Been a busy week since we got home from Victoria. We've finally got Hanna and Craig moved home for the summer. They're hanging out in the folks' motorhome and using our spare bedroom as an office. Yesterday we got all the rest of their belongings moved into storage in their college town, ready for them to find a new abode in September. Craig's working at the local wildlife center for the summer and Hanna is taking time off from lifeguarding to develop her web and graphic design business. Need anything done? I have the gal for you!
We've also gotten the yard mowed--huge job. It was barely turning green when I left for Victoria and when we got home, it was 8-12 inches high. Even the riding lawn mower argued about the task, and the yard is large enough that it takes several hours. Hard on the neck too as the thing doesn't have power steering and a lot of maneuvering is required. (Whine, whine...I know). So we've all taken our turns at raking up the mounds of shorn grass and stacking it between the raspberry rows. Might as well get some good mulch out of the deal.
Much of the garden has now been planted--all the tomatoes and squashes are in. It was hot over the weekend but cooled off considerably yesterday and is raining today, which ought to make the little plants happy. We still have more planting to do, but it's a good start.
On the story front, I've tried to get back into the worldbuilding for the novel I was working on in April, Puppet Prince. I've been fighting with the story line on and off for a couple of years and apparently it still isn't composted enough to grow a decent plot. I don't know. It makes me yawn, which can't possibly be a good sign!
So I'm poking around with the matchmaking novel, which ought to get a name someday, I suppose. If this one pulls together, I can see several novels in this world. At any rate, this concept feels like it has some promise. Perhaps even a promise it would like to fulfill this year. However, it wasn't as far along as the Puppet Prince novel, so I'm further back on my timeline of getting something ready to start writing.
And when I'm this tired and my life is this busy--and I'm THIS out of practice at plotting and writing--it seems easier to take a nap than push myself to work on it. Not that I'm...er...napping at work or anything. Really.
Showing posts with label Puppet Prince. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Puppet Prince. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Language Creation
Sometimes you think you can slide by with a few made-up words and other times you know you can't. Puppet Prince would be one of those novels where I know I can't.
I have an empire, which is made up of at least 20 smaller nations, most of whom are not going to feature in this story--I hope. But at least two of the minor nations will, and of course, the empire itself will. The most recent nation to be overtaken by the empire is Tainn. I decided on its name a couple years ago and I still like it. Just looking at that one word and the three people from Tainn that feature in this story, whom I also named a couple years ago, already gives a pattern for this language. I'm expecting this to be a *pure* language, with pretty much nothing borrowed from anyone else's.
The other absorbed nation has been part of the empire for much longer, so it will have taken on some words from the empire as well as, most likely, words from other languages in the empire. I have a rough idea of what their base language sounds like, but I only had one name ahead of time to work around.
And the empire, bless them, has been cheerfully overtaking the known world for a couple hundred years. They are swallowing languages, cultures, art forms, and religions whole, mashing them all up, and spewing them back out. So THAT language can be as messy as English, at the other end.
What to do?
Well, this is what *I* did! I pulled out an e-book I bought quite awhile ago, read, but did not yet have occasion to put to use: Holly Lisle's Create a Language Clinic.
The Tainnish language now has some missing letters, some common consonant/vowel combinations, and a wee bit of structure to hold the thing up.
Next on the hit list: the other language, which will soon have a name!
I have an empire, which is made up of at least 20 smaller nations, most of whom are not going to feature in this story--I hope. But at least two of the minor nations will, and of course, the empire itself will. The most recent nation to be overtaken by the empire is Tainn. I decided on its name a couple years ago and I still like it. Just looking at that one word and the three people from Tainn that feature in this story, whom I also named a couple years ago, already gives a pattern for this language. I'm expecting this to be a *pure* language, with pretty much nothing borrowed from anyone else's.
The other absorbed nation has been part of the empire for much longer, so it will have taken on some words from the empire as well as, most likely, words from other languages in the empire. I have a rough idea of what their base language sounds like, but I only had one name ahead of time to work around.
And the empire, bless them, has been cheerfully overtaking the known world for a couple hundred years. They are swallowing languages, cultures, art forms, and religions whole, mashing them all up, and spewing them back out. So THAT language can be as messy as English, at the other end.
What to do?
Well, this is what *I* did! I pulled out an e-book I bought quite awhile ago, read, but did not yet have occasion to put to use: Holly Lisle's Create a Language Clinic.
The Tainnish language now has some missing letters, some common consonant/vowel combinations, and a wee bit of structure to hold the thing up.
Next on the hit list: the other language, which will soon have a name!
Friday, April 11, 2008
Worldbuilding
It's been so long since I got down to serious novel planning that I've almost forgotten how. Some writers have ideas jumping up and down, begging to be written. Mine are a little more recalcitrant. I've got several novel ideas that I've worked with a bit on and off for the past couple of years, but every time I've turned my attention to them, they've stood there scuffing their feet and trying to elbow their neighbor forward.
So a couple of weeks ago I reached into their group, grabbed someone by the shirt front, and hauled him over to the examining table. Jhonal from Puppet Prince has been hanging around the longest, actually. A little over two years ago I started dreaming him up for Forward Motion's 2-year-novel program. Then I got busy revising and let him sit back for a bit. I thought I'd pull him out for Nano '06, but another novel jumped forward and grabbed hard.
And you know my tale of revisions ever since then.
So here we are, then. I've read the notes I made two years ago and set them aside. I figure that the parts that are meant to be important to the story will come to mind again.
