New WIP

I began work recently on a new novel which could be part of a new series. It focuses on -- well, I updated my web site with news about it, so you can read about it there in the WIP'S Section. Look for the keyword "Jasper".

It's interesting how well this new story is coming together, how tightly the first two chapters are written. Clearly I've learned a lot through my work on THE REFLECTING STONE and THE ISLE OF THE DEMIGODS. I've internalized a lot of the writing process at this point, which I was hoping would happen. I'm thinking in story terms, rather than abstract ideas. I don't have to struggle to put it all together anymore -- I readily see what the pieces are, where they belong.

I'll keep working on the new story even as I continue work on my other two WIP's.

This past week I re-read the entire second draft of THE REFLECTING STONE and gained a lot of new insights into the story and what it needs at this point. It felt very good seeing real progress in my work over time. I produced about 10,000 words in new notes for the STONE/ISLE series, and found answers to a LOT of the questions that still linger. I'm almost finished with that planning. Once I can tie down the last few questions, I'll be ready to launch the THIRD COMPLETE DRAFT of THE REFLECTING STONE. I had commented previously that I wasn't sure whether to rewrite all or parts (about half). Some of it is very solid. However, I think it would be worthwhile to make another complete draft, to further grow the story and draw out the details in the scenes. Also, I'm still in search of the exact tone and style for the prose (something which is no struggle at all for the new Jasper Series).

The new novel ("Jasper") currently stands at about 4,700 words, written in two days, chapters 1 and 2.

Altogether, I re-read an entire draft and produced about 15k words of new material last week. Not bad for my first week back at work!

Wishing others well with their WIP's,

Adrian

The Dart Board Method for Plotting: Read It & Weep

For years I had hot flashes -- moments of sudden inspiration -- ideas, images, entire scenes with near-perfect dialogue. I wanted so badly to use these ideas in my fiction. Some of them made such an impression I couldn't help but remember them, and they made it onto the page when I was writing. Sadly, most of the ideas just vanished into thin air, never to be thought of or heard from again. Then I tried capturing them in note form as they occurred to me, for use later. That helped, but I still could not write down every idea, especially when urinating, no matter how many beers I had drunk, and again most of them were lost.

Then I realized it was like throwing darts at a dart board, something I'm terrible at. Sometimes the darts will hit the board, but as often as not they'll hit the wall, the floor, or someone standing a little too close to the action.

For illustrative purposes, the dart board was a story. The darts were the flashes of ideas I would have for the story. I'd get the flashes at any time, any place, whether convenient or not. I couldn't always interrupt other things to stop and write them down, the way it's not always possible to write somebody's phone number on your hand in a drunken stupor no matter how many times he gives it to you. Likewise, when I tried to hold onto the darts, they protested, telling me if you love something, let it go. When I did, they would fly off in some unknown direction, never to be heard from again. Many of them were really good. Some of them were breathtakingly beautiful, stirring me deeply in a truly profound sort of way.

I tried contacting the Dart Makers' Association for help. They told me there was nothing they could do. All around the world, millions upon millions of darts went missing every year, darts nobody ever heard from again. When the DMA stopped returning my calls, I knew I would have to solve this problem on my own.

Then I realized something wonderful, something that had the power to change things forever. No longer would I lose so many darts. I had found a way to get them safely to the dart board, where they would stick and become the stuff legends are made of (and dramas, satires, colorful dialogue, etc.).

Have you ever noticed that dart boards are not just plain, round boards, but they have designs on them? Little lines that radiate outward from the center, concentric circles, panels with different colors. Some boards even have writing on them. You can use these various markings to tell where a dart has struck, to rate it, classify it, assign it points, something I hadn't noticed before since no one ever bothers to keep score when I'm playing -- fractions are usually too small to be considered significant in competition.

I realized that plot ideas are best retained when you have something to attach them to. Not a large, blank, nebulous, ill-defined and poorly-conceived mass of generic story matter, but a story that can be pinned down, draped over a framework, a pattern. I needed a a generic navigation system that could help me determine in which direction a dart, or story idea, went flying.

Once I began to apply the three-act structure to my planning, broken down into twelve steps, things changed dramatically. I conditioned myself for story-telling purposes to conceive of stories and then think of them spatially, temporally, in a pattern that is generic and very much the same for all stories. While the story particulars might vary considerably, the basic sense of a beginning, a middle, and an ending, remained constant. I could pick up a dart and tell at once which part of the story it was destined for. I even learned to discern different kinds of darts! There are darts that incite other darts to fly, darts which fly fast and hard, darts which float along then sneak up on you with a sudden rush (as those standing by the dart board have confided in me). There are even those darts which strike clean through to the very heart (thankfully, with modern medicine, this is not as terrible as it might sound). In short, I learned to tell what sort of dart I was throwing, and where it was supposed to land. Knowing this meant I was now throwing Smart Darts (tm), the kind that always find their targets because, frankly, there's nowhere else for them to go.

What this means for those long drives in cars with songs, and those long showers under refreshing streams of water, is that I can now remember my ideas much more better, and I can recall them later as well. I don't lose nearly as many of them as I used to, and any of True Value (tm) or significance will almost certainly manage to show up eventually precisely where they were supposed to ... not on the dart board, but on the printed page, where they can reside happily forever alongside other darts in a mosaic pattern that, well, it just sort of makes you weep to see it.

My new motto: "A Place For Everything, And Everything In Its Place."

Adrian

Attack of the Giant Ear Worm

Well, now I've done it. Listening to so much music has given me what the Germans call an Ear Worm (Ohrwurm): a song that you just can't get out of your head!

It's okay. It's a great song. I really like it. And it's inspired me with a lot of new notes for my second novel.

The visualization technique has worked wonders, too. I really see the final scenes unfolding, with new imagery, a clearer sense of the ending, and how both novels tie in to the series.

Golly, it seems I'm back to work already. The time away has helped generate some very fertile creative soil.

Wishing everyone well with their WIP's,

Adrian

Riding In Cars With Songs

As I'm mulling over the last of my decisions before getting back to my writing in earnest, I've been visualizing my novel as if it were a film, wondering what song should play during the opening sequence, how best to capture the theme, the mood, hint at the nature of the story with just a few key images and lines from a song. It's not that my novel will necessarily ever get published, or that if it does, that it will ever be made into a movie -- but I want to SEE this story, to FEEL it, to know it thoroughly, in my mind. Of course, I do hope that it will at least get published, since I feel it is such a worthwhile story; otherwise I wouldn't be writing it.

As you've guessed, apart from the shower, the car is another good place for me to get inspiration for my writing. And of course what do I do in the car when driving? I listen to various CD's, always wondering whether this song or that song might better suit this or that novel idea. It's a terrible habit because I sometimes prefer to listen to the lyrics rather than the conversation of whoever might happen to be riding with me, and frankly I think that's rude, but perhaps it's really rude of other people to think that they should attempt a conversation when riding with someone who is preoccupied with a novel in progress.

Which brings me to a singular thought: the world really should stand still for a while to allow those of us who need time for contemplation that precious introspection which we require in order to move forward with our creative projects. Until that happens, we creative types will bear the unnecessary burden of carrying on with our creativity in the face of a world that does not understand the creative process, the need to stare into space while contemplating realities that others would never know existed if we didn't give form to them and share them.

Alas, it is an all-consuming struggle.

Fortunately, as I ponder while driving, I realize my priorities lie in avoiding collisions, so I do keep my thoughts primarily on the road, especially the pedestrians lining it, and I use my rather significant patience to brake frequently, as often as necessary in our heavy traffic. I do attempt to appear interested in whatever conversation might be offered me, and appreciate the courage of anyone who would venture a dialogue with a preoccupied writerly type. And in the face of it all, I listen as the songs spin round and round on the CD's, smiling a private smile whenever I realize the words that just went by struck gold.

Adrian

How A Good Shower Can Help You Find An Agent

Okay, there's lots I could do with an opening like that....

But I'll keep it focused on two ideas. The first one is about the shower, the second one about the agent.

Like many writers, I find certain moments tend to work for me as "creative time". One of these moments is when taking a shower. The other day, when taking a shower, my eyes closed, water streaming all over me, I had a powerful set of visions, the kind you can only get in the shower. I saw key scenes from my novel, the pivotal scenes that I've been trying to figure out what to do with, and I saw how these scenes could unfold, and lead from one to the other. It was great to see how I could draw a line, connect the dots, bring motivations and circumstances forward in a meaningful, logical and satisfying way. I felt I had most of the answers I needed and with only a little more thought I'll be ready to finish the novel.

