I Won!

Pam Baddeley, Writer Posted on by
2013 NaNoWinner badge

NaNoWriMo 2013 Winner badge

Well, things have been hectic or I would’ve posted this sooner but after sometimes falling behind with my word count and then catching up, I finally passed the 50,000 word mark on NaNo last Tuesday, 26th November.  Didn’t even know till the next evening when I got round to typing up my previous two days’ writing, scribbled in a notebook, and then found out it was quite a bit more than I had thought.  So I verified my win and carried on with a smaller word count each day, just so I could fulfil my goal of writing every day in NaNo.

So pleased – NaNo was a really positive experience this year.  Still feeling the warm glow of achievement even over a week later.  I haven’t finished the second novel – the first 10,000 or so words were finishing the one I did on NaNo last year – and I have loads more historical research to do, but just being able to write every day, to push through problems that were holding me back on this book and resolve character queries and issues has been a wonderful boost and helped me get back my writing mojo.  There is truly a lot to do on the first novel too, to make secondary characters memorable, to make the basic situation in the second half of the book more believable and to add conflict between the two major characters, but I know I’ll be able to do that on second draft.

Sadly I’ve had to back off the writing since 30 November as Christmas preparations have now taken over with present wrapping, taking stuff to the post office and trying to get the last elusive pressies for people.

So if ROW80 is not finishing the current quarter until end of December, I’m going to have to come up with a short term and not too demanding goal having done the biggie.  Still thinking about that.

Here are the latest ROW80 entries:

NaNoWriMo is Working

Pam Baddeley, Writer Posted on by

Yes, I know I’ve done it again but I have a very good reason for not posting anything on this blog – I have been writing every day on NaNo and am climbing the last uphill slog towards the finish, having passed 48K.  NaNo has been a useful discipline, which I hoped it would be.

I finished the first draft of my WIP in the first 11,000 words and plunged straight into working on another idea that has been parked for a lot of years.  I will need to do a lot more historical research to flesh it out fully, but it’s still been useful to be able to get the first 30K or so underway.  In the month leading up to NaNo, I thought about this novel a lot and finally worked out a major character motivation problem I’d been having with it, which had stopped me doing more with it earlier.  So long live NaNo!

I’m Back!

Pam Baddeley, Writer Posted on by

Well, that was a long while, but no excuses.

Have actually done some work on the WIP since, several chapters in fact, although things ground to a halt a couple of months back.  However, with NaNoWriMo now under way, I have plunged in and am actually making headway.  This is a very difficult book with a lot of things to be worked out in second draft – I know that the minor characters are not sufficiently developed, but the plot and getting that to be realistic within the fantasy context has been hugely difficult in places.  However, I now feel I am finally getting somewhere and in the first few days of NaNo have got off to a good start.

Not sure where we are with ROW80 but I will post the current lot of blog posts anyway.  As far as my goal for this round however long that still has to run, it will be to get to the end of the first draft during NaNo so wish me luck!

Rocks and Water!

Pam Baddeley, Writer Posted on by

Tootle-tootle-too! and other triumphant trumpeting noises.

Sorry, don’t normally blow my own trumpet, but I am so so pleased that I finally reached ‘Rocks and Water’ as I call it, the scene written in 2007, and have even written the bit that follows!  I haven’t exactly ground to a halt, but it is back to the struggle again, with not much inspiration striking although I know what I have to achieve to get to the ‘money scenes’.

Now if I can only keep up the momentum … but I’m going to need another goal for next time. Hmmm….  All right, I need to get the characters to the town where the rebellion really takes off and where the traitor makes a big move. Let’s call that goal Onboard for Olrurt.

Here’s the latest ROW80 blog check in:

Back on Track

Pam Baddeley, Writer Posted on by

Well, after some problems getting on with the WIP and only doing the odd bit of 10 minute or even 5 minute writing here and there, I have finally managed some quality time today. I have only written a bit of first draft material but I have done some tidying/editing of chunks here and there. Not normally something I do on a first draft, but with the time away from this MS, I need to get back into it and remind myself of some of the detail of what has happened so far.

