personal babble

On being a stubborn fool

Published on by Sara Norja

Apologies for the lack of updates this month! I’ve mostly just been plodding along with my novel revision. And then I, previously unemployed and with plenty of time on my hands, was suddenly inundated by a strange event: getting a job. Well, two jobs, in fact. One of them a two-week temp gig (next week is the second week), and the other a longer thing.

I am extremely relieved and pleased to be employed, but it does put a bit of a damper on writing. 😛 So, what with working all day long last week, and having plenty of evening activities, I’ve fallen behind on my novel revision schedule. Am currently starting chapter 18, when I should actually already be at chapter 20. There are 31 chapters in DV, and my goal was to revise a chapter per day in order to get the novel revised by Oct 31st.

Why this deadline, you say? Well, because of Nanowrimo, of course! I love Nanowrimo, have participated since 2008, and will cry bitter tears if I don’t get to participate this year. I want to finish my novel revision so that I can start a whole new novel on Nov 1st.

Is this foolish? OF COURSE IT IS. Even more foolish now that I’m lagging behind on revision and have lots of other things to do as well, oh, and getting-better but still chronic neck/shoulder/back issues. But curses, I want to meet my deadline! I want to start Nanowrimo on Nov 1st, with a fresh (and almost completely unplanned) novel to explore. I want DV to get at least a month or two to simmer before I go back to it.

So, I am a stubborn fool. I know it; but I want to meet my own deadline, dangnabbit. My dad lent me a mini laptop, so now I can write on the train to and from work next week. I’ll try to be as efficient as I can with the revision. And try not to panic when I consider that the final 10 chapters of DV contain far too many scenes that are currently just outlines in yWriter, not even drafts. The quality of this draft will certainly deteriorate towards the end. OH WELL.

This stubborn fool will now try to acquire her much-needed lunch, and then will be off to a friend’s birthday party. Writing is important, but I also want to treasure my loved ones.

Synopsis breakthrough

Published on by Sara Norja

I woke up this morning at 7am to my upstairs neighbours continuing the renovation they were supposed to have finished during the summer. I think it’s Deeply Wrong to do anything loud that early on a Saturday morning, and hence felt/feel extremely resentful. Grouch grouch. I reluctantly got up a little before 8, after heroically attempting to doze till then, because my neighbours were making far too much noise for further sleep to be possible. Also, oh joyful coincidence, today was also a morning of extreme aches and pains, so there was no point in lying in bed either. *sigh*

However! Due to the astonishingly early hour, I was able to propel myself to perform a task I’ve been struggling with for ages: working on the synopsis for the novel I’m currently revising.

Three hours (definitely didn’t feel like that long, I was in such an obsessive mindflow state) and around 4,000 words later, I’d finished a synopsis from the POV of Gwen, one of my two POV characters in the novel. I solved a ton of plot problems and inconsistencies while doing so. I FEEL AWESOME.

Now I need to write a similar synopsis for Edward, my other POV character. After managing to do so for Gwen (whose storyline I’ve had more trouble with), I’m actually really looking forward to rattling out Edward’s synopsis. I think I need a break first, though – my chronic-pain neck is currently scolding me for neglecting to exercise during those typing-filled three hours. I’m sorry, body of mine, I was in the flow and did not notice the pain till now…!