So it’s that time of the week again. That’s right it is my
RoW80 check-in. I don’t have much to report if I’m honest. I’ve been so focused
on building up my NaNo word-count and feeling under the weather that I haven’t
gotten much else done. Am I disappointed? Sure. Am I going to let it bother me?
Nope.
I know what I want to do. I want to write and sell my books.
I don’t want to do it for money, I just want to get my stories out there. The
money is just a shiny extra in my mind and that little incentive I need to
encourage me to work harder and faster.
I have been thinking about my current novels, the ones that
are finished and the ones that are still on-going in my mind, while I’ve been
at work this week and it has helped me a little with my goals.
1) Write NaNo every day; success.
and
4) Figure out how to convert o.S.a.M to novel format; ongoing
Some days the word count may not have been as high as I wanted and I am ridiculously behind on my intended word-count if I were aiming for 100k. But I have several days of uninterrupted writing time and I’m hoping that I’ll be able to make it up with those. In fact I managed to write 4k last night. Granted it took me like 5 hours but that was with lots of distractions going on such as tv and films. Tonight I’m aiming at a little over 8k by midnight. I don’t know if I’ll hit that target but I’m hopeful. Incidentally I’m still struggling on the rename but more on that in a little while. What is most important is that I’m finally managing to tell this story that has been bubbling away in my mind for the last 6 months. It’s coming along, gradually, but it is coming along.
and
4) Figure out how to convert o.S.a.M to novel format; ongoing
Some days the word count may not have been as high as I wanted and I am ridiculously behind on my intended word-count if I were aiming for 100k. But I have several days of uninterrupted writing time and I’m hoping that I’ll be able to make it up with those. In fact I managed to write 4k last night. Granted it took me like 5 hours but that was with lots of distractions going on such as tv and films. Tonight I’m aiming at a little over 8k by midnight. I don’t know if I’ll hit that target but I’m hopeful. Incidentally I’m still struggling on the rename but more on that in a little while. What is most important is that I’m finally managing to tell this story that has been bubbling away in my mind for the last 6 months. It’s coming along, gradually, but it is coming along.
2) Edit Darkling Watch once a week; fail.
So I’ve done no editing this week. Again. I’m a little down about it but there’s not really much I can do other than put my NaNo to one side and concentrate on the read-through. That isn’t something I want to do. Darkling Watch is not going anywhere and were I to try and edit it now the story would just end up suffering. I have found at least one, possibly two, beta readers for The Darkling Watch once I finish those edits though and I’ve even set myself a cursory release date for the first book; September 2013. There’s quite a lot I plan to do with Darkling Watch and the Darkling series but more about that another day.
So I’ve done no editing this week. Again. I’m a little down about it but there’s not really much I can do other than put my NaNo to one side and concentrate on the read-through. That isn’t something I want to do. Darkling Watch is not going anywhere and were I to try and edit it now the story would just end up suffering. I have found at least one, possibly two, beta readers for The Darkling Watch once I finish those edits though and I’ve even set myself a cursory release date for the first book; September 2013. There’s quite a lot I plan to do with Darkling Watch and the Darkling series but more about that another day.
3) Write one Feral Diaries entry a week; fail
I haven’t written anything for Feral Diaries again this week. It’s in the same situation as The Darkling Watch. I’ve been thinking about it though, considering how I would write it when I’m done with NaNo and how I’m going to go about editing it and that’s all good progress. I’ve even managed to make a few contacts for certain areas of it and get a bit of research done. So although I haven’t actually written anything for it there is progress being made. It just isn’t tangible.
I haven’t written anything for Feral Diaries again this week. It’s in the same situation as The Darkling Watch. I’ve been thinking about it though, considering how I would write it when I’m done with NaNo and how I’m going to go about editing it and that’s all good progress. I’ve even managed to make a few contacts for certain areas of it and get a bit of research done. So although I haven’t actually written anything for it there is progress being made. It just isn’t tangible.
5) Blog at least 3 times a week; success
Despite last week’s failure to get any posts written I’ve done a lot better this week. I managed to keep to my set schedule and I’ve even ended up with a two part Monday post that I personally think is a pretty good read, but that’s just me. I haven’t seen any particular growth in readership or people favouriting my blog for quick reading but that doesn’t really bother me. What matters is that I’m managing to make regular blog posts that stick to set schedule. I’m overcoming a massive weakness of mine and in the long run it can only prove helpful.
Despite last week’s failure to get any posts written I’ve done a lot better this week. I managed to keep to my set schedule and I’ve even ended up with a two part Monday post that I personally think is a pretty good read, but that’s just me. I haven’t seen any particular growth in readership or people favouriting my blog for quick reading but that doesn’t really bother me. What matters is that I’m managing to make regular blog posts that stick to set schedule. I’m overcoming a massive weakness of mine and in the long run it can only prove helpful.
I’m still trying
desperately to come up with a new name for o.S.a.M as Of Swords and Magic
sounds like a really boring dissertation title for a literature degree. With
this problem in my mind I thought I’d give a little synopsis of the story and
then let you, dear readers offer possible suggestions.
It’s about a witch and two knights, travelling the country
of Labolai, tracing curses with a similar magical signature and trying to find
out exactly who destroyed the magical school/city of Magewick (dodgy name I
know, I’m working on it). They have several adventures and it is more a
collection of short stories joined by an overarching plotline, sort of like tv
programs are. I want to include the name of the country Labolai in the title
and I’ve been considering Tales of Labolai but it seems a bit... trite and
doesn’t really explain what happens in the story. So... does anyone have any
suggestions?
Keep Writing.
I know how you feel about finding a new title. Some of the titles I came up with long ago just sound so boring, cliché, and stereotypical now, and are begging to have more original titles.
ReplyDeleteHow about The Secret Curse of Labolai?
It's hard to drop a title when you've spent a long time working with it, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteWhen I start a story I use a working title, like my current WIP ("Project RC"). Project RC was good enough when I started. Now the story is more closely linked to one of the characters, I've changed the title, but the working title is still "RC".
"Of Swords And Magic" doesn't really sell the story to me. "Tales of Labolai" doesn't mean anything either (sorry!).
Your description, "tracing curses with a similar magical signature" sounds intriguing, though. Like an auditor finding irregular payments in a corrupt banking system, or a detective building up the psychological profile of a criminal. Perhaps "Mage 'Tec of Labolai" is a bit OTT though? :-)
Next time you're on a creative roll, why not just churn out titles? Aim for a hundred, see what you come up with. I did this a couple of years ago and some of them are very nifty indeed.
P.S. I'd rather be writing than editing... you're not alone.