It's important to capitalize on moments like this. When you get those insights, when those powerful visions stream through your mind, you have to focus on them, go with the flow, let the creativity take you where it wants to go. This is your inner voice opening, the well-spring within you telling you where your story needs to go. Such deep insights are either right, or very close to it. A little reflection can help bring them into line with all the other story decisions you've made over time, or help you adjust other things to mesh with the visions. If the insights are right, you'll know it, deep down, and you'll see it because things will fit together without much difficulty. Just be sure to write down some notes afterward, to help you remember as otherwise you might lose some of the fascinating details.

The second idea concerns finding an agent. I just wanted to share that Susan Fleming has recently posted on her blog about this, with a couple of links that are more than worth checking out. Visit her blog to see what it's all about.

These two ideas are related. I think if you take a lot of showers, you'll smell nicer and you'll have so many great ideas, what agent wouldn't want to read your manuscript? Just don't shower with the manuscript -- that approach has not been scientifically proven to have any positive benefits for writers or manuscripts, and may result in ruined pages or damage to electronic devices.

Wishing everyone much progress with their WIP's,

Adrian

Has It Been A Month?!

Golly, it seems a month has gone by since my last posting! That is probably my longest break yet since I started blogging. Well, I needed the break, and it's done me good.

I'm still on break, by the way, just stopping by to greet the world. I also visited some of the blogs I normally read, to take a gander at what all I've been missing out on. So much has been happening with those whose blogs I normally read (except I haven't the past few weeks). I'm amazed.

I guess a lot has been happening with me, too, during the past few weeks, but I'm such a tight-lipped individual when it comes to personal matters so I'm not likely to blog much about it. What is important and relevant where my blog is concerned is that I'll be getting back to work soon, on my blogging, and more importantly on my writing, and also trying to get word out about the Parallel Writing Project to see whether there is sufficient interest in it to establish an official start date.

Although I've been engrossed in many other things, I have kept my two novels in progress firmly in mind and have continued to reflect on them and seek answers to remaining plot questions. I think I'm almost ready to tie the last major issues down in THE REFLECTING STONE. The existing drafts address the various turning points and possibilities ... I just have a few options that I still need to choose between, mostly to do with narrative structure rather than actual plot.

I like to take the approach of thinking that a difficult question is actually a "no-brainer" and I look as quickly as I can to find the obvious best solution. I then spend additional time scrutinizing that solution and all others that presented themselves, looking for the pro's and con's, weighing things, until I can finally buy in to one or the other answer. That process can take a while, even if it starts out quickly. Usually by the time I make the final decision, I get back to "no-brainer" mode and tell myself whatever decision I make that it was a no-brainer all along and I really should have seen the answer clearly first-off and saved myself all the extra deliberation.

Well, the summer has definitely been a summer (and it's not over yet), which is nice because it contrasts with the winter, which was definitely a winter. The hot weather has been a welcome change after a nasty winter that seemed to drag on and on and on, and to kick back into gear for another storm each time it almost looked like it was turning into spring. I don't miss that. The miserable summer weather, however, has been little better, so I'll be happy when autumn rolls around. Guess I haven't liked the weather this year very much, a little too extreme for me, and with the recent flooding in the mid-west, worst in a century, it may not simply be my impression that the weather is getting a bit out of hand.

Best wishes to all those working on their novels. I'll be back at it, too, soon, in earnest, with a lot of catching up to do.

Adrian

PWP Chapter Descriptions Updated

I've been working at a slower pace, enjoying the beautiful summer weather. Summer tends to be my least-productive season, and I'm willing to accept that. I'm still diligently working on other projects, but my writing projects have slowed noticeably.

I appreciate the feedback that Susan and Suresh provided regarding the chapter descriptions for the hypothetical novel for the PWP. I incorporated their feedback and added another new twist, revising the descriptions. I have put them online for Susan and Suresh to review at their convenience.

Presently I'm working (still) on the actual challenges, and hope to have them done this week, since I didn't finish them last week.

I continue to reflect on my novel, and its sequel. I'll be getting back to work on the final push for the completion of THE REFLECTING STONE as soon as I'm ready to buckle down again. Right now, the summer beckons....

Adrian

Some Articles Worth Checking Out

Gabriele has posted an article about writing battle scenes ("How To Make A Battle Come Alive on the Page 1"). I am always amazed by her site and this new article is really helpful for historical fiction or fantasy writers. There will be another article to follow it in the coming days.

Scott Marlowe posted a link on his blog (see sidebar) to an article on scene writing at Paperback Writer's site. It is also a helpful article, stressing the need to make scenes count.

Keeping Busy

Just a short note to let folks know I'm still keeping busy, even if I haven't blogged much the past week. I finished reading the 2nd draft of THE REFLECTING STONE and am currently reflecting on what to do to finish the story. The second half got a bit looser since I tried some new things out. They were very intriguing, but I might want to tone some of it down, or cut some of it out altogether. Not sure yet. Otherwise, the various scenes did work well individually for the most part, and some very intriguing new leitmotifs came out of this 2nd draft, things I'll definitely keep. I'm taking more time to reflect, since this next "push" should be the final one that involves any substantial writing -- I may just rewrite some chapters, rather than the whole draft, or I may yet do a 3rd complete draft, not sure yet. After this next "push" though I do expect the story to be within a short distance of "complete" and to require only some editing. This 2nd draft is already so much farther along than any of the previous work on this same story and it suggests the final novel already. There is certainly light at the end of the tunnel and it's within sight.

Apart from this, I'm reading a lot and working on some other projects, but nothing to comment on here.

I'm taking a break from the PWP until I get feedback from the registered writers about the story description (email me at your convenience, no rush). I am thinking of launching that in late summer or early autumn, which might be a better time for that than during the height of the summer. Also, I want at least 6 writers signed up before starting, as I think that would be a minimum number that would make it interesting and foster meaningful feedback.

Okay, so "short" is long, but that's the way it is when I sit down to write -- the words just flow....

HAPPY (& SAFE) 4TH OF JULY,

Adrian

Rereading THE REFLECTING STONE

[Note: This post concerns my first novel, THE REFLECTING STONE, which is nearing completion. This posting is not related to the last posting, which concerns the hypothetical novel to be used for the Parallel Writing Project. That plot is totally unrelated.]

I'm getting back into my first novel, THE REFLECTING STONE. I reread the first half yesterday. I hadn't read it since I wrote it, and I didn't remember some of the new twists and turns I put in when creating the 2nd draft. So, I really had a sense of reading it "for the first time" and it was quite interesting to have that experience. Usually I work so much with my manuscripts that I virutally memorize them word-for-word, and even after taking some weeks off I go back to them with virtually the same sense of them that I had while working on them. So, this was quite a pleasure, a chance to actually read and wonder just how a chapter might end -- I really didn't know!

When I wrote the 2nd draft I focused on shortening the chapters and putting a lot of twists and turns in to keep things moving, focused, and surprising along the way. It all makes sense, nothing is there that doesn't fit the storyline exactly, yet I used misdirection to suggest things were going one way when suddenly they went another way, or otherwise the MC ran into snags a lot more quickly than he was anticipating. It was a lot of fun to read an escape scene where he went to great lengths to extricate himself from the dungeon only to find himself surrounded again by the enemy by the end of the chapter. I suppose it wasn't fun for him, but as a reader I had a distinct sense of tension, release, heightened tension. Virtually every chapter succeeded with this in a way that was satisfying to read.

This evening I'll read the second half of the novel, then starting tomorrow I'll reflect and make some decisions about what to keep and what needs to fixing. Most of this is to a point where I could just edit it and be done with it, provided I want to keep the storyline as-is. I might want to tighten it up a bit, or try another approach. Also, I'm still debating on the prose style. I put a lot of effort into developing a tight and fast-moving style. It works well overall. I can still see ways to edit on the micro-level, tightening even more. I rewrote the first scene some time ago using a different style, and reread that yesterday as well. It's really good, but it is a different style. So, there are lots of questions as to exactly how I want this to read, but one thing is definitely clear: the story itself is very close to complete at this time. I can definitely see where my hard work over the past year and a half has resulted in a well-developed and intriguing story. I certainly hope it finds a publisher, since it is a compelling and worthwhile novel, IMHO, which is the reason I have continued working so long with it.

