Snakenaps

This, this right here summarizes everything. Perfection.

Depends on which one you are talking about. In high school/college, I tried to make the perfect book from the very beginning with no outline multiple times. I never finished any of the seven drafts. Last August I sat down and started writing the 8th written version of NotK with an outline, and I just wrote. I wrote with notes everywhere, often in all caps, like REALLY AMAZING SPEECH HERE. I wrote messily, I wrote pretty passages. If I didn't like something, I wrote my idea for what it would look like in the next draft in a couple of sentences and moved on. I didn't stop, and wrote a complete draft in five months. It was difficult at first learning to forgive myself for not making perfection, but I fell into a nice groove that has taught me not to take my writing so personally. Oooof, okay, I was not very good at this and I'm paying the price now. First of all, not everyone outlines. I needed to outline. I tried for years to discovery write and it turns out that isn't me. Some people know approximately what direction they want to go and then just pants it. I am not that person, maybe you are. Second, there is no one right way to plot out a book, as it will depend on what kind of book you are writing. I did not know much about writing when I outlined this version of NotK. I wrote each approximate scene idea in summary with a few word title and put them in order in a Google Doc. During Draft Two, I had listened to enough Writing Excuses to know about the three act formula. So I took a look at my work and shoved in into the form. Thankfully, instinctually or by luck, it fit into three chunks well. However, working without a formula really hurt Draft One, as I added so many unnecessary scenes, that I'm still paying for today. I know some people write their outlines on Excel. I might be trying this next. There are many different plot formulas, but here are three common ones. I recommend Googling or listening to Writing Excuses, as others can explain better than I: 1) Three act formula (very traditional, often used in movies) 2) Seven point story structure (sometimes uped to more points, like twelve. This one appeals to me and I want to try it out). 3) MICE quotient (I've never tried this one, admittedly. It seems very flexible). There are other types of story structures, these are just the ones I know off of the top of my head. Google and go bananas. You can play around and test out the ones that interest you.

I probably deleted the introduction of it to rewrite it and haven't gotten around to fixing it. It's a common problem currently.

This is a consistent habit I'm trying to break. Essentially, I get really stressed when writing the good tense chapters, and then decide to write fluff rather than deal with the consequences. Since their involvement is new to this draft, this is an excellent idea. Thanks for all of your notes, @Silk !

I'm going to have a blast cutting and trimming these later. This is why I needed your opinion. I know nothing. Both, but he doesn't like to do either. He's really not good at manipulation.

In case you didn't know this, you can download Google Doc files as Word docx. files. I hope so! I love submitting! I hope you enjoy it as well! I typically get to critiquing the following weekend (if you submit Monday, November 16th, then I'll probably critique it around November 20/21st). So don't think I'm forgetting you if you don't get my opinion immediately.

Thank you for clarifying! And thank you for reading the guidelines. You'd be surprised at how many don't. Hah! I was right! Still, I don't think anyone would get upset if you used Arial or Georgia or something. The whole font rule is there (I would assume) to prevent people from submitting with fancy cursive, unreadable fonts they feel fits their character or story.

Shoot, I think that was you and @Mandamon who drilled me when I formatted Draft Two all funny so my mother could read it on her Kindle. I'll adjust my comment.

Very good question. We have it pretty formatted so that 1) emails are easy to find and 2) it goes smoothly. You can find all instructions on the pinned Welcome to Reading Excuses thread: Send your email after you have been confirmed a slot. General rule of thumb is, ask for a slot on Friday, on Sunday @Silk says who has the green light, and on Sunday night/Monday you send out your submission. You can do docx. or pdf. No jpg. No Google Docs (some people don't use Gmail. One particular person here uses Hotmail). The old Word file doc. can give people trouble. Please choose a readable font (Times New Roman, Arial, Georgia, Calibri, etc) of 10-12 size depending on the font with 1 inch margins if you know how. Pretend it is a school essay. Titles are optional, as well as header page numbers. I really like header page numbers, though. I find they help me when critiquing. Easiest way to make sure you have everything labeled correctly is to copy and paste someone else's title (say, any of mine), then replace it with your information. Add Reading Excuses to your subject line in the email version of your title. You are welcome to PM if you want me to double check your submission before you send it. I've been doing this for...more than 6 months, so I've got the system down. Thanks for asking!

