I’m really impressed with myself for getting another chapter edited and posted on Wattpad tonight and it was another 3.5k chapter! My word count is soaring today.
I have added a note to check it again at a later date as I changed a lot of tenses and I want to make sure my grammar is correct.
If you would like to see the new chapter on Wattpad, click here.
If you like this post, you may enjoy:
Camp NaNoWriMo Diary (middle to end)
The new chapter has taken a few days to edit. Here are the challenges I faced whilst editing this chapter.
The main delay was due to changing the role of Ana in the story.
In the original version, she goes away to see a specialist doctor in America to get help with her sleep disorder. This resulted in her being away for most of the story.
In my current rewrite I have decided Ana will have a bigger part to play. She doesn’t go away, Mariah confides in her and together they experiment with magic. I’m enjoying writing the new content but it is slowing me down.
In addition, chapter 13 is 3.5k words long. This is long for me as my chapters generally tend to be half that.
The last delay on this chapter is that Aria is going through a nocturnal stage so I’m spending more of my evening settling her than working on my novel.
If you would like to see the new chapter on Wattpad, click here.
If you like this post, you may enjoy:
Camp NaNoWriMo Diary (middle to end)
Here is the last half of my Camp NaNo diary, covering mid April to the end of April. It will also include whether I am a winner or not. If you would like to read the first half of my diary, click here.
I am so pleased that I achieved Camp NaNo. During the Easter Holidays it felt so impossible I almost quit. I guess it goes to show what perseverance can achieve.
I like Red Dresses more than my November project and will likely return at a later date to finish this novel.
As soon as Camp NaNo was over, I got straight back into editing Jewel of the Sea. My goal is to try and edit three chapters a week to get it query ready.
You may have noticed that recently I have begun sharing updates on my blog with links to Wattpad as I finish editing. If you are on Wattpad, follow me, I follow back.
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I’m really impressed that I managed to get a chapter edited today. Aria has refused to nap all day so I am shattered but I really wanted to get another one done.
I think the next chapter will be tricky because I have changed the role of Ana in the new outline. This will impact the next chapter as I will need to add in some new content to make it work.
I find editing really hard but I will write a post soon covering the methods I use that make it a little easier. But, I would love to hear the methods you use?
If you would like to see the new chapter on Wattpad, click here.
If you like this post, you may enjoy:
A Group For Writers with a Side Hustle
What theme is heavily portrayed in your story?
Do you keep notebooks of story ideas?
My main time to write is in the evenings. I started working on this chapter on Wednesday but since then there have been a number of personal distractions.
One of my best friends is in hospital with her baby and I wanted to do something to cheer her up. I gave up an evening to work on creating her a special letter and gift. Another evening was lost to looking at my families finances and trying to work out how we will afford everything this month as I am no longer bringing in any money on maternity leave.
Today, I have taken every chance I have had to get some writing done and I have finally finished editing the chapter to post on Wattpad. If you have time to take a look, please do give it a read and let me know what you think.
How are you progressing towards your writing goals?
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How much development do you give you Secondary characters?
Hand write to boost creativity
My best kept writing secret of last year (Happily Ever Author)
Author CL Walters was looking to feature writers from Instagram on her blog and I got picked. You can read her post about yours truly by clicking here.
She is the author of two novels that can be bought from Amazon.com:
“What do you do when your world has fallen apart, and there doesn’t seem to be a way to put it back together? Abby Kaiāulu (Kaw ee aw oo loo) gets the chance to start over when her family relocates from Hawaii to a small town on the Oregon coast. But she’s hiding a secret. Leaving the past and the cultural lessons of her Hawaiian grandfather behind, Abby redefines who she is to hide it. There’s Good Abby – she makes and follows the rules – and there’s Bad Abby – she always questions them. But both leave Abby wondering: which one is she really? Her road of self-discovery takes her on a journey where she must discover the truth of who she is as a daughter, a sister, a woman, a Hawaiian and as a friend. But just when she thinks her world might be coming back together, it falls apart all over again. “
https://www.amazon.com/Swimming-Sideways-Cantos-Chronicles-Walters/dp/172408710X
“ Seth Peters has been angry for a long time. Living with an abusive, alcoholic father has that effect. But when he wakes up in a hospital – outside of his body – due to an accident that he doesn’t remember, Seth is no longer angry; he’s terrified. When his memories begin to return, he is confronted with a legacy of lies he’s constructed to survive the pain of his own life. Realizing he’s no different than the man he’s loathed his whole life, Seth’s learns that his choices have set into motion far-reaching and terrible consequences for the only true friend he’s ever had, Gabe Daniels. Challenged with wallowing in the pain or confronting his fears and admitting to the ugly truth about himself, Seth must decide if facing what he fears most to save his friend’s life is worth the risk of losing his own. “
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1520940459/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0
If you like this post, you may enjoy:
Image from Unsplash artist Kinga Cichewicz of how I picture grown up Denny https://ift.tt/2DByKkK
View on Instagram https://ift.tt/2Ofw15V
Gwyn had been a mother and best friend all rolled into one neat package. I picked the sticky tape off another cardboard box. Packing up had been a difficult chore but unpacking was a never ending task.
