For awhile there, I was doing really well with the blogging-every-day thing. And I was rather enjoying it, too. I looked forward to sitting down each night - or sometimes in the morning - and writing something new. Then I ran into illness, and wrist pain, and real life for a couple weeks and was noticeably absent from my blog.
As you may or may not have noticed, I am struggling to get back into that mindset. I have a hard time getting the energy to write, let alone coming up with something to say. And I have plenty of things to say, but I have to admit, sometimes I wonder if what I have to say is actually of any interest to people.
This post isn't intended to be a whine - mostly - but more of a thought collection followed by a question. For those of you that read here and blog yourselves, how do you get the motivation to keep doing it? When you go for awhile without writing, what do you do to get the energy back? And what do you write about when you do? Inquiring minds (read: mine) would love to know.
Showing posts with label writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writing. Show all posts
Thursday, 28 February 2013
Tuesday, 1 January 2013
Let's make this year a bit more interesting
Happy 2013 folks! Hope you all had a good one.
Now, jumping straight into my topic for today: me and this blog. I've not been updating it nearly as much as I'd like. The last few months have been particularly trying for my writing, between NaNo and December-writing-burn-out and life and everything else.
Part of the problem is, no doubt, that I feel a need to make every post particularly interesting. If it's something I don't think will make an impact, I tend to think it's not good enough. Part of it is being too tired to think of something to write that will make a substantial post, and not just a short word splat.
But I'm hoping to change that this year. I will still endeavour to make more interesting posts, with good content and fun stuff. But I'm not going to stress so much about making every post something special. I'm not going to worry about if something is good enough for my blog. It's about me and my thoughts and my life, which means anything that happens to me or crosses my mind can be considered good enough for my blog.
I'm also going to try to write more. I make no promises - I have a busy year planned, and may not find the time. But I'm going to try. I like keeping this blog, and I don't want it to go dead. So here goes - let's see what I can do this year.
Now, jumping straight into my topic for today: me and this blog. I've not been updating it nearly as much as I'd like. The last few months have been particularly trying for my writing, between NaNo and December-writing-burn-out and life and everything else.
Part of the problem is, no doubt, that I feel a need to make every post particularly interesting. If it's something I don't think will make an impact, I tend to think it's not good enough. Part of it is being too tired to think of something to write that will make a substantial post, and not just a short word splat.
But I'm hoping to change that this year. I will still endeavour to make more interesting posts, with good content and fun stuff. But I'm not going to stress so much about making every post something special. I'm not going to worry about if something is good enough for my blog. It's about me and my thoughts and my life, which means anything that happens to me or crosses my mind can be considered good enough for my blog.
I'm also going to try to write more. I make no promises - I have a busy year planned, and may not find the time. But I'm going to try. I like keeping this blog, and I don't want it to go dead. So here goes - let's see what I can do this year.
Wednesday, 12 December 2012
Magic isn't a quick fix
Another repost from my previous blog. This post talks about what is, in my opinion, the reason so many people write off fantasy as not a real genre because the writer just "makes it up".
Rik stared in horror at the beast before him. It was a creature even his nightmares could never summon. Slime dripped from its contorted figure as it peered back, a malicious smile lifting its decaying lips. Each of its four arms drew back, clenched tightly. Its black, soulless eyes gleamed, and the thing’s entire body quivered with anticipation. It slipped to the left, then to the right, moving far more quickly than Rik thought possible, and leaving a slippery trail of goo behind.
Desperately Rik scrambled through his options. Run? Even if he managed to miss the enormous path of slime staining the ground, he’d never escape before the lightning fast creature caught him. Nowhere to hide, either, without having to run a good distance first. He could fight, but his only weapon, a tiny blade no bigger than his palm and horribly blunted from misuse, would do little to penetrate the monster’s leathery, ick-covered skin. No one knew he was here, and the area was so harsh it was rarely visited and completely uninhabited.
Except, apparently, for the gruesome beasts that popped up out of nowhere when you’re trying to answer a call of nature.
Rik sank down to his knees and wrapped his shaking arms around himself, realising his time was up. He was going to die. The creature slithered forward, four hands reaching forward anxiously. It howled with delight as each bony finger brushed his arms and sides. Rik shoved down a bout of nausea and squeezed his eyes shut, and hoped it would at least be quick.
Then Rik had an idea. He gasped a breath and uttered the words of a spell. The monster released him with a furious scream and backed away. A moment later, it burst into flames and died. Rik returned home, having saved the world from a ferocious slime monster, and lived happily ever after.
. . .
Yeah, doesn’t really make sense to me either.
One of the things that seems to be a standard of fantasy fiction is magic. (There are exceptions, of course, but for the sake of argument, just go with it.) There are many different kinds, many ways it can be used, many rules of what it can and can’t do. It’s often a critical part of the plot or characterization, or both.
But magic isn’t a quick fix. If a spell is used to take out the bad guy and save the day at the very end of the story, there needs to be a really good reason why the protagonist didn’t do that in the beginning. Did they not have enough power to cast that spell until now? Did they need to be in the right place at the right time? Did they only finally figure out how the spell works as they were actually about to lose to the bad guy? Why? Why didn’t the character use this magic in the opening chapter and save himself all the conflict and drama in the middle? (The character claiming he or she “forgot” until the critical moment doesn’t count as a reason.)
The snippet I wrote above is an example of what happens when magic is used like fiction duct tape. It gives the impression that the writer broke part of their plot, and is using magic to hold it together. But rather than fixing the problem, using magic like this actually gives you more problems and plot holes to deal with. Chances are you’ll also have a lot of unhappy readers, who will feel they’ve been somehow cheated by what appears to be an easy way out.
If you write yourself into a corner, magic will not summon your escape window. Take the time to make it work, and make your magic mean something more than just a fast solution, and the whole story will be that much better for it.
