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Posts Tagged ‘characters’

#AmWriting

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , , , on August 2, 2017| Leave a Comment »

It’s hot and humid here, which is not normal. So, a good day to let everything else go and just stay in front of the computer. And, unlike the last few days, the words are flowing pretty well.

So, I’m spending my writing time working on BECOME: TO CATCH THE LIGHTNING and I’ve very nearly finished that chapter that I was briefly stuck on a few days ago.

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Because, sometimes you have to just grab a handle and stay on the roller coaster as long as it keeps moving.

I’m approaching the midpoint, which should be interesting, though there are a few chapters to get through before then. And, in one of them, my weasel of an antagonist is going to get taken down a peg or two–which will set him up to want a bit of revenge. That hasn’t been what he’s been playing for up until now. But . . . things change.

Don’t forget to enter the audiobook giveaway. Someone will win an audiobook of THE SHAMAN’S CURSE. Or one of the other eight audiobooks. Some lucky someone will win all nine.

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Do it now, before you forget. 🙂

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First Draft “Rules”

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , on July 30, 2017| 2 Comments »

My (mostly) unbreakable rule about first drafts is that they have to go in only one direction–forward. If I let my editor brain get involved in fixing things during the first draft–well, I just might never get to The End. Early on, I had to force myself into this by writing out the first draft long hand.

After all, first drafts aren’t supposed to be perfect.

Normally, I only permit myself to go backward to make a note of something I need to set up earlier or some other change that will be necessary–in the revisions. And, usually, those changes are relatively small. Often, it only requires a line or two to set something up. For instance, in BECOME: TO CATCH THE LIGHTNING, I’m quite likely going to decide that one character needs to have a small scar from an earlier encounter.

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I’ll just make a note that I need to set that up in some way. (Not having him have a habit of rubbing that scar. I already have a character–in a different story–who has that particular tic, so I’ll have to come up with something else.)

But . . . some things need a little more set up than that. And I’ve recently realized that one of the reasons I was having a bit of difficulty getting into one scene is that it really needs some earlier set up that will increase the tension. Set up that will also help to show my antagonist at his weaselly worst. (This antagonist also featured in the small extract I shared a couple of weeks ago.)

So, I’ve gone back to add two scenes to an earlier chapter. Since they are entirely new scenes, not revisions, it doesn’t really quite break my rule. Just bends it.

 

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Plan B

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , on July 20, 2017| 1 Comment »

Well, I was planning to share a sample of the audiobook of THE SHAMAN’S CURSE, but apparently WordPress won’t let me do that. 😩

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So, Plan B. Back to BECOME: TO CATCH THE LIGHTNING.

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Here’s a little glimpse at another brotherly relationship–not between Gaian and Benar (the subjects of BECOME: BROTHERS)–that will have a huge impact on the plot:

Benar left the nursery, shaking his head. Father and Gaian were still in there, watching the infant sleep. While Benar was honored to have been asked to act as foster father—Goddess forbid that the need should ever arise—he couldn’t grasp the fascination of watching a baby sleep. Frankly, the tiny, squirming little thing hadn’t been that interesting when it was awake. He had enough younger brothers—and wasn’t that far from his own childhood—to realize the baby would get more interesting as it grew. But, right now, watching grass grow held about as much interest. Then again, he had to admit, he might feel differently someday, when the child was his.

He turned toward the stairs, to find his full-brother, Cordan, apparently waiting for him. Benar slowed his pace to allow Cordan to keep up with his stiff right knee, the result of an early riding accident that had never fully mended despite all the healers could do.

Benar shook his head, chuckling softly. “Out of all of us, I would never have expected Gaian to be the first to become a father.”

“No,” Cordan agreed. “You realize that this changes everything?”

Benar stopped and turned to face his brother. “Everything? How so?”

“He’s going to need to provide for his son. A home, at the least. What other home does Gaian have? And where could he give his son better training? He even has a son to follow him as king someday.”

“No.” Benar shook his head. “You’re wrong. What Gaian wants is to spend his life with Kalindra. She’s practically all he talked about all summer. He can’t do that and be king.”

“And if Kalindra dies?” Cordan asked.

Benar made a warding gesture. He liked Kalindra. “Goddess forbid! But she won’t. Mother Thedra said that the healers expected her to recover fully.”

Cordan cocked his head to the side. “Perhaps. This time. What about the next one, though. Because you know Gaian isn’t going to stop doing what brought this one along. I wouldn’t. Neither would you, if you’re honest.”

“I expect they’ll be more careful in the future. Anyway, I don’t see the point in speculating about such things.”

“Only this, brother. Gaian’s willingness to step aside for you may not be quite as strong as it was last summer. Just a word in your ear. You should keep your eyes and ears open and be prepared. Just in case.” Cordan turned and limped off in the opposite direction.

Benar watched him go for a moment before shaking his head. Cordan just didn’t know Gaian as well as Benar did. Gaian was not a man to go back on his word. And Cordan didn’t know about Gaian’s real goal, either.

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Switching Back

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , , , on April 19, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Now that Become: Brothers is up for pre-order,

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it’s time to switch back to working on the bigger story, BECOME: TO CATCH THE LIGHTNING.

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It’s not really a complete switch, since this picks up the story of the same characters, just a few years later. But it always takes me a day or two to get my head into the new story, even in the same series.

