Category Archives: Writing

Book, Creative Writing, Editing, NaNoEdMo, NaNoWriMo, Writing

NaNoEdMo 2012

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In November 2011 I tried my first NaNoWriMo. I was not properly prepared to do so only deciding two weeks prior to attempt this. What happened was a month long of worry, stress, lack of sleep, physical pain due to my illnesses and my mood being out of whack. When it ended I was not sure if this would be tried again. If so then better preparation would have to be in place. But what I got out of it was a novel over 50k long and one I have added to since then.

In February a friend informed me about NaNoEdMo for March. I thought this would be a wonderful opportunity for me to edit my book from November. I mean after all the only the thing required was to log in 50 hours of editing in the month of March. That broke down to 97 minutes per day.

Easy! I can do that. After all I had survived NaNoEdMo 2011 and won. I totally underestimated my hatred of editing. While it is necessary function for a writer, it is one that is loathed to all depths of the word. But by March 30th I completed the task of this particular frenzy. My novel that is 132 pages, though it is not complete yet, had 101 pages edited. For me that is a big Homer Simpson WOOHOO!

While this is just my first draft and revision the feeling of getting this done is priceless. On Sunday I woke up expecting to edit and realized that the deadline was done and over. I could now concentrate on other aspects of my writing. But the empty space stayed with me the whole day feeling the need to sit in front of my computer and edit. Curses I thought to myself. The fiend won’t let me go so easily.

Antagonist, Character Development, Characters, Class, Creating Real Life Characters, Creative Writing, Critique, Inner Life, Plot, Viewing Pleasure, Writers, Writing, Writing class

Character Development Class Finished

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Eight weeks ago I signed up for a Character Development class. I had taken this instructor before and had learned a lot from him. In the short span the following was taught:

-Character Development

-Creating Real Life Characters

-Bringing a Character to Life

-Characters creating the plot

-The Villain

-The Character/Inner Life

The last two weeks we concentrated on the story that was growing by each passing session. We had a story that had been created by groups and the overall story that as individuals we were nurturing.

By the time the class ended I had a story of over 5K words. It is in a genre that I have never truly tried before which is action and drama. Well not one of this length anyway. The critiques the class gave me on the last day when I read the WIP was favorable and I will probably when there is time, feel free to laugh here, to expand it into a novel.

This class has caused me much sorry and joy. I truly had a love hate relationship with it. There would be weeks where my teacher would say “ Yes yes you nailed it.” to “No, you missed the boat this time.”

I learned that there is so much more for me to discover. Also it showed me that there are some aspects that I am getting right. In the last eight weeks I have shared with you my class notes taken each time there was a lecture. I hope some of what was shared on this blog has helped someone along the way.

Telling him I would take this class again my instructor asked why. Simple answer really. Every time a class is taken over, I am starting at a different place with a better understanding of what I am trying to accomplish. I have never worked this hard for a writing class in my life. That is a good thing, right?

By doing so I had growth in my writing.

Character Development, Critique, Form, Writing, Writing class

Critique Form

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My instructor passed out a form for us to critique the work of others.

I thought we could pass this form to our beta readers. They can use it as a guideline. We could use it ourselves and see if we are spotty in some areas. Each section is worth five points for a total of 20 points.

Plot

-Attention needs to be paid to plot development

-The story lacks credibility in places

-Good start/good ideas but loses direction and force

-The story holds interest throughout but the ending is disappointing

-Flows smoothly,well researched, almost there

-This is a well-crafted story and it is clear that the author has considered all the aspects of the plot

Characterization

-The characters do not always come over as real people

-Told from the viewpoint of too many characters, so that the readers learns little about them

-In general, the characters are believable , although there is room for improvement

-The characters are well drawn and true to life/does the character have an inner life

-Strong characterization means that the reader’s sympathies are instantly engaged.

Pace

-The story starts slowly

-The story needs a more varied pace

-Side-issues slow the story down

-In general, the story moves well, although there are times when interest wavers

-A good pace is maintained throughout

-This story’s page-turning quality is excellent

Dialogue

-The characters all tend to speak with the same voice

-Some attention should be given to the dialogue, which does not always ring true

-Although the dialogue is believable, there are places where it serves no obvious purpose

-In general, the dialogue sounds authentic

-the sharply written dialogue reveals much about the characters

-The dialogue is excellent, adding a sparking dimension to the story