Rik stared in horror at the beast before him. It was a creature even his nightmares could never summon. Slime dripped from its contorted figure as it peered back, a malicious smile lifting its decaying lips. Each of its four arms drew back, clenched tightly. Its black, soulless eyes gleamed, and the thing’s entire body quivered with anticipation. It slipped to the left, then to the right, moving far more quickly than Rik thought possible, and leaving a slippery trail of goo behind.
Desperately Rik scrambled through his options. Run? Even if he managed to miss the enormous path of slime staining the ground, he’d never escape before the lightning fast creature caught him. Nowhere to hide, either, without having to run a good distance first. He could fight, but his only weapon, a tiny blade no bigger than his palm and horribly blunted from misuse, would do little to penetrate the monster’s leathery, ick-covered skin. No one knew he was here, and the area was so harsh it was rarely visited and completely uninhabited.
Except, apparently, for the gruesome beasts that popped up out of nowhere when you’re trying to answer a call of nature.
Rik sank down to his knees and wrapped his shaking arms around himself, realising his time was up. He was going to die. The creature slithered forward, four hands reaching forward anxiously. It howled with delight as each bony finger brushed his arms and sides. Rik shoved down a bout of nausea and squeezed his eyes shut, and hoped it would at least be quick.
Then Rik had an idea. He gasped a breath and uttered the words of a spell. The monster released him with a furious scream and backed away. A moment later, it burst into flames and died. Rik returned home, having saved the world from a ferocious slime monster, and lived happily ever after.
. . .
Yeah, doesn’t really make sense to me either.
One of the things that seems to be a standard of fantasy fiction is magic. (There are exceptions, of course, but for the sake of argument, just go with it.) There are many different kinds, many ways it can be used, many rules of what it can and can’t do. It’s often a critical part of the plot or characterization, or both.
But magic isn’t a quick fix. If a spell is used to take out the bad guy and save the day at the very end of the story, there needs to be a really good reason why the protagonist didn’t do that in the beginning. Did they not have enough power to cast that spell until now? Did they need to be in the right place at the right time? Did they only finally figure out how the spell works as they were actually about to lose to the bad guy? Why? Why didn’t the character use this magic in the opening chapter and save himself all the conflict and drama in the middle? (The character claiming he or she “forgot” until the critical moment doesn’t count as a reason.)
The snippet I wrote above is an example of what happens when magic is used like fiction duct tape. It gives the impression that the writer broke part of their plot, and is using magic to hold it together. But rather than fixing the problem, using magic like this actually gives you more problems and plot holes to deal with. Chances are you’ll also have a lot of unhappy readers, who will feel they’ve been somehow cheated by what appears to be an easy way out.
If you write yourself into a corner, magic will not summon your escape window. Take the time to make it work, and make your magic mean something more than just a fast solution, and the whole story will be that much better for it.
Wednesday, 5 December 2012
Happily Ever After... Almost
Another old post from my previous blog that I still like. Enjoy!
I’ve noticed a growing trend in modern fantasy. It’s a trend I rather like. More and more fantasy novels are finished with an ending that’s less than perfect. (I’m sure other genres have been having this too, but since I read fantasy almost exclusively, I can’t say for sure.)
Some novels do still use the “happily ever after” approach to their endings. We all remember these from the fairy tales that enchanted us growing up. No matter what happened during the course of the story, we knew the main character was going to eventually achieve his or her goal and learn a valuable lesson. Often in fairy tales the sequence of events is so extraordinary and unexplained that it’s obvious realism has no place in it. For this style of story, the “perfect” ending seems fitting.
Then you have authors that attempt to jump to the opposite extreme. These are few and far between, but every now and again I stumble across a novel where the ending features the protagonist specifically not achieving his goal. Perhaps the bad guy won. Or, worse, maybe the protagonist actually helped the bad guy to win, or ended up finishing the story exactly how and where he started. Some people may find these appealing, as it certainly gives fantasy a more gritty and “realistic” feel. However, when considering fantasy, this kind of ending is just a bit too much realism for me, so I tend to avoid them.
Then you have my favourite, the bittersweet ending. That not-quite-perfect ending that is becoming more and more popular. These are the endings where the protagonist achieves his goal, or maybe just part of it, but at a heavy price. For example, the good guy defeats the bad guy, but loses the girl he loves as a consequence of his actions.
This is where I think a bittersweet ending is capable of doing so much that the other two possibilities can’t. You get the joy of knowing the character managed to do what he set out to do. You get the thrill of seeing his goal accomplished, the joy of seeing that character finally triumph over impossible odds. But twisted around it you also feel the pain of what he lost. You see the heavy price he’s paid for his victory, and know that despite achieving his goal there will always be something missing from his “happily ever after”.
While writing something that evokes joy or sorrow in the reader is a great thing, being able to make the reader feel both simultaneously is even better. The conflict is no longer just on the page, but twisted into readers’ emotions. It draws them in to the point where it becomes difficult to put either feeling aside in favour of the other. It’s the kind of mixed emotion that will stay in their memory long after they’ve put the book down.
That is the feeling I want to create for my readers. I want them to feel torn, to remember that conflict after they stop reading. I want an almost happy ending that will stick in the mind and keep them coming back for more.
To finish this off, I’m going to ask: Which ending do you prefer? I’m curious if this is just me…
I’ve noticed a growing trend in modern fantasy. It’s a trend I rather like. More and more fantasy novels are finished with an ending that’s less than perfect. (I’m sure other genres have been having this too, but since I read fantasy almost exclusively, I can’t say for sure.)
Some novels do still use the “happily ever after” approach to their endings. We all remember these from the fairy tales that enchanted us growing up. No matter what happened during the course of the story, we knew the main character was going to eventually achieve his or her goal and learn a valuable lesson. Often in fairy tales the sequence of events is so extraordinary and unexplained that it’s obvious realism has no place in it. For this style of story, the “perfect” ending seems fitting.
