It’s officially December, which means that NaNoWriMo22 has come to an end. I still have a lot to do for this novel, however it’s been so much fun to write, edit and develop the world of this story. I also got a lot of work done on the next books in The Vermin Series, and am preparing lots of fun content for that.
On Friday we wrapped up recording the newest season of Matchbox, which was fantastic! I can’t wait to see it fully animated in the new year. I have a lot of fun imagining what each scene will look like, and it was so much fun recording in studio with my co-star Julian this season. He’s a fantastic actor, and I can’t wait for you all to hear him as Kayla’s little brother Mason James. I’ll be sure to share the episodes when they come out.
Speaking of shows, on Thursday night I attended the premiere of Stay Tooned hosted by Eric Bauza aka the voice of Bugs Bunny. I love cartoons, and I love documentaries and film studies so this show was right up my alley. The premiere was so much fun, and nostalgic. I felt like a kid again seeing clips from the shows I grew up watching. When I got to thinking about it afterwards, a lot of these cartoons helped shape me, and inspired me to to do what I’m doing today. Stay Tooned is fun, informative and it is so clear that everyone who worked on the show put lots of love into it. It’s available to stream on CBC Gem.
I also released some new music, and have more coming very soon. My most recent releases are all songs my niece asked me to release, and the future ones are based on my favourite game, and stories I’ve written with my niece and sister. Hope you’ll check them out!
I’ve got so many novels and writing related projects to finish, and the urge to bounce back and forth between them is strong. Obviously I know that multitask writing won’t help me produce anything faster–that it’s best to stick to one project at a time–but I can’t help but want to jump into everything all at once.
Working on The Vermin Series is lots of fun. I’ve had the time to really bond with these characters, and watch them grow, learn and explore the world around them. It’s just that I’ve also got like 10 other projects that I’ve started, that I really, really want to get back into. Usually what I’ll do is work on another book or writing project while my novel is off with my editor. I find this allows me to build up the foundation of my other work, and develop my setting and characters while I’m waiting for feedback and corrections.
Still, there are days when it gets a little bit frustrating. I often think about those kid shows where the main character finds a way to clone themselves, and becomes more productive. On the other hand, those episodes always ended badly and the main character tends to realize that it’s not always best to get things done quickly, but rather get things done properly by having good time management skills.
Like a few days ago I spent the majority of my time scrolling through social media, versus reading and writing like I’d initially planned to do. While scrolling through twitter, one of my favourite authors was having a discussion thread, which ultimately lead to them explaining why it’s important to set a scheduled writing time during the day so that your family and friends are respectful of that time. Then they know that say from, 9-11 am you’re writing, and not to disturb you.
I honestly think that’s really smart. It’s important to respect peoples time, and their space…and setting that boundary early on, by creating a routine can not only help you with productivity but it also helps others take you more seriously when it comes to your work.
I’ve been writing for a long time, so my family knows that generally if they don’t hear me listening to music or watching Netflix, I’m most likely working on a manuscript or I’m reading. The same thing happens when I’m recording or auditioning, I always let them know in advance, and now it’s become a routine. They’re aware that I’m working and won’t disturb me during this time.
This practice of setting a schedule in order to create boundaries can be applied to all arts, and I personally feel that this author was correct in stating that these boundaries are often necessary for those in the arts to gain the respect of those closest to them. For as long as I can remember, my Dad would advise my siblings and I to treat certain things like a job. Set a time of day, and it becomes routine. Obviously, I will acknowledge that it isn’t always easy to create on a schedule, but people do it for NaNoWriMo every year, if you think about it?
I’ve learned by keeping track of when I write, that I tend to do a lot of work after lunchtime. Whenever I have a day off, I like to write as much as possible, regardless of the time of day. It’s on those days that the urge to work on one of my other projects grows stronger. I’m sure many people go through this. I just have so much fun creating new things, that I honestly can’t wait until I can jump into the next project. I also used to finish drafting novels within a month no problem, but as I’ve gotten older and had you know…bills and such, I’ve tried to find a good balance between all of these things. It’s not always easy, sometimes I get very busy, which I don’t mind, but it can feel like I’m juggling multiple things at once and occasionally I need to take a breather. I know everyone’s methods are different, and truthfully I’m probably not an expert at this sort of thing, but I do find that making a to-do-list helps when I’ve got a lot on my plate. I can cross things off as I go, and it kind of takes away a bit of the pressure once I’ve laid out everything that I need to complete.
I do this with my novels, and sometimes set deadlines for myself outside of my publishing deadlines. Sometimes I want to reach a certain point before I go back and edit something, or I want to spend a teeny bit of time fleshing out a character. Making a list helps me determine what needs to be done first, in order for me to move onto the next task.
