Category: Writing

My thoughts on the writing process.

Posted in Writing

WIPMarathon Report #3

Posted on by Amy McNulty

Last report wordcount + chapter count/scene count: 47,969 words and 20 chapters

Current report WC + CC/ SC: 51,128 words and 21 1/2 chapters

WIP Issues This Month: This looks terrible, like I hardly did anything at all this month, right? (And last month I was beating myself up for making MORE progress.) But I’m actually in a good place, writing-wise. Aside from one unfortunate week I couldn’t manage to do any fiction work, I was REALLY busy with my first post-sale revisions for NOBODY’S GODDESS. I deleted and added a few thousand words to that manuscript, shifted things around and read the entire thing once and am working on reading it again and incorporating more changes. My deadline is April 30th and I’m well on track. So even though I didn’t get much work done on THE NEVER VEIL #2, I at least got past the 50,000 word milestone!

Four things I learned this month in writing:  1. You can never “forget” to write.

2. Editing never really ends. (Well, I hear it does when the book is in print, but you know…)

3. Fantasizing about fiction writing as a full-time job doesn’t help any, ha.

4. I can juggle many, many fiction projects at once.

What distracted me this month while writing: Being busy at work and life, as usual. It was my birthday, and that was fun. I went to C2E2 in Chicago yesterday! And on April 11th, I co-hosted a release party for THE SOUL HEALER, which was super fun. (I want to do one next year for mine!)

I haven’t had as much time to devote to it this month, but I’ve also been busy… querying for an agent. Since I’m planning to try to enter some Pitch Contests soon and it’s been a bit, I think I can say that publicly this time! (This was what was bumming me out last month.) I’ll miss my last agent and appreciate everything he did for me, but we had to part ways for reasons beyond my control.

Goal for next month: Since I’ll be passing the baton on NOBODY’S GODDESS edits to my editor, I can get back to focusing on trying to finish the first draft of THE NEVER VEIL #2! I hope I do! I mean, I haven’t gotten as many words done per month as I’d like, but I think I’m close. Then I plan to set it aside before I edit (because I think it’ll need a bit of work) and work on finishing the draft of my NaNoWriMo project I burnt out on. I’ve been feeling the need to go back and finish that.

Last 200 words: Can’t because it’s a sequel.

Posted in Writing

WIPMarathon Report #2

Posted on by Amy McNulty

Last report wordcount + chapter count/scene count: 40,127 words and 16 and a bit more chapters

Current report WC + CC/ SC: 47,969 words and 20 chapters

WIP Issues This Month: I won’t lie–my progress over the past four weeks has been abysmal. I mean, any bit of progress is better than nothing, right? But I ought to have been much further along than this. Especially considering I had one really, really good day and wrote like half of what I did the whole month on that day. I’m not stuck–I have an outline and I’m trying to just finish a draft without thinking about the little problems with the story starting to nag at me (too much)–but writing has been a struggle lately. On the plus side, I’ve reached the point in the synopsis I’d been most looking forward to write, so maybe that’ll spur me forward.

Four things I learned this month in writing:  1. Beating myself up over a small word count is counter-productive. (But I keep doing it anyway.)

2. I don’t always write first drafts quickly! (Well, I mean, I have some unfinished WIPs, but before this, the two manuscripts I’ve finished were drafted in under a couple of months.)

3. Years later (and with editors’ help) after drafting, I can still think of ways to improve my manuscripts. ^^

4. I have to keep going. I have to keep going….

What distracted me this month while writing: I got sick about halfway through the month–I was on antibiotics, but I was hardly so sick I wouldn’t be able write for days on end, but that’s what happened anyway. Blame it on my mood, I guess. I got some sad news on my writing-career front about the same time that I had to deal with and led to another task that took up a bit of my time this month, but I’m trying not to disclose too much.

