Tag: note taking

If one road fails, try another.

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Hello

The last couple of times out I have requested feedback from you fine people on an excerpt from one of my short stories ‘Do I have parents at all?’ Now, I have only received a few pieces of feedback and they were very helpful and has helped me along. Even though I haven’t received anything more I’m not feeling too disheartened. I’ll just have to take a different road in order to get the feedback I may or may not need.

So, I’ve started back writing my western yarn about a travelling cowboy looking for a new home. It’s moving along nicely and the characters and story lines are taking shape. Up to now our hero, Benedict, has begun to settle into his new surroundings but is still worried that it all might change at any moment like has done so many times in the past. Will my western hero catch a break finally? With a love interest and a new father figure in the picture it might just happen. Though he does have to contend with a clearly jealous wannabe cowboy who has manipulated himself into owning most of the town. And it doesn’t help that our hero has already, within a day of his arrival into town, shot and injured one of the villains, Geoffrey’s, main henchmen. I have the story pretty much mapped out in my head but I’m conscious of making sure said story is not just set pieces and is an actual story.

This is something I started writing without using notes and it was a little bit daunting but I now have some good notes to help me along. I‘m filling in the blanks and now have town and supporting character names, descriptions and potential side stories that I could use. Research is also helping me attempt to get the finer points of the story, which so far is what they would eat and wear, correct. Writing down all of this needed stuff is made all the harder when I have the main set pieces of the story playing in my head. And with all the characters screaming ‘Get on with it!’ I respond, though they don’t listen, I’m trying but these things take time. But never out loud. Not yet anyway.

Those voices are screaming again so I’m going to get back to the writing. I hope you all have a good and productive writing and/or non-writing week.

Bye

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The importance of making notes.

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Hello

I’ve finished the point of view chapter for the villain of my latest piece. Now all I have to do is write a chapter from our hero’s point of view. This should be easy as the whole story so far is from his point of view. However, I’ve managed to put in a lot of things which I need to convey and show my hero’s feelings about in the other three point of view chapters. This means it’s going to be harder to write this chapter than any of the others. I’ll have to make notes I think before I even begin. Great, now I’ve given myself even more work to do. Never mind though because once I start doing it I know I’ll enjoy it.

Other than the above, I’ve been working on my idea for the novel I’m going to write for NaNoWriMo(Nation Novel Writing Month).

I sat down last week to think of an idea. I had a few ideas rolling around but none of which were good enough to use. Well, not for this and not right now anyway. Then I remembered something I’d heard numerous times when reading the writing magazine I subscribe to. It was that you should always carry a note book or a way of taking notes wherever you go. This will enable you to record any ideas you have where ever you are.

So, I checked my Evernote app (which is a fantastic app to keep and store your ideas on) on my blackberry and came across a note I’d left some time last year. It was the start of a proposed short story about hunters or ‘Searchers’ as they were called in the note. I read it and immediately I’d settled on my idea. This was the one. Awesome! That didn’t take long I thought.

Since then I’ve been writing things down for the story, including something this very morning, and I can’t wait to start. I’ve got the main characters down with descriptions and some plot points and possible story arcs I can use. Let’s hope by the end of it all comes together.

For anyone who has ever thought about writing a novel, I suggest you join NaNoWriMo. It’ll get you going and hopefully lead to something great.

Right, I’m off to write down some more ideas. And later view a flat. (Fingers crossed)

Good pie