Right now, I’m reading through what I had already written of this story (about 32,000 words). That will give me a chance to re-familiarize myself with it and to patch any gaps left by removing the problematic flashbacks that are now no longer necessary.

The changed–and changing–relationship between these brothers will continue to be a major part of the ongoing story.

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Heroes Can Be TOO Good

Posted in Real Life, writing, tagged , , , , , , , , on February 19, 2017| Leave a Comment »

I’m still working on that new chapter for the prequel to BECOME.

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Partly, that’s because I’m still working on overcoming those bad habits regarding my writing time I blogged about last time. And last week turned out to be a very bad time to try to work on that due to several real life show stoppers.

Partly it’s because I backed up a little bit to fix the current scene. I realized that I’d set up my protagonist to be just a little too pure of heart to be truly believable. Now, I still need him to do the thing I was setting up. I just needed to provide a better motivation.

Now, instead of being just a little too good to be true, I’ve set him up instead to internalize a lesson from an earlier episode. This works much better.

Motivation has been the bugaboo through this whole part of the story. The first version set up the brother to be too nasty–a bully. Which is not what I want. The second version set up the protagonist to be a saint. Again, not what I need, here. This version will work better. But it’s probably not the last time I’m going to need to do a little work on the motivations of these two before I get to the final version of “BECOME: Brothers” (working title).

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Figured it Out

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , , , on February 1, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Turns out that distractions weren’t the only thing keeping me from working on that next scene in the prequel novella to BECOME.

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It was wrong and somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew it.

This is a scene that was cut from an earlier version of the novel and resurrected for the novella. The results of this scene are important.

This is the story of the early relationship between the two brothers, based (loosely) on the Hercules and his near-twin Iphicles.  Hercules was a demigod. Iphicles was not. Even though the Hercules figure is my main character, it had to be hard on the Iphicles character. And this is what the brothers had to initially overcome.

Now this scene is near the turning point (half-way through, just where it should be). The way the scene was originally written, the other brother came off as a bully. That’s wrong. Even though the main story is going to take these two down a sometimes difficult path, I don’t want him to be mean, just very, very frustrated.

So, now that I’ve figured out what was wrong, I can start drafting a new scene that will do a much better job.

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Exciting Part Coming Up

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , , , on January 4, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Still working on BECOME, of course.

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Just one more scene and then I get to work on one of the more exciting parts of this story. Hint: There’ll be a dragon involved.

This is the point where one of the brothers is going to come very close to betraying the other–only to realize that his assumptions were all wrong.

That’s going to be fun. Dare I hope that writing the story will start moving a little faster?

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More on Brothers

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , , on December 4, 2016| Leave a Comment »

A couple of weeks ago I posted about how one of the things my current work-in-process, BECOME

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would focus on was the relationship between brothers.

The story isn’t a direct retelling of the Hercules legend. There won’t be twelve labors, as just one example. And I’ve turned other things on their heads, making my hero the son of the earth goddes, not a sky god (like Zeus). But I have given him a mortal near-twin brother, just like Iphicles was to Hercules.

The Greek legend doesn’t really address this relationship, but a large part of my story–especially early on–revolves around the relationship between these two half-brothers and a bit of understandable fraternal jealousy.

But I don’t want to make the near-twin really the antagonist–or at least, not really the bad guy. And this has been a small part of what’s been inhibiting my writing lately. Well, inspiration struck this week. I’d already supplied the near-twin with a younger full brother, who is just perfect for the part. All it took was to see him that way. And the pieces for the next several chapters all just fell into place. He’ll be the whisperer that stirs things up. And . . . a little more.

 

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Musings on What Makes a Story

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , , , , on November 13, 2016| Leave a Comment »

This topic is brought up by a reader’s comment/question about DAUGHTER OF THE DISGRACED KING.

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The problem is: there is no next book. This is not a series–at least not in the conventional sense. I might have other stories to tell in the same world as DAUGHTER OF THE DISGRACED KING, but they won’t be centered around the same characters. (Though the main characters might very well turn up as side characters or possibly mentors to the new central characters.)

Anyway, those other stories, if they ever happen, are presently on hold for BECOME.

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(Unless one of them jumps up and refuses to let me go until I write it. It has happened before.)

But the comment led me to think about why I feel this story is finished. The main characters are just starting out, after all, even at the end of the novel. There are certainly more adventures in store for them. But those adventures aren’t–quite–stories. Or, more precisely, not compelling stories. So what do they lack that a story should have?

Character arcs. In overcoming the external story problem, these characters have already also grown beyond the internal issues that were holding them back, the things that made them feel inadequate to really follow their dreams. Their arcs are complete.

Unless, of course, another story occurs to me in which they have another internal conflict to overcome. Always possible, but there’s nothing on the horizon right now.

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Very Long Chapter

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , , , on October 9, 2016| Leave a Comment »

At least for me.

I’ve finished the new scenes for this chapter of BECOME.

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Now, I just need to do a little revision/rewriting on what I already had to put the remainder in the other brother’s point of view and I can call this chapter done.

It also now includes what was the following chapter (always from the other brother’s POV) which makes it really long. I’ll probably end up cutting at least some of this during the revisions, but that’s a problem for after I complete the first draft.

More importantly, THE SHAMAN’S CURSE is free for the next couple of days. Now’s your chance.

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