The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing Software

I've finished plotting my novel using The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing. I plotted it out by hand, and then entered it into the templates in the software created to compliment the plan.

It is by far the best plot I've ever come up with. It's exciting and the characters are great. And best of all, it flows--there isn't a single unnecessary, or boring scene. All of the scenes push the story forward.

The software is great and has a lot of nifty features--such as the huge name database, complete with name meanings. It's easy to navigate and, for the most part, is user friendly. I only have a few gripes.

The first is that there doesn't seem to be anywhere to write the actual narrative. This isn't a huge problem, since I'm rather attached to Ywriter for writing. I just think it would have been cool to be able to write the story in the same program as I'd entered all of the character, and plot information.

Second, there is only room in the program to flesh out the protagonist, the romantic interest, the confidant, and the opposition. One of my viewpoint characters doesn't fall into any of these categories, so her information couldn't be entered into the program. Nor could any of the minor characters--not all of whom made it into the program as there was a limited amount of space available for those characters.

Third, and probably the most inconvenient for me, is the lack of flexibility. When there is a character who, by the Marshall Plan's guidelines, is supposed to be the POV character, or if the scene is supposed to be a reaction scene rather than action, there is no way to change this. It's set in the system.

Now, I understand the reasons certain scenes are supposed to be from a particular character's POV, however, my ending just didn't quite work out that way. I tried to follow the plan exactly, but I found rearranging some of the scenes increased the tension, and made more logical sense.

It was a minor irritation, easily fixed when I saved the templates in Word format (an option that is a part of the program).

All-in-all, I enjoyed using the plan and the software that Evan Marshall designed. It's the most useful writing tool I've found. Sure, it's not the only way to write--and I would suggest using it as a guideline, not as an absolute writing Bible--but read the book and then take a look at some of the best commercial fiction on the market. A good percentage of them will have a plot that follows most, if not all of the suggestions outlined in the Marshall Plan.

It takes years for a writer to learn to plot this well. Thanks to Evan Marshall's book and software, you can learn it in a couple of weeks.

You learn something new...

Everyday. And if you're lucky, it's something interesting.

Today I learned that Evan Marshall is devoted to integrity when it comes to his products for writers. When he decided to make a software version of his book "The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing", he didn't hire a programmer.

He learned programming.

I haven't had a chance to try the software yet, but I'm looking forward to the chance to do so. I think that Mr. Marshall has shown that he truly cares about the success of writers by taking three years to learn programming so that he could offer a software companion would be as faithful to the plan laid out in the book as possible.

As soon as I finish this post I'm off to work on my novel. As of yet it doesn't have a name, but it does have a strong premise and interesting characters, thanks in part to Evan Marshall.

I'll update my progress as I go.

So far, I'm 9 sections into the plotting of my urban fantasy novel. The main story is started, the main subplot is started and my two secondary viewpoint characters have been introduced. Using the Marshall Plan isn't easy, but good writing rarely is (anyone who told you writing is easy, lied). I have found, however, that the structure gives me more flex room for my creative muscles while offering the security of knowing that the book will have a logical flow--a problem for me in the past.

The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing

Yesterday, I picked up The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing by Evan Marshall. I read it cover-to-cover last night, and today I started working out the "section sheets" as outlined in the book.

As a writer who has always struggled with plotting, this organized method of laying out the plot is appealing to me. I've only done three sections so far, but I can already see a difference in the quality of the layout in comparison to what I've plotted before.

Marshall lays out exactly what you need for each section, whether it be an action section, a reaction section, part of the main storyline or a subplot. There was no information in the book I wasn't already aware of, but the way it is presented in the book gave me an "aha moment" that allowed me to diagnose my writing problems and address them.

I'm going to write my next book based on this plan, and see how it turns out. I have a feeling it will be the best book I've written to date.

My university grad photo is down at the bottom of the blog for anyone who's interested in seeing it.