Currently, I’ve been forcing myself to solely focus on Vermin, so that I can then have more time to put into my other writing projects and novels. I’m having lots of fun with it, but I have all these storylines I want to develop and explore…and I think it’s the whole development portion that is making me more eager to jump into these projects. Once I know exactly where I’m going with a project that urge seems to settle, and I feel more at ease. With The Vermin Series, I’m always like, “I gotta write this scene. Ooh! Wait what if I change this line here to this and then do this in here instead.” Which is a different sort of excitement, and I think there’s even more now that it’s being read and I’m hearing back from readers.
It’s exciting to be able to talk about my characters and to see people drawing them, and asking about certain scenes. I have to constantly remind myself that because other people are reading it, I need to zip my lip about certain characters and details, because I know that if I say the wrong thing it could spoil stuff, and I don’t want to do that.
If you follow me on social media, you already know that I reached 50k words a week early. overall I feel good about what I’ve written this month, and i cannot wait to share it.
If you haven’t already, you can grab a copy of Vermin from Amazon, or Indigo. currently the eBook is only available for kindle readers. There is also a dedicated TikTok account for the series @theverminseries, and the first chapter is available to listen to on YouTube!
I’ve been having a lot of fun with NaNoWriMo this year, despite being on the fence about whether or not I’d partake…however, I’m not really aiming to reach a specific word count but instead to complete the ending of Vermin’s sequel. I’m very far along, and have been making an effort to write everyday.
The Vermin Series (along with myself) are now on TikTok, as a large chunk of the readers are use Bookstagram, BookTwitter and BookTok, we thought it would be best to have updates about the series on all three. I’ll try to make the content as fun and engaging as possible.
I just finished writing one of my favourite scenes in book two so far. I’ll try not to give away any spoilers, but the scene follows one of Nicholas’ siblings. For those who haven’t finished or read the first book yet, I won’t say anything more. I’d hate to say something that might spoil it for you.
I’ve also been working on two other projects. One is voice over related, and I have been having an absolute blast recording! What I can tell you, is that it’s for a really cool children’s web series, and that I play two key roles. It also makes me feel like a little kid again, and reminds me of one of my favourite things to do in the summer with my family when I was small.
Well, I’d better get back to writing. Although slightly ambitious, I think I might be able to finish Vermin and start prepping another book that I was hoping to write in December. We’ll see how things go of course.
Here’s a little sneak peek at one of the chapters in book two:
Her image danced before him, bright and colourful like the inside of a kaleidoscope.
I’d been debating on participating in NaNoWriMo this year, mainly because I wasn’t sure if I’d have time, but in the end I thought it would be a good motivator for me to really dive into my work.
Vermin is coming along nicely, and I’m always thrilled when I hear someone else has read it. It’s really cool, having others read your work.
I was also casted for a new animated series, so this month will definitely fun! I’m thrilled to start recording this show, especially since I get to work with one of my favourite directors.
Now, back to NaNoWriMo, I really want to push myself and write as often as I possibly can. I’ve been both writing by hand and typing because I find that I can continuously build the world inside my head even when my laptop isn’t directly in front of me. I pre-planned a lot so that I could spend as much time writing as possible. Usually I continue to research and plan as I go, but this time I’m really trying to focus on allowing myself to write freely. Writing by hand seems to help with this a lot. There’s less distraction.
My minimum goal is to add 1000 words a day, as I know that not everyday will be ideal with work and also factoring in life events and schedule changes. I think last year I made my goal around 5000? One year I did 10,000 a day, which was surprisingly doable but I was lucky enough to have a lot of spare time. I’ve learned over the years that focusing on the word count while drafting can create a lot of unnecessary stress. It kind of takes the fun out of writing for me, because it feels like I’m drafting an essay for school versus a novel…and I would rather much enjoy my time writing. One year my draft was around 98,000 and not once did I panic about the word count. I chose not to focus on it at all, and just write. Personally, I’d rather have the right words rather than a bunch of stuff all thrown together that’ll most likely be cut down once the editing starts.
If I can, I’d like to draft more than one book this year but I’m going to be realistic, factoring in how much spare time I actually have outside of work.
I want to wish all those participating all the best! Have fun with your stories and feel free to challenge yourself here and there. Perhaps try a new POV or genre? Maybe try to incorporate a certain character trope you’ve always wanted to explore…or flip a common trope on its head! Just have fun!
Tomorrow is Rose’s birthday so I thought I’d write her a poem. It also started to snow, which made things very fitting. I think snow is pretty but I prefer all the colours of Fall. I do love all the decorations at this time of year though.
Today is the anniversary of the completion of my first draft. I can’t believe so much time has passed since I finished writing that novel. So much has happened since then!
Yesterday I finished recording an audiobook, which was incredibly fun. I learned so much from working on that project. The story and it’s character’s really mean a lot to me. It challenged me in so many ways as a voice actor, and inspired me as a fellow creative. I hope my character’s get people as excited as the ones in this book did!