May I have a slot for Monday, November 16th?

Thanks for reading and critiquing!

Isn't a bad title at all. I've come to enjoy it. I guess my point is, if an agent/editor/publisher decides I need a title change, I won't complain. If they want to keep the current, that is fine by me too. Either way, I'll probably have all of these pages deleted before I begin querying, so it won't matter if the title stays the same or not. I always try to be open to the potential for change. Otherwise this story would still be a rip-off of Pern but with unicorns riding dragons

Hmmmm, you are correct sir. I'll write that one down as well. I do like alterations, especially since my name is one.

His name is what kicks this all off, with the fire, but after that, no, it doesn't play a huge part in the first book. *Saves image for later* Thanks! Now you've got my mind going. The title could be as something as simple as The Unicorn Monarch, but I know I don't want it to be named the BK, because that sounds like some YA novel. You don't think talking animals with that. I, at least, think emo king covered in crow feathers with jet black hair.

Okay, admittedly, I don't have my title abbreviated but that's frankly because I doubt it will stay the same. It's a little too on the nose and sounds too much like The Name of the Wind. At least it isn't a food pun anymore. I went through a phase where the book titles were all food puns because Ir is a chef *facepalm*

I'm not particularly experienced in this regard, but I would definitely say before querying. You wouldn't want an agent stumbling across it, due to the publication worries as @Robinski said. Better to have a clean slate. Also, hi!!! Welcome! I hope you enjoy this group. Since you seem to be a masochist like the rest of us, I'm sure you'll do great as we pull apart your stuff and vise versa!

I should be thankful that there aren't any sentences that I forgot about that just randomly end in the middle. This really bugs me too, but I haven't thought of a good solution and I didn't want to get stuck on this chapter for weeks. Feels good to hear my own thoughts echo back at me. Thanks @ginger_reckoning !

Ooooh boy, what a journey you are starting!

This is a heavily cut and/or rewritten chapter. I'm not 100% sold on the rewritten portion, as the original was fairly strong. However, I feel like this new one adds a bit of proactivity to Ir, which she needs.

I'm actually thinking about capitalizing on this. I've got a scene in the next chapter where she laments her inability to lie well. It would be a great character development to go from someone who doesn't lie well and sucks at keeping secrets to the opposite, and the consequences that follow both. This is a really valid point I have not given enough thought to. Something I definitely am going to now. That's one of those major things that can really tighten the book up sharp if I can hit it right.

No, I love him too. Which is why this scene is still around even though it needs to get cut :/ The whole point of this group is to get as many different perspectives as possible. Which means if you want to pick apart the micro, please for the love of God do. Anything and everything that can make the next draft really shine.

May I please have a slot for Monday, November 9th?

You and I must have connected telepathically because I was thinking the same thing. Have it kick off with Sue and end with Wo. That way Wa is introduced in Sue's POV and then you actually see him behind the scenes with Wo.

I still own all of mine!

Poem: I unfortunately read like...zero...poetry so I feel like I can't critique this well. My thoughts were, "This is a poem. It does poem things with words. A seashell is a metaphor for...getting old and maybe Alzheimer's? This is a poem, and like all poems, is going completely over my head." Plays and poems, man, are two things I'm just not good with :/ not you, definitely me. Prologue: Dragons? Dragons?? Dragons??? I'm down for a book starring dragons. I legit looked for more pages. My trouble with prologues is...they aren't the real story. Will Z matter at all? Will anything in the prologue matter? This didn't lay down the stakes to hold me captive, except hint that there are lost Sparks. I can't answer for you if this prologue holds information that will be mind-blowingly relevant in the future, since I don't know the rest of the story. Only you know if this is a prologue that must stay, or if it is just a tonal exercise like you talked about. I once used a metaphor with someone else that a lot of prologues are like being handed brownies, then having that taken away before I can take a bite and given cake. Like, the cake might be good and all, and I might like it more in the end, but I really became invested in those brownies. I mean, now I want the rest of the story with Z, to find out where the tension is and what the stakes are, but prologue history tells me no more Z and now our true protagonist will appear. I don't know if any of this made sense. Sorry. I am zonked. But dragons as protagonists? I have a strong weakness for non-human characters and an even stronger one for dragons.