Month: December 2018

Musings

[Blog] Behind the Scenes

Faith Hakimian

This month has seen a bit more behind-the-scenes work with the structuring of the Tanner and Miranda stories… which makes it feel like I’m not getting as much done as I was last month–which is true, all things considered, but also okay. But, if I do it right, it’ll also make it a whole lot easier to get the whole thing out there and ready to be edited into a worthwhile second draft and beyond. So, while I work on that, enjoy the first paragraph of one of the stories that is currently getting figured out.

It was never a good sign when our room started looking more like an infirmary than just a place to sleep and keep our things. Despite appearances– the crutches leaned against the wall, the bandaging implements tossed on the table and over the back of the chair, the bottle of pain-killers on the nightstand– we did know what we were doing. We’d just had a hard run of it lately between me still being new to the planet and a bit of genuinely bad luck. What we really needed was something easy. A nice, simple job to get us back on our feet. Something that involved a little pay and even less getting shot at, and the more boring the better.

Musings

[Blog] Editing, Structuring

Faith Hakimian

After the mayhem of NaNo, it’s sometimes (read: usually) easy for the slower pace that takes over in December to feel distressingly unproductive. And certainly, when it comes to word output and time committed to writing, the last three weeks have seen a definite drop-off. Yet, while I might be loathe to admit it at times, that’s not always a bad thing.

For one thing, having the time to guiltlessly devote to friendships, everyday chores, and all the other things that make up day-to-day life, while being good in and of itself, is also the sort of thing that can help improve one’s writing. They say to write what you know, and if you have a good working knowledge of the way life seems to tick, that’s going to show in your writing.

But the slower pace means I have time to start the restructuring and editing process. Which is terrifying. And a lot of work. And weird, because for the first time in my life, I’m writing out of order. I recently got my hands on Scrivener for the first time, and now I understand what all the hype is about. Consider me sold. Being able to drag chapters and scenes around and divide them up into more thought sized chunks is already invaluable. And it makes it so much easier to write what’s coming to mind right at the moment without worrying about how I’ll move it to where it belongs later. I think it’s going to help speed up the entire editing/rewriting process in the long run, which is good because my dad has sent another bag of chocolate covered espresso beans with the understanding that I finish a revised draft sometime in the near future– preferably the end of January. With the espresso beans, it just might happen!

Musings

[Blog] Advent

Faith Hakimian

I love advent. The waiting. The knowing that something wonderful is coming but isn’t here yet. It’s a season that recognizes that not all is well with the world, but knows that it will not remain that way forever. Christ is coming, but he’s not here yet. The world isn’t right… yet.

So let all mortal flesh keep silence. Darkness will be cleared away.

Musings

[Blog] Post NaNo Normalcy

Faith Hakimian

It’s weird not having to write a minimum of 1667 words a day. Weird, a little liberating, and definitely a little sad, as it always is. As usual, I didn’t come out with a complete draft, per se, but I do have a whole lot to work with. And that, frankly, is kinda the entire reason I do NaNo in the first place.

Well, that and getting back into a solid, constant writing habit, and that happened too! So really, very little to complain about.

I’ve spent a lot of this week working on structuring the whole novel, and I think I’m making some good headway, so look forward to continued bits and pieces as I work on it and get closer to a complete draft.

Thanks everyone for reading the snippets I posted last month! I hope those of you who participated in NaNo had it go well for you as well! May your words always keep coming.