I have been a bit remiss with posting on ROW80 mainly because of embarrassment at having achieved so little, but I am hoping to make up for that now.

The goal is the same as before:  get my characters to the Rocks and Water scene.  This is happening at a very slow and pigeon step rate, but at least it is now happening.  And I am feeling good about getting down to things.

So here is the ROW80 check-in

Round 3 Goals

Pam Baddeley, Writer Posted on by

OK, it’s time to launch Round 3 of ROW80.  I won’t beat myself up with recriminations about how little was achieved in Round 2, but will just state one simple goal:

Progress towards and reach the ‘Rocks and Water’ scene.  It can be done, I have faith.

As a recap, I heard back from the publisher who still looks at unagented fantasy/SF.  Sadly, a standard reject slip, but at least they do respond.  So many bodies that you submit to, including agents these days, don’t ever let you know one way or the other.

So, onward and upward and all that… here are the other ROW80 Round 3 participants’ goals:

 

 

Ten Minutes is All it Takes

Pam Baddeley, Writer Posted on by

Finally sat down for 10 minutes over a recent lunchtime and scribbled down a scene on a couple of sides of a shorthand notepad.  Last night I typed that up with a sense of satisfaction.  Despite not having touched the WIP for a disgracefully long time, the scene even fits in straight after the last one written which was a surprise, having forgotten what happened in that one!

So a pigeon step or two was achieved closer to the ‘Rocks and Water’ scene, and I have a much better idea of how to get there now, having spent about 10 minutes a few weeks ago scrawling down some thoughts about plotting.

Ten minutes here or there does have an effect.  Ten minutes every day would be even better, but I’m working on that.

Anyway, here is the latest set of ROW80 participant blogs.  Just realised I almost missed the last one for Round 2!

The Importance of Notebooks

Pam Baddeley, Writer Posted on by

Yes, there is still a place for the humble notebook.  I’ve written elsewhere on here about how the way the brain is wired, how the act of writing with the hand can break through blocks and connect to your subconscious.  The other big advantage is that you can use it anywhere, as long as you have a pen.  Even a really small notebook works – the other day I was stuck in the doctor’s waiting room and realised I’d forgotten to bring a novel to read.  But I had a minature notebook in my bag that I had bought weeks ago, thinking it was really cute.  Turned out to be useful too, as I got straight into my WIP.  Before I knew it, I had knocked out a scene and could have kept going if I hadn’t been called by the doctor.  So use that ‘down time’ that would be wasted otherwise waiting at train stations, or hanging around in the doctor’s or dentist’s waiting room – take a notebook!

Progress on the Work!

Pam Baddeley, Writer Posted on by

Bit late posting this, as life has been hectic, but the good thing to report is that I finally got back to the WIP and got my characters back on the road and heading towards the situation that will lead to the ‘Rocks and Water’ crisis scene that I wrote some years ago.  And the exciting thing is that a new character has turned up as an unforseen enemy for my heroine.  More conflict, I love it.

I’ve just read on the ROW80 blog about Lauralynn Elliot’s difficulties – you can see a link to her blog on the sidebar here. If you’re a writer who can help Lauralynn in any way, please do. I’m going to give my own small help to her, but I don’t have followings on Twitter etc so if anyone out there does, please help to get the word out.

Anyway, here are the rest of the ROW80s, so enjoy!

 

A Goal Done … Almost

Pam Baddeley, Writer Posted on by

I printed out the submission to the publisher and read through it carefully today, and made a few changes to the synopsis and covering letter.  So the package should go off tomorrow, which will be one ROW80 Round 2 goal down.

Yipee!  Of course, I have tons of other goals that should be on the list and will no doubt push their way in.  Funny, coz I don’t put too many on thinking that’s pressuring myself too much and then I end up doing these other ones anyway and not getting on with the WIP.  For example, I need to get into social media much more although I am concerned that it will eat into the writing time, which is not sufficient as it is.

Anyway, here are the blogs of other ROW80 participants: