This past month, I had to present a paper for a local group I belong to so my creative writing time was squeezed into the last week of March and the beginning of April. I am enjoying being in the first revision stage of my most complete novel. My Excel spreadsheet has presented good opportunities for understanding what I must change, add, revise, and improve. It has made clear to me how much work remains for me to do.
I realized that my timeline was off considering the ages of my characters. I had to go back and spend time better defining when they were born so their ages and knowledge of the world would make sense for my story. I went back to my original character outlines and did some serious revision. I had to redefine the age of my main characters in my own mind, not necessarily writing their ages into the novel but clarifying for myself. I also had to move their marriages and the birth of their children in my story back by eight years.
Using the spreadsheet to examine the scenes in my novel, I also realized that I needed to add four new scenes to the beginning of the story for it to make sense. Building a novel is like fitting the pieces of a puzzle together—but first, you must create the pieces.
My Writing Goals for 2024
Continue to develop my poetry and connections with other poets:
Over the past month, I attended a Colorado Poets Center reading at the Boulder Bookstore which featured Art Goodtimes and Judyth Hill. I also hosted a BWA Poetry Circle with the singer, songwriter, and pianist, Karen Karsh. My book-producing editor/cover designer has created a beautiful design for the poetry book I am preparing to publish. I am hoping that it will be printed in time to submit it to a contest this spring.
Finish my first novel and query agents:
Our critique group gave me feedback on about 2000 words of the novel I am currently revising. I also prepared another 2000 words for our next meeting.
Continue to work on my second novel:
I downloaded some supportive information to use for this novel.
Continue to work on my third novel:
I had a discussion with a knowledgeable person about the time and the area where the novel takes place. She recommended references. I also studied up on costumes for the era which will help me visualize my characters and the scenes they are in much more clearly.
Continue to develop a network of kindred spirits in the world of writing and publishing:
Boulder Writers Alliance: Participation in our monthly Happy Hour at the Hotel Boulderado has grown. The writers who attend have fascinating discussions. I also attended Gary Alan McBride’s Writers Who Read discussion of Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld. The novel was a rollicking read.
Denver Woman’s Press Club: As a participant on the membership committee, I responded to edits on the new bylaws regarding membership.
Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers: I read the new president’s newsletter. I also decided not to attend the conference this coming fall.
Women Writing the West: Our critique group met and critiqued each other’s pages. When I joined this group, I never dreamed that I would learn about ghosts locking houses and about a dam being blown up in California! We do have interesting discussions that revolve around the fiction we are writing. The other readers give me helpful feedback. I also reserved my room to attend the fall WWW Conference in Denver.
Document my writing progress through my blog and post it on the seventh day of each month, one blog per month in 2024:
Today is April 7, 2024, and I am posting my fourth blog of 2024. A month that starts off with a “Fool’s Day,” is bound to be full of surprises. It has presented several: a little snowstorm, a few nice spring days with a Colorado blue sky, and a terrible windstorm here this weekend. Thousands of houses in my area have been without power. Fortunately, we have had electricity and heat. I am looking forward to seeing the eclipse on Monday, or rather the shadows it casts, as we have no eclipse glasses on hand.
Writers who were born in April that I particularly enjoy:
Hans Christian Anderson, Samuel Becket, Charlotte Bronte, Isak Dinesen, Henry James, Harper Lee, Vladimir Nabokov, William Shakespeare, and Eudora Welty
Poets that I love who were born in April:
Maya Angelou, Seamus Heaney, and William Wordsworth
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