T-21: Getting ready to liftoff

It’s time to celebrate for a moment. My prologue is finally finalized from my BR today for Venom. Now I have 21 days to get 29 chapters done. I think I’m changing my date from 3/1 to 3/31 at this rate, but we’ll see. I’ll start chapter 1 tomorrow and finish around this weekend. I’m also halfway through chapter 21, wrote 1164 words and cut 44, for today, which sort-of killed my word count. Now I have to cut almost 50 for sure. I’ll aim for 40 for now. I’ll finish 21 on Thursday and then do 23 this weekend, perhaps right on schedule.

As for my other Nano mss, it’s another “grab bag day” for edits. I’ve cut 8 words in the 24-Hour Chain Reaction, 9 words for Double Exposure, and 17 words for Specimen. Bring the confetti and the champage! One down, 29 to go.

T-21: All Fired Up

I’m rocking and on fire right now. My BR loved my newer and refined prologue for Venom. 100% better than last week’s, 1000% better than last year’s original. No need to rewrite, just have to do some tweaks. It’ll be finalized tomorrow and it’s done! I’m also halfway through chapter 21 and hope to finish it soon. Cut 50, added 767 words, I know it’s a lot. I hope to cut 47 K for later chapters. I have to figure it out somehow. With 21 days to go, I’m working my hardest, trying my best to make it if possible.

As for my other Nano mss, the same as the weekend, all under 15 words: I’ve cut 5 words each in 24-Hour Chain Reaction and Double Exposure, 11 words in Specimen. Oh well. I’m trying here. That’s the best I can do.

T-22: Pressure Cooker

As we head into week 2 in February, I’ve got 22 days left to try to make it, which seem like an impossible feat. I did manage to get both the prologue and chapter 21 today. That’s a first for me. I’m hoping all bodes well with the newer reworked prologue than for me to rewrite it. If I get the green light, I’ll move onto chapter 1 tomorrow. As for 21, I hope this reworked version will be good before it’s finalized. A week from today, I should get chapters 22-23 done pat and have the final 5 left, the final 2 I wrote before the pitch, and then the final three before the epilogues. I’m getting closer and closer to taste it. Only 75 words cut and 322 added overall. I might have to strive for 3/31 real soon.

As for my other Nano mss, they all rolled low numbers: I’ve cut 8 words in Double Exposure and 14 both from 24-Hour Chain Reaction and Specimen. I’ve realized I’m down to 20 pages left in 24CR and will finish that round of edits next Wednesday before final massive edits start to cut 22-42 K for sure.

T-23: Back on track

After yesterday’s let down, I’m more confident than ever, that things would pick up from here, even if I had to redo my prologue a little bit. I’m halfway done with my prologue, that I’m hoping I get the green light or perhaps the yellow light. While I’ll wait, I’ll check chapter 1 and copy/paste it onto Scrivener, one more time. I’m sure there’s no worries here. Things might go faster and pick up speed. Also chapter 21 is halfway done too and will be finished tomorrow too. Two for the price of one for my BR to check it out with her perusal. I’ve cut 161 words (mostly in prologue) and added 257 words. Plus, I’m almost to the point, where I picked up from where I left off in 2008’s edits and returned in July 2009, straight through to the newer stuff I’ve written before the pitch in October and stopped, including the new chapter I haven’t written before. Tomorrow I’ll find out where chapters 22-23 takes me for next week with the final seven chapters.

As for my other Nano mss, all hit below 15 words edited today: 9 words cut for both the 24-Hour Chain Reaction and Specimen, 10 for Double Exposure.

I’m hoping to pick up some steam along the way next week.

T-24: Damage Control

Well, after yesterday’s setback, I did some damage control to be hopeful for a mid-spring pitch launch than the one I’ve planned on 3/1/2010. Maybe March 31st? Oh well. I’ll take it with the grain of salt and work harder to recoup time lost in it. I did 1.5 pages, a minor setback in chapter 21 today, and hope to finish chapter 21 on Sunday. I’ve also reworked 2 paragraphs in the prologue and hope to finish it on the same time. I’m hope this is better than rewriting it. I’ve cut a total of 44 words and added 218 words to the pot. I’ll keep trying.

As for my Nano mss, it’s another half and half in editing today: I’ve cut 3 words in Double Exposure, 13 words in 24-Hour Chain Reaction and 31 words in Specimen. I still have hope I’ll work harder to get there someday… soon.