Stuckness

I'm stuck. Not because I don't know what is going on in the story, it's a rewrite with a detailed outline, but rather because my skills have taken a leap forward.

Or, at least, I've realized some things about the craft that I never realized before. Like how to use foils. Oh, I knew what foils were before, but I just had a Eureka moment and realized how to use them. I've been using them, unconsciously, all along, but I want to make the contrasts stronger, so that they have more impact.

I can do it, but right now I'm in self-doubting, cowardly writer mode. The self-doubting, cowardly writer does write. She thinks, and spends an inordinate amount of time wishing that someone would hand her the answers.

When I was just starting to learn to write, I would hit up all of the wonderful online resources, such as Holly Lisle's wonderful website, or the SFWA's page of articles. But more and more I've been running into problems for which I can't find any resources.

Of course, the best way to deal with the problem is to write through it. The best way to learn is by making mistakes. But my nature has always been to learn as much as possible about something before attempting it.

Well, I guess it's time for this cowardly writer to step out of her comfort zone and start putting some words down on paper.

Wish me luck.

Yorick Says:

I don't care what you say. Drunk or not, it counted.

She should have told me. I deserved to know. So I haven't told her about my past. At least she knows I was married.

Pyrs Says:

I'm not a pretty boy. Just because I'm not as ugly as you.

Grey says:

Knock it off! Both of you. It's one o'clock in the damned morning. Go to bed already.

Like living with a couple of teenagers.

Yorick Says:

Oh? I'm the ass?

At least I'm not the one keeping secrets.

I hope you and pretty boy are happy together.

Jealous my ass.

Maeve Says:

If someone has something to say :cough:Yorick:cough: he can bloody well say it to my face instead of broadcasting it all over the internet.

And no. Once, while drunk, does not count.

Being jealous doesn't mean you get to act like a complete ass.

Yorick Says:

Me again. Cranky.

I have a problem. It's a girl. Naturally. Maeve. Turns out she was married. And never told me. Okay, it isn't as if we're an item. Not really. We slept together. Once. When we were drunk. But that counts doesn't it?

I might be overreacting. She's divorced anyway. I just think she should have told me.

He's a real pretty boy too.

Definitely should have told me.

Grey says:

So, as usual, it's fallen to me to make excuses for the lack of posts on the blog.

Well, the creator has been sick. Very sick. She keeps grumbling about trying out for the power-vomiting Olympics. I know. She's disgusting sometimes.

She's getting better. She actually managed to eat both breakfast and supper last night without racing down the hall to the bathroom to pray to the porcelain god.

She even wrote the first scene of the rewrite of our novel The Best Laid Plans. It's okay. It could have been better. After all, I'm not in it.

I'm not in a lot of scenes, I've noticed.

I mean, I'm only the tactical leader of the Vigilantes, it's not like I'm important or anything. Next book, she keeps telling me. You'll have more scenes in the next book. I don't believe her.

Oh. Wait. She just said that I wasn't even in the first draft of The Best Laid Plans and that if I keep whining, I don't need to be in the second.

Heh. Disgusting and mean. I'd better head off then.

Adieu,

Grey.

A rant against my creator

For those of you who don't know who I am, my name is Stark. Yorick Stark. I've always wanted to say that, but She won't let me. Too done, She tells me. Too Bond.

Like She knows anything. She doesn't even like James Bond. And She calls me crazy. Well, I am crazy. It's Her fault though. She made me crazy.

Why?

Oh, She says, batting those big brown doe eyes, it'll be more interesting.

It will be more interesting. What is wrong with Her? She puts us through living hell. Tortures us. Torments us. Dangles the promise of better things to come in front of us, if we can just jump through one more of Her blasted hoops, and when we finally manage to finish all of the tasks She set out for us, do we get the better things? Of course not. Because that wouldn't be entertaining enough for Her.

Oh She claims to love us, to care about what happens to us. I think She's full of it. She's pure evil.

