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The trials/tribulations of creating "Insight". The story where dreams come true. |
Size: 12 Entries
Created: June 9th, 2010 at 7:09am
Modified: July 20th, 2010 at 11:20pm
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Aubrey Scott, an awkward, introverted freshman at Valley Lake University has the ability to transcend into peoples’ dreams and become an observer in their thoughts. On her way back to school from spring break she meets Phillip Andrews, an outgoing college senior who lives life on the edge and has an unknowing gift to predict the future in his dreams. When he falls asleep during their flight, Aubrey steps into his dream and sees his visions of their plane crashing. She realizes his ability to dream of the future as the events come true. They survive the crash and she befriends him to learn more about his dream predictions. While exploring Phillips visions of the future, she exposes a dream-walker on campus and Aubrey becomes trapped in his malevolence thoughts. She escapes, but he plots revenge against her. They must use their combined abilities to stop the dream-walker from his destructive plans. During their journey of discoveries, Aubrey falls in love with Phillip, but he’s hiding a secret and holding his feelings for her back.
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I think I'm in the first stages of going insane!!! (If there are stages of insanity....If there's not stages, go ahead and commit me because I may already be insane.) :) Just kidding..don't send the loony van for me yet. I tried writing the first chapter of Insight in third person...I was not comfortable with it at all and apparently it showed because of some comments and feedback I received. My first instinct was right and I'm going back to first person. I don't regret trying it... I learned something (that I suck at writing in third person) and I don't think I'll be trying it again, so I can mark that off my list of "what if I did it this way".
The other part of my insanity is from walking the fine line of writing in "active" sentences and past tense verses "passive" sentences. Apparently I have a tendency to write in "passive" sentences and it's preferred to have active sentences. Two days ago I was as happy as a lottery winner; thinking I had finally figured out the difference. Today...I'm not so sure. After countless hours of examining every word in the first two chapters, I still don't think I understand or can identify the difference. I made numerous changes hoping I got it right. I guess someone will let me know and I'll find out soon enough if I made a move in the right direction or if I took another leap backwards.
I understand why writers go away; hide in seclusion for months writing their story. You need every minute of peace to write. I can't count the times that I had a great ....well..I just lost my thought again. I just realized (which is a bad word to use in writing) that I complain a lot in these blogs... Several people have written me and offered very good advice.. I just need to learn to stop over analyzing and write without being overly critical on myself.
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| I guess the business side of me is taking over. I have not been involved in the publishing world for very long, but I still understand that time is money and I feel like the clock is ticking. If it takes longer than six months to write a book, then I don't think I'll get many opportunities to have something published. The pressure is on to write a story and do it well the first time around. Going through the process of editing sucks. I'm sure it's a necessary evil, but I'm trying to learn as many things now so I don't repeat the same mistakes the next go round. I don't want to be "lazy" with my writing, but it's really hard to think about making a lot of changes to a story when I've already invested so much into it. The thought of redoing the whole thing in third person terrifies me that it won't come out right and then it's more time down the drain. But...then again...it could be the best move and make all the difference in the world. I guess I'll call this my "starting over" point. I'll use the information I've been fortunate to receive and make necessary adjustments. Maybe I'm looking at this too large scale...if I break it down into chapters and just start with the first one...it won't be so bad. Here it goes....I've already wasted twenty minutes this morning thinking about. I think I'm just putting off the inevitable! |
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| Again...I have fallen off the wagon. Took a vacation for a while to sort through my emails of advice and reviews of Insight and to critique other stories. The more information I receive, the more confused I get. I contemplate redoing the whole story and changing from first person to third person. There are so many improvements that can be made and a lot of work I need to do. Dedicating an hour per day is not enough time. If I'm serious about getting this story published, I need to make greater sacrifices. I can make a dozen excuses - I'm more creative in the morning, so I only like to write when I first get up; I have to work my primary job and can't deviate from my schedules; chores at home; writers block; my writing skills are less than adequate and I need more education; the sun and pool are calling and I need a tan. The list goes on and on, but I do have a couple things going for me...I have a great story and I have a goal I'm determined to accomplish! |
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I could make a dozen excuses for not updating my blog; from my internet crashing the past few days to the overload of work I've been doing at my "day job", but I won't (even though it's true). Things are crazy and I can't wait for vacation next week!! I plan to have "me" time!! I want to work on the edits to my book and I'm actually looking forward to reading as many stories from writing.com as possible.