Well, back to work!

Adrian

Novel Description Completed

I completed the description of the novel and put the pages for it online, but I'm sharing it only with the registered writers right now for their feedback. Once it's had a chance to "settle" and get feedback, I'll make any changes as needed then post a link here and on the main PWP site to those pages, making them available to everyone.

I can tell you the following:

The story concerns a young maiden named Willa who lives in a poor village in the hills. An evil Queen named Orlantha has taken over the kingdom. Willa meets Faxon, a young man who is a member of the resistance movement. Faxon enlists Willa's help in a plan that goes terribly wrong. Willa is devastated but stays in the fight to make things right. In the end, she must learn to use magic in her struggle to depose the evil Queen. She must also learn she cannot take the whole weight of the world on her shoulders.

Now, I'm going to take a break from the PWP until the feedback comes in, and get back to work on my novel!

Best wishes to other aspiring writers,

Adrian

Was Offline A Few Days

I was offline the past few days since I hurt my back again. I have to stop doing that! It's much better, but the medicine threw me for a loop. Anyway, it feels good to be getting busy again.

I managed to complete about 50% of the work on the hypothetical novel this past week before I had to take time off from anything non-essential. If I hadn't injured myself, I would certainly have finished the complete novel. (Grr....)

The story, to me, is really quite interesting. I think others will find it interesting, too. I certainly hope so!

I went with a female protagonist and antagonist, a first for me, and an opportunity to stretch and try something new (we'll leave the personal jokes aside). I'm working out a detailed synopsis, chapter by chapter. It is not essential to read the synopsis -- the other pages of notes, noticeably briefer, are adequate to prepare one to write the scenes -- but it would probably help to get a better sense of the story concept as it plays out, and how the characters develop, especially for writers who prefer more rather than less detail.

I will share the information about the novel soon. I'll share it with the registered writers first, for their feedback. Once I'm satisfied it's solid, I'll share it with everyone.

Then, I'll get the actual challenges done. I was debating whether to share all this information up front or not, but I don't see the harm in doing so. There could be a value in sharing it only with the registered writers first, then revealing it to the Readers as we put each challenge online, then finally sharing everything with everyone once the project is complete, but I don't see the need to put such a limit on it. There is probably more value in putting it all online as soon as it's available, to give people time to think about it, and potential writers to see the reality of it, which might help them decide whether to join. If anybody has any thoughts or insights, anything I'm missing, please let me know, either way.

Wishing everyone ein schoenes Wochenende ("a nice weekend" in German, in honor of Gabriele Germanica's safe return from her travels,

Adrian

Creative Commons License Now On PWP Site

I finally had time to get the Creative Commons license information together and post it to the PWP web site. This resulted in the need to change a few other pages to reflect the new information. Details available on the PWP web site under the current News Flash (June 10, 2007).

I also upgraded the Text Viewer once more. The Text Viewer now displays the News Flashes when you first open it, along with a new feature called the "Scroll of Inspiration". The idea is for registered writers to contribute quotes or images which they find inspirational. They can do this at any time as the Parallel Writing Project progresses. The stuff on there now is just a beginning.

With these latest changes, the Start Page and the Text Viewer are pretty much DONE. (Yippee!)

Now, the only significant tasks remaining are to develop the hypothetical novel and the 12 challenges, and to take some time to promote the PWP to grow the list of registered writers.

Still not sure of a start date. It will depend on progress on the sign-up of writers.

This really is a cool opportunity to hone writing skills. I think the effect of writing scenes alongside other writers -- the same scenes told in your own way -- will be a powerful experience, a chance to see how other writers tackle the very same writing challenges. I'm very excited about it and hope plenty of writers and readers get involved to make this project a success.

PS -- I have been working on the next set of 3 Tips & Tricks articles for my web site. I had hoped to post them on Friday morning but missed my deadline: I've been too busy finishing the PWP site to complete them. I'll finish them soon and will post them this coming Friday, and will try again to post each new set of articles on a weekly basis, putting them online Friday mornings.

Adrian

Suresh -- Still Out There?

I've updated the Parallel Writing Project site to include the current list of writers and supporters (those who provide links to the PWP site to help promote it).

Suresh posted a comment recently about joining the Parallel Writing Project, but did not leave any way for me to make contact.

Suresh -- are you still out there? Please send me an email or post a comment here again with a link to your web site or blog, so I can keep in touch with you.

Also, writers are welcome to send me a bio to post on the site (details under "Participants" / "About Bios").

By the way, since I'm updating the PWP web site so frequently right now, it's best to clear your cache before visiting, to be sure the most recent versions of the pages will load for you. Otherwise, you may visit the site but still be seeing older versions of the pages from your cache, rather than seeing the current versions.

Almost completely done putting the site together. The main task that remains is developing the story and challenges, which I hope to finish this weekend, and then spending some time promoting the project.

I'm wondering when the best time to start the project would be.... After more people sign up, of course, but also perhaps later in the summer? Or September? I just wonder if the summer is the best time -- but the truly dedicated work on their writing year-round, right? ;-)

Adrian

Some Great "Summer Reading"

Wynn Bexton writes historical fiction and also does some travel writing. She is currently in GREECE and having a wonderful time traveling and seeing so much. She is blogging about it on her travel blog. If you haven't checked it out already, it's well worth a look -- some nice "summer reading" if you imagine what a wonderful time she must be having! Certainly more fun than Paris Hilton these days.

There is a link to Wynn's travel blog in the sidebar under Featured Links. (Her other blog is listed with the writers' blogs.) You can also find her travel blog by clicking this link:

http://travelthroughhistory.blogspot.com/

Yes, it's summer already, and what better way to spend it than cruising the Greek Islands! Go, Wynn!

Adrian

PWP Beta Version 5.0

I managed to get the next and hopefully last significant upgrade online this morning for the Parallel Writing Project web site, bringing it up to Beta Version 5.0.

If you check out the Text Viewer now (the place where you would read the scenes for each challenge), you will find the Viewer can accommodate 12 scenes (1-12) by 26 authors (A-Z). I think that's a good limit to establish.

Currently, the idea is to have writers turn in new scenes once every two weeks. At that rate, that would mean 2 scenes per month, and 6 months to complete the 12 scenes. It may be more desirable to increase the rate to once a week, or 4 per month, in which case it would take 3 months to complete the 12 scenes. I think there should be a definite end point to the project, and 12 scenes seems like a good number, adequate to cover the major points in the storyline. If there are more writers, then less often is better for submissions. If there are fewer authors, then weekly would work out okay, if people prefer that option.

My next main task is to create the storyline and the challenges, then put that information online. That might take 1-3 days. I'll keep you posted. If anyone wants to share ideas, let me know by email.

Please check out the Parallel Writing Project web site, if you haven't done so already, and if you have, please check out the new version of the Text Viewer! Now you can see what it will really be like.

And...any help in spreading the word about this exciting project is greatly appreciated!

[NOTE: THE URL HAS CHANGED: SEE COMMENT ATTACHED TO THIS POSTING FOR DETAILS!]

Adrian

New Images Now On PWP Site

I created more images to help promote the Parallel Writing Project (PWP). I've uploaded them and added a new page for them, called the "Gallery" (go figure). It's under the "Participants" menu.

Here is a sampling of the new images (there are more on the site):


















More news soon....

Adrian

More Promotional Images

Feel free to use any of these images instead of the other "invitation" banner from my last posting, if you prefer. You can still save one of them as "invitation.jpg" and then use the HTML code from my last posting (you'll see the file referred to in the HTML code as "invitation.jpg").














Thanks again,

Adrian

Would You Help Pass the Word?

I think the Parallel Writing Project can be a very useful tool to help writers learn and grow through focused writing challenges and helpful feedback. It's like a writing group, but without the need to drive somewhere and meet up in person, which can be difficult with busy schedules.

I do hope that other writers, and fantasy writers in particular, will jump on board. The train will be leaving the station soon (start date to be announced). I don't want to leave anybody behind that would enjoy taking part.

