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[FlowersisBritish]

Finally finished my NaNo novel over the weekend. Little over 100k words total. Utter mess in structure and character development and in making any sense, but I'm pretty sure it's all fixable.

Might take me a while.

Anything can be made good with enough editing. Bet editing a novel is a pretty strenuous task though...

 

[aidan]

Holy fucking shit, I'm in a book. I'm in a collection of stories and poetry and it's sitting next to me right now. Also I got a complimentary pen saying I got published. It is instantly my favorite pen. If that pen told me to break all my other pens in an ink circle to honor it's name, I would...

Finally finished my NaNo novel over the weekend. Little over 100k words total. Utter mess in structure and character development and in making any sense, but I'm pretty sure it's all fixable.

Might take me a while.

Congrats to both of you!

 

[H.Protagonist]

Holy fucking shit, I'm in a book. I'm in a collection of stories and poetry and it's sitting next to me right now. Also I got a complimentary pen saying I got published. It is instantly my favorite pen. If that pen told me to break all my other pens in an ink circle to honor it's name, I would...

Congratulations~

Finally finished my NaNo novel over the weekend. Little over 100k words total. Utter mess in structure and character development and in making any sense, but I'm pretty sure it's all fixable.

Might take me a while.

!

So, when do we get to buy it? March 20th? Or March 21st?

Spoiler

2015

 

[Conkersbadfurday]

Anything can be made good with enough editing. Bet editing a novel is a pretty strenuous task though...

That it is. It's kind of fun at first because, "look at how i'm fixing this into something awesome" but 200 hours later you're kinda ready to claw your own eyes out.

 

[Mike M]

Been converting all the short stories I've written over the past couple years into manuscript format for consideration of submission to markets. But I'm an idiot who only kept the PDFs rather than the original Word documents, so it's taking four times as long as it should because cutting and pasting the text parses every line break as a new paragraphs and I have to fix it, and opening it in Word causes even more problems with varying line spacing and font size for some reason.

And then I realize I've been doing this regularly for more than two years and have like 60 stories to go through...

 

[Crash Station]

Meant to start my 4th book by now, but depression and other nonsense got in the way. New perceived start date: April 1.

Fortunately, I got most of it outlined. Will be a sequel to the 2nd book and around the same length, so this is probably going to be a big, year-long undertaking. Though I might just increase my daily word count to 600 so I can get it done in less than a year.

Regarding the 3rd book, getting some fantastic feedback from the local and internet beta readers. Going to try and get it out before the end of summer (ideally around early July if not sooner).

 

[B-Dubs]

Anything can be made good with enough editing. Bet editing a novel is a pretty strenuous task though...

The rewriting is always the hardest part.

Crazily enough the best way, I've found, to edit is to print out whatever I'm working on and just plain old rewrite it. Just using the prior draft as an outline and completely redoing everything, unless something is so good there's no way to redo it without making it worse. It makes the whole process take a million time longer, but I'm also more willing to find and throw out stuff that doesn't work and add in new things. It's a good way to not treat the prior draft as gospel.

 

[toddhunter]

Meant to start my 4th book by now, but depression and other nonsense got in the way. New perceived start date: April 1.

That sucks, but glad you are coming out of it. Pretty sure we'll all be there at some point.

 

[Mike M]

My own editing process is to print out hard copies and revise by hand as I read aloud (well, mumble to myself like a crazy person in the lunch room at work, at least). I catch waaaay more stuff this way than I do with it on the screen.

I've yet to actually revise a *book* in this manner, but I generally can produce clean and polished stories for Creative a Writing Challenge GAF in this fashion.

 

[Crash Station]

That sucks, but glad you are coming out of it. Pretty sure we'll all be there at some point.

Well, it's not fully over yet (still probably in the middle of the least stable point of my life), but I do think I'm learning to live with all these unwanted life changes and crappy events as opposed to just shutting down like I had been.

I think by April 1, I should have the motivation and mental ability to write again. Hope I'll be able to stick to my quota, and as usual there's no telling if it'll be good or not, but I'm not going to let life get in the way of this.

