Lesson One - Huge Progress Today

[CreativeFlux]

When I initially signed up for this course, I had no idea the very first lesson would be so intensive, and I have to admit that at first, I was not thrilled to have to read through my manuscript entirely so soon after just having done so during December prior to knowing about this course.

Still, today, I really buckled down and worked through about 70 more pages of manuscript, which put me almost 1/3 of the way through the book. At the beginning, it was pretty exhausting trying to adjust to the numbering system, and I'm a little OCD when it comes to organisation. I was afraid for a short time that I was writing too much stuff down, but not long after, I got into a flow and found a good pace for marking notes. The last chapter was almost entirely taken with the "1Be Where is this story what you hoped it would be?" page, which was quite a heartening way to end after a few hours of slogging diligently.

I'm glad to say that I'm quite enjoying marking down the problems with my manuscript so far (I might change my mind later when it comes time to actually cut, but it's refreshing to know that progress is being made!), and now that my new Lesson 2 link has appeared today, it will be just the dangling carrot I need to propel me past the 1B odyssey

I'm looking forward to making the same progress tomorrow, and hopefully finishing this first read-through by the end of the week! I've already learned so much about the problem spots in my book and even the majority of my notes have the "Why" box filled in! I can't wait to see what's next!

[cryndyl]

I'm in there with you Flux I got 72 pages in today I think. My brain has had it though. I went from 129 up to 201 today. I can remember the numbers just not how to add or subtract right now <--- I think the emotocons say it all, I'm slap happy and I talk to you tomorrow.

[driftsmoke]

Congratulations to both of you! Those first two lessons are tough. Not that the others are so easy.

Stay with it. Before you know it, you'll be done and ready to move on to the next lesson.

Unsolicited words of encouragement: You will go through your entire novel in some fashion every week you do an HTRYN lesson. You will become quite familiar with what you've written. I won't say this will make your lessons easier (because I'm really struggling with Lesson 7 this week). However, being so extremely familiar with your novel will help you concentrate on the learning part of the lesson, rather than struggling with your own words and storytelling.

That probably wasn't very encouraging, was it?

[RavenCorbie]

That's great! Keep up the good progress, both of you!

As for me *ahem*, I'm still on page 47 of 1B. I'm getting there, though. I just have an elephant of a rough draft that I need to clear off my desk before I can give this my full attention, like I want.

[Reba]

Yay, peacocks!

I'm feeling about the same. I just hit page 225 (of 350) this a.m. before work and have high hopes of finishing up Lesson 1B by the Monday holiday. Flux, you're right, the Lesson 2 that's staring at me from the page header is a great incentive. I don't like feeling like I'm delinquent on my lessons... we're not, we're not!

[Texanne]

Nope, nobody's delinquent. At least, I haven't seen Holly sending out any lessons printed on pink paper.

Congrats to all who are making progress every day and feeling it, seeing results of the process.TX

[baseballnpink]

Wow, I feel better after reading this thread.

The first thing that revved my motor was printing my manuscript. I stacked up the pages, stood back, beamed happily and said aloud to this blessedly empty house "Oh, my God. Would you look at that? I killed a tree. I am so proud."

I have made it through 147 of 270 pages...and then I found an entire chapter I forgot to include when I pasted all my individual docs into one...but since some of y'all are in the same place (roughly half-way) I no longer feel like the slowest kid in the class.

It took me about 40 pages to get the hang of things, but now it flows. Someone mentioned dreading the cutting, but I have had the opposite reaction. Whoo hoo, hand me that scalpel. I can already see how to improve this dreck and I am rarin' to slice and dice. It has actually been hard not to write an entirely new beginning, although I realize that's counter-productive, and managed to restrain myself. So, I slipped in sheets of notebook paper with ideas, which in effect is like adding another worksheet, but what the heck.

I am making a public vow to have Lesson 1 complete by Sunday at 10pm EST, so feel free to demand to know if I hit my target.

~pink

[Reba]

Hey there, Pink, I live in SC too! Yay for killin' trees! (yeah, that sounded better in my head)

My plan is to finish Lesson 1 by Sunday, too, so that I can move on to Lesson 2 on Monday before heading back to work. I've got about 100 pages to go. This is gonna be a looong weekend, but do-able!

