Distracted

I admit it, lately I have been distracted from writing.  In fact, I do not believe I have done anything since Thursday.  Why?  Because of Matthew Fox.  It started out with obsessively rewatching his Haunted series--love the asylum episode.  Then that lead me to Lost rewatching--especially the final episode when he tells Flocke he's going to kill him.  Those scenes/episodes?  Just ooooh.  And come on, look at that cover!  It's hard not to get addicted.  He's just so watchable.

Besides, I'll let you in on a little secret.  I tend to do fanfic in my head about my favorite characters in my favorite series.  If the idea is good enough, it becomes a repeat mind-fic.  (I get bored easy, yes.)  Then the mind-fic begins to alter the characters, backstory, situation, etc.  Finally, it becomes my own idea, my own story, my own characters.

When I start obsessing and day dreaming this much about a character, it usually means I'm getting close to a story idea.  That's how my Walker series started out.  Although, it wasn't aforementioned dream boy who was the root cause of it.  No, just another random hottie, Michael Shanks/Stargate-SG1's Daniel Jackson. 

So, what have I been doing the last few days?  I've been watching Haunted and Lost.  Obsessively.  My mind tells me it is a bad thing, because it means I am so story-starved I have to watch tv shows when I could be (at best) writing or (at least) reading.  But my mind also tells me it's a good thing because I'm working on some story bit by obsessive bit.

So, when will I get back to writing?  Likely Friday.  Until then, I'll just play around with Matthew Fox's roles.  Trust me, I won't be bored.

Seek Your Peace

I was working on my Bible study sheet, when I came across Romans 3:14:  "Whose mouth [is] full of cursing and bitterness."

This hit home after all that happened yesterday and this morning on writing groups.  I got so involved in debating angrily, defending my point of view angrily, and just feeling angry at what others were saying, that I messed up my calm, my sense of peace, my inner balance.  I was bitter.  This was hurting me.  Bitterness, no matter what the cause, always does hurt the writer.

Today I am back on track, writing again.  Today, I am happy and me again.  I am calm where it matters again.

How did I do that?  Recently, as I recover more of my religiousness, my sense of peace and perspective is restored through Bible studies.  Before then, I used to soak myself in nature or become absorbed in movie.  Any of these can work and will offer up healthy alternatives to bitter brooding.  Any of these will help you regain your balance and perspective. 

Just remember, never lose sight of your inner peace for long, or it will be that much harder to be what you are meant to be, a writer.

Publishing Thoughts, a Rant

Been too busy debating something on a writing forum to do writing today, critiquing, or catching up on emails.  Which sucks.  But I bring it up here because I need closure.

The point I wanted to make, but couldn't get across or wasn't believable concerned traditional/NY publishing and authorial control.  Namely that the average author had very little control.  Not over the cover.  Not over the final vision of her novel.  I'm not saying that is a bad thing, or that traditional publishing needs to change.  I'm just saying those who seek that route need to not only know this upfront but happy with it.

In a perfect world, an publisher or agent would take on a novel that only needed cosmetic changes--that is, this pace is too fast or slow, this isn't clear, this is infodumpy, this scene/chapter is repetitive, you mentioned this earlier and it sounded better there, or you need to mention this earlier for credibility.  Cosmetic changes.

What I don't like is vision-altering changes.  Such as, delete these characters, merge those, this one needs to be more like this, this subplot needs removed/added/changed entirely, or the last 1/4th or 1/2 of the book needs to be dropped and changed with a new ending.  These changes require not only a lot of editing but time and effort.

After all, why would I as an author submit something if I knew that something was wrong with this plot/character/ending but I just couldn't put my finger on it.  No, all this needs to be taken care of before then.  I am satisfied with my vision, and I would assume if an agent or editor took it on without a revision-list requirement first, then why would they want to change it so extensively?

That is why I don't want to try the traditional route.  Because from what I understand from blogs, forums, and the like, these vision-level edits happens a great deal.  By the way, this is in regard to newer writers.  I imagine those with quite a few novels under their belt don't get the vision-level change demands, in part because they have proved themselves and also in part because they know what the editor/agent wants and writes that in the first place.

And finally, just because I don't believe in compromising a satisfying vision for a novel that doesn't mean I don't believe in edits.  I just believe in editing to improve that vision, not change it.

Phew.  Glad I got that off my chest.  Now I can go back to my normal writing day.  This is why Internet and I don't mix well when I'm writing, by the way ;-)

Walker Novel 2 & Characters & Donald Maass

As I worked on the KPP2 of Novel 2, I realized I never posted the revised KPP1. I'll have to rectify that this week.  The major changes in both key points dealt with changing characters.  The Wonder Twins, though I love them, are removed from Novel 2.  Why?  Because as I worked on the outline, I realized they didn't have a recurring role in that novel.  It hurts, but they didn't . . . fit.  Sad, but true.  Just like in real life, huh?  Sometimes you spend less time with certain friends because they just don't fit into your life anymore.  By removing them, I strengthened the relationship between Walker and Maha, his desired lover.

