Category Archives: Work In Progress
Nanowrimo Day11 Update
So it’s now day 11 or Nanowrimo.
When I first mentioned I was going to be joining the insanity, I had quite a few doubts about being able to accomplish it. In fact, if I’m totally honest, I figured I’d be washed out before today. But guess what, I’m on track!
Today’s goal was to be at 18,333 words. I’m at 18,524. I know, not way ahead, but still, ahead. I’ve sat my butt in the chair and wrote new words every single day. Something I have never done before. And every single time I sat down, I had something in mind to write, so I didn’t spend hours staring at a blank screen and give up.
In fact, I’ve written more words on this work than I accomplished in the first four months of The Veil.
So I’m on track and feeling good. This book is going to be longer than 50,000 words, but I’ll have at least that before the end of Nanowrimo, I’m sure of it.
So that’s my quick check-in. I’ll do some more as I go. Wish me luck!
And if you’re doing Nanowrimo too, good luck to you 
The First Draft is Done – Some Things I’ve Learned
In the wee hours of Saturday morning, I finally typed the two words that I have spent over a year working toward; The End.
Sitting in a darkened room with a group of people that couldn’t have really cared, it wasn’t the sweetest of victories, but it was a milestone nonetheless.
But achieving a major life goal often leads to some introspection & retrospection. A lot of ‘pection going on.
So what the heck have I learned? What has writing my first draft of my first novel taught me? Well, here it is kids. Hope some of it is useful 
Writing Everyday Is Good Advice
Yup, you’ve read the same advice too. And if you’re anything like me, you said “That’s nice for you, but there’s no way I have time for that.” Well, I’m here to tell you, “MAKE TIME.”
In the final length of my race to the finish, I focused on writing something every single day. I set no minimums or goals, I just told myself I would find time to add to The Veil everyday.
Most days I was lucky to squeeze out 100 words. But other days it was 500. In the final two days it was over a 1,000 words. By pushing myself to write even a little everyday I found it easier to find the writer’s mindset and jump into my story. So in my future works, I will write something, anything, every single day.
Being a Pantser Sucks
I know this works for some people. Doing a mix of 1/8 planner & 7/8 pantser did get me to the end of my book. But it was painful. I wasted too much time staring at a blank screen uncertain of where to go. I often hit roadblocks that trapped me in a chapter for over a month. The more often I got stuck, the slower my progress. These factors lent themselves to a deep depression in regards to my writing. Many days I felt like such a hack I wondered what the point of continuing was. I persevered. I finished. But I don’t want to write a book like that again.
I’m thinking future works will be a flip 1/8 pantser, 7/8 planner. I hope to stick to that.
Twitter is a Godsend
There are a ton of people on Twitter that have encouraged me and helped me through my slumps. Add into that a number of those same people, and many more included, that inspired me and made me sit my bum in the chair. Writing is lonely. But with Twitter by your side, it doesn’t have to be.
When you add in a slew of great articles that people have directed me to that I never would’ve found myself, Twitter adds up to a must. Forget all the hype about joining Twitter to build a “platform.” Join Twitter to find a wonderful community. When you embrace it and open yourself up and join the conversation, the platform will evolve naturally.
Writing Software Saved My Life
This book never would’ve happened without Scrivener. It’s that simple.
I know you’ll be surprised by this, but I’m a bit scattered. I’ll be writing chapter three, then have an idea that probably won’t happen until chapter twenty. In the old days, this shiny idea would become a separate Word document that would be shoved in a folder and then probably forgotten.
Writing this way was a pain. To have character bios, notes and an assortment of other things available, I’d have to open five or more documents.
Scrivener just allows me to do this all organically. It puts all the information I want and need right in front of me. It’s easy, organised and gets out of my way while I get all creative and stuff.
I will never write a piece of fiction again without Scrivener.
So What Now?
Editing.
More Editing.
And then, just to change things up, editing.
And as The Veil takes it’s final form, I will move into plotting The Veil Book 2. I did say it was a series, right?
I also have a character I’m itching to write. It’s a joint creation between my wife and I. She’s going to do visual work and I’m going to write the words. At this point, I’m thinking a series of novellas.
So, whew. Done. I feel lighter having finished it. I’ll feel lighter when I have it edited and it’s ready to be released to the wild.
Thanks for hanging in with my journey. I’ll do my best to post more regular updates.
Apologies
I know I’ve been absent for a while.
I’m sorry.
The stats for the blog certainly reflect my neglect.
If you follow my Twitter feed, you probably know where I’ve been. I have been fighting the chapter from hell.
Yes, a month ago when I wrote how I was having a hard time progressing, I was working on the chapter that I just finished tonight. Yup, a month later.
But I now have something to show for my troubles.
- I have only two chapters left to write of The Veil
- I have surpassed my minimum word count of 60,000 words.
- The chapter turned out a lot better than I thought it would a month ago.
So tonight, I’m pleased.
This is not a great post, another time I’ll say I’m sorry.
