Righty-O

My writing is now back on track. I've begun to catalogue what currently happens in Dorcas Grubb, chapter by chapter (one more to go), and can already see the major faults and where I'll need to rewrite and create new story. I've also begun to story board it as a graphic novel - I thought back when I was writing it that it would make a great comic, mainly due to the scene at the end with the giant time vortex ripping between Memorial Arch in Leicester, so thought I'd give it a go.

It's also almost NaNoWriMo time. It's really crept up on me this year. I've re-registered with the site, but haven't given any more thought to the story I'll be writing for it. My head is too full of Dorcas, and I'm not rewriting that as part of NaNoWriMo because I need time to contemplate and improve and polish and NaNoWriMo really isn't that place. NaNoWriMo is the place for spitting out ideas, tapping into that dream state and silencing that inner critic to give the imagination free reign for one whole month. I am registered on the website as "Grizabella", so if you're NaNoWriMo-ing yourself, feel free to add me as a buddy.

Rehearsals for Return To The Forbidden Planet are continuing to go well. It is on February 21st - 26th 2011 and ticket information is available here: http://www.concordiatheatre.co.uk/showguide/showdetail.asp?Key=76

Number of words written since last blog post (not counting this blog post): 0

Must try harder. Much harder. Fail.

Cleaning Up Dorcas Grubb

I am currently working on fixing the first draft of Dorcas Grubb. The chronology is all over the place – not good anyway, but especially here where the story is about time travel! It's a mess, and is taking me ages to get through even the preliminary stuff. On top of that, I am drawing up my plan for this year's NaNoWriMo novel, which is the “Matti and Eva” story. So far, I have a plan for 10 chapters (or “sections”) that will be 5,000 words each and represent a different stage in the sisters' relationships. The plan will no doubt change a lot between now and November 1st, but at least I have something I can work with.
To be honest, my writing is frustrating me at the moment. It is because I have less time to dedicate to it, due to work commitments and my rehearsals, and because I'm mainly doing planning and editing, I don't have any real sense of accomplishment, and feel like I don't have anything to show for the time that I have spent. Of course, technically I do have something to show for it, be it a freshly scribbled on page of corrections or a 10-chapter plan for a NaNo novel, but still. It's not like it's a finished chapter of a book, or a short story that I can submit somewhere.
I think I am going to have to start dedicating one of my weekend days to writing again, just like I did when I was finishing off Inter Vivos. After all, if you want to be a writer, then you have to write! Hopefully then I shall start to feel better.