[baseballnpink]

Completed Lesson One! And okay, it didn't happen until midnight, but I completely blame Microsoft for that. I got an e-mail from them touting the beta version of Office 2010, so I said, "why not?" Well, I will tell you why not. Because either my printer is too old to support it..which is what I was told after three hours with HP live assistant. This chick says..well, I have done everything to help you, so good luck.

I was like, "Oh, no, give me a supervisor." And HE said that there was a compatibility issue and there would be a patch developed...AFTER the full launch of 2010. So, I was finally advised to uninstall the program. And when I did that, NONE of my docs would open. I was freaked out, thinking everything I had written with Word was corrupted, but then I realized I had to reinstall Office 2007, because there it was in my menu...Reinstall 2007.

So, after all that drama, finishing two hours late doesn't seem so bad. Looking forward to Lesson 2.

~pink

[DHE123]

Baseballinpink--you just lived my worst nightmare! Haha, nothing frightens me more than computer malfunctions. I've had so many in my day, you'd think I'd be numb to them now, but the idea of calling tech support makes my eye twitch. I'm glad you've gotten everything all fixed up!

I made a lot of progress last week, then life interrupted, but I'll be back on the horse tomorrow! So far, things have been going spectacularly well for me! After revising this novel in earnest over and over again for a year, I think I'm FINALLY getting it. I took a break from it for over a month and during that break, read Holly's Character and Plot clinics, which started me out with some major ideas for change. Now, going through, I'm seeing everything in a whole new light! I think the major thing that's finally hitting home is the "promises" brought up in lesson 2 (though weirdly, this epiphany happened before I'd read it, while I was working on Lesson 1B with the wisdom of the clinics under my belt). Not only in the story at large (which I'm finally seeing which parts make promises I can't keep or where I should be making more intriguing promises), but even within scenes. I needed to pull out the stops (I have no idea now why they were there in the first place) and REALLY put my characters through the wringer and force them to climb over obstacles and have them scrape knees and have their greatest fears come true when they make mistakes and make their greatest needs come to them only when they've proved themselves. (I got most of that from the Character Clinic, which was TRULY excellent.) And it's already turning out INFINITELY better!! I can't even tell how in awe I've been over the changes I'm seeing in the ms (because as I'm realizing where mistakes lie, new, better ideas are popping into my head like my Muse has reached its wit's end and is just throwing everything it has in its arsenal at me so that I'll finally move onto something else). I'm so thankful for the clinics and for this class! I have never had so many writing epiphanies so close together! I'm on an editing high!

[driftsmoke]

Congratulations to you all. I think completing Lesson 1 is a huge step on your revision journey. Just getting started, making yourself move forward, is a big deal. Keep going!

[baseballnpink]

DHE..I feel you on the 'great ideas' issue.

Here's the deal though...they keep popping into my head, and though I am scribbling and typing notes (which made the whole 2b thing go ever so much slower) I fear that somehow, I will lose them in the fog that my brain has become. Or worse, that when I go back to re-read them, I didn't quite note enough to make me go "oh, yeah! That is still a fabulous thought."

Other than noting my hiney off, has anyone found a better method to make a push- button recording that will summon the muse back when it IS finally time to re-write?

~pink

[Jim_J]

Other than noting my hiney off, has anyone found a better method to make a push- button recording that will summon the muse back when it IS finally time to re-write?

How are you with verbal notes? I bought an inexpensive digital voice recorder from Target a while back and it can hold hours and hours and hours of voice recording. Maybe if you talk out loud and record some of the ideas that are hitting you while writing and revising, you'll be able to play it back later and pick up the sense of excitement you had when you recorded it originally.

[Texanne]

And some word processing or notetaking programs allow you to add voice notes in, too. Just use the mic on your computer, unless you are lucky enough to have a separate mic. Great idea, BTW! TX

[Holly-Think]

This is an amazing thread.

Honestly, I'd considered some sort of gentle introductory lesson for Lesson One, where I introduced you to concepts and eased you into revision and warmed you up for the THUD in your life that is meeting your manuscript with new eyes...but I figured, No, life's to short for pointless warm-ups. They're grown-ups. Start 'em with the truth. And so Lesson One BECAME Lesson One.