I've discovered the problems with my initial idea that no doubt led to the story pulling back constantly. The conflict was unbalanced--too much external and not enough internal. Once upon a time Jhonal was a victim of sorts. Things happened TO him. He was a bit too nice. Isn't that sad? Writers...
Anyway I've spent my afternoon researching everything from forms of execution for traitors to the names of God. And I'm finding a new Jhonal, one who acts as well as reacts, and two young women who are complex (or at least getting that way) actors in their own right.
Yes, I think a braiding of three characters. That should be fun.
So a couple of weeks ago I reached into their group, grabbed someone by the shirt front, and hauled him over to the examining table. Jhonal from Puppet Prince has been hanging around the longest, actually. A little over two years ago I started dreaming him up for Forward Motion's 2-year-novel program. Then I got busy revising and let him sit back for a bit. I thought I'd pull him out for Nano '06, but another novel jumped forward and grabbed hard.
And you know my tale of revisions ever since then.
So here we are, then. I've read the notes I made two years ago and set them aside. I figure that the parts that are meant to be important to the story will come to mind again.
I've discovered the problems with my initial idea that no doubt led to the story pulling back constantly. The conflict was unbalanced--too much external and not enough internal. Once upon a time Jhonal was a victim of sorts. Things happened TO him. He was a bit too nice. Isn't that sad? Writers...
Anyway I've spent my afternoon researching everything from forms of execution for traitors to the names of God. And I'm finding a new Jhonal, one who acts as well as reacts, and two young women who are complex (or at least getting that way) actors in their own right.
Yes, I think a braiding of three characters. That should be fun.
Friday, December 15, 2006
Goals for 2007
Time to think about the upcoming year and what I hope to accomplish writing-wise. There are so many things I need to do MORE of, and yet the days are the same length as they ever were. I'm not sure what to make of that. Priorities are a nasty thing.
In 2006, I wrote one new novel, The Girl Who Cried Squid, during Nano. That means I had gone 11 months without creative writing. It was too long. I either need to write two books next year or slow down (skip Nano) and let the writing of one novel take much of the year. Which means I would need to learn to multi-task, and THAT is a problem in its own right.
In 2006, I revised two novels and a partial. Yikes, that doesn't sound like a lot at all. I revised False Perceptions and I'm not happy with it (after feedback) so it's shelved, at least for now. I revised Marks of Repentance and all the crits are now back. I plan to go through it again as soon as I complete the partial, Quest to be Queen. I always have this problem. I like writing first drafts better than I like revising, but the honest truth is that if each novel takes at least two additional drafts, then I need to block that into my schedule.
I thought I would start contacting agents in 2006, but I haven't. Nothing has been ready. I refuse to send out something I don't like. So I'm hoping again for this coming year.
What else is there? Conferences: I'm keeping an eye on a couple that may work out in 2007. Reading in the genre: trying to. Reading outside the genre: trying to. Networking: trying to.
So what are my plans for 2007?
1. Finish this revision pass on Quest to be Queen.
2. Complete one (or, if needed, two) passes on Marks of Repentance and GET THE THING KICKED OUT THE DOOR!
3. Write something. Maybe two somethings.
4. Revise something else if time permits. Squid?
5. Work on the recipe book project.
Writing contenders at the moment? Well, there's the long-ignored 2yn project, Puppet Prince, but it's not yelling all that loud. Currently there is a fantasy romance floating around in my head, something to do with this site on the matchmaking tradition. I asked Kaesa nicely, but she doesn't want to play in the Puppet Prince world; she wants her own. **Rolls Eyes.
What are your goals for the coming year?
In 2006, I wrote one new novel, The Girl Who Cried Squid, during Nano. That means I had gone 11 months without creative writing. It was too long. I either need to write two books next year or slow down (skip Nano) and let the writing of one novel take much of the year. Which means I would need to learn to multi-task, and THAT is a problem in its own right.
In 2006, I revised two novels and a partial. Yikes, that doesn't sound like a lot at all. I revised False Perceptions and I'm not happy with it (after feedback) so it's shelved, at least for now. I revised Marks of Repentance and all the crits are now back. I plan to go through it again as soon as I complete the partial, Quest to be Queen. I always have this problem. I like writing first drafts better than I like revising, but the honest truth is that if each novel takes at least two additional drafts, then I need to block that into my schedule.
I thought I would start contacting agents in 2006, but I haven't. Nothing has been ready. I refuse to send out something I don't like. So I'm hoping again for this coming year.
What else is there? Conferences: I'm keeping an eye on a couple that may work out in 2007. Reading in the genre: trying to. Reading outside the genre: trying to. Networking: trying to.
So what are my plans for 2007?
1. Finish this revision pass on Quest to be Queen.
2. Complete one (or, if needed, two) passes on Marks of Repentance and GET THE THING KICKED OUT THE DOOR!
3. Write something. Maybe two somethings.
4. Revise something else if time permits. Squid?
5. Work on the recipe book project.
Writing contenders at the moment? Well, there's the long-ignored 2yn project, Puppet Prince, but it's not yelling all that loud. Currently there is a fantasy romance floating around in my head, something to do with this site on the matchmaking tradition. I asked Kaesa nicely, but she doesn't want to play in the Puppet Prince world; she wants her own. **Rolls Eyes.
What are your goals for the coming year?
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Enquiring minds want to know...
