Plan of Attack- Revision Time

I'm going with a very high-level revision this month.

Goal: 117 scenes by Jan 31st

First things first:
1.) Going through the manuscript documenting my 1st Reader's concerns: DUE 12/31 1/1 DONE
2.) Gathering a list of unanswered questions, plot holes and character back-story questions. DUE 1/4
3.) Decide best answer for questions/Make the decisions already [!] - DUE 1/8
4.) Go through every scene and update (make notes) to fit new story-line. - DUE 1/20
5.) Revise final scenes so I have a real ending (18 scenes) - DUE 1/31

Secondaries:  Due Feb 10th
1.) Plot out 2nd book - DUE 2/10

Thirdly: WRITE ! :D

The End - 107,728

I'm a bit gooey with joy right now. Light headed.

I killed two scenes that I was trying to shoe-horn in there from my outline. They just weren't fitting.
Maybe in revision, when I have a real rough draft to work with, but not right now.

Not a bad word count either. Long, but not as long as I'd feared.

I have work to do but give me a moment to bask in the joy of it.

THE END.

It's taken at least 5 years to write those words.  And I finally get to. And I'm inarticulate (more than usual even).

3 baby scenes to go

3 tiny partial scenes left in the book.  I can taste victory already!

If you can't write anything good, write crap.

4 scenes to go- Final Chapter time

Ok, so this is pretty amazing, regardless. Truly, regardless of everything else. I am on the last chapter.
Everything is fixable. I'm going to just keep getting this out of my head. I will figure out what to do with all the plot holes later.

Update: 8:46pm: another scene done. 192 words. Gee, I swear the ending scenes made sense when I made up the scene cards. Well, at this rate (hidden blessing of such truncated scenes), it's not much work to revise at least

Loads of crap

I am SO stuck right now. I have put so much pressure on myself. 

I've been doing pretty well at just keep going but I think the crap has gotten so high that it's getting hard to wade through.

Or the proximity to the ending is the problem and I'm just having trouble shutting off the "you suck" voice, saying "you will fail at this, there is no point and you are wasting your time"

Updated count for WIP: 106770

UPDATE 8:30: 444 words/ scene completed. On to final chapter.
The plot holes are so big, I've got trucks travelling through on their daily delivery routes to Crapville. 

Into the scene...(5 scenes left)

I couldn't get anything done during lunch- just couldn't focus.  I have 5 scenes left to write (4 are in the last chapter).

Boy, does this thing need work. :D

Work today was rough, really rough. It was like I didn't have a voice or wasn't worth hearing. My immediate thought: I can't wait to be published and quit and never have to work in a cubicle again.
And then it will just be my voice and my words and my story.

I really want to get good at the Butt in Chair method.  It's the only way I'll ever become a professional. So time to write. Put the rest behind me.  Step into the scene and imagine it out.

UPDATE1: 7:09pm - So far, lots of surfing going on around here.  I am doing some major avoiding over here- with talent.

UPDATE2: 7:43pm- More stalling. At this point, I might as well have turned on the evil box.  Let's see- what's going on here?

I have 1 scene left in this chapter. Pretty much the aftermath of the big battle or immediate next piece of crap. So let's just get this out of my head, shall we?

On to the next scene (6 to go...)

On to the next scene.  I'm clinging to my advice and just moving forward. I'm not going to worry about connecting it or the gaping hole. I'm just going to get what's in my head out of it so that I can finish this story. I want to finish it so that I can take a step back and see the truth path of the story.
Details will come later.

UPDATE (5:48pm): and now there are 5 scenes to go.

Wow, so worst scene ever. It makes absolutely NO sense, builds on the nonsense of the previous scene. But at least there is something on paper now. I can move forward.

Also, I now have 1 planned scene left in this chapter and then the last chapter to write.  This is getting interesting.

366 words in that horrible, no good, very bad scene.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and 1018 words

Christmas was wonderful- I had Monday and Tuesday off.  And then, ahem, I took yesterday off to watch the evil box.

