Making Progress

As so often happens in planning work, I have come up with a few different versions of how things could work. I also took a couple of days off to let things sit, so I could come back with a somewhat fresher perspective and use that to see more clearly which route seems best.

I'm still not done, and I realize this work on the mythology and possible series is very important and must not be rushed, even though I am more than eager to move ahead with the next draft.

As I've looked over the options, I've also considered again that there may be a virtue in keeping different story ideas separate -- not linking them into a series. In general, in the fantasy genre, series are a good thing. Publishers like them, and fantasy readers love them. However, for a first novel, it is often best to have a stand-alone volume. Publishers are more comfortable with that from a first-timer. If that stand-alone volume could also later be used as the starting point for a series, so much the better, but it's not obligatory.

I will probably end up splitting the difference, doing the rewrite with an eye out to how it could fit into a larger series while also writing it in such a manner (mostly, ending it in such a manner) that is is satisfying on its own. I want that anyway from volumes in a series. There is nothing worse than ending an installment with a call that beckons "Sequel!" (I'll never forget my disappointment with the ending of Star Wars Episode V). The reader wants satsifaction each and every time, as well as the titiliation of more to come.

If I proceed with this idea of "stand-alone and/or first-of-a-series", then I should be ready to begin writing the next draft tonight or tomorrow night. I can always use the weeks to come to revise the ideas for the series. At least I do have a general framework now for the series, which I did not have before, and the key questions of how this first volume interfaces are nearly answered (they are answered, just in different versions, so I have to pin it down to which version I'll go with).

Anyhoo, it's been an eye-opener the past several days, seeing the potential for the series in various incarnations, three volumes, five volumes, and more. One thing has definitely stood out: I have other exciting stories I want to tell that are not part of this possible series, so whatever I'm doing with it, I need to get a move on -- there's so much more writing to do!

Keeping it exciting,

Adrian

Mythology & Series Work Continues

Making good progress on the mythology, which I worked on Sunday night. There are still different aspects of it that need fleshing out. Last night I wrote about 3500 words detailing the last major issue in the mythology, which is very important for linking the stories together now that I'm planning on a series. I'll work on this again tonight, and when finished should have a plan for the series.

The key concept helping me right now is EXTRAPOLATION. Given a part of the story, can you figure out what other parts go with it?

To help me in this I am remembering my 12-step outline based on the 3-act structure. I am asking myself questions like "what is the big story question?" and "what big conflict will it come to at the end of the series?" and "which characters will be essential in solving this conflict?", etc. Instead of doing this on the story level within the framework of one novel, I am doing this on the series level, creating the overarching story that will guide the individual volumes.

As I create all this information, I realize that some of it will be revealed early, some of it withheld and not revealed until later volumes. I have to see each story as it will seem to the Reader at the time, focusing on the story questions that are raised and how they will be answered, giving enough information to satisfy, piquing the Readers' curiosity to learn more, and working in foreshadowing for larger things to come. It's fun to see how this fits together. A complex puzzle, to be sure.

The work is very exciting, at times thrilling. This extra time spent developing the mythology, not settling for what works but seeking what is better, more interesting, more meaningful, is generating some really amazing material that I had never envisioned at the outset. The story is certainly growing, maturing, coming into its own. It just takes time and TLC.

The planning work is nearly done. I hope to wrap it up tonight or after one more night as I am eager to start on the second draft of THE REFLECTING STONE. The work I did the other night on the internal plot, the growth of the main character, will guide that rewrite. The external plot is fairly solid. Only a few minor events will be shuffled around, and that in order to bring out the internal development of the main character. Having this mythology work complete will also help whenever this story touches on the various aspects of it. It does affect the story in some places very directly, in other places indirectly. Again, what I'm creating now is consistent with what I already developed and wrote before; I'm just expanding on it, enriching it. So, the differences in this second draft will not be so great that they upset the apple cart. It's more a matter of revising the exposition and fine-tuning the goals, motivations, and attitudes of certain characters during certain moments.

The work goes on!

Adrian

Back to the Drawing Board

I've been on Cloud 9 since completing the first draft of THE ISLE, but it's time to move on. I've worked every night without missing a beat, revisiting my planning notes for THE REFLECTING STONE, preparing myself for the next draft of that novel, which is my first completed novel, still in first draft form.

On Sunday, after I finished THE ISLE, I spent several very productive hours reworking the mythology for both stories. I am now set on linking them together as part of a larger series.

When I worked on THE REFLECTING STONE last year, the mythology was always a struggle. Progress seemed slow and challenging, with a constant need to simplify. By the time I had finished the first draft, the mythology was in pretty good shape. With THE ISLE now complete and serving as a sequel, there are new ideas for me to incorporate into that existing mythology. Specifically, I needed to expand the range and focus of events.

In my work Sunday night, the new and the old meshed well together and it was not only NOT difficult, it was fairly easy going with terrific results -- the first time that has EVER occurred in the past year and half when working with this mythology!

Monday night I spent another several hardworking and highly productive hours working through the internal plot for THE REFLECTING STONE. I used Alicia Rasley's excellent article on this, working through her nine questions to help put things in perspective. She approaches the topic through the notion of the heroic flaw, but your MC does not have to be a Greek hero for you to find the article helpful. In fact, unless you're writing a tragedy, you want your MC to learn a lesson and overcome the difficulties, which is what those nine questions are geared toward. You can find her article on the internal plot here, and an index to her other helpful articles here.

Following a guideline is a technique I've discovered in the past year. It helps keep me focused. I normally don't use someone else's template to guide my own thoughts, but in this case Ms. Rasley knows her stuff and her articles keep me focused and save me a lot of time when I'm wrestling with difficult concepts or ideas that become convoluted when applying them to a lengthy and involved story.

Internal and external plots are related. My understanding of them is that there is a main external plot, something the main character (MC) is trying to accomplish: a goal, in other words, with obstacles that stand in the way. Separate from this, there are things going on in the MC's life that define how he/she sees the world, and responds to it. These emotional issues, beliefs and patterns of thinking and behaving affect how the MC solves problems, how he/she reacts in a variety of situations. Ultimately, they define some aspect of his/her personality, and will impact how he/she responds to the obstacles along the way toward achieving the external goal. The internal plot is essentially a progression for the MC from one point to another on some emotional and/or cognitive level. The internal plot is a journey of internal change in attitudes, beliefs, values, etc., that will ultimately affect external behavior and affect whether he/she can achieve the external goal over time. Ultimately, the MC has to solve some internal conflict, has to grow as a person in some way, in order to be able to "win" in the final climactic event.

In real life, this is not always the case. Sometimes we set an external goal, strive for it and achieve it, and we do this without any significant change in ourselves or our lives other than we worked for something and got it, whether it be through actual work (earning money, putting it aside, buying something), or in some other figurative sense (wooing someone, earning their affection).

However, sometimes our lives do play out exactly like this. Sometimes we are our own worst enemy. Sometimes we have something in our attitudes or beliefs or patterns of behavior that cause us to stand in our own way. We cannot achieve a certain goal sometimes until we resolve some inner conflict, find a better way of coping or acting or managing ourselves or our lives. Only after resolving our own issues are we finally able to achieve some other goal. This could mean learning to manage a budget in order to buy that new house or car, or overcoming drug addiction (or whatever) so that special someone will consider a relationship with you.

For purposes of our fiction, it is convenient to think of the MC as having a particular strength that will help him/her achieve the external goal. That strength comes with a price, a weakness, on the flipside. For example, being daring might help the MC rise to the occasion when others shy away from it, but this strength is also a weakness if the MC takes people up on foolish dares and gets injured. There is what Ms. Rasley calls a "default behavior", a way of acting when pressed on the issue that is purely reactional. If someone offers a challenge, for example, the MC takes them up on it. I think of the BACK TO THE FUTURE movies where the MC could not turn down a dare if someone called him "chicken" (or whatever the case was). When challenged, the MC will typically engage in the default behavior, which in turn can lead to negative, even potentially dangerous consequences which hurt the MC's chances of achieving the larger external goal.

It is important to show this trait as both a strength and a weakness, and to establish the default behavior as a reaction under certain circumstances. It is also important to show that while the MC may respond with this default behavior more or less automatically, in fact he/she does not have to. There is a choice. As the MC learns that this default behavior is not a good one, he/she has the opportunity to make a choice and do better (= growth).

Circumstances must develop that put the default behavior to the test, and finally teach the MC the lesson he/she needs to learn. At some point, the coping mechanism is simply not good enough, and a better response is needed. The MC will not necessarily do the right thing at that time, but at least the idea will get through. Ms. Rasley points out that even a moment's hesitation before engaging in the default behavior is enough to show that the concept has gotten through to the MC, that he/she is now aware of the fact that this behavior is not helping, and maybe something better is out there, a better way to respond. Eventually there will be other opportunities for the MC to try out the new pattern, and by the end of the story the MC will be able to combine the main strength from the beginning of the story, which is still there, still a strength, with the insight gained along the way, the lesson learned, thereby overcoming the weakness, capitalizing on the strength, and overcoming the final conflict to win the prize.

Of course, sometimes winning the prize is realizing that the prize was not worth winning in first place. All sorts of twists and turns are possible.

