It's time for What's Up Wednesday, a weekly meme run by Erin L Funk and Jaime Morrow. Here's what I've been up to this past week!What I'm reading
I've been reading Heir of Fire! I started rereading the series a while ago, but I've been trying to tackle the never-ending TBR pile on my Kindle. But I loved this book even more than the previous two. And GAH THAT ENDING. *dies for the next book*
Next up: Blue Lily, Lily Blue! I've been waiting a whole YEAR for this one! *collapses in a flailing heap*
What I'm writing
SHINY BOOK 2. Er... so much for stopping the power-drafting. I literally couldn't stop writing this book! At one point, I was pretty sure my hands were superglued to the keyboard. (Or frozen, which is probably more likely seeing as my house is FREEZING right now...) I wrote 30K in a week! Even I'm not quite sure how that happened...
And I'm finishing up beta edits on Book 1, getting ready for the next stage... *restrains self from dropping hints*
Also, I've been working on a prequel novella-length thing which is emotionally destroying me. I am so very cruel to my characters. *cries*
And I'm working on Darkworld 3 edits, too.
What works for me
Firstly, I still keep getting that question about how in the universe I write so fast, but I probably wouldn't recommend what I do (which is wander around in a story-drugged state and completely neglect the real world, not sleep enough, drink too much diet coke, and type at hyper-speed until my fingers fall off :P). I am working on another blog post with more sensible tips, though! :)
Secondly, I can't actually remember where I learned how to do this, but it's possible to combine documents in Word so several beta readers' notes show up in the same copy of the manuscript. In Word 2013, go to Track Changes and click "compare", then "combine", and then select the two documents you want to combine into one. Simple! :)
I've done this for my past two manuscripts, and it can be so helpful in contrasting opinions if you're on the fence about changing something. And there can be such polarised opinions sometimes! When I'm editing, I use a notebook to list the general points readers made in their emails, and then I create one of those combined documents so I can look at specific comments if there are any in the manuscript. If you have multiple annotated copies of your manuscript, it can be a tad overwhelming, so this has been really useful!
Also, it's fun when more than one reader comments with a "LOL" on the same line. ;)
What else I've been up to
Not much, aside from work and recovering from the post-Iceland hangover. *sniffles* Also, avoiding the crazy on the Internet... and that's about all I have to say on the matter. o.O
Don't work too hard! I keep seeing people talk about Blue Lily, Lily Blue, but I haven't even gotten around to reading The Raven Boys yet - I need to get my hands on a copy of it soon!
ReplyDeleteWOW! 30k in one week? Colour me super impressed.
ReplyDeleteI'm reading Blue Lily, Lily Blue right now! So good - I hope you like it too!
Have a great week!
That's a great tip about combining multiples sets of critique partner feedback into a single document. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteWow, that word count is super impressive so YAY for awesome progress! (don't forget to sleep though :))
ReplyDeleteI still need to read the second book in THE RAVEN BOYS series and then I`ll get to Blue Lily, Lily Blue :))
Hope you have a wonderful Wednesday!
I finally have Heir of Fire, it will probably be a few days before I crack it open. But GAH how long do I have to wait for book 4? I should have waited until the series was complete. BUT IT'S SO GOOD.
ReplyDeleteWOW 30K in a week? Go Emma!!!!!!! Have a great week and keep up the fantastic work :)
ReplyDeleteThe compare/combine is such a great tip :)
ReplyDeleteWhenever my hands get really cold, I put on fingerless gloves. It feels a little awkward at first to type, but after a few minutes I get used to them and my hands are way warmer.
I asked for BLUE LILY, LILY BLUE for Christmas, but I don't know if I can hold out that long. Can't wait to read it!
I haven't used the combine feature, but it sounds like an excellent idea.
ReplyDelete30K in a week! Woot!
You are truly amazing. Even with the caffeine, I don't understand how you get so much done. Good luck this week!
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to Blue Lily, Blue Lily myself. You're really smoking on that word count! Wish I could maintain a pace like that. Major kudos to you! :)
ReplyDeleteOoh, I did NOT know you could combine docs in Word like that. How incredibly helpful for reviewing feedback. Thanks for the tip, Emma. Have an awesome week!
ReplyDeleteI was so excited when you were talking about combining comments last time! It's like "where has it been all my life!"
ReplyDeleteI actually draft in a story-drugged state. It's the bestest way. ;D
Keep up the awesome! Wow!
That's so awesome that you couldn't stop writing! I am amazed when people can do that. Go you! And I picked up my copy of BL, LB today and cannot wait to start reading! Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteBlue Lily, Lily Blue, holy crap do i want to read that book! Good to hear book 2 is coming along so well! Have an awesome week!
ReplyDeleteI've been hearing great things about the Throne of Glass and The Raven Cycle series. I must check them out.
ReplyDeleteWow! 30k in a week is amazing. I wish I could type that fast. Thanks for the Word tip. Good luck with revisions and drafting!
That sounds like an amazing writing week. It's been a while since I've been able to power-write like that. It's a double-edged sword. The feeling of not being able to stop typing is a rush, but at the same time it can be exhausting.
ReplyDeleteCombining documents is a great idea. I didn't know that you could do that. I'm going to have to the next time I have beta comments!
I have The Dream Thieves on my Kindle. Can't wait to read it. 30K is crazy. The best I ever did in a week was 5,000.
ReplyDelete30K in a single week?! Whoa! I wish I could be prolific like this when it comes to my comics. Your accomplishments continue to amaze me!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to go with all the other commenters to say Holy Wow on 30K!! Sleep smeep, you wrote a ton of words. But please eat something, the loss for literary world would be massive if you starved to death for your art. ;)
ReplyDeleteI've been looking forward to Blue Lily, Lily Blue for a year too! I'm currently saving it for when all my kayak trips are done this week, because I know that I will stay up reading all night until I finish.
Hope you have a great week and get a nap in there somewhere. :)
30k in a week?! Holy crap wow. Well done!
ReplyDeleteI'm blown away by the fact that you wrote that many words in one week. Wow! So, so impressed. Thanks for sharing that tip about merging track changes from different critiques. That could prove very useful down the road. (You know, once I *finally* get to that point again.) All of these handy tips in people's What Works For Me sections...lots to gather and try out.
ReplyDeleteHave a great week, Emma!