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Wednesday 24 September 2014

What's Up Wednesday

It's time for What's Up Wednesday, a weekly meme run by Erin L Funk and Jaime Morrow. Here's what I've been up to this past week!

What I'm reading


I read Afterworlds by Scott Westerfield, which is about a soon-to-be-published teen author, and I loved it! It flips back and forth between the author's life and the world of the actual book, which was very cool.


What I'm writing

I finished the first self-edit of Shiny New Manuscript and sent it to beta readers! *flail* And so far... it looks good! *squeal*

I also worked casually both on the Shiny New Novella and on Shiny New Series Book 2 (there will be actual titles at some point, I swear. :P)! I didn't intend to, but the moment I say I'm taking a break from a project, it starts nagging at me again. Such is the odd world of a writer's mind. And seriously, these characters will NOT stop pestering me, which means I'll probably fall back into crazy-hyperactive-insomniac-caffeine-addict mode, which is how I wrote most of the first book. :P


What works for me

When it comes to editing, I work in several stages (I actually have a post planned for the blog soon about my editing process in more detail). Although I'd like to be able to leave the manuscript to sit after finishing the draft, I usually end up editing right away because inevitably, there will be issues that came up during drafting that I want to fix immediately. Then I'll leave it for a while - usually a month or so, sometimes with CP's/beta readers (depending on my level of confidence in the project!), before diving into another edit. I tend to go through two rounds of betas until all the issues have been fixed - at least, I hope so!


What else I've been up to

I went to stay at my boyfriend's for a few days, attempting to take an Actual Break from writing... yeah, my brain really doesn't know how to switch off. :P ("Relax?" What is that word?) But we went to an all-day gig (well, my boyfriend organised it - he's a music promoter and it was his first major event, and it went really well!) and also went walking. ^_^ And in less than two weeks, we're going on a holiday break to Iceland! *dances*

15 comments:

  1. Emma, your writing made me laugh! The sort of laugh you have when something hits true to home. I too gave up that whole concept of, um, "normal" long ago. Best thing I ever did! I maintain that writers are a thin line away from ending up in psych wards - even though the people in our heads can be more real than actual humans, if we write their stories on paper so they can then walk around in other people's heads, this is somehow viewed as "normal" by society. Hooray for us!

    Great news about your Shiny New Manuscript! I'm knee deep in the editing process myself but am sadly, a much slower editor than you. I look forward to reading about your editing process.

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  2. The premise of Afterworld does sound really intriguing. And have fun on your trip to Iceland, that sounds like a blast! Hopefully a blast of fun, and not really cold air. ;)

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  3. I want to read Afterworld so bad. My wallet hates me. So many good books, so little money. Thanks for sharing

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  4. Emma, I'd absolutely love to read your post on editing. I love to hear about other's processes. Have a great week, lady!

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  5. Iceland is so exciting! Remember to take lots of pics. Afterworlds is on my TBR list - as SO many other books. Ugh! Can we have a 2nd life just for reading???

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  6. I've always wanted to go to Iceland. How exciting. Also, Afterworlds sounds super interesting. Westerfield is such an amazing writer.

    Have a great week!

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  7. I'd love to read about your editing process, too. And Iceland! Have a marvelous time. I've always wanted to see Iceland.

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  8. Iceland! Jealous. I would love to hear more about your editing process. My biggest problem with editing is that I never feel like I have a plan, therefore it's hard to see progress...

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  9. Iceland, wow! :D Have an amazing time.

    Well, I think it's a great book and I'm very glad you edited it so fast ;) Good luck with the rest of it!

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  10. Freaking Iceland!!!! *cries*
    Please share photos! The joys of being landlocked. ;)

    Sounds like things are going great on the writing front! Have fun with wherever the muse is leading you! ^_^

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  11. Glad to hear work on the sequel is off to a good start! I can relate to being in insomniac mode, since night time is usually when I have the chance to write. A trip to Iceland sounds fantastic! That's somewhere I'd love to visit someday. Have a super week!

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  12. Wow, have fun in Iceland! It seems like lots of people are taking some pretty cool trips lately. *tries not to be jealous*

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  13. Iceland... that would be cool. I love shiny new ideas :) I am currently working on a re-write but it's become shiny again.

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  14. SL - Ha, I think all writers teeter on the edge of crazy! :P

    Leandra - LOL! Haha, I think it's going to be cold - but worth it!

    Leslie - I wish I could buy all the books I wanted to! The endless dilemma of a bookworm. :P

    Katy - I'll be sharing it soon! :)

    Tonja - Ha, I wish! I'll be sure to take lots of photos!

    Kate - Me, too! I can't wait. :)

    Wendy - Same here! I'll be sharing the post soon.

    Niki - It's taken me a while and it's different for each book, but I'm happy to share if people will find it helpful!

    Cole - Thanks! :) I'm making progress with the second book already. :P

    Krystal - I'll be sure to take photos! Thanks!

    Erin - Yep, I'm definitely a night owl. I'm so excited for Iceland! ^^

    Melanie - Thanks! I'm stoked for it!

    Angel - Glad to hear! :)

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  15. Hah! The Writer Brain is never resting. It's both a blessing and a curse. Glad I'm not the only one though. :)

    And wow, Iceland!!! Sounds absolutely amazing. I hope you have a blast.

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