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Veridian Etoile
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Re: Veridian's Writings: The Shorter Stories, Part One
Reply #25 - Feb 24th, 2014 at 11:00am
 
One writing goal out of the way already:

Two scene ideas jotted down for either Eleven or Ten (or one for each). I have two down for Eleven so I'm good on that end. Cheesy
  

We creative types have to create in order to feel ALIVE... That's why I write. Without my writing, I would not be living, only existing. ~Me~

Smiley Music is essential to life. ~Me~ Smiley

I'm sunny natured with a side of EVIL...
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Re: Veridian's Writings: The Shorter Stories, Part One
Reply #26 - Feb 24th, 2014 at 3:33pm
 
Trying to get over that *CENSORED* speed bump I hit in Chapter 1 of Eleven. Mulling that over while I'm researching and chatting with the gang in my closed writing forum.
  

We creative types have to create in order to feel ALIVE... That's why I write. Without my writing, I would not be living, only existing. ~Me~

Smiley Music is essential to life. ~Me~ Smiley

I'm sunny natured with a side of EVIL...
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Re: Veridian's Writings: The Shorter Stories, Part One
Reply #27 - Feb 26th, 2014 at 6:04pm
 
OVER the stupid speed bump... And Chapter one is DONE! I spliced in that bit that I wrote up last week and continued on. I'm now partway into Chapter 2 and things will start rolling a bit for the mains.

It wasn't my best day ever, not quite 1700 words, but it wasn't my worst either....

Eyes crossed, brain fried and the CTS is REALLY going nuts right now.....  Smiley
  

We creative types have to create in order to feel ALIVE... That's why I write. Without my writing, I would not be living, only existing. ~Me~

Smiley Music is essential to life. ~Me~ Smiley

I'm sunny natured with a side of EVIL...
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Re: Veridian's Writings: The Shorter Stories, Part One
Reply #28 - Feb 28th, 2014 at 6:42pm
 
Main file wasn't working right for me so I puttered around and finally hit the jackpot with something that happens later in the story. I'm going to call this one "BUSTED!" for it's content.... Anyone who is ultra trusted will get it. Wink

Today's word count: 2617. Pages: 4 1/2. Scene count: Two full, medium length.

This one has been rattling around in my brain on and off for a bit so I thought I'd get its rough draft written up, that way it's DONE and I can tweak it/flesh it out more later on.

I'm soon going to send a part of my older works to my best friend (Tabby) for her scrutiny. One of my writing goals for the week.

I think I did the other ones I had on my list... I'll have to check though. Shocked
  

We creative types have to create in order to feel ALIVE... That's why I write. Without my writing, I would not be living, only existing. ~Me~

Smiley Music is essential to life. ~Me~ Smiley

I'm sunny natured with a side of EVIL...
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Re: Veridian's Writings: The Shorter Stories, Part One
Reply #29 - Mar 7th, 2014 at 8:41pm
 
Well, I was lucky enough to complete all of my writing goals for the week. I edited all parts of Eleven that I had to date (just a little while I mulled over how to make them better, etc), got a couple of scene ideas jotted down for that story (both in the "general" file and the "over 18" one), and surpassed my goal of 750 words of new stuff added with doubling it and a little more.

Goals for next week are:

1) Doing a copy/paste of No Regrets into a new file and taking out the stuff I know for a fact is passive.

2) Editing other areas of said manuscript, a chapter at a time. I'll probably try a scene a day in the first half of the manuscript. It's an ongoing process and I'm not on a deadline for it, so I'm going to take my time.

3) Going through Family Portraits and start to do the color coded highlights in that manuscript.

Yeah, I have plenty to keep me busy even if I don't get a chance to write next week thanks to March Break....  Smiley
  

We creative types have to create in order to feel ALIVE... That's why I write. Without my writing, I would not be living, only existing. ~Me~

Smiley Music is essential to life. ~Me~ Smiley

I'm sunny natured with a side of EVIL...
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Re: Veridian's Writings: The Shorter Stories, Part One
Reply #30 - Mar 11th, 2014 at 4:38pm
 
Not quite 1500 words were added to Eleven today, in the area I've dubbed "BUSTED!". I've continued on and the leading couple are answering a few uncomfortable questions from someone very important to them.  Smiley

I'm going to open NR later today and work on that while the guys are busy. I have to do the copy/paste of the entire thing into a NEW file so I still have the original "final" with the color coding, etc so I can see what was taken out, etc in the future, and the areas that were highlighted.
  

