I'm back. I'm like that dud round you keep tossing on the ground, and yet, I somehow end up back in your magazine. Or that really annoying writer with the uninteresting blog who keeps promising this year he will finally get published. Yeah...I went there.
Regardless, here I am, again. 2013 was not as productive a year as I had hoped it would be. The early months started out great, with Kricket's Key nearing 75% completion. I did a bunch of query letter drafts for Kricket's Song. The folks at Absolute Write put my drafts through the wringer, and while I got a lot of helpful advice, I reached the point where I felt like I wasn't improving anymore. So the only thing left was to start querying agents again.
And then, summer started early for me. I got a promotion in my summer job which led to me starting work about a month early, and there were plenty of fires, so I ended up working some pretty long weeks. Then I ended up in Israel for a couple weeks, a week-long hunting trip in Arizona after that. Then it was the holidays, and family, and one thing after another, behold--it's 2014!
Yeah I know, excuses, excuses...
I wasn't entirely unproductive, just mostly. Remember those 8 drafts of query letters I talked about in the last post? That became 14. And now, using a completely different draft, I've sent out another query letter, and I hope to hear some good news soon. Or it could just be another Form-R. We'll see. Kricket's Song also got put through another round of very light polishing, just cleaning up some overly long phrases and using stronger action verbs. After being away from the manuscript for the better part of six months, fifteen minutes of work on the first chapter left me feeling immensely more positive about it.
So now I'm going to start the push on query letters once again, and see if I can't find an agent who will work with me. I'm also hoping to get back to work on Kricket's Key and perhaps another, unrelated project, just so I don't have all my bullets in one gun...or is that all my eggs in one basket... I like my analogy better.
If you read this blog, thanks. Sincerely. I like to think I'm a decent enough fiction writer, but when it comes to the social media thing, it's obviously not my forte. But I do appreciate every read I get! Here's to lots more this year!
Happy New Year!
Showing posts with label Links. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Links. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Monday, May 27, 2013
Query Letter Hell: The Return
I apologize, in a sort of formal, noncommittal way, about not posting here recently. May has been very busy for me in a variety of ways. I started my summer firefighting job again, about three weeks earlier than expected, and it's been keeping me pretty busy. In addition, I've also been finishing up some beta-reading projects for a couple of fellow writers. It was a process that was educational and useful for me, and I hope it was for them, as well.
As I mentioned in the previous post, Kricket's Song got some modifications, mostly in the form of a couple of scene additions that further develop the relationship between Jonah and Mouse as best friends, as well as some things that I hope help clarify why Jonah is risking his life trying to find Katerina--when, in all honesty, she's not presented as the perfect fiancee to begin with.
I also got a much needed new perspective on my query letter efforts. As I've lamented on here before, 8 different drafts of query letters (maybe more) have met with form rejections or no responses. I haven't sent that many queries, numerically speaking. But I HAVE done considerable research on the agents, and the book itself has gone through significant polishing and editing, and had been vetted for any major flaws. So I feel like if I had a good query letter, I would've gotten at least a personalized rejection or two. That leads me to believe my query letter itself probably isn't up to par. Hence, following the much needed new perspective, I've written a 9th query letter draft. I've submitted it to Query Letter Hell on Absolute Write, and I guess we'll see what sort of response I get. I'm hoping it's at least apparent the new draft isn't a first attempt at a query letter. I'm also hoping more than one person can agree on what's wrong with it. Last time I tried QLH, I had ten different people saying ten different things, and some of those contradicted each other.
In the meantime, this summer is looking to be a very busy one. I will continue doing my best to write, on Kricket's Song as needed, as well as getting some forward momentum going with Kricket's Key once again (the first draft). I'm also brainstorming a couple other projects for down the road.
As for what will happen after summer, well, that's anyone's guess. I might find a new job, or I might end up unemployed with nothing but time. And I just might go on a little epic quest of my own. Here's hoping.
As I mentioned in the previous post, Kricket's Song got some modifications, mostly in the form of a couple of scene additions that further develop the relationship between Jonah and Mouse as best friends, as well as some things that I hope help clarify why Jonah is risking his life trying to find Katerina--when, in all honesty, she's not presented as the perfect fiancee to begin with.
I also got a much needed new perspective on my query letter efforts. As I've lamented on here before, 8 different drafts of query letters (maybe more) have met with form rejections or no responses. I haven't sent that many queries, numerically speaking. But I HAVE done considerable research on the agents, and the book itself has gone through significant polishing and editing, and had been vetted for any major flaws. So I feel like if I had a good query letter, I would've gotten at least a personalized rejection or two. That leads me to believe my query letter itself probably isn't up to par. Hence, following the much needed new perspective, I've written a 9th query letter draft. I've submitted it to Query Letter Hell on Absolute Write, and I guess we'll see what sort of response I get. I'm hoping it's at least apparent the new draft isn't a first attempt at a query letter. I'm also hoping more than one person can agree on what's wrong with it. Last time I tried QLH, I had ten different people saying ten different things, and some of those contradicted each other.
In the meantime, this summer is looking to be a very busy one. I will continue doing my best to write, on Kricket's Song as needed, as well as getting some forward momentum going with Kricket's Key once again (the first draft). I'm also brainstorming a couple other projects for down the road.
As for what will happen after summer, well, that's anyone's guess. I might find a new job, or I might end up unemployed with nothing but time. And I just might go on a little epic quest of my own. Here's hoping.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Writing Productivity Tips
I frequently browse the Absolute Write Water Cooler for a variety of reasons, mostly selfish ones (i.e. I want to learn something new that will help me in my attempt to establish a writing career). But every now and then, I find someone who's been in a situation similar to mine, and I get to offer my two cents' worth of advice.