Ah well, at least She lets me play with big guns and hand grenades. She can't be all that bad. Even Hitler did some good--like coming up with the blow up doll.

Hiatus is Over

Well, school is done. I'm officially a university graduate. Well, ok, June 4th it will be official, but I've finished all of the work.

So, now I'm looking for a job, and in the meantime I'm going to try to get some writing done. I'm off my hiatus. Woo.

I'm going to let my characters do the blogging from now on though.

Hiatus

I've been on an unplanned hiatus (read: paralyzed with fear due to impending convocation and entry into the real world). I'm going to just stop updating until I can update with regularity.

Done!

I handed in my essay on Cyrano de Bergerac today. I'm happy that's done. Next week I'm doing an internship, so I think writing fiction is going to be pushed to the back burner again, since I'll be working work full days. That wouldn't be a problem if I were used to working full-time hours, but since I'm used to 5 hour days, 8 plus travel time will be a shock to my system.

I'm going to print out a copy of "The Best Laid Plans" and read it--as soon as I get a chance to buy a new ink cartridge. Probably this weekend.

I've almost finished the outline for Masquerade. I have a pretty good idea what the third novel in the Banshee series is going to look like too. Go me.

A Test

All of the posts seem to have disappeared, so I'm posting this test to see if it will show up.*

*It totally worked.**
**I knew it would.

Update

Haven't done any writing, or even daydreaming. But I have finished the first draft of my Cyrano de Bergerac essay for my French film class. Woo.

Now maybe I can get some work done.

#Queryfail

So, #queryfail has become the controversy of the moment among the unpublished masses. If you were vacationing under a rock on Thursday and missed the fuss, #queryfail was a twitter event, during which agents and editors posted comments about queries they recieved, and why they failed.

Nathan Bransford mentioned here why he had decided not to participate in #queryfail. The response to his comment has been passionate, with many of the writers bashing Colleen Lindsay's professionalism. I love sites like Janet Reid's Query Shark, and I follow a fair number of agents and editors' blogs. Why? Because I want to learn. I also want to procrastinate, and the more blogs I follow, the more time I can pretend I'm not wasting.

While I do think #queryfail was meant to be educational, and not at all snarky, I have mixed feelings about the entire affair. On the one hand, writers who want to learn are being given an opportunity to do so. This is important to me. After all, I'd like to be published some day, and I'd rather learn from the mistakes of others. Oh, I'll make my own, and they'll be impressive, but I won't make the same mistakes others are making.

However, for this purpose #queryfail is superfluous. If you want information on the do's and don'ts of querying, you don't have to look far. Miss Snark's website, sadly no longer updated, is full of valuable information. Query Shark has, thus far, 103 queries critiqued and posted for the wannabe writer's reading, and learning, pleasure. It should go without saying that a writer ought to research agents and editors they'd like to query before they send their package off.

I would argue that any aspiring writer who followed #queryfail already knows where to get the information they need about queries. Thus, #queryfail was preaching to the choir, not reaching writers who need the lesson it provided. The only thing I learned from #queryfail was that somewhere someone wrote a story about bonding over mutual vomiting practices. Gross, but not useful. I also had the opportunity to feel smugly superior, since I know better than to not follow submission guidelines, and we all know how much I like to feel superior. Nice, but not useful.

Was it unprofessional? I don't think so. I don't understand why so many people are making such a big deal out of #queryfail. I didn't find it useful, but had I seen a line from my own query in the conversation, I wouldn't have been upset about it. Well, other than the fact that it would hurt the ego, but egos oughten run rampant anyway.

If you disagree, well, don't send participating agents your query. It's as simple as that. But if you want to be a writer, you should get used to the fact that your writing is going to be judged. And no matter how unfair, you, the writer will be judged. Harshly. By everyone. If you can't handle that, you may want to find a different job.

Update

I will start blogging regularly soon, I promise. At the moment I'm overwhelmed with homework and housework.