Goal for next month: I actually have to put the WIP (Never Veil Series 2) aside! Well, I’ll keep working on it here and there as much as I can, but it’s second priority since I’m starting the first post-book-sale edits for Nobody’s Goddess (Never Veil Series 1, The Veiled Man’s Goddess’ new title) and they’re due at the end of the month. So my goal is to finish this round of edits and write more of the WIP, but I won’t be surprised if my word count hasn’t gone up much in a month’s time!

Last 200 words: Can’t because it’s a sequel.

Posted in Writing

WIPMarathon Report #1

Posted on by Amy McNulty

Last report wordcount + chapter count/scene count: 27,301 words and ten and a half chapters

Current report WC + CC/ SC: 40,127 words and 16 and a bit more chapters (ha, the last 2300 words were just last night, too, so… If I’d had more writing sessions like that one this month, I’d be further along!)

WIP Issues This Month: I never stalled entirely, but the scenes I’ve been working on this month have been less exciting to me than some of the stuff near the beginning or what’s to come. I’ve struggled to find both the time and the brain power to work. (When I’m too stressed or tired from work writing, it’s hard to get my brain into the fiction writing groove, even if I find the time!) I spent like a week on one scene writing 100 words at a time wondering what on earth was going on (characters were keeping secrets from my main character–and me!) until I finally cracked it.

Four things I learned this month in writing:  1. Even if it’s only small progress, progress is still progress. I may have wanted to get more words done this month, but somehow I at least managed to get this much done despite feeling overwhelmed.

2. Keep pushing through a scene and you’ll eventually crack it somehow.

3. Sometimes you have to write even if you don’t feel like you can because even 100 words a day is better than nothing. Even 100 words a week is better than nothing.

4. It’s not worth stressing myself out on days I can’t get many words done; it just makes me feel unaccomplished.

What distracted me this month while writing: Work, bitter cold temperatures (good for staying inside and writing a lot, though!), snow shoveling, reading, gaming, and everyday life. I’m also strangely into looking up True Detective theories.

Goal for next month: Keep going with this WIP! I want to finish as much more as possible. I need a first draft done within the next few months. I feel like I’m more than halfway there, though. Which potentially means there will be too few words this first draft, but we’ll see. I’m not worried about that yet–just getting through the plot.

Last 200 words: Can’t because it’s a sequel.

Posted in Writing

WIPMarathon Check-In #9 (5)

Posted on by Amy McNulty

I can’t believe it’s over already! (True, I only participated in half of it, but it still flew by!) I’ll be sure to check back in with the monthly updates.

Last Check-in Wordcount + ChapterCount (+ scene count if you’re revising): 22,821 words and eight and a half chapters

Current WC + CC (or SC): 27,301 words and ten and a half chapters

WIP Issues this week: Nothing too much, just finding the time to write, as usual. And I went back to switching tenses. I thought I was over that. I think my next ms will have to be in present again since I clearly want to write that way. (Watch me keep writing in past when I work on that one, though.)

What I learned this week in writing: I’m still “off synopsis,” but I’m getting closer to getting back on track. I also learned you can really miss writing for one character who hasn’t appeared in a while. (I want to get further into the story so that character can come back already!)

What distracted me this week while writing: Mostly work, but early in the week I actually had free time I could have used to write, but I had a bad head cold and couldn’t focus, d’oh. I’m better now, though.

Last 200 words: Can’t because it’s the sequel to my book releasing next year

Plans After WIPMarathon: I’m going to keep working on this sequel. I may not be finding as much time to write as I would like (and I only worked on ONE of my many goals at the start of the WIPMarathon this whole time! But it was the most important one), but even juggling all I juggled in January, I managed to get a significant chunk done. I’m surprised, actually. It felt like I had NO TIME to write, but that clearly wasn’t true. That gives me hope that even when I’m overwhelmed by the rest of my life, I will find a way to write, even if it’s not every day, and it’ll help keep me sane.