Please note, I'm not claiming to be an expert here. I'm still VERY much learning how to be a good writer, and I don't really have much in the way of publishing credentials under my belt. That said, I've been writing seriously (working toward the goal of professional publication) for several years now, which is longer than many people.
So, in keeping with the theme I've been trying to establish over the past few posts, here are a few tips I offered someone the other day, when they asked how they could measure their productivity and continue to make forward progress with their work. This is by no means "expert advice," but it's worked for me over the years.
"Each person will measure "productivity" in different ways. As each one of us are different people, so each one of us will be different writers. Our level of "productivity" will vary.
For now, don't worry about "getting published." For every writer who's just starting out (and yes, having just finished your first novel, you're still just starting out), that's a long ways down the road. Realizing that can be discouraging. So don't focus on that. Some tips:
1.) You don't have to write every single day. In fact, I would advise NOT writing every single day. Your brain/mind/imagination needs a break every now and then. Holding yourself to unrealistic expectations will burn you out in short order.
2.) With the above in mind, you SHOULD try to formulate some sort of writing schedule. It doesn't have to be super ambitious to start with. Figure out what time of the day works best for you, and allot yourself a certain amount of time to write. Or, you can establish a word count goal. You may not achieve this goal every single time. That's okay. The main thing is, you got SOMETHING done.
3.) Stick to your schedule, as closely as you can with normal, everyday life. If you've already done your writing for the day, don't feel pressured to go back and write MORE. On the flip side, if you haven't done your writing for the day, you really should sit down and hack out at least a couple hundred words. You may not feel like it at the time (I frequently don't), but after you do it, you'll feel better for having done it. Also, you'll likely be more motivated to do it the next day.
Some people disagree with me on this point. "If I don't feel like writing, I can't force it. Whatever I write will be junk." Hey, let's face it, everything we write on a first draft is going to need revision ANYWAY, whether we forced it or we were the most inspired we've ever been. At least now you have it ON PAPER and that gives you something to work with.
4.) Find what motivates you to keep your schedule. For me, I keep track of how long I worked on my WIP each day, how many words I wrote, and how close I am to my final word count goal. Why? I'm motivated by charting my progress. I can SEE that I'm making ground, even when it may feel like I'm spinning my wheels. "Yesterday I was 53% of the way there. Today I'm 55% of the way there." May not seem like much. But don't worry. Tomorrow it'll be 56% or more!
I hope these tips help. They've worked for me. I've finished two novels and am working on a third, not to mention numerous attempts at query letters and synopsis writing. I've also finished a couple shorts. People are reading my stuff, so even though I'm not yet "professionally" published, it's progress!"
That's it for this time. Thanks for reading!
Please note, I'm not claiming to be an expert here. I'm still VERY much learning how to be a good writer, and I don't really have much in the way of publishing credentials under my belt. That said, I've been writing seriously (working toward the goal of professional publication) for several years now, which is longer than many people.
So, in keeping with the theme I've been trying to establish over the past few posts, here are a few tips I offered someone the other day, when they asked how they could measure their productivity and continue to make forward progress with their work. This is by no means "expert advice," but it's worked for me over the years.
"Each person will measure "productivity" in different ways. As each one of us are different people, so each one of us will be different writers. Our level of "productivity" will vary.
For now, don't worry about "getting published." For every writer who's just starting out (and yes, having just finished your first novel, you're still just starting out), that's a long ways down the road. Realizing that can be discouraging. So don't focus on that. Some tips:
1.) You don't have to write every single day. In fact, I would advise NOT writing every single day. Your brain/mind/imagination needs a break every now and then. Holding yourself to unrealistic expectations will burn you out in short order.
2.) With the above in mind, you SHOULD try to formulate some sort of writing schedule. It doesn't have to be super ambitious to start with. Figure out what time of the day works best for you, and allot yourself a certain amount of time to write. Or, you can establish a word count goal. You may not achieve this goal every single time. That's okay. The main thing is, you got SOMETHING done.
3.) Stick to your schedule, as closely as you can with normal, everyday life. If you've already done your writing for the day, don't feel pressured to go back and write MORE. On the flip side, if you haven't done your writing for the day, you really should sit down and hack out at least a couple hundred words. You may not feel like it at the time (I frequently don't), but after you do it, you'll feel better for having done it. Also, you'll likely be more motivated to do it the next day.
Some people disagree with me on this point. "If I don't feel like writing, I can't force it. Whatever I write will be junk." Hey, let's face it, everything we write on a first draft is going to need revision ANYWAY, whether we forced it or we were the most inspired we've ever been. At least now you have it ON PAPER and that gives you something to work with.
4.) Find what motivates you to keep your schedule. For me, I keep track of how long I worked on my WIP each day, how many words I wrote, and how close I am to my final word count goal. Why? I'm motivated by charting my progress. I can SEE that I'm making ground, even when it may feel like I'm spinning my wheels. "Yesterday I was 53% of the way there. Today I'm 55% of the way there." May not seem like much. But don't worry. Tomorrow it'll be 56% or more!
I hope these tips help. They've worked for me. I've finished two novels and am working on a third, not to mention numerous attempts at query letters and synopsis writing. I've also finished a couple shorts. People are reading my stuff, so even though I'm not yet "professionally" published, it's progress!"
That's it for this time. Thanks for reading!
