Trudging Forward

I cannot believe it has been a week since my last post!  I have finished through chapter 11 and I am maybe a third of the way through 12.  It seems like no matter how much I write, I am moving at a snail's pace.  I am hoping that after I finish the first draft completely, the reward of writing 'The End' will make all this suffering worth it.  I am so anxious to some reviews of my writing that I keep pondering whether to publish some chapters online, but I feel in my gut that it would be a mistake.  I don't even have any followers on my blog at this point! (except my daughter)  Oh well...I will trudge on and hope that the end result is as great a read as I anticipate.

Working Backwards

I was getting caught up it little details of the story this week, and it made my brain hurt!  Although I am slowly chugging along, I decided that I wanted the end of the novel to be my driving force for the storyline.  Today I decided to go ahead and write the final scene of the book.  It's very short, so I will have to add to the beginning of it, but I am, overall, very satisfied.  I have also written down a few scenarios that I know need to be included in the book.  I think I may try to write them in their entirety, and fill in the gaps.  I don't think this is common novel writing practice, but I'm new at this, so I'm making up the rules as I go.  It may pan out; it may not.  I'll let you know. 

Why Am I So Slow?

I feel like I am writing at a snail's pace!  In actuality, I am not doing terrible; it's all about perception.  When I was in high school, we had to write drafts for our English papers.  I was the annoying student who never wanted to turn in a paper with errors.  Nine out of ten times, my first draft was perfect, and I didn't have to do another.  I think I am having that problem with my novel writing.  I want everything to be perfect on the first draft...impossible!  When I think of new ideas or plot twists, I keep going back and adding them.  I think what I should be doing is writing without stopping, and making notes about the new ideas so I can add them later.  I'm pretty sure that's how Stephen King writes, but don't take my word for it.  I guess if I'm ever going to get through the entire novel, I need to stop trying to be perfect and just let it flow.

Trying To Push Through

I have finished Chapter 10, and I am currently working through Chapter 11.  It's a chapter with a ton of dialogue that is hard to keep going.  In this chapter, Lorelei and Maks meet a few new people.  Introductions are hard for me to write, especially when there are numerous ones to get through.  I'm going to try my hardest to push through it today and check another chapter off my list.

Working on the blog

While I was working on this blog yesterday, I realized that I didn't even have a Fluttera teaser on it!  How is anyone supposed to know what the novel is about?  I spent over an hour last night trying to write one, but, honestly, it's not going well.  I shut the computer off and decided to give it fresh eyes this morning.  Guess I better get started....

Almost done with the next chapter

I am so close to finishing Chapter 10.  I am having trouble finding a stopping point.  Could it be possible that I have too much to say?  Hmm....

Chapter 9...Done!

I have finished Chapter 9.  I have started sharing chapters with my mother-in-law.  She is an avid novel reader and has a masters in English.  I figure she is the perfect person to help me edit and give me some honest reviews.  So far, the feedback has been 95% positive and she cannot wait until it is finished.  She also said it would make a great movie!  That would be a dream, but first things first...finish the book.