I hope my blog readers will support this project either by taking part or by passing along the word about it. If you take part in any forums, please let others know, and feel free to provide a link:

PARALLEL WRITING PROJECT
http://www.geocities.com/americanauthor/

You can also use the following banner:



To add this banner to your blog or web site:

1. Save the image above (right-click, "Save Image") as "invitation.jpg".

2. Add the following HTML code to your blog template or web site. There should be no space after the first or second lines--it all runs together.



IF YOU DO PROVIDE A LINK, let me know -- I'll add a link back to your site on a page thanking Supporters in the PWP site! A little extra promotion for your own site, blog, or the forum where you participate.

Let me say "THANKS!" to anyone who helps promote the Parallel Writing Project!

And if you haven't already, please check out the web site and see for yourself what it's all about.

Adrian

Beta Version 4.0!

I thought I was going to get back to my novel already, but seeing the need to further develop the PWP site I decided to keep at it until it's done.

I made another very significant step forward yesterday. I revamped the Text Viewer so you can view texts by author or by writing challenge, reorganized the system for filekeeping, and added the "Legal" Stuff" and "Participants" sections to the main menu of the Start Page. I liked what I did the day before so much I thought I should extend that format (the green submenu). The Start Page is now pretty much done except for the Creative Commons License, which I haven't had time to go fetch yet. I think the Text Viewer is done now, too, except I need to set up a bunch of blank pre-formatted files to be ready for the eventual submissions.

Much is done, some still to do. Back to work!

Adrian

PWP GROWING QUICKLY!

The Parallel Writing Project (hereinafter "PWP") is growing quickly. After putting up the Beta Version, before the launch of my web site, I have managed to revamp the Beta Version and create the foundation for the actual site. If you visit it now, with the most recent additions from today, you will see Beta Version 3.0!

The PWP site is linked to from the "entry page" to my new web site, a generic page that you can use to reach any of the stuff I'll put on the web site (the PWP isn't the only project up my sleeve!). When you arrive at the "entry page", you can click the image and enter my actual web site, or click on any other links to go directly to specific projects. Right now, the PWP is the only project available (another one is in the pipeline for the next few months).

Once you reach the PWP site, you will see a logo in the top left corner, with a menu below it. The links open messages in the main portion of your screen. There is a welcome message, a News Flash, the Rules, Submission Guidelines, etc., all from the original Beta Version but edited and developed somewhat more.

The latest addition is the link labeled "ABOUT THE CHALLENGES". When you click this link, it opens a new menu in a green panel with links to information about the actual challenges. This is where you learn about the Hypothetical Novel, Challenge Scenes, and more details about submissions, comments and the schedule. This new information will give you a more detailed sense of what the project is all about, what the reality of participating in it will (hopefully) be.

The next things I'm working on:

Posting information about the Creative Commons license for the hypothetical novel and challenge scenes.

Developing the storyline of the hypothetical novel and writing the descriptions of the challenge scenes.

Adding a little more to the PWP site, including a place to list the writers who are participating and provide links to their blogs/sites, and a place to list the supporters (readers and others) who have links to the PWP site, providing links to their sites as well (cross-polination is a good thing, as beekeepers will tell you).

Upgrading the Text Viewer to allow you to read all the submissions by author or by writing challenge (this will enable you to maintain continuity in reading successive submissions by the same author).

Upgrading the Text Viewer to feature the News Flashes and also a comic or quote as a source of encouragement or inspiration (as if anybody needs encouragement or inspiration with all that's going on in the world today).

Finally, as all the pieces come together in the next week or two, it's important to get the word out. Thanks to Romance Writer who has already linked to my new site, and to Susan Fleming who will soon post about the PWP on her blog.

I'll post more in the days ahead, keeping you informed as this AWESOME, COOL, EXCITING project comes together and we get ready to actually start!

It's not too early to sign up: just send me an email to let me know you'd like to take part. I think you will be happy you did.

Best wishes to everyone else on their writing and writing-related activities,

Adrian

NEW WEB SITE ONLINE!

After a lot of FTP hassles, I managed to get the site online (without using FTP -- I did it the old-fashioned way, file by file). Regardless, it's there, and I've taken time to debug it, so it should be working pretty well at this point. Feel free to check it out, and let me know what you think!

Please add this link to your bookmarks:

http://www.geocities.com/americanauthor

That's the "Entry Page". Bookmark only to that page since it will remain constant: all the other pages will change over time.

Yippee! Now I can get back to my novel!

PS: Thanks, Susan, for encouraging me to take on this long-awaited project after completing my second draft of THE REFLECTING STONE. Glad I got it done. It's a start, with room to grow.

Adrian

New Web Site Coming Soon!

I'm setting Friday, June 1, 2007, as the tentative launch date for my new web site. Half the site is now finished, and much of the rest of it is in progress. I have lots to do yet, but I think I can finish it and put it online by this Friday morning.

Check back here for the link and the announcement that it's officially up and running!

I'm eager to get back to my novel!

Adrian

Beta Test Version Ready

The Beta Test Version for the Parallel Writing Project is available for you to check out. I'll describe what you'll find when you visit the web site and the blog, then provide you with the links.

WEB SITE:

When you click the link below for the web site, you will be taken to the temporary start page (the rest of the new web site is coming soon!). Click the link there to see the mock-up of the Parallel Writing Project.

You will see a page of text explaining details about the project for first-time visitors. This page will be changed as far as presentation goes, but the content is the current version. At the bottom of this page are links to the Text Viewer and the Blog Site.

The Text Viewer is the page where you would actually spend your time reading the texts.

BLOG SITE:

I set up generic posts for each writer (A-Z, if that many take part), and for the first writing challenge.

The idea is that you would first read the texts for the current writing challenge on the web site (above), then visit the blog where you would use the list of links on the right side to find the writer or challenge you want to comment on, then post comments under that posting.

The links below will take you to the web site and the blog site. Feel free to explore. Please share any comments here on this blog (Chronicling the Novel...).

I appreciate your comments and suggestions!

Adrian


WEB SITE

BLOG SITE

Any Comments On This New Idea?

I had an idea for my new web site that I wanted to share with my blog readers for feedback. I welcome anyone with an opinion or who might wish to take part to leave a comment.

It occurred to me that it might be fun, interesting, and enlightening to gain some writing practice on various aspects of the scene, and to do this along with other writers, in a way that enables those who take part to share their work alongside that of other participants. Hence...

THE PARALLEL WRITING PROJECT

On a bi-weekly basis, participants would write one scene and send it to me by email. I would post the scenes on my web site, side-by-side, as a series of long running "strips", with each new scene posted below the last scene by the same writer. You would recognize each writer's work as you scroll across because each strip would have its own color scheme. The description of the writing challenge for each scene would appear in the first column. Here is a diagram.


The trick is that these would not be a miscellaneous collection of scenes by different writers, but would be scenes focused around specific "challenges". Each writer would attempt to write the same scene in terms of plot/characters as described in the writing challenge for that scene, and with the same focus on particular aspects of scene creation.

It would be interesting to see how different writers approach the challenge or writing "problem". It would be interesting to compare overall style, vocabulary, sentence structure, and the way the scenes are developed or certain effects achieved.

I would set up another blog just for this project, with links between it and the web site. Participants and observers could post comments on the blog site regarding each of the scene challenges and each writer's texts (advice, observations, things to think about). Those taking part would be able to provide input into future challenges or items to focus on, so that it would be a collaborative experiment.

I think the benefit of participating in this opportunity would be:

Sharing work online and getting feedback;
Comparing your work to the writing of others where there is a direct parallel between texts;
Developing an increased awareness of the interplay between style and structure;
Refining your techniques for handling dialog, character development, etc., in the context of a progression of individual scenes.

There would be no fee to participate. Participation would be limited to 6-12 writers to keep the task of updating the site every two weeks manageable. The work you share (texts you submit by email) would remain your own property with your own copyright. There would be no commercial use of this material as posted on my web site as part of the Parallel Writing Project. You would be free to develop your individual texts and seek publication elsewhere, although that is not really the purpose: the intent is to do this as a shared, collaborative writing exercise, "practice writing" alongside whatever other projects you are working on toward publication.

Comments? Anyone willing to give it a try?

Adrian

Developing New Web Site

I have started developing the new web site that I have been wanting to put together for some time now. I started on Thursday night, and over the past few days have made some very satisfying progress. I'm eager to launch the new site, but don't want to rush it; I should continue to develop it and prepare content for it, so that enough of the new site is ready to make it worthwhile when it does launch.

