Last report wordcount + chapter count/scene count: 1.51,128 words and 21 1/2 chapters (NOBODY’S GODDESS/THE NEVER VEIL 2)
2. 50,250 words and chapter count no longer relevant because I wrote in a crazy, skip-to-scenes-I-want-to-write-most way. (NaNoWriMo project–not touched since November!)
Current report WC + CC/ SC: 1. 67,566 words and 28 chapters (NOBODY’S GODDESS 2)–first draft done, yay!
2. 53,861 words and chapters still not quite relevant because I haven’t fixed it (NaNoWriMo project)
WIP Issues This Month: I started this month off with a bang–I was so productive and finished the NG2 draft by May 8th! That made me really happy and I was looking forward to tackling my next goal (after putting NG2 aside for a time to get some distance from it), finishing the NaNoWriMo project that had been on hiatus since November. I had to re-read it in its entirety before I could begin, really, because I’d been working on another world. I did that over about a week and a half and was able to make some edits as I went along. And it felt nice at first. I was starting to think, “Why did I burn out on this? It really isn’t that bad! In fact, it’s kind of good for being out of my comfort zone!” Then after re-reading what I had, I tackled trying to finish the draft and… totally hit a wall. ;-;
Meanwhile, at the same time, I got really busy with other things, and even thought I DO have time to write every day recently, I’m not making much progress at all, which depresses me. Every time I sit to write, it just isn’t flowing. So gone are my dreams of finishing the first draft of the NaNoWriMo by the end of May. (It SHOULD have been possible–I seriously didn’t need more than 5000-10,000 words to finish!) Now I’m wondering if I have to put that aside AGAIN to start NG2 edits, considering that’s due to the publisher August 1st and I need to give my betas time to read and then edit again after they read. *sigh* I’m not in a very confident author mood right now, but I’m making a little progress.
Four things I learned this month in writing: 1. I’ll always be going through good and bad writing phases. (So I hope I get out of this funk soon.)
2. It’s entirely possible to want to change some relatively small but still important things in book 1 of a series AFTER you already turned in the edits because of what came out while writing book 2. (Hope I get a chance to do so during the next round of edits!) Editing doesn’t end… 0_o
3. Beating myself up over not accomplishing as much as I’d like to is a bad idea (but I knew that and do it anyway).
4. My goals aren’t always realistic. Since I assume I’ll ALWAYS be able to write a decent amount each day when that’s clearly not the case.
What distracted me this month while writing: I’ve been trying to clean my ENTIRE house in the hopes of moving this year. (Don’t know when or where yet, just downsizing.) I’ve been tackling the big move clean up for seriously 10 years, but not every day like I have for the past week and a half. And there’s always more to be done, and I’ve been prepping myself to part with some things I didn’t originally want to get rid of, so there’s more cleaning to do. I’m also trying to ebay a lot of the stuff I’m parting with, and that’s a huge hassle, but my paying work has been light this month (which is both good and bad ;-;) so I have to do something to try to offset the decrease in income. Unfortunately, most auctions are almost too much of a pain to justify what little I earn off of something!
I’m still querying FALL FAR FROM THE TREE when I find the time (and I entered TheWVoice early on in the month but didn’t move on to the next round)–but between EVERYTHING ELSE, I’m not sending out as many queries as I’d like! So far, I’m pretty happy with the responses–I’m averaging a 12.3% request rate, which is more than NOBODY’S GODDESS got originally (and that one got me an agent!). 🙂 No offers, obviously. (I’d let you all know!)
Goal for next month: I need to do my first edits on NG2 and get it off to my beta(s). I really wanted to finish the first draft of my NaNoWriMo and get that off to my beta(s), too, but I can’t give them both at once! I’m having a hard time deciding which to do first because I’d hoped to have the NaNoWriMo draft done by now but that’s obviously not happening. *sigh* Maybe I need to go back to NG2, brain shift though it may be, to jumpstart my writing muse.
