Still Intrusive

Personal life stuff, while ongoing, is manageable at the moment. But now I've got a freelance graphic design gig that's eating up all the spare time. It's a really good deal, so paying work wins out.

Still here. Still stealing five minutes here and there to work on my project.

Quandry

When reading through my outline, I have a nice "Search for the McGuffin" adventure story. Under that is (what I hope will be) a subtle growth arc contrasting Family & Cultural Identity vs Self-Selected Identity (External vs Internal Validation).

There are scenes that provide forward motion for each plotline and some that hit both at the same time. I know the way I presented them the Growth arc seems like just a Theme, but in context it feels like plot.

My confusion comes in when trying to nail The Sentence. Should I have two Sentences?
How about doing the Amazon River? One is certainly fantasy/alternate history, the other is more literary. Which do I emphasize?

I have more pondering to do.

Hours of Reading Pleasure

This concept is totally from Mike Stackpole. I just happen to like it and wanted to be able to find it again.

The BBC has a target metric they have for reading: three words a second. Doing the math, that's roughly 10K words an hour. Mike's phrase "Hours of Reading Pleasure (HRP)" would equal Word Count/10,000.

Personal Life Intruding

I've had a huge ball of crap land in my life right now, and all my focus is going to resolving the associated complications.

Be back later.

My last post showed that, while I know all the things you're supposed to do, I ignored every single one of them. *sigh*

It was painful to try to keep writing when I could see misspelled words staring at me. Poor word choices or missing words altogether. Obviously repetitive sentence construction. All of these flaws were right there on the screen, dragging my eyes to their horrid existence and begging to be released from their pain.

So I fell victim to their call and didn't get more than 25-30 words down before scrapping it all and trying again. And the same problems would pop up.

When I finally got a flash and started typing furiously, I ended up with 447 words in roughly 15 minutes. So why did I stop?

Because I had no idea how many words I had. That's right, go ahead and whip me. I stopped writing because I didn't know how many words I'd already written. ugh. And it doesn't get better from there.

Let me shorthand several paragraphs: I wasted a full 90 minutes with iPad application nonsense. I got my 447 words in 15 minutes and then came to a screeching halt doing absolutely nothing (though I am set up now and really like what I've got).

I've reviewed my 447 words and they're not golden; they will definitely need some major reworking (one paragraph is actually really good). But I'm not going to do that for a long while. The effective thing about forcing myself to keep writing is that it's essentially priming the pump. It'll take a few minutes or so to get things up to speed. I'm sure, just like working out at the gym, that the more I do this, the shorter the priming needed.

As a side note - I've also realized that I work much better when I spend time with creative people. That's a big part of the process for me.

Words

So. I've tried to start actual writing on Chapter One this week. Four failed attempts. I did everything, and I do mean *everything* you're not supposed to do. I was cringing over each word choice, correcting spelling, had to go back and add in a specific word or two because it made the sentence pop and I'd forget about it if I waited a week. And then I gave up because it was terrible - atrocious, really - and started over.

I redid the damn thing four times with four completely different openings. Each time I started, I just got the feeling that it wasn't the right place; something felt way out of line each time.

So I backed up a step. My new plan was to list out everything that logically was going to happen for that event: I wanted an itinerary for my MC. From that list of events, I would choose where to actually start the story.

Well, about five or so steps in, I suddenly got an image of the scene. I immediately stopped my listing exercise and started writing. My fingers just took off for the most part. I only got 470+ words out of it, and they're not perfect, but I don't hate them.

They're all narrative right now; a descriptive tour as the reader follows the MC through a building. But they do lead right up to a dozen men breaking through windows and attacking a group of party-goers.

Shades of Gray

Anti-Villains. I despise them.

Much like the late-80s/early-90s anti-hero, the villain went through a similar journey of self-actualization (you may substitute whatever linguistic acrobatics you prefer). All of this was to add depth and "layers" to the character. And like most new ideas, everyone leapt on the "rules" surrounding the concept without understanding what the purpose was.

Rule: No one is evil just to oppose good. He's the hero of his own story and the reader must see a sympathetic element in him (or her). Otherwise, he's doomed to be a cardboard cutout of a moustache-twirling, black cloaked villain.