After all this progress over two nights, I spent last night, Tuesday, going back over all this work and for the first time officially putting together ideas for the remainder of the series. The series is based on ideas I've had for years, and had intended to put together in one volume, a stand-alone novel. However, I am now drawing on that concept, applying these stories to it, and seeking to develop a multi-part series that expands on the original idea and makes use of some pretty cool and interesting stories, in my opinion (THE REFLECTING STONE and THE ISLE -- I like them both a lot).

I'll comment more on that work tomorrow, since the work will continue tonight, and I'll be sure to include comments on the virtues of EXTRAPOLATION.

Best wishes, whether planning or writing, or even just dreaming,

Adrian

FINISHED 1st DRAFT OF THE ISLE!

The photo is of a spiral galaxy that emits a colorful, natural fireworks display. No actual fireworks or galaxies were harmed in the making of this image or this blog posting.

Yeah! Done! The first draft of THE ISLE came in at just over 130,000 words, only two of which actually fit together (duh-dum). If you overlook the purely random punctuation and the tendency to replace words that almost make sense with words that bear no relation to one another, the text could almost qualify as one of the greatest pieces of literature ever written by a monkey on a typewriter.

Disclaimer: No actual monkies or typewriters were harmed in the making of this draft or this blog posting.

I had to work against a lot of interruptions the past few days which made it a challenge to maintain the continuity at such a crucial time. I patiently kept at it, whenever I had time. Bit by bit it came together. It ran a little longer than intended because of some exciting new twists and turns that developed in the delivery of the climax.

It was like....

You know how great sex suddenly gets even better when everyone involved slips and slides and collapses in a heap on the floor, thereby spontaneously discovering a whole new approach that did not even seem possible just minutes before?

I'll take your word for it.

I think there are 51 chapters at this point, typically in the 2,000- to 3,000-word range. Some of them are actually divided into paragraphs.

At one point I confided to a loved one that it felt like I was in one of those Irwin Allen Airport movies, trying to land a severely damaged 747 with pieces flying off it, the wings shuddering from the gaping holes in them and an abandoned baby crying in a stroller on the runway below. Whoosh!

Well, I made it. The plane made it. And no babies or baby strollers were harmed, although the neighbor's children might have been adversely affected by all the screaming as I re-enacted the final scene with sound effects on a karaoke machine at 3 am. I was wearing headphones at the time. I didn't realize my voice could carry like that.

The story also ran a bit long because I took the time to explore some additional back story and foreshadowing for future volumes in the series, if I will indeed link my last novel and this novel and expand on them. I think I will. It's a great concept and made for a really gripping, fascinating ending to this second novel. If I take out the series aspects and make each novel a stand-alone work, each would certainly stand on its own. But linking them allows me to create another layer that really draws out a lot more from these same stories.

Thanks for the encouragment and support from those who have shared comments with me over the past months as I planned and wrote THE ISLE. I really do appreciate the support. I am happy to offer it as well. Sharing the ups and downs in this process does make it more bearable.

After 15+ years of trying to write without completing a single novel, I have now completed two first drafts (120k & 130k) in the past 17 months. That includes significant planning time and a few months of downtime. Actual writing for both of them together ran about 6 or 7 months, I think. Amazingly I wrote about half of this second novel in just the past couple of weeks. Once you get on a roll, things can really move along.

I feel so much more capable now after so many years of struggling to do this. I see that I can, and I've done it twice, and it got easier the second time. Practice hasn't yet made "perfect" for me but it has certainly helped. Now the challenge is to rewrite and edit and turn these first drafts into finished manuscripts which I can send out to agents and publishers so they can send them back to me with restraining orders prohibiting further contact.

I kept an eye out on the process this second time to try to discover what my hang-ups were that stalled the editing of my first novel. I think I have figured out enough to jump back into the first novel now and get some serious work done on it. The main issue was trying to edit where I really needed to stand back, throw up my arms in frustration then sit down for some serious rewriting. I know which parts need the rewriting.

I don't want to miss a beat, so I'll start later tonight with getting back to work on THE REFLECTING STONE! As I do, I'll also make some notes on THE ISLE to keep thoughts in mind for when I get to the second draft of this novel.

Now...to celebrate. I want to see if I can spontaneously erupt into a human fireworks display. I'll keep a bottle of sherry on hand to douse the flames.

Warning: Stunts performed by trained professionals and/or unrestrained monkies. Do not try this at home. Or anywhere else.

Best wishes to everyone else working on a novel! And thanks for humoring me. I think I'm having one of those happy moments.

Adrian

110k

Back into the swing of it. Currently just before the final climactic scene. I will write a chapter for the main conflict, possibly two if it carries over and there's a suspsenseful breaking point, then one or two chapters to tie things up, and it'll be done.

Feeling good that I can finish a story that I start! After so many years of trying, that means a lot.

Looking forward to the final words on the last page . . . .

Adrian

96k

Had a lovely weekend. We're back to the cold weather this week, so I'm happy I took the time to enjoy the better weather while we had it.

I worked in a few writing sessions and managed to bring the word count up to 96k. The word count really doesn't mean anything, since I'm planning on a total rewrite, but it is a sign of progress. I'm into Act III now, turning all the corners toward the final home stretch. I want to wrap this draft up in no more than 120k words. Hope to have it done within the next few days.

Then, I'll reflect on how it went, make some notes for the rewrite, and set it aside for later.

At that point, in the near future, I'll turn my attention back to my first novel, THE REFLECTING STONE, and do a rewrite of it. The first 3 chapters were very solid, so I may limit the rewrite to chapters 4-12, or I may just go ahead and do a complete rewrite. Either way, it needs work to bring it into a form that I can simply edit. The second half in particular is loose. I imagine I'll spend up to 8 weeks on the rewrite, but will try to get it done in 4-6 weeks.

After that . . . well, I hope to edit and polish that first novel and then start sending it out! And then . . . rewrite the second novel, THE ISLE!

So much to do, but I am enjoying it and do sense finally that I am getting near some tangible results. They're coming. Down the road a ways, but they're coming.

Best wishes to all aspiring writers,

Adrian

90k

Although I didn't manage to keep up the fast pace that this week started out with, I did keep at it and do what I could, when I could, and now I'm up to 90k. I'm nearing the turning point that marks the end of Act II.

The story is almost writing itself at this point. I only have a little thinking to do at certain points, but otherwise there is enough momentum from what has gone before to carry it forward. I am following the outline, but only in terms of shooting for and reaching main plot points. I also draw from the earlier detailed scene notes I made, but only as a resource. I also follow inspiration as it strikes, and it's striking a lot.

I can see additional layers now that I am not writing during this draft. I am focused here on the main movement through the story, the key events, the broader emotions and motivations. There is much subtlety that I am aware of but am not depicting consistently. I think it's just a level of detail that is too much to capture right now as I move quickly through this first draft. I can see writing a second draft, developing those nuances. I do want the "rest" of the story to be there in the final manuscript. As they say, stories are layered, built up one layer at a time.

I'll spend today playing tourist, doing some sightseeing, taking a break after all the nasty winter weather. There are causes to celebrate which have nothing to do with my writing, but I think while enjoying the day I'll also make it a point to celebrate the past weeks' progress. I did good this week.

Worth a toast, at least.

Cheers,

Adrian

A Little Silly Fun

Apparently there's a site that will turn your name into a monster name, complete with graphic. I saw this on Scott Marlowe's site and thought I'd give it a try. I think I have too many letters -- name's kinda long. Should have used "Bo" or something.

Get Your Monster Name

Check it out for a laugh!

Adrian

82k

Due to the "other things" that came up, I only wrote 1k words the other night, then was very tired and only managed 5k last night (I haven't been getting enough sleep for days and days now). So, I'm only up 6k after two more days.

That's okay!

The important thing is to keep at it. I hope to get some more written tonight. I'm well into the second half of Act II now and a few new plot ideas have come up that are helping me keep on track with the main series of events. Things are pulling together and tightening toward the turning point at the end of this act that will thrust the characters forward into the third act.

Still enjoying spending my winter on THE ISLE! It's nice to have a story like this to work on during the winter months.

Best wishes finding the path through the jungle,

Adrian

76k

Life's a breeze, or so it seems. I wrote 8,000 words on Sunday, another 8,000 words on Monday. With any luck, I'll keep the pace going! I can write this many words in a day, without too much trouble, as long as I know what I'm doing with the story, and don't have other things pulling at me or distracting me. Surprisingly how few days I actually cruise along like this. Seems life is always getting in the way, or I have my struggles with the story.

In any event, it is comfortable going. I don't always know exactly what's coming next, even with my outline. I just shoot for the next main goal, the main plot points along the way, and let the story unravel itself as it moves along. The characters are driving it, and the logic of what they are dealing with from moment to moment. Although some of it is destined for the meandering trash heap, every chapter delivers at least a portion that is really good stuff, conversations that draw out thoughts and concerns of the characters that advance the plot and build suspense.

The characters have more distinct personalities now, much more so than when I first started writing them. There are six characters on the island. At first I thought it might be too many, but now that they are distinct enough and unique enough, they work well together, six personalities that play off each other in various ways. I'm much more comfortable handling six characters now. Glad I didn't cut them down to four, which I almost did. The trick is in the introduction. I have to introduce no more than one or two at a time.

