It took some time to decide whether I would participate in NaNoWriMo this year. I have participated ten times in all and each time have created novel or novella length manuscripts. Most have been revised and edited over the following year or so to become published books. Some quicker than others it must be said. My very first NaNo in 2009 resulted in a work not published until last September! Yep 9 years. This was due to it being my first full length manuscript, my novice writing and self doubt that it was worthy of publishing. I revised and edited almost every year until I took the plunge, finally satisfied it was finalized.
However, in regard to this year’s NaNo, my first stumbling block was the two draft novels I have pending, which are previous year’s NaNoWriMo manuscripts. Again I know they need revisions and editing prior to submission to a publisher. My struggle was should I work on these manuscripts rather than create another one?
Secondly, I have several events to attend during November, which will take me away from the vital writing time needed for NaNo. As we all know every minute counts during November. Will I have enough time to succeed?
Thirdly, although I browsed the multitude of saved short stories in my laptop folders, I was not convinced any of them were novel length material. Or maybe it was my Muse not being excited enough about them – who knows? So I pondered what ‘new’ story I could write. Nothing I thought of seemed the elusive ‘it’ until just as I was drifting off to sleep an idea burst into my mind. It gave me a rough timeline, one character and the inkling of a plot. Knowing that relying on memory is a writer’s mistake when ideas pop up, I got up and wrote it all down. Subsequently, I have managed to decide on my two main characters, their location, some backstory and a timeline.
So I am as ready as I can be for 1st November. If you would like to connect on the NaNoWriMo site I’m MandyB.
While I didn’t realize it at the time, the illness and subsequent death of my mother. There are many hints about connection to the afterlife in the novel.
How did you come up with the title?
It has a dual meaning. First of all, it describes a class of people in a dystopian society, but it also represents the journey of the main character, Lexil, as she overcomes challenges and becomes a new person.
Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
That your personality is not static, nor is your life. You can change and grow at any time and stage of your life.
How much of the book is realistic?
The essence of each character is. Their emotions are no different than any other person, but they are in extraordinary circumstances.
Are your characters based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
I think the character of Ceera, who is only five years old in the novel, represents myself when I was younger, as well as the innocence I see in all the children I work with. (I’m a teacher).
Where can readers find you on social media and do you have a blog?
Do you have plans or ideas for your next book? Is it a sequel or a stand alone?
I always have a thousand projects in the works! I’m doing my best to finish the sequel to Reborn as fast as my fans desire. I am also collaborating with illustrators for some children’s picture books
Of the characters you have created or envisioned, which is your favorite & why?
That’s not fair! I have to pick a favourite? That’s like picking a favourite book. Nope! Not doing it!
Do you favor one type of genre or do you dabble in more than one?
I love YA! Read it! Write it! And fantasy has a special place in my heart, of course. But I’m trying to dabble into new genres.
Do you plan your stories, or are you a seat of the pants style writer?
Some parts are planned, usually the beginning and the ending. The rest is filling in the middle, which is more fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants.
What is your best marketing tip?
Dive in! Be ready to stay active and try new things. Marketing starts long before the novel is released (or sometimes even written) and continues long after.
Do you find social media a great tool or a hindrance?
I think it’s very useful. It just takes a lot of time.
What do you enjoy most about writing?
Every part except editing!
What age did you start writing stories/poems?
Grade two. So… I must have been six or seven years old.
PRESS RELEASE
A FATE WORSE THAN DEATH? NEW SERIES BY ACCLAIMED YOUNG ADULT FANTASY AUTHOR LETHBRIDGE, ALBERTA: Influenced by the illness and subsequent death of her mother, young adult author Jenna Greene pens the first in a new series, Reborn. In this coming of age fantasy, Lexil discovers through the marks on her skin that she is a Reborn–someone who has lived before. Because of this, and the intricate mythology of her world, she is sold at auction and forced to become a slave, abruptly throwing her life and everything she’s known into a chaotic spiral. At a time when Lexil is already struggling with the adversities of being a teenager, still reeling from the loss of parents, the effects of being portrayed as different take their toll. Lexil is out to understand and discover even more about who she is, and who she will become. Intermixed with a unique and complex mythology, drawing from her own life experiences, and her ability to write truly authentic characters, Mrs. Greene tugs at our hearts when Lexil must save a young child, form a new ally with a charming boy named Finn, but most importantly, fight to survive. Jenna is known for her talent of creating characters the audience can relate to whether they are young adults or adults, and this time, Lexil is no different. Her compelling writing style continues to captivate readers, asking tough questions and revealing the answers all while creating tension, true emotions, and imaginative world-building. With five published novels to date, including her outstanding Imagine series, Jenna has a passion for writing that shines. Recently, in a spotlight feature in Pandora’s Box Gazette, Jenna stated: “I don’t know how young I was when I identified as a writer. It was probably when I first started school and a teacher told my parents I had talent. Since then, I’ve always known writing was something I would pursue. There are stories in my head that I have the desire and ability to tell
I’m changing it up a bit today to reflect on my week long writing road trip. We traveled 2400 kms in 7 days and enjoyed wildlife, magnificent scenery as well as writing and reading time.
