I love writing while it’s raining. I’ve been doing short scene exercises lately, featuring the characters in Vermin. I won’t post them here because I’d like to avoid accidentally giving any spoilers, but I’m having a lot of fun with these.
I’ve been doing these exercises by hand, and recently bought the most beautiful pen! It’s light blue and has got flakes inside that you can shake. It’s super soothing and on top of it looking nice it also writes wonderfully. The ink is really nice.
For a time I had an obsession with these Muji pens because the ink was extremely nice and smooth. I haven’t been able to go t the store that sells those pens since 2019 and thankfully I’ve found an excellent (and stylish) replacement.
I should note that I also received a discount on this pen because I am an Indigo Employee, but I absolutely love it and wanted to share it because you’ll probably see it featured in a bunch of my bookstagram posts. Sometimes I just like watching the glitter and flowers move back and forth. It’s such a simple little thing but it makes me happy.
I actually purchased a similar pen in pink for my sister’s birthday, and it is also very pretty.
I’ve been attempting to edit for at least an hour every day. It isn’t always possible but I do believe that trying to create a habit is a good start for now. I used to write almost every day…not because I was forcing myself to but more so because I had a lot more time. Taking the time to edit properly means that I have more time to write later on. It motivates me…and encourages me.
Plus the chapter I just went over was hilarious. Sometimes I forget I write things like that. I should do that more often. I couldn’t stop laughing!
I feel like I made a lot of progress during my last few edits. Today’s goal is to actually go back to my earlier chapters and edit some dialogue. I have a habit of using certain things when my character’s speak but at times I do too much of it in one scene as my editor pointed out. So to make her job easier when she goes back to look through the dialogue, I’m going t try and eliminate some of this where I can. I want to leave a reasonable amount in there, mainly because it is something that I feel works well…but I definitely see her point. When something like that is used too often it ends up losing its effect.
Something that I’ve learned throughout this editing process, is to write down crutch words or words you tend to overuse in your manuscript, along with things that you to a lot stylistically. This will help you when you write future works, as well as while editing your current WIP.
I’ve found that since I’ve started keeping track of these things I have been more aware of them in my newer projects. Being conscious of it gives me an opportunity to make my writing stronger in the first draft, which is ideal because it means that I won’t have as much to correct later on when I edit!
I officially have one chapter left to edit…it’s making me a little sad actually. I don’t know what I’m going to do after this, besides reading and work and watching superheroes beat up bad guys. Seriously though, every time I finish a piece of writing and I mean finish, finish…I just don’t know what to do with myself. I feel displaced.
I’m glad this book is apart of a series because at least I’ll have something to look forward to in the near future…but I also don’t like goodbyes. I’ve spent seven years working on this book. Writing, editing, playing around with voice and character’s and world building and…now it’s like, “Wow…this is the end.”
I’m going to be doing a full read through of the novel before I send it off to my publisher again but after that it’s just…like…wow.
I think it will also be strange because it’s becoming more and more clear to me that other people are going to know who these character’s are. I’ve kept them to myself for so long. Ah…
Well, back to work. I promised I’d take a break at 1:30 and I still have a ways to go before then.
I’ve been working on a lot of other projects, so my editing had to take a backseat for almost all of August while I adjusted to my new schedule.
However, during my break period I’ve been playing around with a particular scene in my head, trying to see what I could do with it to really raise the stakes.
This may sound a bit silly to a handful of you reading this but my burst of inspiration came while watching cartoons. I kept thinking to myself while watching Miraculous Ladybug and Young Justice (I’m a sucker for superheros), how excellent the writing of the shows were. Especially in the case with Miraculous.
I’m on the edge of my seat (as an adult viewer), wondering what’s going to happen next. Im scared for them. Will they lose their miraculous this time? Will Hawkmoth finally win? Will they find out each others secret identities?
This is what I want to create for my readers someday. I want them to think “I need to know what happens next!” That anticipation and excitement is what makes stories so fun.
So, in regards to this particular scene it finally hit me that, in order to make sure that I actually accomplish this, I need to instill that same emotion in both myself and my characters.
Honestly, I don’t know what it is about this one scene that has made it so difficult these past few months, but I’m ready to tackle it.
Of course, I’m also being mindful of my other obligations (recordings, auditions, part-time job etc). Sometimes I wonder if I should get a t-shirt that lists what it is I do. I have a hard time explaining it to people.
I know I also promised to record this last edit, and I will…but I have misplaced my tripod at the moment so fingers crossed I can find it.
This is the final song on my character D’s playlist. I honestly love this song so much, I taught myself how to play it on guitar. It also ends up on my Instagram stories…often. It’s just pretty. I think I instantly fall for songs that remind me of my character’s or certain scenes. This song makes me think about D and R’s relationship both past and present.
Maybe I’ll post a cover of this on my YouTube channel later this month. When I have time to record it haha. I’ve got about 4 things to record tomorrow morning before I go to work. Still adjusting to this new schedule but I am glad to be working again after such a long time.
I’m also aware that I haven’t done an official AuthorTube video yet. I tried recording it twice now haha. I just didn’t like how it turned out, so I’m going to try again sometime in the near future as well. I think I’ll feel better about it once I finish this round of edits and pass them on to my editor.
Ardin Patterson 