Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Looking forward to November
...in the room where the giant fire puffer works, and the torture never stops...
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Time taken for Granted
I'm realizing now how much I took "time" for granted in the years that I could have finished probably my entire series of novels. While I don't regret waiting (the time in between has let new ideas grow on me, I'm even more mature with my storytelling, etc.), I'm finding that time is a precious commodity that I don't have.
With the added responsibility I've taken on at work, I'm now working voluntary overtime every week without thinking about it. There is just so much to do. By the time I get home, I have to either help with dinner or cleaning AND help out with our daughter AND find time to relax with her and my wife. There is barely any time to write during the week without depriving myself of sleep (or shunning my family).
On weekends, if my wife is working then practically all my time is taken by my daughter. I have some ideas for how I can squeeze in some writing but without my wife at home to help its really hard to get any quality time in. And lets not talk about creative moods because usually they don't line up with my free time (and instead they always appear when I walk into the office).
Not a day went by this week that I didn't think about my novel. I'm close to finishing the edit of the chapter I'd left off on, so I'm making forward progress. Whether or not I can have this edit plus one more finished by July is still up in the air. Just trying to squeeze this edit in by April is seeming less and less likely unless I take a vacation day or two.
However it ends up, I am getting the novel done this year. I just hope its sooner than later.
With the added responsibility I've taken on at work, I'm now working voluntary overtime every week without thinking about it. There is just so much to do. By the time I get home, I have to either help with dinner or cleaning AND help out with our daughter AND find time to relax with her and my wife. There is barely any time to write during the week without depriving myself of sleep (or shunning my family).
On weekends, if my wife is working then practically all my time is taken by my daughter. I have some ideas for how I can squeeze in some writing but without my wife at home to help its really hard to get any quality time in. And lets not talk about creative moods because usually they don't line up with my free time (and instead they always appear when I walk into the office).
Not a day went by this week that I didn't think about my novel. I'm close to finishing the edit of the chapter I'd left off on, so I'm making forward progress. Whether or not I can have this edit plus one more finished by July is still up in the air. Just trying to squeeze this edit in by April is seeming less and less likely unless I take a vacation day or two.
However it ends up, I am getting the novel done this year. I just hope its sooner than later.
Sunday, February 8, 2015
Still Alive
Last year did not go the way I wanted it to. I was hoping to have a publishing deal by now, but I'm still on my second edit.
I made a little bit of headway in 2014. I feel I'm able to ground the story now and the minor details are filling themselves in. There is still the "oh man this sucks" thought that comes to me every now and then. The writing/grammar is where I'm feeling the burn, but I think as long as its bearable a publisher/editor will be able to help.
I'd say the biggest change from last year was that it has a new title. I changed it in part because the original title was part of a series of titles and I don't think I'd be able to make it work for all seven novels. This new title is also part of a series, but at times I think its a bit corny. I'm going to withhold the new title for now in case I change my mind. I don't think I will though.
Anyway, I'd love to finish with this novel before I turn 31. I think I have a shot, but its going to require a lot of effort. I made a promise to myself that I wasn't going to buy any more video games til this book is done. Gaming, family time, work... these are all I have time for. I'm hoping to put gaming on the back burner as long as possible so I can make time for editing. We'll see.
I'm about 10,000 words into hopefully 80,000+. The first draft ended somewhere in the 52k realm. The first edit was hand-written, so I have no idea where the first edit word count ended up. I'll check back in at the end of the month to gauge how long this will take.
If I can finish by July, I should have enough time to prepare an outline for novel two before Nanowrimo in November :)
I made a little bit of headway in 2014. I feel I'm able to ground the story now and the minor details are filling themselves in. There is still the "oh man this sucks" thought that comes to me every now and then. The writing/grammar is where I'm feeling the burn, but I think as long as its bearable a publisher/editor will be able to help.
I'd say the biggest change from last year was that it has a new title. I changed it in part because the original title was part of a series of titles and I don't think I'd be able to make it work for all seven novels. This new title is also part of a series, but at times I think its a bit corny. I'm going to withhold the new title for now in case I change my mind. I don't think I will though.
Anyway, I'd love to finish with this novel before I turn 31. I think I have a shot, but its going to require a lot of effort. I made a promise to myself that I wasn't going to buy any more video games til this book is done. Gaming, family time, work... these are all I have time for. I'm hoping to put gaming on the back burner as long as possible so I can make time for editing. We'll see.