I'll probably throw a Launch Party to celebrate and then invent a new "Launch Dance", some sort of jumping up and down with arms reaching out to symbolize how a new web site can reach out to the world . . . well, maybe I should leave the choreography to those actually skilled at that, but the idea of celebrating the launch of the new site, when it's ready to launch, is appealing.

I usually create web pages using Simple Text, writing out the actual HTML code myself--I like the challenge of it. I haven't done this in a while, so I've had to spend some time relearning HTML while also figuring out the site design and major sections for content. It's very creative work and a lot of fun.

Since I've become absorbed in this work, I haven't written anything more on OCCUPANT. That's okay. I'll get back to it soon. I've continued to explore ways to make OCCUPANT part of the ongoing series that starts with THE REFLECTING STONE. I found some new twists that would help raise it to the required epic fantasy level by the end of the story, but I also thought of other new twists that would simply make it a better story even if it's not made part of the series. As a stand-alone novel it would be interesting, and as part of the series it would be interesting. I'll continue to work with it and see which direction I like better.

Thanks to Gabriele for posting a recent comment about the idea of having novels share the same world even if the plots aren't directly linked. That was certainly interesting to think about and I'll continue to reflect on that.

Oh, by the way, the Mystery Project I worked on so hard back in the Fall will be linked to through the new web site, so I will also start working on that project again to finish it up and get it ready to launch. I guess that means another Launch Party. I won't complain.

Keeping my stories in mind where they continue to grow,

Adrian

Chapter 6, 18k

Only writing about one chapter per night right now. I find I'm quite tired when I sit down to write. Must be fatigue from last week's mad dash. So, I'm taking it easy and trying to rest a bit. I really wore myself out last week. Also, whenever I start a new draft, it seems it's always slow going for me no matter what. I think this is because I just have to work with the story to find the right voice or style, and the heart of it, the core of the story out of which springs so much emotion, and that drives all the rest of the stuff in it. I think I found that for this story finally in Chapter 6, although it's still a developing sense.

Today I most regrettably had the first insight into how this novel, too, could be adapted to fit my ongoing series that starts with THE REFLECTING STONE. I am intrigued by the idea of tying many different stories together. That is the intention for that series, although I won't say exactly why or how things should tie together. There is an epic fantasy level to it, but then there is also the nitty-gritty specific level of each individual story. In a way, the individual stories, as different as they are, shed light on different aspects of larger ideas, which then are further explored and brought together on the over-arching epic level. Nuff said. So, I'm not sure yet whether I'll actually use this story in that context. It can perfectly well stand alone, but elevating it to the next level brings out some intriguing ideas, takes things even farther than they go otherwise as I develop the themes throughout the story. This is what I ended up doing with THE ISLE and I LOVE the results. We'll see what happens. Even if I don't use this story, I am always on the lookout for other stories that can fit that series.

I am dabbling a bit right now in developing the new web site. I don't know when that'll be done, but I think I am ready to start work on it. There is more I want to do and a new and expanded site would enable me to do that. Time to grow!

Wishing everyone success in cultivating their creativity,

Adrian

Writing 1st Draft of OCCUPANT: Chapter 4, 12k

Last Thursday night I spent a few hours going over my notes for OCCUPANT and totally revamped them. This was a novel I worked on last year for a while between drafts of THE REFLECTING STONE and THE ISLE, based on an idea that I had been carrying around for a while even before last year.

I wrote the first chapter Thursday night, about 3k words, then let it sit over the weekend while I caught up on sleep. Last night (Sunday) I wrote another 3 chapters and about another 9k words.

Although I was able to write many words last week and finish off the first draft of THE REFLECTING STONE, I do have to ask myself whether it was truly wise to push ahead at such a pace, considering I didn't get much rest. There are trade-offs. I don't want to push that hard with the current draft, but still I should be able to finish it by the end of next week. I hope the finished draft runs around 72k.

OCCUPANT is an engaging story. Those I've shared a description of it with have all found it interesting. It's a ghost story, to some extent, in that a ghost appears in it, but rather than the main focus, which it was originally supposed to be, the events related to the ghost are almost a subplot alongside the family drama that unfolds throughout the story. I'll have to see once I've completed this draft whether this current take on it works well. The story is intriguing, but much less complex than the story of THE REFLECTING STONE, which is an epic fantasy. I'm enjoying the lighter weight of the plot, which allows me to focus more on character development, a crucial component in a story of this type. I'm also focusing on my sense of how to write a scene. Another feature of this new novel is multiple points of view. THE REFLECTING STONE is written entirely from the main character's POV. I wanted to dabble in multiple POV's, and OCCUPANT is a good story to do that with.

While I'm working on this draft, I will see about developing the new web site I've wanted to get around to for some time now. I envision it as a combination of web pages and blog pages, as many writers have at their sites. A way to provide information, and blog, and get feedback. I'm also thinking of that certain other creative project I put two months of hard work into last Fall, and which I have let sit ever since so that I could focus on my writing again. I was nearly finished with it, and would love to see what comes of it when it's actually finished. So, I may get back to work on the Mystery Project as well, we'll see. I'll keep my number one priority as finishing OCCUPANT so I can get back to work on THE REFLECTING STONE.

Each time I write a draft, I gain more experience in applying the techniques I've learned for completing a manuscript. I get to see those techniques and the process of creation as a constant, regardless of the particular story I'm working on. I also gain experience in thinking through a story, exploring it, fleshing it out, developing it in detail as I write it. I gain experience in keeping track of details, building suspense, pouring emotion out on the page, all that stuff that hopefully will engage and motivate a Reader. So, I feel working on OCCUPANT right now is not a waste of time, but a great way to continue to move forward in developing my skills. When it's done, I'll go right back to work on THE REFLECTING STONE, pouring over what I did and figuring out what to do with it.

Thanks to those who shared their comments with me recently. And, I'm happy to introduce a new link on my site, to the blog of KATE EVANS. Check it out when you get a chance.

Keeping at it,

Adrian

41 Chapters, 119,241 Words = DONE!!!

Finished the second complete draft of my first novel, THE REFLECTING STONE, this morning. The later chapters are certainly first-draft material again, rough around the edges. Still, out of the many thousands of pages I wrote the past week there is a lot of really solid material to work with. I am guessing now that I'll end up with a third draft, but I'm not sure yet. At any rate, some of what I have is definitely what I want, and some of it is "getting there". I may just rewrite the portions that need it and tie that in with the chapters that I'm happy with. I'll have to wait and see.

Next is a short break from this, so I can gain a little distance, and then I'll read over what I have and assess the damage. Then I'll decide what needs rewriting, and whether to rewrite the whole thing or just sections. Then I'll get to work on that. I'm only a few days after my self-imposed deadline of the end of April for the completion of this draft, close enough. I can take the time to figure things out and still get another complete draft done within May or by early June.

My goal is get a COMPLETED MANUSCRIPT done as soon as possible and to start sending it out. I will take the time I need, but hope to get it done this summer, which was the same time I set for last year -- last summer -- but I was much too premature with that goal. I'm much closer now, might actually make it this time around.

I'll consider whether to work on another novel, one I had planned in detail last year (OCCUPANT), or work on my second novel, doing another rewrite of that (THE ISLE), while I let this current draft cool off. I wonder whether I should avoid any more work on THE ISLE, though, until I pin this first novel down very tightly, because that is the sequel, and my first draft gave me enough to work with, and any more work there would be tenuous at best while this first novel is still open to "tweaking". OCCUPANT would make a great side project, not too long, not too complicated compared with THE REFLECTING STONE.

Oh, and by the way, I still LOVE the characters and the story. I haven't gotten tired of it or them yet. I only get that way when I go over and over the same few scenes or chapters again and again and again, rewriting and editing them. Otherwise, I don't tire of the work.

Also, going so quickly this past week has helped me see the story in a more cohesive fashion, which is lost when I move more slowly. I really got into it, and was amazed at how I was able to keep track of so, so, so many details, raising questions or setting up things in one chapter, coming back to them repeatedly, then resolving them in later chapters. I had no idea I could keep track of that much in my head. It's good to push myself, to raise my limits, expand my horizons. That's the way to learn and grow, and see just what I'm capable of.