We creative types have to create in order to feel ALIVE... That's why I write. Without my writing, I would not be living, only existing. ~Me~

Smiley Music is essential to life. ~Me~ Smiley

I'm sunny natured with a side of EVIL...
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Re: Veridian's Writings: The Shorter Stories, Part One
Reply #31 - Mar 12th, 2014 at 2:21pm
 
What I'm doing right now is sort of painful...

I've started a NEW document for No Regrets and am taking out a lot of the scenes I know are "passive" according to what I'm getting from the one kind editor I submitted the story to at the end of last year. (she rejected the story itself, NOT me as an author, so I'm following her advice to the letter!).

This hurts because of all the work I put into writing that manuscript and I thought it was "perfect" for publishing houses to review.

That said, I HAVE to do this if I ever want to see No Regrets published in the future, whether it's self published or by a publishing house like Harlequin for example (no, the editor was NOT from there!). It's also teaching me what kind of stuff is passive, what isn't and what can be compressed from six paragraphs into two or three short, power packed sentences, and not to be so darn repetitive.

So... It's bye bye certain parts of the story... If I can compress it down by 5000 words just by taking out the passive stuff at this point, it's progress... Even if it's hurting like crazy... *SIGH*
  

We creative types have to create in order to feel ALIVE... That's why I write. Without my writing, I would not be living, only existing. ~Me~

Smiley Music is essential to life. ~Me~ Smiley

I'm sunny natured with a side of EVIL...
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Re: Veridian's Writings: The Shorter Stories, Part One
Reply #32 - Mar 12th, 2014 at 2:57pm
 
Getting an opinion from two trusted friends on something regarding No Regrets...
  

We creative types have to create in order to feel ALIVE... That's why I write. Without my writing, I would not be living, only existing. ~Me~

Smiley Music is essential to life. ~Me~ Smiley

I'm sunny natured with a side of EVIL...
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Re: Veridian's Writings: The Shorter Stories, Part One
Reply #33 - Mar 12th, 2014 at 3:46pm
 
Highlight on said part changed from "passive" to "wordy" and it's going to need to be compressed somewhat in the future.
  

We creative types have to create in order to feel ALIVE... That's why I write. Without my writing, I would not be living, only existing. ~Me~

Smiley Music is essential to life. ~Me~ Smiley

I'm sunny natured with a side of EVIL...
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Re: Veridian's Writings: The Shorter Stories, Part One
Reply #34 - Mar 13th, 2014 at 2:19pm
 
One of my local best friends has now become a member of my beta reading team, and she's finding a lot of stuff that needs to be compressed, taken out or reworded a little. Otherwise, she likes it so far and has put my style on par with Debbie Macomber's.

I'll never be up to par with Ms. Macomber's talent, but having my style compared to being like hers is a huge compliment. She's one of the best in my genre!

My local pal is up to the start of Chapter 14 right now and hopefully she'll finish Part One sometime soon.

I've also made a HUGE decision in regards to the manuscript itself. Although it pains me to do it, I've decided it's going to be broken up into TWO parts and have a "happy for now" ending at the end of Part One, and start off Part Two with a little blurb of "what has gone before" so the reader remembers or knows what the circumstances are.

It's not what I had planned for No Regrets when I started writing it a few years back, but things change sometimes, and this is one of those times.

I already have a name for Part Two, but have to come up with one for Part One. I may do some brainstorming with my beta team and some trusted friends for help with that...... Cheesy

I've also decided to remove some things from Part Two because Part One is going to have a "happy for now" ending, those parts are no longer needed, and things do come out a bit here and there over the course of Part Two.

Yeah, a LOT of work ahead of me in fixing No Regrets... It'll be worth it though, and I can clearly see WHY that manuscript was rejected a few times.

Now if I can get out of editing mode while I'm actually writing, I'll be SO much happier...... Tongue
  

We creative types have to create in order to feel ALIVE... That's why I write. Without my writing, I would not be living, only existing. ~Me~

Smiley Music is essential to life. ~Me~ Smiley

I'm sunny natured with a side of EVIL...
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Re: Veridian's Writings: The Shorter Stories, Part One
Reply #35 - Mar 14th, 2014 at 5:27pm
 
Copied from my FB status on the real name profile...

Quote:
It's now official... The Legacies series is now THREE books instead of only two. "No Regrets" has been changed from one book to two and I'll be treating both parts as separate books from this point forward.

This is to conform more to industry standards and to make it easier on both a publisher and my eventual audience.

