#1) How come everyone speaks American English? (Ok, besides Jean Luc Picard, but he’s really French or something.) Did America win the universe and now every place in the galaxy has to speak standard English?
#2) How do we know that the entire series isn’t all happening inside of Q’s little snow globe of amusement? #3) Rock climbing in the holodeck. How high can you really go? #4) Why no changing rooms near the holodeck? Remember the mud bath with Mrs. Troi, Worf, and Alexander? Did they track mud through the ship until they got back to their quarters? Or did the mud magically disappear because it came from…a holodeck? #5) How come only the Romulans and Klingons get cloaked vessels? That’s a bit unfair to all the Vulcans, humans, and well -- everyone else -- in the universe... Recap: Because of some questionable decision-making on my part, I ended up fastdrafting a paranormal romance novel over an approximately 4 day period. Part 1 and Part 2 give a good recap of those four days of insanity.
So, the first draft of the novel was completed as of 2/23/16. Deadline to send it to the developmental editor: 3/6/16. My personal preference? I hate being late, so I generally try to get things in a little early, mostly to reinforce to my latent OCD. So late is not an option. That meant I had to take the novel from first draft (37K words) to ~45K words – my second stage goal. No, the book is not done yet – not by any stretch – but I wanted it layered enough for the editor to take a look and make revision suggestions before I go back for another rewrite and expand it some more. Disclaimer: I make no claims as to the quality of the manuscript. Also, no claims as to any expertise other than how dumb I was to attempt something like this in such a short period of time. Making bad choices? I'm a level 11 certified expert. So. 12 days to revise the book. 160 pages divided by 12 = 13.5 pages/day. Should be easy, right? (Spoiler alert: This scheme doesn’t work well if you have a day job.) Flame's Dawn has a playlist!!!2/28/2016 Please see the full post at Will Read for Feels. Also check out their awesome reviews and blog posts!
The playlist for Flame’s Dawn (Songs are listed in the order they appear in the novella.) Here's the awesome YouTube video of the playlist -- again, thanks to Will Read for Feels! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcwqCmEi9Jc&list=PLL9Ccxm_X9baIA0KbpgbOe1p43j-YpkqL
In the last post, we talked about what IS fastdrafting. Now I'm going to share how I tried it. Yes, everyone is different, but maybe this will give other folks good ideas for writing to work for them.
What are the rules? As far as I can tell, there’s nothing set in stone, but here’s what I needed to pull this off:
Here’s what happened (times are approximate) Friday 7-9am – Shiny object! Day off work! Surf Internet and read other folks’ blogs and writing articles. Polish up website. Check electronic medical records (EMR) at work to sign off orders and put out fires. There have been lots of great articles on fastdrafting, but I wasn’t a believer…
Until this last week. You see, I had a four-day weekend earmarked to write. I had a deadline for a developmental editor pass in two weeks. And before this last weekend started, I had…no book. So I figured, why not? Let’s try fastdrafting. And I mean really fast. Could I crank out my usual first draft of a novel in four days? (Usual first draft for me = 35-40K words FYI) What is fastdrafting? Basically, it’s writing the first draft of the book without stopping (editing) and just getting the ideas and words down on paper. Some websites shoot for getting a book done in one, two, or four weeks with this method. I think it must also depend on the length of the book. In between books2/10/2016 As the first book of a new, top-secret project departs for initial developmental edits, I feel kind of lost. There’s been so much writing and editing and creation going on for the past few months -- now that there’s a break, I feel weird. Like the brain still has ideas bouncing around, but it’s too tired to process them right this minute. Could also be because I’m 10/10 exhausted from this call week, too, but that’s beside the point. Nowadays, I can’t not have a project to work on in front of me. Like, it feels…wrong…not to write. At nighttime, after sending off that last project, my head switch gears. Like I wanted nothing more than to start outlining the next book, but simply couldn’t do it. Too tired. But then the scenes for the next story started lining up, on their own! Couldn’t stop if I wanted to. Maybe there’s some truth to what more seasoned authors say: These stories rolling around in the head must be let out! Only, it would be nice if those stories gave me a break every once in a while. So what if I don’t write this day or this week? Good news! There’s always something for a writer to do. Always. If it’s not writing, its editing. If it’s not editing, it’s sending queries. If it’s not queries, it’s marketing current books. The work doesn’t end, and I love all of it. Even the times when there’s waiting. Only…it’s never waiting. Not really. It’s just time to write more! In a sleep-deprived state (thank you, little 3am vampire baby delivery), it occurred to me that the advice I give for medical care is pretty good. (The fact that only about 1.3% of patients listen to it is another thing entirely.) But then I got to thinking: what health behaviors do my characters portray? Am I sending the wrong message?
