After realising the best words I'd ever written had disappeared into the ether (and therefore I can pretend they were the best words ever), I got down to re-writing them pretty quickly in case I lost the thread of what I'd been trying to say.
Some of you suggested waiting a few days, but I was far too worried to do that. By Wednesday evening, just before Castle started at 9pm, I reached the stage I thought I'd got to on Monday evening. And from there, I was able to proceed to the challenging end-of-the-novella. It's not the best ending in the world, but I'll be having another read through next week, and hopefully some new problems will rear their head.
Am I alone in thinking that if I can't find a problem to solve, the whole thing must be atrociously bad?
I'm pretty pleased with myself because since starting to rewrite this novella at the beginning of February, I have added 9000 words, hopefully made the main character a little more sympathetic and made the 'nasty husband' slightly less nasty so the end of the story makes sense.
My aims for the next round are:
- turn the colours blue and green and red into more descriptive colours using this site
- make sure the weather accurately portrays the time of year
- possibly cut a few words, depending on whether I want to enter it into a competition or submit it
So, that's it. My goal for March was to get this novella finished, and I'm very securely within that. I deserve chocolate!
Did you have goals for March?
How are you doing with them?
Glad you jumped in and rewrote them.
ReplyDeleteMe too :-)
DeleteStrike while the iron is hot!! Glad you jumped back in and got them done.
ReplyDeleteI'm still getting panicky shivers, though :-/
DeleteSometimes taking time off makes sense, other times it's better to write things down while the moment is still right. I'm glad that you were able to get what you needed rewritten. Also, totally love that color site now!
ReplyDeleteThanks Cailtin. Yes, it's a fantastic site, isn't it?
DeleteGood for you for getting it done: couldn't have been easy!
ReplyDeleteNo, not easy at all - I kept thinking that the previous stuff was better.
DeleteDefinitely a chocolate reward is called for! Well done, glad you managed to work on through.
ReplyDeleteForgot to say I just visited the colour site. Great resource, so inspiring. Have bookmarked. Thanks :)
DeleteI actually haven't had any chocolate yet. It became a bit of a whirl of finishing and submitting. I'd planned to take the whole month, and came in 10 days early!
DeleteGlad you liked the colour site. I found it on another blog, and it was too good not to share.
You should definitely reward yourself with chocolate for your accomplishment! Woot! Woot! Woot!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the color site. I'm always needing more inspiring color names.
Chocolate is on the menu tomorrow - I'll be celebrating with my sister. Glad you liked the colour chart :-)
DeleteI know this shook you up, but you didn't quit - good job going forward. I am glad you are pleased and these are your new best words ever. Good luck with the rest of March goals. My goal was to get good airfare to see my Dad, and yes, I'm headed to PA Easter weekend. As for writing - I'm ready for A to Z April. Whew. Carry on!
ReplyDeleteMy new best words... I like that :-) Have a lovely Easter, Joanne.
DeleteHi Annalisa - I see I didn't comment - I've been by twice ... that colour website is so useful. Losing work is a pain .. but well done on getting back up and continuing on as if nothing had happened - then it was all done once again ... it's funny how much we remember.
ReplyDeleteI'll be A-Zing as you can imagine .. good luck, enjoy that chocolate and have a wonderful Easter .. cheers Hilary
I'm still finding odd omissions things that I thought had survived. But it was easier getting the gist back than I thought it would be.
DeleteIsn't it wonderful when things turn around? I know you had a rotten week with the loss of all those words. I'll have to go see those colors.
ReplyDeleteIt was nice to pour my heart out and have such great support come back from people who really understood. It made me feel not alone :-)
DeleteI'm so glad you managed to turn things around and see the positive :) - huge congrats to you for all that extra work you put in, and for it paying off! I'd say a chocolate treat is definitely called for :)!
ReplyDeleteThanks Rachel. Yep, chocolate is planned for tomorrow - it needs to be a special celebration in my favourite chocolate shop :-)
Delete"Making sure the weather is accurate" - there are so many things like that that crop up over the course of rewrites. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI'd moved my timeline slightly so events happened in the complete opposite season. I had people shivering in July and wearing t-shirts in January brrr!
DeleteMy goal for March?? Eat more ice cream. :)
ReplyDeleteThat'll be my goal for June - March is still a little early for me :-)
DeleteI'm sure you'll describe the weather perfectly!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the rest of your week.