The mid-point came and went, and the twist is now falling into place, driving the action and building a new momentum for this second half of Act II, which is where I am at the moment. I think there are 28 chapters done, and I'm in chapter 29 right now, but that's subject to change. I'm happy to have shorter chapters this time around. Much better than the huge 10k-word chapters of my last novel, although that seemed to fit the story just fine. Still, 2k - 3k is a good average to shoot for and mine are generally there. The past few have been more on the 3k side.

Well, that's all. Just noting that there is progress. I won't be able to finish within February. Wish I hadn't lost that time to being sick. I'll push right along though, and finish it as quickly as possible, within the first week of March.

Wishing everyone else good progress with their word counts,

Adrian

60k

I managed several productive writing sessions this past week and am now up to just over 60,000 words on THE ISLE. They'll send a boat for me soon. Until then, I'll just have to keep writing. (haha)

I'm still just short of the half-way point in terms of the event that I need to be the mid-point of the story. I finally found a way to get the characters to where I need them, for that event to take place. They are on their way now, with 23 chapters behind them. Within the next one or two chapters I should be able to get them finally through that key scene. It is the one pivotal scene of the plot, that everything depends on from there till the end.

Following the mid-point event there is a twist. I was concerned with the twist not being fully supported by previous events, but that has not been the case. I have built in lots to support this twist, and a sense of urgency about it. So, I expect that will work well. The second half of Act II should go quickly. The problem over the past several chapters has been getting the characters to the mid-point. I'll have to edit those chapters down and consolidate them, make it more of a straight path. I had to wander a bit in the writing, seeking the right way to work the mid-point in so it would seem right as it occurs. That difficulty has been probably the number one reason the novel has taken 60k words to get to the mid-point. It was just hard to get all the characters to go through all the changes they needed to in order to arrive at the mid-point and act in the way they do, for the scene to work and ring true. It's still a little shaky, but I made it. I can shore it up in the rewrite. At least I have lots to work with now.

If only I had been concise! 60k should be the end-point, not the mid-point! But that's okay. I can live with it. This will be another 120k first draft.

By the way, if you haven't already, check out Gabriele's sites which I have listed under FEATURED LINKS right now. All three are hers. She writes historical fiction and I was very impressed with the enormous background she seems to have in understanding the history and culture underlying her novels. She also has a knack for finding interesting moments, figures and events in history and writing about them. If you're into history or historical fiction, her sites are worth checking out!

Best wishes for happy novel writing and much progress,

Adrian

Redrawing the Lines

I've been wrestling with exactly where my Act breaks occur since I began this third version of the first draft. Up to now I have interpreted my current position as early in Act II, with a lengthy Act I behind me.

However, I considered Alicia Rasley's comments in one of her articles (you can find them by following the link to must-read articles in the sidebar), and have reconsidered. She states that modern fiction tends to have a very short first act, maybe only one or two chapters long, before moving right into the protracted second act.

I shortened my first act in this third rewrite, shortening it to two short chapters. However, I felt that was not long enough, so I have been thinking that somehow some of what has occurred since is really Act I material. It's not. My first act is just short in this first draft, and I'm not in the early part of Act II, I'm coming up fast on the mid-point of the novel.

It makes sense. It's also nice to realize I really am farther than I was thinking, once I redraw the lines separating each act. It brings the word count a little more in line with what it should be.

It's interesting that in spite of having a solid outline, what I have written meanders a lot while still fulfilling the key plot points, just not as I had envisioned. So, the story idea is one thing, the story reality (in this version at least) is another, yet the two are complementary.

Back to work. Er, back to exploration!

Adrian

Moving On

Had a productive writing session last night and another one today. Two more chapters down. It was fun to see how things developed. I am seeing multiple layers beginning to come together, something I had intended, had hoped for, but wasn't sure exactly how I'd realize in the text. It's happening naturally. I'm letting the story go, letting it take its own course. I know the main pillars, I shoot for them, but otherwise it's a tangle, and that's okay. New scenes are coming along that I had never envisioned, and some of them are really intriguing. I'll use this first draft to draw from, for sure. Some of the writing is excellent, very tight, very focused. Some of it feels around a little, looking for something. Once I find it the text draws in tight around it. That's what drafts are like.

Yes, it's an exploration. I'm an explorer. I should get one of those little hats with a light on the front of it.

With the present word count (over 45k), I should be ready to enter Act III by now, but in fact I'm still in the early part of Act II. That's okay. I'm no longer counting words, just trying to keep it as brief as I can as I move forward, since otherwise it'll become another huge manuscript, larger than it needs to be. Even trying to keep it short, it's twice the length I intended. That's okay. Everything's okay. I'm beyond caring about these things. I'm looking at the larger picture. Letting go of the details of the process. Focusing on the story, the characters.

Exploring.

Moving on,

Adrian

Is It Still February?

Turns out "getting back to work" meant writing only another 5,000 words -- I thought I was getting over my cold, but it got worse, and last week was a near total loss. Once again I am getting better, and hopefully this time I really am getting over the cold. I think so. I look forward to getting back in the saddle and blazing the trail again!

Luckily, I did make a clear mental note of where I was in the writing, and I kept the story in mind. I should be able to get right back into it without significant delay. I will reread what I have already written, just a quick breeze through it to remind me of the story details thus far. Otherwise, I know the turning point I was at and can pick up again from there.

I'm constantly mulling over ideas from my recent postings and from the thoughtful comments others have graciously shared. As I resume writing, I'll be thinking about the story, about the need to be concise, and the need to allow myself freedom to explore in this first draft. I'll try to explore concisely.

Including today there are 11 days left in February, enough time to finish this draft if I get back to work in the proper mode.

There should be a checklist for writers who are rolling up their shirt sleeves and getting to work on a first draft, the way astronauts have before taking off in a space shuttle....

CREATIVITY...ON.
INSPIRATION...ON.
OUTLINE IN PLACE...CHECK.
INTERNAL EDITOR...OFF (AND HIDE THE KEY!).
FREEDOM TO EXPLORE...CHECK.
META-LEVEL THINKING...OFF.
NOSE TO THE GRINDSTONE...CHECK.
READY...SET...LIFT-OFF!!!

Happy Exploring,

Adrian

Lost Time Due To a Cold

I came down with a cold this past week, and just as I was moving along in high gear with my writing, I lost time due to that. I don't think or create well when I'm medicated and miserable. I'm getting steadily better now and was able to write again last night, but the word counts have not progressed much since last week, sadly enough. I think I've added about 5,000 words since my last posting -- hardly a trot, let alone a gallop!

Thanks to those who added comments to my last posting. I added a comment there, too, with thoughts of allowing a second draft, something I've always hoped to avoid. But, hey, if it helps, then it's worth it.

Anyway, I'm back to work this week with my writing and will attempt to get back in the saddle and up to speed ASAP.

The weather this year has been rather odd. It seems there are a lot of people getting sick or injured, at least among people that I know or come into contact with. Others are saying the same thing. Just when I became convinced it was my imnagination, the woman who sold me groceries this morning said she was about to keel over from stomach flu, waiting for someone to arrive to relieve her so she could go home. It just seems like everyone is falling apart under the strain of the winter, but I know that can't be true. Or is it....

Sounds like a Stephen King novel.

Best Wishes for High and/or Quality Word Counts,

Adrian

Type...Type...Type...

Currently in Chapter 13 (and no, that doesn't bother me a bit), and about 31,000 words. I wrote about 5,000 words yesterday. I'm finally turning the corner toward what was supposed to be the conclusion of Act I. I should get there within the next 5,000 words.

This is turning into another 120,000-word novel, even though I've been trying to keep it pared down. It's not fluff. The story is just that big.

I'm realizing the need to draw a connection between the amount of wordage I hammer out to cover an idea, and the number of ideas I put into my stories. The story is long from conception, although I didn't think it was. I see the reality of bringing the story to life is that it takes a certain amount of space to do that.

So, in the future, maybe I can pare down my outlines, simplify the stories, to have fewer scenes that cover more territory each in terms of story development.

Still, it's fun writing this one, since every chapter brings on something new, and each one ends with a mini-cliffhanger, or bigger cliffhanger, to urge the Reader on to the next one. Doing much better with the chapter lengths now, more in line with what I had always intended, a range of 2,000 to 3,000 typically, not much shorter and not much longer.

Still riding that horse!

Giddyup!

Adrian

Progress in Prose!

The past several days I've been busy working on the prose, keeping to my CONCISION IS EVERYTHING motto, and it's been working very well.

I'm currently in Chapter 11 of THE ISLE and the word count stands at about 27,000 words. This is all well and good except I still haven't completely satisfied the story goals for Act I yet! I was supposed to do that by 15,000 words! So, once again, in spite of the emphasis on being concise, which I am being by far compared to what I could be writing right now, I'm still running at twice the intended length. I think this has to do more with the fact that "it's a big story" than "I'm padding it". I'm not padding it. It's a big story. And it's fun, and interesting, and I'm discovering a lot even as I follow my outline, and I'm loving it.

I'm leaving out some of the intended details in favor of others I'm discovering along the way. Anything important is certainly there, but the new twists and turns are working extremely well, contributing to the larger picture of the story in ways I had not expected they would, and I'm thrilled with what I'm seeing in them.