Revealing the contents, I realised this would be no quick task. At the top was a powder blue photo album with white writing ‘My Baby’. I can’t resist the urge to look at pictures of my son. I clutched it to my chest in the same manner I had when he had been small enough to do so.
The first page was a photo of him only hours old. Gwyneth had been my only visitor at hospital and took the photo for me.
Gosh, I look so young. Too young to be a mum!
I pulled the rigid board of the front cover free from the slip to retrieve a picture I had hidden there. It had been taken in a photo booth, a sketch of us together in black and white. Dean believed pictures looked better like that. Now, it was disappointing as the picture didn’t show the kaleidoscope of golds his hair had shone that hot May.
The Easter fair had been in town, we were down for the holidays. Mum had given my brother Greg and I some money to go ‘treat ourselves’.
“What ride do you want to go on first?” Greg asked as we walked along the closed off road.
It was dark and the rides were lit up by brightly coloured bulbs and painted with images of seductive looking women with large breasts and glossy lips.
“I don’t know,” I shrugged. “They all look lame to me.”
Image from Unsplash artist Gabriel Matula of how I picture a teenage Denny: https://unsplash.com/@gmat07
There was the familiar crashing of bumper cars and the rotation of horses on the carousel. There were the more dangerous rides for older kids like Rock City where a row of chains rotated up and down getting faster and faster, Metropolis where everyone put their faith in centrifugal force as they stood in the cage of a spinning wheel tipping on its side as they stuck to the wall. There was Niagara Falls which consisted of two carpeted tubes that spun in different direction causing you to fall to the ground. Last time we were here it gave me carpet burn. All of them looked like they would either make me sick or cover me in bruises.
“I’m gonna get some candy floss.” My brother said irritated by my lack of adventure. He had been bored at the caravan and the fair was all that had kept him going.
I begrudgingly followed him whilst he flirted with two young girls in the queue. He allowed them to steal bites of the blue fluffy cloud of sugary sweetness. My brother was terrible with his cheesy lines ‘are all the girls around here as gorgeous as you?’
One of the girls, who had slicked her hair back into a ponytail eyed me with her dark lined eyes, “Your girlfriend?”
“Sister.” My brother quickly corrected her but his grin clearly read ‘I’m in there!’
The girl rubbed her arms to brush off the cold. “Wanna game of pool?”
Obviously my brother said yes. He had lost all interest in the rides now his sole attention was on this girl, who to me looked like a slapper. Sadly, that was probably what he liked about her.
Her friend was chewing gum and seemed to be eyeing everyone up for a fight. Even when she smiled at my brother her eyes were half closed and she almost looked as if she was snarling, so I was surprised when she said, “You want to play?”
I shook my head. “I’ll just watch.”
I felt a little like a gooseberry standing on the side lines watching my brother tickle this girl every time she tried to take a shot. She giggled and blushed, “Stop cheating!”
I saw a pinball machine and decided to give it a go. The popular theme tune to the Adams Family started up. I pulled back the lever and let it go. The spring raced forward, smacking into the round silver ball and spinning it onto the table. The ball bounced off some bells and was heading down towards the bottom. My hands leaned over the edge of the table ready to hit the buttons to cause the flickers to stop the ball from being lost.
“You’ll never beat my score.”
I jumped and hit the button too late. Angrily, I searched for the person responsible for my loss, only to be taken back by the most beautiful eyes and gorgeous smile I had ever had the pleasure of meeting. As if moving in slow motion, I blushed as I watched the ball bounce and roll down the middle bringing the game to a halt.
“Dean.” He said confidently.
All I could see was his cocky grin and cool blue eyes. He had long blond hair that swept across his face in rebellious waves. He looked like he had stepped off the set of some Californian beach surfer movie and I couldn’t take my eyes off him.