Posted in Writing

WIPMarathon Check-In # 8 (4)

Posted on by Amy McNulty

I held off on updating because I hoped I could add some more words today, but it just doesn’t look like that will be the case. Work won’t let up this month, and my stress in general has been through the roof! Still, it’s fun to work on the WIP when I can. Which was only twice this week…

Last Check-in Wordcount + ChapterCount (+ scene count if you’re revising): 21,839 words and eight and a half chapters

Current WC + CC (or SC): 22,821 words and eight and a half chapters (still working on that same chapter, lol)

WIP Issues this week: I’m entering a little uncertain ground in the WIP. This is still that “writing a few chapters off of only two sentences in the synopsis” bit, and so far it has gone well, but it’s starting to maybe drift a bit. I think I’m still on the right track, though.

What I learned this week in writing: So my progress this month hasn’t been as much as I’d like it to have been. Considering how busy and stressed I’ve been, the fact that I’ve gotten as much done as I have is pretty awesome.

What distracted me this week while writing: Work, my boyfriend’s car troubles (he wound up having to get a new/used one!), coming down with a cold and…

My big news! I think most of you saw my post earlier this week, but I can now share the fact that I’m going to debut with a YA fantasy in 2015 with Month9Books. Please add it to your to-read shelf on Goodreads if you have an account.

And now that that’s posted, I can share a more detailed summary of the story:

In a village of masked men, magic compels each man to love only one woman and to follow the commands of his “goddess” without question. A woman may reject the only man who will love her if she pleases, but she will be alone forever. And a man must stay masked until his goddess returns his love—and if she can’t or won’t, he remains masked forever.

Where the rest of her village celebrates this mystery that binds men and women together, seventeen year old Noll is just done with it. She’s lost all her childhood friends as they’ve paired off, but the worst blow was when her closest companion, Jurij, finds his goddess in Noll’s own sister. Desperate to find a way to break this ancient spell, Noll instead discovers why no man has ever loved her: she is in fact the goddess of the mysterious lord of the village, a Byronic man who refuses to let Noll have her right as a woman to spurn him and who has the power to fight the curse. Thus begins a dangerous game between the two: the choice of woman versus the magic of man. And the stakes are no less than freedom and happiness, life and death—and neither Noll nor the veiled man is willing to lose.

Last 200 words: Can’t because it’s the sequel to my book releasing next year. ^^

Posted in News, Writing

My Big News Post!

Posted on by Amy McNulty

I’ve been sitting on happy news for a few months while the details got ironed out, kind of wondering if I was dreaming, but I can finally share with everyone and make it more real: my debut novel, a YA romantic fantasy, is going to be published by Month9Books in 2015! Not only that, but Month9 is on board for the second and third books in the trilogy, too, with number two scheduled for 2016 and number three for 2017!

The announcement sent to Publishers Marketplace:

THE VEILED MAN’S GODDESS trilogy by Amy McNulty is a twisted young adult fantasy romance where one girl fights to save the boy she loves from a spell that forces all men to wear masks and only ever love one woman, each their “goddess,” only to discover that she herself is bound to the mysterious lord of the village, whose very life might be the source of the curse. Georgia McBride acquired World English rights to publish via Month9Books beginning in 2015 from Jason Yarn at Paradigm.

(The title of the book is almost certainly going to change, so keep an eye out for updates!)

Month9Books is a speculative fiction YA and MG imprint (related to YA, NA and adult romance imprint SwoonRomance). Founded by Georgia McBride, also the YALitChat.org founder, in 2011, Month9 launched with their first title in late 2012, and they’ve been making some pretty impressive waves in the YA genre ever since.  When my agent and I discussed what independent publishers I wanted to send my manuscript to, Month9 jumped to the top of my wish list.

I’ve been floored by the enthusiasm Ms. McBride has shown for the manuscript, and I’m looking forward to working with her and her team on getting this series out there into the hands of readers. Ever since this story took hold of me, I’ve been hoping I could share its characters with you. And have an excuse to write the rest of their story! It would have broken my heart to shelve them and never finish the full tale.

