Paddy's Wanderings

Novel-Tone News March 22nd

It has been a couple weeks since I did an update on the..Project. I thought I would pass along my current status and where it is all heading. Well.. at least the parts I have been tinkering with for awhile now.

I have been focusing a lot on the 6th and 7th chapters lately. Did I mention I have the whole enchilada broke down into chapters? No? Oh I did that earlier, I think back in January, but any who. For some strange reason, at this point in the book, a lot of interesting things happen, character wise. Sounds kind of technical, but really it is not. Not that I know squat about the technical aspects of writing a novel, just what I have read and studied. Now I get to put that in to practice, I hope.

In this part, we get to see some of the characteristics that well, make up each character. See them on the move, see them in action, so to speak. Believe me, there is plenty going on before this point and there is some interesting stuff about the characters, but in these two sections, a lot of what makes them who they are is revealed more and more. Sure, I do that earlier, but it is beneath the surface of all the action. Here, the characters are into the second day of travel, and here is where some interesting tidbits get thrown into the mix.

I have the story in various stages in different parts of the book. The basic story is there, on the screen. Now comes the part where all the details, all the neat stuff I want to do with the story get added into the mix. The key is to do all of this without distracting from the story. The idea being, to enrich the story, like adding spice but without overpowering the whole dish, if that makes sense. This is the part I am truly enjoying, the whole rewrite and all that jazz. I am diggin' this part.

I don't know if this is how it is done. I have read a metric butt load of material on the subject, but in the end, it all sounds like magic to me. So I am off into the wilderness and trying my hand at the whole thing. I have a guidebook but it seems wonderfully vague. That is just fine by me. This is an adventure into the unknown and the journey has been pretty crazy, and a whole lot of fun.

The end is just the beginning...

Novel-Tone News Day CXXIII

Welcome back to the..Project.

As I get deeper into this whole novel thing, I am more and more convinced that this project is big, bigger then even I had thought, and believe me, I thought it was huge. For a long time, this story has been there, and now that it is coming out, I realize just what it takes to do this. It takes a lot, that simple really. But like so many things in life, it is not that simple.

I have tried and stopped and started and screwed around with novel ideas for years and years. I used to think I was trying to write books, the kind of books I read, mysteries, science fiction, fantasy, stuff like that. It is not that simple with this story and that is probably why I have been going at for four months now. It just keeps coming, sometimes in barely a whisper, sometimes like a torrential flood. Bottom line, the story keeps coming out and I keep writing it all down.

When I started with the scraps of notes and outlines and stuff I had accumulated over the years’ way back in October in preparation for NaNoWriMo, I had no idea where I was going with this. To be honest, I had hoped it would stick, and I would keep going and the story would come out. So far it has, but in no way I had envisioned. I thought by now I would be deep into the revision of the first draft, I was wrong.

The first draft is almost done, sort of, maybe. I don’t really know. I guess if you count a first draft as the plot written out, you know, the point A, B, C and how it all happens from an action stand point, then yeah, that part is done. My characters do a bunch of stuff from page one to the end, that part is written, more or less. It is the other stuff I am talking about, that stuff is not done.

And what the hell is that stuff anyways? I mean, is not a story the characters do some stuff, then some more stuff, then the end? I have a bad guy and a bunch of good guys and they all do some stuff and interact and do some more stuff, then the book has a resolution, and an end. Granted, I am putting that in simple terms, but seriously, that is pretty much the book right there.

I realize that in a novel, there are layers of action and characterization and what not that is all part of the story. I do think there are about four drafts as you layer in the whole story, the what, and the why. I guess you could say I am in draft two then, but that is the simple answer. More to the truth would be I am just plodding along, writing the novel. There is progress none the less, that is the important part here.

About five days in to the story, a character says that it appears the protagonist has not been sleeping. Another character explains why. In a brief exchange of about a hundred words, so much is said. It shows the past and is fore shadowing the future and is a characterization of the two people talking, and whom they are talking about. It sounds pretentious when I write that, as if this is the best exchange between characters in the history of story telling. I assure you, I don’t believe that at all.

