The Coffee Shop - JUNE

[dios4vida]

for the BransforumsFesters: Sidekick is moving to Qc City!!!!)

Woo hoo, Claudie!! That's great news.

[Beethovenfan]

So, about May. In a nutshell, it wasn't very good to me. Computer broke, I wallowed in despair, was picked up by superheros, to then have a flood and need a new water heater. I've decided nothing makes me feel more helpless and Bella-Swan-I-can't-do-this-alone than not being able to do something because I'm not strong enough. Apparently, my house is sexist. Who knew?

All of that to say I didn't meet my May goals.

Trixie,
Here's to June - may it be your prince charming and kick a$$ on that sexist house of yours (let there be no more catastrophies of the water heater kind), and may it sweep you off your feet and carry you away to some awesomely romantic place (you know, let the creativity flow and the book be finished!).

April and May were both pretty good to me (except my husband broke his leg on our vacation, but that's his tragedy not mine - although I do have much for sympathy for him, poor guy!). I took people's advice from the Bransforumfest on the critiques given on my work and have done MASSIVE editing on my novel. I finished that yesterday. Feels awesome! I NEED to find a crit. partner to see what else needs fixing. I've not been able to find one here where I live yet. But, I won't let that stop me from carrying on.

My next goal is to finish my current WIP, a historical fiction set in the late 1840's in the desert area not far from Las Vegas, NV. I'd say I'm half way through writing the first draft. Finishing it is my goal for the summer. My goal for June is modest (I want to write 15,000 words) because I have an entire week that I must devote to my son's Cub Scout Day Camp. I am one of the leaders in his pack so I am in charge of a few things. But July and August are going to see some serious pencil scratching from me!

[Sommer Leigh]

I'm heartbroken over the news of Ray Bradbury's passing. This has been a rotten year for losing great authors.

A round of espresso shots for everyone. Let's toast to one of the greatest sci-fi writers to ever live.

[Mark.W.Carson]

The tree of the written word produces fruit who pass, but lay seeds at our feet that we can replant them with new fresh and inspiring authors that will one day return the favor.

Let's try our best not to just mourn the passing, but to enjoy the words left behind so that we can also do our part to instill a love of stories in the generation that follows us.

[Claudie]

Bradbury's passing made me realise I have yet to read anything from him. A mistake that shall be corrected quickly (please, don't throw rocks!)

[wilderness]

Claudie, ouch! I know how you feel (about doing so many rewrites). My second draft has been a complete and total rewrite of my first draft. I guess that's what they call a "discovery writer". I've been watching Brandon Sanderson's lecture series and he points out how these type of writers keep revising and revising the beginning until they figure out where to go from there. That's a bad thing if you never make any forward progress, but it can help avoid writing something that you're totally going to throw away. However, I think I did learn a few things from the second half of my first draft -- which is what completely does not work. Haha.

In any case, there's a balance to be found there--I'm still figuring it out myself. It was just nice to have an understanding of my own process, actually, and realize there is a logic behind it. So yay for Brandon's lecture series. I'm a fan.

Yesterday, I actually had a breakthrough on a major plot point! Yay me! Now I don't know how I ever thought this book would come together *without* that idea. Haha.

[wilderness]

And yes, between Maurice Sendak and Ray Bradbury, it's been kind of a bummer! I'm sad that Ray never got to see us on Mars, but I know he lived the life he wanted to live. I had the chance to hear him speak once, and he was great. RIP.

[Claudie]

wilderness - that's the funny thing, though: I'm a planner. I outline and prepare a lot before I write, and yet I'm still writing and rewriting all the time. I think, though, that it has a lot more to do with me learning the craft than with me discovering the story. I'm crossing my fingers that with time, seven drafts will become five, and then maybe three?

[wilderness]

Ah, that is different. Does that mean you deviated from your outline, or are you just trying to improve the execution? Just curious.

[BevS]

Hello Everyone,
I am new to the Forum. I like the Coffee Shop thread. I have been writing a mix this week...short non-fiction articles, a blog and a few pages on an historical novel. Feels like time to take a break. Happy weekend!

[Claudie]

I stick fairly close to the outline as I go from beginning to end, but as I go I note what doesn't work well enough. Then I re-outline accordingly, plan ahead what that changes in the story and then... rewrite. Most of the time this brings almost-complete rewriting. Once through the second draft I deviated from the outline because I'd just found a way better ending, and I was just starting.

Some of the changes I bring are also induced by various writing exercises and workshop I do. Hence why I think it's in good part all the learning I do along the road that pushes me to rework the story in a better shape.

[Mira]

Happy weekend, Bev! And welcome.

Checking in - I've been writing for my blog on a regular basis this month, and I'm very proud of myself. It feels like it's stretching me, and giving me ideas for my other writing. I have such trouble getting myself to write at all - terrible writer's block - and this is getting me to write on a deadline, so I'm absolutely thrilled! Yay!

Both Bradbury and Sendak both touched me personally as a child. Mark, that was really lovely.

[Sommer Leigh]

I returned to the coffee shop in a comic book shop this weekend! It was just as awesome as I remembered it. And I discovered they have big comic anthologies and board games to read and play in the coffee shop. I'm so in love. Unfortunately there was maybe the most obnoxious guy I have ever seen in the coffee shop when I was there.

Like, he was sing intentionally poorly to whatever song was playing and he'd do it as loud as possible. At one point he was making pretend fart noises. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner here.

So we did not stay as long as we might have otherwise, but it was still a good time and I picked up Volume 15 of The Walking Dead.

[wilderness]

I stick fairly close to the outline as I go from beginning to end, but as I go I note what doesn't work well enough. Then I re-outline accordingly, plan ahead what that changes in the story and then... rewrite. Most of the time this brings almost-complete rewriting. Once through the second draft I deviated from the outline because I'd just found a way better ending, and I was just starting.

Some of the changes I bring are also induced by various writing exercises and workshop I do. Hence why I think it's in good part all the learning I do along the road that pushes me to rework the story in a better shape.

Sounds like what I do except I don't bother with the outline. Though I do jot notes in a journal as I come up with ideas. Mostly, I just kind of vomit out a version (excuse the imagery), and even if I am sticking with the same story, I might come up with a lot of ways to increase the tension in the scene or tighten it up which ends up being mostly a rewrite. (Still hoping the next draft will not be as much of one, but we'll see).

[Claudie]

Ah, yeah, it sounds similar. Although with the two last versions I had been careful with how I write it to avoid another rewrite. Didn't work so well the first time. Let's hope this time I succeed. XD

On more general news, I've only written about 1600 words so far, and you know the worse? Half of these are start of scenes and I don't think I'll keep more than 400 of all that's written. *HEAD-DESK* I had a lot of trouble starting Part 2 of this novel.