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
No Rest for the Writer
It's true I've been silent for a couple weeks on this blog, but I haven't been idle when it comes to writing. In fact, I've actually been a bit busier than I thought I would be. I'll break down what I've been up to recently, and then I want to share a writing tool that has helped me in my latest works in progress.
As you no doubt know by now, my science fiction short "Abyss" has been published on Amazon Kindle. I've promoted it through this blog, Facebook, friends and family, and via the Absolute Write group I'm a member of. Beyond that, I really don't know how else to promote it. I lack funding, so I can't do anything fancy. Despite the lack of promotion, it has sold 11 copies (that's a ton, I know...more than last time I posted anyway), and it has received a five-star rating after three reviews. So it may not be getting read a lot, but those who do read it like it, which makes me happy.
The bulk of my work in the past couple weeks has been on Kricket's Key, the sequel to Kricket's Song. After finishing chapter thirteen of the rough draft manuscript, I decided to finally face the issue that's been nagging at me since about chapter five: I got so caught up in making forward progress that I was forgetting to start subplots, the characters weren't acting like themselves, and the whole project was lacking the color and depth I'd wanted to give it. Eventually, I realized it was nothing like what I wanted it to be, and simply pushing ahead would only make it harder to correct in the long run. Thus, I abandoned the first draft, and went back to rewrite it.
The main plot is staying entirely the same. However, I've added in a couple subplots, added a new character, and removed an old character who was no longer doing anything for the story. I'm in the middle of chapter three right now, and I'm much happier with how it's going. It shouldn't take me long to get back to where I was with the first draft, and push on into new territory.
And, as always, I'm jotting down ideas for other projects or random things that currently don't have a home.
Now let me share a tool I've been using, particularly in Kricket's Key, that has helped me with some of the shortcomings I identified in earlier works. One of the issues that was brought up by beta readers for Kricket's Song was that my settings weren't always well-described. I did well visually, but I tended to ignore the other senses. In order to combat this, I read a book on fleshing out setting, and I created a sort of impromptu "setting form" which helps me layout all aspects of an important setting. I fill out the form before I begin writing scenes that take place in the setting, so that I can refer to it as I'm writing. The main issue I have is not that I don't think about the various aspects of setting, it's just that I forget to mention them as I'm writing. This helps remind me to include them. Here is the form:
As you no doubt know by now, my science fiction short "Abyss" has been published on Amazon Kindle. I've promoted it through this blog, Facebook, friends and family, and via the Absolute Write group I'm a member of. Beyond that, I really don't know how else to promote it. I lack funding, so I can't do anything fancy. Despite the lack of promotion, it has sold 11 copies (that's a ton, I know...more than last time I posted anyway), and it has received a five-star rating after three reviews. So it may not be getting read a lot, but those who do read it like it, which makes me happy.
The bulk of my work in the past couple weeks has been on Kricket's Key, the sequel to Kricket's Song. After finishing chapter thirteen of the rough draft manuscript, I decided to finally face the issue that's been nagging at me since about chapter five: I got so caught up in making forward progress that I was forgetting to start subplots, the characters weren't acting like themselves, and the whole project was lacking the color and depth I'd wanted to give it. Eventually, I realized it was nothing like what I wanted it to be, and simply pushing ahead would only make it harder to correct in the long run. Thus, I abandoned the first draft, and went back to rewrite it.
The main plot is staying entirely the same. However, I've added in a couple subplots, added a new character, and removed an old character who was no longer doing anything for the story. I'm in the middle of chapter three right now, and I'm much happier with how it's going. It shouldn't take me long to get back to where I was with the first draft, and push on into new territory.
And, as always, I'm jotting down ideas for other projects or random things that currently don't have a home.
Now let me share a tool I've been using, particularly in Kricket's Key, that has helped me with some of the shortcomings I identified in earlier works. One of the issues that was brought up by beta readers for Kricket's Song was that my settings weren't always well-described. I did well visually, but I tended to ignore the other senses. In order to combat this, I read a book on fleshing out setting, and I created a sort of impromptu "setting form" which helps me layout all aspects of an important setting. I fill out the form before I begin writing scenes that take place in the setting, so that I can refer to it as I'm writing. The main issue I have is not that I don't think about the various aspects of setting, it's just that I forget to mention them as I'm writing. This helps remind me to include them. Here is the form:
Project: (This is where I put the title or working title of the overall work)
Scene: (For example, "Macy gets first look at the prison planet")
Overall Atmosphere
(Dark, Desolate, Bright, Foreboding, etc.): (Here I put some adjectives which describe the general feel of the scene...these are "first impressions."
How the Setting
Relates to the Senses: (This is where I get into the specifics as they relate to all five senses. There's no "right" way to fill this out. Sometimes I use single words or phrases, sometimes full sentences. The idea is to picture yourself in the setting you're trying to describe, and the list everything you can think of as it relates to the specific sense. I mean everything. This doesn't mean you'll actually use everything, but it will give you a pool of things to pick and choose from.)
Sight:
Sound:
Touch/Feel:
Taste:
Smell:
So far, I've found that using this form helps me remember to include different details about settings, which creates a more thorough picture for the reader to become immersed in. It's short and to the point, and can be invaluable when you're cruising along and want to throw in a detail or two about the setting. You've already thought it out before hand, so you don't have to kill your forward momentum by starting a whole new brainstorming session.
Well, that's all I've got for now. Back to the grind!
Saturday, December 15, 2012
167,858!