Well, I'm off to take care of other things. I hope to find something to work on quickly, though. I don't think I do as well if I take a total break from the writing, unless I'm really burned out. It's best to keep the momentum, although I'll work at a slower pace in the coming week after the mad rush of the past week. I'm afraid if I stop altogether for a week, I'll find it hard to get started again. Maybe this is a time to write some other stuff, develop some other ideas, just to keep plugging away.

Wishing everyone progress and joy in their work,

Adrian

Chapter 37, 104k

Moving right along. Exploring some of the heavy-duty metaphysical stuff right now, so what I'm writing is coming across more as rough first draft stuff than has otherwise been the case. Back to lengthy conversations, not good if you want action, but there's plenty of action throughout, and the questions raised have to be answered sometime. I can work this into a usable form, just need to edit or rewrite it to pare it down. It is showing me the real conflicts, the real nature of the conflicts. I'm finally seeing in the writing the stuff that I knew was there all along but which I hadn't been able to bring out before. It'll need major work, this part of the story, but at least it's coming along. Making good progress.

Another couple of days and this draft will be finished. I am still not sure how it'll look once it's done. Will have to wait and see. Am very, very curious about it.

Enjoy the Spring, it's here now,

Adrian

Chapter 33, 93k

I didn't write the rest of the weekend after my marathon session Friday night into Saturday morning, which will certainly go down in the history book for me as far as my "adventures in writing" go. It was fun, and I was so incredibly absorbed in the story that I just couldn't put it down. Afterward, though, I realized I very much needed to put it down and focus on something else for a while. Helps in maintaining balance, good health and all that sort of thing. We can write too much, as well as too little. I think I wrote 54k words last week. Enough already! That's Nano in a week! I should call it "WeekMo" and get other maniacs to sign up. We'll form our own little club, the "People Who Hemorrhage So Bad When They Write It Ain't Funny Club". We might even get a tax deduction for it, although our insurance premiums will probably skyrocket. ;-)

Last night I was back at it again (Tuesday night) and I wrote another large bunch of stuff, apparently about 12k words in 4.5 hours, minus a couple of short breaks, again right on track with what seems to be my going rate for words per minute and per hour (about 45/min, 2750/hr). It's interesting that I had gotten worried during my short hiatus that maybe what I had written was going to come falling down around me. I felt I had done so much so quickly, maybe it wasn't as solid as it seemed at the time (one of those, "oh-my-gosh, whatever was I thinking" moments, paired with "it seemed like a good idea at the time"). I was truly worried. However, I picked up right where I left off without missing a beat and hammered out more truly intriguing new stuff.

I'm rewriting the story, keeping the same basic idea of it all, but allowing creativity to take over. Although this is still coming out like a first draft, which in effect it really is, still there is much more control and it holds together very well. It's far more solid than my actual first draft. I'm avoiding going back and reading and editing what I wrote, but I had to glimpse back a little, and what I saw left me feeling very satisfied.

I don't want to give any of the new twists and turns away, and there are LOTS of new twists and turns to keep things interesting. However, I wanted to mention, since I think it's very funny, that the concerns that fueled my "what have I done?!" moments were solved by looking at a short bit of two different shows on TV the other evening. One was an episode of Star Trek TNG, the other the documentary that was on this past week about the Illuminati. Neither of these had anything whatsoever to do with my story in any direct way, but when I saw what each was about, I realized they did sort of almost parallel my story in an indirect and unconnected sort of way. The point was, I said to myself, "if they have the b***s to tell these stories, then I should not worry about it -- I can certainly tell my story." In other words, I got a lot of confidence that the limb I had gone out on was no farther "out there" than some of the limbs I see others going out on all the time. I took heart, gathered courage, and let myself dream.

And oh, what a dream!

Again, I was so wrapped up in the story that I could barely force myself to stop when I finally had run out of time to write. The hours flew by. I love to be so wrapped up in my writing like that. Tremendous focus, tremendous involvement, feeling literally as though I were experiencing it myself. Hopefully it will have at least some of that same sensation for the Reader.

I'll keep at it, and hope to finish the draft within a few more days this week. It's turning into another 120k draft, but that's okay. It is what it needs to be. I can still try to whittle it down.

I had hoped to finish this draft within April. I made slow going of it for several weeks there, so that set me behind, but I'm catching up and it won't be that late, only by a few days. Not so sure now that another complete draft is inevitable. I'll have to wait and see. There is so much solid stuff here that this might actually be something I can just edit into shape. It will depend. However it goes, if I keep the new twists and turns, then I want to edit this enough that I'm comfortable to share it, and then share it with a few Beta Readers. If I decide to alter the story significantly yet again, then I'll have to do a rewrite before I can share it. Too soon to know for sure. Need to finish it first, then have a look back at it.

In the meantime, my fingers are itching for this story to be FINISHED so that I can get the next one finished and then the next one and then the next one ....

Best wishes to everyone else trying to get their novels finished!

Adrian

[Note: Blogger acting up, had to republish this post!]

Update

A couple of quick updates to share with you.

TIPS & TRICKS BLOG UPDATED

I added some entries to my TIPS & TRICKS blog, offering some very important tips and questions to ask yourself that can help anyone struggling with plot and character development.

This blog is best read in reverse order -- in other words, start with the oldest (first) entry, and read backward, in the order in which things were actually posted. Of course, you can also skim along and read whatever catches your eye in whatever order you come to it. One day before too terribly long I will create a web site and organize this information, and add to it, so that it is presented in a clearer fashion. Blogs are not really the best venue for this sort of information.

THE ORIGIN OF THE "THINKING BLOGGER AWARD"

Susan Flemming was able to find the original posting by the blogger who actually started the whole THINKING BLOGGER AWARD meme. She has updated her blog with her own posting after receiving the award, and has included the link there.

I include it here as well in case anyone is curious to see it. I was. I'm glad the person started the meme. It certainly made me think about what blogs have a real value to me, on what basis I think that, helped spur me on to seek additional blogs out there that can make me think, and helped me to recognize some quality blogs by quality people when I made my own posting about this.

Chapter 30, 81k

Hoo-hah! A marathon session. Stayed up all night. This story is so fascinating, I just can't put it down. So much of the heart of the story is coming out right now.

I wrote for a span of probably nine hours. During that time I think I churned out about 25,000 words. That comes to 2777 words per hour, similar to my output the other day when I was on a roll. That's about 46 words per minute sustained output for nine straight hours non-stop, although in real terms of course I did take breaks. I actually worked over a span of about 10 hours, with an hour off for breaks.

I just couldn't stop myself. The story has me in its grips.

I'm technically doing the second draft, but since I have changed plot details around, it feels more like a first draft at this point. Some of it is loose, but some of it is tight, and some of it is darned good stuff that I'm really happy with. It'll certainly take a bit of work to tighten up the loose parts.

At the start of this past week, I was at Chapter 10 and 27k. That means I wrote twenty chapters this past week, and 54,000 words.

Okay, I'm now officially a writing maniac!

Feels good. Hope I'm inspiring someone else out there to see what they can do if they pull all the stops.

Best wishes while I can still see clearly enough to type it,

Adrian

11k = Personal Record!

I just realized I set what might be my personal record last night: 11,000 words written in one writing session! (About four hours writing time.)

That's 2750 words per hour, or 45-46 words per minute sustained for four hours.

Of course, I took breaks here or there, so at times I was moving a little more quickly and at other times not moving at all.

I know I had written 7k and 9k previously. This is the first time I've reached 11k, as far as I know. Wow! Practice makes for productivity!

I'll toast to that!

Adrian

Chapter 22, 56k

Made a bunch more progress last night. My goal earlier this week of letting the story speak for itself, of getting into the heart of it, has worked really well. Last night I was flying along, feeling the very heart and pulse of the story (and the potential series).

That's all. I'll write again this weekend and am really, really enjoying the story. This second draft will finally resemble the finished product. That's exciting.

Best wishes to others working on their novels,

Adrian

Chapter 17, 45k

Moving right along. I made it to Chapter 15 on Tuesday night, then Chapter 17 last night, so about two chapters per night. They vary from 2k to 3k in length. The most I wrote in one night this week was 7k words.

Sometimes I think I'm not realizing the potential of the story with this new material, and then when I read over what I wrote, I feel it is actually really good. So, I have no idea whether it's any good or not. I'll have to continue working through, complete the draft, and then a good look back at it after a short break from it.