Same in KPP2.  Instead of Smiley, Walker's out-of-place, off-reality friend, it is Maha's voice he hears.  That make his understandable hatred of her after his rescue that much stronger.  Doesn't make it any more reasonable.  But it's there.  He's not very reasonable in that world.  Hard to be reasonable when you are a walking wound, hurting.  But, also, removing Smiley here meant removing him from KPP1--so that happened too.  I think it helped strengthen Coustin Bustis's role in Walker's life because she is a minor character that is seen across several novels--a little bit in Novel 1, more in Novel 2, somewhat in Novel 3.  I like her, too, because like her cousin, Walker's wife, she is provides levity through her sexual attraction, joking with, and baiting of Walker.  Also, she is a kinder version of Walker's wife, although that makes her a tad less fun.

I made all these changes on characters before I started really re-reading Donald Maass's books.  He believes in complex relationships in novels.  That is, characters who have more than one role in the main character's life.  He says these are the "most absorbing" ones in novels.  To that end, he suggests combining characters.  When I first read that long ago and took his advice, it really changed how created characters.  It made them so much richer. Unconsciously, I still try to do that today.

Speaking of Donald Maass. Did you know he has a new book coming out? I bought it and another book I had been eyeballing (a sequel to Martin Lindstrom's Buology, which I adore).  I used my membership, a gift card I had earned from B&N ¹, and online coupon.  Except for a few cents, the gift card covered the entire cost.  Don't you love it when you and a book are meant to be?  It's is supposed to ship in a few days--that is another reason why, if I can, I order books from B&N.  Their freebie shipping?  They don't punish you by adding an extra two weeks to the delivery time; rather they try to get to you fast!  Unlike some other online *cough* Amazon *cough* venues I could name.


1 Note: I have B&N's credit card, and love it.  It means free gift cards after 2500 points from non-B&N purchases.  But using it to make B&N purchases has benefits too--a discount of . . . I can't remember.  It's not much, but it usually comes close to matching the s&h fee or the sales tax, so I'm happy.

Updates: Launches and Retirements

 

On Launches.....  

I have recently finished the first KPP1/beginning edits for all novels.  My goal is to get the KPP2s, the launch points, done this week.  What are launch points?  I read something in Donald Maass's (lit. agent) workbook about building interesting or tense content between opening pages and the main events of the novel.  He called it "bridging conflict."  When I started writing out of order, I felt that there had to be something to balance the climax section of the novel.  So, I started thinking about what the beginning meant.  It is a hook, an introduction to the important elements of the novel.  The climax is the key scene before the denouement, or end.  Now, I couldn't have an idea as important as the climax in the beginning, but I could have something that started the plot ball rolling. Something that moved the reader and characters to the main conflict.  What was that point?  I called it the launch point.

Writing Out of Order: Editing Phase One: Getting It from Me to You

As I mentioned in my last post, the first edit is really a fleshing out.  Sometimes when I am in a hurry in certain sections I write material like a poor screen-writer's manuscript.  Talking heads, negative space, and smiles galore.  Not all of it, though.  The part that drove me to write the scene is usually rich in details, including phrasing options.  Those get pared down or changed in the edits.

The second edit comes a week later after each same block from the five novels is done.  This is the first, real edit pass.  This is not the time to flesh out material; instead it should be pretty close.  Of course, with the newer written bits, I do more than grammar check.  But mostly this is to make the writing look pretty and clean. 

I start the second edit by saving the file as a new name appendage, called Polish.  Using the Search and Replace function in MS Word, and highlight key words such as be forms, will forms, had forms, -ly adverb forms, there was/were, it was/were, now, then, and by.  I am a passive voice and adverb queen, dual crowns.  Highlighting these help me get rid of less polished wording.  Then I double space it.  Then I open the file up in my main (free!) writing program, Rough Draft, because it allows me to see how many of each search function and I can note it in the handy notepad feature.  I have to admit, I don't always get rid of many of these.  But every little bit helps, especially if I have the same structure in a paragraph unintentionally.

As I edit, I highlight the completed paragraph, change to single spacing on it, and remove highlights.

At the end, I recount those bug words above.  I do happy dance when I drop the number by the tens; I sulk when I drop it by one or none word.  Then I move on.

Finally, if I am to post, I usually resave the file as Postable, and use the Replace feature in Word to add extra paragraph spacing (^p^p) and remove the tabs (^t).  I save as an RTF, then I copy and paste it to Rough Draft--because Word acts up when you try to save a RTF as a text--and save the text version there.  Voila, it is ready to be posted.  Generally, if I have to cut it up because of length, I do it within Blogger.


PS:   Do not be deceived, this is not the last edit, but is the last to mention in this post.

The Difference Frequent Editing Makes

Well, the first KPP1/Beginning of Walker Novel 2 is clean-edited ¹. I can definitely feel the difference in it and in the newly written KPP1s of Novels 3, 4, and Harem. Namely because this isn't the first edit for either of Novel 1 or 2.

That is why I think my current method works. After I write all the new blocks, that same week I go back over them and flesh them out. Then once they are all done, the following week (like this week) is dedicated to line edits or polishing.

After this week, and it should only be this week because I am on track, I will start on the KPP2s/Launch Points, going through the same process again. Not so bad, methinks. Not so bad at all.

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1 Notes:  I don't have time to post the new version today, but I will this week.  However, I really hate cutting it up into so many blocks to make blogable.  I may end up hosting it on my webpage and posting a link to it here.  Not sure yet.