Then you have authors that attempt to jump to the opposite extreme. These are few and far between, but every now and again I stumble across a novel where the ending features the protagonist specifically not achieving his goal. Perhaps the bad guy won. Or, worse, maybe the protagonist actually helped the bad guy to win, or ended up finishing the story exactly how and where he started. Some people may find these appealing, as it certainly gives fantasy a more gritty and “realistic” feel. However, when considering fantasy, this kind of ending is just a bit too much realism for me, so I tend to avoid them.
Then you have my favourite, the bittersweet ending. That not-quite-perfect ending that is becoming more and more popular. These are the endings where the protagonist achieves his goal, or maybe just part of it, but at a heavy price. For example, the good guy defeats the bad guy, but loses the girl he loves as a consequence of his actions.
This is where I think a bittersweet ending is capable of doing so much that the other two possibilities can’t. You get the joy of knowing the character managed to do what he set out to do. You get the thrill of seeing his goal accomplished, the joy of seeing that character finally triumph over impossible odds. But twisted around it you also feel the pain of what he lost. You see the heavy price he’s paid for his victory, and know that despite achieving his goal there will always be something missing from his “happily ever after”.
While writing something that evokes joy or sorrow in the reader is a great thing, being able to make the reader feel both simultaneously is even better. The conflict is no longer just on the page, but twisted into readers’ emotions. It draws them in to the point where it becomes difficult to put either feeling aside in favour of the other. It’s the kind of mixed emotion that will stay in their memory long after they’ve put the book down.
That is the feeling I want to create for my readers. I want them to feel torn, to remember that conflict after they stop reading. I want an almost happy ending that will stick in the mind and keep them coming back for more.
To finish this off, I’m going to ask: Which ending do you prefer? I’m curious if this is just me…
Friday, 30 November 2012
I won!
Another NaNo is ending, and yesterday I managed to cross the 50k line. I didn't get anywhere near the crazy 90k mark I really wanted, but that's okay. I'm happy with what I've got, and trying to do 90k in a month when I've got a job and a family and an all but useless limb is crazy.
The downside of that 50k is that not all of it is actual novel material. About 12k of those words aren't dialogue, description, and prose, but blow-by-blow accounts of how those scenes are going to play out. The reason for this basically came down to some maths.
I split the book into five chunks of story. Each chunk has a main idea to it, and it fits quite nicely. With nothing more than a general idea of one or two major events that would happen in each chunk, I started writing. I had every intention of writing the novel within 90,000 words.
Except I wrote a lot more than I expected to. By the end of part one, I was already sitting at over 30k. A lot of that was for scenes I wasn't expecting to write, which added significantly to the word count. I got worried, so I looked over my story and started to roughly plot out what each scene would be. Now I had all the scenes for my novel marked out with a sentence or two to say what would happen in them. Happy as a clam, I started writing again.
Very early into part two, I found myself sitting comfortably at the 38k mark. That worried me even further. If every chunk was the same length as the first, the novel would balloon to 150k. Unfortunately, part one is pretty much the shortest chunk of the five. I was looking at a novel that would be closer to 200k by the time I was done with it if I continued writing as I had, with only a rough idea of where it was going.
That scared me. I really, really wanted to reach the end of the novel by the end of the month. I didn't want to have yet another unfinished novel sitting in my dropbox. So I stopped writing blind. I put away the prose and started making plans. I started with the scene I was on, and starting writing out each and every thing that happens in every scene.
I still ended up with a lot of words. Each "scene" ended up between 200-400 words, and at the end of the final scene my total count was sitting comfortably above 51k. I feel a much bigger sense of accomplishment than if I'd simply continued writing until I hit 50k of prose, because I've completely mapped out the story and gotten to the end. Even though I know I still have a lot of work ahead of me before I finish it, I'm happy with what I have.
Now I just have to go back and turn each of those blow-by-blows into proper scenes...
The downside of that 50k is that not all of it is actual novel material. About 12k of those words aren't dialogue, description, and prose, but blow-by-blow accounts of how those scenes are going to play out. The reason for this basically came down to some maths.
I split the book into five chunks of story. Each chunk has a main idea to it, and it fits quite nicely. With nothing more than a general idea of one or two major events that would happen in each chunk, I started writing. I had every intention of writing the novel within 90,000 words.
Except I wrote a lot more than I expected to. By the end of part one, I was already sitting at over 30k. A lot of that was for scenes I wasn't expecting to write, which added significantly to the word count. I got worried, so I looked over my story and started to roughly plot out what each scene would be. Now I had all the scenes for my novel marked out with a sentence or two to say what would happen in them. Happy as a clam, I started writing again.
Very early into part two, I found myself sitting comfortably at the 38k mark. That worried me even further. If every chunk was the same length as the first, the novel would balloon to 150k. Unfortunately, part one is pretty much the shortest chunk of the five. I was looking at a novel that would be closer to 200k by the time I was done with it if I continued writing as I had, with only a rough idea of where it was going.
That scared me. I really, really wanted to reach the end of the novel by the end of the month. I didn't want to have yet another unfinished novel sitting in my dropbox. So I stopped writing blind. I put away the prose and started making plans. I started with the scene I was on, and starting writing out each and every thing that happens in every scene.
I still ended up with a lot of words. Each "scene" ended up between 200-400 words, and at the end of the final scene my total count was sitting comfortably above 51k. I feel a much bigger sense of accomplishment than if I'd simply continued writing until I hit 50k of prose, because I've completely mapped out the story and gotten to the end. Even though I know I still have a lot of work ahead of me before I finish it, I'm happy with what I have.
Now I just have to go back and turn each of those blow-by-blows into proper scenes...
Thursday, 29 November 2012
How to Write Your Dragon
My brain is a little frazzled at the moment and unable to come up with logical thoughts. In the meantime, here is an old post from my previous blog that you may find interesting.
I shamelessly took and altered this post title from a popular film that I happen to love. How to Train your Dragon is a brilliant movie (even if it is very, very different from the book it’s based on), and I’ve seen it more times than I can count. One of the things that keeps me coming back is the main character, who is so endearing it’s near impossible not to love him. The other thing that keeps me coming back is the dragons.
