Days 26-31
#SelfieSunday! Show us some good times!
Do you specify when your WiP is set or do you prefer to keep it vague and timeless?
The Crows had its own timeline, from April-May (although the year isn’t specified, it can be inferred from the dates). The plan is to line up the stories by timeline, so that you can immerse yourself in a town where multiple stories are happening at once, in different areas, to different characters, with some character/setting overlap.
While someone’s having tea and cake at The Sandbox Café with their friend, angsting over the latest vampire drama, some woman is sat on her own in the corner having a crisis of some kind and leaves in a hurry. A couple passing by the window look like they’re having a serious argument. All these people have their own stories in progress, but none of them will ever know what yours is, and you won’t know what theirs are, either. But different novels may have all these stories in them, overlapped by the one moment they converged at the Sandbox. And if you’ve been reading with attention to dates, you might pick that up.
PROGRESS UPDATE! How is your WiP coming along since the beginning of the month?
Thirteenth has been with betas, so I’m now working on the comments I’ve had back so far.
Eldritch Girls is shaping up into a really good first draft! If you’re interested in signing up to beta, contact Nita Pan on Twitter or Insta @/NitaPanWrites.
Assuming they sleep in one, what motivates your MC to get out of bed in the morning?
THIRTEENTH
– Katy Porter likes being with her friends and just wants to be able to live a ‘normal’ life. She really enjoys morning runs, they get her out of the house. Her family situation is not the best.
– Wes Porter doesn’t get out of bed in the morning, he gets out of bed whenever he wants and has brunch
– Ricky Porter gets up because he has a routine…
ELDRITCH GIRLS
– Sasha Shaw gets out of bed in the morning to be a step closer to living her dream of fame and recognition as a great dancer and performance artist. Also possibly because it’s not her bed and she just wants to get home and shower.
How long does it take your MC to get ready to go out to a party?
THIRTEENTH
– Katy Porter takes a few hours.
– Wes Porter takes all day. He lives in a constant state of party prep/partying.
– Ricky Porter doesn’t go to parties and if he was made to go, wouldn’t get ready.
ELDRITCH GIRLS
– Sasha Shaw takes forever. Arrives immaculate. Is a sloppy drunk mess in five minutes.
How do you know when you’re done with a WiP?
I’m after a certain polished feel to it, I guess. I don’t want to over-edit scenes, and if I feel like it’s being pared down too much I’d get another pair of eyes on it (a professional editor) to finish off. This is after alpha readers have had a first pass over the draft, then I’ve edited, then about 10 betas have read it through, bringing different perspectives. Once the comments have been addressed then it goes to a pro editor if I can afford one. I then give it another couple of passes in different formats. My editing rule is I let it go when I can only see 5 typos/errors. That’s the final pass.
AND THAT’S THE END!
Thank you to Kerri Davidson and Mark E. Gelinas Sr for the questions this month! Follow them on Twitter for more writing games and chat. Kerri is @bagoflettuce and @KerriDavidson20, and Mark is @Elderac. Follow me @CMRosens!
C. M. Rosens 