Okay, Katya asked the other day if I'm doing Nano this year. But of course. I've even had a plan for it for most of the past year. I started out the year doing the 2 year novel (2yn) class at Forward Motion with the full intention of writing this novel, Puppet Prince, during November--or at least getting a good start on it. I wound up letting many of the assignments slide because I was having too hard a time getting into that headspace while I was revising other novels. I *knew* I'd just need to catch up in October so that I'd be ready to fly.
Hello. It's October.
Meanwhile in August I was ambushed by a Christian YA fantasy chick-lit. There were a few things that didn't quite gel in the original idea. Dragons are somewhat overdone, for instance. Vast parts of the idea seemed cliched. And yet there were other bits that stuck in my mind, but I couldn't find the unique story they wanted to connect to. It's been playing quietly in the back of my mind for a couple months now, and I thought it would keep doing that for the foreseeable future.
Wrong again.
NOW it wants to come out and play. Sigh. So which one am I writing for Nano? Neither one is fully fleshed out. Both have solid foundations with rickety ideas held together with safety pins and rubber bands on top. One bump and over it goes. I guess I'll be running with whichever one seems to take best to a hammer and nails.
This is driving me crazy.
Er.
Hello. It's October.
Meanwhile in August I was ambushed by a Christian YA fantasy chick-lit. There were a few things that didn't quite gel in the original idea. Dragons are somewhat overdone, for instance. Vast parts of the idea seemed cliched. And yet there were other bits that stuck in my mind, but I couldn't find the unique story they wanted to connect to. It's been playing quietly in the back of my mind for a couple months now, and I thought it would keep doing that for the foreseeable future.
Wrong again.
NOW it wants to come out and play. Sigh. So which one am I writing for Nano? Neither one is fully fleshed out. Both have solid foundations with rickety ideas held together with safety pins and rubber bands on top. One bump and over it goes. I guess I'll be running with whichever one seems to take best to a hammer and nails.
This is driving me crazy.
Er.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Crit came home
I've received back my second (of three) critiques on Marks of Repentance and spent most of yesterday skimming through the comments.
This is the third novel I've had out for critique in the past several years, and one of those went out twice. I look at the two crits I have here and I actually can't wait to start back into this novel, though I WILL wait until after I've finished revising Quest to be Queen. That's a new feeling for me. Previous crits made me despair. It wasn't the fault of the critiquer. It was the fault of the novel...and the fact that now that I could see the issues with it, I couldn't figure out how to fix them. The job became totally overwhelming and paralyzed me.
So is this story that much stronger? Or am I mature enough as a writer to accept the analysis in the spirit in which it was meant? Sure, it needs work. But instead of my brain freezing over at the thought of it, it's haring off in ten different directions seeking solutions.
First I finish revising Quest while learning to multi-task so that I can write Puppet Prince in the same time frame. Then I can bring my mind back to the lands of Khairdazh and Nuomor and the characters I love so much.
I guess that means I'd better get revising!
This is the third novel I've had out for critique in the past several years, and one of those went out twice. I look at the two crits I have here and I actually can't wait to start back into this novel, though I WILL wait until after I've finished revising Quest to be Queen. That's a new feeling for me. Previous crits made me despair. It wasn't the fault of the critiquer. It was the fault of the novel...and the fact that now that I could see the issues with it, I couldn't figure out how to fix them. The job became totally overwhelming and paralyzed me.
So is this story that much stronger? Or am I mature enough as a writer to accept the analysis in the spirit in which it was meant? Sure, it needs work. But instead of my brain freezing over at the thought of it, it's haring off in ten different directions seeking solutions.
First I finish revising Quest while learning to multi-task so that I can write Puppet Prince in the same time frame. Then I can bring my mind back to the lands of Khairdazh and Nuomor and the characters I love so much.
I guess that means I'd better get revising!
Friday, July 21, 2006
and its GONE
Just before noon today I hit *send* on the emails bearing Marks of Repentance off to my critiquers.
After completing the last thirty pages of editing that I'd had to leave yesterday, I ran a few *find* functions. Two were for *minute* and *hour*. Hey, I found WAY more of those than I would have guessed! I also inserted several paragraphs in a couple of places for a tad of foreshadowing I'd missed. Then I ran spell check. For some reason I've never gotten around to setting up special dictionaries for my projects. I can see it would be a huge help! I had some interesting typos on some of the location and character names, as well as a few on *normal* English words that I really should have caught in the edits. Oh well. Now it is up to the critters to see what I missed and how the whole thing hangs together. I don't expect to have it back from everybody for a couple months or so.
What to do with my time?
Two of the three crits are back on False Perceptions. I'm planning to wait for the third before taking out a fine-tooth comb and going through them. I've read enough of the first two to know that I don't know what I'll be doing to it next. The four months' worth of rewriting didn't solve all its problems to be sure. So that's kinda frustrating.
I could get back to the worldbuilding for my new Christian fantasy project, Puppet Prince. It's the 2 year novel (2yn) that I've been ignoring for several months now. I think it's going to be a fun project; it has some solid skeleton already in place.
For the next few weeks I'm planning to concentrate on getting my website operational and my secret project up and running. Then I have a week's holidays in early August. Maybe by then the project will be ready to roll (generating some of its own steam) and I'll go back to Puppet Prince.
For now, that sounds like a good plan. Good plans are always subject to change.
