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Philippa East posted an update in the group
December SloMo 7 years, 4 months agoUg. Today I feel like I’ve gone backwards in my editing process. I’ve put in my three hours, but most of that was spent unearthing problems in my “back-plot” (or lack thereof) that have now thrown the other plot threads out of whack.
I feel like I’ve discovered dry rot and woodworm in a house I’m trying to redecorate.
How much backstory…[Read more] -
Philippa East replied to the topic Short Story Publication/Competition in the forum Podium 7 years, 4 months ago
Den get together would be fab. I am in Lincolnshire, but I can travel to London easily
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Philippa East posted an update in the group
December SloMo 7 years, 4 months agoWell, I’m sure glad for this SloMo month… until the start of this week, I had too many distractions to focus on writing and the lack of progress was just making me increasingly panicked. But for the last three days, I’ve managed my plan of a few hours a day. I feel less panicked now, because I feel sort of ‘back in the familiar groove’ and I can…[Read more]
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Sounds good, Philippa. And I think you are right to acknowledge that some days are just not meant to be writing days. I can never write when we are away, even if I have the time. It used to annoy me but now I accept it.
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Yes… I’ve found if I try to write in the evenings (i.e. after work), my brain gets too wired and I can’t switch off to sleep. Also, because I’m like a dog with a bone with stuff, and enforced break from writing is probably good for me, to prevent me getting obsessed and overwhelmed. It also means I make better use of the other days, knowing I…[Read more]
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Not surprised you can’t focus after work! But well done for moving through the panic and getting into things again. Hope the weekend lets you keep the momentum up…
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Philippa East replied to the topic Short Story Publication/Competition in the forum Podium 7 years, 4 months ago
Oh wow @hilary, what an honour!! Congratulations again on your placing. I hope you had a wonderful time at the launch x
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Philippa East posted an update in the group
December SloMo 7 years, 4 months agoOkay, well today has gone well, I think. I managed about two hours, working on balancing the various twists, climaxes and (false) resolutions in the book. I think I’ve managed to pin down the problem more clearly and sketch out a general solution.
I still have to work out the specific details I’ll need to add into the story MS itself to pull…[Read more]-
The turning up at the desk strategy works for me, Philippa.
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Sounds like excellent progress, good work
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Philippa East posted an update in the group
December SloMo 7 years, 4 months agoI’ve been inspired by the goals your guys are setting yourselves. I think I’m going to set myself the SloMo goal of doing (up to) three hours’ editorial work a day (on the days I’m not at work). That, for me, is enough time to get some solid work done, but hopefully not so long that I panic myself with how much I should be achieving. And I plan to…[Read more]
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I think I often try to do too much of that really close editing in a sitting, so start out being really thoughtful and ending up just drifting. So yes, time limits are probably something I need to be better at. Feels funny to limit your own writing time, rather than RL limiting it for you!!
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Yes, good point! But I agree, I think there’s a danger that we over-tax the creative subconscious by hammering away at idea-generation for too long.
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Philippa East posted an update in the group
December SloMo 7 years, 4 months agoHello Everyone, and thanks so much @raine for setting this group up.
Like Seagreen, I have editing work to do over the next month or so, so I am hoping I can make slow and gentle progress on that. I’m currently grappling The Fear / Resistance, so joining you all in this supportive place will be helpful, I hope.
My main panic is that these…[Read more]
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I know exactly what you mean about The Fear, both in general and in the specific form you mention. Encouragement: a few days ago I fixed a problem in my old revived MS that I’d been shrinking from for, literally, years, si if I can do it you certainly can.
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Thanks @richardB. “Shrinking from” – that’s exactly it!! I know I just need to take a deep breath, and step in. Quit worrying about the outcome and just engage with the process.
I have four clear hours tomorrow morning to work, so hopefully I will make some progress. Out of interest, Richard, what was the problem and what was your fix? (if you…[Read more]-
The problem was the one I mentioned a couple of days ago: the bloated chapter full of stuff the reader already knew. I was shrinking from it because there were several threads/issues involved and it was going to be hard work keeping track of them and figuring out what I could get away with losing. I solved it by being bloody ruthless – something…[Read more]
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Oh well done on the ruthlessness! And that sounds like such an important thing to have fixed. I wonder if part of our Fear can come from the sense that if we try to change tricky elements in the MS, the whole thing will fall apart….
