Big news & book brainstorming
First, the big news -- Like MLTF, Armed & Magical was originally scheduled for a late May release date. Yesterday I asked my editor if she had the exact date. She did. Armed & Magical will hit bookstore shelves Tuesday, APRIL 29, 2008 -- a full month earlier than I expected. WooHoo!
Secondly, still big news but not nearly as flashy -- I think I've figured out what was wrong and am hopefully unstuck on writing TTWD. Yea! During my brainstorming yesterday, I came to the conclusion that I hadn't actually done anything wrong -- yet. I had merely reached a transition point in the book, and while I knew in a vague way what happened next, I didn't have anything concrete on exactly what needed to happen. I think I've got that figured out now, and can get back to work on Chapter 7.
I don't think it's a coincidence that my stumble happened at the precise place where Tam comes into the action. He's trouble, he's always been trouble, and he always will be trouble. ; ) I had the same thing happen in Armed & Magical. If I don't have Tam's "grand entrance" worked out to his satisfaction, he will put the brakes on the entire writing process. It's the movie star equivalent of going into his trailer and refusing to come out, so production stops until he's happy. My solution meets with Tam's approval, so he's out of his trailer (and looking fabulous). ; )
One thing I also did yesterday that I find incredibly helpful, especially as I get further into a book, is to open a Word document and entitle it "chapter summaries." Here, I do a 1-3 sentence summary of each chapter, highlighting only the major action. When I've got a complicated plot (and I always do), and I get to Chapter 20, I can't tell you how much it helps to be able to go back and track the action back to Chapter 1. It's a quick & dirty summary of the book/action and is critical to keeping me on track. If you're a writer, you might want to give it a try. I can't recommend it highly enough. You just take a minute or two after finishing each chapter and write up a quick summary.
If I find out any more big news, I'll do an update today or post this weekend.
Happy Friday, everybody!
Lisa
Secondly, still big news but not nearly as flashy -- I think I've figured out what was wrong and am hopefully unstuck on writing TTWD. Yea! During my brainstorming yesterday, I came to the conclusion that I hadn't actually done anything wrong -- yet. I had merely reached a transition point in the book, and while I knew in a vague way what happened next, I didn't have anything concrete on exactly what needed to happen. I think I've got that figured out now, and can get back to work on Chapter 7.
I don't think it's a coincidence that my stumble happened at the precise place where Tam comes into the action. He's trouble, he's always been trouble, and he always will be trouble. ; ) I had the same thing happen in Armed & Magical. If I don't have Tam's "grand entrance" worked out to his satisfaction, he will put the brakes on the entire writing process. It's the movie star equivalent of going into his trailer and refusing to come out, so production stops until he's happy. My solution meets with Tam's approval, so he's out of his trailer (and looking fabulous). ; )
One thing I also did yesterday that I find incredibly helpful, especially as I get further into a book, is to open a Word document and entitle it "chapter summaries." Here, I do a 1-3 sentence summary of each chapter, highlighting only the major action. When I've got a complicated plot (and I always do), and I get to Chapter 20, I can't tell you how much it helps to be able to go back and track the action back to Chapter 1. It's a quick & dirty summary of the book/action and is critical to keeping me on track. If you're a writer, you might want to give it a try. I can't recommend it highly enough. You just take a minute or two after finishing each chapter and write up a quick summary.
If I find out any more big news, I'll do an update today or post this weekend.
Happy Friday, everybody!
Lisa
posted by Lisa Shearin at
7:53 AM
2 Comments:
OMG!!!! I am SOOOO excited that Armed and Magical will be coming out on APRIL 29! That just completely made my day! And I am glad that Tam wasn't being too much of a "superstar" and decided to cooperate for you. ;) Continued good luck with the writing!
Thank you, Kate!
Yeah, I think it amuses Tam to give me a hard time, but when push comes to shove, he's there for me and will get back to work. ; )
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