3.01.2004
Wish List
Things I wish I'd done before starting NaNoEdMo:
1. Written an ending - Although I reached the 50,000 word mark required for NaNoWriMo, the story doesn't actually reach a conclusion. It's a year-in-the-life book but October and November are pretty sketchy, I have practically nothing written for December, and the romantic story arc doesn't get wrapped up at all. I meant to write this in January... didn't happen... my bad.
2. Printed out the manuscript - I know this sounds ridiculously simple, but that's what I spent too much time doing today. For starters, I wanted to reformat it for easy reading and editing: easy to read font, sufficient margins for notes and enough space between lines to insert proofreading symbols. By now it's a 200-page manuscript... didn't have enough paper to print it out. So I had to go buy some. Then the actual printing. My printer only has room for around 75 pages in the paper tray, so I had to print it off in sections. Then, of course, there's the collating because the pages end up in reverse order. All in all, time that can't be counted as part of my NaNoEdMo hours. Time that could have been better spent actually revising.
3. Read the manuscript from start to finish - I haven't looked at my novel since November when I uploaded it to the NaNoWriMo website for word count verification. Planned on re-reading it in January before writing that ending I mentioned in point one. Didn't even manage that much... shame on me. But it must be done. And it must not be counted in my NaNoEdMo hours. *sigh*
The first three points were more or less essential. The final point would have been a bonus:
4. A plan - I haven't thought about what changes I might want to make, what story arcs I want to develop, what themes I want to see emerge. I haven't read any books or articles about how I should approach the revision and editing of an entire novel (something I've never done before). In short, I have no idea what I'm actually doing this month. So yeah, a plan would have been nice. *really big sigh*
1. Written an ending - Although I reached the 50,000 word mark required for NaNoWriMo, the story doesn't actually reach a conclusion. It's a year-in-the-life book but October and November are pretty sketchy, I have practically nothing written for December, and the romantic story arc doesn't get wrapped up at all. I meant to write this in January... didn't happen... my bad.
2. Printed out the manuscript - I know this sounds ridiculously simple, but that's what I spent too much time doing today. For starters, I wanted to reformat it for easy reading and editing: easy to read font, sufficient margins for notes and enough space between lines to insert proofreading symbols. By now it's a 200-page manuscript... didn't have enough paper to print it out. So I had to go buy some. Then the actual printing. My printer only has room for around 75 pages in the paper tray, so I had to print it off in sections. Then, of course, there's the collating because the pages end up in reverse order. All in all, time that can't be counted as part of my NaNoEdMo hours. Time that could have been better spent actually revising.
3. Read the manuscript from start to finish - I haven't looked at my novel since November when I uploaded it to the NaNoWriMo website for word count verification. Planned on re-reading it in January before writing that ending I mentioned in point one. Didn't even manage that much... shame on me. But it must be done. And it must not be counted in my NaNoEdMo hours. *sigh*
The first three points were more or less essential. The final point would have been a bonus:
4. A plan - I haven't thought about what changes I might want to make, what story arcs I want to develop, what themes I want to see emerge. I haven't read any books or articles about how I should approach the revision and editing of an entire novel (something I've never done before). In short, I have no idea what I'm actually doing this month. So yeah, a plan would have been nice. *really big sigh*
Labels: writing
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