January plans...
Jan. 6th, 2009 03:20 pmI'm trying to have discipline in certain areas, although the miserable cold hasn't helped. So far so good, though.
Things I'm working on for the next month:
These aren't so much 'goals' as what I'm planning to work on...
Dreaming Death
I'm going through my mss scene by scene (planned at 1 chapter a day) and making certain that each scene has enough setting detail. This is a weak point for me that writing short stories has not helped much. I'm not naturally big on setting, and often in my own reading, I skim through setting sections.
The problem here stems from the fact that one of the POV characters is blind. That is not the real challenge, BTW--I've sold blind characters before. The challenge is that I tend to forget that in the scenes with the other POVs....and waste a chance to put in lovely visual details. That's what I'm looking out for. (Also, I found a typo in the first 32 pages. Eep! As many times as this mss has beeen combed, I should have caught every one.)
Ah, well. I'm hoping that in the next novel, I'll remember to write each scene with lots of setting. That way I don't have to do it later (it's almost always a 'second draft' thing for me).
Iron Shoes
I'm working on the re-write of Iron Shoes as well, one section at a time. I'm through section 1 (which had the most massive changes) and will start 2 today.
Devil in the Details
I'm hoping to have both of the above done by the end of the month so that I can start on Feb 2 on the rewrite of DitD. So right now, I'm thinking about DitD. Like with most finished rough drafts, I'm thinking about the story arcs and how to make them 'land' properly. One of the things that I had trouble with is that Kirien's original motivation is lost, replaced by another....which leaves something to be desired in the 'reader satisfaction' area.
Today while I was in the shower, I finally figured out the connection between the two motivations, which should allow me to restructure some of the plot details nicely. Woo Hoo!
(OK, it doesn't sound big, but it makes the difference between a weak plot and a solid one.)
Anything else?
No, not really. If the plot bunny throws something my way, I'll bite, but right now these should keep me busy.
Things I'm working on for the next month:
These aren't so much 'goals' as what I'm planning to work on...
Dreaming Death
I'm going through my mss scene by scene (planned at 1 chapter a day) and making certain that each scene has enough setting detail. This is a weak point for me that writing short stories has not helped much. I'm not naturally big on setting, and often in my own reading, I skim through setting sections.
The problem here stems from the fact that one of the POV characters is blind. That is not the real challenge, BTW--I've sold blind characters before. The challenge is that I tend to forget that in the scenes with the other POVs....and waste a chance to put in lovely visual details. That's what I'm looking out for. (Also, I found a typo in the first 32 pages. Eep! As many times as this mss has beeen combed, I should have caught every one.)
Ah, well. I'm hoping that in the next novel, I'll remember to write each scene with lots of setting. That way I don't have to do it later (it's almost always a 'second draft' thing for me).
Iron Shoes
I'm working on the re-write of Iron Shoes as well, one section at a time. I'm through section 1 (which had the most massive changes) and will start 2 today.
Devil in the Details
I'm hoping to have both of the above done by the end of the month so that I can start on Feb 2 on the rewrite of DitD. So right now, I'm thinking about DitD. Like with most finished rough drafts, I'm thinking about the story arcs and how to make them 'land' properly. One of the things that I had trouble with is that Kirien's original motivation is lost, replaced by another....which leaves something to be desired in the 'reader satisfaction' area.
Today while I was in the shower, I finally figured out the connection between the two motivations, which should allow me to restructure some of the plot details nicely. Woo Hoo!
(OK, it doesn't sound big, but it makes the difference between a weak plot and a solid one.)
Anything else?
No, not really. If the plot bunny throws something my way, I'll bite, but right now these should keep me busy.