Tag: Writing

NaNoWriMo 2023 – Day #12

On By cherylmahoneyIn NaNoWriMo1 Comment

More than a third of the way through NaNoWriMo already!  It’s been going very well so far – I’ve built up a nice cushion of extra words, which may be helpful in the later part of the month, which I expect to be busier.

I’ve been really enjoying the writing this time around.  The story has been flowing very well, I think in part because I have a solid outline.  I don’t get stuck wondering where to go next, because I did that planning in October.  Though just yesterday I made some revisions to my outline, realizing I needed to rearrange a few chapters and add another one in to make the timeline work.  But mostly I have a good framework to work with.

It also helps that I know all of my major characters very well – I’ve already written at least one book with each character in the lead, and most have appeared throughout the series.  That makes it easier to get into the flow of writing for each of them.

I’m tending to write about one chapter a day, which feels very satisfying, to hit a nice end point each day.  It’s also a sign that the story is moving quickly, and since sometimes I get bogged down with slow pacing, that’s encouraging too!  The first big crisis point of the story hits in Chapter Six, which meant spending the next few chapters with different characters dealing with the crisis.  Trying to avoid spoilers, but my husband likes to joke that I really like writing angst, and he is not wrong… Continue reading “NaNoWriMo 2023 – Day #12” →

NaNoWriMo 2023 – Day #2

On By cherylmahoneyIn NaNoWriMo1 Comment

Another November and National Novel Writing Month is upon us!  I’ve been planning for this year’s NaNo for the past several weeks.  I’m working on drafting the fifth and final book of my Thorns saga, The Queen of Thorns.  I’ve had some vague ideas around this book for years – back when it was supposed to be Book 3, and I had no idea there’d be two other books in the series!

Since I did end up with two other books, with their own lead characters, I’m excited to use Book 5 to bring everything back together.  I’ve put together a somewhat detailed outline over the last few weeks, and have planned chapters from the points of view of all the lead characters from the series.  So it’s still a Rose and Terrence book, but there are also story arcs and chapters focused more on Elena and Henry (Book 3’s leads), and on Penelope and Cade (Book 4’s leads).  I know from reading other series with multiple leads that sometimes the intended “main” leads aren’t my favorite, and it’s disappointing if my favorites don’t get enough screentime in the series finale.  So I hope to cover that in my own book – and besides, I really like all my main characters too! Continue reading “NaNoWriMo 2023 – Day #2” →

Writing Update (October, 2023)

On By cherylmahoneyIn WritingLeave a comment

It’s been a little while since I did a writing update – while projects were moving along, there wasn’t much new to report!  Drafts finally feel like they’re moving to a new stage though.

I made some revisions to Thorns 2, then sent that out for a second-round of beta reader feedback.  I received comments back without huge edits needed, so that’s always encouraging to see!  I made some final-ish revisions, then printed the draft out and have started reading it out loud to my husband, to find any final revisions to make.  The book should be on track to be out late 2023 or early 2024.  Depends on how the rest of life goes!

While Thorns 2 was being reviewed, I did some work on Thorns 3, making  revisions and plans for future revising, especially in the second half of the book.  I’m setting that aside for now, while I read through Thorns 2 and start making plans for NaNoWriMo – which, incredibly, is only a couple weeks away!!  I’ve done some character exercises, and now I’m working on building out more of the outline for my planned project: The Queen of Thorns, the fifth and final book in the series.  I have ideas, but I want to see if I can get more details worked out before I start on the actual writing.

So, lots of books in different stages, but it’s fun to move between the different parts of writing.  Hopefully I can make good progress reading Thorns 2, firm up my outline for Thorns 5, and be ready to launch into NaNoWriMo on November 1st!  I’ll let you know how it goes.

Writing Update (July, 2023)

On By cherylmahoneyIn Writing1 Comment

I’ve been deep in revisions this month, making edits to Thorns 2 based on beta reader feedback.  I added more conflict to hopefully make things more exciting in the earlier parts of the book, and made some tweaks and edits throughout.  I brought Chapter One into my writing group, and did a substantial rewrite of that chapter.  I think most writers will agree, Chapter One is the hardest!

I have one more scene I want to significantly rewrite, a fight with a dragon that I also brought into my writing group and received some helpful feedback on.  Once I handle that and a few smaller edits, Thorns 2 should be ready for its next round of beta reader review.  And I’ll see where we end up from there!  For the last several years at least, I always spend much more time revising than I do on the original drafting…

Once I get Thorns 2 sent off to be read again, I expect I’ll turn back to Thorns 3.  For, of course, more revising!  I want to add some scenes earlier on and do some reworking of the ending.  I’m thinking of bringing in a villain from earlier in the series who is currently absent in the third book but might be exciting to include.  So many decisions!

Writing Update (June, 2023)

On By cherylmahoneyIn Writing1 Comment

My writing has been bouncing around between different books of my Thorns series recently.  I spent some time going through Thorns 3, my NaNoWriMo project of 2022.  I did some edits and made some notes, and concluded that the biggest changes need to be near the ending, to increase the conflict a bit more.  I then moved onto Thorns 4 for a little while, went through much the same process and came to pretty much the same conclusion – there’s some character things I want to weave in earlier, but mostly I want to make some revisions to the ending.  Thorns 4 is the most separated from the main plot of any book in the series, and I want to make some revisions to make more connections and make the ending more dramatic.

Earlier this month I moved my focus back to Thorns 2, after receiving beta reader feedback.  I’ve gone through those notes now, and am working on making some edits.  The ending is actually already exciting in this one, but I need to ramp up some tension in the earlier parts of the book.

It’s one of the rules in my writing group, that you can almost always add more tension to your story…

So on the whole, things are moving along pretty well!  A lot of things in process, but all of them going forward, and that feels good to see happen.