An Underestimation

My goodness i have totally underestimated how long it would take me to edit Secrets and Lies! I am less than a quarter through the first draft with my edit and it has taken almost 5 months.

I have read through the whole document on my kindle - so i couldn't tweak as i went! - and highlighted areas that needed deleting, errors, rewording, layering etc.
The process of going back through and editing those notes has taken longer, i know from all the research i have done to set the story in 1144 in the Outer Hebrides.
I am really enjoying this process but it is taking so long! I really fear that my story will not be any where near finished for either sending to publishers or self publishing by year end....

Working 4 days a week and being a busy mum really does take a lot of time and i take my hat off to those published mums out there! this process is taking a long time as i'm only opening my document once or twice a week, but i find i am exhausted from stimulating toddlers all day and then doing mum and housewife stuff when i get home!
While my house is looking very untidy and housework is slipping i find it hard/guilty to sit down and edit.
Does anyone else have this dilemma?

How do you balance writing time with family/housework duties?

It's been more than a month??

OMG, i have not posted in more than a month.
I have, however been writing! When i read Nicola Marsh's Not the Marrying Kind it got my creative juices flowing and i have been attacking my Princess story. I have been dreaming of this story for ages and know all the key scenes. They just need to be written!
So slowly, very slowly (i have to juggle writing time with study time, kids, dog, hubby and home!) i have been adding to my word count.

A sneak of my WIP? Okay!
This is the first time my heroine Tori sets her eyes on her hero Max.
Enjoy!

Compared to the other three he stood relaxed, his weight balanced slightly on his left leg. His suit was a darker grey that somehow exuded unrestrained power.

Tori immediately wondered why he would need bodyguards. The fabric of his pants showed clearly the strength in his long muscled legs. His buttoned jacket, tailored to broad shoulders, tapered to a narrow waist that just showed the strength in his torso more clearly. It was clear to her he would be able to handle himself.

Her perusal and musings were stopped in their tracks when he spoke and her gaze rose swiftly to his mouth. He had a rich rumbling British accent, tinged slightly with the lilt of Ireland. It flowed through her so quickly, warming her body, and settled the spinning in her tummy to that of a calm lap against a sandy beach. She felt safe and absent of fear.

Why would a man’s voice affect her so much, especially one she’d never heard?

“Ma’am. It’s a pleasure to see you again.”

Her mother stepped forward and accepted his greeting with a little smile, a slight flush tinting her pale cheeks as she curtsied. Curtsied!

Kissing her cheek, the man held her close and said something in her ear that made her mother break out in a proper smile. He released her and when Tori tore her fascinated gaze from her mother being enfolded in her husband’s bracing arm, she was arrested by the deepest pair of blue eyes. The gentle lapping in her tummy stilled and lay quiet as she drowned in their depths. The dark blue with hints of gold, as his strength had done had her at peace, safe and protected, Like she was home.

Why then was her heart hammering so hard she was sure everyone could hear it, or at least see it trying it’s darndest to explode from her chest. Drowned as she was in his bottomless eyes, she vaguely saw a curtain of soft dark hair framing a strong face, a long straight nose and thin lips. In the depths of her wavering vision she saw a young boy, waves of ebony hair swirling around his face as he raced over tumbled stones scattered on uneven ground, his mouth open in a laugh as he looked over his shoulder.

Who was he?

“Victoria.” With a bow of his head he spoke her name in a tone so full of joy but so formal it made her want to cry. The expression in his eyes were at odds with his tone yet so unfathomable to her. It was said exactly as she heard it in her head, the young boy turned towards her with laughter and affection in his gaze. Tori was so overwhelmed with her emotions she ignored his outstretched hands, obviously expecting her to accept his greeting as her mother had. 

Research or not to research...

A writing tip; kind of!

Now, i'm not a huge fan of deep involved research.
I'm too impatient and just want to write the damn story and fix details later. But i will look up stuff if i know it's going to be quick and won't detract from my writing time.

Seriously, my drafts are littered with notes saying "research how to make bath salts", or "find out the history of...".

It's funny though, because i'm a stickler for detail, and perfection. It's taken a long time to let go and just write the first dirty draft without agonising over the correct word to describe. Yeah i have notes for those too :)

Because when i sit down to write, that's what i want to do. I don't want to get bogged down with trawling the internet for the exact right stuff. No, that would be called Research Time.

Recently i have spent the last two of my writing sessions in research mode. I sat down and told myself that if i want to get any further with my writing, i actually need to know a bit more information. So it was research time.
Guess what? I love it!
I got so involved that i've ended up with pages and pages of history relevant to my fictitious Principality, trade routes, flight paths, politics, pictures of villages, castles, roses... lots of stuff.

I have a friend who loves to research and we have always joked that she can do the research and i'll do the writing - for the both of us! But we both sat there on Friday and researched together. It was great bouncing off ideas (which of course sparked more research!), and i really think our writing is going to be the better for it.
Readers are sticklers for details too. I take that from my own personal experience as a reader ;)

Don't get me wrong, if i come across something that needs more research whilst during 'writing time', there is a note/comment in the ms. I'll go back to it during 'research time'.

My plan is that will help flesh out the story, without detracting from my creative flow. Because that's what the first draft is for, right? Getting the story down so you have something to work with later.

What are your thoughts on research? Do you find it encroaches on your writing time, how do you work around it? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

when inspiration strikes

I have a love hate relationship with inspiration.
When i have the time to sit down and write i don't seem to have that inspiration and it turns into a hard slog until i finally get into the groove, and then my precious time is up!
But when i've got that inspiration it's just as i've gotten into bed and think i can finally sleep, or i'm in the car on the way to school drop off, or watching a movie spending some quality time with my husband... I love that inspiration because i can get a few thousand words down with a minimum of fuss, but it's always at the wrong time!

I did maximize my writing word count in January by having three WIP's on the go. Yep, 3! When inspiration struck it was for either of the 3 and i just went for it, and got the most word count (collectively) that i have ever.

What do you do with your inspiration? Do you have more than one WIP on the go? When does inspiration usually strike for you?

Isn't it funny!

You mention to a few people that you are writing a novel and suddenly they are all really interested it what you do.

They want to know the details.

How often do you write? - not often enough

What do you write? - Romance

Have you written lots? Are you hoping to be published? - of course! and i've completed one full length novel but yes written lots for many years but not complete stories.

How do you know what to write? - umm(??? how do you answer that one?)

How do you juggle the kids and housework? - um i just do...and i don't!

Wow, that's so interesting!

Do you get those questions and looks too?

Suddenly, everyday i'm asked how is the writing going. Which is good because it's prompting me to push myself too, motivating me to get to the keyboard more than the two mornings a week than i do at the moment, though it's still hard.

We're landscaping. And i have the kids and endless household chores, not to mention my health, but i am managing to get a bit of writing in every now and then outside of my Tuesday and Thursday morning kid free time slots.

Which reminds me to get back to it, seeing at it's Tuesday ;)