Back To It

Before I tell you about my evening with working on Newland:

I received an assignment back from Mr Stone - an A-. Cool. This only leaves my resubmitted assignment to be marked for this module to be completed. As long as it gains a minimum grade of a B-, I'll have achieved a Distinction for this module. Very cool. I really have to get around to updating the diploma assignments page. (Maybe Sunday). I haven't received the last assignments back from the other module yet.

Idolatry has been reworked and tonight I revised that latest version once more. My prime beta reader (my wife) gave it a going over and thought the new version was good. She may be biased so I've now sent it out to my other beta readers/critiquing writer buddies. Then I need to decide on a new market to send it to.

No responses from the submissions already out there - really need to write some query letters (also maybe Sunday).

Tonight I worked on Newland. I was tossing up whether to write a new chapter or use the time to properly story board it. In the end I really wanted to write something new so the story boarding was left for another day (yep, maybe Sunday). I read through the previous five chapters I'd written and the first 300 or so words of the sixth chapter, and revised as I went - I couldn't help myself.

I then wrote two thirds of chapter six, bumping it up to nearly 1800 words. It seems to be a little slow through chapters 5 & 6 though but I've decided I'm not going to worry about it at the moment. I'm just going to push on and get the story out. I'm thinking I'll be able to go back and plant stuff, or add greater conflict, or do some foreshadowing, after I've written the other bits of the story.

So the story sits with a little over 12,000 words on the page with a projected finishing total of around 95-100k. A touch over 13% done of the first draft, but the important thing is I'm working on it again and getting the story written. Polishing is for later.

It's just about midnight here. Tomorrow my cricket playing days begin again and true to form, it's cold and a little wet outside. My first game of any season tends to be rain affected. This is the fourth game of the current season and they haven't had a single day with rain. Now I come out of retirement - it rains. Typical.

Time for bed, as I'm guessing I'll need all the sleep I can get. My body is complaining about the torment I'm going to put it through tomorrow already.

Wish me luck.

BT