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Writing Update and A Wee Bit on CRPS

Last week I posted about getting stuck into adding some meat to Working the Asset‘s story skeleton. I’d fantasized that I’d have posted that I’d gotten that done by now and was on the way to editorial pass #2…I may have bitten off more than I could chew for the time I had allowed for it.

Some Background (The CRPS Bit)

For most writers, physically writing on those index cards (or anything) is so easy and effortless that the only thought required to fill them out is what happens in the scene.

For me, there’s a lot more involved. For the last twenty years, I’ve suffered from a chronic pain condition called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). It affects my right hand and arm. Take a guess to which hand is my dominant one. Yep, you got it! 😬

Very long story short, the CRPS was caused by an injury sustained while serving in the Navy, and it eventually ended my career. And any prospects of ever having one.

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Hi all! Our internet went on a major go slow, like slow-slow. I spent the better part of today getting it back up to speed, and thankfully it’s running smoothly now. Yay! On the non-yay front, I’ve run out of time in my workday and haven’t had the time to work on this week’s Genre Scribes.
Never fear, Amy and Kelvin will be back tomorrow.
Till then, stay awesome.

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Working the Asset – Update 2 June

I’ve had my head down this week, getting more of the outline for Deniable Unit 1: Working the Asset fine-tuned. I’m now 80% done with the editorial pass for the plot (1 of 7 passes)!

With every action step I complete, the outline transforms into a better, stronger, and more cohesive story. I can’t wait to see it fully formed and in stores!

If you’re wondering what I mean by “action steps,” they’re from H. R. D’Costa’s Sparkling Story Drafts (affiliate link)–it’s a fantastic series on outlining screenplays and novels.

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Writing Update!

It’s been a while (a really long while) since I’ve done an update post for my writing progress. That’s mainly been down to life getting in the way of writing.

In the last month or so, I’ve taken steps to remedy that—pretty much bahookie in chair and head down kind of steps.

What I’m Working On:

I’m back to working on the outline for Deniable Unit #1. Also, I finally have a working title for DU1: Working the Asset.

Outlining Method

The outlining method I’m using is called Iterative Outlining, a method created by H. R. D’Costa.

A quick reminder of what iterative outlining is: it’s like doing all the developmental editing that usually happens after the story is written, but at the outlining stage—in three phases.

There’s a lot of work upfront, and it seems like it’s neverending, but it’s worth it. So far, I’ve saved a whole lot of time by fixing a plot issue I hadn’t even noticed was there. One that would have cost far more time editing at the end.

The Final Stage

At last, I’m on the final stage of iterative outlining, called the working outline. This one consists of seven editorial passes:

  1. Plot
  2. Structure
  3. Premise
  4. Delight
  5. Four Workhorses
  6. Character
  7. Odds and Ends

Progress

As of today, I’m 70% of the way through the editorial pass for the plot. Woohoo!

progress

My progress will pick up steam as I work through all the passes, and I’ll share how it’s going here on the blog.

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you’ll join me as I get ever closer to typing THE END.

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teddy bear facemask Susan T. Braithwaite
I went a wee bit nuts making face masks (Jez has the details of how to make them on his post)

As it’s Jez’s last day of holiday before we go back to the craziness of his work schedule tomorrow, there won’t be a Genre Scribes: Friday Fiction post today. But, as I’ll be up nice and early (some would say it’s still night-time), I plan on getting the post up tomorrow. Until then, stay safe 🤗

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Deniable Unit 2 Progress Update: Oct 2

Progress Update

I’m now at 12% on my outline for Deniable Unit 2!

Well, it’s been a while since I posted an update on my current work-in-progress (WIP).

I started work on the intentional outline for DU 2, made a ton of notes that made total sense, and then went on holiday. When I got back to work a few weeks ago, those notes made absolutely zero sense.

So, I’ve spent the last three weeks getting back up to speed with the outline, made a lot of changes, and now I’ve got the plot to where it should be.

Now that I’m over that speed bump, I know that my progress is going to pick up speed.

Raring to go for the next step!

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Outlining: Deniable Unit 2

On Wednesday, I completed my intentional outline (stage two of three) for Deniable Unit 1.

To give the outline a wee bit of breathing space, I’m now working on the intentional outline for Deniable Unit 2—work started yesterday.

I’m working the same way I did for DU1: fixing plot, protagonists, genre, tone, and theme in turn.

With today’s work complete, I’ve made a total of 7% progress on this outlining stage!

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Deniable Unit 1 Progress Update: Aug 28

Progress Update

Less than a month ago I put up a little progress bar on my WIPs page for DU1. The bar was empty and looked like it was going to take forever to get to full. But, I promised myself that I’d keep chipping away at the job of pre-editing my outline, that even progress of one percent would get me there.

Well, today, I just filled that little progress bar all the way up!

I’m 100% done with my intentional outline for DU1. The story has transformed from a pretty good one to one that I’m proud of. There’s still another stage of outlining/pre-editing to do before I get to write a pretty clean draft. But, I know that working this way is going to save me a tremendous amount of time and effort in the long run.

For now, I’m going to celebrate hitting this milestone with my wonderful husband who kept me fed and watered while I got lost in my own little world! Thank you, Jez! Woohoo!