It's a happenin' and it's goin' good!

I hope to keep atop this horse and ride him to the finish line, meaning a completed draft of THE ISLE within the next two weeks or thereabouts. All the earlier thinking and note-making and outlining and THINKING are now paying off. Feels good to be in the saddle again instead of on the ground eating dust and wondering what happened that I fell off for the umpteenth time (all of the past two months have been like that). Been there, done that! I've slain the beast with a thousand tentacles and am into rodeos now!

Yee-haw!

Adrian

A Source of Inspiration

I took a few minutes this evening to browse by some of the blogs that I have links to, something I haven't done in a while since my time has been limited somewhat and I've wanted to focus primarily on my writing rather than other things. I'm glad I took the time to do this! I was amazed at the progress I saw on several authors' blogs. Where they were writing manuscripts before, they have finished them now. Where they were editing them before, they are sending them out now. Where they had one story, now they have two, or three, or several more. Where they were self-published, they now have publishing contracts! It's very inspiring, telling me to buckle down and achieve COMPLETION with my own work!

Check out the links to other authors' blogs in the sidebar to the right, and best wishes for making progress with your own work!

Adrian

Achieving "Concision"!

Okay, so "concision" is not a real word, but it works for me. It is the conciseness-related equivalent of "precision".

Anyway, years ago I used to be very adept at writing concisely. At the same time, I also have a tendency (as my blog postings attest) to ramble on ("verbision"). I'm one of those writers who types 100 wpm or more, and who can sit down and hammer out several thousand words before I even notice I've started writing. However, the writing is usually bloated and needs "condension".

As I'm working on the prose right now, I've gone back and rewritten from scratch some of the earlier chapters, and found that I was able to achieve a level of "concision" that has eluded me over the past year.

Last year at this time I was writing the first draft of THE REFLECTING STONE and my chapters, originally intended to run about 5,000 words, were consistently in the neighborhood of 10,000 words. That novel turned out to be 120,000 words long, much longer than the 60,000-word minimum that was my goal. It's not all fluff or wasted words, of course, just a lot more depth than I was intending to get into. I've been struggling to get back into the habit of writing more concisely. Over a year now I've been struggling with this, and finally I seem to have gotten there.

The upside is my word counts are now running only slightly longer than what I set out to achieve for individual scenes. The downside is that I am leaving out a lot of that extra stuff that more words allow me to address. There is substantial rounding out, or "three-dimensionalizing", of the characters when you take more time to delve into their actions, thoughts, memories, etc. A lot of that is lost in these more "condensified" versions of scenes from my current novel.

I want to continue to work in condensed mode, and look for ways to imbue the briefer text with more depth without taking the wordage to do so.

At least, that's the plan.


Still "prosetizing",

Adrian

Working on the Prose

Last weekend an old injury flared up and I spent most of the past week on pain medication and in pain. That is not really the best circumstance for writing, so I had to set things aside, even though I did try to write a few times, but it was entirely unproductive.

I'm feeling much better now and am back to work on the prose. I want to stay in prose mode now until I finish this complete first draft of THE ISLE.

Thanks to "Romance Writer" for your recent comments. I appreciated them! Please feel free to link to my site, and I will add a link to your site soon. I visited your site briefly and was impressed with it. I'll visit it again soon and post some comments there! Nice to "meet" another dedicated aspiring writer!

By the way, I have some links in the sidebar to articles on writing. Those sites belong to established romance writers. The articles are excellent and have been very helpful to me over the past year.

Best wishes to everyone else working on a novel!

Adrian

How To Find An Antagonist

I think there's a dictum against looking for trouble, because it's easy to find and not something you really want, but for a writer it's imperative to have a clear antagonist for your protagonist. Every hero needs a villain of some kind, a challenge, a fight, someone or something specific and concrete to fight against.

As I mentioned in my last posting, I was having a hard time figuring out which of several possible antagonists is really the primary one. The novel could be written with several similar but different story lines.

How did I solve this frustrating problem?

I realized I only needed to look at the main conflict scene, the climax, where good meets evil and somebody wins. It's right there in Act III. Just ask yourself, who exactly is the protagonist fighting against in this last possible moment of the great struggle? Who or what MUST be defeated? Someone or something external, an actual foe of some kind. It can be another character, a grizzly bear, the cold weather (for someone lost in the Arctic), etc., but it needs to be someone or something outside the protagonist and concrete, in some sense.

(Note that the internal conflicts you may have in mind for your protagonist are also relevant: the main internal conflict must be resolved in order for the protagonist to be able to overcome the main external conflict. For example, the hero must overcome his fear of the water in order to learn to swim and then win the Channel crossing competition. Make sure all your conflicts, internal and external, and all your subplots, feed into the main story line in some relevant way, highlighting aspects of your themes, drawing out nuances in the way people deal with their struggles.)

If you're like me and you have themes at work as you imagine your novel, you may be thinking "this member of the proletariat is fighting against the evils of capitalism" but you can't have a worker fight "capitalism" per se. You must bring it down to something concrete, an embodiment of capitalism. Have someone organize a labor union and fight against the evil CEO of a corporation for better working conditions and win. (Disclaimer: not all CEO's are evil, and not all members of the proletariat are good.)

I won't give the answer away, the one I now have for my novel, but in seeking the answer I found that although there are a series of challenges and conflicts along the way in the story, some inherent in the overall situation, some due to the escalating menace posed by the primary antagonist, it was indeed possible to sort out all these various "bad guys" (or things) and figure out which one is in fact the primary antagonist.

This gave me the main story question as well, nice and clear: how will the protagonist rise to the challenge and defeat this particular antagonist? That's really what it comes down to. Again, it can be a bear, the weather, a murderer, a bank robber, whatever -- depends on the story you are writing -- but there must be a clear struggle and this presents a clear question, if you didn't already know it.

I tend to see many "tracks" or story lines which run alongside, through, within and without each other, a more complex way of seeing how major and minor plot lines work together thematically and dramatically. I have a hard time pulling just one out and saying "this is the main one, the one around which to organize all the rest".

Even though these ideas are obvious and containined in every good how-to book on writing, nonetheless I still had to wrestle with these ideas until I truly made them mine. Hopefully I'll always remember this way of tackling the problem when there are too many possible directions to go in. Just ask what the final conflict scene is in your mind. You may not yet know which one you prefer over the other possible variations, but when you compare the possibilities visually in your mind, one or the other will stand out as the most impactful, the most meaningful, etc. It was easy enough once I realized where I needed to look in my imagination.

I added up all my planning notes to date on THE ISLE and the total word count is 48,274, of which 10,367 are the most recent notes I generated in reworking my outlines and problem-solving the antagonist question. Also in the grand total are the 7,497 words I wrote in finally answering my lingering questions about the mythology and magic. I'm not satisfied with surface-level answers, quick or common solutions. I always seek the deeper meaning, the real meaning that is part of the fabric of the story, the truth within the story. I keep looking until things ring true, until I can see the information I come up with forming the basis of a conversation or action between characters that makes real-life sense, while also making my point in some larger, thematic context.

After struggling with the ever-recurring planning questions, those nasty tentacles that I would pin down only to have them fly up at me again, this recent progress is very satisfying. Having the definitive story question gives me the one main hook that I can tie everything else to. The rest of the details fit into place and every other question becomes much easier and quicker to answer. It's nice that although I was spinning my wheels before, all those planning notes are in fact useful. I still need that information. It's just that now I can organize it and prioritize it and make selections from within it with clarity, since I know the main question and the ultimate conflict.

Hopefully I will start writing prose tonight, getting the first draft back on track. Unless another tentacle or two pops up again, but with the recent answers I'm optimistic nothing will come up that would slow me down as much as these last questions have.

Adrian

Updated Links

While toiling away on minor site maintenance this evening I found that the link to the description of THE REFLECTING STONE had become outdated and no longer worked. I fixed it so you can now read the back-cover blurb for my first novel again. Just look for the "BACK-COVER BLURBS" header. Coming soon will be the back-cover blurb for my second novel, THE ISLE, as soon as I finish revising my outline!

Also, Dayya has updated her Pendrifter blog, moving it to a new site. Looks great! But then again, it always did!. I updated that link also under "WRITERS' BLOGS".

If you haven't visited the Pendrifter site, you should, since it's always interesting and the images Dayya shares are wonderful, very inspiring for us creative types.

Adrian

Chug-Chug

No, that's not a drinking sound (I wish), but the sound of the little train that knew it could, still chugging along.

I wrote about 4,000 words last night in a detailed scene list, about 85 scenes, working through the first two acts, stopping just at the transition to the third act. So, that's 3/4 of the story.

Then I realized the recent story developments needed to be seeded in much sooner!

So, tonight I'll rework the scene list, a simple numbered list of short paragraphs explaining the key events in each scene. The final number will be somewhat less.

I haven't been able to get a solid outline I can live with by outlining alone. That's why I'm approaching it now from a scene list, a chance to get into the story in a story-telling-like mode, brief "telling" of each scene in sequence. This lets the story take off in a certain way that it doesn't by working only with brief outline-type notes. It's working. Many good ideas came out of it.

Hopefully it's only another day or two away, the outline I'm looking for, then I can resume the work on the prose.

