My Goal is to actually work through my edit plan for my first draft, doing a little every day in November (rather than procrastinate with never-ending ‘learning about editing’!).

Hey Katie, thanks so much for insight into your process. And I just watched the video, some really great tips in all of that. The one that stood out for me was identify the problems first/build the process around what my book needs, as I’ve got so much swimming around in my head! And definitely going to nail the pitch and synopsis too. Oh and the…

Read more

Hi Rachel many thanks for this!

I guess maybe for my (next!?) first draft, I’ll bear in mind the keeping tabs on scenes as I go. I usually compile a spreadsheet once I’ve come back to my first draft but I’m liking the idea of noting it down as I’m writing. I probably haven’t thought to do that before as I write my first draft by hand.

I think…

Read more

Thanks so much for this, Karmen! I’ve had a read, taken some notes especially around all those questions you pose in the article, really useful. Many thanks!

Good luck in your own writing journey 🙂

Does anyone have any hot tips on how to start revising/editing when you’re a ‘plantser’ (plotter/panster). I’m currently reading through it and, although it does have planned plot points, it’s all over the place as I don’t write chronologically or sequentially. So I’m a bit overwhelmed on where to start, even having watched masterclasses…

Read more

Thanks Kate, I’ll give this a read – now that I’m having some time away from my novel’s first draft, haha, perhaps it’s the perfect time to write a short story 🙂

Tx

Thanks Rod, I’ll keep in mind and join up when I’m ready to share, it’s not in any fit state just yet 😆

Tx

Thanks John 🙂

Tx

Hi Roger, thanks! And thanks for the suggestion – I’ll definitely keep the Betas group in mind. I’ve still got a way to go for my first draft to actually make any sense before I let it loose to readers 😆

Tx

Thanks Katie! When I first read your message, I was busy sorting into chronological order and then I thought… “whoops, best have the 6 week break now, step away from the manuscript!” So, thanks for the reminder 😉

It’s been great sharing my progress with the ‘Roomies’, although I vow not to get so behind with the typing up next time I’m doing a…

Read more

Thanks Karen! My wrists seemed to have held up pretty well, luckily! I learned how to touch type years ago which I think has really stood me in good stead.

Now on to the editing…..

Tx

Thanks so much, Kate! It’s been great to have support from the ‘Roomies’ 🙂

I did have a little drink on Friday to celebrate, then spent several enjoyable hours at the weekend sorting the words into something like chronological order 😄

I won’t get so behind with typing up next time I’m writing a first draft…

Tx

I don’t know if anyone will see this – I’m thinking Katie in particular and other fellow Roomies that have been on my journey as I type up my handwritten first draft. But I HAVE FINISHED!! It’s at c.92,000 words.

I normally type up my words each time I write, but I didn’t do any typing during the whole of June, only my hand-written words each day,…

Read more

Hi Emily, is this where you’ll be posting the links to resources etc, from today’s writing room? I missed what was said about that, as too caught up reading everyone’s updates in the chat 😆

Many thanks! See you next week…

Strange! I won’t let me attach the screenshot…..hmmm

Hi Karen I just saw your post and if you’re still around in Townhouse, I did a screenshot and highlighted how to get the marker on the map…. from the icons along the top. I did this on my laptop so I don’t know if or how this works on a phone. Hope that helps! 🙂

Hi Cynthia, well done on the agent 1-2-1 feedback. And always listen to your gut instinct regarding suggested changes – let it simmer for a while if you’re not sure, sleep on it or whatever, then let your gut decide. (Easier said than done I know!)

Just checking in regarding Magda’s touchstone. Does Rose herself really define Magda’s character, her…

Read more

Hi Richard, I really like the idea of the pencil mark being Archie’s touchstone (and how it is the starting point for the story of his new world). How does this mark define him as a character, does he feel power in making such a small mark that then is the catalyst he needs to create his new world; does he try to make himself small because of the…

Read more

Hi Rachel, I like that Shannon’s touchstone (earth) is so connected to what she does physically for work, that she digs into millennia of material that has defined her history and place in the world, just like in her personal life. Nice parallel! Also, I could see potential for an element of her being grounded by the undisturbed earth – and by…

Read more

Hi Marcus, I haven’t caught up with Gerda but judging by your response to this week’s exercise, I would agree with what people are saying regarding her touchstone: that there’s something about her obsession with suicide (and its ideation) having to be some sort of genetic ‘flaw’, perhaps something she can blame others for, thus be absolved of all…

Read more

Thanks so much Cynthia. Della started off as some fluffy girl in an upscale London bar when the novel idea first sprouted but she’s definitely taken on a shape that’s a bit terrifying really! Goodness knows what she’s going to do on the page when I start writing the first draft 🙂

Thanks Richard, it has definitely opened up my thinking following the lightbulb moment when it entered my head.

Thanks so much Rachel! Yes the Trojan Horse idea popped into my head as I was revisiting my first attempt, and seemed to fit the bill with Della’s place in the world. I’m keen to see where it takes me in my planning and plotting this month, as will be writing the first draft next month during NaNoWriMo.

Hi Marcus, thanks so much for your comments, I like how you picked up on the identity dovetails. I forgot to add that the villain is only a pseudonym on a phone screen too, so she’s going to have to work through several suspects in real life until she hits on the right one. Perhaps she has another touchstone around identity, as this will come up…

Read more

Thanks Kris. I’m only just at planning stage for this novel, but Della is turning out to be so flawed that I’m almost scared to write her now! 😀

Hey Greg. Jesse sounds badass and a little scary but in a good, conflicted way. I’m liking the link to Jesse James, having lived in Kentucky for a while and used to drive past his mother’s old house regularly. I can’t stop hearing Cher singing Just Like Jesse James in my head now though 😂

So is ‘just like Jesse James’, or similar, her touchstone?…

Read more

Natalia, I like Alex, it sounds like she finds a way perhaps where others don’t, adapting to her habitat. I wonder if there’s a phrase you can find, to sum that up. This is such a hard task! I’m trying to find something other than a metaphor for my character but it’s a challenge.

Yes the edit button is almost too easy to rely on 😂