After completing the last thirty pages of editing that I'd had to leave yesterday, I ran a few *find* functions. Two were for *minute* and *hour*. Hey, I found WAY more of those than I would have guessed! I also inserted several paragraphs in a couple of places for a tad of foreshadowing I'd missed. Then I ran spell check. For some reason I've never gotten around to setting up special dictionaries for my projects. I can see it would be a huge help! I had some interesting typos on some of the location and character names, as well as a few on *normal* English words that I really should have caught in the edits. Oh well. Now it is up to the critters to see what I missed and how the whole thing hangs together. I don't expect to have it back from everybody for a couple months or so.
What to do with my time?
Two of the three crits are back on False Perceptions. I'm planning to wait for the third before taking out a fine-tooth comb and going through them. I've read enough of the first two to know that I don't know what I'll be doing to it next. The four months' worth of rewriting didn't solve all its problems to be sure. So that's kinda frustrating.
I could get back to the worldbuilding for my new Christian fantasy project, Puppet Prince. It's the 2 year novel (2yn) that I've been ignoring for several months now. I think it's going to be a fun project; it has some solid skeleton already in place.
For the next few weeks I'm planning to concentrate on getting my website operational and my secret project up and running. Then I have a week's holidays in early August. Maybe by then the project will be ready to roll (generating some of its own steam) and I'll go back to Puppet Prince.
For now, that sounds like a good plan. Good plans are always subject to change.
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Catching up
I got Maripat's crit off to her yesterday. Today I got caught up on 2ynovel assignments.
Puppet Prince is starting to come to life. I have a map now :D and am beginning to picture the city and the palace grounds. One of these assignments was on marriage and family life, so I got to have a little fun with that. Please understand that (for the record) I am a firm believer in marriage: the one-man-and-one-woman-till-death-do-us-part kind.
But this novel is very VERY loosely based on Old Testament culture, and didn't some of them kings (like David and Solomon) have an awful lot of wives? Yup. So does my Emperor. In fact, in a flash of insight, I understood why Prince Jhonal might NOT have trouble making up his mind which of the two likely young ladies he will marry. Why not marry them both? Yeah, well, his life isn't going to work out that way, but it does give an interesting starting point. Doing some cultural style worldbuilding has been a lot of fun.
Next up: playing a bit more with the website and...TA-DA...starting the revisions on Marks of Repentance. If I'm looking forward to it half as much as I say I am, why haven't I cracked open the file yet? Might I be afraid that it won't live up to my memory of it? Nah. It must be that I need to clean other things off my desk so that I won't need to come up for air for a couple months. Yeah, right.
Puppet Prince is starting to come to life. I have a map now :D and am beginning to picture the city and the palace grounds. One of these assignments was on marriage and family life, so I got to have a little fun with that. Please understand that (for the record) I am a firm believer in marriage: the one-man-and-one-woman-till-death-do-us-part kind.
But this novel is very VERY loosely based on Old Testament culture, and didn't some of them kings (like David and Solomon) have an awful lot of wives? Yup. So does my Emperor. In fact, in a flash of insight, I understood why Prince Jhonal might NOT have trouble making up his mind which of the two likely young ladies he will marry. Why not marry them both? Yeah, well, his life isn't going to work out that way, but it does give an interesting starting point. Doing some cultural style worldbuilding has been a lot of fun.
Next up: playing a bit more with the website and...TA-DA...starting the revisions on Marks of Repentance. If I'm looking forward to it half as much as I say I am, why haven't I cracked open the file yet? Might I be afraid that it won't live up to my memory of it? Nah. It must be that I need to clean other things off my desk so that I won't need to come up for air for a couple months. Yeah, right.
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Etcetera
Calf #13 died Friday morning, making three deaths in the last week. Hubby arrived home a couple of hours later for his four days off. Of course we have had no births since he got home. Are these cows trying to punish me personally or what? I had specifically ordered the remaining five births for this weekend. (Nice try...)
It occurs to me that in the past couple of weeks my blog has turned into a farm and housing report. Is that all I've been up to? Well, no.
False Perceptions didn't gain a lot of ground this week, though. The revision sits at about 30K (out of about 95). I ripped one chapter apart this week and then couldn't quite figure out how to put it back together. That will be Monday's job. How hard can it be? (Don't answer that...)
I spent a bit of extra time on Puppet Prince in the character building section. Personalities are starting to show clearly; faces less so. A varied and interesting cast is starting to take shape and learn to interact. My constant struggle is to give PP enough attention so that it becomes fully formed, but not so much that it will demand to be written earlier than Nano.
Forward Motion has a specific area for writers under the age of 19, and I've been one of the moderators of the Young Writer's Scene board for over a year now. We periodically run classes in there, so one of the things I accomplished this week was writing first draft for the next set of classes which will be on Viewpoint and Narration. It's a four-part class and I expect to start running it Wednesday the fifteenth. I also hope to do a class on dialogue later in the spring. Maripat has run the last couple of classes so it is about my turn.
It is time for me to really start focusing on FP, though. I can't move on until it is revised and out to a new set of readers. The dangling carrot is the revision of Marks of Repentance aka known as Shann and Taafa's story. I don't know that it will be any easier to revise in actuality, but I absolutely LOVE that story which hopefully will help. It keeps beckoning to me, but I must I must I must finish FP first.
Yeah anyway, that's what life is like in my little world.
It occurs to me that in the past couple of weeks my blog has turned into a farm and housing report. Is that all I've been up to? Well, no.