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Philippa East replied to the topic Two newses in the forum Podium 7 years, 4 months ago
Excellent! I am so chuffed for you. Well done.
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Philippa East replied to the topic NaNoWriMo in the forum Coffee Shop 7 years, 5 months ago
I so agree that it’s useful to drill down into the actual function of a particular behaviour (e.g. scrolling on Twitter, ironing socks etc.)
It MAY be avoidant procrastination (i.e. continuously putting off something we’re for some reason afraid to face). Or that same behaviour could be a much-needed and healthy break from the keyboard / page -…[Read more]
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Philippa East replied to the topic Twitter thread on literary agents in the forum The Writers' Lifeboat 7 years, 5 months ago
Great thread, Daeds, thanks
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Philippa East replied to the topic NaNoWriMo in the forum Coffee Shop 7 years, 5 months ago
Oh my gosh, well done guys! Hats off to you. Power to your elbows!!
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Philippa East replied to the topic NaNoWriMo in the forum Coffee Shop 7 years, 5 months ago
Time to make yourself an outline?
Nice work though on the 16k!!! -
Philippa East replied to the topic Short Story Publication/Competition in the forum Podium 7 years, 5 months ago
Yay! Such a beautiful and chilling story…. well done!!
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Philippa East replied to the topic What shape are your ideas? in the forum Blogs 7 years, 5 months ago
Just seen this post…
I too am floundering about in the “half-idea” realms…. I think I usually need two sort of “touch points”: an inciting incident of some kind, but then another event of some kind to head towards in the narrative. At the moment, I sort of just have my inciting incident and not another “way point”. Grrr.
These days, I find…[Read more]
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Philippa East replied to the topic Titles in the forum The Writers' Lifeboat 7 years, 5 months ago
Glad you guys like it! Thanks again for all your helpful input on this. Titles clearly aren’t my forte….
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Philippa East replied to the topic CB Creative in the forum Podium 7 years, 5 months ago
That’s great, and very exciting. Looking forward to hearing more about book 2.
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Philippa East replied to the topic Titles in the forum The Writers' Lifeboat 7 years, 5 months ago
Hi guys,
To update: the title Sarah and I have decided on (for now) is….
After We Found Her
What’s in a name, eh?
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Philippa East replied to the topic CB Creative in the forum Podium 7 years, 5 months ago
Oh wow, @alanr, that is such exciting news about the request!!!! Amazing. Have you sent it off yet? Whatever happens, I am sure you’ll get some invaluable feedback. Congrats again!!
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Philippa East replied to the topic Some notes on Dara Marks' Transformational Arc in the forum Blogs 7 years, 5 months ago
That’s great insight! I guess this is what we mean by the “lie” that our characters labour under. (Their misunderstanding about how the world works and what is needed of them) Our stories will have tragic ends if our characters never learn to see through the lies they are living by.
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I’m actually reducing the number of words in my WIP which had reached around 50,000 (guess why) and has now shrunk to about 30,000 – rapidly. Work on it has stopped while I think about my Room With A View entry (836 words right now), and I have to get a first chapter in some kind of shape for a writers’ w/e in January (If anybody has a moment…[Read more]
Oh yuck to backstories! Hope you are feeling less yucky about it today @philippaeast. I don’t know. I don’t think we need to know everything about a secondary character’s past, as long as their character and story are ‘real’ to us. Apart from bits of their past that are relevant, obv. I figure I don’t know everything about a friend’s past, but I…[Read more]
That is definitely an issue with launching into an unplanned story: the pain of squashing continuity errors, conflicts and missing detail. I think you can get away with quite a lot as long as there are no bugs. If your MC was two years old in the year 2000 but somehow was in favour of staying in the EEC in 1975 then you have some explaining. If…[Read more]
Hah hah @raine, who said anything about secondary characters?! These are my main characters I’m talking about! But hopefully as @athelstone says, it’s about there not being obvious “bugs” in the writing. Yeah the issue I stumbled into was that, psychologically, a particular character arc made sense if certain events happened when her child was…[Read more]