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Young Writers Society


Writing Journal: Cataclysm



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Gender: Male
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Sun Feb 07, 2016 6:10 pm
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Sureal says...



As I am struggling to make good progress on my current novel, I thought I would set up a journal* to chronicle my progress to help motivate me and/or vent when things are going badly.

My current project is a YA science-fiction novel with a working title of Cataclysm. The story revolves around a girl’s attempt to rescue her friend from a mysterious being, despite knowing success could doom humanity to extinction.

I wrote out several plans for the novel before I found a plot I was happy with. Currently working on the first draft, of which 7,500 words are done (of an estimated 60,000 to 80,000). I intend to update this journal on a semi-regular basis with notes on the novel, how I think it is going, what is working, what is not working, and so and so forth.


(*It’s a journal and not a diary, because diaries are for girls and journals are for manly men such as myself.)
Last edited by Sureal on Sun Feb 07, 2016 11:04 pm, edited 2 times in total.
I wrote the above just for you.
  





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506 Reviews



Gender: Male
Points: 9907
Reviews: 506
Sun Feb 07, 2016 6:33 pm
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Sureal says...



The story in more detail:

Best friends Clara and Eve will be going to universities on opposite sides of the country, so they’re going to have one last party together. But there are strange lights in the sky, and reports of unexplainable violence and chaos in the news.

The world ends.

For Clara and Eve, it’s not over. They awake an unknown amount of time later in an underground colony called Home, which houses the remnants of humanity.

Life is comfortable for the residents, their every need taken care of by automated systems. Yet no one knows who runs Home or why. There is no claim to authority, except for by a religious cult worshipping ancient gods.

When a creature made of metal and stone attacks the residents of Home, it captures Eve and carries her away. She is to be consumed by the god Baal, the cult says. To interrupt is to invite doom upon humanity.

No one doubts these words. The power of the gods is self-evident.

Not willing to abandon her friend, Clara sets herself against the machinations of both god and man, even if success must mean sacrificing the rest of humanity to extinction.
Last edited by Sureal on Thu May 19, 2016 8:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I wrote the above just for you.
  





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506 Reviews



Gender: Male
Points: 9907
Reviews: 506
Thu Mar 17, 2016 6:45 pm
Sureal says...



It’s been a while, so here’s an update.

Progress has been slow. Very slow.

Life has been busy, which is an issue, but not the main issue. The main issue is: I just don't think what I'm writing is any good. It's not exciting me as it should. As such, I have little-to-no enthusiasm to write even when I can find the time.

I’ve decided I’m not going to press on with the first draft at this point. I’m going to go back and edit what I have so far. If I can make it decent, maybe continuing the first draft won’t be so demoralising.

I’ve also changed my mind about the tense the novel is written in. It was in present tense, but I’ve now decided that trying to write a novel in third person present was a mistake. I’m switching the entire thing to third person past. It’s a pain to go back and change, but I think it’s the right decision for the novel.

I’m off to edit now. Wish me luck.
I wrote the above just for you.
  





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506 Reviews



Gender: Male
Points: 9907
Reviews: 506
Thu Mar 17, 2016 9:37 pm
Sureal says...



Update: I've edited a fair chunk of Chapter One, which included some substantial re-writing where it was needed.

Much, much better. I'm feeling happier with the project as a whole now and am actually pumped to continue working on it.
I wrote the above just for you.
  





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506 Reviews



Gender: Male
Points: 9907
Reviews: 506
Thu May 19, 2016 8:19 pm
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Sureal says...



Just about hit 10,500 words, and in doing so I'm closing out Chapter Four.

I've averaged about 1,000 words a month since I started this journal. Not fantastic speed, but hey, I'm getting there, slowly, slowly.
I wrote the above just for you.
  





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506 Reviews



Gender: Male
Points: 9907
Reviews: 506
Mon Feb 20, 2017 8:05 pm
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Sureal says...



Update (nine months later!): This is still happening. I'm at around 20,000 words now and I've completed my first draft of the first act.

I feel I've learnt a lot in those 20,000 words, so I've taken a moment to re-jig my plan for Act Two before I continue. I'm really happy with the changes I've made to the plan. It's a lot more character-driven, whereas I feel my first draft of Act One was focused on plot at the expense of character.

It's been an entire year since I started this thread. I hope to get the next 20,000 words done much quicker than that. Wish me luck.
I wrote the above just for you.
  





User avatar
506 Reviews



Gender: Male
Points: 9907
Reviews: 506
Wed Feb 22, 2017 10:13 pm
Sureal says...



Following on from my update two days ago: I started the first draft of Act Two today. Even though I only dedicated two hours of my day to writing, I somehow managed to write 2,500 words!

I'm sure there are plenty of YWSers who can hit such word counts easily, but it's something I've always struggled with. (See for example: the painfully slow progress of this novel so far.) The difference is I've adopted the Pomodoro Technique, and it seems to work wonders for me. I'll post more about the Pomodoro Technique in the near future, as I think it's a wonderful method for writers to be more productive, and I imagine many of my fellow YWSers could benefit from it too.
I wrote the above just for you.
  





User avatar
506 Reviews



Gender: Male
Points: 9907
Reviews: 506
Sun Jan 20, 2019 8:45 pm
Sureal says...



Almost three years on from when I first started...

Still working on this.

Slow and steady.
I wrote the above just for you.
  








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