Category Archives: creative writing

writing the beginning of a story (too fast?)

I’ve been working on a new series with a co-writer lately– a somewhat experimental venture at that: a series of novellas telling a too-long, epic, episodic tale of cursed immortals, other worlds, demons, high magic, technology, and everything from dinosaur-riding cowboys to cyborgs and big guns.

Since novellas aren’t really published traditionally, and because this is a project that builds on itself (like seasons of tv episodes instead of a movie), we’re going to put the first novella online for free, then sell each ‘episode’ for e-readers for a dollar each.

So my co-writer and I started the first book. Stopped. Talked about form, composition, motivation. Cleared the board. Started again. Stopped, rearranged everything. In doing this over and over (we’re halfway done with what I think will be the final first draft now), I’ve noticed something about the writing.

I have a lot of groundwork to cover. I only need a few of the characters for now, but I need to hint as to the presence of other important figures that will come in later in the series (we’ve already written about fourteen novels of raw material for this project). I need to hint about three countries’ cultures, introduce the main character, several forms of magic, the tone of an unrequited romance…

And I’ve just noticed that I have a tendency to try to jump into action and skip the foundations of the story I’m writing. I rush beginnings like I rush music, thinking that playing faster will impress more people.

Which leads me to a question: how much time do you get, to lead into the conflict? A paragraph? A page? A chapter? I’ve had ‘hook the reader’ chanted at me so many times that I wonder if I overdo it now. Have we as writers (and readers) really limited ourselves to material of instant, flashy gratification?

And has writing, in response, lost a quality of its traditional graceful entrance?

The author of the book ‘Hooked’, Les Edgerton, seems to think so, but then, Hooked leaves no room for such openings as ‘In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit.’ I wonder if Edgerton would have started Tolkien’s masterpiece with Bilbo and the dwarves about to become troll-food.

And if I need to set a character’s routine before I throw a wrench into everything, can I take my time enough to do it right?

nanowrimo novel 2011


In the Devil’s Shadow

Uriel Collins knows that he is a resurrected man. He knows that he was once a villain by the name of Isaac, though he does not remember anything prior to his violent death. He’s going to Mileston anyway, to seek out whatever remnants of the life he may have inherited from Isaac. It’s so hard, not having a past. Everyone needs to start somewhere.

There are some sins so black that even a monster couldn’t possibly ignore them. When Uriel decides to dig up the crimes of Isaac Collins, both the living and the murdered have plenty they want to say. Some speak in riddles. Some speak with guns.

If you’re doing NaNoWriMo 2011, you can find me here!

Happy writing!

row80 – april update

Daily writing output

Wordcount graph
Powered by WritersDB.com

So, my writing really suffered when my computer died mid-month. Bad Eliza. No cookie. But as I’ve been writing one thousand words a day or so since Norwescon, maybe that can make up for it?

In other news, I’ve finally gotten back the reins on my plot, I’ve broken 100k words (which means it’s much too long, but we’ll cut that down later), and I can see my planned climax coming over my metaphorical hill.

Huzzah! Victory!

Anyone interested in beta-reading a rough-draft YA Steampunk Fantasy? The end is in sight.

advice i got at norwescon

Hey guys! My computer is down, sortof dead, so my posts will be few and far between. My apologies.

In any case, Norwescon was amazing. I didn’t know beforehand that Heather Dale was going to be there, which made an already incredible weekend rave-worthy. Those of you who don’t know Heather Dale, go to youtube. Listen to her song Joan or Mordred’s Lullaby. Then go to heatherdale.com and buy her cds. She sings like an angel, and she’s a complete sweetheart on top of it. Oh, and she does tons of songs on King Arthur.

In any case, Norwescon was full of writers and published authors. I dressed in a corset, I went to tons of writing panels, I found a writer’s social and found out that there’s a writing workshop that I need to sign up for next year, I got inspired and wrote a lot. And I got some neat advice that I’ll write here for you.

- To read: 10% Solution, by Ken Rand
Apparently, this is a very good book on writing craft. I have not seen it yet, but I will try it out.

- “You do not have to sell your books in the order that they were written.”
As I’m still debating on what to do with Blue Crystal when I’m on a Artificer’s Angels, this made me feel better.

- “Have two different problems going on, so at the end they solve each other.”
This was mostly applicable to short stories, but something to keep in mind nonetheless.

And last, but not least… and something I’ve never thought of…
- “Follow the money.”
Now, context is important on this one. This refers to world building, not audience-pleasing. Where are the money capitals in your world, and what the hell are they doing? Figure that out, even if it’s not part of the story.

In light of my dead computer, The week before I hardly wrote, and this week I’m overshooting my ROW80 vows. I’ll post a graph or something later. Until then!

winning by losing (row80)

Just a quick update on my novel, and ROW80.

My goal: 250 words/day, 5 days/week.

Thus far,
Monday: 742/250
Tuesday: 389/250
Wednesday: 416/250

It’s a tiny goal, yes, but it makes what I actually do look impressive.

I’ve noticed something about one of my characters. He’s perhaps the most brilliant badass character I’ve ever written. Huge, strong, smart, skilled, good coordination, good reflexes. … And he’s never yet won a fight in this story. I’m starting to think that he’s not going to. (For those of you who’ve seen pieces of my book, yes, I’m talking about Uriel.)

And yet, in each case he comes out ahead. I’m not sure why, or how, or what it is he does to manage this. He escapes at opportune times while pulling switches, lets himself get hit where he’s protected… he even lets himself get gunned down once.

How is it that his escapes, his deflections, his clever tricks and his patient ‘play dead’ schemes earn him more– and more reader admiration– than if he simply was a fighter to match his build? Why is this more effective?

We’ve seen this before. This is the story of the clever tailor who sewed ‘seven in one blow’ on his clothes and began ridding the land of giants. It’s purely a traditional protagonist trait… but my character being something of a noble trickster-villain, it’s taking a very odd turn.

round of words signup

A round of words in 80 days: A writing event where you set your own goals.

It starts tomorrow, so I’m volunteering last minute. I crashed on NaNoWriMo 2010, and since this event is a little more forgiving, I’m back at it.

So, my goal for the next eighty days is this: 250 words per day or more, five days a week.

It’s not much, so I won’t drive myself crazy on the days it just won’t come, and I get days off. And, if I get inspired, I can make much better progress.

Wish me luck!

writer link – the writer’s database

So, I’m back to (slowly) working on The Artificer’s Angels again (huzzah!).

And I thought to myself tonight, “You know what I really need while I’m avoiding this paragraph? A nifty online word-per-day word count tool that’s available online. But not a word count widget. More of a graph-thing… that remembers your project…”

So I waste yet more time searching the internet for a writer-toy. Yes, I’m a very focused person. But I did find a small website dedicated to managing your projects’ word count, the markets you write to, and where you’ve submitted your work.

Alright, sure, you could use Excel, too, but I thought this was highly nifty.

http://www.writersdb.com/