I love dragons. I think that was one of the highlights for me when I first started reading fantasy fiction, and then writing it. There are so many different ways to write a dragon. They can be ferocious and conniving, cute and cuddly, strong and loyal, etc. I love reading a novel where a dragon is used as a character, given a personality, a name (if needed), and so on.
I don’t love the books that throw a dragon in as nothing more than an obstacle. Want to get through this passage? Oh, you need to get around this evil, vicious, mindless dragon first. Want to get to the next level? Tough, got a fire breathing dragon in the way, and it wants nothing more than to roast you alive for no particular reason. These kind of dragons drive me crazy.
When you have something as fantastic as a dragon (or any other kind of mythical creature, for that matter) in your story, the least you can do is give it a personality. Give it a reason for wanting to cook your main character to a crisp. Give it some motivation beyond the typical “you look tasty”. I’m not saying every creature in your story needs their own backstory – the last thing I need to know is why that squirrel on that tree is on that tree at exactly that time – but for the special ones, make them feel special, rather than just a convenient story block.
I shamelessly took and altered this post title from a popular film that I happen to love. How to Train your Dragon is a brilliant movie (even if it is very, very different from the book it’s based on), and I’ve seen it more times than I can count. One of the things that keeps me coming back is the main character, who is so endearing it’s near impossible not to love him. The other thing that keeps me coming back is the dragons.
I love dragons. I think that was one of the highlights for me when I first started reading fantasy fiction, and then writing it. There are so many different ways to write a dragon. They can be ferocious and conniving, cute and cuddly, strong and loyal, etc. I love reading a novel where a dragon is used as a character, given a personality, a name (if needed), and so on.
I don’t love the books that throw a dragon in as nothing more than an obstacle. Want to get through this passage? Oh, you need to get around this evil, vicious, mindless dragon first. Want to get to the next level? Tough, got a fire breathing dragon in the way, and it wants nothing more than to roast you alive for no particular reason. These kind of dragons drive me crazy.
When you have something as fantastic as a dragon (or any other kind of mythical creature, for that matter) in your story, the least you can do is give it a personality. Give it a reason for wanting to cook your main character to a crisp. Give it some motivation beyond the typical “you look tasty”. I’m not saying every creature in your story needs their own backstory – the last thing I need to know is why that squirrel on that tree is on that tree at exactly that time – but for the special ones, make them feel special, rather than just a convenient story block.
Saturday, 17 November 2012
Halfway point!
Okay, it's a little over halfway now. But I'm typing one handed, and have missed three days of writing, so I'm going with this title anyway.
We've reached the halfway point for NaNo, where we should all be at about 25,000 words. Where am I today? At almost 37k! Even with missing a few days, I've managed to do more than I genuinely expected to. Yes, I had an insane goal of trying to do 90k, and so was writing as much as I could stand in order to achieve that, but I didn't actually expect to hit it. It was a stretch goal, just in case I had, I don't know, bucket loads of free time or something.
The goal of hitting 90k this month has definitely been dropped. I underestimated how much my wrist could cope with. I shouldn't have a problem hitting the normal 50k, but anything above that is perhaps pushing too much. So I'm going to be happy with 50k, and try not to let my novel slip into abandonment again.
I'm also discovering that I'm doing that thing again where I start out with a small idea, and it spirals into a huge one. The previous rendition of this novel was about 65k words total. So far I've written through the first of what looks to be five "parts" to this novel.
Yeah. Part one of five is already at 37k. Oops.
I get the feeling I'll be doing a lot of cutting when I finish this thing - but that's fine. It's so much easier to cut material than to add more!
Here's to the rest of NaNo. Good luck everyone else who's taking part!
We've reached the halfway point for NaNo, where we should all be at about 25,000 words. Where am I today? At almost 37k! Even with missing a few days, I've managed to do more than I genuinely expected to. Yes, I had an insane goal of trying to do 90k, and so was writing as much as I could stand in order to achieve that, but I didn't actually expect to hit it. It was a stretch goal, just in case I had, I don't know, bucket loads of free time or something.
The goal of hitting 90k this month has definitely been dropped. I underestimated how much my wrist could cope with. I shouldn't have a problem hitting the normal 50k, but anything above that is perhaps pushing too much. So I'm going to be happy with 50k, and try not to let my novel slip into abandonment again.
I'm also discovering that I'm doing that thing again where I start out with a small idea, and it spirals into a huge one. The previous rendition of this novel was about 65k words total. So far I've written through the first of what looks to be five "parts" to this novel.
Yeah. Part one of five is already at 37k. Oops.
I get the feeling I'll be doing a lot of cutting when I finish this thing - but that's fine. It's so much easier to cut material than to add more!
Here's to the rest of NaNo. Good luck everyone else who's taking part!
Sunday, 4 November 2012
Falling in love with my novel
What's been happening lately is the slow dawning on me of how much I actually missed writing every day. I didn't even know it, because I was so wrapped up in the other things I was doing - gaming, designing, programming - that I'd forgotten that even though writing can be hard work, it can also be incredibly fun.
For NaNo I find myself writing scenes and getting truly excited about them. I'm writing characters that I enjoy, moving toward ideas I really look forward to getting down on the page (or the screen). It's been great fun, and I've managed to write far more than the count needed for 50k by the end of the month.
I have no doubt that no matter how much fun I'm having writing, I will hit burn out come December - it's a yearly habit that I can't seem to avoid. But it may be that if I can at least remember how much I'm loving this story right now, it will keep me from leaving it so long before I pick it up again in the new year.
For NaNo I find myself writing scenes and getting truly excited about them. I'm writing characters that I enjoy, moving toward ideas I really look forward to getting down on the page (or the screen). It's been great fun, and I've managed to write far more than the count needed for 50k by the end of the month.