167,858: That's the rank "Abyss" currently enjoys in the Amazon kindle market. I'm in the top 200,000! Hey, at least it HAS a rank, right? It's out there. People are reading it. 8 of them so far. Only one of them was a family member.
Hopefully you can tell that the above is all tongue in cheek. I didn't expect my short story to become a huge seller. The hope is that I'll get my name out there, some people will read it, maybe later some more will. Eventually, if I put something significant out there (say, one of my novels), they'll recognize my name and buy it, and the fan base grows from there. That's the idea, anyway. Who knows if it'll work.
Now that "Abyss" is out there, most of my writing efforts have been concentrated on Kricket's Key. Progress is moving along nicely. I'm about one-third of the way to my word-count goal. This book is probably going to need even more rewriting and editing than the last one. I don't think I'm doing as well with describing the characters or the action. It's hard to put a lot of effort into it, when I don't even know if I'll be able to get an agent for the first one. The querying remains the most frustrating task of this whole business, the one thing that seems to be holding me up.
But...have to keep writing. It's the only way to get better, the only way to have a chance of getting published for real.
Thanks for reading my blog. And if you're one of the 8 people who've read "Abyss" and you enjoyed it, please leave a review on Amazon! That's really the only way I have to drive sales there right now. I'm still learning about marketing. More later!
Hopefully you can tell that the above is all tongue in cheek. I didn't expect my short story to become a huge seller. The hope is that I'll get my name out there, some people will read it, maybe later some more will. Eventually, if I put something significant out there (say, one of my novels), they'll recognize my name and buy it, and the fan base grows from there. That's the idea, anyway. Who knows if it'll work.
Now that "Abyss" is out there, most of my writing efforts have been concentrated on Kricket's Key. Progress is moving along nicely. I'm about one-third of the way to my word-count goal. This book is probably going to need even more rewriting and editing than the last one. I don't think I'm doing as well with describing the characters or the action. It's hard to put a lot of effort into it, when I don't even know if I'll be able to get an agent for the first one. The querying remains the most frustrating task of this whole business, the one thing that seems to be holding me up.
But...have to keep writing. It's the only way to get better, the only way to have a chance of getting published for real.
Thanks for reading my blog. And if you're one of the 8 people who've read "Abyss" and you enjoyed it, please leave a review on Amazon! That's really the only way I have to drive sales there right now. I'm still learning about marketing. More later!
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
"Abyss" Published on Amazon Kindle
The time since my last post here has been busy indeed. It is with great pleasure that I announce my science fiction short story "Abyss" has been published and is now available for sale on Amazon Kindle! See the link at the bottom of this post to buy it from Amazon.
Following is a short description of the story:
-----------------
Following is a short description of the story:
-----------------
"After
witnessing the horrific death of her best friend in the vacuum of space, Macy
Jensen is ruled unfit for duty on extra-vehicular missions. As a technician for
the Accelerator Bridge--which spans a starless region known as the Abyss--this
means the end of her career.
But
when the Bridge suffers a catastrophic malfunction before she's shipped out,
every single technician is recalled to duty. Macy is assigned to fix
Accelerator Ring 7. The malfunctioning Ring has already destroyed an ammunition
carrier, and next in its queue is a star liner carrying five thousand
passengers.
If
she wants to save all those lives, Macy will have to race against the clock,
dodge unexploded ordinance...and face her fear of a cold, lonely death in the
starless void."
-----------------
"Abyss" is approximately 7,500 words long, and is the first of my works published on Amazon Kindle. Awesome cover art was provided by the talented Kalen O'Donnell. Hopefully, there will be more stories to follow, if this proves successful.
In addition to getting "Abyss" formatted, securing quality cover art, and publishing it on Amazon, I've also been writing steadily on Kricket's Key. Chapter Ten was finished two days ago, and I'm officially past the one-quarter mark on my way to 90,000 words. As with the book's prequel, Kricket's Song, it may run a bit longer, but shouldn't by much.
Queries for Kricket's Song continue to make the rounds. I did receive another rejection the day before yesterday. It was difficult to tell if it was a form reject or a more personalized response. The agent stated he had a full client list at the moment and was being extremely picky about new projects, so his rejection was not necessarily a statement about the saleability of my work. In other words, I just arched an eyebrow and moved on. That leave six queries still in the wind, and I'll be sending more out eventually.
And that's about all I have to report for now. Following is the link for "Abyss" on Amazon.com. If you read it and like it, please leave a review on Amazon! Thanks.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
So What's Up?
It's been a little while since I've posted, and even though things look quiet right now, there actually has been progress on Kricket's Song. So here's what's going on.
As you know, I've completed the initial editing/polishing phase on the manuscript. It can no longer be considered a "rough draft." It's starting to take a shape resembling what it should be when you pick it up on the bookshelf in a store. But, before you (or I) start getting excited...well, there's still a really long way to go before that happens.
I've started compiling a list of agents that I might like to query. Right now, it's just a very large and general list; I'll need to narrow it down and figure out which agents would be my top picks before I start sending out query letters. And that brings me to my next point: actually writing a query letter. I've written three drafts so far, and I've been receiving critiques on it from some of my fellow writers at Absolute Write. They've brought up some very good points and made some good suggestions. The problem is, it seems like every time I address an issue, it either raises more issues, or un-fixes an issue I'd previous thought fixed.
Also, after an initially unsuccessful appeal for some beta readers, I finally did find one person who was willing to take the first chapter. Again, he made some suggestions and critiques, and it appears I still have work to do on the manuscript itself. The good news is, this wasn't unexpected. Also, the changes should be too difficult to effect. The bad news is...well, there's still more work to do!