I've been working on an outline for the next book in my spare time. It's beginning to take shape, though the plot is still sparse. I need to think of a subplot and quick.

Now I must go clean, and then research the real Cyrano de Bergerac.

OMG Creepy

I just had the creepiest dream ever. I was looking at pictures of faceless ghosts while a man with a deep voice recited poetry. Not really great poetry, (I am no poet) but since I remembered all of it, I thought I'd share it with you. Aren't you lucky? Yes, the rhyming scheme was in the dream. Weird right?

Forget the fairytale monsters that you used to fear,
Instead think of the faceless ones that are always near,
Their very existence should fill you with dread,
You can never stop them,
They're already dead.

They come in the dark when you turn out the lights,
They are the remnants of avarice and vice,
The light of the living fills them with greed,
They search for prey,
To feed their unholy need.

You're never safe while in the dark,
For you may be their next mark,
So if you feel their icy fingers at your throat,
If you feel them closing in,
Don't bother to struggle,
You'll never win.

Happy National Grammar Day

I'm apprehensive about writing a post on grammar. My punctuation isn't the greatest; I love me some comma splices. But I thought I'd do a list of my grammar pet peeves. I don't want to miss out on all the fun.

"Its" versus "it's"

This is a common error, both because of a lack of understanding and because it's very easy to add or forget an apostrophe when writing. I know I've done it. Once or twice.

"Its" is possessive. Ex. "The kitten lost its mittens". This is confusing, because apostrophes are often employed to show ownership, Ex. "I lost the kitten's mittens." "It's" is never possessive. Rather it is a contraction of "it is". Ex. "It's five o'clock." Or "It's my birthday today."

"Whose" vs "Who's"

These words are misused for the same reason as "its" and "it's". "Whose" is possessive. Ex. "Whose shoe is this?" Whereas "who's" is a contraction of "who is". Ex. "Who's going to bake the cake?"

They're/Their/There

They're is a contraction of "they are". Ex. "They're going to the fair." "Their" is possessive. Ex. "It's their car". And "there" indicates a location. Ex. "I don't like going there".

Those three problems are my biggest grammar pet peeves.

Quick Post

I'm in the midst of writing a 2000 word paper comparing two versions of Cyrano de Bergerac (one French version, and one English version). I'm writing the paper in French, so it's going to be a long process. If I'm posting irregularly, the two of you actually reading this blog can blame my Francophone film class.

Had a great conversation last night with an old friend. She let me bounce ideas off of her about my story, and helped me realize that the hero I'd chosen wasn't right for this book. He'll get his, just not this one.

So, now I'm trying to come up with a new hero--while being a bit too influenced by Cyrano. While it's an exciting process, birthing a new character, it means that I'm even further away from starting prose. The old hero was enough of a misfit that he was slowing down the planning rather than enhancing it, so hopefully this new hero will speed things up.

I just need a species for him. Gah. Back to the research. Encyclopedia Mythica here I come!

Er, after I work on my essay for a while.

You are such a Harpy!

So, I figured out a species for my character, bet you can guess what she is.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpy

It suits her perfectly. A harpy is everything she doesn't want to be, and she's scared of heights which makes me giggle.

She isn't going to have wings. I'm going to have to do some research on the harpy before I decide exactly what her abilities/weaknesses are going to be. But this story just started sounding a lot more fun.

Foxy not so hot?

Okay, I'm wavering on the fox idea.

On the one hand, it works for a thief.

On the other, it works a little too well.

I think I might reject this idea for the same reason I rejected the thief character being somehow tied to our friends of the feline variety. It's too obvious. Too easy, both for the thief, and for me as the author. I'd rather have my characters work against type (frex: I have a chaste satyr, peace loving centaurs, and a siren who can't sing).

I think it would be more effective to find the same contrast between species and personality for my thief. She's cultured, stealthy, and charismatic. Maybe she should be a troll.