I'm about 10,000 words into hopefully 80,000+. The first draft ended somewhere in the 52k realm. The first edit was hand-written, so I have no idea where the first edit word count ended up. I'll check back in at the end of the month to gauge how long this will take.
If I can finish by July, I should have enough time to prepare an outline for novel two before Nanowrimo in November :)
Sunday, January 5, 2014
2014: The Year of the First Novel?
Well its 2014 and I suppose that means I need to provide a novel update.
Not too much has happened since we last left each other in September. Back then I claimed success over the first revision of the novel, a once-over of the plot. I have that revision sitting on the table next to me.
The next course of action is to revise the story for grammar. It has to come up from first grade reading level to hopefully sixth grade. That's probably as good as I'll ever be at writing, and I don't care to grind out better grammar skills at this point in my life. Maybe if this novel actually becomes a commercial success.
Anyway, I'm on the third chapter. The first revision was done on paper, so in addition to making grammar edits to my digital copy I'm incorporating all of the first pass' changes.
My goals for 2014 are as follows:
Those are some lofty goals, especially considering the outline for novel one began in... 2010? It has been a long road. I am weary from the journey, and I am ready for the journey to end, if only so I can begin a new journey with the second novel. I know this first book inside and out. I'm ready for the excitement of not knowing exactly what will happen to my characters to flow through me once again.
Not too much has happened since we last left each other in September. Back then I claimed success over the first revision of the novel, a once-over of the plot. I have that revision sitting on the table next to me.
The next course of action is to revise the story for grammar. It has to come up from first grade reading level to hopefully sixth grade. That's probably as good as I'll ever be at writing, and I don't care to grind out better grammar skills at this point in my life. Maybe if this novel actually becomes a commercial success.
Anyway, I'm on the third chapter. The first revision was done on paper, so in addition to making grammar edits to my digital copy I'm incorporating all of the first pass' changes.
My goals for 2014 are as follows:
- Work on the first novel for 15 minutes a day... every day... until the second revision is complete
- I aim to have the second revision completed no later than June
- By July, I'd like to hand out the novel to some beta readers and get some outside feedback
- Hopefully this will be complete by September
- Beginning in July, while the first novel is being beta-read, I want to begin outlining the second novel
- In November, I want to attempt NaNoWriMo and complete a rough draft for the second novel
- Between October and December, I want to incorporate the beta feedback for novel one and get it ready to send to an agent
Those are some lofty goals, especially considering the outline for novel one began in... 2010? It has been a long road. I am weary from the journey, and I am ready for the journey to end, if only so I can begin a new journey with the second novel. I know this first book inside and out. I'm ready for the excitement of not knowing exactly what will happen to my characters to flow through me once again.
Monday, September 16, 2013
Deconstruction
Its been about five months since my last post, but I'm happy to say that I've finished the first edit of my book :)
The first edit was a content calibration. A lot of plot details at the beginning didn't match with the ones at the end. I went through and put a big X through a few chapters, and rewrote a couple others.
There was some grammar editing involved but for the most part I stayed away from that. Grammar, sentence structure, word selection... I'll be concentrating on all of those in the second edit.
The second edit is going to take a long time, so please be patient. And excited.
"Bars closed, boys. I'm an artist!"
The first edit was a content calibration. A lot of plot details at the beginning didn't match with the ones at the end. I went through and put a big X through a few chapters, and rewrote a couple others.
There was some grammar editing involved but for the most part I stayed away from that. Grammar, sentence structure, word selection... I'll be concentrating on all of those in the second edit.
The second edit is going to take a long time, so please be patient. And excited.
"Bars closed, boys. I'm an artist!"
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
You Can't Fight A War Without Losing Blood
Another update on edits!
After about a month, I'm one third of the way through the manuscript. That's pretty intense, considering the amount of time it took to write the whole thing.
Two chapters have suffered the big X of death so far, but I don't anticipate anymore casualties. As mentioned in my previous post, the first chapter to die is being re-purposed for a future novel and the important bits for this novel have been moved elsewhere in the story.
The other chapter, though. Yikes. It was practically all fluff. It served as a way to introduce a character before her main appearance. However, having finished the first draft, I came to discover her role was not nearly as big as I had initially intended it to be. In the end I didn't need the introductory chapter at all. She will still be an important character, to an extent, but her bigger role in the series as a whole has been drastically reduced.
In other news, as part of the editing process, I put to paper all of the behind-the-scenes story that serves as the series plot. A majority of it will not be revealed until future novels, but there will be hints, and it has major effects on the contained plot of this first book. Writing it all down gave me some cool ideas that I can incorporate during this first edit. When the entire series is complete it'd be cool to show off how I knew all this stuff from the beginning. Lost-style. WE HAVE TO GO BACK!
