Since I'm in the process of editing my draft of Thorn II and working on the rough of Murder of Mages II, I clearly don't have enough on my plate.
At least, that's what part of my brain seems to think.
Because that part of my brain has become strangely obsessed with an idea of a brand-spanking-new-from-scratch worldbuilding project. And by "from-scratch", I mean completely.
Whenever we do worldbuilding, there is typically some form of top-down idea guiding the process. There's some underlying idea of what we want the world to be or have, the technology leer, the way the culture is. We start from that concept and build down, forming the infrastructure to make that idea work.
And there's nothing wrong with that.
But it tends to create limiting ideas-- secondary fantasy worlds that still are, in essence, England or Italy or Arabia or Japan in medieval or rennaisance times, or steampunked or otherwise tweaked. The scent of the familiar stays with it.
And, again, there's nothing wrong with that. It makes it easy to define when it comes to writing stories.
But I've been thinking more and more about what really, truly working from the bottom-up would bring about. That means starting with the land itself, building the details of geography and climate. From there, decisions about flora and fauna-- especially the key domesticatible plants and animals, and then determining where the "cradle of life" where humans or other intelligent life emerges (indeed, if it's a fantasy world, the decision to have multiple intelligent species is crucial). Once that cradle is determined, you would determine the pre-historic diaspora, as people spread across the world as hunter-gatherers before they start settling into agriculture. And that's dependent on if settling into agriculture is even a viable option given their terrain and available possible crops.
From that point, the slow development of civilization and cultures as states and empires rise and fall, develop and regress.
Of course, the question is, would this be a valuable exercise? Would the deliberate bottom-up process yield results that were significantly different than the more typical top-down one? And more to the point, would it give a world that would be an interesting and dynamic setting for stories, or would it be little more than an intellectual exercise to its own end?
And is it a process a person can realistically do on their own?
I'm honestly not sure. But I think it's worth exploring, and I'd love to hear other thoughts on the subject.
Showing posts with label projects. Show all posts
Showing posts with label projects. Show all posts
Monday, August 18, 2014
Monday, May 26, 2014
Current Projects and Writing Process Baton Pass
So, there's a blog-hop thing going on about current projects and writing process, which I was tagged on by Glynn Stewart, fellow client of Onyxhawke Agency and author of Starship's Mage. And I always relish having blog topics handed to me.
1. What am I working on?
Currently I've got two key things on my plate: Editing A Murder of Mages to hand the final manuscript in to the publisher in the near future, and the rough draft of the sequel to Thorn of Dentonhill. I'm coming close to the end of Thorn II, which currently has a working title of Elements of Aventil.
Once those two things are done-- and I suspect neither one will take me past the end of June, I'll move on to working on the sequel to Murder of Mages. And at some point this year I'll go back to Banshee, since I wrote about half of it before selling Thorn and Murder, and it'd be good to get that done before the year is out.
2. How does my work differ from other works in the same genre?
The main way, I think, is I strive to write fantasy that isn't easy to pin down. It's city-based, but it isn't "urban fantasy" (which means something different than I think it ought to...). It isn't set in a period that can easily be pegged as common for fantasy: not medieval or Renaissance or Victorian. It isn't steampunk, but it does tweak on different technology paths.
3. Why do I write what I write?
Mostly because these are books I would want to read, but since they didn't exist, I had to write them.
4. How does my writing process work?
It starts with outlining and character development. I get a sense of who the character is, and from that, what their story should be starts to coalesce. Once I have that together, in a rough sense (very rough-- the origins of Thorn of Dentonhill can be found in some hand-scrawled sentence fragments in a notebook kept next to my bed), I then actually construct an outline using my twelve-part story structure as the scaffolding.
Once I have that in place, including a partial Dramatis Personae, I can actually start writing. I tend to write relatively linearly, but once in a while I'll get stuck, and jump ahead to one of the "red meat" scenes, and then go back and fill in the parts in between. That can be quite helpful, actually. It's one thing to know, "Hey, there's a place where I'm going to need to get to so I can have this stuff happen." It's quite another to actually have Point A and Point B written, and then see from there the path you have to take, what you need to put in place to get there.
--
With that done, I'll pass the baton on to Audrey Lockwood, who recently signed with Stringer Literary Agency, and will probably have more awesome things to announce in the coming year.
d
1. What am I working on?
Currently I've got two key things on my plate: Editing A Murder of Mages to hand the final manuscript in to the publisher in the near future, and the rough draft of the sequel to Thorn of Dentonhill. I'm coming close to the end of Thorn II, which currently has a working title of Elements of Aventil.
Once those two things are done-- and I suspect neither one will take me past the end of June, I'll move on to working on the sequel to Murder of Mages. And at some point this year I'll go back to Banshee, since I wrote about half of it before selling Thorn and Murder, and it'd be good to get that done before the year is out.
2. How does my work differ from other works in the same genre?
The main way, I think, is I strive to write fantasy that isn't easy to pin down. It's city-based, but it isn't "urban fantasy" (which means something different than I think it ought to...). It isn't set in a period that can easily be pegged as common for fantasy: not medieval or Renaissance or Victorian. It isn't steampunk, but it does tweak on different technology paths.