But all in all, progress is being made, so that's good. I've also been brainstorming some more for Kricket's Key and I think I'm making some progress with that particular plot puzzle. Hopefully, as I get the kinks worked out with Kricket's Song, I'll be able to turn my focus more and more to Key, but that may yet be some time down the road.
I'll keep you updated!
As you know, I've completed the initial editing/polishing phase on the manuscript. It can no longer be considered a "rough draft." It's starting to take a shape resembling what it should be when you pick it up on the bookshelf in a store. But, before you (or I) start getting excited...well, there's still a really long way to go before that happens.
I've started compiling a list of agents that I might like to query. Right now, it's just a very large and general list; I'll need to narrow it down and figure out which agents would be my top picks before I start sending out query letters. And that brings me to my next point: actually writing a query letter. I've written three drafts so far, and I've been receiving critiques on it from some of my fellow writers at Absolute Write. They've brought up some very good points and made some good suggestions. The problem is, it seems like every time I address an issue, it either raises more issues, or un-fixes an issue I'd previous thought fixed.
Also, after an initially unsuccessful appeal for some beta readers, I finally did find one person who was willing to take the first chapter. Again, he made some suggestions and critiques, and it appears I still have work to do on the manuscript itself. The good news is, this wasn't unexpected. Also, the changes should be too difficult to effect. The bad news is...well, there's still more work to do!
But all in all, progress is being made, so that's good. I've also been brainstorming some more for Kricket's Key and I think I'm making some progress with that particular plot puzzle. Hopefully, as I get the kinks worked out with Kricket's Song, I'll be able to turn my focus more and more to Key, but that may yet be some time down the road.
I'll keep you updated!
Monday, January 2, 2012
Happy New Year!
So yeah, I know it's a couple days late, bu whatever. I've had more important things to do. Like prepping for the zombie apocalypse. And attending a wedding in the Arizona. And...stuff. But, Happy New Year to everyone, most especially the plethora of my faithful readers!
This is going to be a short post. I finally got started on the final read-through of Kricket's Song, albeit a week or so later than I might have liked. I don't think it's going to take me very long, but it's certainly going to require me to pay close attention to what I'm doing. I'm just trying to polish it, working to get rid of excessive words, make things that are unclear more clear, and essentially trying not to look like an amateur with the writing.
There's a particular document I've found very helpful at this stage of the project, entitled "Hunting Down the Pleonasms" by Allen Guthrie. You can find a reproduction of the document here. It's been reproduced with permission, and I think just about any writer will find it immensely helpful. A lot of it is stuff that we already "know," but that we seem to forget when we get into the heat of writing. I even went so far as to take the advice of printing it out and taping it on the wall next to my computer. I read through it every now and then, usually before I start a writing session, and it's started to get ingrained in my brain--which can only help my writing! I'll also put this link as a permanent one on the right side of my blog.
So anyway, that's where I'm at with Kricket's Song. Once I've finished this polishing session, it will be ready for beta readers. I've already had a couple members from the Absolute Write Water Cooler volunteer to read it for me, so I'm very excited about that. Victims are good, but victims who volunteer are even better! Oh, did I say that out loud...?
This is going to be a short post. I finally got started on the final read-through of Kricket's Song, albeit a week or so later than I might have liked. I don't think it's going to take me very long, but it's certainly going to require me to pay close attention to what I'm doing. I'm just trying to polish it, working to get rid of excessive words, make things that are unclear more clear, and essentially trying not to look like an amateur with the writing.
There's a particular document I've found very helpful at this stage of the project, entitled "Hunting Down the Pleonasms" by Allen Guthrie. You can find a reproduction of the document here. It's been reproduced with permission, and I think just about any writer will find it immensely helpful. A lot of it is stuff that we already "know," but that we seem to forget when we get into the heat of writing. I even went so far as to take the advice of printing it out and taping it on the wall next to my computer. I read through it every now and then, usually before I start a writing session, and it's started to get ingrained in my brain--which can only help my writing! I'll also put this link as a permanent one on the right side of my blog.
So anyway, that's where I'm at with Kricket's Song. Once I've finished this polishing session, it will be ready for beta readers. I've already had a couple members from the Absolute Write Water Cooler volunteer to read it for me, so I'm very excited about that. Victims are good, but victims who volunteer are even better! Oh, did I say that out loud...?
Saturday, April 23, 2011
The Kricket Project, Part 1
As my multitude of faithful readers may remember from last week's post, I've started devoting most of my attention to a new work tentatively entitled The Kricket's Song. This is going to be a stand-alone novel of about 90,000 words, with aspects of the fantasy, science-fiction, and steampunk genres. You may have noticed that my little counter on the right hand side of the blog hasn't been going up for the past week. That's because I've started - yes, already - a rewrite of the three and a half chapters I've written so far. I posted the opening chapter for review and critique on Absolute Write, and got some very good feedback. Since I didn't want the entire novel to have the same errors I'd made in the first chapter, I decided to rewrite the first chapter, and go from there. The new version ended up being very different from the original. I posted the new version for critique just last evening. So far, it appears to be earning much higher marks than the original, so I'm pleased. I'm hoping to get into Chapter Two tonight for what will also be an almost complete rewrite. Once I get these three and a half chapters rewritten, I will continue with the rest of the novel.
In the meantime, I thought I would share a little bit more about what The Kricket's Song is really about. Today I'll just share basic setting and plot, and next week, I'll probably start sharing a bit about the characters. Hopefully this will give you some idea about what this project really is, aside from requiring me sitting at my computer for many hours.
