Monday, July 20, 2015

Ready, Set, WRITE! Week 7


Ready. Set. WRITE! is a summer writing intensive that encourages goal-setting and accountability, and provides an opportunity for us to cheer each other on wherever we’re at with our writing projects—planning, drafting, revising, or polishing.  This year, your RSW hosts are Alison MillerJaime MorrowErin FunkElodie Nowodazkij, and Katy Upperman.
 
How I did on last week's goals: I revised a short story from my thesis, and I thiiiiink I'm happy enough with it to start sending it to lit mags. Not positive, though. Might need another couple read-throughs. I also worked on H2H, my current manuscript, twice during the week and managed to write 1,100 new words.
 
My goals for this week: Going back to my 4K goal for H2H. Last week was a nice break from the required word count, but I'm still hoping to have a complete manuscript (or an almost complete one) at the end of summer. So I really need as close to 4K a week as I can manage.  
 
A favorite line from my story OR one word/phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised: POV shift. My professors from thesis board recommended I shift from first to third person, and now my short story flows so much better!
 
Biggest challenge this week: Actually sitting down to revise. I worked on this story SO MUCH during my last semester of grad school, I felt like I knew everything about it. Sometimes that makes a story difficult to go back to and find exciting.
 
Something I love about my WiPI wrote a scene for the WiP I'm currently drafting (H2H) that puts my best friend characters in very close quarters for a weekend. I can't wait to see how they interact when there's no easy escape.
 
 
Okay, so how did everyone else do this week?

10 comments:

  1. Congrats on (almost) being done on your short story!!! That change of POV must have been hard but so glad you think it works :)
    Cheering you on!

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    1. Thanks Elodie! Once I got over the "Aw, geez, I guess my professors were right after all..." sighs, the POV change wasn't that bad. ;)

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  2. Yay for almost finishing the short story! I have so many thoughts about wanting to write a short story, this is making me want to actually try to write one! So, thanks for the inspiration! Also, glad the POV switch worked out for you! Hope you make great strides this week!

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    1. I'm all about the short stories, mostly because it's less of a time commitment than a full-length novel. That's why I chose to do a story collection for my grad school thesis. I worried about sustaining one narrative for two years worth of classes.

      If you ever want to chat short stories I'd love to share what I've learned/am still learning! :D

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  3. Wow, great job this week! :) It's exciting that your story's almost ready.

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  4. Good job on last week's goals! It's amazing how a change from first to third person can make all the difference, isn't it? I did the same with my entire WiP and it reads SO differently now. Wishing you all the words this week!

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    1. It really can make the difference! I always gravitate toward first person since it's primarily what I read, so sometimes third just doesn't occur to me until someone points it out. Glad it worked so well with your WiP too!

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  5. Ooh, that change of POV must've been tricky to pull off, but it sounds like you rocked it. So glad you're happy with how it turned out, Kaitlin! Best of luck with your goals in the coming week!

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    1. Thanks Katy! I'm definitely much happier with the story, so the POV shift was worth it. :)

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