Reality: Part of the problem is the theory that the villain needs to be anything more than an obstacle for the hero. Take Dr. Rene Belloq, the anti-Indiana Jones from Raiders. He knows full well that he's a bad guy, but he just doesn't care. His motivations for what he does are as shallow as a dinner plate: fame. He will lie, steal, attempt rape, even murder - and not just when it's necessary. He does so, just 'cause. In short, he is a "bad guy."

There are selfish, manipulative, lying people in the real world who do what they do for their own bid for whatever they want. The thing is, you'd think that they would be seen as shallow "cardboard cutouts", but they end up with legions of people behind them. They know full well what they're doing is wrong, but they don't care. There's no redeeming factor, no sympathetic vibe. How many bullies & criminals say they did what they did just to see what would happen? Or how far they could go? Or because they don't like Mondays?

If done well, a villain can be as insidious and evil as you like and still have depth: Maleficient in Sleeping Beauty, Joker in The Dark Knight, the Master in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

We don't have to return to white hats vs black hats, but sometimes you can just let the bad guys be bad guys.

And let good guys be good, too.

SFFOWW

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Online Writing Workshop is another great resource. Yes, they have links to various articles and information that's succinct and actually useful. But their primary purpose is as a critique group.

At $49/year, you're not getting just anyone to review your work; you get people who can review your work with an informed opinion. And the first month's free as well.

For each review you do of someone else's work, you earn 1 review point. In order to post your stuff, you need 4 review points. True, you start your membership with 4 points, but you can only post up to 7,500 words (a short story or a chapter or two). So the more crits you do, the more you can post your own work for review.

Personally, I've found that reading other critiques is helping me get a handle on what kind of info to provide to others. At first, I just read a story and took notes on things that stuck out to me (good and bad). Now I'm starting to focus my comments based on the Hardcore Critique Advice article by Amy Sterling Casil.

All in all, the SFFOWW is an awesome resource that's well worth the time and money for anyone involved in genre fiction.

Story Plans

OK. As it stands right now, my project includes a four-year time jump as part of the denouement. The climax involves huge reveals, a massive change to one character, the obligatory showdown with the bad guy, and so on. I had planned to end up with a 90K word story - expecting that 10K or so would be the wrap up and exploration.

To me, that feels pretty crappy. The story is over. Yes, the repercussions are far reaching and rather involved, but there's no real plot at that point. It would be a nicely worded documentary, with some dialogue thrown in to keep it interesting.

The alternate plan would be to write two smaller bits - around 50K each. While the end I had in mind would be about 10K, there are two plot threads I could include to fully flesh it out. My worry is that people might think they were just NaNoWriMo projects and give them a pass simply on that assumption.

I could do the first one as a slightly shorter novel (say 80K), and then do the second piece as an included novella (25K).

The only reason this matters right now is for planning out the scenes and chapter length.

Podcasts

Today's entry is minor - just my comments on a few podcasts I've been listening to.

I Should Be Writing by Mur Lafferty. I just found this because of an ad on one of Holly Lisle's old podcasts. Mur is on episode 151, but I've started at the beginning (there are also special episodes, metacasts, and so on bringing the total well over 175). It's good stuff so far. I'm not learning anything new, but I am getting some renewed inspiration and a feeling of not being the only one struggling with some of my issues. Highly recommended for anyone.

Holly Lisle On Writing by Holly Lisle. This one is exceptional. However, there are only 6 episodes and the last one was released July 2006. Holly has lots of other books, courses, and recordings out there that are awesome, but I really liked listening to these on my way to work. I'm very sorry to see it didn't continue.

The Secrets by Mike Stackpole. This one is an audio version of his newsletter for writers. The newsletter is great and the podcasts were awesome because I could listen to them while driving to and from work (a big plus for me). But this one has also ended. The last episode on iTunes was released in May of 2009. *sigh*.

Those are the ones I've checked out so far. Now some notes: Don't let advertisers hog air time. 1 3 minute promo for someone else's podcast is far too long. Cap these people at 10-15 seconds. Likewise, don't air all 4.5 minutes of someone's voicemail question. As a corollary to that, if you call in to ask a question, just ask your question. Don't sit on the line and tell the podcaster how wonderful they are, or what you've been up to for the past two weeks, or that your cat's been sick. Get in, get out. I wonder about a person's writing when they can't form coherent sentences while speaking.

