Writing a First Draft in Two Weeks: Part 3

How am I doing in my online class and its imposed challenge of writing a first draft in two weeks? (280 double-spaced pages.) Well, it’s going.

Sorta.

Speaking of Crazy Goals…

I’ve done an awful lot in the past two weeks, except make the 280 page mark. I am pleased to announce that I am over the 200 page threshold, but with the midnight Sunday deadline approaching faster than Easter, let’s just say, hitting 280 ain’t gonna happen. I mean, sure, I’m open to miracles. But the fact of the matter is, I’m not going to drop absolutely everything in order to accomplish this goal. In fact, writing 77 pages in the next 30.5 hours would pretty much ensure I would break a whole lot of other goals. Such as my goal of being a reasonable person, my goal of keeping my family happy and fed–heck, even hanging out with my family, my goal of getting through laundry before the work week commences once again, my goal of being a non-negligent mother, etc, etc. Plus, I’m pretty sure the cat I’m sitting would get a bit pissy if I just ran into the house, flung food at her, and hurried off again. (Same goes for my family, actually.)

There is something to be said for making unreasonable attempts, such as writing 280 pages in two weeks while trying to retain a semblance of real life (and not get fired or divorced or visited by family services). There is also something to be said for making goals and doing your best to get close to them. For example, if I hadn’t tried to reach this goal, I would still only have notes as to where I wanted to go with this story idea.

So what have I learned? I can squeeze in a little writing time every day if I make it a priority. And heck, it’s still a pile of fun! (Plus, if I write up to 9:13 in the morning, I can eek into work just in the nick of time. Whew!)

The next crazy goal? To revise this puppy in two weeks–that’s the second half of the class. I wonder if it matters that it is only 207 pages long and incomplete. Hmm…

Writing a First Draft in Two Weeks: Part #2

I’m cranking out the pages today, but had to stop to do a little research to help me push the story forward in the right direction. The problem is, my research has popped a question right up into the forefront of thee ol’ brain.

First, some backstory. The main character in my WIP believes she was conceived as a result of artificial insemination through a sperm donor clinic.

Doing my research on clinics, etc, I began to wonder… do I use a real clinic? What are the pluses, what are the drawbacks?

My story is set in a fictional small town in rural Alberta and there are three clinics in Alberta listed on the DonorSiblingRegistry.com website and so I was thinking, do I use a real clinic? Using a real clinic might add more details to the story that a fictional clinic may not. The problem is that if I use a real place, then I have to do even more research to ensure that I represent this place accurately as there is correspondence back and forth regarding policy, etc. And to do that, I may not be able to manipulate my character and storyline in the way I imagine. I suppose I could do the research and then figure out what works best for my story. The best of both worlds?

Here’s the other problem… when calling someone up out of the blue to ask questions, when I imagine the script, I always get stuck. For example, here’s my big ‘what if’ that leaves me stumped:

“Hi, my name is Jean Oram and I am writing a novel about a girl who is searching for her Bio-Dad who was a sperm donor in the 1980s. I’m hoping you can help me out by answering a few questions I have.”

“Cool! When will the book be published?”

“Uhhhh… well, see… here’s the thing–”

Have you delved deep into research where you interviewed people? What did you do? How did you handle the ‘when does the book come out’ topic?

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P.S. Here is my progress so far:

Monday: 0

Tuesday: 14

Wednesday: 13

Thursday: 20

Friday: 24 and still going

LATER NOTE: I wrote 44 pages today (double spaced, 6625 words). Whew!

Writing a First Draft in Two Weeks: Part 1

I am taking a writing class online through Orange County RWA called “Fast Draft and Revision Hell” with Candace Havens. Despite all those things that make life so busy, a bunch of us crazies writers are going to put down a first draft in two weeks. It’s day two. I have a story arc and uh…. I’d better get going!

I need to write 20 pages (double spaced) every day for the next two weeks. That’s right, push everything aside and just fly!

I’ll try and keep you all posted! I’ve got to run off to work, but I hope to write my twenty pages in that hour I have between work and supper tonight. (I’d better hit the grocery store for a pre-cooked BBQ chicken!) Can she write 20 pages in 1 hour? Only time will tell…