Working on writing chapter one

For the uptween time I am almost starting over on my novel. I seem to have a huge problem with point of view. I seem to write in various 3rd person points of view. I easily switch from one character to another but still in 3rd person pov. I must think like that when I write.

My neighbor has read a rough draft of chapter one. She couldn't believe it. I said is it that bad? I asked. You write so differently than the way your speak. Your sentences are more complex she said. She never told me if she liked the story.

Chapter one may turn out to be 7 or so pages. I know some books have short chapters and some have a mix of short and long chapters.

Tonight - every other Tuesday

I have been, since November of last year, writing a romance, suspense, Civil War novel. It is set in southwestern Louisiana. It is a labor of love as I have made about 9 rough drafts of the first chapter.

Every other Tuesday, I know you are wondering about Tuesday, I meet with a bunch of really creative people who are also in a flux of writing stories, short stories, plays, poetry, etc. It is a fun time yet serious as we all tend to lead from each other. I wish each one of them publisher's luck (that is what I call it) that each of them do get published.

Writing

I belong to a writing group. Tonight was my 4th or 5th meeting with them. They meet twice a month. Each week there are usually 2 new people. I have met some wonderful people all interested in writing short stories, poetry, tv scripts, play scripts, novels.

We read out loud our stories and ask for comments. We all have different strengths and weaknesses so I figure that puts us all on the same page. Listening, learning and sharing in the love of writing stories that live within us.

My great niece writes Christian romance fiction. She has three books published and one will be on the shelves in February. Writing and finding a agent who works to get your writing published is not so easy. I admire her. I know she has put in a tremendous amount of work to get to where she is.

Someday I will get to that spot. I just hope that I'll still be living when I do.

2YN

I have always had stories circulating in my head. I always told these stories. I must have been pretty good as my momma would ask me if I was telling the truth or a story.

I have stories going on in my writing. One is purely fiction, something that I dreamed a part of. The other is just based on a true story. It seems to be developing into its own story, hardly resembling the actual story.

I am enjoying this. It has been challenging as I have not given much thought to the importance to world building nor to having deep characters. So as I stretch my mind, this story gets more interesting. I may be the only one interested in the story but the process or the journey is sometimes more interesting than actually reaching your goal.

Writing: Making a city

Today has been interesting and not because of the SuperBowl. I can remember when the SuperBowl was in January. Now it's February.

Anyway, my writing assignment is about the world (city) where my 2YN novel is going to take place. I have read the lesson twice now. I understand the assignment if I were having to create a world in a make believe universe. My story takes place in a real city. A real crime and two twists to make it more of a couple of crimes. So I am having a hard time translating the questions into something real. The emotion of the place. I am to write about blacks living on the north side of the town, having their own and equal high school? Write about the whites living on the south side of the town, having their own and equal high school, except for the few black football players that attended the mostly white high school? Yet those facts do not play into my story. Everyone lived peacefully together, minded their own business, did their own thing. So the question about the emotions of the city still leave me wondering.