“You’ve still got another ball.” He said with a thick Suffolk accent that killed my Mr Muscle Beach fantasy.
My hands shook rapidly to the beat of my heart and it was more difficult to pull the bar back the second time. I let it go and tried again to keep the ball on the table but I was all flustered. I managed to hit it back into the game twice more before it disappeared for good.
“It’s your last ball. Do you want my help?”
My throat was tied up in knots, pretty much like my stomach and I couldn’t speak. I gave a nod. The next thing I knew, he was standing behind me. His hand clasped over mine and we drew back the lever together. “Never go all the way.” His hot breath tickled my neck like a forewarning my body wanted to rebel against. “Otherwise the ball will be too fast to keep up with. You need it to be just enough to put it on the board and get stuck behind those bells. Then you will get the maximum points.” He let go of my hand and I released it. I let it go and as my hands fumbled for the buttons, I felt his fingers guiding me into place, finally resting gently over the top of mine.
That was how my romance for ‘Hugo Boss’ had begun. The scent surrounded me in the same way his arms were. It was intoxicating the way it gripped my senses and spun my world like the little silver ball. From that day forward, it became the smell that I associated with summer, replacing the uplifting fresh salty sea breeze and lashings of sun lotion. I no longer hungered for the tantalising sweetness of a ninety-nine vanilla ice-cream and chocolate flake; I just wanted to taste Dean. That was the start of the holiday romance that broke my heart and changed my life eternally.
Looking at the photo, I was surprised to discover how similar Dean looked to Jace. I shouldn’t have been surprised, after all Dean was his dad. The last time he had come to mind had been when I met Dave, my fiancé. The first thing that caught my attention was the heart capturing scent of Hugo.
Now Jace was wearing it thanks to Dave trying to bond with him “Wear this, the women love it.” I never told Dave why this woman loved it.
https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/WJTXDCh2YiA?rel=0&showinfo=0&enablejsapi=1
This song has beautiful imagary that I feel captures the intoxicating feeling of first love and the magic of the whirlwind, followed by the crushing destruction when all is not as it was and all you have left is sweet memories that are painful to carry. I think it captures the emotions of the scene above well.
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What theme is heavily portrayed in your story?
Do you keep notebooks of story ideas?
Does your story have an antagonist/bad guy?
Here is my midpoint diary on my Camp NaNo project, how I prepared and how I am progressing told through my Instagram photos.
Project – Red Dresses
I hope when I post in early May on how I got on that I will have good news and be able to share my success with you. Wish me luck!
Update: Click here to read my diary for middle to the end.
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Here is an infographic of the goals set for this year and whether I’ve achieved them or not:
07
Posting twice a week has proven more challenging than I expected but I have discovered the IFTTT app. This app is able to convert Instagram posts into draft blog posts. When I have struggled for time this has been a game changer. I highly recommend it.
I have also revamped old posts and started referring readers with links to previous content they may like.
I have been posting two to three times a day! I have over exceeded this goal. I’m so pleased with myself and connected with lots of cool new writer friends as a result.
This wasn’t in my plans but a lot of IG writing groups have invited me to their Facebook group and discord channel so we can chat more easily as IG limits chat groups to 30 people. I have also created a Facebook Page of my own which I hope to utilise in the near future.
Online events:
As I’ve ripped Jewel of the Sea apart I have nothing to query. #WriteMentor did a pitch event to earn a place on their rolling course with a mentor. I didn’t win but I gave it a go as I’ve worked hard on improving my pitch.
“Mariah has a magic-meddling mum, and about to discover she’s a storm summoning mermaid that needs to gain control of her emotion-connected powers ready for the impending battle with the powerful, unstoppable death crows!”
I’ve also taken part in IG events like monthly photo prompts and joined #FellowCreativeMinds and #HustlingWritersCommunity. If Aria wasn’t unwell I would have also got more involved in #STCExperiment – there is still time.
I still haven’t braved the camera. But, I took baby steps and made two Instagram story videos which has helped me feel more confident. It is still something I am keen to do and I’ve started following more writers on YouTube. I really enjoy their content and they help inspire me to create my own.
