Greetings blogosphere! As it’s been a ludicrously long time since I last talked about what I’m currently working on, writing-wise, it’s about time I fessed up. The truth is …
I’m not working on a whole lot at the moment.
I know, I know — the most important part of being a writer is writing! Now, in my defense, I may not be doing a lot of writing, but I have been doing a lot of planning. I go on a 90 minute walk every day, usually with my brother, and we spend that time thinking and conjecturing and planning my assorted writing projects. So although I’m not technically putting pen to paper, I like to think I’m getting stuff done nonetheless.
Since you’re probably not reading this post unless you care somewhat about my current writing projects, I shall now give you a brief update on the various things I’m working on. Prepare to be bored/amazed!
“Chasing Nonconformity” (sequel to Imminent Danger And How to Fly Straight into It)
So I sent the second draft of this sci-fi action/romance story out to my beta readers back in … May, I think? A while ago, anyway. I’ve barely heard anything from them since then, so I sent them a message a few days ago asking that they send me whatever notes/thoughts they have by September 1st, so that I can get going on the next draft. I don’t expect most of them to actually finish reading it by then, but hey, whatcha gonna do?
I actually have some really exciting things planned for this story — and my brother came up with a super cool idea just the other day that I’m going to add into the existing manuscript. So I wouldn’t say this project is anywhere near completion, but it’s certainly working its way towards getting there.
“The Elemental Guard” (YA fantasy)
This story has been annoying me for a while, because I wrote the first draft, and there’s just something … wrong with it. I’m not quite sure what. So I’ve completely revamped the concept, and am going to rewrite the entire thing. Siiiiiigh. I think it’s going to be worth it, though. Fingers crossed!
D.Y.S.C. (Disciplinary Youth Survival Competition — YA dystopian)
I’m actually really excited about this one. I’ve been a fan of Battle Royale for years, and loved Hunger Games when it came out, and I’ve been toying with the idea of writing a dystopian story for a while now. And now I’m going to do it! I started writing this story a few years ago for NaNoWriMo, but it was kind of bad, so I’m salvaging the good parts, changing a lot of stuff up, and basically starting over. I’m not going to say much about it right now, but I can reveal that it will involve an asteroid colony, teenagers fighting in a gladiatorial death match (pretty much a staple of dystopian YA fiction, lol), and lots of awesome. Stay tuned!
Unrelated media of the day:
Source: http://i.imgur.com/o6U3Lvc.jpg
Michelle Proulx - Author 
Hey, that’s OK. I’m literally like a toe from finishing and haven’t written squat for like, a month, SO. You’re in… company? >_> EITHER WAY. I wish I had someone to hang out with and bounce ideas off of. D: My friend and I were gonna do it, but we were both SOOOO busy like, all summer. Maybe when she goes back to school and is doing anything to avoid schoolwork, LOL. Anyway, I’m interested in your other projects, but I’m SUPER EXCITED, as always, for Chasing Nonconformity! 🙂 Have you given any more thought to re-releasing Imminent Danger at some point via self pub?
My brother just walked into the room, sat down on the bouncy ball beside me, and said, “Oh, by the way, I will destroy you.” So while I do recommend acquiring an idea-bouncing buddy, you might not want to hire my brother. He is quite suspicious.
Immin Dang! Yeah, re-releasing it is definitely in the works. My cover designer (ha, I sound so official) is going to have free time in November, so I’ll chat with her then about the two covers and so on. Also, iUniverse sent me this super confusing tax letter thing, so I need to do something with that, lol.
What other kind of tax form did you think they were going to send you, a helpful and easy-to-read one? PFFFT. Nothing in your experience with them should have led you to that conclusion. xDD Probably they want to tax your meager earnings silly, because THATS VERY TYPICAL.
I’m excited to see covers!! I want to be able to ooooh and aaahhhh over them! (By the way, who did you end up commissioning for the cover? Just in the interest of possibly needing people in the future.)
And LOL, your brother makes me laugh, but probably only because I’m not there. xD
Well, I’ve been chatting with a girl in Singapore named Pheeena, and she sounds really nice — and her covers are pretty cool too. http://www.pheeena.com/ Haven’t actually seen what she’s come up with for the covers yet because she’s busy clear until November, but still … I’m pretty psyched 😀
Sounds like you’ve got some awesome projects! Planning is just as important as writing, so you are totally getting stuff done 🙂
Lol I certainly hope so. Otherwise this summer has been a bit of a write-off, writing-wise!
Planning and thinking is all part of the process, it all counts. Right? Tell me it counts. 😉
It does! Of course, it only counts if that planning/thinking actually turns into written words at some point. I’m still working on that part, lol.
Damn! I’d not thought about that last bit. That time does need to have some sort of end product. Back to the drawing board 🙂
Hahahaha because more planning will definitely help break this vicious cycle.
I read about an author who plans/outlines for two months, writes for two months, and then revises for two months. When I wrote by the seat of my pants, I was like, “How could you possibly plan and outline for two months?!” I’m about to enter week two of character development on the same character. I totally understand how you can plan for two solid months now. All that organizing just means less random writing you’d just have to rewrite later. You could even be saving yourself time.
But all that planning doesn’t take into account the part where you’re halfway through a scene and think, “OMG, this could be SO much better if X did Y,” thus throwing your entire plan out the window 😀
Well, yes, you still have to leave a bit of room for changes. I still think in the long run the organizing saves me time. It also helps me have a much better picture in my head when I start writing. Description is what I struggle with the most, so I really need that firm picture to have a chance of anchoring my readers in the world I’m creating.
Oh, totally! Planning has really helped me shape out events, characters, settings, etc. enormously. Plus I run my planning past my little brother, who is very good at picking out the logical flaws in my plans, lol.