False Perceptions didn't gain a lot of ground this week, though. The revision sits at about 30K (out of about 95). I ripped one chapter apart this week and then couldn't quite figure out how to put it back together. That will be Monday's job. How hard can it be? (Don't answer that...)
I spent a bit of extra time on Puppet Prince in the character building section. Personalities are starting to show clearly; faces less so. A varied and interesting cast is starting to take shape and learn to interact. My constant struggle is to give PP enough attention so that it becomes fully formed, but not so much that it will demand to be written earlier than Nano.
Forward Motion has a specific area for writers under the age of 19, and I've been one of the moderators of the Young Writer's Scene board for over a year now. We periodically run classes in there, so one of the things I accomplished this week was writing first draft for the next set of classes which will be on Viewpoint and Narration. It's a four-part class and I expect to start running it Wednesday the fifteenth. I also hope to do a class on dialogue later in the spring. Maripat has run the last couple of classes so it is about my turn.
It is time for me to really start focusing on FP, though. I can't move on until it is revised and out to a new set of readers. The dangling carrot is the revision of Marks of Repentance aka known as Shann and Taafa's story. I don't know that it will be any easier to revise in actuality, but I absolutely LOVE that story which hopefully will help. It keeps beckoning to me, but I must I must I must finish FP first.
Yeah anyway, that's what life is like in my little world.
Monday, February 27, 2006
I won!
IwoniwoniwoniwoniwoniwoniwonIWON! I WON! Oh, and you'd never guess that I'm excited about it, I'm sure.
What did I win? I won a download of Holly Lisle's ebook Create a Character Clinic through a contest held last week at PaperBackWriter's blog.
I have just now successfully downloaded this ebook and done a quick scan through it, and I am really excited about reading through slowly and thoroughly. I'm at just the right stage in Puppet Prince to make excellent use of Holly's resource, and I'm sure I'll find parts that will help me with revisions on *the others* as well. I'll get back to you all when I've had a closer look.
I'm particularly excited about the timing of this because I had finished reading Talyn just a couple of days previously. Reading this fat and fulfilling fantasy reminded me once again of the excellence of Holly Lisle's worlds and characters. If you like fantasy, READ THIS BOOK. If you've been wondering about whether or not you might like fantasy but don't know where to start, READ THIS BOOK. To be fair, there is sexual content in the novel; if that makes you uncomfortable, you may want to pass. The sex isn't gratuitous, however.
So a big thank you to Holly Lisle for three specific items at the moment: Talyn, Create a Character Clinic, and for being the visionary orignial developer of my favorite hang out on the Web, Forward Motion Writer's Community. Hats off to you, Holly.
What did I win? I won a download of Holly Lisle's ebook Create a Character Clinic through a contest held last week at PaperBackWriter's blog.
I have just now successfully downloaded this ebook and done a quick scan through it, and I am really excited about reading through slowly and thoroughly. I'm at just the right stage in Puppet Prince to make excellent use of Holly's resource, and I'm sure I'll find parts that will help me with revisions on *the others* as well. I'll get back to you all when I've had a closer look.
I'm particularly excited about the timing of this because I had finished reading Talyn just a couple of days previously. Reading this fat and fulfilling fantasy reminded me once again of the excellence of Holly Lisle's worlds and characters. If you like fantasy, READ THIS BOOK. If you've been wondering about whether or not you might like fantasy but don't know where to start, READ THIS BOOK. To be fair, there is sexual content in the novel; if that makes you uncomfortable, you may want to pass. The sex isn't gratuitous, however.
So a big thank you to Holly Lisle for three specific items at the moment: Talyn, Create a Character Clinic, and for being the visionary orignial developer of my favorite hang out on the Web, Forward Motion Writer's Community. Hats off to you, Holly.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Rewriting
It is busier at the store than it has any right to be in February. It is eating into my writing timee, by golly. My guys are starting to go crazy with it again, being as this is supposed to be the slow time of year. We nailed two jobs today and got requests for three more quotes, two of them large jobs. I feel like I'm spending a lot of time on cutomers these days. Yes, I know. That's what they pay me the big bucks for. But they hate feeling this behind, too.
In the four years I've been writing at work I've gotten pretty good at coming back and picking up right where I left off five minutes or twenty minutes before. There comes a time when my concentration is shot though. I'm not sure what exactly it takes, but a certain number of phone calls and/or customers in a shortish period of time and I'm done for. Usually I can switch to something a bit less demanding.
My primary goal these days is to progress on the revision of False Perceptions. The first chapter needed finetuning. The second chapter needed total rewriting and is *done*. The third chapter didn't exist in any form before this. I managed the first scene of it today before my concentration blew, but the second scene eluded me. I know what it needs to portray, but not what it IS. It's starting to come, I think, but of course I've got a sales rep again in the morning. The third scene planned for this inserted chapter is fairly close to together in my head. I'm looking forward to getting to chapters that *only* require revisions!
Meanwhile, the 2yn assignment this week is the first of the character building ones. I haven't written any of it down yet, but I'm starting to see it. So that's good. I also have classes to write and a crit to do and and and...
Maybe I'd better go do some of it instead of whining.
In the four years I've been writing at work I've gotten pretty good at coming back and picking up right where I left off five minutes or twenty minutes before. There comes a time when my concentration is shot though. I'm not sure what exactly it takes, but a certain number of phone calls and/or customers in a shortish period of time and I'm done for. Usually I can switch to something a bit less demanding.