I have no doubt that no matter how much fun I'm having writing, I will hit burn out come December - it's a yearly habit that I can't seem to avoid. But it may be that if I can at least remember how much I'm loving this story right now, it will keep me from leaving it so long before I pick it up again in the new year.
Friday, 2 November 2012
NaNoWriMo has begun!
It's here, it's here, it's finally here! NaNoWriMo returns!
Have I talked about my plan for this year yet? I don't think I have, but if I have and just don't remember, tough. I'm going to talk about it again anyway.
Some of you may remember that, two years ago, I wrote a novel based on ancient Egypt. Oh, and there was some time travel and a riot and murder and plague and all sorts of interesting stuff. It was my NaNo project for 2010, and it is probably my favourite novel I've written to date. There are parts of this novel that absolutely shine. There are parts that are so good that I don't remember writing them. (I think those were when I was half asleep, and my inner editor couldn't possibly compete with the haze of caffeine withdrawal.)
However, it had a lot of first draft issues. Mostly the gaping plot holes. And clearly missing research. And inconsistencies. Oh, and amazing characters who were criminally underused. All of these were pointed out to me by one of my very best friends, and the only friend who ever gets to see my first drafts. (You know who you are, and you are awesome. Fact.)
What this boils down to is that the novel needed a desperate rewrite. There was too much damage to the draft to simply edit the bad out of it. I had every intention of doing that complete overhaul relatively quickly, so I could write the second book (!) for another NaNo.
Um, oops?
Two years later, I still haven't done the rewrite. So guess what I'm doing for NaNo 2012? Uh huh. Rewrite time! This is the part where I'm going to write down the stuff that was good about the first draft, and try to remember to keep it in (and make it better) this time around. I'm also going to try to fill in those plot holes, use those awesome characters, and fix all the other major problems that hurt the first draft so badly. It should be an interesting month, to say the least.
Total word count for day 1: 3573
Have I talked about my plan for this year yet? I don't think I have, but if I have and just don't remember, tough. I'm going to talk about it again anyway.
Some of you may remember that, two years ago, I wrote a novel based on ancient Egypt. Oh, and there was some time travel and a riot and murder and plague and all sorts of interesting stuff. It was my NaNo project for 2010, and it is probably my favourite novel I've written to date. There are parts of this novel that absolutely shine. There are parts that are so good that I don't remember writing them. (I think those were when I was half asleep, and my inner editor couldn't possibly compete with the haze of caffeine withdrawal.)
However, it had a lot of first draft issues. Mostly the gaping plot holes. And clearly missing research. And inconsistencies. Oh, and amazing characters who were criminally underused. All of these were pointed out to me by one of my very best friends, and the only friend who ever gets to see my first drafts. (You know who you are, and you are awesome. Fact.)
What this boils down to is that the novel needed a desperate rewrite. There was too much damage to the draft to simply edit the bad out of it. I had every intention of doing that complete overhaul relatively quickly, so I could write the second book (!) for another NaNo.
Um, oops?
Two years later, I still haven't done the rewrite. So guess what I'm doing for NaNo 2012? Uh huh. Rewrite time! This is the part where I'm going to write down the stuff that was good about the first draft, and try to remember to keep it in (and make it better) this time around. I'm also going to try to fill in those plot holes, use those awesome characters, and fix all the other major problems that hurt the first draft so badly. It should be an interesting month, to say the least.
Total word count for day 1: 3573
Tuesday, 25 September 2012
Plot holes the size of Texas
I've been looking over my NaNoWriMo novel from a couple years ago with the intention of rewriting it, and then using NaNo of this year to write the second book. (Yeah, I know, typical fantasy author can't seem to fit it all into one book. Oh well.) And I realised why exactly I've left it alone this long. It has plot holes the size of Texas.
And I don't mean plot holes that are easy to fill, like "This character came in from this room, when they should already be in that room." I mean the very essence of the plot, like "Why is this character doing any of this at all?" It occurred to me that while I love my plot, and my characters, and my story, I didn't have a reason for that particular character to be doing any of this. Truth be told, it would be much easier to have somebody else do it for all characters involved.
So I dug out the plot hole spackling.
With that, some extra research, and some very creative liberties, I've managed to fill most of the holes in my story. Only one now remains (as far as I can tell), but it's a biggie. The plot hinges on my main character not having any idea what happened in the history of this time period. If she simply went back in time and stayed there, this would not be an issue.
However, this is not the case. My main character goes back and forth between the modern world and ancient Egypt. With the presence of the internet, it is absolutely ridiculous to assume she just wouldn't look this stuff up the moment she got back. So, I need a reason for why she would not be able to get any information about the relevant history in the modern day.
... Right. Easy peasy. (Or not.)
So, I still have work to do. And unfortunately, since there is a good chunk of story in the modern world, I can't start rewriting until I have this solved. It's going to be an interesting couple of days while I work out this rather thorny problem.
And I don't mean plot holes that are easy to fill, like "This character came in from this room, when they should already be in that room." I mean the very essence of the plot, like "Why is this character doing any of this at all?" It occurred to me that while I love my plot, and my characters, and my story, I didn't have a reason for that particular character to be doing any of this. Truth be told, it would be much easier to have somebody else do it for all characters involved.
So I dug out the plot hole spackling.
With that, some extra research, and some very creative liberties, I've managed to fill most of the holes in my story. Only one now remains (as far as I can tell), but it's a biggie. The plot hinges on my main character not having any idea what happened in the history of this time period. If she simply went back in time and stayed there, this would not be an issue.
However, this is not the case. My main character goes back and forth between the modern world and ancient Egypt. With the presence of the internet, it is absolutely ridiculous to assume she just wouldn't look this stuff up the moment she got back. So, I need a reason for why she would not be able to get any information about the relevant history in the modern day.
... Right. Easy peasy. (Or not.)
So, I still have work to do. And unfortunately, since there is a good chunk of story in the modern world, I can't start rewriting until I have this solved. It's going to be an interesting couple of days while I work out this rather thorny problem.