I point this out because there are many points where I feel this happens, through out the story. Now that is pretentious! But seriously, all funning aside, it is true. I know this story like no one else and I know what is important and where the truly pivotal stuff occurs.

As I layer in all the stuff that I want to be part of the story, the important stuff that I want to be in there, I realize that it happens, everywhere, all the time. Every sentence, every word, is important. This is what is slowing me down. But it is worth every bit of time I put into it, at least I believe it to be true.

To keep myself in perspective, if and when other folks read the story, I have no doubt that what I intended will not be as readily apparent to everyone else as it is to me. In other words, this stuff makes the story, but it is the stuff that, hopefully, will put meat on the skeleton and give it punch and coolness and never be so obvious that it distracts from a good read. Those are some lofty goals, but why not.

The end is just the beginning..

Novel-Tone News Feb 2010

Welcome to the continuing saga of.. the..Project.

It has been a couple of weeks since I posted an update so here goes. I have added a bit to the first draft and added/subtracted from the beginning parts. I also did a little more on some of the bit players, kinda doing some work on that, make 'em better and not so.. wooded, as if they were just props. Granted, they are just there for the main body to interact with through the story, and they have just minor scenes, but still, they should be alive. I re-read some early stuff and thought ewww.

That is about it really. I'll admit that I have slowed down in production, still going along, but slower. Oh not because the story is stuck or stale, but because I have limited time and get caught up in other writing. That is just fine by me, I don't have a deadline, except one self imposed, and I personally want it done! Its cool. My attention and my time has been consumed by two other projects. Let us take a look at the easiest first.

I have been tinkering with poetry, like I always do, and writing a sestina is difficult and time consuming. I have finished one and sent it off for consideration. I have a handful that are in the last stages of re-write and almost, almost done. I also have another handful that are in the note stage. Plus I have other stuff floating around. I never thought I would write notes for a poem, but to work a sestina and get what you want where you want it, how you want it, takes plenty of preparation and thought.

I also have two short stories that are vying for attention. I have dabbled with the one a bit lately cause I want to submit it to an anthology. Deadline is approaching and it is a big shot at the moon that pays and is a great publishing credit, all reasons to give it a go. At worse, I get a nice rejection slip and the story goes into the closet. But the other story, now, that is a real screamer. I can not stop thinking about it and really need to finish it before I go on to other things or it will be a major distraction. Well.. it already is a pain in the butt, but a good one.

So with After the Fall of Darkness, it is just a matter of adding more to the chapters of the first draft and working through all the notes and editing and tinkering. It just has slowed down. I don't know if anyone will make sense of this, but the 'voice' of the novel is different then the aforementioned short stories and definitely different then writing poetry. I am here to tell ya, it is freaking hard to switch voices rapidly, and I don't want one thing sounding like another, it doesn't work that way. AtFoD is a fantasy story. One short is science fiction old school. The other short is cyberpunk meets noir. The poetry has been.. not anything like that.

So onward and upward, writing everyday in something, be it blog and shorts, or the blasted novel or a poem or two, it is every day. That is a huge improvement from a year ago and I am swimming unknown waters with the novel, so all is good. I am getting there.

Novel-Tone News Jan Update

Welcome back to the..Project.

The past couple of weeks I have been wrestling with a few issues regarding the story. Nothing major in the story line mind you, just personal goals and ideas I set when I started this whole journey. I have read more then my fair share of fantasy and for that matter, novels of all hues, over the years. Starting out on this particular project, I had a few ideas of how I wanted to tell this story. Oh sure, I have started and stopped many a time on many different ideas, but this one was always there and I wanted it to stand out, be the best I can do. In that vein, I set up some parameters. In no particular order, here we go.

