it going again. I don't mind admitting that I had a bit of a cry.

Anyway, once the moment of self-pity was over, and I'd quelled the urge to go and buy enough chocolate to undo all of last month's diet in one fell swoop, I did some research on the technical support forums (thank heavens for my iphone!). One suggestion was to remove the battery pack because sometimes the battery can swell and press against the touch-pad. I didn't for one moment think it would work, but I tried it and it did! The first thing I did was to back up the new chapters onto my pen drive, and into my Dropbox folder. From now on I'm going to work directly from my Dropbox folder, so even if my laptop explodes, I won't lose any work.

It wouldn't be so bad, if I hadn't once worked as an IT consultant. I really should know better...

I haven't updated for a while, but actually I have been writing every day, and made good progress. So I'm feeling quite proud of myself. That means I can go away for the weekend without feeling guilty that I won't be able to do any more work until Monday.

Revising earlier chapters, I've found that I now have a much clearer idea of my characters than I did when I wrote those parts. In places I've had to completely rewrite sections because my hero and heroine were doing and saying things that now strike me as false. In my rewrites I'm now finding that the tension between them is building more naturally. Before, it all felt rather contrived. When I start my next story I'll spend much more time getting to know my characters from the outset. It's advice I've read many times on other blogs and how-to guides, but I'm one of those people who only seems to be able to learn by doing...

I'm back and I'm writing

Finally! After weeks of feeling like I'd had my brains scooped out and replaced by porridge, I seem to have regained my motivation.

I think it helped that I was forced to take a complete break over Christmas. With my new niece arriving early, and my brother having to work the week before Christmas, I ended up going down to stay with them, to help out my sister-in-law while my brother was at work. Although it wasn't the most restful of breaks, I had a wonderful time. My niece is such an adorable little baby!

Maybe my subconscious was ticking over while I was running around and cooking meals, because since New Year I've been making steady progress with the editing. I've also come to the conclusion that I was trying to do too much with this edit, so now I'm focusing purely on gap-filling and changes to earlier chapters necessitated by plot changes in later chapters. I think that by simplifying the aim of this edit, I'm less terrified of it, and therefore I'm finding it easier to get writing each day.

Also I feel more positive about what I've written so far. I was rereading a scene yesterday and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It gives me hope that even though I doubt this story will ever find a publisher, I will make it with the next one...or the one after that...or the one after that...

Welcoming Eleanor Harriet to the world

I can't remember if I mentioned before, but my brother and sister-in-law were expecting a baby at Christmas. Well, little Eleanor Harriet clearly decided that having a Christmas birthday didn't sound like much fun, so she arrived yesterday instead. Eleanor and her mum are both doing well, despite the need for a Ceasarian in the end. I don't know any more details than that, as my brother has been too busy dashing to and fro between his home and the hospital to do more than send a couple of texts and give me one very quick phone call, but he's promised to phone later with more information.

It's wonderful to have something to celebrate, after all the family has been through in recent months.

Needless to say, there's not going to be much time for writing in the next couple of weeks. I think I'll have to set a target of about ten words a day if I've any hope of achieving it!