Hi everyone!

Hope everyone is keeping their head above water. Just whatever you do, stay safe, hopefully, the end is in sight. I definitely hope so.

A Little About My Writing Process

When I started, I am ashamed to say, I made several critical errors. I wrote what I thought people would want to read, (cough... yaoi...), despite not being as into it as I should have been, as well as not actually understanding much of the topic. I also held chapters hostage for reviews, but thanks to a very irate reviewer, I learned very quickly that was a no-go. My ability to edit was appalling and I didn't understand the flow, or pacing, or even structure beyond having a beginning, middle, and end.

As my writing evolved thanks to the patience of several early betas, I started to pick up on all those areas where I was seriously lacking, ad it drove me to an entirely different extreme. I became an utter perfectionist. I started to spend months and years on a single chapter, only to lose my reader base's interest and loyalty. I also overused the word limit a little, describing every nuance where it was unnecessary and interfering with the flow.

So, today, I still fall back heavily on outlining and planning. This is no longer a case of perfectionism, rather in the process of adding chapters, I kept tripping myself up with plot points. previously completed chapters were conflicting with where the story was ultimately headed, so I stopped actively adding chapters. I sat and worked on backstories, character arcs, subplots, and making the best outline I could based on what I knew about the story.

That's where I am right now. I know how the story (CtH) ends, I have identified the main plot, six subplots, and elements related to the main plot. I have character arcs mapped out, but these plans aren't rigid like they would have been in the past, now there's wiggle room. The plan for the overall story is very basic.

When I finish a chapter, I go straight back to the notes and ask, "what happens next?". There are a few elements I address. Logical follow-on events that address the previous points made, (not just the previous chapter), then you get elements of the main plot or subplots popping up. Ideally, you want to address things that have happened, there's nothing worse than reading something for an author to forget all about it and leave something hanging when it's not concluded. You also want progression, something new happening to continue to keep the reader's interest. These new points allow you to tick things off the list of events that haven't happened. Some events happen slowly over time, you get a lot of scenes out of a single bullet point from your notes because characters can sometimes take only so much emotion or information in any given instance.

When writing, you find simple points from a notebook do several things on the page when you're typing. New ideas can mutate a plot, this can be great (it was that thing you needed to elevate the scene) or it can be exasperating, (the scene was perfect in your head and now it wants o do something you don't like). Sometimes you know exactly what needs to happen in a scene, but either you have no motivation to actually write it down, or no matter how hard you try, it's painful and just not happening. This is very frustrating, and even, demoralising. When you need a scene completed in order to move on to the next scene or chapter, having these problems just stalls the entire story, keeps readers waiting, and puts pressure on the writer which can lead to rushing and an ultimately sloppy scene/chapter.

I also stopped typing perfect scenes from the first word of a new document. I aim for sixty percent quality, not a hundred. I write the whole chapter, or whole scenes, and let days go by. Then, I reread, see the problems, and zip back in. I do that repeatedly until I can read the whole thing and sit back ultimately pleased by having addressed the previously mentioned points, while also showing progression. Then, I edit and spell check, sometimes I have to fact-check canon spelling or events. That's a finished chapter, and we're right back to square one with the next.

If I wrote off the seat of my pants, the story could start great, get saggy or go nowhere. I can't tolerate the thought of that, and while it's a speedy process, I don't like it and it doesn't work for me. All I can do is apologise for the waiting that I do cause my readers, by using the process that I have evolved which works for me. I have two children with many needs, and that takes most of my day. There are nights I'm so tired from doing that, I couldn't write anything legible to save my life.

Hopefully, you can see the process now, and understand where my time actually goes. I have resolved to write faster, and I'm actively devoting more time to the story. I want the chapters to come out faster, while still taking the time each chapter needs, but I don't want to waste anyone's time. Bear with me, and I will get the story done.

On a completely unrelated topic, I have some very good news... I am four months pregnant with my third child and I'm guaranteeing it'll also be the last, haha. Don't know about the hub, but if he refuses, I'll be getting the snip, lmao!!!. we'll find out the gender on the 4th of June and this one is due in late October.

Fanfic Updates:

Clinging to Hope: Update on progress - May 2021.

Chapter 9 is outlined and in progress. I just have to sit and write at this point. It's going well, but nowhere near where it has to be. I will keep updating you here on the progress.

Siamese Surprise: On hiatus.

All Other stories are currently one-shots that I consider complete. I will not be adding chapters to any of them.

A Little About Me

I'm a busy mother of two in my thirties. If I'm not cooking, I'm cleaning. If I'm not cleaning, I'm supervising kids that like to pick on each other all the time. If I'm not doing that, I'm trying to concentrate on writing stuff I can actually sell, novels and screenplays. It's interesting and time-consuming. I'm also expecting another baby, (lol, I wonder how that happened), and both my girls have been diagnosed with ADHD, it explains a lot. I'm also in the process of upskilling. I got laid off back in October because the hotel industry in Ireland is all but shut down for non-essential travel and work. I've decided to retrain to become a carer, its a few steps below general nursing, but I would be considered an essential worker, allowed to secure permanent daycare for my kids and boost our income. As it stands, covid is making it nearly impossible to get a mortgage without me having a covid proof job. I should be qualified within the year, but it's an ongoing process, and I'm doing my best to support our kids and keep our heads above water during this time.