Amy McNulty 
Congrats on finishing your draft! I know what you mean about wanting to change things after edits – I did this with the first in my series, too! It’s impossible to know everything that’ll happen in the rest of the series even with an outline.
Don’t beat yourself up about it – you’re doing great! 🙂 Best to write the project you most want to work on. 🙂
Best of luck with the querying! That’s far better than my request rate, so hopefully you’ll find the right agent soon! 🙂
Thanks! 🙂 I know I might dread coming up with new changes AFTER it’s been published, but I bet I will!
Yeah, I just need to get out of this funk. Thanks–it’s actually better than my rate for the first project that got me an agent! 0_o Good luck to you too!
I know I’ve said that earlier but congrats on finishing your draft! And congrats on your querying stats so far! That’s awesome.
I hate when life gets in the way, but then, that’s what life loves doing. I hope everything at work turns out okay for you soon.
If your heart tells you to edit NG2, so you don’t miss your deadline, I’ll say go for it. You’ll still get back to your Nano project someday, and it’s be easier since you’ve read through it and made edits.
I keep wondering if I’ll have similar problems with my WIP (if I ever finish it, get an agent and it’s going to be published) when I start writing the sequel. I know writers like JK Rowling outlined all the seven books before starting, but that’s just impossible for me. Outlining one book takes me like six months or more, and my sequels are a lot. I’ll never get around to writing the real story.
Good luck next month with whatever you choose to write. And may the querying gods smile on you!
Thanks again! 🙂
I think I’ll definitely have to edit NG2, like you said, but I wonder if I can allow myself a week (or less? ;-;) to keep going with the NaNo and hope I finish it. I probably can’t push it more than a week though!
I didn’t outline books 2 and 3 until after I finished book 1, but even my outline couldn’t have prepared me for some of the things that hit me while I’m drafting! My outlines aren’t too detailed so they don’t take me too long–but then I miss big issues like these. ^^;
Editing really never ends. I have to implement a hands off policy when it comes to things like that. And I also don’t have realistic goals. I once scheduled myself to write 5 chapters in one night! Ha!
Good luck with querying and your goals for next month! I know how it is when you want to finish something and your brain on another project. You’ll get it sorted out! ^_^
Once it’s finally okayed for pub, I’ll just have to make do with what’s there! I bet if I read it after it’s out, I’ll find stuff I want to change, though, ha.
5 chapters?! My goodness! ^^ I hope we’re both better at setting realistic goals because I hate the feeling of not living up to my self-imposed expectations!
Thanks! Yeah, I’ll have to. My NaNo might have to go back on hiatus, but hopefully it won’t be for long! I’m thinking of maybe giving myself one more week for it before putting it aside.
Hey, that’s still great progress! And I know what you mean about wanting to tweak things in book 1 because of what happens in subsequent books even after edits. Nope, the editing never ceases.
Good luck with all the writing, cleaning, editing, querying and ebaying – you sure are busy! 🙂
Thanks! 🙂
I’ve not been in the most confident of moods lately, either, so I hear what you’re saying. I don’t know if you do anything similar, but I started keeping track of what I accomplish every day, just a brief spreadsheet of words written, or chapters/scenes revised, or even ideas that formed in a day. I’m finding this helps a little with feeling in a funk, like my progress is really not flowing… While in numbers I don’t have a lot down this month, when I look at this spreadsheet it reminds me that, oh yeah, I was super busy that one week and had little time, and the next week I actually *did* come up with a major plot twist that’ll change everything. It helps to put it into perspective. Hang in there, and good luck for June! *shakes pom poms*
You’re right. I FINISHED a manuscript early this month. So why am I so down about doing less later in the month? ^^ That’s a good idea to remind yourself of how much you’ve done! Thanks, and you too!
Your querying stats are awesome! Congrats! So many good things happened for you this month. June is going to bear fruit, I sense it. Keep up all the great progress! ❤
cat
Aw, thank you! 🙂 Good luck this month!