This is the manuscript that landed me my agent, Jason Yarn, in May of 2012. The one I wrote the first (rough) draft of in only nine days in February of that year. (Well, I pinched some scenes and names from an old mess of a manuscript that’s permanently retired, and I’d been working on that on and off for nine years in one form or another.) We weren’t on submission the whole time—we tackled multiple rewrites—but it still has been somewhat of an uphill climb, sometimes getting to what felt like “almost but not quite” at various places, many of which offered kind and encouraging thoughts. Thanks to Jason’s never-waning enthusiasm for the project and his brilliant editorial insights, we finally got the manuscript where it needed to be to find a home.

I’ll be blogging with news as I get it over the next year+. I hope you’ll check it out in 2015!

Posted in Writing

WIPMarathon Check-In #7 (3)

Posted on by Amy McNulty

I had kind of a hellish, busy week, so I wrote only on Sunday and Wednesday. *sigh* I might still write today, but since I have so much else to do, I’m not sure I’ll be able to. *sighs again* I’ll count any words today toward next week, then.

Last Check-in Wordcount + ChapterCount (+ scene count if you’re revising): 19,391 words and seven chapters

Current WC + CC (or SC): 21,839 words and eight and a half chapters

WIP Issues this week: Not too many issues with the WIP itself, just finding the time and energy to write.

What I learned this week in writing: I’m still working “off-synopsis” in a way. (I’m expanding on a few sentences in the synopsis that didn’t go into detail.) It’s quite possible to plot and pants at the same time!

What distracted me this week while writing: A lot of work and a lot of stress.

Last 200 words: Can’t.

I have news I’ll be able to share soon! I know at least one of you saw it and was kind enough to give me a shout-out about it anyway. 😉 But I’m waiting for the big announcement next week.

Posted in Writing

WIPMarathon Check-In #6 (2)

Posted on by Amy McNulty

I only managed to fiction write three days this week (so much for aiming for 5-6 days per week), but I still made some progress.

Last Check-in Wordcount + ChapterCount (+ scene count if you’re revising): 14,947 words and 5 1/2 chapters

Current WC + CC (or SC): 19,391 words and seven chapters

WIP Issues this week: I’m still having a little trouble keeping my tenses straight, but it’s getting better. Instead of writing almost every sentence in present tense and then having to fix it, it’s like 1 in 10 in present.

What I learned this week in writing: I’m working off a synopsis and this entire section that probably needs to be 5-ish chapters is like two sentences in my synopsis because it didn’t seem that important, just part of a slow build-up. So it’s kind of been fun discovering how I’m making those two sentences come to life. More drama and tension that I anticipated, which is good.

What distracted me this week while writing: Work, so much work. I saw a couple of movies this week, too.

Last 200 words: Can’t share due to spoilers.

Posted in Writing

WIPMarathon Check-In #5 (1)

Posted on by Amy McNulty

Check-in #5? What happened to 1-4? This is my first WIPMarathon Check-In for the December-January marathon because I didn’t write or edit a single word for my fiction projects in all of December, but I thought I’d number it to keep up with the rest of the people involved. December was busy for me with work, and I needed a break after being disappointed with my NaNoWriMo WIP. And the holidays. The month flew by, though, and now I’m going to try to get back to writing. I don’t think I’ll be as productive as I was in August or November, though.

Things I’m Glad I did in 2013: I finished my second completed manuscript (after burning out on an unfinished one in late 2012 and barely starting another in early 2013, I wasn’t sure I could do it again). I burned out on my NaNoWriMo one (which is still unfinished), but I’m glad I at least I got 50,000+ words done in another manuscript.

And I have news I’ve been wanting to share for months now, but I haven’t been able to. But it’s good news, writing-wise, that happened in 2013!

In 2014, I’d Love To Be/Do: I’m definitely finishing one manuscript, but I’d love to finish one or two more. Maybe tackle the two 50,000+ unfinished ones and figure out what went wrong. Also, I hope to go on submission (well, if the agent likes it and I don’t have to trash it ;-;) with the manuscript I finished in the August WIPMarathon this year. Edits come first, of course.

