I finished four more chapters today, advancing even further. Unfortunately, getting into a schedule of writing every day is proving to be difficult. I had planned to write a chapter every day - each chapter being ½-2 pages. Of course, writer’s block and writing the perfect draft are plaguing me as I write. I am reading a book on writing a novel, and one of the author’s main points is to just get down the first draft, nothing else. No one else has to see it, only yourself. The real idea is to just write down your ideas, and like clay, to mold them into something usable or good. I am used to writing down the perfect first draft, which is something I will have to change.
Procrastination and writer’s block - the idea of a blank, white page - slows me down. I anticipate that it will get easier, but until then, I need to work harder to speed up the process of it getting easier. Life often gets in the way of writing, but if I make it a habit, it will not be as much of a problem. The definition of writer's block can be seen in the picture below.
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Over this past week, I have finished the first three chapters of my novella. In my first chapter, I wrote above Hermann Weber and him trying to learn English. This was a real event that happened with a different crew member. Taking different personalities and events from other crew members, I formed several fictional characters.
The second chapter was of Walter Schmidt, written in a diary-type entry, speaking of the unfairness of his lack of food. Again, this is a real event of one of the crew members who was considered “too fat” and not given second servings when other crew members were. My final character was written from the point of view from a young boy who was reading the newspaper under his father’s proud eye when he about u-boats, which sparked his fascination. I have also written down some questions about these characters (how old are they, where were they born, etc.) to better know themselves. Overall, everything is going to plan. I contacted one of the orginal crew members of U-505. His email was very difficult to find, and only found because he was a professor at Bainbridge. The crew members' names were as difficult to find, if not harder. The only members I was able to find were the captain, Hans Goebeler (who wrote a book about the U-505), and the co-author (John Vanzo). I wrote to John Vanzo, sending it proudly with the idea of a soon email to come back.
Unfortunately, his email was unavailable, as Google sent back. I am assuming that he retired recently and that the website is out of date. I resent the email three times, each time retyping out the email. One time, the website was shut down and unable to use for the night. I was disappointed not to get an email back after hours of research and double checking. I continued to research for U-505, finding more interesting information every time. While I did not continue to build on my characters, I was gathering a better idea of what U-505's stories was. Over the past week, I have begun to take basic notes on U-505, using varied sources to gather information. These varied sources range from novels from crew members, a written retelling from other u-boat members, and general information about the boat itself. Research has proved to be difficult, as the same ten sites appear in my searches. Very little detailed information is available about the actual lives of the men and their experience on U-505.
While there is a novel from one of the crew members, it is almost twenty dollars, and I intend to keep the cost at a minimum. In addition, I have researched and chosen quotes to best represent each of my fictional characters. These quotes will help me better develop and understand my characters. While I did not create a structured, full outline of these characters, I have determined their nationalities and personalities. The very basic outline of the novella is began to be planned. |
AuthorNatalie Frank is a published author who strives to capture unwritten history in a meaningful way. View her "About" page for more! Archives
April 2019
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