For 2024, I plan to write this blog about how I am revising the novel that I have been workshopping with a critique group for the last year and a half. Having to write about my revisions each month will force me to work on specific elements of the novel. At present, this novel consists of what I would call “characters’ voices.” Because the story of this novel, the place of this novel, and the characters are entirely fictional, I have had to create everything from scratch. To figure out who my characters are, I have placed them in a variety of scenes and let them interact either through dialog or through diaries or letters. Thus, I have a series of about fifteen to twenty drafts for each of about eight characters.
To begin this new year, I read my entire document file and figured out how many distinct scenes I had already created. I made a list of the scenes—there were twenty-seven. I added dates for the period in which the scenes occurred and rearranged them chronologically for now. I wrote out the purpose of the scene and noted who was in the scene. This exercise showed me weaknesses in my timeline, in the plot, and in my character development. It also revealed what is missing and what remains to be figured out.
Now during the coming month, I can work specifically on the timeline and draft new scenes to begin to fill in the holes. Amusingly, I had a very technicolor dream in which colorful pages of the story were pasted on a wall and my job was to rearrange them.
My Writing Goals for 2024
Work on poetic forms and continue to connect with other poets:
I attended a Colorado Poetry Center reading led by Beth Franklin in December. I also attended a poetry circle in Lafayette arranged by Larry LaVerdure. Beginning in January 2024, I will work on poetic forms. This month, I began exploring the villanelle—a poetic form with a rhyming pattern and refrains.
Finish my first novel and query agents:
I prepared 2000 words for my critique group and did some more research.
Continue to work on my second novel:
I’ve been reading a lot about the 1970’s when this novel takes place.
Continue to work on my third novel:
I looked up some old car models for this 1930s novel.
Continue to develop a network of kindred spirits in the world of writing and publishing:
Boulder Writers Alliance: The other officers and I were re-elected to serve throughout 2024. We have a new newsletter editor and plan to publish the newsletter tri-annually. I attended our December Happy Hour and our January Writers Who Read session with Gary Alan McBride on Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. Gary and two of the group members will begin publishing a podcast of his work this month.
Denver Women’s Press Club: Our December holiday party was fun. A local friend joined DWPC, and now I have a companion with whom I can attend activities.
Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers: I read the newsletter. I am amazed at the puns TH Leatherman tucks in his essays. I also appreciated his article on project management software including Notion, Airtable, and Solaris.
Women Writing the West: Our critique group plans to continue throughout 2024, reading about 2000 words for each member each month. I prepared my pages for the group which meets next week.
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 January 7, 2024, and I am posting my first blog of 2024. After a month of pondering how I would focus my blog for this year, I decided to write about revising and editing because this is what I am personally working on this year. I think, learn, and reflect as I write and converse with myself about my writing. Perhaps my process will be of use to other writers.
Famous Writers Born in January
A diverse group of writers have been born in January: Isaac Asimov, Julian Barnes, Anton Chekhov, Lewis Carroll, E. L. Doctorow, Zane Grey, Patricia Highsmith, Zora Neale Hurston, Jack London, Somerset Maugham, A. A. Milne, Haruki Murakami, Edgar Allan Poe, J. D. Salinger, J.R.R. Tolkien, Edith Wharton, and Virginia Woolf.
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