The inevitable map. It seems like just about every fantasy novel I have ever read involved a map. I don't want a map, and yet, I have one. I like maps, sure, and in most fantasy books, I have liked the map, but I just don't want one. The story does involve the characters traveling, but that, in and of itself, is not what the story is about. I don't think the reader needs a map to figure out where the characters are going or where they have been. I have a map for my own personal reference and to help me with plot points and when I am done, that baby is going to the back of the closet.

The standard prologue, epilogue any old kind of logue. I had thought, way back when, that the beginning of the story would be a prologue, then start chapter one with a gathering of characters. That seems to be not working and it goes against the grain of no prologue. So I made it chapter one, because, well, it starts off with a good bang and I don't need a story before the story starts. The story starts with the bang, what happened before will become apparent to the reader later on in the story. And also, when the story is done, it is done, no need for anything else. So no logue of any kind will be used if I can help it.

The inevitable trilogy. You read fantasy and say, oh, when are books two and three coming out, I hate waiting for the whole story and I'll buy em all when all the books are released. I am still waiting for a few series to end to finish buying and reading the books. I don't like that. Now if we are talking stand alone books and then sequels come along or stuff like that, well then, that is okay, as long as each book is a story unto itself. I'll tell ya right now fantasy fans, this is a one book deal. Your gonna get the whole story in one shot. That is the goal.

I have read a bunch in my life and frankly, I want something a bit new, a bit different, in my fantasy. There are some good books out there right now that break the mold and I say huzzah. Then there are others who are still traveling the same ground. I am following my own path, and I will try to avoid the traps and pitfalls that ensnare the unwary wanderer. It is kinda like flying into the wind, but if I can angle my wings just right, I may just reach above the clouds.

The end is just the beginning..

Novel-Tone News Jan 2010

Good Day eh? and welcome back to the..Project.

It has been a couple of weeks since the last update and I thought I would pass along a few notes and what not. I have advanced the first draft through a few sticky parts, so the word count is probably not all that high, a few thousand words is what I am thinking. It has become a matter of how far in the story, not how many words, I write. So no firm word count update per se, but the over all story is in the 70k range as of this morning. That would be draft one and it is messy.

I have also taken to passing the early stuff through draft two as I go along. I see some problems and go back and add/delete and it makes me feel good about the story. So, I do that as well. Besides, there are some things that have to be consistent, and when a good idea comes along that needs to be sprinkled through the story, well then, I just do it. Maybe I should have thought all that out before I started draft one, but well, I thought I did, then the story took on a mind of it's own.

Which leads me to those blasted character sheets for all the main characters, they keep growing in length. Oh and the blasted notes and outlines and arcs and, geesh, all the stuff outside the story has been accumulating like crazy. Again, I should have done more before hand, and I thought I did, but those twists and turns keep adding to the pile. I guess it is all about whatever it takes.

I am very happy I have gotten this far and I am having a blast. After all, I am writing this story for me and eventually, someday, other peoples. I try not to think of that someday. I figure I got to finish draft one and pass it by better 1/2, see what she thinks. She has read many a book and if I can entertain her, well then, I just might have something worth sending out into the world. If I like it and she likes it, I'll kick it out the door for everyone to see. It will be awhile though, it so slow going working all those smoke and mirrors behind the scenes.

The end is just the beginning..

Novel-Tone News 12/29

BWnoveltonenews1, originally uploaded by paddy's wandering.

Welcome back to the..Project.

I have now been at this crazy novel writing project for two months. Time does indeed fly when you are having fun. I had no idea what I was getting into and where it would lead, but here I am.

My progress last week was only a few thousand words in advancing the story line, but I also did a bunch of adding/deleting of previous stuff. It still makes sense to me to continue along this path. I have so many notes it is scary. I keep thinking, less notes, more story writing. But I can lose my thread so easy that I just have to do it. So I did notes, did some more storyline and some more editing.

