Today is the first day of spring, although here in Kentucky the winter was unseasonably mild, so spring came earlier than usual. We hit 86 degrees today which, if not a record, comes close.
Spring is traditionally a time of renewal and it's no different with writing. I'm taking a class on Deep Story and have already thought of ways to improve two of my works in progress. It's almost as if those ideas needed to lie dormant (winter) before growing into realization (spring).
Sometimes I feel guilty for being such a slow writer. Not only do I try to plot my stories and work on characterization, I often do extensive research. Then I might write upwards of several drafts before turning the WIP over to my critique partners/beta readers. Only problem is while they're reading, I'm revising yet again.
One skill I'd like to develop is being able to write first drafts that are more developed, thus hopefully making revisions easier. I was doing this with my vampire Victorian when my file vanished into cyberspace. I now have to go back to a previously saved file (under a different name) and basically start revisions from chapter one.
Lynn Viehl has a writer's tool called The Novel Notebook which I've found very useful for plotting and developing characters. I think I'm going to use it in conjunction with two other writing programs to flesh out my stories. I used The Novel Notebook to plot the aforementioned vampire story and have not had as much of an issue with revisions as some of my other work. I think it's because of the questions Lynn makes you answer about your characters and plot. But that's just my humble opinion. :-)
Back to work. Research for a short story and another online class await. Until next time - happy writing!
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