Thursday, 16 August 2012
Contemplating NaNo... 3 months early
It's going to be that time again soon enough. That time of year where everything else goes flying out the window in favour of spending an entire month doing nothing but write frantically to hit 50,000 words. Yep, soon indeed.
Okay, when I say "soon", I mean that in relative terms. I still have two and a half months before NaNo starts. (If you don't have the faintest idea what I'm talking about, look here.) Plenty of time, you'd think. However, I really want to do something for NaNo this year which is not yet another pull-an-idea-out-of-the-back-of-the-mental-closet kind of thing. Ideally, I'd like to either do the follow-up to the novel I wrote the year before last, or do a complete rewrite of the fantasy trilogy I started several years ago but never finished.
There are problems with both options. The first option with the follow-up novel will be difficult because before I can write the second half of the story, I need to rewrite the first half. It has a fair share of problems. While I am confident I can fix them, it's going to take time. Probably all of the next two and a half months, and that's if I don't spend a lot of time doing much of anything else. Doable, but difficult.
The second option, rewriting the first novel of the trilogy I began, is equally complicated. That trilogy began as a single story, intended to be one book. But as I expanded it, as I tried to dig deeper into the story to make it more meaningful, more interesting, more worthy of being written and read, it expanded enormously. It turned into a monster of a story that will take at least three books to tell, the way I've set it out. Now, keeping in mind that this was a few years ago, I now feel I overextended that a bit. I'm fairly confident I could cut it down, possibly to two novels, without losing the heart of the story. But doing this means not only recreating my main character (who, quite simply, is boring right now), but also ditching the 60k or so words I've done, as well as quite a lot of story planning. It means essentially taking all the world building and general plot ideas and rearranging it all into a more sensible and concise order. This also would likely take me the next two and a half months. Also doable but difficult.
So, to my writerly or readerly friends out there: any advice on how I decide which way to go with this one? I want to do both - but that quite simply won't happen. Ideally I'd like to make a choice by the end of the month, so I have time to do any prep work I need to do before November strikes!
Okay, when I say "soon", I mean that in relative terms. I still have two and a half months before NaNo starts. (If you don't have the faintest idea what I'm talking about, look here.) Plenty of time, you'd think. However, I really want to do something for NaNo this year which is not yet another pull-an-idea-out-of-the-back-of-the-mental-closet kind of thing. Ideally, I'd like to either do the follow-up to the novel I wrote the year before last, or do a complete rewrite of the fantasy trilogy I started several years ago but never finished.
There are problems with both options. The first option with the follow-up novel will be difficult because before I can write the second half of the story, I need to rewrite the first half. It has a fair share of problems. While I am confident I can fix them, it's going to take time. Probably all of the next two and a half months, and that's if I don't spend a lot of time doing much of anything else. Doable, but difficult.
The second option, rewriting the first novel of the trilogy I began, is equally complicated. That trilogy began as a single story, intended to be one book. But as I expanded it, as I tried to dig deeper into the story to make it more meaningful, more interesting, more worthy of being written and read, it expanded enormously. It turned into a monster of a story that will take at least three books to tell, the way I've set it out. Now, keeping in mind that this was a few years ago, I now feel I overextended that a bit. I'm fairly confident I could cut it down, possibly to two novels, without losing the heart of the story. But doing this means not only recreating my main character (who, quite simply, is boring right now), but also ditching the 60k or so words I've done, as well as quite a lot of story planning. It means essentially taking all the world building and general plot ideas and rearranging it all into a more sensible and concise order. This also would likely take me the next two and a half months. Also doable but difficult.
So, to my writerly or readerly friends out there: any advice on how I decide which way to go with this one? I want to do both - but that quite simply won't happen. Ideally I'd like to make a choice by the end of the month, so I have time to do any prep work I need to do before November strikes!
Thursday, 14 June 2012
No case too big, no case too small...
"If you need help just call..."
... Okay, so that title sounded a lot more amusing in my head than it actually looks on the screen. Bonus points for anyone who's able to finish off the line and get the reference.
So, the reason for the odd title was the first bit of it - "no case too big" - seems like the mindset I had at the beginning of the year, when I decided to finish a project every month of 2012. I certainly have more than 12 projects that need finishing. Having enough stuff to do was never the issue - the problem was, of course, finishing it.
Now, here's the problem with this problem. Most of those projects I have lying around undone are big. Very big. Takes-way-more-than-one-month-to-complete kind of big.
Here's the evidence. Just a few of the things on my list of to-be-finished-stuff is:
... Okay, so that title sounded a lot more amusing in my head than it actually looks on the screen. Bonus points for anyone who's able to finish off the line and get the reference.
So, the reason for the odd title was the first bit of it - "no case too big" - seems like the mindset I had at the beginning of the year, when I decided to finish a project every month of 2012. I certainly have more than 12 projects that need finishing. Having enough stuff to do was never the issue - the problem was, of course, finishing it.
Now, here's the problem with this problem. Most of those projects I have lying around undone are big. Very big. Takes-way-more-than-one-month-to-complete kind of big.
Here's the evidence. Just a few of the things on my list of to-be-finished-stuff is:
- A novel which desperately needs editing
- A trilogy which needs the first part completely rewritten and the rest re-planned
- A collection of short stories which needs to be written and edited
- A video game
- A board game
- Several large knitting projects
Saturday, 7 April 2012
London bound!
We're going away for Easter weekend. To London! We'll be roaming around and shopping and seeing a show and some sightseeing and more shopping. I haven't been to London in years, so I'm a little - erm, a lot excited.
However, I'm also lost for words at the moment. I've not been posting much recently, though I've had things I could post about. I seem to lack the motivation to actually do so. I'm going to see how I feel after this weekend, and hopefully will have rediscovered my inspiration to write. Until then, have a good weekend, folks.
