Three weeks of planning and writing. How does it feel? I hope you feel good about your progress. The truth is we may all be at different points in our writing as some are staying on track and possibly some have not been able to do so. No feeling bad here. Progress is all that is needed. If you have not kept up no one is tracking that but you. Praise yourself for what you completed and keep going. This blog will be here and when you catch up you can read the blog for the next step when you are there. No hard set rules here except to write daily for an hour each and every day. Each writer's hour will produce various amounts of words...some more than others. So comparing is not the way to finish your novel. But finding writing time is the thing you should be doing.
So you should have completed thru chapter 2 and may have possibly started on chapter or scene 3. Some of you may be rolling right along and if so don't let this blog slow you down. Keep going! Rules: No looking back to edit but keep the momentum as you roll this coming week fully into chapter 3. I like to remind writers that this third chapter needs to be one with a lot of punch or umph! This one needs to have something big at the end of the chapter to keep the reader turning pages!!! This is where your story needs a big hook! Something that blows the story out of the water and sets up the dramatic things that are comng. So for week 4: 1) Read thru chapters 1 and 2 without tweaking or editing. Get your head in the story and spend your 7 days rolling into and through chapter 3. Think about how your stroy is coming together. Look at how much back story you may have and see if that might be too much, don't cut anything but highlight the areas that might could go. Use your notebooks and chapters plans to map out what you have and what you need.
2) Once you have your first three chapters review your outline about the first 3 chapters thinking about GMC and making sure your have included all you wanted to be there for your story and characters. The story needs growth. The characters need growth thoughout the story...they should not be the same person at the end of the story that they were at the beginning. 3) Now sit down with your first 3 chapters and read through it with no tweaking. Has each scene or chapter moved your story forward? Is progress being made on plot and showing the story, not telling it? If yes keep writing heading onward to chapter 4, 5, and 6. That's right, the next 3 chapters. You will be working on these the next 3 weeks and I will have posts here about those to help. Share here about your progress and any hints that have helped you. Do you have a favorite craft book that helps? I will share mine along the way...I adore the complete series that began with The Emotional Thesaurus. I usually have this and others in the series close by for an easy reference. Have a great week as you work on those next three chapters. YOU CAN DO IT! Plan your writing hours by removing those barriers. It's been a month, has your family let you write? Have you found a plan that works where you get your hour a day. Could you advance that to more than an hour each day?
DO you have a place you are now writing where you can focus on this story? Maybe now that you are a month in, three chapters going it might be time to share with a critique partner, but be careful. It's not now time to have a reader change up your whole idea until you are ready. Having someone tear apart your baby right now might not be the best idea unless your partner is good at offering a few suggestions and isn't overly worried about typoes and a fully flushed story. I personally run ideas past people, but rarely change my plan. I only share a story once I have it finished and fairly edited. USE READERS YOU TRUST NOT TO CRUSH YOU IDEA.
Don't forget to check out Author Kim Turner on FB. I will be posting helpful things there along with encouragements. We can all help each other if we stay tuned.
