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Posts Tagged ‘first drafts’

Summer Is Weird

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , on August 9, 2017| Leave a Comment »

For me, anyway. My “day job” is only for the school year (roughly the second week of September through the third week in June, here). It’s way too easy to loose track of time when I don’t have any real schedule. Which, in part, explains the lateness of this post. (Part of it is wasting time playing a stupid computer game. (Tip: If you’re a writer of stories, don’t get involved in any game that has a story as part of the game.)

In spite of the wasted time, I’ve been making steady–if occasionally slow–progress on the first draft of BECOME: TO CATCH THE LIGHTNING.

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But the time isn’t really wasted. Since, as I mentioned in my last post, I don’t have as good a feel for these next couple of chapters as I usually do . . . well, sometimes, it’s necessary to pause for a bit and let my subconscious catch up.

Anyway, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

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Rolling Outlines

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , on August 6, 2017| Leave a Comment »

I’m a discovery writer. I don’t outline–not the whole story before I start. But I usually have something like a rolling outline for the next few chapters from where I currently am in the first draft.

Right now, I’m approaching what should be the midpoint of BECOME: TO CATCH THE LIGHTNING.

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I know what that point is, but these next few chapters . . . I know broadly what needs to be there. It’s important, because this is the place to really show what my main character has to lose–right before he loses it, in a way. But I don’t even have a good feel for how many chapters this will be.

Of course, it’s still just a first draft, a rough draft. And it certainly doesn’t have to be perfect on the first go round. In fact, it would be astonishing if it was. But this does feel a little like stepping off a cliff in the dark and hoping the ground’s not too far away, or at least soft. Still, the only way is forward.

There’s still a little time to enter the audiobook giveaway. You really don’t want to miss this one.

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#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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Plotting

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , on July 23, 2017| Leave a Comment »

As I’ve mentioned a time or two before, I’m mostly a discovery writer, which means I don’t outline in a formal way. But I often do sort of a rolling outline a few chapters ahead of where I am. Subject to change or, more often, addition, of course.

Now that I’m forging into new territory on the first draft of BECOME: TO CATCH THE LIGHTNING, I’ve got something sort of like that.

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In this case, what I have is a few chapter headings, each on its own page, and a short note about what will happen in that chapter. Perhaps a snippet of dialog if that was in my head when I set it up.

Apropos of #dragonweek, here are the titles (subject to change) of some of the recent, current, and future chapters I’m working on:

  • Preparations for the Hunt (done, Benar’s POV)
  • Counter Plans (done, Cordan’s POV)
  • Dragon Hunt (very rough first draft, Gaian’s POV)
  • Suspicions (done Benar’s POV)
  • Triumphant Return (current chapter, Gaian’s POV)
  • Repercussions (next up, Cordan’s POV)

After that, things are a little up in the air. I have a few more chapters mapped out, but if I follow that plan, this book is going to wrap up way too fast. Or else it’s going to go past the point where I thought the first book of the series would end, which wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing. Decision point not far ahead.

Also, if you like dragons, you definitely should check out the Fellowship of Fantasy dragon week books.

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Dragons

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , , , on July 16, 2017| Leave a Comment »

One of the writer’s Facebook groups I belong to, Clean Indie Fantasy, is doing #DragonWeek for next week, including a giveaway. (None of my books are in the giveaway, but that doesn’t mean I can’t promote it as soon as it goes live.)

The reason I’m not in the giveaway is that none of my books are really suitable, in my opinion. Yes, dragons do often appear, but they’re generally not central to the story.

  1. In The Bard’s Gift, Astrid misinterprets something in the New World (Thunderbird) as a dragon because that’s the only frame of reference that she has.TheBardsGiftCover
  2. In the Dual Magics Series, Quetza’s avatar is a wyvern, but that only comes up a handful of times.Dual Magics 1-3 Boxed Set
  3. My only series in which dragons are really prominent is the Chimeria series and that tips over the edge into PG13, so I’ve never included it in anything to do with Clean Indie Fantasy.ChimeriaBox

Dragons won’t have an important part in the BECOME series, either. However, it just so happens that I’m currently working on a scene in which my main character has to fight a dragon.

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Moving Forward

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , , , on July 12, 2017| Leave a Comment »

I’ve finally gotten through that part of BECOME: TO CATCH THE LIGHTNING that I’d already done in first draft.

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The last few chapters are still a bit rough–as rough drafts are apt to be–but I managed to confine myself to only making changes for consistency.

