Wednesday 25 July 2012

ROW80 Check-in 25th July 2012

Well the sun is still shining and I am still managing to keep up with my goals! Huzzah!

My goals are:
1) Until 1st August Spend 30 minutes at least a day on preparing for my new WIP.
2) Think of a name for CampNaNo project!
3) Two ROW80 check-ins a week no matter how short but sweet they are.
4) Read two books a week for 100+ reading challenge (or as much as I can!).
5) Review one book a month.

Goal one is going well and I think my preparation for CampNaNo is going well. On Monday I spent time going through some of the scenes working out the purpose behind each scene and how I was going to try and achieve the aim of each scene. I did this on Tuesday and Wednesday also so I now have a better understanding of the scenes I have plotted (I haven't plotted the end, I am hoping it is going to reveal itself as I go along!) and managed to get rid of a couple of scenes that didn't serve any purpose by themselves but could form part of another scene. Yesterday part of my time was spent researching the job my MC is going to have and finding some job adverts for her job were really useful at helping me figure out some of her traits - luckily lots of them I had already noted down.

On Monday I revealed to my family I am taking part in camp. Many of you know I am largely a secret writer so telling them was a big thing for me. I told them in a very off hand way and just said 'You know that writing thing I did in November? Well I'm doing it again in August.' When I did NaNoWriMo I had just broken up with my boyfriend and I think they thought it was a bit of a reaction to that decision (which it kind of was!) and this time they were just as lovely and just said 'That's a good idea'. It is nice because I just sat outside with my mum doing my prep and my sister knows I am going to be writing when I am staying with her. Now I just need to tell a couple of friends I am going away with during August because I am going to need to put aside time to write each day. I feel ok about this though and I am sure they will be supportive.

Now I have suddenly had a few freak outs. One being if the story is good enough but I am putting this down to the usual self-doubt we all experience and until I start writing I can't know if there is 'enough' story can I?! My other freak out is about whether to write in first or third person. I think my plan is to take a key scene and write a paragraph or two from each perspective and see how they feel. It seems more natural to write in the first person as everything is around the MC and there aren't any scenes in which she isn't involved so I am leaning towards writing in first but I am worried that being in her head might be somewhat annoying. I am going to try both and hopefully one will feel a lot more comfortable or appropriate than the other.

I still haven't done my review (how is it the 25th of July suddenly?!) but I am having lots of lovely reading time. I read 'The Gathering Dark' by Leigh Bardugo in less than 48 hours so I am well on my way to reading two books this week. I am now reading book 53 of the year so still behind but getting there!

This was meant to be a short check-in but hey, thanks for sticking with me till the end! I hope everyone is having a wonderful week and I will see you on Sunday!

5 comments:

  1. Best of luck as you prepare for Camp. I've not written in the first person. I think I'm rather fearful of attempting it....lol. Imagine! Me, Afraid? Ha! But it's true.
    What genre is your story? Mystery again? Romance? Thriller? Give me a hint! :}

    Glad you shared with your family.

    (Oh! And I still try not to swear in front of my mother...well, at least any heavy duty cursing. Lol. My father was a sailor, so cursing is no stranger in our family. Still, it's different to swear in front of one's mother.)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey Em! We need to have a nickname for our cabin. I'm thinking Team Sprinty goes to Camp (TSgtC)! We need to embrace this whole thing...

    Glad you've had some luck in plotting for Nano! I just had a huge break through with today's sprint... and now I'm super excited to just keep going. Shame I'm at work...

    I'm so glad your family is cool with Nano. It's a really tough thing to get people to accept.

    Good luck the rest of this week - Go get 'em!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lovely check-in, Em!! Glad you're getting so much planned for next week. *maniacal laughing ensues* Yes, next week!!

    Looking at job descriptions is a brilliant idea!! That must have been really helpful. I'm so glad you've told your family...we're getting so much closer to my birthday present hehehe.

    No freaking out yet!!! Save that for Tuesday, okay?? In all seriousness, I think your idea to write one scene each way is a really good one. Maybe use one of your 30 minute sessions to research POV in your genre or to find examples of both in books you've really liked so you can compare?

    Soooo excited that you loved The Gathering Dark. <---More discussions to come. *thinking of the Darkling* *fans self* *sends Mal to your room* <3 <3

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Em,

    It's great that you shared your noveling plans with your family. Good for you! I'm a bit of closet writer, too, and it's hard for me to tell people I'm writing.

    First person/Third person is one of the eternal questions isn't it? I write in 3rd person, but have always wanted to experiment with first so it's great you're going to try from both POVs and then decide. Sounds like you're going to have a very fun August!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Here is what I think we have to do:
    Go to the bottom of your cabin message board and there is a link to "opt out".
    You will be removed from your cabin. It will send you back to your cabin settings. uncheck the box that says, "I don't want to be in a cabin." Make sure Kate C. in in your requested cabin. Then hopefully we will get to be together! :) I think if you're already in a cabin, you can't request to be in a cabin with someone. Just my guess.

    Good luck!
    -Kate:)
    I will try every day until I get you. Or until camp starts.

    ReplyDelete