What I do like in the new material is that I'm delving more into the heart of the characters, trying to draw out the emotion more. The first part of the story (Act I) moved along fairly quickly and I was writing in a style that was brief, without much exposition or inner reflection. I wanted the Reader to deduce the emotional reactions without my naming them. In this part (Act II, First Half), I'm commenting more on the thoughts or feelings, which I think ultimately works better. I'm not stating the obvious, but allowing more consideration of how the MC feels about things. There is much for him to feel about, much that has already happened, and probably in the edit or rewrite of this I'll need to go back to Act I to draw that out more there as well.

I've also been very pleased with some of the scenes in general, that they are engaging and heartwarming and allowing for some story questions to remain unanswered, building suspense to some degree, while also developing new questions of immediate interest, yet again not fully resolving them. There are also a number of twists and turns, unexpected things that make perfect sense but which I did not see coming and the Reader will probably not see coming either, as written.

Although I'm moving faster, I'm getting a handle on scene length, pulling them back down to 2k+, trying not to hit 3k and certainly not to exceed it. It's still a problem with some chapters, but other chapters are right on target, which is better than having no chapters on target. My first draft featured chapters of about 10k each and some scenes as long as 6k+. Shorter is better, and hard for writers like me to accomplish since (as my blog postings show on occasion ... well, rather frequently) I tend to write a bit more rather than a bit less. At least I don't have any trouble most of the time finding something to write!

Also, the overall quality of the prose is remaining good enough that I'm comfortable with it. I thought style would go out the window, which it has to some extent as I am writing more quickly, moving ahead without looking back, but in fact my developing sense of style is becoming more ingrained and I'm holding it together much better than I might have in previous drafts/attempts over the years. I sense much more control at storytelling emerging. It just takes lots and lots and lots of practice!

Finally, I wanted to mention that as I do more work in this draft-mode mindset, turning off the internal editor and just going for it, I find it is getting much, much easier to do. It is no longer as emotionally draining. It is becoming a habit. I can sit down now and just glance at the last lines of the previous chapter, and suddenly all of it comes back to mind. The continuity is there with very little effort. I don't have to spend an hour going back over previous chapters to "get in the mindset". The downside, of course, is that I am never not in the mindset: I carry the story around with me day and night, although I am now able to carry conversations and actually notice what the other people are saying. I'm not totally pre-occupied, just unwilling to let the story go for longer than it takes to watch "24" (!).

Best wishes to others working on their novels,

Adrian

THINKING BLOGGER AWARD!

I was recently awarded the Thinking Blogger Award by Gabriele. This definitely feels like an honor. The idea of the award is to recognize blogs that make you think. The rules are posted below, along with the five blogs which I am also tagging.

Here are the rules to play along:

1. If you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think.
2. Link to that post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme.
3. Optional: Display your Thinking Blogger Award with a link to the post that you wrote.

And the five blogs I have chosen:

Benjamin Solah: A young man who lives in Sydney, Australia, who is both a Marxist and a Horror Fiction writer. He uses his fiction to capture the horrors of Capitalism. I admire the depth of his convictions and his commitment to using his art to express his view on the world.

Wynn Bexton: Wynn is a travel writer and writing instructor who is also working on a novel. Through her travels and studies she is also very knowledgeable about history. Her blog is always interesting and I love the quotes and the samples of her writing that she shares.

Susan Flemming: Susan is another aspiring novelist whose blog makes me think. She is in touch with much that goes on in the world of writerly blogging, including writers' contests and other events.

Scott Marlowe: Scott is an aspiring novelist who blogs about his writing and also shares other interesting tidbits of interest and relevance to writers. He recently posted a completed manuscript online for free download, earning him the dubious title of webscab.

Sherry Thomas: Sherry is a newly published writer who hasn't blogged as much lately as she used to but when she posts, it is generally well worth reading. I have enjoyed several of her posts immensely and hope she will continue blogging regularly!

Honorable Mentions:

There was a blog that really made me think, but apparently it is no longer available. It was called "A New Rico" and belonged to an Italian man that I came into contact with through Nanowrimo one year. He was blogging and writing creatively about his life experiences as a gay man in Italy dealing with HIV and other significant issues. I hope he is alive and well.

Another very interesting blog is "The Elegant Variation", a literary weblog that has attracted considerable attention. If you haven't heard of it, check it out.

Pendrifter is the blog of another aspiring writer who, like me, blogs about the struggles, the ups and downs, of working at her novels. This blogger also includes a beautiful piece of artwork with each posting, which always stimulates the creativity and constantly reinforces a sense of art's potential to inspire.

If Gabriele hadn't tagged me for this award, I would certainly have tagged her. She maintains two blogs and a web site (see Featured Links in the sidebar). She writes historical fiction and I'm amazed by her work. She also provides an excellent list of links well worth visiting.

Which blogs make YOU think?

Adrian

PS: If anyone linked to or mentioned here does not wish to receive the recognition, please let me know and I'll remove your name/link.

Chapter 13, 35k

Yup, back to work, riding the churning seas of creativity, new pages materializing right before my very eyes . . . must be magic! There has to be some explanation for it.

Chapter 12 was surprisingly tight. Otherwise, the chapters are running longer than intended. That's what happens when I write faster without editing. Looks like this will be another 120k draft. Was hoping for 80k and was on track for that before.

Have broken that exciting new ground. It's exciting. New scenes now for the next 30k words, a rewrite of this portion of the original storyline. I love the joy of discovery. It's so joyous.

'Nuff for now.

Adrian

Chapter 10, 27k

Yes, the word count is beginning to surge, and golly, that just happens to coincide with the point at which I am moving forward more quickly! The rapider I go, the wordier I get . . . .

I threw caution to the wind and I'm not sure yet what the wind blew back on my face, but after I clean it off I'll try resist the urge to go back and edit what I wrote. I'm in Chapter 11 already, and will finish it tonight. That will mark the end of Act I.

It feels good to make more rapid progress, but I long for the sense of polished text. Wish I could have it both ways at the same time. I know, I'll just have to wait and then I can edit later. Okay. I'll wait. Grr . . . .

I'm still excited about getting into the first half of Act II. That'll be something new, a revised version that will involve many new scenes I have never written before. I'll go where I've never gone. Hopefully I won't get lost. My map is pretty good.

Back to work,

Adrian

Chapter 8, 18k

I spent a lot of time recently going over and over the existing chapters of the second draft, tightening, tweaking, making it sing. I'm really pleased with the results. I feel this second draft, the portion already written, is very solid. It's what I had hoped the first draft would be.

Last night I worked on Chapter 8. I still have a little to add to it, but it's mostly done. After I had stopped work, I felt what I had written was terrible, but later when I read it over, I thought it was actually very good. So, the doubts will creep in, but are not reason to become discouraged. It seems the more I go over this story, the better I know it, and the better I can tell it. I make more connections now between scenes and especially the forces that drive character motivations. This deeper understanding shows up in each scene I write for this second draft.

As there are multiple scenes in most chapters, and the number of chapters and scenes is beginning to grow, I found it useful to update my Master Scene List, a table where I keep track of each scene in each chapter so I can tell at a glance what has happened and what needs to happen next. I compare what I am doing with what I did before, but I am not bound to follow the exact pattern from before. The idea in this second draft is that I am making minor reshuffles, adjusting the flow of scenes to enhance motivation and cause/effect. Also, as I mentioned in a previous posting, I'll be reshuffling one major portion of the story, moving it earlier where it will have a greater effect and set up more potential in other scenes that come later. Still, I need to refer to the Master Scene List from the first draft to remind me of the various scenes I'm working with. Some I can consolidate, some I can shuffle, some I can drop and replace with other ways of getting the story across. Eventually I will put some of my tables online with links for free download. I know I've been promising that for months; I will get to it eventually.

At this point I'll try to keep moving forward. I love tweaking text but enough is enough. There is much more to write to get this draft done, and I'm falling behind schedule, sacrificing speed for more polished results.

Back to work,

Adrian

A "Langolier" Moment

This has turned into an unplanned break! Other things have come up recently and my writing time has been limited, plus I was not getting enough sleep on a chronic basis, so I've needed a break to catch up on some rest, and basically catch up with myself. I'm sort of getting closer to where I am now, the way the survivors were waiting in the airport at the end of Stephen King's THE LANGOLIERS. Any moment my own time frame will come rushing through, and I'm ready to leap back in! [I know, that's a little metaphysical, but my fiction delves into such things on occasion.]