My plan was to cover these projects while on this retreat.
Continue with my steampunk novel, The Commodore’s Gift.
Add to a short story for an anthology submission.
A social media review.
Finish one book and start another.
Edit fellow authors last chapters of novel writing group.
The result?
I did add to the steampunk novel
Managed more for the anthology submission
Social media review was reviewed when I got back home
Didn’t manage to finish the book but very close to finishing now
Finished editing the fellow author’s manuscript
So I did quite well considering.
Do you plan how you will complete projects?
Do you list them in priority or tackle them when the mood takes you?
Road trips have become a regular occurrence since I came to live in Canada. I have been given the gift of an awesome friend, Linda, who enjoys the open road and finding new places and experiences. We leave the main highways and travel the back roads discovering hamlets, small towns and wildlife. Most of our trips are long weekends but this week we incorporated a book fair event into our plans and are making a week long trip to explore new places.
Having new experiences, meeting new people and discovering places and scenery we would not otherwise know about, fuels the writing muse. Due to the length of our trip this time I made a list of writing projects I would like to complete. Possibly wishful thinking but with a plan in place it gives me a goal. So this is the schedule, although in which order they are accomplished is open to how I am feeling at the time.
Edit a fellow author’s manuscript.
Revise WIP – Rython Legacy with fellow author’s editing suggestions.
Complete an animal rescue story for submission to an anthology.
Continue writing my steampunk story, The Commodore’s gift.
Revise social media format/posts/branding.
Our trip so far (we left early on Sunday morning) has seen new places and the sighting of five bears! We also met a wonderful author by chance when we decided on an impromptu lunch in a small hamlet. We will visit local libraries and book stores on our travels as well because life is so much better with books.
When you open up yourself to new experiences you find abundance and food for the Muse.
Do you create a writing retreat/vacation writing schedule?
The event we will be attending is below, if you happen to be traveling that way. Find me & Linda on the Dream Write Publishing table.
Summer Oldstice Saturday 15th June
Host: Uptowne Olds
Description: Summer Oldstice Street Festival. Artists, Musicians, Performers, Bakers, Growers, Food Service vendors, handicrafters and more!
Normal programming will continue with an author interview. Slight hiccup with the interview being completed. In the meantime I am re-posting this. It is rather apt as I am currently in the midst of editing a sequel myself and also involved with a small NaNoWriMo editing group where five authors and I are going through each other’s manuscripts. Several chapters a month works well for our process.
As writers we love to be immersed in our own creations -weaving plots, planning and following story arcs, creating character profiles as well as their trials and tribulations. Our minds are full of questions : What happens next? How would my character react? Is that plausible or believable? Can I improve on that scene? Have I shown not told? Is there too much exposition? Would the reader have enough description to envisage the scene?
Graph – speedofcreativity.com
All these questions need to be answered but not when we are writing the first draft. This initial phase is the most enjoyable part of creating a story. Remember to give your inner editor time off enabling you to create freely and get the basic story line written. Once you have finished, the ‘real’ work starts. Continuity, grammar, spelling, character development, revisions to scenes etc. the list is long and sometimes overwhelming. Where should you start?
Once the story is complete put it to one side and go onto new projects. Leave it for a month or more (I’ve left two projects for nearly 6 months). When you go back to re-read you have fresh eyes giving you new insights. Your revision process may be to correct everything above as you read each page or you could concentrate on one item at a time, re-reading each time giving you a particular focus. This second method does lean itself to sharpening the process as you are not trying to ‘spot’ numerous revision types at the same time. With your editing done let your favored readers have it. Take note of their suggestions and correct any errors they may find. No matter how many times you or your beta readers go through the manuscript there will always be a word missed, mis-spelt or a continuity slip up. How do you make your manuscript as good as it can be?
A professional editor – if you can afford one – is a good investment. However, one trick that may work for you in finding those elusive errors is to read the book from back to front page by page. Another is to read it out aloud to yourself or a understanding friend (a glass or two of wine helps with this one!) A missed word is very obvious with this technique.
When editing there may be sentences or even whole paragraphs that you know need to be revised or even omitted from the manuscript to help with the flow of the story line or scene. Deleting these is hard – it is your creation and your words were written through hard work. There are different opinions on what to do with these revisions but I think they should be saved in a separate document until you are absolutely sure you do want to delete them and even then you may keep them as a record of how the scene developed. They are a writer’s jetsam so to speak, which is my link to today’s calendar word. I had to squeeze it in somewhere!
These ejected words from our ‘ship’ may float on our hard drives or become washed up in a document folder but wherever they end up they are part of our creative soul and never truly lost. We may pick them up from the shore in the future to use in another piece of writing or they may stay hidden in the depths of our files. No matter which scenario occurs, they are born of you and precious all the same.
As writers we endeavor to produce the very best manuscript or article we can and that is why we endure the editing process. Without this method of correcting and improving, our creations will not be polished and worthy of reading and that is the one thing we all want – our work to be read and enjoyed.
I wish you fortitude in your process to make your work excel and delight your readers.