 

[vern]

TL;DR - I'm getting into self-publishing for fun, this is my story.


Hey everybody, first time seeing this thread! I thought I'd share a little about my personal writing/self-pub story.

I've always written a lot, whether it's short stories, keeping a journal, blogging, etc. I guess probably similar to a lot of you. Recently I started writing more and have even dipped my toes into self-publishing (my job is pretty boring so I have lots of time to write).

Anyway I started with the idea to just write erotica and publish a bunch of cheap smut and see if I could get some traction that way for some side income, but writing that kind of was a bit boring and I wasn't inspired. I then thought about writing a memoir and going back through journals and blogs and putting something together that way, plus writing a lot more to fill it out. My goal isn't to get rich and famous writing (I have a well paying job), but I don't really know that there is anyone that is interested to read a memoir of a random 30+ year old dude. I've lived a fairly interesting life, but still I figured I probably won't get many people to read my memoirs, and ultimately I'd like people to read my work so I nixed that for now.

Finally I decided to kind of combine the two and writing it has been a lot of fun. I've been writing short fictionalized accounts of my life in China over the past 3 years. I've seen and experienced some wild shit. I'm not a "sexpat" but I have had a number of interesting experiences here involving sex/relationships and a lot of my most interesting stories from here involve some sort of sexual encounter. So far I've published three short stories on Amazon, each about 4-5k words. Again it's fiction, but it's also a fairly honest account of things I've been a part of out here, especially some of the weird business circumstances I've been put into (KTV girls, prostitutes, clients and coworkers, etc.) I've got two more of the stories written (need edits before I publish) and have one more planned, then I'll put them all together in a bundle and see how it goes with selling it.

So far I've done basically zero promotion, aside from some on Facebook and setting up a twitter account that I pretty much ignore. I've sold 4 of my "episodes" which are overpriced at the moment at 2.99 per story and have had 10 or 12 borrows on Kindle Unlimited. I've put each story for free a few times as well so my friends on FB can get it and give me feedback. In total for my three stories and a bundle of them all I've had about 500 free downloads which is exciting to me, feedback has been mostly positive but I've also got a few people that think the stories are gross/rude/uninteresting. As a complete story I think it'll be a lot more appealing and I'll be happy to share it here at that time (during a free promotion) for anyone that is interested.

Also, I took the photo for and designed my covers. They are not very good though, I'm terrible at design. I didn't really even think about covers when I started writing, turns out that is important and easy to overlook!


Thanks for anyone who read my little story of writing. This thread is motivating and I look forward to sharing more and participating in this topic with all of you fellow writers.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

^ welcome and congrats!

 

[aidan]

Update!

I'm getting quite close to being able to produce ARCs of my collection that I will distribute to some bloggers, reviewers, and authors. I hope to get a couple of blurbs (like you'd see on the cover of a book) and maybe some early reviews out of this. Also, a thank you to a few people who helped me out along the way.

I've almost finished up copy edits on my stories (just a few last notes from the editor to resolve) and I'm currently about 60% done the supplemental material that will be included in the book (story notes and introduction) which will go off to my copy editor by the end of the week.

Cover art is nearly final (though, as I mentioned earlier, I'm hoping to get a good blurb to put on there before the book is published. I'm really looking forward to being able to show it off. The illustration is by Kuldar Leement and I did the design/typography. I think it's pretty cool.

Ahh! It feels strange being this close after having worked on these stories for various parts of the past four years.

 

[toddhunter]

The illustration is by Kuldar Leement and I did the design/typography. I think it's pretty cool.

Some really cool art on that page. Looks super talented.

 

[Crash Station]

In brighter news, one of my beta readers just called my third book the most compelling thing I have ever written. Definitely feels nice.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

Update!

I'm getting quite close to being able to produce ARCs of my collection that I will distribute to some bloggers, reviewers, and authors. I hope to get a couple of blurbs (like you'd see on the cover of a book) and maybe some early reviews out of this. Also, a thank you to a few people who helped me out along the way.