That's all. If anyone has any suggestions for other writing oriented podcasts, just post a comment. Thanks!

Writing "Rules"

Okay, so those that know me know that I tend to collect lots of books on writing. I've also gone to courses, workshops, and panels. And lately I've been downloading podcasts. Much of what you'll read/hear is the same few rules repeated over and over.

Show, don't tell.
Cut every single adverb.
Apply keister to chair and WRITE!
and so on.

I've never gone into these things looking for rules. I write. I have written. I have a few minor awards for things I've created. I have received praise from people I highly respect. (I also use the word "I" too much, but this is a blog, so...)

What I'm looking for in these eddies of knowledge is a twist - a fresh way of looking at my own process and giving something new a try. I never try to follow So-and-So's process as if that's the One True Way (TM). And you shouldn't either.

So, my point: read everything (especially other authors' fiction), but take the nuggets that work for you and incorporate them into your process. And if you want to use an adverb every now and then... you have my persmission.

Prequelness

So, due to the depth that I discovered in my previously traditional action story some additional changes are being made.

It will be exceedingly difficult to have two point-of-view characters. I really don't want to drop to one character, but his status will make it difficult to pull off... Wait a minute. Actually, I think I can make that work. Yup. That could do it. Nevermind.

Since I'm probably going to publish this thing myself through Lulu, Booksurge, or CreateSpace, this story will be a prequel. If it's the first story I planned on, how can it be a prequel? All I have to do is set the major "alternate history" elements further back in the story. There will still be some elements that exist on their normal timeline (lost civilization discovered, etc), but the full impact of those events won't really kick in until the events of this story.

I'm actually really excited about this project!

Dramatic Irony

Okay - major changes. BTW, I'm only able to work on this project in fits and spurts right now due to my day job.

I've hit upon the theme that's going to run through the whole piece - a good one. I'm going through the process of an outline for this thing, hitting the high spots - what I think of as crucial interactions. Those are the ones I'm doing Sentences for, along with notes. Several characters have been added to the cast in order to fulfill certain dramatic roles. One of the primary characters has had a complete re-imagining, but it won't actually be apparent until the last conflict where it becomes dramatically devastating. And I couldn't be happier. :)

And yes, I am being deliberately obtuse in these posts.

Minor Tweak

I've figured out my issues with The Sentence and revamped the beginning. My plan was originally to start in the middle of a particular fight scene, end the chapter on a cliffhanger distress call, then jump to another character to give the backstory on what happened.

Now, I've set the book several days earlier, show the actual backstory as story, and inserted another, smaller fight scene that forces the launch of the plot.

I'm pretty sure I'm going with this

I've come up with a pretty solid Sentence to describe the main plot. It's tight and hits all the high points, but I think it may be a bit dry and even a teensy bit wordy. I've also nailed down quite a few Scene Sentences (one sentence that sums up all the content in a given scene). I'm thinking that my "Scenes" will be most of a chapter, and each one is looking to average out at 2,500 words.

Here's Where I'm At

The CCG project may be turning into an online social game: Facebook or Twitter. Trying to find the programmers to go along with the designs I've got in mind.

As far as my writing goes... I've done a lot of outlining and concepting on several projects, but haven't really got much to show for it.

1. Urban Fantasy - this one's more fantasy than urban but involves someone from our world ending up somewhere else.
2. Urban Supernatural - involves a group of characters
3. Steampunk - in an alternate US
4. Alternate World: Ancient - this is the 4 part, interwoven piece.
5. Alternate World: Sci-Fi
6. Alternate History: 1930s Occult
7. Steampunk - this one is geared as Young Adult

1, 2, 4, & 5 require a lot of world explanation. 6 is really close to 2 as they're both supernatural and involve multiple main characters. I've got a good start on 1 & 2 and know where it's going (bad guys, motivation, plot twists, etc), but I wonder if those genres are kinda full at the moment. 3 needs some work - specifically the villain. I've got him but I wonder if his motivation is too weak/petty. 7 is the least formed out of all of them.

I'm leaning towards 2 or 3.