Last Check-in Wordcount + ChapterCount (+ scene count if you’re revising): 9591 words, 3 chapters. As you can see at my intro page, I had a lot of goals for this marathon despite not doing anything for the first half of it; it’s probably a bit premature, as I’m still waiting on feedback, but I wanted to work on goal #2, diving back into a YA fantasy I started over a year and a half ago. It probably won’t need to be a finished draft as soon as I once thought, though.

Current WC + CC (or SC): 14,947 words and 5 1/2 chapters

WIP Issues this week: I kept writing in present tense! I KNOW this is an issue and I correct it as I notice it and keep telling myself not to, but I keep writing in present. Wow. I’d only written in past tense before NaNoWriMo, and for that one, I felt it would be fun to try present tense and I think it suited the tone of the manuscript. It took me a short time to get used to writing in present then. I didn’t anticipate when I went back to writing in past AFTER A MONTH-LONG BREAK from the present-tense manuscript I’d subconsciously want to write in present still. Bizarre.

What I learned this week in writing: I’m having fun discovering the new nature of one of the characters in my WIP. Since the last time I wrote for him (about a year ago in edits, but I first wrote him two years ago during a first draft), something major happened in the story that would naturally change his character. I just didn’t realize how much so until I started writing him again. Interesting to discover, and definitely better this way!

What distracted me this week while writing: Work, shoveling endless snow, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds.

Last 200 words: Can’t share due to spoilers.

Posted in Writing

WIPMarathon Intro

Posted on by Amy McNulty

Back in August, I participated in a “WIPMarathon” put together by some of the other writers I follow on Twitter. Unlike NaNoWriMo, the WIPMarathon allows for personal, flexible goals: If you only want to edit and not write a new WIP, that’s totally fine. Whether you want to write 100 words or 2000 words a day, that’s totally up to you! And everyone’s a winner. 😀

I used the marathon to motivate myself to work harder on a YA fantasy I’d started the month before, and I actually finished the first draft that month! I wrote over 55,000 words in under a month to do so, too.

This time the WIPMarathon is running for two months: December and January. It’s not too late to join!

Learn more about the WIPMarathon and sign up here!

Marathon Goal: Well, I’m going to be honest and say that the first week of the WIPmarathon, I don’t plan to do a thing. Maybe brainstorm a tiny bit. But I desperately need a break from my creative projects after a lackluster NaNoWriMo.

After that, I have a number of things potentially going on, so it’s going to be a bit of a mixed bag of goals:

-Do edits (like a 6th or 7th revision? I can’t remember anymore!) on a YA fantasy

-Continue work on a YA fantasy WIP (currently 9591 words, needs to be a full first draft in a few months)

-Do edits (2nd revision) on a different YA fantasy (the one I finished during the last WIPMarathon)

…Those things are all my top priorities, but they also depend on talking with other people, and that depends on their schedules, so I’m not ready to dive into them quite yet. But I will be soon, I hope! I’ll definitely be working on at least some of them before the WIPMarathon is over.

My not-as-important optional goals to keep me busy when/if the above goals can’t happen are to finish the first draft of either my NA romance from NaNoWriMo (50,250 words at the moment) and/or a YA suspense I wrote last year (53,910 words currently). Both of these sputtered to a halt because I just felt that things were off about them. I’m not even sure I know how to fix them or if I can summon the ideas to at least finish drafts and try to fix them later. I think the YA suspense might even need close to a page-one rewrite. I just don’t know.

Stage of writing: See above. Five projects I’m juggling here! Two in revisions and three in drafting.

What inspired my current project: Reading The Hunger Games a couple of years ago really inspired me to get serious about my writing again. I wrote the first draft of the first YA fantasy mentioned while on a HG high. (Not that there’s much in common, I suppose, but there are some dystopian elements.)

What might slow down my marathon goal:  Having five separate projects to work on for starters! Other than that, the holidays and keeping my motivation up. (And trying to fight the desire to give up on those two unfinished drafts.)

Best time of the day for writing: I work from home (as a writer), so my schedule is pretty flexible. I probably write best in the afternoons if I have the time.