Foxy Lady

Okay, I've decided to go with a fox-related species for my thief character.

I can't find anything online that suits my purposes, so I may have to create a magical race from scratch.

As far as plot goes, all I know is that I want a masquerade ball to figure into it. Because masquerades are fun. And there's my working title: Masquerade.

That's all the progress I've made today.

Rambling

I'm between novels now, and hating it. I want to write already! I'm getting ideas for a new character, but I'm not sure how she'll fit in the world I've created.

I'd like to write another story about Maeve, but I need some distance from The Best Laid Plans, and if I try to write about her right now, I won't get it.

It will come to me, in time, but when I'm not writing I want to be. I crave the excitement, that rush that writing brings. The fun of reading is almost as good, and I do a lot of it, but it isn't the same.

Since I haven't decided what species my thief will be, I'm going to do some research. If I find anything interesting, I'll post it here.

FINISHED!

I wrote 7760 words today, bringing my novel to an end with 40,032 words, which is officially novel length, though not salable.

But it'll grow in the rewrite.

Happy day. I'm off to bed!

Update

Wrote 7,870 words last night. Brings me to 32,200 overall so far.

I started on Valentine's day. *

This book is freaking awesome.

*I actually started the day before, but deleted the thousand words I wrote that day and started the real story on v-day.

Must resist the evil tempress Mary-Sue

I'm writing a difficult scene. It's difficult for me because of the emotions. The hero of my story just caught the heroine, and his love interest, sitting in the lap of her ex-husband kissing him.

The story is written first person, from her point-of-view, and I feel like the hero just caught me cheating on him. I suppose in a way I am, since I plotted and constructed the scene.

It's not a good feeling. I hate that he's hurting, (my characters may be a bit too real to me). My initial reaction is to have the heroine do something that would make him certain of her love for him, and maybe splash whiteout all over the crappy stuff in his past so he can be a happy, well-adjusted individual and we can all take a trip Mary-Sue Land, where all is perfect and good.

We would be rich, and sing in perfect harmony even though we never sang before in our lives, and we would be able to master any type of magic without even trying. We'd have mood ring eyes and everybody would just lurve us so much because we're soooo perfect, even though we bitch and moan about how crappy our lives are. I would write all of it in neon purple prose, using big words that I don't understand and couldn't be bothered to look up. Then I would plaster my genius on the internet for the world to see. It would be good times for everyone but the readers.

It is time for me to take a step back, remember why Mary-Sue Land is not right for the stories I'm writing, and turn my inner bitch back on.

I can give my characters mental hugs and happiness when the story is finished. At least until the sequel.

A New Record!

I'm feeling pretty darn proud of myself. I just broke my previous daily word count record of 5k. Tonight I wrote 7,250 words.

I love this story.

I don't even want to stop writing, but I'm so freaking tired that I can't keep my eyes open. Must sleep.

G'night!

Talent

A comment posted at BookEnds, LLC got me thinking about talent. Well, more like it got me thinking about why I hate the idea of talent.

You see, I do not believe in it.

Now there is an ongoing debate in the field of psychology on the existence of talent, but since it is an intangible idea, the articles written on the subject boil down to opinion rather than science.

So, here's my opinion:

Talent is something we attribute to people who are capable of doing something, often creative or sports related, that we ourselves cannot do. There is an idea that somehow this person is simply gifted. Talent implies that a person did not have to work at what they do, they didn't have to to take the time to develop their skills. They're just magically good at it.

What I believe is that people have certain tendencies. I tend toward creative activities, like writing and drawing. I don't care much for sports--save equestrian sports, which I adore. Now, when I was a child I had the same opportunities to play sports as all the other children in my class, just as they had the same opportunities to write. I never developed skill in sports, while some of my classmates did. Were they more talented than me? I doubt it.