One of the things that December has shown me is I don't keep real close track of word count anymore. I am probably still in the 60k range with add and delete, I haven't checked. Is this bad, or good? I don't know. It is good to keep track of progress but I don't think word count does it for me anymore. Now it is all about how far along the story I have written out from the notes. Makes sense to me.

I almost believe that old adage, it will get done when it's done, almost. It still burns inside me pretty hot in the middle of the night. Strange half connected dreams and waking up and scribbling still happen. Some days it drives me to distraction, when what I really want to do is write some other stuff that is whispering for attention.

So I continue on. The flow is still there. I steal moments whenever and wherever I can to jot stuff down. I have even scribbled on my lunch break at work in front of other people while I jammed a sandwich down. They already think I am weird, so no harm there. Fear not my fellow intrepid wanders, we'll get there, when we get there.

The end is just the beginning..

Novel-Tone News Update 12/22

BWnoveltonenews1, originally uploaded by paddy's wandering.

Greetings from the..Project!

Way back in October I had taken this pic and played around with photoshop to come up with this cool logo for doing Novel Posts. I finally got it up and here it is in all it's glory. Kinda neat I think.

Better late then never I guess. I figure I got time, this whole process has taken me a long time to get as far as I have. Which is to say that in the past week I have dabbled along in this novel project. No, I don't have any huge word counts, just a few thousand to tack on, plus some fiddling with earlier passages. The net being a better story, but not a whole lot longer, nor anywhere near finished.

I can live with that. I admit I have been playing with other stories and poems and such. I even dug around for the second project, just to keep things fresh ya know. I have a huge fear of that dreaded demon, the block, so whatever it takes to keep on keeping on, well I just do it. So other things I had put on the back burner have surfaced a bit and I just keep plugging away.

This is probably a bad idea, one should finish a project before starting another or working on other stuff I imagine. But hey, whatever. After years of fighting block and haphazard results on various writing projects, I am open to just about whatever it takes to keep writing, everyday.

So on this big project I am winging it pretty much on a daily basis. I do whatever the mood strikes and go from there. Some days, like this past week, I spent a small amount of time on it and wrote other stuff. Next week might be different, I just have no idea.

But I make progress all the time, and for that I am happy. Do I want it done now? Yeppers. Will it take awhile, like several months? Most likely. That is okay too. I just want this cool story that has brewed in my head forever to come out in a manner that I like. Then we'll see if anyone else likes it. Who knows?

So now there is a logo and oh my, a working title. I have been calling the novel After the Fall of Darkness, or at least in my mind when it pops in there, as AFD. So there it is, another week in the big project.

The end is just the beginning..

Novel-Tone News Week VI

Good Day and welcome back to the..Project

It has been just over a week since the last post about the blasted book, er story. There is not much to tell really. For the past few days I have been playing in the poetry corner and have only tinkered with the book. That is not to say that I have given up, far from it. I have hit a roadblock and am stuck thinking where and how to continue.

I have also took this portion, about 60k worth, and have set it aside from the continuing story. I am now writing in two modes just to keep sane and moving along. I compromised. I really have an overwhelming desire to go back and re-work the beginning. The idea being not so much to change, but to enhance and improve. So that is what I am doing with that. I am also continuing onward in first draft mode for the rest of it, not over thinking, but just doing.

I feel at this point, since I really have nothing to lose, I may as well do whatever it takes to continue working along. That is how hard I am stuck at this point. Oh the story is there, the continuation of the trials and tribulations of the characters is still there, but I need to revise the beginning and expand on it, make it better. It bugs the living daylights out of me on a daily basis. So there it is.

One thing I have found out about this whole process is the deeper I go, I do better the first time around. Later passages are so much better then the early stages that it is driving me crazy. So I scribble more and more notes, outline some stuff and keep plugging along. I figure it can only get better.

Something is better then nothing I guess. I am making progress of sorts. I have avoided the dreaded block, more or less, by doing other things. So far, so good. This unknown territory I find myself in, without any clue what the hell I am doing, is fun, but taxing. I could sleep a week and not get enough energy back at this point, so I'll plod along, just doing.