By the way, all the recent advances for THE REFLECTING STONE are still very solid, and are continuing to guide this current revision of the plan for THE ISLE. I just need to rework this outline, then I think I'm ready to just write until finished with the first draft of THE ISLE.

The work goes on!

Adrian

Natch!

After the great strides forward with the magic and mythology, it's only natural that instead of jumping back into the first draft of THE ISLE, I would feel the necessity of stopping to take yet another look at the plot of this second novel. I ended up going back to the drawing board, re-examining the conflicts, the complications, the plot pillars, etc. I ended up with a whole new slew of questions. I've worked a lot this weekend on this, trying to pin things down again, to make sure I have the plot pillars I really want, the proper spacing over the course of the novel of the main dramatic scenes, etc. And, of course, I still haven't managed to tie it all down again!

So, I'm still stuck in outlining mode, although I've gotten once again a much clearer sense of the story questions and conflicts driving this story. The main issue is honing in on the main conflict, since there are several, exactly as it was in THE REFLECTING STONE. I have a hard time creating just one antagonist and making the story primarily a path toward that antagonist and a major confrontation at the end. Instead, there are a variety of antagonists along the way, and since I tend to work with epic themes, ultimately the entire world is called into question at some point. It's never "man vs. nature" in my stories, although I could theoretically write such a story. Instead, it's man against the following:

--community
--tradition
--values
--religion
--individuals who stand in his way
--armies that stand in his way
--a specific leader of a community
--a specific leader of a relgion
--a group of powerful leaders
--society as a whole
--the world as it stands

So, my challenge is always to personalize these larger concepts. Armies are easy to fight. Traditions are much harder. In a combat-mode sense.

[CLIP-CLIP]

I wrote several additional paragraphs for this posting, then just cut them out. I'd like to cut out a lot of things, like spinning my wheels, going in circles, wasting time trying to make progress when I'm not making progress, etc., etc. Anyway, in this case, I was able to think through the questions I've been working on all weekend and suddenly I found my answers, nice and clear, while writing what was the rest of this blog posting. Since I don't want to put that "sensitive" information in the actual blog, I had to edit it out, but I replaced it with this nice paragraph which informs blog readers (actual individuals, people like you, only different, except including you also), that I found the main fight or struggle for the antagonist after all, at a moment when I least expected to, since I was writing a blog posting, not overtly working on my novel, but alas the two were the same.

Okay, need more sleep.

At least I found what I was looking for!

And now I'll take more time later today to work up a fresh new outline from the perspective of this new information. At least I have that to work with now!

The work goes on.

Adrian

Crystalization!

So many ideas that have been floating around in the back of my mind for over a year have finally crystalized into concrete form!

The work on Thursday night was very productive. I tied down the magic system and mythology in a rare moment of utmost clarity and was able to work in my mind without notes and run through the entire plot line of THE REFLECTING STONE and consider all the major scenes where magic is wondered about, hinted at, revealed, learned about, and finally used. There were seven key scenes that mattered significantly, and I was able to jot down notes for each describing how things *really* should work. I was able to review the entire novel in detail and in depth in just a couple of hours, and the insights were tremendous. Finally all those loose ends which I had wrestled with in the editing, which ultimately stalled the editing, were brought together.

I feel like I now have the keys to the castle! I built this huge thing, and now I am the master of it! I'm talking about the story, of course, and how things work in the world of the story.

Finally, after so much work and bewilderment, I realized questions that I needed to ask, questions which I had not realized existed. I found answers to everything except a few minor details, which I can work out, but 99% of it was answered clearly, including every major issue.

I now know the limits of magic, which are very few, the cost of magic, which is nothing in a direct sense, and only one thing in an indirect sense, making this a little unusual for a fantasy novel, but it works and makes perfect sense and fits the story. I won't give it away, but there is an effect of working the magic, having the magic, that changes the attitude and culture of those who possess the magic over time, without their realizing it. Otherwise, their magic seems to have no cost whatsoever and virtually no limit. It fits this story in which those who possess magic are connected to the gods, though are not gods themselves.

I can also see a few alternate interpretations of the mythology, other ways I can work with it in future novels in the series, changing the tone of things, shedding new light on things, twists along the way that will transform the Reader's understanding while not undoing or negating what has already taken place in the first novel. This is good, since it gives me room to work with, a chance to let the story grow over time.

And, of course, all this not only makes it possible to resume the editing work on THE REFLECTING STONE, but also provides a solid foundation to expand on the mythology as I continue work on THE ISLE. As I noted in my last posting, these two novels appear totally separate, unrelated, as if in different worlds, stand-alone novels, yet in some way they are related, and that becomes clear to the Reader over time in the second one. However, like a lot of people I don't like "sequels" that are written so obviously as part of an ongoing story and that leave you hanging at the end -- I like stories that have stand-alone impact, yet also fit into a running story line. There is more satisfaction if you feel your effort in reading one story was rewarded within the context of that one story as it would be for a stand-alone novel. It's great if that story also contributes on a higher level toward a larger, developing plot line as well.

It never ceases to amaze me how I can put so much effort into planning, developing and writing a story, only to find that I still have so much to "learn" about the story months and months down the road! At least I have allowed myself to stand back and let the story grow as it needs to, since it wasn't "done" yet even though I thought it was. I think it is now but, again, we'll see.

It turns out my "one page" of notes that I intended to write after my last posting was many pages long and nearly 8,000 words, but with those notes I am now ready to push on with a much clearer sense of just what it is I'm doing! I love it when my work is that productive. Wish it were that way all the time.

Long live the Tentacle-Fighters! (Nod again to Debra for that image.)

Will get back to the prose now and update later this weekend.

Adrian

Finding Answers

Other work has kept me away for most of the past week, so I'm only now able to update my blog. However, I did keep my thoughts on the story questions.

I don't want to give the stories away, but I'll try to share what I can of the key questions and decisions, evidence that something is transpiring between my ears to justify my periodic haircuts.

One key question was whether or not to keep two minor characters on THE ISLE after the plane crashes. I went back and took out everything from Chapter 4 on, about 10,000 words, and completely rewrote several chapters there, WITHOUT those two pesky characters. The story works fine without them. Debra's point about checking whether they contribute to the complications enough to justify their presence hit home. The two characters were only derailing what was supposed to be the main focus of the conflict through their ever-expanding subplot. I can always find a creative way to bring them in later if I still need them.

The other big issue was to revisit my purpose for the story, the vision of the story that I wanted to tell, the point I wanted to get across. Of course, the story does not really belong to me: it's ultimately the main character's story, and that of the other characters, too, but that story needs to be one that I want to tell. I had worked this out already in my initial planning, but with the variable story lines emerging in the first draft I had to take another look and pin it down yet again.

To help me in this, I have been rereading Orson Scott Card's book on writing science fiction and fantasy. I had read it once before, but that doesn't mean I can't find additional insights as I read it again. A good book on writing is worth several readings at different times.

His sections on choosing the type of story have helped. He gives four: character-driven, event-driven, milieu-driven, or idea-driven (ie, question-driven). Most fantasy novels are event-driven, particularly epic fantasies. Something happens that sets things in motion, disturbs the order of things, and then there is an epic pursuit to restore order to the universe (ie, the world of the story). Mysteries are idea-driven, raising a question that needs answering ("whodunnit?" and "why?"). Character-driven stories focus on the need of a character to make some life change. Milieu stories focus on exploring some new world that is fascinating in itself. An example in the book is Gulliver's Travels, which focuses not so much on Gulliver as on all the strange worlds he encounters, which serve as social commentary when we compare them to our own place and time.

Also, the section on magic was helpful. My first novel, THE REFLECTING STONE, involves magic, and ultimately that fantastic element will reappear throughout the series. I still had some issues with that, questions in need of answers, and as I have worked again on this I have finally found some answers that I was looking for over the past year. This information will help me go back and edit THE REFLECTING STONE and will also help me in the present novel. I had previously blogged about needing to revise the mythology of THE REFLECTING STONE: that and magic are tied together. I did improve what I had, but it still was problematic. I think this time I've pinned it down enough that I can breathe a sigh of relief. Again, moving on to the second story is a big help as I look back at the first story with a sense that it needs completion and has a direction it must lead to. When I only had the first story to work with, getting some of those answers was harder to do. This second story reminds me there are things that happen after the first story, unrelated for the most part, but still drawing on some elements from that first story, the bigger ideas. Anyway, this current reflection has been immensely helpful.

Finally, I have allowed room for the story to grow, another thing addressed in OSC's book. I have been intuitively on a path of expanding my sense of how a story develops through planning, first draft, revision, and possible successive drafts. The past week has helped me gain an improved, conscious understanding of this process. I was trying to pack as much punch as possible into the planning and first draft to eliminate the need for a second complete draft, front-loading the thinking to save time with the rewriting. However, my editing of THE REFLECTING STONE got stalled and ultimately I think now it was because I was trying to put a lid on it, so to speak, when in fact the story development was not yet complete. The new answers I have gotten as I have solved problems with the next novel in the series, THE ISLE, have helped me to better understand the previous novel as well. So, stories must be given room to grow, and we as authors must allow them that space, and be patient, and keep working with them, cultivating them. It's definitely not helpful to attempt to gain closure or completion before it is possible to do so.