In other news, I came up with this cool other project.  So I'm using that to bribe myself to just get the scenes on paper. Rule is, complete a scene, I can work on the other project.

At lunch, I wrote 1018 words and completed the Battle scene.  It does not lead smoothly to the next planned scene at all... as in, big gaping huge hole between them.  So this should be fun this evening.  [I'm a bit addicted as now I only have 6 planned scenes left to write.  Gee, it would be great to get this thing done. So I think alternate project will keep until this weekend maybe.] Of course, now that I'm home, the evil box is calling to me too.  Curses: I should not have watched TV last night.

Big Battle Time

Progress:
8 scenes left that I know about.  (But I'm thinking there's a few more hiding out).

Big Battle tonight.
I'm keeping in mind- this is the skeleton and it is MEANT to be crap. Once I'm done I can revise it to a reasonable proximity of Rough Draft material.

Let's get started!

UPDATE 1: 7:17: WOW- easily distractable today. I was so excited to write too but then I got caught up in a Forum discussion. I should know better. I thought I was helping but I think I was actually just wasting people's time. Oh well. Now I need to move on. I should at least complete one scene today, to keep my lovely momentum going. I had this dream I might finish one of the chapters today but that does NOT look possible anymore.
On a positive note, I haven't watched any TV this week, that ought to count for something.
And I just moved one scene to book 2 - so yay- one less scene to write.
The Forum stuff is ALL SET - time to move on. I'm on a time table here.

WHICH REMINDS ME:
Goal to complete book 1: Jan 6th (about 13 days, skipping most of Christmas weekend).
Scenes to do: 7.

REMINDER (Because I need one):
I'm trying to remember- it doesn't matter if it makes sense or connects or fits together. Just get the scene out of my head in all of its skimming, crappy version. I can easily fill in the gaps, connect it and beef it up during revision. But I can't fix what I can't see. So just write it. It's okay if it's not perfect.

UPDATE 2: 7:50- Stole some words from the previous scene to put in the next scene instead. I now have 246 words in my Big Battle but kind of stumped.  My MC made a surprising use of her powers but I have NO idea what to do with it! LOL.  Completely unexpected/awesome development. Must figure out how it works.  But anyway, so far I have 163 new words.

UPDATE 3: 8pm- Yaza! This unexpected new power is going to backfire and move her out of the frying pan and into the fire! I'll have to figure out how exactly that works

UPDATE 4: 8:08pm- So glad I didn't stop.  The scene is working out awesome!!  I had them almost done for then almost victorious and now they are almost done for again!  Huzah! This is so much fun. (522 words in scene now; 439 new ones so far for today.)

UPDATE 5: 8:12pm: Holy crap- what a freaking awesome cliffhanger. And I know just what happens next. But I better get to bed.  okay I've got some stuff documented.  Hopefully I can sleep a little tonight!

Oops, and as suspected, scene has morphed into two so I still have at least 7 to go. BUT that also means I got one done tonight! Yay

Getting started again

So trying to settle in- quiet my mind.  I was very excited to come home today and see what scenes I could knock off next. I've decided not to worry about how they connect or make sense, just get them out on paper and then worry about it. This has definitely helped a lot.

I have 10 scenes left. Maybe I can knock a few out tonight.

UPDATE: 6:22pm: 1 scene done. 356 words LOL.  DONE THOUGH, IT'S OUT OF MY HEAD FINALLY. Off to the next scene.  [452 words, including the few I'd done the other night]

UPDATE: 6:48pm: So I completed the oh so important task of setting up my writing timeline in Outlook. Don't know why, I just suddenly HAD to have it.  I am getting rather excited about being so close to the end. Which brings me to now: I am stuck.
I'm trying to remember- it doesn't matter if it makes sense or connects or fits together. Just get the scene out of my head in all of its skimming, crappy version. I can easily fill in the gaps, connect it and beef it up during revision. But I can't fix what I can't see. So just write it. It's okay if it's not perfect.