My primary goal these days is to progress on the revision of False Perceptions. The first chapter needed finetuning. The second chapter needed total rewriting and is *done*. The third chapter didn't exist in any form before this. I managed the first scene of it today before my concentration blew, but the second scene eluded me. I know what it needs to portray, but not what it IS. It's starting to come, I think, but of course I've got a sales rep again in the morning. The third scene planned for this inserted chapter is fairly close to together in my head. I'm looking forward to getting to chapters that *only* require revisions!
Meanwhile, the 2yn assignment this week is the first of the character building ones. I haven't written any of it down yet, but I'm starting to see it. So that's good. I also have classes to write and a crit to do and and and...
Maybe I'd better go do some of it instead of whining.
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Retrofitting a main character
I would really like to learn to write cleaner first drafts. Revision should be for cleaning up sentence structure and clamping down on animated eyes. (My eyes can do many things: dance with joy, shoot daggers, and anything in between.) Revision should NOT be for re-creating the lead male character. In the month that I've been mulling over Treyan's flaws (of which he has too many), a few things have started to click. I even had a major revelation yesterday, which was good timing as today was the day to rewrite in its entirety his introductory chapter, the second one in the novel. Here's hoping that the new and improved Treyan really is new and improved without losing his rambunctious zest for life that made him so endearing in the first two versions.
Revising is going a little slower than I'd hope. I'm the eternal optimist I guess. It's been a bit busier at work than it ought to be in February. But being as I don't really want to revise this novel AGAIN, I'm going to take as much time as it needs now. I won't let it push me. If I work on it with whatever time I have available weekly, then it will get done when it gets done.
I've pretty much decided not to start writing the new novel, Puppet Prince, when the class gets the go-ahead in July. I'm planning to hold off until November and Nano. If each first draft novel requires two (or more) major revisions, it seems logical to allow twice as much time in a year to revise than to write. So the goal is to get this revision of FP done (hopefully its the final biggie), then to revise Marks of Repentance (aka Shann and Taafa), and THEN to revise Quest to be Queen before writing another first draft. I have some critters lined up for each of those. I have promised compensating crits as well, so once those start coming in I'll need to start taking time out daily to work on crits.
Nice and steady will win the race. Sigh.
Revising is going a little slower than I'd hope. I'm the eternal optimist I guess. It's been a bit busier at work than it ought to be in February. But being as I don't really want to revise this novel AGAIN, I'm going to take as much time as it needs now. I won't let it push me. If I work on it with whatever time I have available weekly, then it will get done when it gets done.
I've pretty much decided not to start writing the new novel, Puppet Prince, when the class gets the go-ahead in July. I'm planning to hold off until November and Nano. If each first draft novel requires two (or more) major revisions, it seems logical to allow twice as much time in a year to revise than to write. So the goal is to get this revision of FP done (hopefully its the final biggie), then to revise Marks of Repentance (aka Shann and Taafa), and THEN to revise Quest to be Queen before writing another first draft. I have some critters lined up for each of those. I have promised compensating crits as well, so once those start coming in I'll need to start taking time out daily to work on crits.
Nice and steady will win the race. Sigh.
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Playing with themes
The concept that Zette covered in the third assignment (due a week ago) was theme. I always find themes hard. I spent hours that week sifting through the bits of story idea I'd come up with in order to condense the essence into its theme. Eventually I decided that the theme of my new novel, Puppet Prince, is Tenacity: To achieve your destiny, hang onto your dreams against all odds. I then decided on a secondary theme, Compassion: The journey from selfishness to compassion results in strong leadership. Some of the other contenders at the time were destiny, purpose, free will, manipulation, choice, and wisdom.
Assignment four, due today, focuses in on the main character's goals and the conflicts that arise to keep him from simply reaching out and grabbing the goal. I've spent hours on this concept as well. It simply isn't gelling. After beating my head against the proverbial brick wall (many hours, I won't bore you...) I cast my gaze back to assignment three and the theme.
A little light came on.
I had picked the wrong theme.
The new theme is COMPROMISE: Treading the destined path through life may require a careful dance. Basically, we'd like to see life in black and white. Either something is right or it's wrong. As a Christian, I believe that is true in many areas, but the older I get, the more I appreciate the various shades of gray in relation to some issues. In an ideal, perfect, sin-free world, things would be simpler.
For the main character of Puppet Prince, Jhonal, this is equally true. He cannot simply choose the best path. What is best in one way is not best in another way. He needs to go through this story deciding on how much compromise he will be willing to sustain in order to negotiate the best deal for himself and for his people.
Already the goals and conflicts are sliding into place.
Why is choosing a theme important before you ever start writing? Do you have to do it this way? Of course not. Though I must admit I've been much more aware of themes since taking this 2 year novel course the first time two years ago. If you are building a building, whether it is a small storage shed or a mansion, you need a suitable foundation. The wrong theme is like building a great foundation, and then raising the building next to it, or across the yard. All I have done today is stuck a large hook in my theme and dragged it underneath the walls that are starting to go up. Everything should be much more secure now.
Here's hoping.
Assignment four, due today, focuses in on the main character's goals and the conflicts that arise to keep him from simply reaching out and grabbing the goal. I've spent hours on this concept as well. It simply isn't gelling. After beating my head against the proverbial brick wall (many hours, I won't bore you...) I cast my gaze back to assignment three and the theme.
A little light came on.
I had picked the wrong theme.
