Sunday, December 27, 2009

Award. Dilemma.



The lovely Mireyah Wolfe passed along the Circle of Friends Award to me (thank you Mireyah!) The rules for this award are to list five things about myself and to past it along to other bloggers. I am not sure how many but I chose five gals who's comments have seriously touched me and kept me going in this crazy writing world.

1. Mary over at Writers Butt Does Not Apply To Me
2. Tina over at Sweet Niblets
3. Isuet over at Little Pieces Of me
4. Kate Ganshert
5. Tricia J. O'brien over at Talespinning


As for listing five things about myself, I decided to list five things that I look forward to in 2010.

1. Creative Writing II class
2. Editing the heck out of my WIP.
3. Completing my debut author and 100 books challenge
4. Quit smoking
5. conquering my fear of the ocean.

Yes, I am definitely looking forward to 2010!

Now, for the not so exciting part of this post...

I came across a dilemma while editing the second chapter of my current WIP. Not a huge dilemma, but here is the problem...I am stuck.

Stuck. Stuck. Stuck. I love chapter one but chapter two is making me go a tad nuts. It is probably my slowest chapter, not much happens. I know I need to make the pace move faster but I am coming up blank. I was thinking of maybe moving on to another chapter and letting this one sit for awhile.

Sigh.

What about you bloggers? If your stuck do you move on or stay and tackle that pesky chapter?



This picture lifted my spirits, reminding me that even in the deepest, darkest corners of the world, light can shine.

15 comments:

Bish Denham said...

If the chapter is slow and it's causing you fits, tried reading your novel without it. Does the story move from chpt one to chpt three smoothly or is there too big a gap? Or can chpt two be incorporated into chpts one and three?

I would love to help you with your fear of the ocean. Having grown up in/on/around it I don't fear it, just have a healthy respect for it. Of course, the Caribbean is a different kind of ocean water than say, the east or west coast or the Gulf of Mexico; clear, not murky.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Congratulations on another well-earned award and thank you so much for passing it on to me.
You've got some great goals, although the ocean is what it is. Respect, as Bish said, is necessary for such a powerful force.
As for the pesky chapter. I had one that got much more dynamic when I switched the order the scenes were in. The most important thing is that each scene has a purpose that is moving the characters forward. Do you ever read author Laurie Halse Anderson's blog? She has been posting revision tips for some time and some of them are really great.

Kimberly Franklin said...

2010 is going to be great!

As for being stuck, I would like to say I would just move on because it seems that would probably be the best thing to do. Unfortunately, I usually continue to mess with the chapter (way too much) and usually end up getting really frustrated at it before it gets corrected. But, at least it gets done...I guess.

BK Mattingly said...

What great goals for 2010! I had the same problem with my chapters 2 and 3. I took a hard core look at them and figured out that I was saying everything with too many words. I ended up combining the chapters into one chapter and cutting about 5 pages and rewriting what I didn't absolutely love. After that, I discovered I'm a big fan of rewriting :D

BK Mattingly said...

What great goals for 2010! I had the same problem with my chapters 2 and 3. I took a hard core look at them and figured out that I was saying everything with too many words. I ended up combining the chapters into one chapter and cutting about 5 pages and rewriting what I didn't absolutely love. After that, I discovered I'm a big fan of rewriting :D

Carolina M. Valdez Schneider said...

Congrats on the award!! Sounds like 2010 is going to be a big year for you!

As for getting stuck...I'd say skip the chapter and go on. It'll come to you. No sense beating yourself bloody trying to work through it. It may you don't need what you're trying to put into the chapter, or the info can be redistributed so as not to have one solid chapter of slowness. So, charage ahead!!
Hope you're having a wonderful holiday season.

JMay said...

Just came across your blog, so fun to find other writers on here :-)

Those are great goals, happy writing!!!

Tina Lynn said...

Aww...thanks! You inspire and touch me, too, V! Well, you know what my answer would be for getting stuck. Grab some trusted betas. See what they think. I know my first six chapters need work and because of that I can't seem to get further, but if you can let it sit for awhile and move forward maybe you will be able to look on it with fresh eyes.

Kelly Lyman said...

Man, I hate getting stuck! I skip the chapter/scene and come back to it. Sometimes I think about what I want to show/say and visualize it in my head. I imagine the characters in my head and watch them, as if I was watching a movie. Sometimes I'll reread the section before and skip the part that I am stuck on. If my story still flows, still makes sense, I cut it (save for later) and continue on. Sometimes the reason I was stuck was because my story really didn't need that info. even though I liked it. You'll figure it out! Good luck!

Mary E Campbell said...

Great goals. I'll lose weight and you quit smoking - both are so hard to do. Thanks for the sweet shout out. You inspire me too. I'm always amazed at how in tune with your story you are. Sorry about being stuck - I'm a little bit stuck too. If you'd like - I'm willing to be a beta and see if I can help you get unstuck.

Katie Ganshert said...

Well, thanks! I love blog awards! I appreciate the shout out and I'm glad my comments have touched you. :)

V. S said...

Thank you all for the advice!

Mary- as soon as I finish cleaning up the first few chapters I shall take you up on that offer :)

LittoMiss isuet said...

Thanks wife (:

Thanks for believing in me.
you hold a very special place in my heart as always.

By the way, dont worry about that chapter. you deserve better hahaha(;
keep on going, don't forget to always have inspiration music !

The romantic query letter and the happy-ever-after said...

I am stuck and I'm ashamed for the only reason I'm not writing is because I'm affraid to mess it up. It has all this possibility right now and I don't want to be the one who kills it.
Every happiness to and I hope you get pass being stuck.
Hugs,
Simone.

kanishk said...

would love to help you with your fear of the ocean.

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