So pumped! Lots of cool things on the horizon, including a surprise proclamation. Going to save that for later, but it will be proclaimed sometime in the next few months.
Until next time...
After about a month, I'm one third of the way through the manuscript. That's pretty intense, considering the amount of time it took to write the whole thing.
Two chapters have suffered the big X of death so far, but I don't anticipate anymore casualties. As mentioned in my previous post, the first chapter to die is being re-purposed for a future novel and the important bits for this novel have been moved elsewhere in the story.
The other chapter, though. Yikes. It was practically all fluff. It served as a way to introduce a character before her main appearance. However, having finished the first draft, I came to discover her role was not nearly as big as I had initially intended it to be. In the end I didn't need the introductory chapter at all. She will still be an important character, to an extent, but her bigger role in the series as a whole has been drastically reduced.
In other news, as part of the editing process, I put to paper all of the behind-the-scenes story that serves as the series plot. A majority of it will not be revealed until future novels, but there will be hints, and it has major effects on the contained plot of this first book. Writing it all down gave me some cool ideas that I can incorporate during this first edit. When the entire series is complete it'd be cool to show off how I knew all this stuff from the beginning. Lost-style. WE HAVE TO GO BACK!
So pumped! Lots of cool things on the horizon, including a surprise proclamation. Going to save that for later, but it will be proclaimed sometime in the next few months.
Until next time...
Monday, May 20, 2013
Omoide wa Okkusenman!
The first round of edits continues.
I got up to the fourth chapter when I realized it was completely out of place. It was practically all exposition/background story, save for a short action sequence at the beginning, and it disrupted the flow of the novel. By this point in the book, the MC has already received his call to adventure, so I couldn't do a flashback.
What to do, what to do?
I tried moving the chapter up in line, but it just didn't make sense to do a flashback so early. The chapter explained a lot of things about the universe in which the story resides, but the MC hadn't yet been solidly introduced to the audience. It was a hard decision, but I had to slash the whole chapter. I guess thats a sign of mature writing, but it doesn't hurt any less.
I did comb through it, however, and pick out the vital pieces of background information to be worked into conversations in other chapters. The actual event that happened in that chapter... by the time its relevant to the story for this first book we'll be ready for Act 2. And I'm not slowing the pace of the middle part of the story for a flashback. It will likely be recycled for Book 2, as I planned on having a very similar scene to kick that book off anyway.
Something else that recently came up... apparently there's bias in the writing industry towards prologues. Unbeknownst to me. It puts me in a rough spot, because the "prologue" that I have is vital to the entire series. It has to be the first scene, but it takes place outside of the main story, so I'm not sure if I can recategorize it as "Chapter One." Either way, it will be the first scene in the book. It can't be helped.
Decisions.
UPDATE: Rowling's Chapter One of Harry Potter Numero Uno is essentially a prologue. But its her Chapter One. I guess I know what I'm doing, then. Now, about the epilogue...
I got up to the fourth chapter when I realized it was completely out of place. It was practically all exposition/background story, save for a short action sequence at the beginning, and it disrupted the flow of the novel. By this point in the book, the MC has already received his call to adventure, so I couldn't do a flashback.
What to do, what to do?
I tried moving the chapter up in line, but it just didn't make sense to do a flashback so early. The chapter explained a lot of things about the universe in which the story resides, but the MC hadn't yet been solidly introduced to the audience. It was a hard decision, but I had to slash the whole chapter. I guess thats a sign of mature writing, but it doesn't hurt any less.
I did comb through it, however, and pick out the vital pieces of background information to be worked into conversations in other chapters. The actual event that happened in that chapter... by the time its relevant to the story for this first book we'll be ready for Act 2. And I'm not slowing the pace of the middle part of the story for a flashback. It will likely be recycled for Book 2, as I planned on having a very similar scene to kick that book off anyway.
Something else that recently came up... apparently there's bias in the writing industry towards prologues. Unbeknownst to me. It puts me in a rough spot, because the "prologue" that I have is vital to the entire series. It has to be the first scene, but it takes place outside of the main story, so I'm not sure if I can recategorize it as "Chapter One." Either way, it will be the first scene in the book. It can't be helped.
Decisions.
UPDATE: Rowling's Chapter One of Harry Potter Numero Uno is essentially a prologue. But its her Chapter One. I guess I know what I'm doing, then. Now, about the epilogue...
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