I've almost finished up copy edits on my stories (just a few last notes from the editor to resolve) and I'm currently about 60% done the supplemental material that will be included in the book (story notes and introduction) which will go off to my copy editor by the end of the week.

Cover art is nearly final (though, as I mentioned earlier, I'm hoping to get a good blurb to put on there before the book is published. I'm really looking forward to being able to show it off. The illustration is by Kuldar Leement and I did the design/typography. I think it's pretty cool.

Ahh! It feels strange being this close after having worked on these stories for various parts of the past four years.

In brighter news, one of my beta readers just called my third book the most compelling thing I have ever written. Definitely feels nice.

The awesomeness in this thread continues. Congrats to you both!

Edit: Aidan, I highly recommend a secret message blurb, such as: "Great! Awesome! Fabulous!"

Spoiler

get it?

 

[aidan]

Edit: Aidan, I highly recommend a secret message blurb, such as: "Great! Awesome! Fabulous!"

Spoiler

get it?

"Great!"
-AngmarsKing701

"AMAZING"
-cosmicblizzard

"Fan-diddly-tastic!"
-H.Protagonist

"What does that spell!?"
-Cyan

 

[The Atticus]

Alright, I've sketched out the basic notion for a story - two halfbrother boys who live on opposite sides of a playground (read: street soccer cage) wage a 'war' on each other, which ends up dragging the whole street of kids in their conflict.

In the story, the street and playground is encased in an unrelenting dust storm (for reals) and the area is a part of a Chinese community.
Should I bother with this premise? I'd love any thoughts x

I've written a couple character profiles for the two main brothers: Polly and Kilo (who wears a lion mask).

So, I finally carved out some time to write up a scene based on this idea, with a few adjustments.

Link
I'd love for any thoughts

 

[show me your skeleton]

odd question but i assume a fair few of us are writing fantasy/sci fi: has anyone come across anything to help them design towns? i am probably focusing too much on the minutia but i feel it would benefit me greatly if i had an overview of the city the story is set in and would love to plan it out. anyone done anything similar and if so, how did you achieve it?

on another topic that is probably more universal, any writing exercises to build and develop characters, particularly their 'voices'?

 

[Blargonaut]

odd question but i assume a fair few of us are writing fantasy/sci fi: has anyone come across anything to help them design towns? i am probably focusing too much on the minutia but i feel it would benefit me greatly if i had an overview of the city the story is set in and would love to plan it out. anyone done anything similar and if so, how did you achieve it?

on another topic that is probably more universal, any writing exercises to build and develop characters, particularly their 'voices'?

I'm tackling writing a fantasy novel myself; telling you right now, hands-down some of the best world-building advice I've ever read:

Limyaael's Writing Rants - The Master List

Solid gold.

And, with regards to city-building:

City Rant (Part 1)
City Rant (Part 2)


For character creation and personality development, here's my personal secret/cheat (don't judge meeee):

kabalarians.com (type a character's name, it generates for you their personality traits based on name-numerology pseudo-science fusion, in a full page report)

There's a free-account gate though, so it's up to you

I've fleshed-out all my characters' personalities with the help of these, saves me the trouble of thinking it all up

I'm such a hack lol

 

[H.Protagonist]

My own editing process is to print out hard copies and revise by hand as I read aloud (well, mumble to myself like a crazy person in the lunch room at work, at least). I catch waaaay more stuff this way than I do with it on the screen.

I've yet to actually revise a *book* in this manner, but I generally can produce clean and polished stories for Creative a Writing Challenge GAF in this fashion.

^Hard copies are essential for me too. I like to get in there with a red pen and mark the issues. Everything just seems to process better in that format. I did my entire book like this for the semi-final release version before it was put up on Amazon. Sorry, trees...

TL;DR - I'm getting into self-publishing for fun, this is my story.

Welcome, vern, and congratulations on getting your stuff out there. Do post more about your experience. Always fun to hear what other people are doing.

