...what are you working on?
Do you have a major WIP at the moment, or are you working on some shorter pieces? Writing/editing? Plotting/researching? Genre/style? Near the end/just getting started? Let's talk about what's keeping us busy and away from the TV.
Koala Challenge victims, sorry, participants, I will be viewing your WIPs with particular interest...
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My current Work in Progress is one last try to rewrite the first installment of my epic fantasy. It's taken up more than half my life (which involves more years than some published authors have been alive). If I can't make it work now, I'm not a storyteller.
So I'm going to have fun with it. If I'm going to quit, I'll do it smiling.
I've written my novel (and thanks again for the timing on your 'whipping post' post- it helped me soldier on and get to the finish line).
I now have a list of edits I'm working through, scenes that need strengthening - and some that may need cutting. That's where I am, doing a thorough 'tire-kicking'. I know you already know this, girl,but it's hugely time-consuming.
I am writing a YA novel called Guardian about a teen girl who is gifted with being able to see past events which she help her to discover the secrets of her mothers past which have plunged her into a severe depression. It's a comedy obviously.
To keep me writing while I'm in a slump I've started a children's short story with an environmental message. It's the story of a Douglas Fir who, from his position on a rocky outcrop of a mountain witnesses the forest across the valley disappear at the hands of The Noise. One day The Man comes to his mountain. Douglas and Scott (a large Scots Pine) know that The Noise will follow but when The Man tries to pull the little white flower that grows beneath him, Douglas demands that explain himself.
And you Mrs McKoala, have you abandoned the lady in the wall?
I'm still shopping my last novel, but have started on a creative non fiction project though finding time to write has been tough.
I have had a horrendous cold so I retired to bed this weekend but not before first telling everyone to keep an eye out for Koalas in the neighbourhood, especially any with very sharp claws.
I've written 400 words today but on something new rather than my self-assigned WIP so I don't think they count.
I'm working on a novel that I started years ago but now feel actually competent enough to contemplate finishing. It's called the F'ing Fairies (frolicking! OK, yes, I need to come up with a real name at some point) and bits and pieces of it have landed on EE's site.
I have never managed to reduce it down to an elevator pitch but I guess one of these days I'm going to have to.
More work avoidance!
A Wordle of the first three chapters of my WIP - kinda neat to see:
http://www.wordle.net/gallery/wrdl/523213/Lhiannan
Does that count as words of the day? Can I see yours even if it doesn't?
Yes, Koala, where's the lady in the wall?
:-)
I'm editing. I think the book I have is very close, but one of the secondary characters was too strong and needed to be cut (Chipping Camden had to go back to London). So now I have a strong villian, and this is helping to add tension to my story. I just passed the halfway point with edits.
Peter is... working. But apart from Day Job and admiring JaneyV's children's story idea above, I am still (very slowly) seeking representation for Andie's Gold (nee Gold Miner's Daughter) while beginning a new novel that is about 5,000 words in. Slow progress, very slow.
As one severly afflicted with delusions of novelhood, I have 3 ideas struggling to see the light of day.
(1) The Coming Storm. Epitomized by two brothers, it will explore the end of one age and the beginning of another. The Coming Storm being the clash between an old belief system and a new one. Of scientific method and religion. I think. Hence, why its a WIP. I haven't worked on this one much. Perhaps it will make an appearance soon as an edit/rewrite post.
(2) A fictionalized memoir of a woman who tries desperately to break the mold she's been set into and never quite succeeds. Or does she?
(3) Salvation's Curse. A social science fiction piece that was my NaNo project.
As you can see I haven't decided which way my literary wind blows in terms of genre.
Several fiction pieces I've posted lately are parts of these WIP's.
Trying to write a novel is a challenge I face bravely each day hoping to overcome. I sincerely hope that it is a true dragon I'm facing and not some silly windmill.
Move over Don Quixote. There's a new knight in town!
My WIP is about a reality show run by vampires. It will be novel-sized and very, very nasty.
well I just finished the major revision/rewrite of my ms which was on submission and then was pulled off and am almost ready to go back out on submission. So we shall see.
This is great, keep 'em coming!
Bevie, that's the dedication that shows you are a story teller.
Ah, Robin, the joys of editing. I'm glad my challenge is able to help you. You're one of the few who have remained on the 'approved' level all along (so far...). The Koala is most pleased.
Pefect elevator pitch, Janey! And, um, yes, sounds hilarious... Loving the nationality of your hero and his friend in your tree story. Good idea to keep writing, even in a slump. That's why The Koala is there for you, my sweets. It's all about the loving *quickly sheathes claws*.
Travis, 'creative non-fiction', intriguing... Good luck with the novel shopping.
Sylvia, anything creative counts. We all need breaks from our WIPs, but The Koala does not approve of stopping writing altogether. Crunch out a short story, by all means. I kind of like 'F'ing Fairies' as a title. The Koala would probably pick that off the shelf.
Chris, sounds good - a strong villain leads to a strong story, imho.
Peter, good luck with The Goldminer's Daughter. I remember really enjoying an extract you once posted on that. Wasn't it the first voice challenge?
JC, you're also one of the select members of The Koala's 'Constant Approval' group and with three WIPs, I can see why! Always something to write...
JJdeGoblin, another excellent elevator pitch. 'A reality show run by vampires'. I believe that's 'high concept', aka cool in a nutshell. That's a sold book already. Finish it asap and make your fortune.
Ello, did not know about the submission rewrite, groan, hope it's resulted in grand perfection and this submission round is
The One.
But now let's talk about Me for a while.
So far I've used the challenge to write a couple of short stories, both of which are taking a break in the bottom drawer, pending editing.
Now I'm going to attempt to release the famous Woman in the Wall. Yes, she's still in there, poor thing. So far I'm making great progress with an edit/rewrite of the existing 28,000 words, then it's merely a matter of knocking out another 40,000 or so. Easy. Right? Hah!
However, I'm so loving what I have so far. The tone, the mystery - it's eerie even for me and I wrote the darn thing. So I'm a happy Koala.
I was wondering about the Woman
in the Wall. Happy to hear she's come back off the shelf and is tooling along!
That sounds great, McK. Woman in the Wall sounds really intriguing!
Currently -
1. MG WIP that the editor is interested in.
2. Beginning of the second book in that series which I don't have a storyline for yet
3. YA that came to me in a dream and will be the next major one I concentrate on finishing (I think)
4. Short for a magazine that turned down my recent submission but welcomed another try
But mostly #1.
Starting/planning a novel and mired in work.
McKoala, I'm in the last 8K of a 48K novella. Then it's another 52K novella, and then I've got a "real" novel.
I wish every day that I could write faster! So many stories to tell!
Sarah's another multiple producer!
Sometimes BT, I think you and PJD are twins, separated at birth.
Spyscribbler, define 'real'!
Maybe HE was separated at birth, but I am pretty sure I wasn't.
Unfortunately, my current WIP is titled "temporal expectation in language processing." It used to be titled "Say When: Temporal Expectation in Language Processing," but one of my committee members told me to cut the cutsie name. Maybe one day I'll get back to something more interesting with a title like, "Zombies on Baker Street: A Novel."
I've been writing tons of short stories but I just picked up my WIP again. It's a futuristic religious war set in Boulder.
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