In summary, over the past week I've been able to rewrite the last 10,000 words, removing the unnecessary and distracting minor characters, regain the focus on the main character and his antagonist, and revisit the big picture, not only for the current novel, THE ISLE, but also for the novel which preceeds it in the series, THE REFLECTING STONE. In that work I have been able to better define the mythology and magic involved in the series. These stories are separate, but on some level they are also part of a larger series. How things will ultimately connect down the line is clearer now on the detail level (the big picture for the series has not changed).

Next goal is to go over my new ideas, make some detailed notes on them, a page or so, to capture the main points, how they will impact both novels, and then resume work on the first draft of THE ISLE.

More later, probably over the weekend!

Adrian

Here's That Link

Here's the link to the YA novel I came across while searching for fog-related images on Google. I found a great beach scene while doing some searches, an image I'm using as my wallpaper right now, imagining events from my novel unfolding on the sand as I look at it. Helps to visualise. Anyway, one of the images that came up was the cover to a fog-related novel, ISLAND OF FOG, so I checked it out, and while it's not relevant to my own work, nonetheless it was interesting, and I was very impressed with the clarity and style of the writer, who has worked on the first four chapters for several years, editing them and getting feedback.

I only read the first chapter, but it was impressive and I do hope he'll keep at it and finish the novel since it should certainly be publishable. The guy can write! He has put the four chapters on lulu.com, and they can be purchased in book form for a few dollars, or you can even download a file for free and read them off your computer.

It's worth checking out to read his prose. You won't be disappointed.

Here is his web page:

KEITH ROBINSON'S WEB PAGE

And, here is the page at lulu.com where you can download the free text file:

DOWNLOAD FREE COPY HERE

Otherwise, I'm still working on answers to those two questions! But at least I know what to think about, and how to think about it, so that helps! I should have an answer by tomorrow, I hope, and will post again then.

Adrian

Post-Holiday Update on THE ISLE

Thanks to Wynn and Debra for their recent comments! It was nice hearing from you. Yes, it sure does take perseverance, and I think I'll stop by the marina store sometime soon and ask whether they have a can of "TENTACLE-OFF". I think Batman had some of that, I'm not sure. It would take a superhero/ine to keep those tentacles under control without a can of that stuff.

The current word count is 20,624, still in Chapter 8.

The holidays did get in the way of writing, but I kept the novel in mind and continued thinking about the plot and characters. I got back to writing recently and hammered out between 5,000 and 6,000 new words, some of them from rewriting when I replaced text in the later chapters, and some of them new additional words that went into Chapter 1, expanding a brief scene there and helping develop the story in more detail (yet again).

It turns out I keep running into the same problem. The story is about a group of young adults on a long-distance flight. Their plane crashes and a group of them winds up stranded on THE ISLE. The problem is: which ones??? I know for certain the bulk of the group I want to participate in the events that unfold on THE ISLE, but there are a couple of extra characters who are important, and who can be used to good effect, but it also hinders developing other aspects of the storyline if they are present. So, I keep going back and forth with this and it's driving me up the wall.

I tried really, really hard to work out an answer to this, and thought I had it, but again I am never satisfied. As soon as one version looks good, another one looks better. I did hammer down the other big questions that I had previously, prior to my last posting. That stuff has remained solid. It's just this one question at this point, who to keep in the group, and who to let go of. It's a significant issue since whether a character is present or not will impact the bulk of the rest of the book. The two characters that I am going back and forth over are both minor, but important. Their presence or absence will make for very different stories.

A few days ago I was steadfast in my determination to keep them, even working out ways to have them "go away" for a while if needed. Now, since last night, I'm back in the mindset that they should just go away. So, later today I may well sit down and rewrite EVERYTHING after Chapter 3 (about 10,000 words), starting with the premise that those two characters are NOT there and WON'T be after the crash.

Whichever way this ends up, I can't progress until I decide. Oh, the drama of it all! And I'm usually such a low-drama or no-drama person.

In other things, I've been watching a lot of good movies recently, expanding my familiarity with gay and lesbian cinema. I also found a good fantasy novel, finally, with a style that I like and that I can think of as a source of inspiration for me as I write my own fiction.

And, I came across another aspiring writer's blog. He has written the first few chapters of what appears to be a YA novel. I found it when searching for images related to FOG (Google image search), since the survivors on THE ISLE encounter a heavy fog. I wanted to find some nice pictures of fog and island scenes that I could use as wallpaper to help put me in the mood when I sit down to write. When I saw a picture of the cover of the novel, I thought I should check it out. I was incredibly impressed with the author's style. His first chapter is about the tightest, clearest, most focused bit of fiction I've read from an aspiring writer!

I promise to post a link to the free online chapters (Adobe) in the near future. The author has also made the sample chapters available through lulu.com, hence the availability of an image of the cover.

Best wishes for COMPLETION and SUCCESS to all aspiring writers in 2007!

Adrian

Update: 17,000 Words

I've been busy the past week! Here's an update.

I continued my work on Chapter 2. The characters went off in their own direction, literally, and a new mini-adventure popped up all on its own. It was very interesting and a viable way to advance the story, but it was "off course" according to my outline, the scenes I had intended to write. I went with it, but after writing it had to evaluate whether the new version was really the right way to go or not. I decided to put off making a final decision and instead reorganize my thoughts and go back and redo the Chapter, keeping it true to the original plan.

With two versions of Chapter 2 under my belt, along with a lot of holiday treats, I then allowed myself to go back to Chapter 1 and do some more editing, filling in little details and expanding small sections to draw out their dramatic potential. The chapter grew and grew some more, finally coming in around 9,000 words.

Then, I actually got my giant pair of virtual scissors out and went CHOP-CHOP and -- voila! -- the chapter has now been cut into three parts, each around 3,000 words long! So I have 3 chapters now where there was one before, which means Chapter 2 is now Chapter 4, and it will be divided into three parts probably, so I've made a good bit of progress this past week and now have about 17,000 words!

In the midst of all this rapid progress, which happened over the course of about 4 days, I hit one of those idea logjams, the kind where all the new stuff begins to push against the original planning stuff and pretty soon it's all jumbled together and I reach a point where I just can't make another page of progress until I sit down and figure it all out, again, and again, and again.

That happens often along the way, until I get a sure enough footing. When the greatest plan on earth meets the reality of life on earth, something has to give.

I revisited my original outlines and notes, which were already in multiple stages, sucessive layers of development, then created a second revised set which in time also underwent successive mini-versions or "options" . . . and eventually got down to the real issues which ultimately brought everything into question all over again. I am no stranger to re-thinking, and re-thinking my re-thinking.

What I ended up with by way of confusion was whether to integrate this new novel, THE ISLE, in to the story line of my last novel, THE REFLECTING STONE, and possibly incorporate other ideas for additional novels. I looked at several ways THE ISLE could work, and how it could work with or without being made part of a series, and how best to draw out the drama, the suspense, the changes and growth for the characters, the central conflict, the main point, etc., etc. A lot of thinking and rethinking and innovating and creating and pulling substantial ideas out of thin air just in the nick of time to keep it all held together by even the minutest thread at times but, heck, it worked.

I ended up with the same story, once again now understood on a much deeper level, and tied in to other novels to create a series of novels that are, well, tied together.

The same story, but with some new twists. And, yes, my recent posting commented on twists, but now again there are more twists, so my plot line looks like a multi-layered, braided, spiraled telephone-cord-rope-thingy that could bear the weight of the QE2 or the Empire State Building, or, heck, given its epic nature, both at the same time.

And still I keep my sense of humor, such as it is.

:-)

Suffice it to say, I made a lot of progress in the past week! I just need to review my latest notes, establish my immediate writing goal, and get back to work in writing more new pages.

At some point I hope to let loose and just keep writing! However, I appreciate the value of considering the options and tying it all together in new and innovative ways that even I hadn't thought of until the moment I thought of them.

I hope to post again later this week that Chapters 1-6 (old large Chapters 1 and 2) are "done" and edited (I still have to choose between the two versions I wrote earlier of what was originally big Chapter 2), and that I'm at work on Chapters 7-9 (what would have been big Chapter 3).

Happy Holidays, and wait until January before hitting the stores again if you don't like the crowds,

Adrian

Now Into Chapter 2

I tried to leave it, I really did, but I kept going back to it. Yes, Chapter 1 is now about 7,400 words long, but it's really polished! Couldn't help myself. I like reworking early chapters many times because I end up knowing them intimately, every nuance, every possibility. A good start makes for a good journey. I am always afriad if I rush too fast too soon, I'll get off on the wrong foot, and then all the work I do subsequently will be a waste of time. So, it's worth it, to me.

Anyway, after nearly a week on Chapter 1 I'm now into Chapter 2. However, it wasn't an easy transition.

I intended to jump into Chapter 2 right away when I started writing last night, but instead I found myself sitting and thinking intensely about the story, the overview of key events, the ulimate direction it was headed, and other, deep things related to the story. I ended up spending a few hours pouring over my notes and outlines again, and revising them yet again, drawing on new insights and familiarity after finishing Chapter 1.

