Tag Archives: Writers Diary

Two am. That’s the time a close friend of mine wakes up to study. This friend is quite accomplished, but two o’clock in the morning! I don’t think I could do that, and then function efficiently for eight hours at work. I would need an energy drink, chased with a large mug of coffee.

I tried getting up at three am. I actually did, once. To my surprise, I didn’t talk myself into excuses, one of the two times that I tried. I edited for about an hour and was quite pleased with myself throughout the day.

When you want to be a writer, and you have a full time job, you have to fit writing in whenever you can. For me, I need total quiet to write. I don’t even want anyone to be in the room with me. This quirk makes it difficult to sneak in time during the day.

Lunch time is my gym time sometimes. So, my times to write are weekends, before I go to work, or about two hours at night. I tried all these schedules this past week. The schedules are not the problem. The spirit in me called procrastination, attacks me like a possession. Every week I have to exorcise him. (When I read over this paragraph, I realized that I have a lot more time than I thought to write).

For the most part, chapter one is 90% completed. I revised it again, as well as chapter two. They have both been sent to be reviewed/edited. On Thursday, I began editing chapter three. I hope to report it as being completed in next week’s post.

I think the best time to write is when you are inspired. Hopefully, the inspiration will come when you are in a position to give it your full attention. I like mornings. It’s quiet and cool and I’m not half as drained as I would be after having a long day.

I draft these posts on a Wednesday, complete them by Thursday and on Friday I do cosmetic editing, as I like to call it. ‘Selima and the Merfolk’ fall in whenever it can (which is horrible). Since I have been writing this feature, I write more often. But I want to adapt the three am practice.

My goal for this coming week is to have chapters three and four almost ready for review, and if I get back chapters one and two I’d like to make the necessary changes. As I mentioned in my last post, I like to leave the story alone for a week, and then look at it with fresh eyes.

Wish me luck and keep me accountable.

My first week of recording progress or lack thereof began last Friday. I tried to take a day off, to write, but by nine o’clock, I was forced to rush to work. Maybe it’s true, everyone says when I am not at work, technical issues cripple the company. Needless to say, I didn’t have time to write anything, except a reminder to my supervisor, to purchase replacements for our infrastructure.

The weekend was successful, though unbalanced. I decided to do ‘Diary of a Writing Woman,’ and spent significantly more time working on my platform than on my novel. I did go over part of chapter one (for the hundredth time), but I am not at the level of perseverance I should to be.

For my platform, I wrote this, as well as ‘The Road’ post. I updated my blog interface, and did a lot of research. Also, I joined some great websites, which will be in another post. As I often do, I promised myself a reward – a pair of skinny Levi’s jeans, if I maintain this feature until chapter twenty.

To ensure that I make my jeans look good, I joined a gym. My enthusiasm was a dangerous, somewhat comical thing for me. I went to the gym once, before I took an intense fitness class. Does anyone remember the ‘Tin Man’ from ‘The Wizard of Oz?’ For days I walked like he did, before ‘Dorothy’ oiled his knees. This week, I was more sensible than excited. Spin Classes proved to be more my speed.

When I decided to do this weekly feature, I promised myself that whichever direction my progress went, I was going to be honest.

I will do better this coming week.

Thanks for the support!

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Selima and the Merfolk is my first attempt at writing a novel. I began in September 2011, and completed a first person draft on January 1st 2012. Round one of editing left me disappointed. I had only edited a few pages, when I decided that my novel would engross readers more, if it were written in third person narrative. Although it was a lot of additional work, I feel confident that I made the better choice.

My second draft was finished in June. I then commissioned an editor, and after two months I confidently had my manuscript bound. Four very different people read it. One review was negative. Relatively new to straightforward criticism, I did not revisit the manuscript until January 2013. It took months, but I realized, that what I received as negative was actually necessary and good advice. He was absolutely right. Every suggestion improved the diction, as well as the flow of my novel.

Writing a novel is much more work than I anticipated. Even so, it is the most enjoyable, fulfilling thing I have done thus far. People views are subjective. Your feelings can, and will get hurt. However, there is a difference between cruel and supportive critiques, though they may have the same points. To know the difference is paramount. You might miss out on some good advice.