Clockwork Lives

Big plates

/ Alex Whitehall / 1 Comment

With one submission out the door and a huge life decision made (for better or worse), I decided I really need to get off my arse with the writing/submitting thing (especially since said decision was related to that).

I know, I know, you’ve heard it before.

This time I mean business. I tapped together a monthly planner (because buying one at Target was expensive considering my needs…yes, I’m that cheap) and jotted in some deadlines and some submission deadlines and, well that’s it. Oh, and I wrote down holidays. Hey, it’s a start!

With MotF out the door, I was trying to focus on PN, but that ol’ Valentine’s day story nudged me and pointed out it was missing some scenes, so I’ve been working on them. Not sure why, but why not, right? So after the V-day story I’ll finish PN (though the ending keeps getting farther away), resume writing CLRewrite and make edits to BiB.

Not all this month. But I would like to get a chunk/all of this done by end of summer.

I’m not even thinking about betas yet.

Into the depths

/ Alex Whitehall / 4 Comments

My writing/editing/general work ethic has been floppy lately. I work full time and part time, so I guess there’s an excuse, but excuses are just that, so bleh.

I’m rewriting CL, although after the first chapter and a half I got derailed by two boys playing piano. Two boys flirting over piano is much easier to write than a man who is heart broken, devastated, and has nothing to live for.

I got the edits done for MotF and submitted it. No idea if it’s good enough. As my bosses have proven to me, I have no sense of my self-worth. 😀 Well, it’s been submitted, so I can’t do much else about that.

I have a few other stories that keep floating on the edge of my vision, one of which needs some major edits so it doesn’t feel cheesy (or any more cheesy than I naturally am), one that is stalled and has great potential but no movement, and I really want to make a submission to the BDSM holiday open call, but the guys are being suspiciously quiet.

That’s it for now. One day I’ll post more than once a month 😀


Not as Planned

/ Alex Whitehall / 2 Comments

Unsurprisingly, life doesn’t go as planned. Writing sometimes even less so.

My plan to work on CL, really dig into my beta’s edits, and get the show on the road during the month of February was a complete and dismal failure.

First came the Valentine’s story (which is waiting for a friend to read and may be waiting forever for that to actually happen), then I read through my beta’s notes, jotted down some ideas, thought about what she said…

…and then I was stuck. She was really encouraging about wanting to see the story published, but after reading through some of her comments about things she thinks needs fixed, I don’t even know where to begin. Some of them are major changes that will require pretty much re-writing the entire thing (or at least I feel like it will).

This leaves me with three choices: Make the changes she recommends without doing complete re-writes and then find a beta to read the new version; get a second beta to read the current version get his/her input; or re-write the whole damn thing.

I know writers are their own harshest critics, but part of me doesn’t even know the story I was telling in CL anymore. I wanted it to be a steampunk tale of how a man falls in love with his servant and his servant falls in love with him. But along the way it got complicated…distracted. It became something else. And while I don’t necessarily hate the story it became, I’m not sure if it’s the story as I meant to tell it.

Where does the leave the author? Kinda depressed, honestly, although not enough to want to give up on the whole endeavor. CL isn’t dead, it’s just not talking to me at the moment, and I’m not sure leaving messages and texting it every week is going to help. So I may give it to another beta, see what that person says and then decide if I’m hobbling it together or starting from scratch. Both are kind of terrifying.

Meanwhile, I have a short story that everyone who read said it felt like the beginning of a story, so I’m re-evaluating it. Taking notes, trying to get a sense of the characters, and wondering how it would be constructed, because I don’t think it feels like an A to B to C plotted story.

(PS, the image is just an amusing thing. Thanks for putting up with the whining!)

A bit off course

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Okay, so as February started, everyone on my Twitter list started talking about Valentine’s stories and suddenly I had these two characters who stumbled upon each other. 11,000 words later, their story is either done or just beginning and I’m not sure enough to say. Their romance has a very long way to go and it’s not really a Valentine story, so I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it, yet.

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But of course writing that means I didn’t do much on CL yet. Oops. I did go through my beta’s notes and while she has lovely things to say, she also has some pretty major issues with it. So the plan is tomorrow (since I’m ‘finished’ with the V-day story) to start pulling apart her issues and seeing what can be fixed and what can’t (or shouldn’t change) and how I need to rework it.
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That’s it for now!

Boooyah!

/ Alex Whitehall / Leave a comment

I finished Nano2011! Okay, still need a title and tons of editing, but it’s “done.” This monthly goal thing might be a good idea after all. Now to save it to 6 billion places and tomorrow start looking at CL.

Again.

Wake Me Up Next Week

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It’s November 30, which means it’s the last day of Nanowrimo. So how did I do?