I tried to see the story again from the few competing perspectives on it, and at one point got frustrated that even though I was trying to make things better, I was ultimately just digging in and making it all more complicated for myself than it needed to be. I felt I was working myself into a corner where everything becomes a question and I can never settle on any answers. Then, quite happily, I took a walk at about 3 am, a short one in the very cold air, and cleared my head, then went back inside and by the time I was in my chair I realized the answers to the quandaries and the path through the wilderness, the way out of the conundra (hope that works, as a Latin neuter plural instead of the Anglo-Saxon plural -s).

I ended all this revising work with a very good sense, rethought out in all the important ways, of the story arc, and several plot lines or issues that run through it, act by act. Of course, I had this before, but it's much better now, more detailed and more nuanced. "New and improved!" An endless process, but it gets better each time.

The balancing act is working, using a combination of detailed planning and open-ended possibilities on how to realize those ideas in actual practice. I haven't teetered or tottered too much one way or the other, although I felt myself tipping a bit with all the rethinking last night.

I found a new way to do my tables that was very stimulating. Anything that works. My tables are a powerful tool for me in planning. I create tables in Microsoft Word and then fill them in, a way to create a pattern for me to see, a way to anticipate things that will need to be thought of, a way to organize what I know, a way to stimulate new perspectives, new ideas. Eventually I'll share some of these on my other blog of writing tips -- and, happily, I figured out finally how to put them online and make them available! I wasn't sure how to do that before.

Well, I'm not looking back now, will not go back in to Chapter 1 for the time being since I know it thoroughly. Instead, as I advance in Chapter 2 and think of some minor detail that should be changed in Chapter 1, I make a brief note of it in another file of changes to make to Chapter 1 once I've finished Chapter 2. It's important at some point to maintain that line and not go back, only forward.

Hope to have Chapter 2 done within a few days. The pace will pick up as the story gets underway, and eventually I'll do a chapter or more a day. It seems I'm back on my 12 steps = 12 chapters pattern, but the goal will be only 5,000 words per chapter, and any above that is "extra". This will bring me in around 60,000 - 72,000 words. I can later look back over it and see whether I can break it down to shorter chapters, but I won't worry about that at this time. I think 12 is a good number for chapters in a book, and it fits my outline of main steps in the plot.

The holidays are fast approaching and the traffic is getting terrible. I refuse to go out and shop any more. Any last-minute shopping I'll do online and since it's too late for online retailers to deliver by now unless they charge significant shipping fees, I'll probably just send online gift certificates. It's not nearly as nice as a gift you choose and wrap yourself, but at least this way it's something they'll like since they'll pick it out themselves. Luckily I did most of my shopping several weeks ago.

Maximizing my writing time even as the world goes crazy around me with the holiday frenzy,

Adrian

Coming Soon: What's THE ISLE About?

This week, as soon as I can, I'll put up an initial draft of the back-cover blurb for THE ISLE, so visitors to this site will have some idea what it's about.

If you'd like to see what my last novel, THE REFLECTING STONE, is about, you'll find a link to it near the top of the sidebar (look in the margin where the links are). I'm still editing that novel, and will still finish it and seek to have it published -- it's a very worthwhile story, but I don't want to sit in idle mode too long, so I'm busy with my next novel finally, after a couple of false starts.

I can say that the new novel, THE ISLE, deals with a young man on his way to Australia to spend the summer in the Outback. On the plane he meets another young man who intrigues him terribly, but just then there is a significant problem with the plane and it crashes. There's lots of mystery to follow as the young man washes up on a fog-shrouded ISLE....

Adrian

THE ISLE: Chapter 1 Update

I went over the first chapter at least eight times, thoroughly editing it. This involved tweaking things, clarifying ideas, expanding sections of dialogue to deal with issues with more depth in terms of what the main character is thinking/feeling, really drawing out the significance of things for him, and providing a little more context for things through his thoughts and brief memories or associations. The chapter still reads quickly and easily, is not bogged down, but is more "enriched" and has more meaning now for the Reader.

It comes in now around 6,000 words, about three times longer than I intended at the outset, but at least I did a thorough job of establishing the main character prior to his embarking on "the journey" or "the quest", showing him in his "normal world" and what his priorities and concerns are, and "the rules" that he must live by, how things are for him. I also drew out the themes, the issues, the matters that concern him, setting up a sense of his hopes and fears that will be drawn out further in the remainder of the story.

I like what I wrote -- I am very happy with it. I like the depth, the way each character has a distinct personality. All of the characters have been evolving considerably except for the main character. He is the only one who has remained exactly as I first conceived of him. The role of antagonist has been making the rounds. First it was one character, then another, as I experimented with shifting roles and potentials. I've considered having the antagonist be a friend, a friend of a friend, and a stranger. I'm still leaving it open -- although I have a distinct plan, I had two other plans before that one, and I think once I'm actually writing it the antagonist will emerge naturally out of one or the other character and when I find him for sure, I'll know which version I'm writing. The basic storyline is the same regardless, but different characters would allow different slants on things, so it's something that will work its way out in due time. I'm not worried about it.

This is the first time I'm writing with a plan, several options (versions) to fall back on, and a sense of letting things develop as they do. In the past, I always wrote from inspiration with no or minimal planning, or from extensive planning that was stifling. My last novel was different, in that I planned extensively and was not constrained and actually wrote out what I planned. However, I think I can do better writing by merging structure and lack of structure, planning and inspiration. I want to try to take the best of both approaches. It's a balancing act, but I think I'm ready for it. I wasn't sure before, but I feel more comfortable trying this now. So far, it's working wonderfully.

I'll probably read over the first chapter again, but should move on to chapter 2 tonight and will hopefully have most of it written by tomorrow. I'll then spend another few days editing it as I did the first chapter. I feel this is one story that might need less editing, based on my experience with it thus far. I think if you get it right the first time, there is less to worry about in the editing. My last novel came together that well in the earlier chapters, but the later chapters still need substantial work, something I want to avoid in this novel. I can see readily how I'm growing and advancing rapidly after years on a plateau. Feels good to see real progress finally.

I'm going to update my WELCOME TO MY WORLD blog because there are some things going on these days that I just HAVE to comment on....

Good luck to everyone else working on a novel,

Adrian

First Chapter of THE ISLE

The revised outline is one that excites me. The story is one that excites me. I came up with several twists and turns that were unexpected to me, and decided to throw them in and let the story grow some more. What I ended up with includes the main conflicts/issues I started out with, but now has even more surprises in store for the Reader. (Notice I capitalize "Reader" to show my respect for anyone who would think to read my fiction.)

Anyway, I felt I had a solid enough footing, clear anchor points, enough details and events and a strong sense of the main characters' personalities, so I went ahead and took the plunge. I'm most of the way done with Chapter 1 now. It currently runs around 3,600 words. I am only intending on a minimum of 2,000 words per chapter, and don't want them to run very long (like the 10,000-word length that is common in THE REFLECTING STONE). My style is clear and crisp and reads quickly.

The first chapter surprised me in that I got a few new characters who presented themselves, and another twist came up on two of the main characters -- nothing that alters who they are supposed to be for dramatic purposes, but a new slant on how to represent that. I know, it's all very cryptic, but this is a mysterious story (heck, with a title like THE ISLE it should have some mystery in it!). Anyway, the new ideas that come up as I write help keep me excited about the story, and I keep them (so far) in line with the outline.

I took time out for other things this past weekend, wanting to finish up some of that holiday-preparedness that is so important this time of year, so I didn't spend as much time writing as I might have, but I'll catch up tonight (Sunday) and will now keep my nose to the grindstone so I can finish this first draft within December.

It feels great to be connecting with a story, setting aside my meta-level thoughts about the process and just enjoying the sense of adventure and discovery. It helps that it's such an interesting story for me to work with.

Wishing everyone else well as they enjoy their stories this holiday season,

Adrian

Update on Outline

The past several days I've reworked the outline a few times, using a larger group, a middle-sized group (as a compromise), and emphasizing different aspects of the initial storyline to see how things would play out depending on what I focus on. Each time through I felt frustrated that I was re-doing the same work over and over and over, wishing I'd just get it right and say "go with it", but also I knew each time I was coming up with exciting new ideas for the pool and in the end I was able to go with the best set of ideas from that expanded pool and prodeuce a final version that I like a whole lot. So, it was fun in a way, certainly frustrating as I wanted to finish up and start writing, and ultimately rewarding: the new revised outline is one I'm very excited about. Also, I found a way to keep a fantasy element in it, as well as a mystery.... (Ooh....)

So, I'll take time for any last thoughts, tweak things a bit if needed, and then dive in and start writing. I might start the writing later tonight. I am happy it's winter again as I have more time during this time of the year to write.

My current timeline for THE ISLE is to finish the first draft within December, and the second draft within January. Depending on how it goes, I hope to have a completed manuscript by March, and to start shopping it around as soon as it is finished. Meanwhile, I'll work on THE REFLECTING STONE as I can, and prepare for the next novel.

Glad to be back at it, and the break certainly made a lot of difference.

Happy Holidays,

Adrian

Adding Characters, Changing Outline, Pre-Writing

When I looked over the fine outline I had made for THE ISLE, which is perfectly viable, not a thing wrong with it, I allowed myself to ask one question which had been nagging me when creating the outline for the story, but which I had avoided until finally I realized I just had to ask it and ponder the possibilities....

The question was, whether to stay focused as I was on four main characters, and keep the novel centered around just these four characters' experiences on THE ISLE, or whether I should keep this basic premise but expand to a larger group of characters on THE ISLE.