Basic Setting:
The Kricket's Song is set in a rather eclectic world. Much of it is fantasy-based, with such elements as floating cities, magical (or unexplained) forces, flying ships, etc. There are also science-fiction elements, primarily among the type of weaponry used. Characters and their airships will be sporting anything from Gatling guns, mass drivers, rail guns and more "modern day" gunpowder-based kinetic weapons. There may be a few swords, all the same. So where does the steampunk come in? Well, most of the airships derive their power from burning coal to generate steam. There are also a variety of other machines and gadgets that are powered by steam, including some rather fearsome weapons. The airships themselves are hard to classify, because although they derived their movement from steam power, they are able to fly because of a magical element that is commonly found throughout the world. Some ships have highly dangerous and unstable magnetic "boosters" that somehow interact with the world's magnetic field to give the ship a short-lived boost - think of it as NOS for a car. Other ships, usually ships belong to the Guv Navy (the Guv being the world-wide central authority or government) are being outfitted with the new "repulse-tech" which is a new, more efficient way of getting ships around faster. Repulse-tech also works with magnets, but in a much more refined and stable way than the magnetic boosters.
As you can see, it's pretty hard to fit this work into any one genre. At this point, I'm thinking it will largely be classified as fantasy, with various characters and organizations utilizing different technologies (whether more advanced or less advanced) to suit their particular needs or based on their budget.
Basic Plot:
The story will be told from the 3rd person point of view but focused on the main character, Jonah. Jonah's fiancee, Katerina, has gone missing. She's the daughter of the Guv's Vice Minister of Defense, and she caught wind of some secret operation the Guv was undertaking. When she started investigating, she vanished. The story starts with Jonah stealing an artifact known as "The Professor's Journal" from the Guv's Royal Librarium, because he believes it has clues as to where Katerina may have gone. Aided by his friend Mouse, a fellow student at the University, Jonah flees the city with the Guvvie Arbiters hot on his tail. They secure passage on a small airship called Kricket and they team up with the ship's eclectic crew to figure out what the Guv is up to.
As they follow the journal's clues from city to city - pursued by the Guv Navy and harassed by extremists known as Grounders who are loyal to the eccentric "Professor" himself - Jonah, Mouse, and Kricket's crew begin to realize that more is at stake than Katerina's disappearance. The Guv wants Jonah dead because of what they're afraid he might find in the journal. Unfortunately for him, the last few pages are missing - because Katerina took them before she vanished.
As Kricket sails just out of reach of the Guv and the Grounders, her crew is rushing headlong into massive government operation that the world doesn't know about. Somehow, it involves a hidden floating city called Borealis and the mysterious, possibly alien, technology that it protects. Technology the Guv wants - at any cost.
If you want a taste of the story, head on over to Absolute Write and check out Chapter One in the Share Your Work forum under Science Fiction/Fantasy. Next week, look for some brief character bios on the main characters.
In the meantime, I thought I would share a little bit more about what The Kricket's Song is really about. Today I'll just share basic setting and plot, and next week, I'll probably start sharing a bit about the characters. Hopefully this will give you some idea about what this project really is, aside from requiring me sitting at my computer for many hours.
Basic Setting:
The Kricket's Song is set in a rather eclectic world. Much of it is fantasy-based, with such elements as floating cities, magical (or unexplained) forces, flying ships, etc. There are also science-fiction elements, primarily among the type of weaponry used. Characters and their airships will be sporting anything from Gatling guns, mass drivers, rail guns and more "modern day" gunpowder-based kinetic weapons. There may be a few swords, all the same. So where does the steampunk come in? Well, most of the airships derive their power from burning coal to generate steam. There are also a variety of other machines and gadgets that are powered by steam, including some rather fearsome weapons. The airships themselves are hard to classify, because although they derived their movement from steam power, they are able to fly because of a magical element that is commonly found throughout the world. Some ships have highly dangerous and unstable magnetic "boosters" that somehow interact with the world's magnetic field to give the ship a short-lived boost - think of it as NOS for a car. Other ships, usually ships belong to the Guv Navy (the Guv being the world-wide central authority or government) are being outfitted with the new "repulse-tech" which is a new, more efficient way of getting ships around faster. Repulse-tech also works with magnets, but in a much more refined and stable way than the magnetic boosters.
As you can see, it's pretty hard to fit this work into any one genre. At this point, I'm thinking it will largely be classified as fantasy, with various characters and organizations utilizing different technologies (whether more advanced or less advanced) to suit their particular needs or based on their budget.
Basic Plot:
The story will be told from the 3rd person point of view but focused on the main character, Jonah. Jonah's fiancee, Katerina, has gone missing. She's the daughter of the Guv's Vice Minister of Defense, and she caught wind of some secret operation the Guv was undertaking. When she started investigating, she vanished. The story starts with Jonah stealing an artifact known as "The Professor's Journal" from the Guv's Royal Librarium, because he believes it has clues as to where Katerina may have gone. Aided by his friend Mouse, a fellow student at the University, Jonah flees the city with the Guvvie Arbiters hot on his tail. They secure passage on a small airship called Kricket and they team up with the ship's eclectic crew to figure out what the Guv is up to.
As they follow the journal's clues from city to city - pursued by the Guv Navy and harassed by extremists known as Grounders who are loyal to the eccentric "Professor" himself - Jonah, Mouse, and Kricket's crew begin to realize that more is at stake than Katerina's disappearance. The Guv wants Jonah dead because of what they're afraid he might find in the journal. Unfortunately for him, the last few pages are missing - because Katerina took them before she vanished.