Hmm. I give you: Things my characters do that I would never recommend. #10) Drive really fast. Ok, maybe if there’s a reason, fine, just be aware of surroundings and careful of other vehicles/pedestrians. #9) Drink far too much coffee. Which is funny, because I don’t like coffee. But my characters do. Don’t the women know that lots of coffee will increase fibrocystic breast changes? Don’t the guys know that it just makes them annoying as hell when they’re that peppy and talkative in the mornings? #8) Leave the Emergency Department AMA (Against Medical Advice) while not yet recovered from life-threatening injuries. Don’t give me this BS about how you're almost immortal. You need neuro checks and vitals q hour for overnight observation. Why I would NEVER date Odilon12/19/2015 Poor Odie, hero of the third book in the Hell to Pay series, Flame Unleashed, has been neglected. I've previously explained in great detail with requisite gnashing of teeth and wringing of hands why I would never date the previous two heroes of my books. (Earlier posts this year.) But what about Odie? He must have some qualities that make him undateable, unsexy, un-forever-loveable.
So here goes. #10) Perfect beard scruff, not too much, not too little. Like a kid brother of Joe Manganiello. Dis. Gust. Ing. Who likes rugged guys like that? #9) Intense green eyes? Naw. #8) A guy who sacrifices himself to save his young daughters? What a turn off. Give me selfish fellas all day long. Airport people...again11/29/2015 If you've clicked through the pages of this blog, you'll know I have a preoccupation with how people in airports drive me nuts. After 2 (or was it 3) posts about how much airport people make me want to tear out my hair, I thought that well had run dry.
Then I went on another trip. Why airport people make me crazy, round 3 (or 4?): #10) How does an adult woman pack a full-sized Pantene bottle of shampoo into her carry-on and then have the temerity to go postal on the hapless TSA worker who tells her to throw the bottle away? Anyone who has breathed in the past 15 years knows : little travel size. Anything larger can be a bomb. A bomb of fabulous lather and three natural conditioners, including jojoba. #9) Let's take a quiz. Let's say the sign says: "1 carry-on and 1 personal item" Does this mean A) 2 rolling suitcases + a purse B) 1 baby carseat + diaper bag + stroller + rolling luggage bag (per person) or C) backpack (like one you would use for camping for a week) + guitar + 3 plastic grocery store bags full of gear. (If you answered all three, you win the prize.) #8) Item #9 -- all of it -- attempting to be crammed into the overhead slots of a regional jet. And then being ticked off when it does not work. What a difference a year makes!11/15/2015
One year ago today. Has it only been a year? Time flies.
I’m at the same physician conference as this time last year. And, as I struggle to stay awake in the classes, I’m once again pushing each evening to get edits done for another book. (Because nothing says “rampant creativity” like Six Sigma industry safety data and leadership development skills, right?) This time last year, I was: 10) About to quit the whole writing dream. I mean, come on now, 7+ years of working on this stuff and no one wanted my books. A gal can take a hint. Check, please. Then along came Crimson and lots of support and, yes, I’m still writing away, and feel more confident with each book. Timing and the right people and a little perseverance make all the difference. 9) Dealing with fear. What the heck was I doing, writing a book, much less editing it? How ridiculous. What if people hated it? (Thank goodness, it looks like most of them thought the series was a fun read!) 8) Keeping secrets. Still doing that. Patients, colleagues and families as yet are not in the loop. Until it becomes inevitable to spill, I’ll keep this writing gig as my little secret for right now. |
Jillian DavidAuthor, daydreamer, and practitioner of trying very hard to duct tape folks together and help when I can. Archives
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