Tag: WIP

WIPpet Wednesday again!

~ Elaine Jeremiah ~ 23 Comments

Leaving

Well I’m knackered. I’ve just done over 1000 words on my WIP and whilst that may not be a lot to you NaNoWriMo people, it’s a lot to me!!

So I’m going to keep this short but sweet. Today being the 13th November, I’m sharing 13 lines from chapter 11. How’s that for simple?! Anyway at this point in Reunion, my current WIP, my MC Anna is miserable (again!) because her best friend Melissa is moving out of her home and into her own place.

Melissa moved in after Anna kicked her erstwhile boyfriend out. She’s been a shoulder for Anna to cry on, oh and she needed somewhere to live. So it was a win win situation. But now she’s moving to a new house a mere 10 minute drive away from Anna’s. Well, enough of that. Here it is. Enjoy!

The winter sunlight created soft dancing shadows on the bedroom wall. Anna blinked in the low light as she watched her best friend heave the last of her big suitcases out of the spare room.

Melissa’s announcement had seemed so sudden. Only a few months ago she’d told her that she wanted to look for a place of her own.

‘I can’t stay with you forever, Anna,’ she’d said as they sipped their wine one evening in the garden. It was late August and they’d been sitting on the comfortable, elegant wicker chairs Anna only brought outside when it was warm. That evening the weather was soft and balmy; a gentle breeze caressed Anna’s bare shoulders.

‘I know.’ Anna sighed distracted by a beautiful butterfly fluttering around the rosebush adjacent to their seats.

‘I mean, I just feel I need my own place, my own space, somewhere that’s mine. That’s not to say that I haven’t enjoyed living with you, because I have. I’ve loved every minute of it.’

Anna nodded and gave her friend a big smile which she didn’t feel.

If you would like to join in the WIPpet Wednesday fun, all you have to do is post an excerpt from your current WIP on your blog. The rule is it must relate in some way to the date. Then add your name to this linky. Thanks goes to K. L. Schwengel for hosting. 🙂

Editing whilst writing first draft

~ Elaine Jeremiah ~ 6 Comments

For practically the first time since starting this blog, I’m not putting an image with the blog post.  Honestly I just can’t be bothered, it’s too time consuming and there are other things I want to do this evening apart from blogging.

The title of this post is fairly self explanatory.  I’ve been working at my current WIP for a while today and yet I haven’t got much to show for it in terms of a word count.  That’s because I’ve been going through what I’ve already written and trying to iron out inconsistencies.

You might say I should leave that for when I edit the first draft.  But the thing is my memory isn’t always fantastic and I just want to make sure I make what I’ve written make sense before I forget exactly what it was I wanted to correct.  (OK, yes I am aware I’m repeating the word ‘make’ too much!!)  My MC is a writer herself – a much more successful one than me so I guess you could say I’m living vicariously through her!

She’s writing a novel but my problem was my inconsistencies about exactly which stage she is at with it at different points in the story.  And believe me, my storytelling was all over the place when it came to my character’s novel.  At some points she’d just finished it, at other points she was still making notes for a plan for it.  Anyway, you get my drift.

So I felt I really needed to alter it now while what I’ve been writing is still fresh in my mind.  Trouble was I kept having to scroll up and down the page in Word to search for what I wanted to amend.  Apparently Scrivener is meant to be an excellent programme for authors, particularly for times just like this.  I downloaded a free trial of it which I haven’t made much use of yet – I keep meaning to have a go with it properly but haven’t got round to it yet.

Word is simple yes, but it doesn’t do much for you in this situation.   I really need to be able to access information quickly without having to go back and forth getting completely lost.

How about you?  Do you edit a bit before finishing your first draft?  And have you tried/do you have Scrivener?  If so, what are your thoughts?  I’d love to hear them. 🙂

Another brief WIPpet (cos I’m cruel!)

~ Elaine Jeremiah ~ 26 Comments

Shock

OK so it’s not the best image ever, but it’s the best I could find! And yes, as the title of this blog post suggests, I am going to be mean again and share just a few sentences.

I’m sharing 33 words from chapter 13 of my current WIP Reunion. How I’ve worked it out goes as follows: chapter 13 for 2013, 30 words for the 30th October, then 1 + 2 = 3 (from the 10th month and 2 from 2013) so 33 words.

