Updates

Acting as a sort of kick-starter for summer now that my exams are finally over, I thought I'd use this opportunity to hopefully try and get back into the swing of writing. In my last update I explained a plot line for a new novel and so far I have completed the exhaustive plan for the project (the most in-depth plan I have ever written!) in addition to about 800 words of the ending. I've tried writing it in first-person present tense in order to follow in the style of David Mitchell and so far I've liked adapting to the new technique.

My second novel however has also seen some changes. I printed out the entire thing on the university printers (which cost me an arm and a leg) and I have analysed and annotated the prologue and first two chapters. I have rewritten the prologue and chapter 1 and I can honestly say that it looks A LOT better. It's still a little squiffy in places I'll admit and I suppose it does cross my mind every now and then that nothing will ever seem to have improved when I revisit the redraft. But I did spot a Facebook update from someone using a Creative Writing group that I follow, which basically went along the lines of having a specific purpose for every redraft that you do and to know when nothing will ever get better; when "redrafting" becomes merely "tinkering" in other words. So this inspired me to actually attach a meaning to why I am doing what I am doing; what am I looking for in this redraft? Well, the main two goals of this redraft is to get rid of BAD writing, not writing that's necessarily wrong or a grammatical dog's dinner, but writing that's just way too flat and lifeless: There's cringeworthy dialogue in some areas, unsexy sex scenes in others and just awfully written descriptions elsewhere. So far, from what I've read and altered in the first couple of chapters, I think most of the bad description tends to come right at the beginning of the chapters or towards the very end, while around the middle, the dialogue and description seem to flow and weave into one another rather well. Of course it isn't for me to decide, which is why I'll get someone else proofreading for me once I've waded my way through it a couple of times. The second main reason for the redraft is to highlight and consider the major plot points, to make sure that everything links together or that little pieces of dialogue designed to be prescient in some way in fact are.

This leaves me with a bit of a predicament because I've essentially got two projects on the go at once and one of the things about my second novel that was beneficial to me- why I made it through draft 1 so quick, was the fact that I could focus on that and nothing else. I'll be going back home later today and so over the coming weeks (I start my placement in mid-July- more updates on that to come!) I can continue to rise early and write, possibly do alternating days so that I can get most of the third novel written before then (fingers crossed!) while simultaneously keep a firm eye on my second project.

As far as this blog is concerned I will continue to update on things I deem important in the news etc. and I will most likely be documenting my internship on a week-by-week basis. Largely it will follow -I suspect- a professional development tone, less direct than the Carat writing style and one that's much more formal etc., though I don't know the parameters yet regarding the pro dev component of the industry year, so who knows? In any case thanks for reading this update and I will hopefully continue writing in the future and ideally, I'll be uploading shorter works at some stage in the near future.