The end is just the beginning..

Novel-Tone News The Week After

Greetings folks and welcome back to the..Project

This time a week ago I was felling pretty wore out after a month of scribbling and scratching. Thirty days of relentless pursuit was tiring to say the least. I took a day off and did not put pen to paper or finger to keyboard and it felt.. weird. I played around a wee bit with some other stuff, but I left the big story to simmer.

Then I got the itch again and started back at it, slowly. On the record, for the week I accomplished about five thousand in the total length and took it pretty easy. The pressure was off you see, and I had no real go go go reason to crank it. Then that itch appeared and will not go away. I think it will plague me until it is all out. This, my fellow wanderers, is good.

Far be it from to tempt fate, but it seems that by just kicking back I got a second wind. I found out that yes indeed, the whole thing is real and is working. I will admit, I am excited that it just did not slip away. That was a very real fear for me, that if I stopped I would not restart. So far, so good. So we will see what tomorrow brings and just keep plugging away.

The sprint is a marathon, of that I have no doubt. I left my poor characters in a sticky wicket, no paddle and a raging river. Time to go write them across so I can get to the next river, the next page. I want to see what happens next.

The end is just the beginning..

Paddy

Novel-Tone News Day XXX

Greetings from the..Project

As you can tell from the picture, I was successful in my quest and passed the 50k word mark last night. What a crazy month it has been! I was cruising along and did a word count check and saw that I had indeed made the goal, so I logged into NaNoWriMo and verified, woot! Thirty days of relentless scribbling and I finally made it.

When I started out I had two goals my fellow wanderers. I wanted to write fifty thousand words on a novel project and blog about it every day. I have done both. Back when I signed up at the beginning of October, I thought I may just have a chance to do it, but the goals seemed a little lofty. They still do because I am here to tell you, it has been a long hard month and it is hard to imagine I am here.

It has been a lot of fun along the way, and I appreciate all the support from everyone. I have been  crazy, mad I say, during the whole month, and that is pretty much all I talked about or did. I am sure it must drive everyone crazy to hear me prattle on about this and that, less talk more write! scribble boy. I had no idea it would go for this long or I would even get to the end, but somehow, I did. But this is not the end by any means.

I learned many things during this process, first and foremost, the story is not even close to being done. Yeah you heard that right. I am thinking the first draft may go to 150k before it is done. No, seriously. I am about a third of the way there I think so I have so much more to do. That is just first draft, then there is all the other drafts and tweaks and what not, then time to shop it around, see if I can get it published. There is so much more to do, but that first step has been achieved. That step is hard, probably not the hardest, but oh so necessary. So I am not done, just getting started really.

I have never gotten this far, so I may as well go for the whole enchilada. I still don't know what I am doing or where I am going, but I am making good time. This has been an inspiration on many levels and I am going to just run with it, why not? The story still itches, it burns inside my head, wanting, needing to get out. If anything that banked fire, that smoldered for many years, is now a happy little fire. So I am going to continue on and see where this wander leads me.

So let me spell out some continuing goals. I am going to finish the first draft in two months and do a weekly update on the blog. I think that is doable. Then I will periodically update on the blog as I go further in the quest. We'll see just what I can do here, who knows where it will lead? I have no idea, but I am going to go for the ride,see what happens.

In an update on the story itself, our intrepid characters are moving along just fine. In their world, only five days have passed in the first hundred fifty pages or so. A lot has happened so far, but there is so much more to go to the end. I'll just keep following along, see where they lead, nudge em when they fall behind and just have a grand old time.

I think I will take a day off, let the fingers rest and the brain percolate, then start back at it tomorrow. I'll update the whole shebang in about a week. I am glad I did it, and thankful to the crazy folks who put the month together, they are an inspiration. It has been a good start, time to keep going.

Let's see whats out there..

The end is the beginning..

Paddy a.k.a Patrick