So there you have it. As with last week, I’m not going to give too much away about the plot because this is quite recent writing that I’m sharing with you here and I don’t want to share everything because that would spoil it!

All I will say is that at this point in the story, my main character Anna has done a bit of a double take as she mistakes her boyfriend for someone else…

For a split second she thought she was seeing Elliot. Then Anna recovered herself. It was the bathrobe. She’d never thought that Peter and Elliot looked alike. But their hair colour was similar.

Yes, I am mean.  It’s partly laziness so that I don’t have to search around for ages for 30 lines/paragraphs etc.  It’s also like I said last week, that I really don’t want to give away too much of the plot.  I don’t want to spoil it for you guys before you come to read the finished product!

I hope all you NaNoWriMo writers have fun with it.  If I had more energy (and wrote MUCH faster) then I would join in too.  But as it is I write/work better at my own pace.  I am looking forward to seeing the results of your energetic writing in December!  There – another challenge for you – to have something to show me!!  Just kidding – I’m sure you’ll all be brilliant!

If you would like to take part in WIPpet Wednesday, just post an excerpt of whatever you’ve been writing lately on your blog.  Rule: it must relate in some way to the date.  Then add your name to this linky.  Thanks goes to the lovely K. L. Schwengel for hosting. 🙂

A brief WIPpet for Wednesday

~ Elaine Jeremiah ~ 22 Comments

wednesdaybanner

Hi all. I have a confession to make. I haven’t done much work on Reunion lately. BUT I have an excuse – I’m applying to lots of free promo websites in preparation for The Inheritance being free on Amazon for 5 days.

It may not sound like it, but it’s actually quite a lot of work and time consuming.  When I’m not doing that or blogging I’m working/doing housework/walking and looking after the dog and soon the hours are just gone.  My husband’s got it right when he says there are simply not enough hours in the day!  I do plan to get back to working on Reunion every day though, a.s.a.p.

The days of my free promotion are Thursday 31st October to Monday 4th November. I’m looking forward to it and actually enjoying working my way through the list of free promo websites, from my good friend and fellow author Kate Frost, which list those books that are free to download.

If you haven’t already bought The Inheritance, you may like to get yourself a free copy… Anyway enough of the shameless self promotion, back to the main topic in hand today which is the excerpt from Reunion I’m sharing.

Seeing as it’s 23rd October today and I’m feeling mean, I thought I’d share with you just 25 words from chapter 10. My maths goes like this: 23 (for the day) + 2 (from 2013) = 25. And to be extra mean I’m not telling you where in the story this excerpt comes from except to say that the viewpoint is, as usual, my main character Anna’s. Here you go:

For some reason in that moment she almost came out of herself, seeing her own life as a stranger might – a movie script playing out.

So there you have it. Aren’t I cruel??!! If you’d like to take part in WIPpet Wednesday all you have to do is post an excerpt of whatever you’re currently working on writing-wise on your blog. The only rule is that it has to relate in some way to the date. Then add your details to this linky. Thanks goes to K. L. Schwengel for hosting. 🙂

A new beginning – WIPpet Wednesday

~ Elaine Jeremiah ~ 24 Comments

New beginning

I’m annoyed. Why you might ask? Well it’s because I’m sure that in a previous WIPpet Wednesday post I shared an excerpt from Reunion where my MC Anna is telling her friends about her messy break up. But I can’t find it anywhere. I’ve searched on my blog about 3 times and it’s nowhere. Grrr.

Anyway the reason I wanted it was to have it to refer to today because I’ve amended the beginning of Reunion to make it more gripping from the very first line – I hope. Someone told me they’d read my novel The Inheritance, which I published a few weeks ago, and enjoyed it but said it took a while to get going and they thought it needed to grip the reader from the beginning.

It’s funny cos I’d read the same advice in a general post on a writer’s blog (can’t remember which one), that you need to grab the reader’s attention from the very beginning.  Then I had a flash of inspiration as to how I could make the beginning of Reunion much more gripping.

So here’s my attempt. This is the new beginning of Reunion. Anna and her boyfriend Elliot are having a blazing row. She suspects him of cheating on her. If you recognise any of the dialogue, that’s because I’ve recycled it from a flashback Anna has later in the story and it was what I shared in the WIPpet Wednesday post I just can’t find.

