IWSG and What's Up Wednesday

The Insecure Writer's Support Group was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh as a place where writers can talk about their insecurities once a month, and receive encouragement and support from other writers. It's such an amazing group, it even has its own website now, which you can visit here.


I'm feeling pretty confident with my writing this month. For the first time since I wrote it for NaNoWriMo in November, I feel like I'm getting somewhere with my novel. I've just started re-writes on it, and they're going really well. I love that I'm writing every day again; I really have missed it. It's so hard to get back into the habit when you haven't been doing it for so long. 

I still have insecurities, of course. I'm re-writing the whole novel, so I have the occasional "Is this any better than the original?" thought, but I try not to let it bother me. I'm treating the re-write as though it is a second first draft, just because the story has changed so much since I wrote it in November. So I'll re-write it, just to get those new ideas down on paper, and then I'll go back and revise and edit. 


What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Erin L Funk and Jaime Morrow, and the idea is to let other bloggers know where you are with any writing and reading goals you may have.



1. What I'm reading

I'm currently reading A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin and A Witch Alone by Ruth Warburton. The latter I'm only really reading because I read the first two in the series and I want to know how it ends; I didn't really enjoy the second book but I'm hoping this one will be better. I'm absolutely loving A Clash of Kings; I can't believe it's taken me so long to get back into reading the A Song of Ice and Fire series. 

2. What I'm writing

Still working on re-writes for last year's NaNo novel. I'm doing a scene a day, and I'm up to chapter four. They're going OK so far; I know a lot of work needs doing on them, but I'll concentrate on proper edits once I've finished the re-write.

3. What else I've been up to

I went out with some people from work on Saturday night, and that was fun. It was the first time I've been out with my new workmates, and I'm glad I went. Although there was a hint of sadness to it since it was my section leader's leaving do, and he'll be missed.

4. What inspires me right now

Once again, progress is inspiring me, and also new ideas. Since I've been writing every day again, I've been getting a lot more ideas. One of those is to do short stories for Camp NaNo instead of writing a full novel. I'm really looking forward to it, and I already have plenty of ideas for the stories. 

Comments

  1. Alex J. Cavanaugh4 June 2014 at 17:34

    I bet it is better in the second draft. Once you finish, you'll see it. Keep writing!

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  2. cleemckenzie4 June 2014 at 18:03

    Once you're on a roll, it is encouraging and motivating to keep going. Good for you!

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  3. Unknown4 June 2014 at 19:37

    I know what you mean--after spending a year on re-writes of Newstead I went back and read the original and there were some parts I actually liked better.

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  4. SK Anthony4 June 2014 at 19:50

    Glad you're writing and revising away. I always find the second draft to be fairly different from the original but also stronger. Sometimes even the third draft is very different lol. Ah well, as long as we keep going, it is okay. :)

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  5. Bevimus4 June 2014 at 20:08

    Congrats on the progress! I can so re-late to the not writing part, and the difficulty of getting back into when you haven't been doing it. That's me right now, but I'm glad you're moving forward- write on!!

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  6. Suzanne Furness4 June 2014 at 20:30

    Well done on the progress, Laura. It's great that you are moving on with your re-write and feeling good about it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Miranda Hardy4 June 2014 at 20:31

    We just finished up a novel that went through major revisions over two years, so I understand those feelings really well. Keep on writing!

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  8. Tonja Drecker4 June 2014 at 22:31

    Great that you're getting so much writing done and enjoying it! And even better that you went out on Saturday. :)

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  9. Denise Covey 4 June 2014 at 23:02

    You sound like you have a good writing schedule. Love how you're working on your NaNo novel. Me too...but it's my fifth and first one actually finished, but I have enough to keep me busy forever. Here's to re~writes!

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  10. Rob Z Tobor4 June 2014 at 23:21

    It will be a grand novel I'm sure. . . . . .

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  11. Erin L. Funk4 June 2014 at 23:41

    I've been thinking of trying my hand at some short stories eventually too. That sounds like a great idea for a Camp NaNo project, and I hope you enjoy working on it! A scene a day is a good system for revising. Even if your WIP needs lots of work, I'm sure you'll polish it up beautifully! Keep at it! :)

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  12. Jaime Morrow4 June 2014 at 23:54

    A scene a day is a great way to tackle rewrites. That would have been a lot more manageable for me had I tried it than just allowing myself to get overwhelmed. Great idea!

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  13. Krista McLaughlin5 June 2014 at 03:49

    I didn't like rewriting at first, but I enjoy it now! Have fun with your rewriting and good luck! :)

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  14. Annalisa Crawford5 June 2014 at 13:44

    I re-write from scratch a lot - I call it revising, but I'm aware it's not how everyone makes changes :-) It's great you're excited by the story, enjoy and good luck with it.

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  15. ELAdams5 June 2014 at 15:53

    Glad to hear the rewrites are going well! I love the Song of Ice and Fire series. Writing short stories for Camp NaNo sounds like a really fun idea! :)

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  16. Ink in the Book6 June 2014 at 06:13

    I'm working on revisions of my current WIP and I'm really excited about this one. It's a new genre for me and my MC is my polar opposite, which makes it a very hard write, but I'll make it! Glad your writing is going good. Best wishes that it keeps moving in the right direction.

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  17. Unknown6 June 2014 at 13:26

    I know the feeling! I wrote my current wip in 2012 during a summer camp NaNo. It was a fast and furious write, but it provided the skeleton of a novel when I finished. I just spent the better part of the past six months going through it again and again. This past Monday, I got up enough nerve to send it off to four readers. All I can do is hope I've put some meat on those old bones this time around. :)

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  18. Stephsco12 June 2014 at 20:42

    Thanks for visiting my blog! I'm also editing last year's Nano novel. I'm hitting a few bumps where I need to decide on ditching some scenes that don't mesh with my recent changes. It's so tough to figure out what stays and what goes.

    I watch Game of Thrones but I have not read the books. I don't tend to read much fantasy but I watch a ton of fantasy type movies and TV.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Mina Burrows13 June 2014 at 03:07

    Congrats on your progress. Rewrites are something I'm dealing with too. Alex has great advice as usual. :)

    ReplyDelete

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