Weekly Writing Progress
Beet Down (Revisions): 4 scenes
Every once in awhile, I think it’s a good idea to revisit the reasons why I’m doing what I’m doing, or in this case, writing what I’m writing. In mapping out my writing/revising/publication schedule for the rest of the year, I started really thinking about the drafts I have waiting to be revised, and whether they are worth actually revising or not. Mostly because I still don’t like revisions, and I was looking for a way to move back to drafting new stories instead of reworking the already-written ones.
So, as one does when one’s procrastinating/pondering, I made some lists. Specifically, lists of what genres I’ve written in, and why I want to write in those genres. I asked myself what it was about those genres that drew me to write in them (as opposed to just liking to read them) and what my intentions for writing in them were/are.
I’ll admit that when I started this little exercise, I expected that in romance, I would decide that the cons outweighed the pros, and that I’d probably be better off not writing it. I’m really not an outwardly romantic person, and I feel like that’s somewhat of a liability for a romance writer.
But, I surprised myself. I listed out all the things I love about romance and interpersonal relationships, and also what I wanted my romance stories to embody, and I basically convinced myself that I still have plenty to contribute to the genre. The types of stories I want to tell won’t appeal to everyone, or maybe not even a majority of women, but I do think there’s an audience for them, and I’m still interested in telling romantic stories with certain features.
So that was enlightening and empowering, and also made me realize that the drafts I have ready for revision are probably worth the work after all.
I also decided that it may well be worth the time to revisit some of my older books and update/revise them as well. Joanna Penn has been talking about (and doing) the same thing recently, and I’ve been very interested in her experience with that. Definitely something on my radar for a few specific short stories (and one longer one).
In any case, I did not procrastinate the whole week, by any means. I got my new desk set up, which you can go read about on my main blog (The Variety Pages) next Tuesday if you’re so inclined, and that has spurred a flurry of creativity translating into actual progress. Hooray! I finished revising four more scenes, so the first two chapters are done, with three more to go.
Even better, I like how it’s coming along, and I have a much clearer picture of what I’m doing with the story arc thanks to the plot grid I filled out in Dabble, which makes it easier to stay focused and know what to change.
So that’s all going much better, and I can see a good path forward, which is very motivating in and of itself.
My goals for next week are to finish the BD revisions and send that off for editing, and also to start writing the next short story I want to publish this year. I have the main premise, and I think I’ll just go ahead and start writing, and then plot it when I feel like I have enough info to do so.
I also want to get my print covers updated on the books I updated the digital covers for, and get those titles set up on Ingram Spark. Currently they’re only available in print from Amazon and Barnes & Noble, so it’s time to get them put somewhere bookstores won’t mind ordering from. And if I do that before April 30th, there’s a code I can use to publish five books without the one-time setup fee. It’s a really good deal, and there’s no reason I shouldn’t take advantage of it.
So, busy busy, as usual. But it’s a good kind of busy.
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