I have been motoring on quite nicely, and I am really happy with my progress so far. I set myself blocks during the day that I have to write in (a tip I picked up when researching how to stay motivated while writing and would highly recommend) and I have yet to miss one. It is much easier to get into "the zone" of writing when there are no distractions. Once I start writing in that block of time all I am concentrated on is getting as much done as I possibly can. So I have mostly been writing new stuff but I have gone back and tweaked some scenes that were highly underdeveloped.
The best part of all of this is that it has affected my regular life as well. Since I am getting so much done with my writing, which I am always stressing about not doing enough of, I am also being very efficient when it comes to school work as well. While I wouldn't call myself a true procrastinator I do have moments of laziness where I would rather finish reading a book than complete an essay, but now I get to it without questions. So often people call themselves procrastinators but you never have people that are actively bragging about how productive they have been. So I will.
As I was editing a scene today, I came up with (what I consider) a really cool idea. My main character is very stuck up and studious so the narration is quite formal to complement this. Therefore I always have to come up with fancy ways of saying things. But a theme I have been toying with is that everyone is the same underneath. So when Saehan, my main character, is relaxed and composed her language will be fancy. But when she becomes angry or uncomfortable the narration will become less elaborate to reflect the fact that she has lost control of even her language.
Now, I have no idea how this will work and whether a reader would see any evidence of it while they are reading. It might be so subtle that it doesn't come across very well. Either way, it will make my life easier because I will have to come up with less ornate descriptions and sentences.
We'll see. I might implement this horribly and choose to nix it completely.
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The reason I didn't start a blog earlier was that I was scared that if I never did get published then there would be a public recording of my failure. But if she is willing to put herself out there and describe what it is like-both the good and the bad-then I should suck it up as well. This is fun for me, and even if I don't succeed I will have tried.
On a happier note, here are two more writing channels:
Brandon Sanderson offers videos from the creative writing courses he teaches at BYU. He covers all sorts of topics like writing and editing to query letters and marketing. His knowledge is extensive and thorough, which we can only expect from such a popular fantasy writer. I, personally, love school so the way his videos are presented is exactly how I enjoy learning.
Jenna Moreci, on the other hand, is an indie author. She has self-published a novel called Eve: The Awakening which I have yet to read. But her videos are informative and hilarious. She is very self-deprecating, taking every opportunity to stress her weird habits. It's very funny.
There are also many authors who have depicted their publishing journeys, which of course I can't help but read. Some of my favourites are Marissa Meyer who also provides writing advice, Brandon Sanderson again, Amanda Hocking who is a self published author who gained huge success, and Diana Gabaldon who definitely has the best publishing experience ever. All these authors had very different stories, but they all achieved publication. So why can't I? At least that is what I keep hoping.
If you have any recommendations of videos or blogs of writing advice or publication stories or whatnot please let me know in the comments below.
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