The new theme is COMPROMISE: Treading the destined path through life may require a careful dance. Basically, we'd like to see life in black and white. Either something is right or it's wrong. As a Christian, I believe that is true in many areas, but the older I get, the more I appreciate the various shades of gray in relation to some issues. In an ideal, perfect, sin-free world, things would be simpler.
For the main character of Puppet Prince, Jhonal, this is equally true. He cannot simply choose the best path. What is best in one way is not best in another way. He needs to go through this story deciding on how much compromise he will be willing to sustain in order to negotiate the best deal for himself and for his people.
Already the goals and conflicts are sliding into place.
Why is choosing a theme important before you ever start writing? Do you have to do it this way? Of course not. Though I must admit I've been much more aware of themes since taking this 2 year novel course the first time two years ago. If you are building a building, whether it is a small storage shed or a mansion, you need a suitable foundation. The wrong theme is like building a great foundation, and then raising the building next to it, or across the yard. All I have done today is stuck a large hook in my theme and dragged it underneath the walls that are starting to go up. Everything should be much more secure now.
Here's hoping.
Monday, January 16, 2006
More of same
Writing wise, I feel like a hamster on a wheel. More working on False Perception's revision plan; the novel is approximately half analyzed. Which isn't quite the same thing as half planned, unfortunately, nor the same thing as half re-written. See, I'm still complaining about it!
I'm also still complaining about trying to keep Jhonal and the rest of the cast from my newest novel, Puppet Prince, from taking over the world. Something brand new and unsullied sounds so fun right now, compared with trying to repair the obviously imperfect. Even telling myself that this one won't be a perfect first draft either does little to dampen my enthusiasm. I don't KNOW it won't be perfect, after all. Perhaps seven is the perfect number, and my seventh novel will be perfect. It's still all possible. In theory, anyway.
In other news, my hubby seems to think that 2006 is the year of the addition on the house. I'd thought we were a couple years away still, but he wants to start getting quotes and analyzing costs in hopes of a 2006 project. So I'm buckling my brain down to drawing plans, one of my favorite past-times. I'm not sure I actually believe him yet! We've talked some rough ideas over the five years we've lived here (in Canada's ugliest and least designed house and almost the smallest), but now we need to make sure we're on the same page as to what functions the new area will be best used for. I *am* excited, even while I try not to be, but then he tells me I CAN be...I'm confused, but drawing!
I'm also still complaining about trying to keep Jhonal and the rest of the cast from my newest novel, Puppet Prince, from taking over the world. Something brand new and unsullied sounds so fun right now, compared with trying to repair the obviously imperfect. Even telling myself that this one won't be a perfect first draft either does little to dampen my enthusiasm. I don't KNOW it won't be perfect, after all. Perhaps seven is the perfect number, and my seventh novel will be perfect. It's still all possible. In theory, anyway.
In other news, my hubby seems to think that 2006 is the year of the addition on the house. I'd thought we were a couple years away still, but he wants to start getting quotes and analyzing costs in hopes of a 2006 project. So I'm buckling my brain down to drawing plans, one of my favorite past-times. I'm not sure I actually believe him yet! We've talked some rough ideas over the five years we've lived here (in Canada's ugliest and least designed house and almost the smallest), but now we need to make sure we're on the same page as to what functions the new area will be best used for. I *am* excited, even while I try not to be, but then he tells me I CAN be...I'm confused, but drawing!
Friday, January 13, 2006
Life goes on
Life even goes on for hubby's grandmother, although in a different sense. She was a Christian, a believer in Jesus, and ready to go. Although there certainly were some tears at her funeral and in the days surrounding it, there also was gladness that she is through the pain and massive difficulties of increasing age.
The winter roads were passable with iffy sections. Connecting with the cousins and other relatives was a good thing. We did some shopping in the city. It was good to go, and it's very good to be home.
My main task these days is to work up a revision plan for False Perceptions. I vacillate between thinking I can do this, and being sure I can't. There is a fair bit of work, but only a few scenes (thus far) need a total rewrite. On the flip side, there are a similar number of scenes that just need a grammar brush-up to be fine. The rest require varying degrees of work. A couple of main characters need some overhauling to be consistent and sympathetic. At the moment I have gone through about a third of the novel, scanning critique notes and making lists. At this rate it will take several more days for this step, but I think it is a vital one. I may need a couple of *mulling* days afterwards to come up with a plan for implementation. Or I could be optimistic and believe that things will begin to gel before I get to the other end. :)
In the meanwhile, I have books that NEED to be read and a new novel that wants to push to the forefront. I did play with ideas some on the road trip, and have narrowed down the possible plotlines from billions to merely dozens. I have a clearer vision of my main character. And I am trying really REALLY hard not to lock myself into any specifics ahead of the class schedule. Must keep focusing on FP. MUST. (Of course, Shann and Taafa from Marks of Repentance want to come out to play, too, but they have to wait for the next revision slot.
Maybe I will do what I suggested to Maripat, and what several folks from the original 2yn class did, and that is to write the first draft of their 2yn as their Nano. It would certainly give me more revision time this year if I planned on only one first draft instead of two. Of course, I could also skip Nano... Hmm. Things to think about.
The winter roads were passable with iffy sections. Connecting with the cousins and other relatives was a good thing. We did some shopping in the city. It was good to go, and it's very good to be home.