"Great!"
-AngmarsKing701

"AMAZING"
-cosmicblizzard

"Fan-diddly-tastic!"
-H.Protagonist

"What does that spell!?"
-Cyan

I'm in.

odd question but i assume a fair few of us are writing fantasy/sci fi: has anyone come across anything to help them design towns? i am probably focusing too much on the minutia but i feel it would benefit me greatly if i had an overview of the city the story is set in and would love to plan it out. anyone done anything similar and if so, how did you achieve it?

on another topic that is probably more universal, any writing exercises to build and develop characters, particularly their 'voices'?

Mmm... When I was plotting out a fantasy story way back when I just referenced old maps and tried to create a land that made sense geographically. From there I extrapolated their industry and culture based on the territories and stories just sort of bloomed from there. I'd recommend checking out some ancient maps and draw yours out by hand to see how they grow.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

"Great!"
-AngmarsKing701

"AMAZING"
-cosmicblizzard

"Fan-diddly-tastic!"
-H.Protagonist

"What does that spell!?"
-Cyan

Can I get a little Tony the Tiger in there? Grrrrrreat!

 

[show me your skeleton]

Mmm... When I was plotting out a fantasy story way back when I just referenced old maps and tried to create a land that made sense geographically. From there I extrapolated their industry and culture based on the territories and stories just sort of bloomed from there. I'd recommend checking out some ancient maps and draw yours out by hand to see how they grow.

my setting is 1900s, so the cities are much larger and industrious than in most fantasy settings but that kind of helps because there are a lot more accurate maps for places like london, manchester or new york post 1850s. i might take an old map, rearrange it and trace over it to begin with.

I'm tackling writing a fantasy novel myself; telling you right now, hands-down some of the best world-building advice I've ever read:

Limyaael's Writing Rants - The Master List

Solid gold.

that link is fantastic, thank you!

 

[H.Protagonist]

Comic update!

Everything's done~ Got the final shaded version of the comic in and it came out great. Can't wait to see this puppy released, and even more excited that they're adding it into the print version.

Viva la breakfast doom!

__

___

my setting is 1900s, so the cities are much larger and industrious than in most fantasy settings but that kind of helps because there are a lot more accurate maps for places like london, manchester or new york post 1850s. i might take an old map, rearrange it and trace over it to begin with.

that link is fantastic, thank you!

Go for it. There are some great maps of that era.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

Congrats, H.Pro!

 

[H.Protagonist]

So... does this mean we need to add Rick Chapman to the GAF author list? :3

Congrats, H.Pro!

Cheers, A! ^_^

 

[H.Protagonist]

I feel a little bad for the guy. But like... people tried to explain that we don't do sigs here, let alone sigs advertising our self-pubbed books, and he just didn't want to hear it.

Yeah, same. I jest, but I do still feel bit bad too. He did leave on a silly, stubborn note, but in general, having a thread made about how terrible your work is just hurts. He handled that part pretty well, though. It's a shame he didn't stay longer for that bit. Seems he'll get/got a few sales out of it at least, so there's that.

 

[HORRORSHØW]

wow. that looks great h. pro. congrats.
--
you guys are inspiring, for sure.

 

[H.Protagonist]

wow. that looks great h. pro. congrats.
--
you guys are inspiring, for sure.

Thanks, Grim. I'm really happy how it turned out. How are things going on your end?

The rule of thumb I've always heard is that you just don't respond to criticism, and you especially don't respond with arguments and excuses. It never helps and is likely to end up with you looking bad. He didn't start off too badly in that he at least began with answering questions rather than arguing, but it ultimately... kinda fell apart. (If you look at the reviews of his book, you can also see him arguing with a one-star reviewer, which... yeah, don't do that.)

Anyway. Moving on to happier stuff. Congrats on the comic! It looks way cool, I gotta say.

Yikes. I hadn't read the reviews and didn't see that. Terrible idea... I didn't even know you could respond to reviews. Well, a general well-wish that he takes some of the criticism to heart and finds happiness somewhere with a less complicated forum interface.

For happier stuff... thanks so much. It came out beautifully, but I'm really itching to get everything released now. The comic will be put up online first and then they'll do the book prints, so the wait for that is extended a bit again. I just want to hold it in my hands and kill spiders with its semi-mighty page-age. ;_;

How are things going on your book? Will it be available this year, you think?