As Kricket sails just out of reach of the Guv and the Grounders, her crew is rushing headlong into massive government operation that the world doesn't know about. Somehow, it involves a hidden floating city called Borealis and the mysterious, possibly alien, technology that it protects. Technology the Guv wants - at any cost.
If you want a taste of the story, head on over to Absolute Write and check out Chapter One in the Share Your Work forum under Science Fiction/Fantasy. Next week, look for some brief character bios on the main characters.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Return of the Muse
I've often been complaining - to myself, anyway - that my muse abandoned me sometime ago, probably because most of my time was consumed with boring but necessary aspects of life. Like college. It was sort of a running joke with my friends from Absolute Write that my muse was AWOL (Absent WithOut Leave) and that if it ever came back, I'd shoot it for desertion. Well, it eventually did come back, at 6am on Monday morning, waking me out of a dead sleep. I was half asleep and so confused I couldn't do anything but start writing down notes.
I won't get into too much detail about the idea I've been developing over the past week. I want to make sure it actually goes somewhere and I start making some definite progress on it before I get everyone interested in a project that may or may not go anywhere. However, I will say that the ideas started clicking into place so well and so fast, that I spent two plus hours on Monday morning handwriting three pages of notes regarding characters and plot lines. I've since expanded the notes on characters into a seven page character bio file, which outlines background, personality, motivation, and physical appearance for each of the major characters, as well as a couple of the more minor ones. I've also done what I call some "setting teaser" pieces, bits of writing that may or may not be included in the actual manuscript itself, but help to establish the physical setting and the ambiance of the work for my own benefit. I will also say that right now, I plan on this being a novel-length work.
Furthermore, I will also say that this work seems to be falling into the genre of steampunk. I've never written anything steampunk-ish before, and I'm barely familiar with all the various details of the genre. I've decided that first and foremost, this work is going to be fun. I'm going to focus on making the storyline as awesome as possible, the characters as in-depth and three-dimensional as possible, and the world itself as interesting and amusing as possible. I'm going to be making a bit of a break with my tradition of having technology in my works be at least plausible or explainable, and just have fun with the airships, guns, and floating cities that will be in this project. Knowing me, it will end up being steampunk with strong elements of science fiction and fantasy thrown in.
Yes, I know, I've got a lot of other projects lined up right now. The Serenity Solution is still in the beta read phase. My beta reader just finished through Chapter 11 on it, and has requested the next several chapters. So progress is being made on that front, it's just taking time. I'm starting to get tidbits of ideas on how I want to go about rewriting it as well, once the time comes for that. Regarding the short stories I have going, yes I still plan on working on those as well. I'm hoping that with a variety of projects of varying genres going on, I'll be able to stay motivated and not get into a rut.
Speaking of projects that are lined up, and projects I've talked about on here that have yet to go anywhere, you may remember the few posts I made about the Bounty Hunter Quartet. Well, during Absolute Write's Flash Fiction Challenge last Sunday, I wrote a 1,900 word piece that is sort of an unofficial prelude to the first book. I'm not sure it will ever see the light of day, but it was good to get back into the fantasy genre a bit and work with a familiar character. Based on the prompt "the new job," the piece was a quick look at the events directly leading up to the start of the first book, which has been started and stopped three times now. And it's still in the brainstorming phase right now.
I will, of course, let you know when I've got more news regarding any of these projects. And I'm still waiting to hear from the Writer's of the Future Contest regarding "Exequies;" right now, no news is good news.
I won't get into too much detail about the idea I've been developing over the past week. I want to make sure it actually goes somewhere and I start making some definite progress on it before I get everyone interested in a project that may or may not go anywhere. However, I will say that the ideas started clicking into place so well and so fast, that I spent two plus hours on Monday morning handwriting three pages of notes regarding characters and plot lines. I've since expanded the notes on characters into a seven page character bio file, which outlines background, personality, motivation, and physical appearance for each of the major characters, as well as a couple of the more minor ones. I've also done what I call some "setting teaser" pieces, bits of writing that may or may not be included in the actual manuscript itself, but help to establish the physical setting and the ambiance of the work for my own benefit. I will also say that right now, I plan on this being a novel-length work.
Furthermore, I will also say that this work seems to be falling into the genre of steampunk. I've never written anything steampunk-ish before, and I'm barely familiar with all the various details of the genre. I've decided that first and foremost, this work is going to be fun. I'm going to focus on making the storyline as awesome as possible, the characters as in-depth and three-dimensional as possible, and the world itself as interesting and amusing as possible. I'm going to be making a bit of a break with my tradition of having technology in my works be at least plausible or explainable, and just have fun with the airships, guns, and floating cities that will be in this project. Knowing me, it will end up being steampunk with strong elements of science fiction and fantasy thrown in.
Yes, I know, I've got a lot of other projects lined up right now. The Serenity Solution is still in the beta read phase. My beta reader just finished through Chapter 11 on it, and has requested the next several chapters. So progress is being made on that front, it's just taking time. I'm starting to get tidbits of ideas on how I want to go about rewriting it as well, once the time comes for that. Regarding the short stories I have going, yes I still plan on working on those as well. I'm hoping that with a variety of projects of varying genres going on, I'll be able to stay motivated and not get into a rut.