YouTube writers I’m enjoying are:
About: “24. Writer. Reader. Full-time final year Creative Writing graduate. Full Time Ride Operator in a children’s play centre. Books are my passion, especially YA fantasy fiction. Email me at [email protected]. I’d love to chat with any of you guys! “
About: “A channel to give help, support and encouragement to creative minds everywhere! I post twice a week. Once on Wednesday, usually a reading your writing, and then I post another video each week at a random time. To join the growing creative minds community, join our Discord and follow lizthewritingwiz on Instagram. Happy Creating! ?”
About: “I’m an author of science fiction and fantasy novels, as well as a writing coach over on Patreon, and obviously, a youtuber! (AKA authortuber :) This channel also used to be dedicated to music, so if you look back far enough you’ll find some fun songs.”
About: “Hello friends! My name is Brittany Wang and I’m an aspiring author currently working on my YA Fantasy Novel. If you’re looking for writerly insights as well as writing community, you’re in the right place and I hope you’ll subscribe so you don’t miss a thing! If you’d like to interact more with me and my writer’s community, join our Plotter Life Writer’s Facebook Group and come hang out with me on Instagram where I’m active daily!”
I feel I should mention Pagan as although she’s not on YouTube she does post videos to Facebook and helped me with advice on how to get started. Click here to read about my review of her Facebook Group.
I have been fortunate enough to get some feedback on my novel that has helped me see what I need to do.
I’ve also been following the principles in Save the Cat Writes a Novel. It has really helped with pacing. If you have not read it, you are missing out. Once I’ve finished the book I will write a review.
This did not even happen even a little bit. I was struggling with time for my other projects so something had to go and this is what got the chop.
My plan is for this to be my Camp NaNo project next month. I shall use Save the Cat Writes a Novel to have an outline ready for April.
I have been so tied up with my own projects I have not had time to write for others.
This has gone so well. Eating paleo has been a life style choice and I hope to write blog post to share more. I feel more healthy and my figure is looking great.
I haven’t had time to do this. At the moment I can’t see when I will have time which is sad as those memories are precocious. I showed my son my baby album and he loved it. Maybe if I print his pictures at the very least I can put them in an album.
Well… I still haven’t finished the blanket. How embarrassing is that! I hope I finish it before Aria turns one.
I have tried a few times but over think it. I’m going to a meet up at the end of the month with some local planner girls. I am hoping these women will share their wisdom with me and help me get started. I want to use it to help me organise my writing.
I’ve read Rebel of the Sands (review coming soon) but I am a little behind target. I’ve started Red Queen but doubt I will finish it by the end of April.
I have now started this course. I feel nervous about volunteering at the school (first volunteer session is on 27 March). It is so silly but I am scared of the little kids (lol). I feel supported by my peers and the staff at the school and I am sure that once I have done it, I will feel better about it.
I feel this course and the experience will boost my career. I would like to work in a school as the hours would be good for my children and there is also the aspect that once I am published, I would love to visit schools in Suffolk and inspire the next generation of writers.
This wasn’t in my plans but when the opportunity to try it out for free came up, I went for it. For February, I was fortunate enough to be part of the exclusive private Slack group for writer #WriteMentor. I need to write a blog post for you to truly appreciate how amazing this opportunity is and why when I return to work I plan to subscribe as a paid member.
I’m going to evaluate how I am doing and set some new goals for the next quarter.
Let me know how you are progressing towards your goals and whether you check in on yourself too?
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Goals for the year ahead – 2019
My best kept writing secret of last year (Happily Ever Author)
So, I entered Jewel of the Sea into a competition. I am in Group One for SciFi, Fantasy Paranormal, Werewolf and Vampire stories.
The competition has six rounds. Each round, the stories will be judged for different things. Each round the contestants will be halved so that by the final (sixth) round there are only two contestants competing to win. The criteria for each round is:
Round One for Group One Starts On: 27 March 2019 to 5 April 2019
I have ten days to spread the word and encourage my followers to visit the competition and comment on why they like my novel’s title, cover and blurb.
Blurb:
One kiss is all it took to wake Mariah’s weather manipulation powers.
Mariah is crushing on her best friend, rivalling with the swim team star and Gwyn in meddling in her life using spells. With no idea what she is, this mermaid could lose control and kill!
When your deadly powers are connected to your emotions, it gives a new meaning to “It’s complicated.”
Please can you visit the Cliche Press Competition and comment on what you like about my novel’s title, cover and blurb. Click here to visit the competition.
Also, if you have time to give me feedback on my project it is always welcomed. I’m constantly looking for ways to improve so please don’t hesitate to let me know what is working and what is not.
Please let me know if you are on Wattpad as I would love to follow you.