But I just wanted you all to know I’m still around, I’m still slugging it out, and now that this chapter is behind me, I finally feel like I might be winning.
Not a bad night’s work.
I’ll post more, promise
Is It Too Complex?
I was out in the car today with my wife, babbling about The Veil.
I told her I’m having serious difficulty writing the final four chapters. Simply put, they need to be planned in an in depth fashion. I’ve been lucky so far, my “Chess” approach has worked well and brought me into novel length territory.
But this is the end.
If I don’t get some kind of ending written that has the foundation of being kick-ass, I’m sunk.
So now I feel challenged.
In the midst of telling her this, I started to relay some of the numerous ideas and influences that exist in The Veil. When I was done, she looked at me and said, “Now, I’d have to read it, but something has me a little worried… It sounds kinda complicated.”
And she’s right.
The Veil is a mish mash of various story ideas I’ve had over the past couple years. It incorporates science, religion, myth, conspiracy and so much more, it threatens to spiral out of control. But it’s meant to be several books.
Yes, I know all the weird and complicated maneuvers that are going on behind the scenes, but I don’t intend to show all my cards to the reader in book one. Nope, I want them in for the long haul.
This presents a conundrum. How much do I reveal in Book One?
I need to present some smattering of all the themes and ideas, or I’ll get to book two or three and something will just hit the reader out of nowhere. To me, it’ll be obvious, but the reader is going to shake their fist and scream “Bullsh!t.”
This is where editing is going to be crucial.
I believe I’m not the only writer to do this. To be honest, I’m positive there’s a boatload of writers in the exact same situation.
I’m sure you’ve all read the writing advice that as an author, you should know all the back story; but you shouldn’t feel the need to info dump all of it.
Honestly, some things are useful to build a character’s identity in our mind, but are unnecessary to state explicitly for the reader.
But what if the whole series hinges on that information?
Do you remember the fifth book of Harry Potter, The Order of the Phoenix? It finally revealed why Voldemort went after Harry and his parents. Thing was, the prophecy was mundane. I mean, Duh, any astute reader had that prophecy already figured out. It felt like we’d been baited with something earth shattering, only to have a deflated feeling when it turned out to be the same old “the boy & monster will meet, and one will defeat the other.”
While the actual prophecy was a bit of a let down, it served to explain why it had been so important to Voldemort to find and eliminate the Potters. It answered a question that had been nagging for a number of books.
On the flip side, the reveal of the master wand in book seven seemed forced. There was an article I read on the web that asked a very good question; Why the hell didn’t Voldemort just take everyone out at the end of book six? Well, because it would have been a suck ending. The introduction of the master wand and its ilk tried to a) answer why Voldemort remained in the shadows and b) provide a way for Harry, who hadn’t been the most powerful wizard in the world, to defeat Voldemort. While it was thrilling, it felt forced.
Don’t get me wrong, Harry Potter is brilliant. If I could write a series half as good, I’d consider myself blessed. My point is, if you have an invisibility cloak early on in the series that is part of this mystical triad of items that are integral to the end of the series, couldn’t you have mentioned something about it earlier? Reading the books, I have no doubt JK Rowling knew all about the wand and company early on. She just didn’t let us in on it until the last book.
Given the complexity of plots and themes in The Veil, I need to avoid this. First off, I need to do so because people aren’t going to be as forgiving of me as they are JK Rowling. Secondly, because people really will call me on using big twists out of nowhere.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with big, complex ideas. In fact, I thrive on things like that, which is why my book is filled with them. The key is finding a way to make them feel organic. Book one needs to lay the ground rules. If a stepping stone doesn’t exist in book one, that’s a path I won’t be able to follow.
Editing this thing is going to be a beast. I know that, and I’m not even there yet.
What do you think? Can you get away with omitting some ideas from book one as long as they get put into book two? Or should the whole path be present in book one, even if left obscure?
Or am I making a huge mistake from the start, having it clear in my head that this story is going to require several books to tell?
Of course, it’s too late to stop now
Hitting Milestones
So last night I crossed 50,000 words in The Veil.
Depending on what guidelines you follow, that means I’ve officially crossed into novel length territory.
When I launched this blog in April of 2010, I had written 9,000 words. I admit, there’s been times when I wondered if my idea would actually amount to a novel. There were days when the ideas weren’t flowing and I thought it was hopeless. I figured The Veil was bound to be another file in my “Failed Attempts” folder.
But last night I crossed over into novel territory. And what’s even better, there’s still eight planned out chapters. At this rate, I think The Veil will easily weigh in at more than 70,000 words.
It’s funny how a weight feels lifted. This is the furthest I’ve ever taken a story. At this point, the question is no longer will I be able to make it, but rather, how long till I finish it?
So it’s a happy day. I’ll be even happier when I make it to 60,000. That’s the goal I set for myself as that’s considered a lower end Young Adult novel.
My goal is to have the first draft done by this blog’s anniversary. Wish me luck!
Nano Project