Speaking of projects that are lined up, and projects I've talked about on here that have yet to go anywhere, you may remember the few posts I made about the Bounty Hunter Quartet. Well, during Absolute Write's Flash Fiction Challenge last Sunday, I wrote a 1,900 word piece that is sort of an unofficial prelude to the first book. I'm not sure it will ever see the light of day, but it was good to get back into the fantasy genre a bit and work with a familiar character. Based on the prompt "the new job," the piece was a quick look at the events directly leading up to the start of the first book, which has been started and stopped three times now. And it's still in the brainstorming phase right now.
I will, of course, let you know when I've got more news regarding any of these projects. And I'm still waiting to hear from the Writer's of the Future Contest regarding "Exequies;" right now, no news is good news.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
March Madness
I've actually got stuff to blog about this week. I won't be scrounging around for little tidbits of info to make a full post out of. I guess that's an accomplishment in its own right!
So the first bit of news it, I after getting the rejection last week on "Exequies," I tweaked it just a bit (tried to make the opening paragraph stronger) and submitted it to the Writers of the Future contest. I generally don't make a habit of saying who I'm submitting works to, just because I don't believe in throwing names around until/unless I'm actually going to get something published with them. But contests are a little different, I think. For those unfamiliar with it, the WOTF contest is one of the premier competitions for science fiction and fantasy short stories. If by some miracle I actually won the competition, it would be amazing. Even if I just made quarter-finalist that would be significant. For me, anyway. I probably won't know any results until May or June, so it'll be a bit of a wait, but worth it. Refer to the link at the bottom of this post for more information on the contest itself.
In other writing news, if you hadn't been able to guess by watching the non-moving word count tracker on the right hand side of this blog, "The Unfound" hasn't been going anywhere. However, I have started working on a different short entitled "The Wall" which I believe has much more promise. "Unfound" needs some more planning work, but "Wall" is already planned out, and should clock in at around 2,400 words. It started out as an 884 word flash fiction piece for the Absolute Write Water Cooler weekly flash fiction challenge, but I was intrigued by the idea I'd come up with, and wanted to expand it. So that's my current project.
Still getting beta reading feedback for The Serenity Solution as well. The literature professor who is reading it has completed the first six chapters, and is eager to read on. So, the diagnosis that the story is good just a little slow to get to the point is probably accurate. More on that as I get it.
Writers of the Future Contest
So the first bit of news it, I after getting the rejection last week on "Exequies," I tweaked it just a bit (tried to make the opening paragraph stronger) and submitted it to the Writers of the Future contest. I generally don't make a habit of saying who I'm submitting works to, just because I don't believe in throwing names around until/unless I'm actually going to get something published with them. But contests are a little different, I think. For those unfamiliar with it, the WOTF contest is one of the premier competitions for science fiction and fantasy short stories. If by some miracle I actually won the competition, it would be amazing. Even if I just made quarter-finalist that would be significant. For me, anyway. I probably won't know any results until May or June, so it'll be a bit of a wait, but worth it. Refer to the link at the bottom of this post for more information on the contest itself.
In other writing news, if you hadn't been able to guess by watching the non-moving word count tracker on the right hand side of this blog, "The Unfound" hasn't been going anywhere. However, I have started working on a different short entitled "The Wall" which I believe has much more promise. "Unfound" needs some more planning work, but "Wall" is already planned out, and should clock in at around 2,400 words. It started out as an 884 word flash fiction piece for the Absolute Write Water Cooler weekly flash fiction challenge, but I was intrigued by the idea I'd come up with, and wanted to expand it. So that's my current project.
Still getting beta reading feedback for The Serenity Solution as well. The literature professor who is reading it has completed the first six chapters, and is eager to read on. So, the diagnosis that the story is good just a little slow to get to the point is probably accurate. More on that as I get it.
Writers of the Future Contest
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Fanfiction.net Link
While some of my close friends and family might be familiar with how I write and what I write about (when I'm not working on The Serenity Solution, anyway), I realize that most of the visitors to this page probably have no clue if I can even string together a story. Due to the fact that I want to keep any possible problems with publication rights to an absolute minimum in the event I can get this novel published, I can't share parts of The Serenity Solution itself.
I find that one of the best ways to keep my skills sharp is to work on fanfiction. Fanfiction, of course, is creating an original plot within an already developed setting, world, or universe, and often using already established characters. This alleviates the burden of having to create new settings and characters, and allows me to simply work on creating a solid plot.
At the end of this post, you'll find a link for my profile on Fanfiction.net. From there, you can browse the stories I've written, in case you're interested in how I write. I've completed a couple Star Wars stories, and one based on Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda, which was also a television show. I started one based on the Halo games, but haven't finished yet due to more pressing projects (and I didn't plan the plot out very well before I started; I need to find the time to actually rewrite it).
Feel free to leave comments on the stories at Fanfiction.net, or you can do the same here on this post. Enjoy.
Fanfiction Link
I find that one of the best ways to keep my skills sharp is to work on fanfiction. Fanfiction, of course, is creating an original plot within an already developed setting, world, or universe, and often using already established characters. This alleviates the burden of having to create new settings and characters, and allows me to simply work on creating a solid plot.
At the end of this post, you'll find a link for my profile on Fanfiction.net. From there, you can browse the stories I've written, in case you're interested in how I write. I've completed a couple Star Wars stories, and one based on Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda, which was also a television show. I started one based on the Halo games, but haven't finished yet due to more pressing projects (and I didn't plan the plot out very well before I started; I need to find the time to actually rewrite it).
Feel free to leave comments on the stories at Fanfiction.net, or you can do the same here on this post. Enjoy.
Fanfiction Link
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