When I face questions like this, my strategy for dealing with them is to open a text document (I use Word for this) and write the question, then brainstorm and type out an answer. If I don't know the answer, then I brainstorm a list of possible answers, then go into detail for each possibility considering exactly how it would play out or impact other things, etc., as the case may be. Then, I read over my comments, reflect as needed, and when I'm ready to decide, either immediately or the following day, I then write a summary paragraph at the end stating which solution I chose and exactly why.

For every option I consider, I always explore the pro's and con's and list them, because when there are several viable options, it often comes down to choosing the one option that contains a certain pro the others don't adequately address, something I need for the story, in spite of whatever con's may come with it. This is typically where one direction for the story allows the characters to explore some issue or theme, and at the same time precludes them from experiencing something else that would have happened had things been different. Sometimes I can work those missed options in in other ways, but usually it does come down to some sort of "either/or" choice, and I never really get everything I want because logically it isn't possible, but I get the most important thing that will benefit the story in some essential manner.

Well, enough of the babbling....

In considering the possibiltiies, I also considered other stories that THE ISLE is related to, other well-known novels that deal with people on islands, and considered how having more or fewer people on my island would help or hinder the story and the characters' experiences, etc. I finally decided that although I had initially chosen to focus on just four characters and keep the experience rather intimate with such a small group, which made certain things more likely and more possible, I could still work some of that stuff in with a larger group but also would gain substantial drama from having a larger group present due to large-group dynamics, the sort of stuff that might happen with a larger group but that probably would not happen with a smaller group. My story is unique (of course), not a clone of other stories, but readers will certainly draw parallels to these others stories which everyone is familiar with (I'm not saying which ones they are yet). I need to be cognizant of those connections that readers will make, and it's not objectionable to me that I would pay homage in some way in my own story to some of these other great novels, while at the same time telling my own story with my own characters.

Anyway, it all boils down to the decision to go ahead and expand the group from four to a larger number, which I haven't settled on exactly yet, but I know it'll be 12 to 20 or so. Big enough for large-group dynamics, small enough that I can still focus on the few central characters and to a lesser extent with other characters who will now be present.

Apart from all of these characters, there are also the minor characters I had originally envisioned, people not on THE ISLE. They will still be in the story, although I will likely now focus more on the events that take place on THE ISLE and not spend story time before and after these events by showing much of what happens off THE ISLE with those other minor characters. Those characters may end up on the cutting room floor, but they are there as part of the back-story if nothing else.

This adjustment dictates a fundamental change in the specifics of the outline, so I am having to redo the entire outline, drawing from what I already did -- the basic premise is the same -- but now developing it on two levels, the large-group level and the individual-character level.

The past few days I've been rethinking the story, brainstorming and writing notes of how things might play out now that there are more characters, and developing other plot lines, threads that will be woven together as the individuals try to deal with other individuals and also deal with the larger group goals. I also did more pre-writing, writing another attempt at the first chapter, but I am not sure yet that I have found the proper starting point or voice for the story. I want to do more pre-writing, maybe try another two or three versions of the start of the story, maybe dive in and write a scene from somewhere in the story, just to play with the material, get a clearer sense of the characters' voices. I had though previously of doing a summary of the story from each charater's POV -- that's a very worthwhile way to prepare to write the first draft. I had a clear sense of the four characters, but with the changes, the characters have all been morphed into new versions, so I have to go back to the drawing board so to speak and reconnect with them.

Some pluses I've noticed as I work on this, ways I've grown from my work on my previous novel....

One plus has been the prose I'm writing is tighter from the get-go. Reading THE MARSHALL PLAN earlier this year has helped since the books provides concrete examples of how to write tigher prose. I commented on the book in an earlier posting and gave a few examples.

Another plus has been that I can see a way now to both plan the story and also leave things open to inspiration along the way. Having some experience with detailed outlining under my belt from my last novel, I can much more readily envision how one part of the story is tied to other parts. I can see keeping the twelve "pillars" or main plot points in mind, yet leaving it open exactly how I get from one to the other as I write the story, "discovering" it as I go. To help me keep that in-between writing on track, I can draw on another plus, which has been my increased focus on goals and complications. I focused on that aspect in my planning earlier this year and it paid off, training me to see things in that context. It's surprisingly easy to do that now, a perspective that is more ingrained than it was before. Essentially, for each scene, I have a clear goal for the POV character, and I brainstorm ways things can go wrong for a person with such a goal in that scene. I then throw complications at the character, and allow the ending to be either that the goal is not reached, or reached but not as intended, or the goal must now be replaced with another goal since the first goal proved unworkable, impossible or unnecessary. In other words, constant DRAMA, something I avoid in real life like the plague, but which is the stuff novels are made of. Of course, in selecting these complications, I keep an eye out on the larger story, the context of things, the symbolism, etc., to choose things that make sense, not just random events that are possible. Also, the characters must stay "in character" at all times in how they deal with the complications, and, yes, the complications are designed to draw out some qualities of the individuals characters who are facing them to affect their character development.

I will continue outlining until this new version is done, any day now. In spite of feeling better able to go it free-form between plot points I don't want to attempt that yet, afraid I'll get lost. I like knowing the story up front before I begin writing it. I will continue pre-writing to sharpen the characters' voices. And, within this week, I'll finally be ready to embark on the first draft outright, which I then intend to keep at until finished, and to finish it within December.

Happy Holidays to all the other novel-writers out there,

Adrian

Beginning Work On "THE ISLE"

I'm still finishing up the other project, the non-writing project I've focused on for probably two months now. It'll be done soon, and I'll post details about it once it is. It's really cool.

As that work is winding down to conclusion, I've had the strong desire to get back to my writing. I've decided to stay completely away from any of the novels I had worked on previously and never managed to finish. There is just too much risk of getting caught up in old patterns that weren't successful before, in terms of getting things completed.

In that vein, I've come up with a brand new idea for a novel with the working title of THE ISLE. I am drawing inspiration from a few other novels that have been written that involve islands, but the story and characters are unique. I like the story and it's nice to have a warm, tropical island to spend time on in my writing when otherwise the cold winter weather has arrived.

In the past few days I did some brainstorming, generating some initial plot notes, then used the templates for the tables and charts that I developed last year, a way to further develop the plot and characters. I also wrote a complete and detailed outline of the entire story. At this point I am going to take one more day to look over the outline and reflect on some possible changes, enhancements, and maybe take a little time to do some pre-writing in preparation. One thing I did last year on my last novel was to write a synopsis of the story from each of the main character's POV. It helped a lot with getting me into each character's head. I feel I already understand their personalities and goals/issues in the story, and how they interact, after the outlining, which was done with the four main characters in mind at each step along the way. However, a little writing to get the engines warmed up wouldn't hurt, if I can manage the patience to do it. I'm ready to dive in and start writing, so I don't want to linger too much longer at this planning stage. It went quickly this time and everything fell into place. It helps that I've planned a few novels over the past year. Each time I work through my tables and charts and create outlines it gets easier and easier for me, and I see much more readily how things fit together. Practice makes for improvement, that's for sure. I've clearly grown a lot over the past year.

Well, I'll post again later this week after I have the first chapter done. My target length is a standard 60,000 to 72,000 words, and I really don't want it to go beyond that. I want to finish the first draft by the end of December, a realistic goal. I want to get it done and out the door, and along the way to use the engergy from this to help push me back to the editing of my last novel, which is still in limbo at the moment. I will get it done, though! And I look forward to sending each of them out to publishers/agents as soon as they are ready. I also look forward to sharing details of my other exciting project in the coming weeks.

Happy Holidays,

Adrian

Update on November

It's been longer than usual since I updated this blog. Sorry for the delay, but there wasn't much to comment on. I've been working very steadily and very hard on another creative project, as mentioned previously, which does not involve writing although it is related to my writing interests. It's been fascinating and lots of fun, and a nice change of pace, a chance to exercise other aspects of my creativity and take a refreshing break from the stress of writing/editing on a sustained basis. Unfortunately, I have been so preoccupied with this other project that I have done very little for Nano ... I really only wrote one time, about 2200 words, a good beginning, and the story is mapped out, but I never followed through and continued it. November is almost over, and unless I plan to write 10k words every day for 5 days, I see little chance of completing the 50k word goal for Nano within November -- and, frankly, I really don't care. My interests are elsewhere at the moment, and so although I thought I should jump in on the Nano-wagon, obviously my heart wasn't in it and the other project has been so fascinating I haven't concerned myself much about it. So, I made a "false start" on the other novel in that I haven't committed in practice to the follow-through, and that's fine with me.

The other project is nearing completion, having taken much more time and energy than I had anticipated, but I love what I'm creating and look forward to sharing it soon, in the coming weeks. As I finish up this other project, I will certainly return to writing, both the editing which is "ongoing" (until finished!) and the new novel which I sort of almost started. The break has been doing me good and I look forward to being back in writer-mode within December, in earnest.

Wishing everyone a happy and low-stress (if possible) holiday season. There is so much going on in the world and the potential for so much change ahead in the near future, I sometimes feel it is important to do whatever you want to do now (as a writer) because who knows what will be relevant anymore in just a few short years....

Adrian