I won!
Which really just means I’ve reached 50,000 words. The story isn’t yet finished (although I’m not sure there will be too much more added to the end), so of course a writer friend commented, “Congrats! Now finish the book!”
Isn’t that just how it goes?
But for tonight I’m going to ride on the high of finishing 50,000 words in one month. It’s really not that hard if I cut out all the stuff I don’t really need to be doing. And if you’ll hear my confession: I procrastinated A LOT this year. Imagine if I didn’t get distracted by Angry Birds, stare blankly at Twitter for updates, and check my mail, Google Reader, Facebook, tumblr, and GoodReads every other click? I imagine I’d be just as productive, because I’d eventually get distracted by something else. (Like writing long, rambling blog entries.)
So in the month to come I hope to wrap up SWTV, write a Christmas story, and dive back into CL.
Final thought: Writers must be masochists.

It’s that time of the year again

/ Alex Whitehall / 2 Comments

No, not Halloween.

Nope, not Thanksgiving either.
I’m talking about Nanowrimo, that time of the year where I become (more) antisocial, think about nothing outside of my characters and plotline, and worry myself sick over a few hundred more words.
Gotta love it!
This year’s story is tentatively called “Speak With Their Voices” (from the Poets of the Fall song “Roses”). I look forward to giving you updates on how that story progresses, and if anything shall come of it.
CL is currently with another beta who will give me feedback and, depending on what she says, I will go to a publisher or to the recycling plant (or the garbage heap!). I’m trying not to think about what she’ll say, because that just makes me worry and freak out, which does me no good!
Okay, so consider me on quiet mode for the next month, unless something exciting happens. You can find more current updates on my tumblr, which is for quick and dirty ones: http://www.tumblr.com/blog/alexwhitehall

Cup o’ Ramble

/ Alex Whitehall / 4 Comments

For those of you who don’t know, I have a tumblr where I do more often updates on how my writing/editing is progressing, so I don’t clutter my blog with “I edited 2 pages this week. I suck.” And in case you care, I’m on page 127/191. I wrote 2,600 words today. Most of which might be crap, but we’ll see.

I saw a movie tonight called 29 & Gay (punning on road intersections), talking about a gay man who is 29 and unhappy with his life. Only a year behind him, it certainly hit close to home. Sure, I’m happier with my life overall than he was, but romantically, I could totally understand. So it was an interesting insight into the coupling scene. Not that I’m recommending the movie, it was overall mediocre. I’m not actually sure why I’m sharing this, only that after seeing that movie, I wrote 2,600 words. So maybe it was a good thing.
Also, you may have noticed my blog address changed from something vague and mysterious to my name. I have no idea what that does to you if you were following me. Sorry!

ETA: I just realized I forgot to mention that I sold a short story! I’m doing edits on it this week then sending it back to the publisher!

Time for an update

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Because of the nasty weather we had on the East Coast, my weekend was pretty free, and aside from 4 hours of sleep Friday night, followed by barn work, riding and lots of naps, I was rather productive. Not really on Saturday, because I slept, ate, and watched Avatar, and that was about it. But this morning I finished re-reading a book I’m reviewing, I wrote the review, and then I got to editing CL (on page 73 of 177, if you’re wondering). Sure, I still have loads of editing to do, but every little step helps.

I’m still not sure how I feel about the story overall, but I think working on it so long has left me rather jaded about it. I look forward to sending it off to someone who will give me an honest response about it. But that’s in the future.
I have two other stories that are finished that will also be sent out. One just needs a query written and me to feel like its worth being sent, the other needs a good strong round of edits before the rest happens. And of course, come the end of November I’ll hopefully have 50,000 words of a new novel that is brewing in my mind. Plus I have a short story I’ve started that needs to be finished by April for a submission call.
But for now, it’s time for a walk.

Not quitting (update)

/ Alex Whitehall / 1 Comment

I’ve made a decision.

Actually, I made the decision several days ago, but I was distracted. By something.

I’m not giving up on Clockwork Lives! While I have no idea if I’m going to make it to the deadline, I’m going to give it my best. And what exactly will I be doing? (Probably checking twitter obsessively instead of working…)

I’m going to give CL what it needs. First I’m going to go through it page by page and tear out the bits with questionable writing and fix them up while I’m working in the revisions.

Actually, that’s most of it. 160 pages of hardcore fixing. I’m on page 2, if anyone wants to keep count. And, to give myself an idea of how much is changing, I’m putting in all the new text in blue. Well, at least it should make me feel productive.

Once that’s all done I’ll do more basic edits on it and maybe find a new beta to read the new version (my old beta is going to be 3x too busy). Hopefully the new beta won’t send me back to the revision table again.

Then it goes to publisher.

(Waits for laughter to die down.)

Okay, fine, it probably needs more editing after all the revisions I’m making, but that’s fine as long as I’m not told “I didn’t get it.”

Thanks for everyone’s comments! (And for my beta-brother who gave the best comments of all in my novel :)*

* I have a really awesome understanding brother who is straight and doesn’t mind reading a bit of man on man. How cool is he?