They simply enjoyed sports enough to practice. They played basketball with their friends, they joined little league. (I was in little league too, but I spent most of my time playing in the dirt in right field). While my friends played sports, I pursued things I enjoyed. Writing, drawing, and reading. By the time I reached middle school, I started to hear the word "talent" whenever someone looked at a picture I'd drawn. At first I fell for it. But then I thought about the hours I spent hunched over a sketchbook practicing. I started out with stick figures just like everyone else, but I kept practicing until they started to look better.

Skills develop. I still have stories I wrote and pictures I drew in high school, back when I still thought I was talented. And let me tell you, they're pretty cringe worthy.

I worked hard to learn to draw, and I worked hard to learn to write. If I ever have the time and money, I will work hard to become a better rider. I'm not talented at any of these things, though because of the hours I put into practicing, I do have better than average skill at all of them (toots own horn).

Next time you see someone who is very skilled at something, be in awe of how hard they've worked, don't chalk it up to the mythical forces of talent.

Writing update

I wrote 3k today, which brings me to a total of 17k in The Best Laid Plans. Woo!

ICE CREAM!

And now for something completely unrelated to writing: WATCHMEN ICE CREAM

I would totally buy that.

Freemind

Wow! I finished the first draft of Bloody Key around the end of January, and took a couple of weeks off. I let an idea for my next book percolate, and downloaded a great program: Freemind. I love Freemind for a couple of reasons.

The first being that I don't think in a linear order when I'm plotting a novel. I believe wholeheartedly in outlining, but I can't do it. Not in a text document anyway. And I hate writing scenes on index cards and trying to put them in order. It always seemed like too much work, and I avoided it.

What's great about Freemind is that it's set up in a web, which is how I brainstorm anyway. But unlike brainstorming on paper, I can click and drag an idea into a different cluster. Simon Haynes, author of the Hal Spacejock series, has an example of how to effectively use Freemind here.

Which brings me to the second thing I love about using Freemind. I end up with an outline that I can work with, but I also have all the information I need about my characters and setting in the same file. This makes things so much easier for me, because instead of hunting for the color of Character A's eyes through all my pages of character sketches, I just click on Character A's information in the same file that has my outline.

I wrote Bloody Key using MSWord, and sans outline. While writing it was good practice, I'm dreading the rewrite because the book is a mess. Using Freemind and Ywriter 5 (another great program for the non linear minded) I started writing The Best Laid Plans on Saturday, and I'm 13,000 words in. So far it seems like it will be a fairly solid book. The outline isn't so indepth that I feel restricted, but I do have a path to follow to keep me on track.

If you're a non linear writer like me, and the mere thought of outlining curls your toes, give this software a try. Even if it doesn't work for you, you'll have a lot of fun testing it.

Happy writing!

Update

Wow, I guess I haven't updated in a while. Not such a big problem when you only have one or two readers. Actually, I think that might be an overestimation.

In any case, I'm here to use the blog for the purpose it was created. UPDATES! Yay.

I'm now at 23,000 words in my WIP. Sadly, I'm already nearing the end. It might make 30,000 by the time it's finished. Of course, finished is such a relative term. It will expand in the rewrite, at least double, judging by the amount of things I need to fix. I'm not to worried about it though. This story will likely be filed under writing practice and never see the light of day. I'm glad I'm writing it, regardless of whether it ever gets published. Writing this story has given me such an indepth understanding of the world my characters live in, it's been wonderful. Who knows, a few stories from now and I might be ready to come back to this one and turn it into something people will want to read.

In the meantime, I'm just happy to be writing.

Writing vs real life

It can be hard, finding a balance between writing and living life. Real life has an obnoxious tendency to intrude on valuable writing time.

But don't be fooled into thinking that it's a bad thing.

If you go out and have experiences, yes your word count might be smaller than it would otherwise have been, but you're gaining something so much more valuable. Knowledge. If you spend all of your time in your fantasy world spinning stories, and you never wander into the real world and interact with real people, what are you going to draw on for inspiration?

