With all the writing projects that I've worked on so far, I have always needed a schedule to make sure I actually get the words onto paper. So here is a sketchy schedule to get me going.
1) 01/10/12: Email the world about the existence of this blog.
2) 07/10/12: post a one page summary of the plot and define the main themes.
3) 31/10/12: define the key characters and flesh them out a bit. This is the part that could look really stupid at the end. As I write, my characters sometimes get out of hand and behave unpredictably. They change names, genders and undergo complete personality shifts or simply vanish. It’s very disturbing. Especially if they pop up in something else I might be trying to write.
4) 18/11/12: work out the stages of the novel and how many chapters I need for each.
5) 30/11/12: start chapter 1. Now comes a break because I can’t predict beyond this stage. Go and make yourself a cup of tea.
6) 25/12/12: maybe I’ll have completed a whole first draft, maybe I’ll still be wrestling with chapter 1, though if that is the case I think I’d better give up and stick to writing textbooks. Anyway, I’ll let you know closer to the time.
7) 01/02/13: finish researching the best way to publish this as an ebook using Amazon, iBooks etc.
8) 15/06/13: pull the rest of my hair out and complete the text.
8) 15/06/13: pull the rest of my hair out and complete the text.
9) 01/07/13: hold colossal launch party (possibly virtual).
10) By 01/08/13: close the blog.
During this process I'll write posts with parts of the story, questions about the structure that I'd like to discuss, and other bits and pieces that interest me around the topic of writing.
Does this sound plausible to you?
Does this sound plausible to you?