As always, comments are welcome – though I guess getting feedback is the whole reason we do WIPpet Wednesday, isn’t it? Anyway here’s 13 paragraphs from chapter one as it’s 2013. Enjoy!

Anna glared at Elliot standing across the table from her, willing him to be struck down by a celestial power or something, anything to punish him for what he’d done.

‘I’ve had enough of your excuses,’ she yelled at him. ‘I know the truth and I don’t want to hear any more lies.’

‘Which idiot have you been listening to, Anna?’ he replied equally loudly as they fought it out in the kitchen, perilously close to the knives which Anna was tempted to throw at him.

‘Oh I don’t know, about a dozen? Maybe two dozen? Did you really think I’d never find out? Who is she anyway, this model? No wait; don’t tell me, she’s some bimbo who’s conveniently only in it for the sex!’

‘Look I told you, Anna, I’m not having an affair! You’ve got to trust me.’

‘Not having an affair. Hmmm. That’s what you said three months ago when I first told you what people had been saying. And I stupidly chose to believe you. But since then more and more people, friends and acquaintances, have been telling me what you’ve been getting up to on those “research” trips to London.’

‘They’re wrong, Anna, they’re wrong. Why would I ever want sex with Petra… ’ Elliot trailed off realising his mistake.

‘Oh so that’s her name is it? I’ll take that as a confession, shall I? It’s obviously all I’m going to get after three years. Three years of my life wasted!’ The tears that had been threatening to pour began to run down Anna’s face. She sobbed a harsh strangulated sound and through the haze of tears saw Elliot coming towards her. ‘No!’ she yelled at him. ‘Don’t touch me! Just get out! I don’t need to hear any more excuses.’

He backed off and turned to leave the kitchen.

‘I want you out by tonight,’ Anna heard herself say in a shaky voice. ‘And all your stuff.’

‘Where am I supposed to go?’ he asked turning round. ‘You could at least give me a day to get my stuff out.’

‘I don’t care where you go. And as for giving you a day to sort your stuff out, why should I after the way you’ve treated me? Now get out!’

He scowled at her as he left the room, and for the first time Anna felt as though she were seeing the true Elliot. The person she thought she’d known had been almost like a figment of her imagination.

If you would like to take part in WIPpet Wednesday, simply share an excerpt from whatever you’re up to writing-wise and post on your blog. The only rule is it has to correlate to the date.  Then add your name to this linky.  Thanks to the lovely K. L. Schwengel for hosting.

Out for another meal – WIPpet Wednesday

~ Elaine Jeremiah ~ 22 Comments

Restaurant

It’s that time of the week again when we WIPpeteers come together to share some of the lovely stuff we’ve been working on writing-wise.  And yes I know I’m posting this early yet again (it’s 8pm on Tuesday UK time!) but I find it easier this way.

For my contribution this week I’m sharing another excerpt from my WIP Reunion. I’ve been finding it quite hard to choose extracts that are interesting but which don’t give too much of the plot away!  Anyway I thought I’d share with you 9 lines from chapter 10 as it’s the 9th October today.   🙂

At this point in the story my MC Anna is out for another meal with her new literary agent Peter. This time she’s come to London on her own to see him. Enjoy!

By now they’d finished their starters and were on to the main course. Her meal – salmon covered liberally with a creamy Hollandaise sauce – was delicious. As she ate Anna listened to Peter, engrossed by his tale of how he became a literary agent.

He told her that whilst at university he’d decided he wanted to be a literary agent, but he hadn’t realised that to do that he’d have to gain experience in the publishing industry first. She laughed at his tale of having to live off baked beans on toast and nothing else for a month whilst living in a poky bedsit in London as he applied everywhere for a job.

‘I was getting desperate,’ he admitted. ‘The guy who lived across the hall from me told me I’d be better off getting a job in Tesco.’ Anna snorted with laughter at this. ‘Yes, I can laugh about it too now,’ Peter said. 

If you would like to take part in WIPpet Wednesday, simply post an excerpt of whatever you’ve been working on writing-wise recently on your blog. The only rule is that it has to relate in some way to the date.

Then add your name to this linky. Thanks goes to K. L. Schwengel for hosting. Until next time!