UPDATE 8:00:  Another scene done- 722 words.  Total progress so far tonight: 1226
It's SO rough- which is exactly the point of course. I just need to admit that again.
But I left myself in a good place. Not sure whether I can try getting another one completed tonight
But only 2 chapters left to go (and last scene was actually in these chapters), so I'm actually making headway on the last 2 chapters on the book! YAY.
I think I'll call this a night and keep the big battle for tomorrow. :D

Approaching the next scene

This is so nerve wracking. I'm reaching the end finally and I have a lot of balls to throw in the air.  I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M DOING!

hah! I said it.  There, so there. So I don't know what I'm doing.
Couldn't this be fun? Just figure out how do I picture this scene in my head? Just capture it in Scrivener. Iron out the details and add in the layers later. Add in all the connecting scenes and maybe several missteps. But right now just worry about the stuff I know about.

I just need to picture the scene and get it out of my head.

UPDATE 7:56:
3 new scenes done, 1996 words.
These are skeletal, high level, and I'm not going to worry about whether anything seems plausible.  And I kind of, in a weird way, actually like what I'm getting.  It's skimming over the top but the contents of the scene I wanted is there.  And I'm remembering all these loose ends I had, and I'm starting to pull them in.

I can't wait til revision time when I can make this puppy sing.

Epilogue is done- well, roughed out anyway, but in words

My epilogue is "done" - 646 words. Very high-level, just skimming over the top, but it's there now.
Tomorrow I shall attempt the final chapter, which will be a challenge as I haven't written the final battle yet.

But it's exciting. I'm looking forward to getting this thing closed out.

Based on my revised scene list/reorg, I have 3.5 chapters to go.  Here's hoping I can knock one of them out tomorrow.

Fresh set of eyes

Having trouble focusing so I'm making a fresh new entry to play around in.

So I have 20 very high level plot cards/ a little vague but not really too bad. Big problem is trying to figure out how to get from my current point in the story to the next point in the story.

Goal: 5 detailed plot cards moving from current point in story to next phase in story.

Plot Card Time

Time to make some new plot cards.  My original ones were go to [this location] and meet [someone] and find out about [this other thing]  (editing out the details). But anyway it was way too vague and high level.

Time to get out the plot cards and have some fun.

I think I'll do it in notepad on the computer so Muse knows she has room to work and change her mind. Nothing's set in stone here.

Goal: 20 new scenes with details.

Here's a picture of my typical scene cards:
Title:
Action: [overview of what happens]
Where:
When:
Goal: [what did char want/why here?]
Against/With:
Conflict: [keeping the yawns out of the scene, but not fake over-the-top conflict]
New Goal: [since scene needed to change something, see item below, what becomes the new goal. I don't always have this but I look for this opportunity to change stuff up. Between this and the next piece it should keep the reader from skimming/skipping because every scene they might miss something important.]
Twist/New Info: [for the reader: why did I read this?]

I try to fill out something for each piece, although on notepad, I start with just the Action piece and fill out the rest later.

So anyway, 20 plot cards coming up...

UPDATE: (1:59).  Had to run an errand and then typed up the 15 plot cards I already had, still love them and the direction of the book. Now to add in the much needed details. and some of the more important connecting info as right now I can't tell how to get to the next scene and I definitely need to add in a few missteps too.

UPDATE: (2:06): Actually I have 20 scenes. (I hadn't gone quite far enough back in the scene list.)  Now, time to add in all the lovely details that make a story.

UPDATE (3:24): Cleared out all the blah from Scrivener so that I just have the 20 remaining note cards.  I need to add in the plan, man. I have 4 chapters + epilogue (with 3 scenes).
And instead of adding details, I've been futzing around on the internet. What the heck is up with all this fear, reluctance, and pressure? This should be the fun part.

Yug

Well these next scenes are like a black hole. I have her breaking into a maze and wandering around with the guidance of a mysterious substance. It's too simple and way too boring and I have no idea what's supposed to happen once she gets there so it's all a big blah without even the excitement of getting there.

Aha- so I'm skipping ahead. I'm going to try writing the scene once she's found the group. I can figure out how she got there later.  And I suppose she really should have a little trouble getting there.