Anyhoo, just letting visitors to my blog know I'm still here and will make a "real" posting again soon, probably this weekend. I have been reading a lot, and also doing more editing on the existing chapters for THE REFLECTING STONE, 2nd Draft. The lastest "tweaks" have really brought out the sparkle and shine, or more accurately the intensity of a couple of scenes. The material is really coming together. The suspense is rising.

Hasta la vista, escritores!
C U l8tr alligator,
Ci vediamo,

Adrian

Chapter 6, 13k

Took some days off as I needed a break -- was burning the candle at both ends for a little too long, and getting very fatigued. The rest helped. Used the time to let my mind wander. I rethought the novel and the series, reviewed ideas I'd already established, added to the ideas, shored them up with more ideas that tie it all together. Used my imagination to imagine scenes, explore how things are now fitting together after changes over the past couple of months. It's good. Real progress.

I also tinkered with the text and edited, tightened, added more to it. I even took a short break from the text of the rewrite to let it cool and then took a fresh look back at what I had been working on. I was planning to condense more, but when I reread last night I was quite happy with what I had written. What's there needs to be there, at least for now. Can't shorten too much or the story loses its essential fabric.

It's always slow for me at the start, then I gain momentum. As I've said before, I like to feel I have a solid foundation before taking off for the mad dash to the end. I think I have enough of that foundation now that I can shift my attention to moving forward.

Back to work! And, wishing everyone else success with their work!

Adrian

Chapter 5, 10k

I have now written the first five chapters of the second draft, coming in at about 10k words. I covered the first step of my outline in the first three chapters, which ran about 6k words instead of 10k words as in the first draft.

This makes me happy. It's what I was shooting for the first time through, but things just ran long all the time. I'm leaving stuff out now, focusing on keeping what's most important. The result is a story that moves forward much more directly, with more momentum and continuity. It's tigher, leaner.

Regarding the "stuff" from my previous posting: I ended up moving most of it to an "outtakes" file and completely rewriting these chapters. It's worth it to take the time to get it right, especially at the beginning, the foundation of the story. Wasn't difficult, and successive versions improved naturally. One new chapter was amazingly solid the first time through. I definitely see where keeping at it is helping me over time to become a better writer. I know I can write, but my skills are continually sharpening. The more I practice the particular style I am using, the more natural it becomes (more about that in a later blog posting).

I'll have to rethink things a few times along the way, I'm sure, since I'm skipping scenes, consolidating them, and sometimes shuffling them around. This is not a major change to the story, just a refocusing, a narrowing of purpose. It's good to do this, the results are positive. I'm connecting with the "dramatic need" and the internal plot as well. I may change some chapters, or rewrite a bit of the new stuff, to redistribute the load between scenes/chapters, if I misjudge. Want to keep it in balance, moving forward plot point by plot point, without spending too much time on any one event.

I'm not limiting myself to simply retelling what I wrote in the first draft. The basic story will be the same, with a revised and improved ending. What is different this time is I am allowing myself to truly rewrite scenes, to reimagine them, to use a new take on them that might work better. I am drawing out differences between characters, heightening the pressures at work that are bearing down on the main character already at the beginning of the story. I am seeking ways to be more dramatic, or subtle, as the case may be, whatever will help convey the story and involve the Reader.

One example of this is one of the principal characters, a woman we meet early on in the novel who is of lasting importance (she reappears several times throughout the story). I am experimenting with a new way of depicting her, quite different from the way she appeared in the first draft. She is much more intense now, and quirky. Much more interesting and mysterious. She is also less friendly, more distant, and possibly scary. This is a great new development because it will heighten the suspense in some later scenes when other characters are present, and help provide a better basis for how the main character interacts with her later. It has even prompted me to rethink her involvement in some later scenes. That's not good, if my rewrite has me rethinking too much! However, this change would be significant but easy to integrate, so it doesn't put me off. Her attitude change has helped bring several pieces together more tightly, so I am happy however it turns out with her later role.

Another new development is taking more time for the main character to interact with his love interest. These interactions did not reveal enough of the love interest's personality in the first draft. It's important to know who this person is, and why the main character is so interested in this relationship, and why the obstacles to the relationship matter and are not easy to overcome. Getting to know the love interest better is a big plus in this second draft.

This same thing is happening with other characters as well. They are getting more meaningful interaction with the main character, and their personalities and motivations are much clearer now, more apparent. I chose to dramatize some interactions that were only exposition in the first draft, allowing characters to speak for themselves about what turn out to be key points.

This fluidity is important. "The story's the thing." How can I best tell this story? Again, the idea of successive layers, but not in the story, in my own understanding of it. Each time through I learn more, can do more with it. The story evolves as my understanding of it evolves. I am getting much closer now to what will be the final version. I don't know when that will be, after this draft plus editing, or after another complete draft, but I can see light at thd end of the tunnel, a sense of what this will look like when it's finished. It will be tight, and the characters will be well drawn. They will be distinct, three dimensional, vivid, memorable.

Back to work!

Adrian

Rough Stuff & New Blogs

Rough Stuff:

I wrote Chapter 2, then it grew, then I cut it in two . . . .

Wait a minute, this wasn't supposed to rhyme! Anyhoo . . . .

[Ouch. My keyboard shocked me. Getting its revenge.]

Chapter 2 is now 3 chapters long, which means I have stuff labeled as chapters up through chapter 4, but of course I really only have Chapter 1, which I had written previously, and 3 chapters worth of some pretty rough stuff. The good side of this is that I've dived in and explored the characters and their personalities, motivations, etc., in more depth than before. The challenging side of this is weeding it out, pruning it, getting it down to one or two solid chapters instead of three loose accumulations of, well, whatever that stuff is. I like what is happening so far with this rewrite. I have much more control in the sense that I know the story well by now, but also I am "discovering" much more depth to what is already there. It's like I'm getting "the rest of the story" now. That's cool.

New Blogs:

I added four new blogs to the list of WRITERS' BLOGS (see the sidebar). I found them on the index list, AUTHORS BLOGS, which has grown substantially in the past few months. When I joined that list last Fall it was much shorter. I was absolutely amazed at how much it has grown. I think it's ten times longer now than when I last viewed it. The new blogs are wriers who identified themselves either as gay or as working in the fantasy genre. Glad there is such a convenient way for published and aspiring writers who blog to learn about one another.

The four new ones on my list are:

The Broken Quill (published author, Erik Buchanan, of Canada)
The Maze of My Mind (aspiring writer, Paul Westdorp, of USA)
MYPAJAMA.COM (aspiring writer with a long name I can't spell easily, of India)
Thom Jaymes (published author of erotic gay fiction, of USA)

I don't read nearly as many blogs as some others do, and I only read blogs related to writing. I guess I just don't spend much time online! I prefer to use my time writing. Speaking of which . . . .

Back to work!

Adrian

Beginning 2nd Draft of THE REFLECTING STONE

I have tied things together well enough that I feel comfortable starting the rewrite of THE REFLECTING STONE. This will be the second complete draft. I'm starting at the very beginning and will continue through to the end. I will write it in such a way that it could stand alone, but would readily lend itself to serving as the first of a series should it get published and a publisher be interested in a continuation of this story. There is much, much, much more to tell, although this first volume is already an amazing, epic story in its own right (are writers biased about their own work?).

I wrote the first chapter and went back over it, editing it a bit, although I will try to curtail my tendency to heavily edit the first several chapters before turning myself loose to move quickly through successive chapters. I'm getting back to "draft" mode, which is enjoyable once you put all your cares aside and let go of the internal editor. I hope to finish this draft in about a month, no more than six weeks if I run into obstacles.

It's possible this draft will be close enough to a finished product that I can simply edit it, but if I feel another complete rewrite would aid in the storytelling, I'm willing to do it. Each time through you understand better the connections, the motivations, the cause and effect relationships. Each time through you get better at telling it. I had tried to avoid successive rewrites, putting emphasis on the planning before writing, but I'm willing to accept the need for rewrites even with all that planning. Anything to make the story better. "The story's the thing."

This week I have been feeling a little under the weather, so I haven't pushed myself as much as I would have liked. I think I needed a bit of a break. I'll just ease into it, and within a few days should be in full swing again. Then it'll be a mad dash to the finish line. Loads of fun for us writerly types.

Gearing up again,

Adrian