 

[Mike M]

I may have already asked this up thread, but anyone in PNW hitting up NorWesCon in a couple weeks?

 

[H.Protagonist]

The thread's been closed, but Mr. Chapman has sold two copies since yesterday, so apparently GAF is supportive of writers.

Heh, I'm gonna say probably not. I'm a slow mover. It's gonna take me a couple of months to edit, then I'll run it through my crit group, then another editing round based on that. And I still have to decide if I'm going to self-pub or try shopping it around first.

You did say it would take a bit of reworking. If the edit rounds go well and you're happy with the end result, I do hope you'll shop it around. ^_^

 

[Fidelis Hodie]

Comic update!

Everything's done~ Got the final shaded version of the comic in and it came out great. Can't wait to see this puppy released, and even more excited that they're adding it into the print version.

Viva la breakfast doom!

__

___

Go for it. There are some great maps of that era.

I am so excited to read this. Love the style.

 

[bengraven]

I was at Goodwill the other day when a worker brought out a large bin. On top were a lot of children's books I had wanted to buy for my kid like Where the Wild Things and the Dinotopias. I said with cheek, "How did they know I was coming here?".

So I kept digging, putting more and more books to the side. Some junior tpbs of Marvel comics that my kid can read (and a few I might read before he can get there) in a few years, then suddenly a bunch of fantasy novels by Terry Pratchett, Raymond Feist, David Gemmell. I laughed to myself at my bizarre luck. Maybe a future version of myself died and sent his books back in time. So I thought about that and realized I had a lot in common with this guy.

Then, there at the bottom, were at least a dozen or more books with names like "Publishing For Dummies", "Writer's Market", "How to Write a Novel", "Getting Your Novel Finished", "Writing to Finish" and so many more by someone who desperately wanted to become a published author but may have failed...

...my heart dropped a bit and when I went home I started writing immediately.

Finally finished my NaNo novel over the weekend. Little over 100k words total. Utter mess in structure and character development and in making any sense, but I'm pretty sure it's all fixable.

Might take me a while.

Congrats!

I've written two versions of mine, three NaNos in a row. I think I might just consolidate and put out a simpler, more direct novel with only using my best ideas. Probably would be a better novel in the end.

 

[xandaca]

Comic update!

Everything's done~ Got the final shaded version of the comic in and it came out great. Can't wait to see this puppy released, and even more excited that they're adding it into the print version.

Viva la breakfast doom!

__

___

Go for it. There are some great maps of that era.

Congratulations! Looks cool.

I'm about 85k words into the first draft of, which I'm planning on releasing in September to give time for proper editing/promotion etc. It's right at the end but proving a real slog, as I'd expected it to come in no longer than 75k words and did a big push to reach that milestone, only to quickly realise it wasn't going to be nearly enough and there were some plot inconsistencies that caused a few late game problems. Took a break last week and added about 2k words so far this week (since yesterday), about two and a bit chapters to go. The quality of the prose has devolved utterly, but I'm still enjoying it, if through gritted teeth at times, and the end remains in sight. Stagger on, stagger on.

 

[H.Protagonist]

I am so excited to read this. Love the style.

<3 I can't wait for it to go up and people to enjoy all the expressions Scotty did. Super lucky to have her.

I was at Goodwill the other day when a worker brought out a large bin. On top were a lot of children's books I had wanted to buy for my kid like Where the Wild Things and the Dinotopias. I said with cheek, "How did they know I was coming here?".

So I kept digging, putting more and more books to the side. Some junior tpbs of Marvel comics that my kid can read (and a few I might read before he can get there) in a few years, then suddenly a bunch of fantasy novels by Terry Pratchett, Raymond Feist, David Gemmell. I laughed to myself at my bizarre luck. Maybe a future version of myself died and sent his books back in time. So I thought about that and realized I had a lot in common with this guy.