Life experiences are a huge part of your writer's toolbox. Don't shy away from them. Try to live as full a life as you possibly can, let yourself experience both good things and bad, and then put them on paper.

GAH!

Bad writing week. I'm glad that I've met my goal for the week already, because my daily goals have gone through the floor.

Last night=0 words.
Tonight=0 words.
Tomorrow, I'm just guessing=0 words. I never write on Fridays, and tomorrow is going to be even more busy than usual.

I did actually write today, but the computer ate my words when it lost power. I saved everything I lost before the power went out, I know I did. But my computer had some sort of massive brain rupture and left my word count for the day somewhere in the great abyss.

I am now far to cranky and too tired to rewrite the words. I hate not making my goals, but I do need sleep. Ever try speaking a foreign language when you're overtired? It ain't pretty.

On the plus side, I did watch an excellent movie. Neil Gaiman's Stardust. If you haven't seen it you really should run out and buy it. Or rent it.

G'night.

Lovely distractions

I spent the better part of my day watching HBO's Rome. It's a great show. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it.

I watched nine of the fifty minute episodes today, and enjoyed every second.

Needless to say, I didn't get any excess writing done. I'm amazed that I made my goal. I did though--1500 words. I might have a harder time tomorrow. I have more social engagements than I'd care to have, as well as my film class homework, which isn't due until Tuesday but I'd prefer to have it finished before Monday.

I'll also have to go to bed at a decent hour, since Monday mornings are hard enough without depriving myself needlessly of sleep.

Here's hoping I wake up more motivated tomorrow than I did today and I get the writing done first thing.

The story's lagging a bit. Laynie is busy trying to seduce Henri, and he's not at all interested. I have no idea how to realistically bring him around, nor how quickly I want that to happen. And to top it all off, he's a two dimensional character I don't find interesting at all. I hope I can fix that somehow, because he is going to be an important character in the book.

I've hit the 10,000 word duldrums, in which I decide every word is utter crap and I'm wasting my time. It makes meeting daily goals hard, but I'm dedicated to seeing this one through to the end.

Update

I didn't write last night. Fridays are always super busy socially, and yesterday was no exception. I've decided that I'm going to let myself have Fridays off from writing, and give myself a goal of 1500 words on Saturdays and Sundays, as opposed to 1000 like Monday-Thursday.

We'll see how it goes.

Update Jan 8

I didn't think I would get any writing done today. Our new grammar professor has given us quite a bit of homework. She's also our francophone film class prof, so she's given us some homework for that class as well.

I managed to finish all of the grammar homework, both what is due tomorrow and what is due Monday. Hopefully the film class work won't take too much time and I can devote the rest of my weekend to catching up on sleep and writing.

The sleep is hard to catch up on. I keep having stressful dreams. The night before last I dreamed I was heading off to war. It was odd. All of us soldiers were women, and we didn't like it much. I think in the milieu of my dream only men were soldiers. We dressed as many women as possible as men. I couldn't be a man, because I'm too curvy. So they handed me a sword and told me not to worry. As a woman I was scarier than anything else a man could face.

I'm not sure what my subconscious was getting at with that one, but I've decided the safest course is to ignore it.

Oh yes, writing update. I did actually manage to meet my goal tonight. It's getting easier and easier to slip into writing mode, no matter how I'm feeling. And the writing is coming quicker too. I finished my 1000 words in less than forty minutes.

I am awesome.

Update Jan 7

Hit my goal at exactly 1000 words. Yorick seems to be very interested in killing Laynie, even though I won't let him. Silver, as it turns out, is Cree, which I think is really cool. My maternal great-grandmother was Cree. She is also a lot smarter than me, because she came up with a really good plan that is going to screw with Alaric's pea brain.

Have I mentioned recently that I love my characters?

