December Turns

Well, here it is...December. The final month of 2007. It's not really been anything special overall if you ask me. But it has been an interesting year for me.

This is going to be a hellish next two months. With the holidays fast approaching and us serving as hosts to the family, we have a great deal of preparations to complete. Right on the heels of that, we have to then prepare for the new arrival to our family. Our as of yet unnamed son that will be here at the end of January. Oi!

I hope I'll be able to find the time to write!

On that note, I would like to fill you in on what I have been doing. As stated in my previous entry, I am writing a novel. It is of the Sci-Fi/Fantasy genre based on the picture seen to the right. Her name is Brianna and I will introduce you to her later.

I started concocting the idea for this sometime late summer. The first thing that I did was simply start brainstorming ideas and putting them into a composition book. From there, I went to a bookstore and purchased a book on how to create such a work. It basically told me what I need to do to write a novel and I found it most useful. So, I spent the next several weeks planning. Plot, character development, and settings were all thought of, refined, and tweaked to make useful.

Then I began writing. For the last couple of months, I have been doing that. In my estimation, I have completed about 1/3 of the book. It's taking time and it is starting to be difficult. Yes, I know the plan, I know where I want to go and the end result, but I have to restrain myself from just going right there. Also, I have to be careful as not to drag it out. So, the balancing act continues.

Usually when I write, I take the time to summarize the story and see where I need to go next with the plot, or who's turn it is. Then, I get a general idea of what needs to happen within the next chapter and start writing. At first, I am not too concerned with how it reads as long as I get from point A to point B. Then, I go back and start to edit. I tweak the dialoge, change the words or delete/modify the actions or scenes to smooth it out. I do this to make sure that the flow is even and consistent with things.

I also have help. I have some friends that are acting as my proofreaders. They are experienced with the genre and have read many books in the area. They provide feedback, find grammatical errors, and generally help with editing. They have been very helpful and if you ever decide to write, having them could be beneficial.

Project status:
33,000 words, 14 Chapters. Estimated time of completion: Four months