Then, there at the bottom, were at least a dozen or more books with names like "Publishing For Dummies", "Writer's Market", "How to Write a Novel", "Getting Your Novel Finished", "Writing to Finish" and so many more by someone who desperately wanted to become a published author but may have failed...

...my heart dropped a bit and when I went home I started writing immediately.

Congrats!

I've written two versions of mine, three NaNos in a row. I think I might just consolidate and put out a simpler, more direct novel with only using my best ideas. Probably would be a better novel in the end.

You'll get there! You just need a concrete goal/deadline. Maybe your NaNo goal this year will be to polish your final version?

Congratulations! Looks cool.

I'm about 85k words into the first draft of, which I'm planning on releasing in September to give time for proper editing/promotion etc. It's right at the end but proving a real slog, as I'd expected it to come in no longer than 75k words and did a big push to reach that milestone, only to quickly realise it wasn't going to be nearly enough and there were some plot inconsistencies that caused a few late game problems. Took a break last week and added about 2k words so far this week (since yesterday), about two and a bit chapters to go. The quality of the prose has devolved utterly, but I'm still enjoying it, if through gritted teeth at times, and the end remains in sight. Stagger on, stagger on.

Thanks, xandaca! It was a fun little bonus to do for the book. Would love to see the whole thing in comic form, to be honest.

For yours, must be very exciting to be so close. The editing part can be a real chore, but think of the glorious goal! Have you thought about your cover yet? Or character art? If you sprinkle some fun stuff in during the process, I think you'll be extra motivated.

 

[Cowlick]

That feeling when all you want to do is write -- you look forward to writing -- and all that comes out is vomit on a screen.

Pretty damn frustrated right now. What's up here, in my head, is so different from what I can muster to come out through my fingers. I want to write this thing, but I can't make it happen. It's like typing on a keyboard and none of the letters match up to their keys; it's just not coming out the way I imagine it.

What’s the best way forth? Keep at it and chip through the wall, word by word? Take a break? Read more? Write something else? Chocolate? Ice cream? Hard liquor?

Share your process, people. Tell me how you work.

 

[Jintor]

i punch a sandbag until words come out of it, and then i laborously glue them together with paste

real answer: write even when you don't feel like writing

but especially write when you feel like writing

 

[Crash Station]

That feeling when all you want to do is write -- you look forward to writing -- and all that comes out is vomit on a screen.

Pretty damn frustrated right now. What's up here, in my head, is so different from what I can muster to come out through my fingers. I want to write this thing, but I can't make it happen. It's like typing on a keyboard and none of the letters match up to their keys; it's just not coming out the way I imagine it.

What&#8217;s the best way forth? Keep at it and chip through the wall, word by word? Take a break? Read more? Write something else? Chocolate? Ice cream? Hard liquor?

Share your process, people. Tell me how you work.

My process is a lot of jogging and cardio in general.

The thing is, that's only a means to come up with plot developments/concepts/etc. Kind of hard to actually have sentence structure and whatnot all planned out in your head when you're hopped up on adrenaline.

 

[Mike M]

That feeling when all you want to do is write -- you look forward to writing -- and all that comes out is vomit on a screen.

Pretty damn frustrated right now. What's up here, in my head, is so different from what I can muster to come out through my fingers. I want to write this thing, but I can't make it happen. It's like typing on a keyboard and none of the letters match up to their keys; it's just not coming out the way I imagine it.

What’s the best way forth? Keep at it and chip through the wall, word by word? Take a break? Read more? Write something else? Chocolate? Ice cream? Hard liquor?

Share your process, people. Tell me how you work.

I tough it out and revise later. I only have so much creative capacity, and I can either use it to get the bones of the thing out, or I can use it to get it right, but not at the same time.

 

[DD]

That feeling when all you want to do is write -- you look forward to writing -- and all that comes out is vomit on a screen.

Pretty damn frustrated right now. What's up here, in my head, is so different from what I can muster to come out through my fingers. I want to write this thing, but I can't make it happen. It's like typing on a keyboard and none of the letters match up to their keys; it's just not coming out the way I imagine it.