That said, I want to get my feet wet in the industry with a shorter, simpler book first, and you'll probably see one of the current WIPs published before the Legacies series hits the shelves (virtual or physical).


Yep, I did it just today and have names for both parts. The title of "No Regrets" no longer fits the first two installments of the series and the names have been changed to fit better.

Not sure what's going to happen for the title of the third and final installment of the series, I'll have to think of it when I get to cleaning that one up in a while.....  Smiley
  

We creative types have to create in order to feel ALIVE... That's why I write. Without my writing, I would not be living, only existing. ~Me~

Smiley Music is essential to life. ~Me~ Smiley

I'm sunny natured with a side of EVIL...
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Re: Veridian's Writings: The Shorter Stories, Part One
Reply #36 - Mar 14th, 2014 at 7:17pm
 
Starting to go through "Volume 3" of the Legacies series (Family Portraits) and highlighting the passive stuff, the wordier stuff and any repetitive areas.

This is going to take a while, Volume 3 is HUGE....  Smiley
  

We creative types have to create in order to feel ALIVE... That's why I write. Without my writing, I would not be living, only existing. ~Me~

Smiley Music is essential to life. ~Me~ Smiley

I'm sunny natured with a side of EVIL...
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Re: Veridian's Writings: The Shorter Stories, Part One
Reply #37 - Mar 17th, 2014 at 2:47pm
 
Volumes 1 and 2 of the Legacies series may need a lot of work, but Vol. 3 needs a LOT more, I didn't edit it as much as I had the first two.

This is going to take a LONG time to clean up.... Uggggggggggggggggg................. Smiley
  

We creative types have to create in order to feel ALIVE... That's why I write. Without my writing, I would not be living, only existing. ~Me~

Smiley Music is essential to life. ~Me~ Smiley

I'm sunny natured with a side of EVIL...
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Re: Veridian's Writings: The Shorter Stories, Part One
Reply #38 - Mar 17th, 2014 at 3:38pm
 
Removing passive areas from Vol. 1. This should shorten things a LOT, so I have a little wiggle room to add a "happy for now" ending when I'm ready..... *babbling incoherently*
  

We creative types have to create in order to feel ALIVE... That's why I write. Without my writing, I would not be living, only existing. ~Me~

Smiley Music is essential to life. ~Me~ Smiley

I'm sunny natured with a side of EVIL...
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Re: Veridian's Writings: The Shorter Stories, Part One
Reply #39 - Mar 17th, 2014 at 4:05pm
 
Six pages worth of passive stuff removed from Vol. 1 so far and I'm NOT done by a long shot....  Smiley
  

We creative types have to create in order to feel ALIVE... That's why I write. Without my writing, I would not be living, only existing. ~Me~

Smiley Music is essential to life. ~Me~ Smiley

I'm sunny natured with a side of EVIL...
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Re: Veridian's Writings: The Shorter Stories, Part One
Reply #40 - Mar 17th, 2014 at 4:33pm
 
So the first two installments of the Legacies series have shrunk by over 21 pages in total... Ten from the first installment and eleven from the second one. Shocked I'm not done yet either, there are a few areas I'm unsure about and I have a LOT of compressions to do - shortening things from six sentences to a couple of power packed ones, removing the repetitive stuff, etc.

Maybe by the time I'm done, Vols 1 and 2 may be able to be put into ONE book... Or not... We'll see how things go. Tongue
  

We creative types have to create in order to feel ALIVE... That's why I write. Without my writing, I would not be living, only existing. ~Me~

Smiley Music is essential to life. ~Me~ Smiley

I'm sunny natured with a side of EVIL...
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Re: Veridian's Writings: The Shorter Stories, Part One
Reply #41 - Mar 18th, 2014 at 11:12am
 
I'm going to be highlighting the parts that have the mains in them, and any scene that does NOT have either of the mains in it has the potential to be culled, minus two so far in Vol. 1 that is... Those two scenes do carry the "mystery" of "why did she do it?" into them, so they have to stay.... But they do need a bit of compressing, I'm a tad wordy in both....

Another thing I have to do is take out the repetitive stuff - like saying someone's eyes are X color for the tenth time, etc. - and filler words like adverbs, adjectives, "but", etc.

I think both vols. are going to shrink significantly by the time I'm done all of this... Shocked
  

We creative types have to create in order to feel ALIVE... That's why I write. Without my writing, I would not be living, only existing. ~Me~

Smiley Music is essential to life. ~Me~ Smiley

I'm sunny natured with a side of EVIL...
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Re: Veridian's Writings: The Shorter Stories, Part One
Reply #42 - Mar 18th, 2014 at 2:09pm
 
By removing a lot of the passive areas, I've removed over 11,000 words from what used to be No Regrets so far. I'm not done yet either, I have compressions, rewrites and more removals ahead... Shocked

At this rate, I may be able to glue it back together into a book that's about 150K, maybe less... Wow.
  

