Almost like Austen

I’m sitting on boxes

bukarella — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 16:06:59 +0000

That’s right. We chose the month of November to move to our new house. Boxes, boxes, boxes everywhere. If one thing is good about this move, it’s the fact that I will have an office to paint, to write, to create in. Granted, the process of moving is quite overwhelming. I am burried with boxes and guilt over the lack of progress on the novel during NaNoWriMo, out of all months!

Rewriting a manuscript: this is NOT how I remember it.

bukarella — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 00:28:30 +0000

So, we are back on Dragonfly Island, and my story is taking on a whole different shape. I’m still in CHAPTER 1, but even so, I can feel the wind of changes. The tone is more consistent, this beginning is stronger and better than the one I lost. This time around, my outline is very detailed, and turned out to be very well worth the time.

Recovery begins here!

bukarella — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 15:46:45 +0000

I am starting the recovery process of the lost manuscript by recreating what I remember of the outline. Amazingly, it comes to me easier than I thought it would. I have listed every chapter and major events and relationship developments. I also chunked the book into three sections, along with length expectations and due dates. It feels good to have a plan. Looking at the outline, reassures me that I can recreate what I’ve lost. Yay me!

I am also anxiously awaiting response on the picture books’ manuscripts I sent out earlier this month. I know, I know… it takes 6-12 weeks to hear back, and even then, ONLY if interested. Somehow, I have faith that someone has to be interested. You’ll see!

Rebirth of a lost novel

bukarella — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 14:59:59 +0000

I’m rewriting it. All of it. From scratch. Well, I guess you can cound 4K of notes I had saved on my work PC as a good starting point, and Dragonfly Island is getting a second life today. I miss Lily, and my little prince, and Renoi all too much to allow them to disappear. I guess I’ll have to chop at it bit by bit until I’m on my way to the Chimera’s layer, crossing Kappa infested rivers.

Wish me luck!

Grieving the loss of half-finished manuscript.

bukarella — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 22:37:16 +0000

What am I supposed to do? Am I supposed to start over? Forget about it?

I only have unpolished snippets here and there that I sent back and forth between home and work computer. I don’t have the main file. Slamming my head into the wall surprisingly did not solve the issue. I want to work on the story, I want to pick it up for NaNoWriMo, but that’s quite a challenge, when the bulk of the manuscript is on a dead HD.

What if my Chimera decides it doesn’t want to wait this long to be killed? What if my forest full of harpies decides it wants to become a paradise garden? What if my brave “shaolin” monk quits his quest while I’m trying to recover 40K draft?

Any advice is welcome.

An open letter to my students and their parents

bukarella — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 18:59:35 +0000

…in 50K words. That’s what Pencils is all about. It’s a reflection on my job as a teacher, and a close look at students, parents and education in general. A story about a dead pet frog here, a philosophical discussion on curriculum there, an overview of testing, school system, and childhood – and I’ve got myself a memoir on wonderful topic of education.

My plan is to contribute approximately 7K a week, and to finish about 3-4 chapters every ten days. I have a few notes already, and an outline of topics I’d like to cover: Recess, Relationships between Parents and Teachers, First Day of School, Mathematics, etc. If you have an interest in education, I hope to spark your interest with my ideas and thoughts. We’ll see how well I can accomplish my goal.

Cautionary Tale

bukarella — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 01:29:45 +0000

Save your drafts, and you will not have to go into a depressive break because you just lost 50K for two manuscripts in progress.

The End.

P.S. Oh, and I’m back. I’m starting to work on a new project, and just sent out a 250 word manuscript for a picture book to 5 publishing companies.

Elements from the story…

bukarella — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 02:39:53 +0000

Making lists helps me with writer’s block.

These elements are still to be incorporated into the Dragonfly Island:

Belly dancing
Animals resembling alpacas
A tribe of creatures that appear friendly, but have a whole lot of trouble for our travelers
A desert
A maze
Betrayal

An insignificant, significant scene.

bukarella — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 16:41:24 +0000

I am adding a scene that appears rather trivial. Only when you get to the end, will you recognize the importance of what actually happened there.

Why am I doing this?

#1. It offers a solution to one of the big problems in the story.

#2. I loved twists like this as a reader.

#3. I’m enjoying working on it as a writer.

I feel like I’m playing a fun game.

Writer’s Fear

bukarella — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 03:23:04 +0000

Why is it so scary to share your writing? Your ideas? I never thought I will be in this terrifying club of scared writers.

I don’t want anyone looking at my story and going “that’s dumb, next?” I want people to CARE about my characters, like I do; I want the reader to think it’s brilliant, and classic, and not the least bit boring. I don’t think my skin is as thick as I’d like it to be, and when someone is allowed to read the words that I poured a great deal of my heart and obscene amounts of coffee into – the nerves are giving in!

At the same time, there is nothing like honest feedback. It’s priceless. The lesson learned today? Be brave. Share your writing and share your ideas with people who will not be afraid to tell you the hard truth.