[renmerc446]

SD - I found a link that you might find interesting. (link wouldn't post.) It's a Tumblr post called "Let's Be Weird Together, It's Less Lonely that Way". It has some good information on world building and mythology and other stuff. Looks like it's mostly for fantasy world building but I'm sure a good portion can be used for other types of fiction.

 

[renmerc446]

Started to do some world building using the prompts from the SF/Fantasy worldbuilding site. Sundays will remain primarily writing days so I don't get hung up doing 'prep' or research. On one hand, I might not have started doing this if it weren't for the shutdown and not having distractions like I used to. On the other hand, I miss not being able to do stuff like this in the coffee shop. It's getting too cool to try and sit outside to do this.

 

[renmerc446]

My copy of GMC came today. It does look like a good read. Now, I'm a bit annoyed that indoor dining is restricted because I would've liked to kick back in a comfy chair at a local coffee shop and read it. Mostly to get out of the house. It's too chilly to sit outside for any length of time.

 

[renmerc446]

Been reading GMC recently. It's an easy read but really good. I've actually figured out the GMC for one of the characters in my story so far. So far, I only have that for only the one character. I'm trying to focus on the POV character at the moment. I'm also trying to figure out who exactly is the antagonist for this particular story. I'm thinking it's someone that the original male MC knows and worked with in the past, although there are a couple of others that are red herrings who are at the forefront of the story at the moment. The main antag is the one pulling the strings.

 

[Spirit Deer]

Try writing your last chapter or three. Doesn't have to be editor-ready, just a fast and dirty rough draft. You don't even have to ever use it. But it might give you some clarification about who your antag is. You can't write your story without knowing.

 

[renmerc446]

SD - I'm pretty sure the antag is going to end up being the project manager from the island, at least for this story. He ties into both the larger Critter situation and the group that initiated the whole situation in the first place. I'm pretty sure his GMC is that he needs to find two minor MCs (his goal) to appease the Critters he's allied himself with (his motivation). But the two MCs are not where he expects them to be and the main MCs have their own magic to be a threat (and have the ability to defend themselves and the mMC the PM wants).

The kids from the caravan are a red herring and have been hired by people remaining from the group who started the whole situation but who may or may not be associated with the Critters.

 

[renmerc446]

Spent two hours on my story today, although I didn't really add anything. There was one scene that I needed to change since I felt it was too early to share the information that I had in it originally. Didn't take it out entirely, just changed it to be more foreshadowing than an actual reveal. I probably would've continued writing but I had other plans just before noon. Still, it felt good to put that much time into it. And I'm thinking about it more often during the week.

Still reading the GMC by Dixon. I think I'm about halfway through it and it definitely has made me think more about character and plot and the relationship between the two. I have a couple of other books I picked up recently that I'll get to next. One's on character arcs. The other's on world building (The A-Zs of Worldbuilding by Rebekah Loper). The worldbuilding book literally goes through the alphabet and uses each letter for individual topics to consider in worldbuilding. That should be an interesting exercise to think about the different pieces. I've been bad about worldbuilding so far.

 

[renmerc446]

Didn't get any writing done today. Spent the morning waiting for my mattress to arrive, although I am happy for next day shipping. I did get a little bit of work done on world building yesterday. Right now I'm going through a list of world building questions/prompts from a world building website. Then I have a worldbuilding workbook that looks really interesting (The A-Z's of Worldbuilding). Each letter is a prompt for a different topic (J = the Judicial System, K = knowledge, M = military, etc.) with further questions to help prompt ideas for each topic. I plan on using the moleskin notebooks when going through that, rather than filling out the notes section of each letter, so I can use it for other WIP's.

 

[renmerc446]

Did get an hour's worth of work done on my writing yesterday. Not much but I did get a few more paragraphs completed. I've been working trying to do some worldbuilding during the week.

I picked up a book called "Plot versus Character: A Balanced Approach to Writing Great Fiction" by Jeff Gerke a few years back. I started reading it a few days ago. So far it's good and I've learned a few things already. Right now, it's focusing on character (which is good) but I'm looking forward to looking at the plot sections.

 

[renmerc446]

Got a bit of writing done yesterday but not as much as I would've liked. But I'm coming along with reading the Plot vs. Character book. I've learned a few new things and a lot of it makes sense. I've actually come up with a "moment of truth" moment for a few of my characters (the ones I've gotten GMC's for so far) where the character has to make a major decision in the story. Having those will make things a bit easier when writing.

 

[Spirit Deer]

Glad you're doing well. I haven't thought about writing in a long time. Too much else going on. Maybe I'll get to NaNo next yr.

 

[renmerc446]

I never did NaNo. I'm sure it helps some people and a lot of people like doing it.

I've been thinking about my story more during the week than I had been. Now it's a case of getting more time doing the actual writing.

 

[Spirit Deer]

NaNo is good because there's a hard deadline that forces you to focus and do the work. It also gives you something to work with when you're done because you can't edit a blank page. I actually think stream of consciousness writing is helpful for first drafts, as long as you don't allow yourself to go down too many dead ends.

 

[renmerc446]

Yeah, NaNo has a deadline but I'm not sure if I'd keep to it. I have enough deadlines at work that I would probably put the NaNo one off instead. But I try and make sure to stick to writing for at least one hour every Sunday and I'm trying to increase that to at least two hours.

 

[renmerc446]

Got about two hours of writing time in today. I felt really good about it, although some of it was going back and tweaking some things to match new stuff. Between the GMC and the Plot vs. Character books, I think I'm really starting to get to know the characters better. That's starting to make the plot a bit easier to deal with as well. I felt a little bad for stopping when I did but I wanted to pick something up from the bookstore (and get some lunch).

I think I'm going to try and focus on writing either Thanksgiving Day or that Friday since I have a long weekend next week.

 

[renmerc446]

Still been able to get some writing done on Sundays. Not as much as I would've liked but I've still gotten things done. Finally gotten some work done on some background. Reading "Plot vs. Character" book helped. I think I have a better idea for plot.

 

[renmerc446]

Still putting in some time writing on Sundays. I've also been putting some time during the week, working on worldbuilding which I should've done earlier. Right now, it's still coalescing in the back of my mind.

 

[renmerc446]

Did some writing yesterday (Sunday). I also have been working on the worldbuilding more, as well. One good thing is that I'm still getting some forward motion on the story, even if it's slow going. I feel like I'm inching along with it. But the world building on this story needs to be done, if only so that I have a better idea of what the characters are dealing with. With my other WIP (which is currently shelved at the moment), it would be a lot easier since it's based in a modern urban(-ish) setting. But this current WIP is a post-apocalyptic, Renaissance/colonial America type world (the electrical grid is gone). So I have to figure out what's available and what's not.

Looked at a couple of worldbuilding question lists (one's a website and the other's a physical book) and I really appreciate the prompts and questions they have. Makes me think of what I need to include.

 

[renmerc446]

More writing done yesterday. Also did some worldbuilding over the weekend. I found a few more wb questions from the same site I've been working on. Did a quick look at another writing book about character arcs. I think this one will help with the others I already read/am reading. But this one has a workbook (which I also picked up) that will likely be more helpful since it has more pointed questions and exercises to create character arcs/plots.

 

[renmerc446]

Registered for a fiction writing class through the local adult education program. I haven't taken one of those in a few years. Hopefully this will help me with plotting, since it's a multi-session class.

Found a couple of reference items that will help with my current (post-apocalyptic) WIP. Gotta love it I find writing related stuff while looking at websites for other reasons.

I think I'm getting an idea for the climax of my story.