My main task these days is to work up a revision plan for False Perceptions. I vacillate between thinking I can do this, and being sure I can't. There is a fair bit of work, but only a few scenes (thus far) need a total rewrite. On the flip side, there are a similar number of scenes that just need a grammar brush-up to be fine. The rest require varying degrees of work. A couple of main characters need some overhauling to be consistent and sympathetic. At the moment I have gone through about a third of the novel, scanning critique notes and making lists. At this rate it will take several more days for this step, but I think it is a vital one. I may need a couple of *mulling* days afterwards to come up with a plan for implementation. Or I could be optimistic and believe that things will begin to gel before I get to the other end. :)
In the meanwhile, I have books that NEED to be read
Maybe I will do what I suggested to Maripat, and what several folks from the original 2yn class did, and that is to write the first draft of their 2yn as their Nano. It would certainly give me more revision time this year if I planned on only one first draft instead of two. Of course, I could also skip Nano... Hmm. Things to think about.
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Roll out the red carpet for the new year!
After almost two weeks of lolly-gagging around on my vacation (if you believe that, you'll believe anything; hang around cause I have more lies I could tell you...) I went back to work today. Work for me has a dual purpose. It's to sell flooring, organize my guys, make customers happy, provide a sounding board for sales reps and to earn that all-important paycheck. The second reason? (Yes, all the aforementioned was only one reason.) The second reason is that the flooring shop is where I write. So when I'm on vacation from the shop, I'm REALLY on vacation.
Not quite, but almost. Because I decided, after all, to sign up for the new 2yn class at Forward Motion, I had to come up with the kernel of an idea to jumpstart my own participation in the class. I spent most of my vacation *mulling* whenever I had spare time (not much). Until Sunday evening I was hammering away at an idea that just wasn't germinating. It looked like a good kernel, and maybe it IS. Maybe it just needs soaking for another year or two. Whatever its issue, it didn't want to sprout and be a novel just now.
Now, I've been reading George RR Martin's A Game of Thrones recently (and waiting, somewhat patiently, for book 2 to arrive back to the library, but I digress...) and tried to decide what I was liking and not liking about it. Too many pov characters, though their presentations at least are solid. I like the fact that Lord Stark has five kids, not because the writer needed a magical number five, but because each child has their own personality and thus serves the story in their own way. The youngest not so much yet, but I anticipate that he'll find his uses as the series carries on. I like the fact that there are several characters that I can't pin which side they're on. I suspect that the characters themselves might not know. And I enjoyed the whole medieval castles and war thing that sometimes gets over done in fantasy, but I've been avoiding it recently so it seemed new again to me. Well, not new, exactly, but not *same old* either.
And it occurred to me that while I've written a few fantasies in my day (three), none of them took place in these kinds of circumstances. Imagine that. Quests and travelers I have written in plenty, but no castles. It's time for castles, I thought on Monday morning, and threw away that dried up kernel of an idea that didn't want to sprout anyway.
So are you ready? Here's the basic premise for my next novel (2yn, and currently un-named): Being raised as a ward of the conquering king, a young prince seeks his future in the face of brainwashing by his hosts, an uncle who wants to retain his own family line as puppet kings, and recurring visions that offer him a brighter hope if only he can overcome the difficulties and hold the faith.
That's it. At this point, I have way more questions than answers. That's the fun of a new idea, I think. So many possibilities to choose from; so many paths the writer could take. It's that old *walking the tightrope in the fog* thing. You can't see where you're going, or what will grab you if you fall off. All you can do is inch forward and hope for the best. WooHoo! I'm gonna have fun inching forward with this one!
Not quite, but almost. Because I decided, after all, to sign up for the new 2yn class at Forward Motion, I had to come up with the kernel of an idea to jumpstart my own participation in the class. I spent most of my vacation *mulling* whenever I had spare time (not much). Until Sunday evening I was hammering away at an idea that just wasn't germinating. It looked like a good kernel, and maybe it IS. Maybe it just needs soaking for another year or two. Whatever its issue, it didn't want to sprout and be a novel just now.
Now, I've been reading George RR Martin's A Game of Thrones recently (and waiting, somewhat patiently, for book 2 to arrive back to the library, but I digress...) and tried to decide what I was liking and not liking about it. Too many pov characters, though their presentations at least are solid. I like the fact that Lord Stark has five kids, not because the writer needed a magical number five, but because each child has their own personality and thus serves the story in their own way. The youngest not so much yet, but I anticipate that he'll find his uses as the series carries on. I like the fact that there are several characters that I can't pin which side they're on. I suspect that the characters themselves might not know. And I enjoyed the whole medieval castles and war thing that sometimes gets over done in fantasy, but I've been avoiding it recently so it seemed new again to me. Well, not new, exactly, but not *same old* either.
And it occurred to me that while I've written a few fantasies in my day (three), none of them took place in these kinds of circumstances. Imagine that. Quests and travelers I have written in plenty, but no castles. It's time for castles, I thought on Monday morning, and threw away that dried up kernel of an idea that didn't want to sprout anyway.
So are you ready? Here's the basic premise for my next novel (2yn, and currently un-named): Being raised as a ward of the conquering king, a young prince seeks his future in the face of brainwashing by his hosts, an uncle who wants to retain his own family line as puppet kings, and recurring visions that offer him a brighter hope if only he can overcome the difficulties and hold the faith.
That's it. At this point, I have way more questions than answers. That's the fun of a new idea, I think. So many possibilities to choose from; so many paths the writer could take. It's that old *walking the tightrope in the fog* thing. You can't see where you're going, or what will grab you if you fall off. All you can do is inch forward and hope for the best. WooHoo! I'm gonna have fun inching forward with this one!
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