So now, I’m ready to move forward with new chapters and try to actually get through to the end of the first draft. That’ll be fun!

In other news, the audio version of THE SHAMAN’S CURSE is finally here!

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I’m planning out how to promote that, which will be a new experience for me.

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This and That . . .

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , , on July 9, 2017| Leave a Comment »

. . . because it’s been that kind of few days.

First, I wrote that scene in BECOME: TO CATCH THE LIGHTNING that I’d been fretting over in my last post. becomeblueUnfortunately, I think I’ll probably end up deleting it in the revisions, but that’s for later and by then I may change my mind.

Second, I haven’t done much writing or critiquing for the last few days. It’s just been too hot here (and humid, which is unusual for this area). My brain just doesn’t function as well in that kind of weather. Let’s face it, when making the bed brings out a sweat, it’s time to stay indoors (near a fan, if possible), drink lots of water, and not move around much. So, I’ve basically wasted the last couple of days on computer games. Fortunately, it feels like the weather is shifting back closer to normal–at least for a few days.

Third, I have also been trying to work out why a particular story I just read didn’t really work for me, as writers do. (No, I’m not going to mention the title. Stories are very personal and subjective things. What didn’t work well for me might be a book you really enjoy. And why should I take that from you?)

In this case, it’s the latest book in a series I’ve really enjoyed, so the question of why I didn’t like this one as much might, possibly, shed light on some greater story-telling truth. Unfortunately, I really think it mostly comes down to two things.

The main character being out of her usual milieu–not out of her comfort zone, that happens in just about every book. But outside of her usual stomping grounds–and away from the people she usually interacts with–her general snark just can’t shine as much. There have only been three books that took her away from home and I only really enjoyed one of those–the one in which at least one of her usual friends and relations went with her.

But I think the main reason is withholding–when a point-of-view character knows something (or would have to be deaf, blind, and in a coma not to realize something), has every reason to think about and react to that knowledge, and doesn’t. Withholding is one of the two issues that can cause a knee-jerk reaction that makes me want to pitch the book against the wall (impractical in this case, anyway–I was reading on my computer). This wasn’t that bad, but I think it did pretty much ruin the book for me. It made this POV character–fortunately not the main character of the series–feel inauthentic, which he never has before.

Now that the weather is improving, maybe I can get some more real work done.

 

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Discovery Writer Issues

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , , , on July 5, 2017| Leave a Comment »

I’ve been making good progress on the first draft of BECOME: TO CATCH THE LIGHTNING.

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And new ideas have been flowing. Some that needed to happen earlier, but were mainly just additions. And some that needed to come a bit later.

Now this first draft isn’t, quite, in parts. In the first place, I’d written this story–from the point of view of the wrong main character–a couple of years ago. I’ve completely re-imagined it since then. In the second place, I’ve struggled with the first third or so of the re-imagined story for months until I finally broke off the early relationship of the brothers into a prequel novella–BECOME: BROTHERS.

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In the third place, I took a short break from this story after I published the novella and while I was working on taking many of my books and stories to wide distribution. So, now I’m going through what I already had to re-familiarize myself with it so I don’t end up with a bunch of consistency problems to weed out–and, of course, doing a few revisions as I go. And I’ve been getting new ideas that will make the story stronger.

Of course, the way my creative process works, at least some of this would have happened even if I were an outliner. I might have avoided trying to shoehorn the early story of the brothers into this book, but I would still be getting newer and better ideas as I write. That’s just how my muse works. Which is one of the main reasons I’m not an outliner.

So, now I’ve come to a place where I need to add a short scene. It needn’t be very long–in fact, it probably shouldn’t be very long. It’s just something that needs to point out a problem my main character isn’t aware of, yet. Not that he’s going to realize until much later exactly what that problem has to do with him, but it’s a seed I need to sow now so that the readers will, hopefully, see it coming when he does figure it out.

And so now, I have to figure out exactly where to fit this little scene in. Hmm.

 

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New Chapters

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

Well, my resolution to just make notes and move forward with BECOME: TO CATCH THE LIGHTNING didn’t last.

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The ideas were just too good and present. I couldn’t make notes detailed enough to have captured those ideas.

So . . . I wrote a new scene for the beginning of one chapter, edited the next, mostly for consistency, and I’m about 99% done with another new chapter. THEN I hope to be able to move forward.

But, the story will be much better for these additions, I think. They’re putting the goals, obstacles, and the stakes right up front, which is always a good thing.

And, more important, I’m really excited about this story again.

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