However, I'm also lost for words at the moment. I've not been posting much recently, though I've had things I could post about. I seem to lack the motivation to actually do so. I'm going to see how I feel after this weekend, and hopefully will have rediscovered my inspiration to write. Until then, have a good weekend, folks.
Thursday, 22 March 2012
Review: Settlers of Catan
I completely forgot to link to this! Ah well, here it is, several days after the fact, anyway. I wrote a review for The Settlers of Catan. Read it here!
Tuesday, 14 February 2012
Review: Ticket to Ride
I've mentioned Ticket to Ride before, yes? That post is here. On a similar vein but very different presentation, I've written a proper review for the game, which is now up on the Proud Lion blog! Go check it out!
Wednesday, 1 February 2012
Review: A Monster in Paris
So I wrote a film review. Completely new area for me, but luckily it was a movie I really enjoyed, so my writing came out better than I expected it to. To have a look, check it out on the Proud Lion blog!
Sunday, 29 January 2012
Thoughts and a story
While writing my post on twisted fairy tales, my brain decided it wanted to write one. My head is spinning around a story based on Goldilocks and the Three Bears. A lot of the details are still being worked out, but with any luck at all I'll soon have at least a first draft to play with. I do wonder if some of the inspiration for this is the fact that lately I've been seeing a lot of things in threes of big, medium, and small. No good reason for it. Silly brain.
Following up more on the fairy tale post, I mentioned I like to write things that take a well-known idea or stereotype and twist it around. I wrote the following story last summer, and I'm still pretty pleased with it. It was heavily influenced by several hours of playing Diablo II around the same time. (It has also been posted on my writing blog, but that has pretty much gone dark of late.) Be warned, this is a first draft, and I've not touched it at all since it was first written. Enjoy!
“I know it’s been 127 years since we last saw each other!” Ruby snapped. Her fingers loosed a bolt of lightning down the infested hall before she ducked back down behind the rubble. “Do you think I can’t count?”
Trin gripped a small throwing dagger with one hand and covered the blade with his fingers. The metal turned white as he forced the ice spell through it. “You really want me to answer that?” he shouted back as he let it fly toward the approaching horde of creatures. One went down. The others stopped long enough to stare curiously at their fallen comrade, then continued scrambling over the wreckage.
“I’ve been a bit busy, saving the world and all.” She shot lightning toward the roof, bringing another shower of stone down on our enemies’ heads. “You know, like you were supposed to?”
“Yeah, looks like you’re doing a swell job.” Down went another of the creatures, an ugly mix of a goblin and a turkey. A thick shield of ice formed between us and the goblins. They tore through it in a matter of seconds. “Besides, I had other plans.”
“Weak.” She threw an arm out, and a wall of pure energy stretched from floor to the remains of the ceiling. Several of the stupid monsters were electrocuted before they finally figured out not to touch it. “And I was not the one who was hell bent on discovering the hundred most moronic ways to die! Maybe if you hadn’t run off with what’s-her-ass – ”
“Justine! Her name was Justine – ”
A group of four or five goblins launched themselves at the lightning shield. Every one of them fell in a twitching pile, but they took the shield down with them. The others tripped over their own feet as they tried to rush toward us.
“She killed you three times! Who cares what her name was?” One of the goblins came within reach. Ruby darted away from the rubble long enough to whack him on the nose with her staff. The goblin paused long enough to realise it had been hurt, then burst into tears and went running in the opposite direction.
“The first time was an accident,” Trin said, narrowing his eyes at her. He launched a giant ball of ice toward the goblins without looking. It missed by at least three feet.
“And the other times?” She gripped her staff in both hands. The purple gem embedded into the top flickered once or twice, then died. “Damn cheap thing,” she muttered.
Trin shifted uncomfortably, but looked back at their target. “She wanted to see if I really couldn’t die.” He yanked another dagger from his belt and threw it.
“Oh, that’s right. Because it’s such a damn novelty!” Ruby smacked yet another goblin, then threw up another temporary lightning shield. “I don’t suppose it occurred to you that your sister was out in the world getting attacked by an army of turkey-goblins!”
“You lived.”
Ruby changed targets long enough to drop her heavy staff down on Trin’s head. “Not. The. Point.”
“Gah!” Trin grabbed the staff and jerked it from Ruby’s hands. “You want to do this now?”
The lightning shield broke as a wall of goblins leaped through it. Most of them died before reaching the ground. The few that lived went straight overhead. They landed in pathetic heaps. Ruby and Trin raised their hands to throw a flurry of spells.
Trin let his go first. A hundred tiny arrows of ice flew out in all directions, striking goblins hard enough to send them staggering backward several steps.
Ruby shrieked. Trin glanced over to see an ice arrow buried deep into her arm. It melted away rapidly, leaving a bloody wound behind.
The goblins still standing laughed.
“Oh, hell,” Trin said under his breath.
Ruby let out another shriek, then whipped both arms toward the ground at Trin’s feet. Lightning sprayed from her fingers. The stone floor exploded and pitched Trin high into the air, close enough to the ceiling that luck alone kept him from cracking his skull on it. He came down in the middle of a crowd of turkey-goblins.
They stopped for a heartbeat, just long enough for their most fortunate turn of events to occur to them, then all at once seized Trin’s arms and legs. He was hoisted into the air and carried away from Ruby as the goblins cheered and clucked.
“Really hard to save the world if I get eaten by bloody turkey-goblins!” Trin shouted as his sister disappeared from his vision.
Her cheerful voice echoed through the remains of the ruined hall. “You’ll live!”
Following up more on the fairy tale post, I mentioned I like to write things that take a well-known idea or stereotype and twist it around. I wrote the following story last summer, and I'm still pretty pleased with it. It was heavily influenced by several hours of playing Diablo II around the same time. (It has also been posted on my writing blog, but that has pretty much gone dark of late.) Be warned, this is a first draft, and I've not touched it at all since it was first written. Enjoy!
