My Write-a-thon Blog daily progress report

Write-a-thon is over

Sat, 9 Aug 2008 10:20:49 -0700

... and I’m still waiting for the final tally of people who’ve donated. I got one official notice early in the write-a-thon, but I had a few people contact me about sending checks in and don’t have confirmation on those yet. Everyone who donated on my behalf will receive a thank you gift by September for helping support Clarion West.

Thanks again everyone for your support.

... where all this leads up to ...

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 12:06:09 -0700

... is a good question, and I’m not sure how to answer it. I haven’t blogged in awhile because of iWeb issues, and then I’ve just gotten out of the daily practice of blogging altogether. And I’m supposed to be blogging for the write-a-thon, right?

I’ve slipped on my writing goals. At the very least I have raised some money and also sponsored my classmates, and I feel better about having done that than I do about the lack of progress I’ve made on revising my novel.

So now that I’m back home, finally getting unpacked and end the days of living out of a suitcase for awhile, I’m going to revise my goals. I’ve gotten some feedback on the novel, and I’ve decided to stop revising for the meantime and just let all of that good stuff simmer in the background.

But what those new goals are I couldn’t tell you because I don’t know. I’ve arrived at a new place in my writing, and I haven’t quite made out the settings just yet. Everything’s kinda fuzzy like I’m looking at a Seurat painting and trying to make out the faces.

trouble with iWeb

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:05:13 -0700

If for some reason, you are reading this blog entry then it must be by some freak accident. I’m having iWeb issues and not sure when they’ll be resolved.

one week ends, another begins

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 11:29:49 -0700

Here’s a quick update on my progress for the write-a-thon:

-In section three I’ve revised chapters one and two.
-One of my characters is doing something really unexpected and interesting, and I’m just going with it for now.
-The setting is much fuller and the action feels real now.

For the next week I’ll be working on chapter three and four, and the following weeks I’ll be revising one chapter and adding an entirely new one to the mix. I think my character doing unexpected things will gladly flesh out those missing holes, but only time will tell.

Back to revising!

plan for the next six weeks

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 06:15:19 -0700

It might seem like an impossible goal, but I’m going to revise the entire third section of my novel for the next six weeks. Keep in mind that the word count for my third section is just under 10k.

OK, so now that probably doesn’t seem like a big deal at all, but each chapter needs a fleshed out setting, more character development, more conflict.

And I’m hoping to add three new chapters while I’m revising.

This week’s goals are to revise chapters one and two, and I’ve already made good progress on both of those with adding more setting elements. I’ve got an idea to add more conflict and tension in both those chapters that will increase character development.

It’s like making a soup filled with words. Delicious.

And for those who’d rather send a check than use Paypal to support me, here’s the direct address for Clarion West below. Make checks payable to Clarion West, and make sure you let them know you’re sponsoring me so I get credit. Thanks!

Clarion West
340 Fifteenth Avenue East
Suite 350
Seattle, WA 98112

Write-a-thon Begins

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 07:00:49 -0700

Thank you all in advance for your support. I’m revising a novel I worked on during Ellen Sussman’s Novel in a Year class as well as during my time at Taos Toolbox. I’ll be updating my progress here on this blog for the next six weeks.

In case you missed it, my Clarion West Write-a-thon page is here or below:
http://clarionwest.org/events/writeathon/JocelynPaigeKelly

The novel I’m working on is divided into three sections. Here is the breakdown:

Section One: lacks a cohesive middle and needs setting development.
Section Two: the most developed of the three sections, it needs character and setting development.
Section Three: lacks a cohesive middle, needs character and setting development, and is by far the weakest section of the book right now. This is where I plan to place most of my focus during the Write-a-thon.

I’m starting slow this week since I’m currently vacationing in Santa Fe and spending a few more days in New Mexico. I get back home on Tuesday and will be more proactive for the rest of the week. Today and for the next three days I’ll be going over my most recent feedback and making notes.