Unmotivated Update

I did not feel like writing tonight. It was painful. I checked the word count every other sentence to see if I'd made my quota yet. I made it, eventually, by throwing in a character who I adore and is fun to write no matter how bad a mood I'm in. He's a good character.

I'm proud of myself for sticking to it and pounding out the words until I reached my daily goal of 1000. That brings me to 8000 words so far for this book. 8000 words in 5 days isn't too bad. Not as much as I'd have liked, but hey, at least I make progress every day.

Yay me.

Writing update

I've decided to put writing updates on this blog. Between that and Twitter it should keep me motivated to write.

I started writing prose in this story "Bluebeard's Key" on friday. I've got about 7000 words, and I'm just starting chapter four. If it seems a bit soon to be into chapter four, that's because I write very short first drafts. They're all tell. In the rewrite I take my time and show as much as needed, but my goal with the first draft is to get the story down.

So far so good. I've started strong, let's hope I can keep it going. No more fixations on newness. I think that should be my New Year's resolution, at least in writing matters. It gets hard when I'm in classes, especially because the program I'm taking is so intensive. Though we were told today that this semester would be set up like a normal one--one set of finals per class, versus three midterms, three major assignments and three finals--one of each every month--like last semester. Things should be a bit more relaxed, and not as exhausting. We know the language, now we're just improving it, not getting overloaded with information like last semester.

Huzzah. The end is in sight. I'm starting to see myself being bilingual as promised. Last semester I thought they were on crack when they told us we would be.

The Newness Obsession

I've never been good at keeping a journal.

When I was younger, I would always get new journals, and add one or two "Dear Diary" entries--just like little girls in books and TV always did--put the journal aside, and forget about it.

Sometimes, blogging goes the same way. I start a new blog. I add an entry or two, realize no one in their right mind is reading it (apologies to the two of you who are following my other blog), and delete it.

I always start a new blog.

See, I have a newness obsession, and it doesn't stop with journals and blogging. I replace notebooks with too much scribbled in them. I can't stand using an old notebook. Trees should hiss and spit at me when I walk through the forest. I like getting new pens. An old pen that wrote smoothly yesterday can suddenly seem scratchy, and I get the itch for something new. A new color. Gel instead of ballpoint. And occasionally, I'll get a hankering for a mechanical pencil.

I've even been known to buy a new computer when I have the money. There's rarely a problem with the current computer, I just feel the need for something new.

I'm worse than a self-absorbed millionaire cycling through trophy wives.

My worst offense in the quest for newness is in writing. It hits me hard, somewhere in the midst of the Great Swampy Middle.

A new character with an interesting story will whisper to my muse.

A new world with interesting new places to explore will appear to me.

A new plot, with surprising twists and exciting developments will hit me over the head and scream at me to write it.

It's always just an idea. Never anything fully fledged that requires my immediate attention. Something for the next, far off novel. And yet I grab onto it, a flimsy excuse to stop writing and go back to dreaming. A chance to do something new.

I realized recently that it isn't newness that I want. Desire isn't controlling my actions. Well, okay, desire and newness may motivate my consumerism, but when it comes to my writing I'm like that trophy wife hunting millionaire. I'm afraid.

My current story, like his current wife, is good. I like it. Probably even love it. And yellow-bellied coward that I am, that terrifies me. I'm putting all of my energy into a project that could fail. My story might not sell. To make it work, I have to expose a deep, private piece of myself to someone, an agent, an editor, *gulp* an audience. That is the most terrifying thing anyone could ever do.

My newness obsession allows me to avoid the hurt of rejection. Unfortunately, if I don't learn to deal with my fear, to face it, to overcome it, I'll never know success either. Every time I stop writing a project, I'm rejecting myself.

That is the first thing any new writer needs to learn. Forget being able to tell a _good_ story. The first thing you need to do is complete a story. Rinse and repeat. If you keep writing, and editing, the good stuff will come. But an unfinished story will never be a good story.

And as for the abandoned blog, I like this one. I think I'll stick around for a while.