As I mentioned in my last post I’m currently working on Book #2 in the series. I’ve missed writing so much. I thought it would be fitting to do a little writing on the anniversary of my first novel’s draft. The draft completion date for Book #1 is also in the same month as my character Roland’s birthday…so, happy birthday Roland!
Funny enough I also had cake today. My niece made it. It had baby Yoda/The Child on it. It was so cute! It was almost too cute to eat–it was also delicious. It was nice to have a mini social distance visit. She’s gotten so much taller since I last saw her in…what? August…September maybe? It’ll be nice when we get to have sleepovers and do tea parties again but having that short visit was nice too. Talking on the phone just isn’t the same. Hopefully things turn around during the winter and we’ll be able to spend time with our loved ones come spring.
After several rounds of edits, I was given the okay to take a break and go back to working on the sequel!
First, I have a recording to complete (which I’m very excited to share) and then I will be dedicating the month of December to rewriting book two.
I initially wanted to begin book two later on in the story but changed my mind during my last two rounds of edits for book one…and so the entire book I wrote during NANOWRIMO last year is going to be redone/revamped. I actually moved parts of it into book one instead and am spreading out the other pieces throughout the story. The rest will be scraped, which is a little sad but I don’t mind. Yes, I worked really hard on it but I know that I can make it even better.
I’m seriously looking forward to writing again next month. I might also dive back into some of my other writing projects while I’m at it. We’ll see!
I often call myself an “over-editor” but I’ve started to wonder if over-editing is actually a thing. Way back I posted a video on my editing process. I broke it down into its simplest form because I know some folks would rather get a quick run down versus spend 40 minutes watching a video when they could be working on their manuscript. Still, that video which I believe is around 4 minutes doesn’t accurately show how much time I actually spend editing.
For me editing also takes part in the planning stages of the novel. At this point you’re researching and deciding what to include in your book. That to me is the same as when you decide to cut chapters or make word substitutions later on when your manuscript is complete.
Then there’s the “okay I’m finished writing” editing…which is reading through your first draft. I do three rounds of this edit. Sometimes more. I want to make sure I didn’t miss any “stupid errors” as I call them, which is basically spelling, grammar or major plot holes. These tend to be the mistakes I made while staying up till 3 am to write after working all day.
This editing also familiarizes me with the text because I am forced to read it over multiple times. I also try to take notes while editing, however I make more notes while working with another editor or a beta-reader. Notes from other peoples feedback is extremely beneficial and I tend to keep it to enhance not only my current work in progress, but all my future projects as well. It can be difficult to realize what areas you need to work on and to top it off you also learn where your strengths are!
But is over-editing a thing? After writing and revising this manuscript as many times as I have…personally I’ve lost count. I’d say to keep things simple I’ve gone over it about 8 times in total. 3 times on my own with the initial first draft. This being the 3rd now while editing with my editor…which makes 6 and within those 3 I read over it on my 3rd edit two extra times before sending it back to my editor yesterday. So yes. 8. Math.
I suppose over-editing could be a thing but to me I’m only doing what I feel is necessary. If it feels like something is off or needs to be corrected, I find a solution for it (or in some cases scrap it and start fresh). To me that is all apart of the editing process…I think however there are probably more efficient ways of editing ones book but each of us are different and will benefit from different forms of editing. I know some folks who don’t edit their own work at all. I simply prefer to edit mine before giving it to someone else to read because I want it to feel “reader friendly”/”ready.”
As a reader I absolutely hate being thrown off by a random spelling error in a book. This has happened more than I’d like to admit. It’s like having someone pinch you while you’re in the middle of a good dream! Little things like that get to me. It doesn’t make me stop reading, but it can pull me from the experience temporarily if I have to go back and reread the same sentence to figure out what’s going on simply because a single word was spelled incorrectly.
I’ve seen this in a lot of traditionally published books I’ve read lately…more so in comics. For me with the comics it is more frustrating simply because it literally lists every person who edited the book, and I’m like “there were 5 spelling mistakes.” One I can forgive but 5? And by a larger company…yikes. Especially since those books are expensive! I love them…and they’ve brought me so much joy over the years but I can’t get over how the last 3 books I’ve purchased from them have had around 3 to 5 spelling errors each. Which then while I’m editing (which I’m almost always editing…unless I’m writing) makes me extremely paranoid about spelling errors in my own manuscript.
So…maybe to answer my own question: There’s editing, not editing at all and editing for hours on end because you’ve suffered from editorial errors as a reader and don’t want to do that to anyone else.
Honestly if I find spelling mistakes in my manuscript I get a little cranky. I’d say I’m fairly calm when it comes to my projects but if I accidentally spell “peach” as “peech” I’m not very peachy.
Anyway, if you’re doing NANOWRIMO this year, how is it going?
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!
Ardin Patterson 