Okay, today is July 16th and I am struggling to find anything to talk about. I’ve done some work on Secrets in Slacksville using the Page One to Done method, mostly brainstorming and outlining, no drafting the story yet.
I think this method of writing the story might work for me. I know that as a mystery I do need to have at least a brief outline. This outline includes character information too, that will help when it’s time to actually write it. The work I did get done was exciting for me and I really did feel energized by making progress. Plus I downloaded a couple formulas/guidance on how to write a mystery. I also have a book on writing a mystery around here somewhere. I think it was by Hallie Ephron, but I couldn’t find it; I did find one by Sue Grafton. Plus a couple others, I guess I’ve bought a few – I’ve been planning Secrets in Slacksville for a looooong time! I’ll have to tear my writing book shelf apart to see what I can find.
But in the meantime, I think I will use these two downloaded guides to get started, mostly to make sure I’m not missing anything in the outline. One is Frank Gruber’s Fool-proof 11 Point Formula for Mystery Short Stories (mine is a full sized novel so I’m not sure how applicable it will be) and the other is the Anonymous Christie’s 12-Chapter Murder Mystery Formula that is based on Agatha Christie’s novels – but as it states it’s anonymous so there’s no way to know who created it. I found both on a website belonging to an Adron J Smitley, but it’s from 2020, so we’ll see whether it helps or not. First I will will have to re-type both guides as when I printed them down, they came out very faint, not due to a lack of ink but due to the color of the font he used. I had a hard time reading it on the screen, hence the printed version. Also, my eyes have been bothering me with new eye drops and all that nonsense, so part of the issue might be that.
Then it’s back to Generation Zee! I have decided to just move the characters along for now to the next chapter – I can go back in the future if necessary to fill in any missing information or action. But I have to do something to get the story moving. I really want to get it completed within the next month or so. I bet all of you are sick of hearing about this book by now.
As far as other things go, I’ve tried to set up a writing schedule. Well, more of a life schedule that includes exercise, meals, and writing time. Some of that is part of the whole process in the Page One to Done book, but I knew I needed to get some kind of schedule going if I’m going to seriously write these books. I already had a date book and of course appointments on my calendar app, but I realized I needed to pick specific writing times, so that’s what I’ve done. And then immediately, I got a migraine the first day of the new schedule. Of course I did! So this first week the schedule went out the window….
I did manage to make it Brews and Mews to see the kittens – which is pretty much all they have right now, it must be kitten season…again. And while they are adorable to watch, so funny and silly, I really prefer the older cats. If I were to get one, it wouldn’t be a kitten.
I’ve also been exploring some new hobbies, right now I have the house plants which have pretty much taken over the house, Gluten Free Baking, exploring witchcraft, and crystals – all the ones I have are now organized in alphabetical order in cases with an accompanying spread sheet showing purpose and details. Plus I already have the materials to start making things like trays or coasters out of acrylic, but I haven’t done anything with it because of the heat here in NC and my workshop is in the garage with no AC – man, it gets hot out there! But I’ve been looking into making pottery; there are a couple of places that offer lessons locally – it is very artsy around here – and I am thinking of signing up for one of them in the fall. Though in all honesty, I should do the acrylics first. Plus, after listing it all out, it looks like I have plenty of things to keep me occupied when I’m not writing. (And they can function as excuses to NOT write, which is not a good thing!)
I think that’s about all I have today. I hope to have more progress to report at the end of the month – though we will be going on vacation for two weeks soon and who knows how much writing I’ll be able to get done. When we travel, sometimes I’m very productive and other times I’m not.
