Writing News
This week I went over my first Nineveh manuscript to see if my story had the 15 story beats mentioned in this writing blog. I had naturally put in everything except “Theme Stated” and “Debate” and so I made sure that I alluded to my theme earlier in the story and added a debate section for my protagonist. It was a good exercise and helped me to clarify the journey of my story. Then Jenn and I exchanged our entries for a writing contest that we do every year. I finished critiquing her entry and sent it back. Then I did some research on Copenhagen, Denmark.
My lovely sister has issued me a ridiculous challenge. But I have accepted. One of the editors that will be attending our little local writer’s conference in April is looking for Novellas for their romance line. They have to be 30,000 words long and you choose a location and two objects (an old house, a box of chocolates, an injured animal…) from their online list. Then you have your hero and heroine travel to that location and commence falling in love! Neither of us write romance, neither of us have anything ready to submit, and so what did she suggest? That we research and write a 30,000 word Novella in two months of course! And because I am a crazy person, I accepted her challenge. So instead of researching and writing a new historical YA in a year to see if I can become a writer who is capable of producing work at industry standard, I am changing my goal to producing an amazing novella in two months. Argh! But, my sanity aside, I did some research and made a basic plot according to “Story Engineering” by Larry Brooks and then found my 15 story beats according to the aforementioned writing blog and then I outlined 20 chapters in the “Goal, Conflict, Disaster, Emotional Reaction, Logic, Anticipation, Choice” model. Some chapters end with the disaster and some end with the choice but they are plotted out to some degree. At least I have a solid plan for this insane endeavor. Be sure to check back on April 11th to see if I fail miserably or rise to the challenge of finishing this Novella ms. in time.