What&#8217;s the best way forth? Keep at it and chip through the wall, word by word? Take a break? Read more? Write something else? Chocolate? Ice cream? Hard liquor?

Share your process, people. Tell me how you work.

We all know that struggle, mate. What I recommend you to do is to write short stories that wont consume you like a book. Write first, revise latter. Put everything on paper. It will feel like garbage, but you can polish it latter. Also, read a lot. But I have a feeling that we'll never feel prepared for that.

Yesterday I reached 100 MS Word pages on my first draft! \o/

 

[fredrancour]

That feeling when all you want to do is write -- you look forward to writing -- and all that comes out is vomit on a screen.

Pretty damn frustrated right now. What's up here, in my head, is so different from what I can muster to come out through my fingers. I want to write this thing, but I can't make it happen. It's like typing on a keyboard and none of the letters match up to their keys; it's just not coming out the way I imagine it.

What’s the best way forth? Keep at it and chip through the wall, word by word? Take a break? Read more? Write something else? Chocolate? Ice cream? Hard liquor?

Share your process, people. Tell me how you work.

I just write no matter how bad it seems at the time. editing is easier than making something beautiful on the first pass. the truly unbearable stuff can be hidden from the world or trashed.
If it is so frustrating I can't make myself continue, I brainstorm or write something else.

 

[aidan]

I tough it out and revise later. I only have so much creative capacity, and I can either use it to get the bones of the thing out, or I can use it to get it right, but not at the same time.

Write like you don't give a shit, edit like you do.

 

[Mike M]

Write like you don't give a shit, edit like you do.

Well, I still kind of give a shit when I write too...

 

[bengraven]

You'll get there! You just need a concrete goal/deadline. Maybe your NaNo goal this year will be to polish your final version?

Definitely! This year is all about FINISHING. I have enough starts, but few finishes. I'm actually looking forward to it!

 

[aidan]

Well, I still kind of give a shit when I write too...

More of the "without abandon" definition of not giving a shit, rather than the "not caring about your work" definition.

It's a philosophy that's helped get me through a lot of first drafts.

 

[xandaca]

Thanks, xandaca! It was a fun little bonus to do for the book. Would love to see the whole thing in comic form, to be honest.

For yours, must be very exciting to be so close. The editing part can be a real chore, but think of the glorious goal! Have you thought about your cover yet? Or character art? If you sprinkle some fun stuff in during the process, I think you'll be extra motivated.

I've done the cover and tried doing some character art, but I'm a distinctly average illustrator at my absolute best and it didn't go well. This is my cover:

And my synopsis for good measure (it's a sequel, btw):

"As riots rage on the streets of London, a bank robbery puts Britain's most dangerous secrets in the hands of an Irish terrorist with a bloody score to settle. Honora Blakely finds herself the nation's last line of defence in a secret power struggle that could end in civil war, while the only person she can trust hasn't been seen for twenty years and has demons of his own to conquer.

Set two decades after the events of DEAD DROP, LAST LINE reunites Honora Blakely and Robert Armstrong for an explosive adventure taking them from a chase across the rooftops of Kowloon Walled City to war-torn Belfast and riots on the London streets, facing off against renegade Irish nationalists, villainous bankers and deceitful politicians."

H.Protagonist, how much of your book is going to be in comic form? It looks really fantastic, maybe it's worth trying get the whole thing out as a graphic novel. Not sure what the market is like, but if it gets your work out to a new audience, surely all the better.

 

[Freeza Under The Shower]

Write like you don't give a shit, edit like you do.

and never cite your sources!

 

[aidan]

and never cite your sources!

Is that originally from a quote by someone? I've just sort of adopted the mantra via osmosis.

 

[DD]

Posted?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fBxnxA_GDA

 

[Freeza Under The Shower]

Is that originally from a quote by someone? I've just sort of adopted the mantra via osmosis.

I was referring to 'creativity is knowing how to hide your sources' :
http://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/06/01/creative/

Everything a human can say is ultimately a quote or paraphrase anyway.

Stephen King puts it this way: "write with the door closed, edit with the door open", which is kind of your sentence, though less excrement focused. :'D