I haven't posted anymore chapters of Insight because I'm editing (thanks to some feedback and advice from my first 2 chapters, it's caused me to revise the remaining chapters). The advice has made it a little easier to look for and correct certain "bad habits" I have. If the feedback I get is good from the edits completed on the first 2 chapters, then I'll post more chapters within the coming week. |
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| I admit; I was initially hesitant when I began posting stories and information to this site. Afraid of what someone would say, scared my story wouldn't be good enough or concerned that it may be too appealing to someone and the concept would be ripped off. My fears have faded and everyone who has corresponded with me has been extremely nice, supportive and helpful. I wish I would have discovered this site and posted my story sooner; I would be a lot further along in the process than I am now. It's another lesson learned along this journey. My next novel should be a much smoother and faster creation! Thanks again fellow creators for making this a positive experience! |
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Well....I finally added chapter 2 of Insight last night. I think I'm obsessed with editing; always looking to improve upon every detail. My sister encourages me to stop and get feedback. I think it's always been a fear that someone is going to read my story and say "Did a 5 year old write this?" :)
I managed to read several chapters of "Dream Walker" over the weekend. I just need to write up a few reviews and comments. I found it interesting that we are both writing about an 18 year old girl with orange hair and the same last name and the stories involve dreams. I found several similarities with characters, but our stories take completely different paths – relief! My other fear is that I’m writing a story that is not unique enough to draw attention or create raving fans, but I think my story offers enough of a twist that it will separate it from the others stories written about the dream world.
I also discovered today that someone listed me as a “fan” on their page. How exciting!!! I only need about twenty billion more to overtake the vampire and wizard crazed world. By the way, I’m one of those vampire crazed fans, but “Insight” has become my new obsession!!
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Wooohooo.....I received feedback on my edited version of Insight. It was very honest and straightforward input. I learned that my main character has an identity crises and I really need to make a decision about her personality. :) That's the problem with writing stories in "piecemeal". I think my characters personality changed with each day depending on my mood, so I can't disagree with the review.
I think I'm going to throw the whole story on writing.com to get all the feedback at once. It may be much easier than trying to edit chapter by chapter. I guess I'll find out. Look for more of Insight by Monday. I'll be busy this weekend reviewing "Dream Walker". |
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I spent the whole weekend editing Insight so I could focus on the next item on my too do list. I accepted the constructive criticism from the first review of Chapter 1 and tried to incorporate as much as possible into my edits. My only hope is that I did not over do it. There was some advice given about using "passive" sentences instead of "active" sentences. This was challenging for me since I'm not an English major; I had no idea what that meant. I had to spend some time researching and I'm sure there are plenty of times I did not structure the sentence correctly. Another common problem I have when writing is over using ellipsis. What can I say... I write the way I talk. I probably removed a hundred ellipsis throughout the book and replaced with the ordinary comma. I know stories are supposed to be written in a professional/proper manner, but what's wrong with adding a little personality and deviating from the normal English grammar? I guess I'll conform as does everyone so I don't give agents any reason to shy away from my story. I don't have any feedback since I published the edited version. Not sure if that's good or bad. Maybe I should stick with my improper writing style. It got a little more attention. :)
Just as I was ready to call it an evening and go to sleep, I discovered that someone is actually reading these blogs. I appreciate the support! I never imaged anyone paid attention to my daily ramblings about the ups and downs of writing a story and trying to get it published. What a rush. That's almost as exciting as hearing that someone read my story. It's also as nerve racking; worried that my every letter will be evaluated for writing style. Please forgive me if there are type-o errors, bad grammar, incorrect sentence structure, etc. Can I just say... Thank you Microsoft for spell check! Without it; you wouldn't be able to understand a darn thing I write.
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| Well, a few days ago I set some target goals and one of those was to review a couple stories each week. I realize my objectives are set pretty low and it should be possible to review several stories each day. Maybe so for a person who loves to read. Agents close your eyes to the next part. Here's the problem - I hate to read. Spoiled by emails, text messages, instant messages and movies; I seldom read. If a story is longer than a paragraph, I generally lose interest. There have been a few exceptions to this rule and I'm making greater efforts to read more. I have a passion for writing, so I guess that makes me an unusual breed of authors, but it also makes me very inexperienced. Everyone has to start somewhere. This is my beginning. |
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| Ok - Yesterday I set some goals to edit a chapter each day and update my blog. Well, I didn't accomplish what I wanted. My computer crashed on me this morning and it took more than thirty minutes to repair and reboot. That ate up most of my "free" time. Now, the family is starting to wake and my husband decides to have a conversation; completely breaking my concentration just as I was ready to edit. The day is not over and I accomplished 1 of 2 tasks. There's still hope! |
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Next © Copyright 2010 Christina Hughes (UN: dreamdrifter at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
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Printed from https://writing.com/main/books/item_id/1680570-Insight
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