We creative types have to create in order to feel ALIVE... That's why I write. Without my writing, I would not be living, only existing. ~Me~

Smiley Music is essential to life. ~Me~ Smiley

I'm sunny natured with a side of EVIL...
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Re: Veridian's Writings: The Shorter Stories, Part One
Reply #43 - Mar 18th, 2014 at 3:14pm
 
I've been told by one of my betas to set the Legacies series aside for now and concentrate on writing Eleven and in time, Ten or something else....

Now rereading Eleven's main file and thinking about how to get Chapter 3 moving pretty fast... I understand that readers like faster paced stuff, and I'm wondering how I can get things moving with the lead lady's life without going overboard with skipping some of it or not going fast enough.... GODS. *SIGH*
  

We creative types have to create in order to feel ALIVE... That's why I write. Without my writing, I would not be living, only existing. ~Me~

Smiley Music is essential to life. ~Me~ Smiley

I'm sunny natured with a side of EVIL...
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Re: Veridian's Writings: The Shorter Stories, Part One
Reply #44 - Mar 18th, 2014 at 5:52pm
 
I now have orders to do a lot of "pantsing" (writing by the seat of the jeans) in Eleven, and the major revisions can come at a later date... I just got a reminder that even the great writers did NOT get things perfect in first draft so I should not expect it for myself.....

I really have to get out of the "must be perfect in first draft" mindset.... Roll Eyes
  

We creative types have to create in order to feel ALIVE... That's why I write. Without my writing, I would not be living, only existing. ~Me~

Smiley Music is essential to life. ~Me~ Smiley

I'm sunny natured with a side of EVIL...
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Re: Veridian's Writings: The Shorter Stories, Part One
Reply #45 - Mar 18th, 2014 at 6:09pm
 
Now someone else is telling you to "JUST WRITE THE THING!!" Listen, whydon'tya!
« Last Edit: Mar 18th, 2014 at 6:26pm by Penthesilea »  
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Veridian Etoile
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Re: Veridian's Writings: The Shorter Stories, Part One
Reply #46 - Mar 18th, 2014 at 6:27pm
 
Smiley I'm trying to!!!!!!!!!!

I'm hearing it a lot from the closed writing forum gang as well, so I'd better get my caboose in gear..... Hopefully I'll have another 1500 word day on Friday, or even a couple of hours on Thursday to work. Tomorrow is going to be nuts so that day is out for working on much other than planning what's in store in Chapters 4 & 5.....

Thankfully I have an idea of how to proceed in Chapter 3 so I know what's going to happen next..... Only you and the rest of my betas will know exactly "WHAT" goes on there though. Wink
  

We creative types have to create in order to feel ALIVE... That's why I write. Without my writing, I would not be living, only existing. ~Me~

Smiley Music is essential to life. ~Me~ Smiley

I'm sunny natured with a side of EVIL...
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Re: Veridian's Writings: The Shorter Stories, Part One
Reply #47 - Mar 18th, 2014 at 7:53pm
 
My local beta told me to dig out the helmet, cause I'm gonna need it.

Looks like I'll be hiding in the staff area here a LOT over the next while.....  Smiley
  

We creative types have to create in order to feel ALIVE... That's why I write. Without my writing, I would not be living, only existing. ~Me~

Smiley Music is essential to life. ~Me~ Smiley

I'm sunny natured with a side of EVIL...
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Re: Veridian's Writings: The Shorter Stories, Part One
Reply #48 - Mar 18th, 2014 at 9:40pm
 
LOL
  
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Re: Veridian's Writings: The Shorter Stories, Part One
Reply #49 - Mar 20th, 2014 at 4:55pm
 
Time to get out the helmet. Local Beta Reader is now shooting all of the problems she's seeing with Vol. 1 at my head....  And there is a LOT of them....

Just confirming why it didn't get accepted by the publishers I sent it to at all.

Hopefully I do NOT make the same mistake with Eleven or another future manuscript....
  

We creative types have to create in order to feel ALIVE... That's why I write. Without my writing, I would not be living, only existing. ~Me~

Smiley Music is essential to life. ~Me~ Smiley

I'm sunny natured with a side of EVIL...
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