* * * * *
“I know it’s been 127 years since we last saw each other!” Ruby snapped. Her fingers loosed a bolt of lightning down the infested hall before she ducked back down behind the rubble. “Do you think I can’t count?”
Trin gripped a small throwing dagger with one hand and covered the blade with his fingers. The metal turned white as he forced the ice spell through it. “You really want me to answer that?” he shouted back as he let it fly toward the approaching horde of creatures. One went down. The others stopped long enough to stare curiously at their fallen comrade, then continued scrambling over the wreckage.
“I’ve been a bit busy, saving the world and all.” She shot lightning toward the roof, bringing another shower of stone down on our enemies’ heads. “You know, like you were supposed to?”
“Yeah, looks like you’re doing a swell job.” Down went another of the creatures, an ugly mix of a goblin and a turkey. A thick shield of ice formed between us and the goblins. They tore through it in a matter of seconds. “Besides, I had other plans.”
“Weak.” She threw an arm out, and a wall of pure energy stretched from floor to the remains of the ceiling. Several of the stupid monsters were electrocuted before they finally figured out not to touch it. “And I was not the one who was hell bent on discovering the hundred most moronic ways to die! Maybe if you hadn’t run off with what’s-her-ass – ”
“Justine! Her name was Justine – ”
A group of four or five goblins launched themselves at the lightning shield. Every one of them fell in a twitching pile, but they took the shield down with them. The others tripped over their own feet as they tried to rush toward us.
“She killed you three times! Who cares what her name was?” One of the goblins came within reach. Ruby darted away from the rubble long enough to whack him on the nose with her staff. The goblin paused long enough to realise it had been hurt, then burst into tears and went running in the opposite direction.
“The first time was an accident,” Trin said, narrowing his eyes at her. He launched a giant ball of ice toward the goblins without looking. It missed by at least three feet.
“And the other times?” She gripped her staff in both hands. The purple gem embedded into the top flickered once or twice, then died. “Damn cheap thing,” she muttered.
Trin shifted uncomfortably, but looked back at their target. “She wanted to see if I really couldn’t die.” He yanked another dagger from his belt and threw it.
“Oh, that’s right. Because it’s such a damn novelty!” Ruby smacked yet another goblin, then threw up another temporary lightning shield. “I don’t suppose it occurred to you that your sister was out in the world getting attacked by an army of turkey-goblins!”
“You lived.”
Ruby changed targets long enough to drop her heavy staff down on Trin’s head. “Not. The. Point.”
“Gah!” Trin grabbed the staff and jerked it from Ruby’s hands. “You want to do this now?”
The lightning shield broke as a wall of goblins leaped through it. Most of them died before reaching the ground. The few that lived went straight overhead. They landed in pathetic heaps. Ruby and Trin raised their hands to throw a flurry of spells.
Trin let his go first. A hundred tiny arrows of ice flew out in all directions, striking goblins hard enough to send them staggering backward several steps.
Ruby shrieked. Trin glanced over to see an ice arrow buried deep into her arm. It melted away rapidly, leaving a bloody wound behind.
The goblins still standing laughed.
“Oh, hell,” Trin said under his breath.
Ruby let out another shriek, then whipped both arms toward the ground at Trin’s feet. Lightning sprayed from her fingers. The stone floor exploded and pitched Trin high into the air, close enough to the ceiling that luck alone kept him from cracking his skull on it. He came down in the middle of a crowd of turkey-goblins.
They stopped for a heartbeat, just long enough for their most fortunate turn of events to occur to them, then all at once seized Trin’s arms and legs. He was hoisted into the air and carried away from Ruby as the goblins cheered and clucked.
“Really hard to save the world if I get eaten by bloody turkey-goblins!” Trin shouted as his sister disappeared from his vision.
Her cheerful voice echoed through the remains of the ruined hall. “You’ll live!”
Thursday, 26 January 2012
Twisted fairy tales
There is probably nothing that I like to read - and write - more than a twisted up fairy tale. I say "probably" just in case there is something else I like more that I just can't think of at the moment. I'm tired right now and liable to forget things, so if I later say something that is contrary to this, there can be two somethings. Oops.
Anyway, back to fairy tales. It's brilliant when someone can take a story everybody knows, throw a few quirks in it, give it a new perspective, and somehow make it different enough that it feels like you're reading something completely new. I've read some stories where it was told from the viewpoint of the villain, stories that took place in modern times, stories that made things that were completely unbelievable into something strangely rational and sensible.
One author I love, Juliet Marillier, has done this at least a few times, and I'm always impressed by her reimagining of classic tales. In fact the first book I read by her was exactly that. Daughter of the Forest is essentially a retelling of "The Six Swans" set in ancient Ireland, and is the first in a trilogy. It was beautifully done, and is one of the few books I still reread regularly.
I recently read a Kindle book that was an interesting take on the Snow White story. I've written a few of my own stories that try to change well-known tales and ideas into something new. I'm falling in love with a handful of comics that do the same. I think it's fair to say this is a theme that is going to continue to be on my favourites list for a long, long time.
Anyway, back to fairy tales. It's brilliant when someone can take a story everybody knows, throw a few quirks in it, give it a new perspective, and somehow make it different enough that it feels like you're reading something completely new. I've read some stories where it was told from the viewpoint of the villain, stories that took place in modern times, stories that made things that were completely unbelievable into something strangely rational and sensible.
One author I love, Juliet Marillier, has done this at least a few times, and I'm always impressed by her reimagining of classic tales. In fact the first book I read by her was exactly that. Daughter of the Forest is essentially a retelling of "The Six Swans" set in ancient Ireland, and is the first in a trilogy. It was beautifully done, and is one of the few books I still reread regularly.
I recently read a Kindle book that was an interesting take on the Snow White story. I've written a few of my own stories that try to change well-known tales and ideas into something new. I'm falling in love with a handful of comics that do the same. I think it's fair to say this is a theme that is going to continue to be on my favourites list for a long, long time.
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