T-25: Hitting setbacks

Well, I’ve hit a couple of setbacks today, when my beta reader told me, that I need to rework or rewrite the prologue. I did get the first graph done today and hope to finish it this weekend. I also miscounted chapter 21’s pages. Did go back to chapter 3 again before I finalize it. I’ve cut 80 words and added 144 words. Maybe March 1st in 25 days is far-fetched now. I’ll keep trying. Maybe I’ll add more time on the weekends I think.

As for my other Nano mss, I’ve cut a word in 24-Hour Chain Reaction, 3 words in Double Exposure and 24 words in Specimen. Maybe this weekend would be better. Here’s hoping. I’m a bit bummed.

T-26 days… All fired up

Today, I’ve really smoked on blasting off a lot of words… 92 words for chapter 21. That’s a great amount to bulldoze over, even if I added 47 words too. I’m halfway through 21 and will finish it tomorrow. Then I’m down to 7 chapters left. I also hopefully finalized the prologue by making a small precision cut and rewritten a small bit. If things go ok with my beta reader, that’s one chapter finalized. I’ll start chapter 1’s finalizing tomorrow, after I copy/paste it to Scrivener and fix the spacings with a title. In 26 days, can it be done?

Also, I’ve hit a turbulent day in other editing news from my Nano mss–I’ve cut 5 words in Double Exposure, 9 words in 24-Hour Chain Reaction and 20 words in Specimen. We’ve got another high-low day for sure, half and half. So I did all right for today.

As for Web of Deceit… this weekend I’ll search for my printouts I’ve used in cop lingo and slang and terms from 2007, when I used them for 24-Hour Chain Reaction. Until the snow passes, my visit to my local PD will be on hold for now.

T-27 days and counting…

In the second day of my operation, I’ve kicked butt again for sure. Chapter 20 is done and will be finalized real soon. I’ve cut 88 words (34 from prologue) and have added 622, since I had to rewrite a new scene. I’ll work on 21 tomorrow and hope to have it done by Friday. Then I’m down to the final seven, which is the final 4, before I write the final ones for sure. Part two is getting closer in the end. Some pre-pitch additions will be cut and some will be rewritten. I’ll be figuring out the final chapters next week. I also have the prologue finalized too by tomorrow.

In other edits, it’s another half-and-half with 7 words cut in 24-Hour Chain Reaction, 10 words in Double Exposure, and 34 words cut in Specimen. Getting pretty good and fierce for those cuts. Might need a new laser beam real soon.

Operation: Blastoff, 28 days…

This is my introduction to my Operation: Blastoff posts. Blastoff refers to blasting off words in my final edits, and a launching space shuttle into space. It serves both purposes. I’ve knocked off 4 pages, halfway through chapter 20, with 79 words added and 52 words blasted off–only six so far from the prologue I copied/pasted from Open Office onto Scrivener. It’s not a bad start. I’ll finish chapter 20 and the prologue tomorrow in due time. Let the blasting begin…

I’ve also cut 9 words in 24-Hour Chain Reaction, 11 words in Double Exposure and 19 in Specimen. So that was half and half for editing’s grab bag. Let’s see what tomorrow brings. Bring out your lasers.

Mystery subgenre of the week: #50: Nanopunk

First of all, sorry for the delay in posting my next two subgenres of the week, due to a sore back last week and posting so late this week. Also, I realize there’s twelve and not six of them. So in February, I’ll be mixing them up with other subgenres from time to time to break it up. I’ll be doing one tomorrow. So let’s get to this week’s subgenre: nanopunk. No, it doesn’t have to do with Nanowrimo and its sister writing/editing challenges. But it deals with nanotechnology, according to Sci Fi Wire magazine, that often indistinguishable from magic. Since there’s no Writer’s Digest definition of nanopunk, we’re going to borrow the definition from the Oxford American dictionary on nanotechnology–the branch of technology that deals with dimensions and tolerances of less than 100 nanometers, especially the manipulation of individual atoms and molecules. I can where the magic can apply to this, as in fantasy/urban fantasy or in time travel.

Some good examples in Neal Stephenson’s The Diamond Age, Linda Nagata’s Tech Heaven and Kathleen Goonan’s In War Times. (I Googled Kathleen Goonan to get a title from her book.) So nanopunk writers are out there. What’s your view on nanopunk? Please share your thoughts here.