I think it just feels so overwhelming to have her hiding from people, and hearing people coming. Yuck.
Maybe I should give her the power of invisibility. Tempting but no.

Word count meter

15457 / 30000
(51.52%)

Time for the next scene

Today's goal is 700 words.

Here's the problem- works actually fun the past few months.
They've got me on  a new project- where I'm creating documentation and spending alot of time hunting out new opportunities to add information.

It's light years from my normal job.
I have no idea how long my luck will hold out- before they send me back to the normal job.

I'm torn.

I'm a lot more productive when I'm a little more miserable. But I really prefer my current job. And it's a paycheck week to week. Whereas when I'm miserable at work, it's a paycheck week to week and a few pages of writing But I don't seem to truly be getting closer to ending this thing.

OK, so 2nd issue.
I have a serious dis-interest problem in the end.  Things were moving a long and I was happy and now SCREECH.  I'm stuck.
I'm making things too easy for the MC. But, on the other hand, it is so easy to revise.  I need to just push ahead and worry about raising the stakes in the 2nd draft.
3rd issue actually is that I don't think I've connected enough with the story.  So much has happened but maybe less should have happened so the characters had more chance to get a personality.
[note: I just read a story where, well to be honest, there was a lot of talking, but there was plot and not much character development.  Actually I take it back, I think it was all the talking and debating that killed the storyline for me. Not the fact that there was lots of plot]. My big pet peeve: I hate being told what to think, I don't like being preached at.
And one thing I noticed is that throwing lots of logic at the story problem doesn't make the problem go away.  Cause as nice as the argument might be, the story problems don't really get buried under all that talking.

So difficulty #1: Need to put all this stuff aside- all the rushing to get to the end, all the worries that it's all a waste of time.
I want this next scene done.
I can figure out what I need for transition scenes and additional scenes later.  But this scene is okay to write, however it comes out, and finally give my conscious mind something to work with.

Goal for today

I'm so bad.  It's the holidays- they suck up my time. :)  But I've gotten to see my family so often. I love that.

My current total (on the new stuff) is 15457.
According to WriteTrack, my goal tonight is 693 words.

Actually if I could figure out how the MC's powers work, I would settle for that! DONE

Update 7:10pm
I think I'll call that good. It's vague, but I think I'm on the right track.  Enough that tomorrow I can move forward again. I think the rest will keep for 2nd draft.

Another milestone

I didn't write the next scene tonight. Instead I reread the blog which is a complete waste of time.

It always starts because I want to remember how it started. And it's such a journey I can take over again. To remember those scenes that I was struggling with. I forget how hard the scene was. I feel a serious sense of accomplishment that I made it to the other side, although it's really sad how often I spent months away from it too.

But I'm so grateful to have this record of the journey.

And it led me to do a little math.  I've rolled over 100,000 words.  Which is incredible.
I should throw myself a party.

I know- that means there is going to be some surgery later. But it gives me room to play.
And I want to congratulate myself.

Before this story, I'd never written more than 10-30 pages. Now I'm somewhere around 250 (I think)

[Anyway, goals tomorrow: At least 556 words. Another scene completed]

Moving on

I don't want to be done writing yet today so I'm going to take advantage of it.  I'm getting excited too because I am so close to the end of the book now.
Trouble is how do I get focused on the next scene without feeling overwhelmed by all the stuff yet to write and somehow make come together? How does a writer stay sane in this mess?

On to next scene.  No looking ahead- just what happens next to MC?

Success- sorta

Finished the scene: woot! All I can say is FINALLY.
It's not right, it's not pretty; it's not what I thought would happen.  So who knows.
But it's forward and for right now, I'm keeping. I actually think it may be the general way the scene actually needed to be. Although I have a feeling it might need to be 2 different scenes, taking place at 2 different times.
But I'm also being lazy and tired of leaving the location to go back to it.  So for now, I'm keeping it as a scene and moving on.

14337 words today. (1542 words made up that scene). [UPDATE 12/28: obviously that number is wrong but have no idea now what I meant to write]
72 words in a short transition scene.
And done.