3. Why do I write what I write?
Mostly because these are books I would want to read, but since they didn't exist, I had to write them.
4. How does my writing process work?
It starts with outlining and character development. I get a sense of who the character is, and from that, what their story should be starts to coalesce. Once I have that together, in a rough sense (very rough-- the origins of Thorn of Dentonhill can be found in some hand-scrawled sentence fragments in a notebook kept next to my bed), I then actually construct an outline using my twelve-part story structure as the scaffolding.
Once I have that in place, including a partial Dramatis Personae, I can actually start writing. I tend to write relatively linearly, but once in a while I'll get stuck, and jump ahead to one of the "red meat" scenes, and then go back and fill in the parts in between. That can be quite helpful, actually. It's one thing to know, "Hey, there's a place where I'm going to need to get to so I can have this stuff happen." It's quite another to actually have Point A and Point B written, and then see from there the path you have to take, what you need to put in place to get there.
--
With that done, I'll pass the baton on to Audrey Lockwood, who recently signed with Stringer Literary Agency, and will probably have more awesome things to announce in the coming year.
d
Thursday, March 13, 2014
The Writer's Brain In Constant Motion
So, right now, I'm putting the "finishing" touches on the manuscript for Thorn of Dentonhill before sending it to my editor. On top of that, I've been charging full-throttle into Thorn II. Working both at the same time has been helpful, especially in making tiny tweaks in Thorn to set something up for Thorn II.
Which means, of course, that Lt. Kengle and Banshee are pounding on the glass in my brain, like Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate.
This is not uncommon in my headspace. I've often made the metaphor that my creative side is much like a full restaurant kitchen. There's something getting fired to go out as quickly as possible. There's stuff working on backburners, simmering away to be tackled soon. Other things are in crockpots, slowly bubbling, but won't be brought out and worked on any time soon. Then there's stuff being prepped in the back, in the earliest stages.
And, like any closed kitchen, there's a lot of swearing.
Also, now the orders really have to go out and reach the customers. It's no longer a hypothetical kitchen.
In an ideal world, over the course of 2014 I will:
Plus it will mean that not only will Thorn and Murder have direct sequels in the pipe before the year is out, but my agent will have three manuscripts in hand (Banshee, Holver Alley Crew and Way of the Shield) for the inevitable, "And what's next after that?" question.
And now to work. I've got deadlines, after all.
Which means, of course, that Lt. Kengle and Banshee are pounding on the glass in my brain, like Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate.
This is not uncommon in my headspace. I've often made the metaphor that my creative side is much like a full restaurant kitchen. There's something getting fired to go out as quickly as possible. There's stuff working on backburners, simmering away to be tackled soon. Other things are in crockpots, slowly bubbling, but won't be brought out and worked on any time soon. Then there's stuff being prepped in the back, in the earliest stages.
And, like any closed kitchen, there's a lot of swearing.
Also, now the orders really have to go out and reach the customers. It's no longer a hypothetical kitchen.
In an ideal world, over the course of 2014 I will:
- Deliver the final manuscript for Thorn of Dentonhill
- Deliver the final manuscript for A Murder of Mages
- Finish a draft of Thorn II, clean it up and deliver it to my editor.
- Finish a draft of Murder II, clean it up and deliver it to my editor.
- Finish a draft of Banshee, and get that into my agent's hands.
Plus it will mean that not only will Thorn and Murder have direct sequels in the pipe before the year is out, but my agent will have three manuscripts in hand (Banshee, Holver Alley Crew and Way of the Shield) for the inevitable, "And what's next after that?" question.
And now to work. I've got deadlines, after all.
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Heinlein's First Rule
If you go to workshops-- especially SF/F related workshops-- or otherwise seek out Writing Advice, sooner or later you're going to hear Heinlein's Five Rules for getting published.
The rules are pretty strong, solid advice, but to a degree they have more bearing on a short-story market than a novel market. So I'll go over the five rules over the next few posts, and how I've integrated them into my process.
RULE #1: YOU MUST WRITE
You really can't argue with this, right? If you want to be a successful writer, writing is a given.
But what does this mean, in terms of actual action? Here's how I see it:
A. You must know what you're writing.
B. You must know how you write.
C. You must work with discipline.
Now, for the first part, knowing what you're writing: apply this as broadly as you want, but I think you need to know what your general plans and intentions are. Of course, things can get away with you: you can start writing a short story and discover a novel. Or you can start a novel and find it's only a novella. But the point is you've got to have some sort of plan when you sit down.
This ties directly to the second part: know how you write. Which is very different from "know how you think you write". For example, I'm a big outliner. This is what works for me, and I learned that through a process of discovery. I did a whole lot of, "I'm going to write and see where it goes" and where it went was nowhere slowly. Another example: I'm not a writer who can do the "just get it written, and then fix it in editing" thing. That isn't to say I don't edit or make a lot of changes when I do, but I see a rough draft as a foundation, and if I'm not building a strong foundation, it doesn't work for me. Another point: I get the most creative in later hours, usually after 10pm. I've accepted all these points as how I work best, and I've thrived by accepting that. So the advice I have there is: learn how you write, but look very critically at if that's really what works best, or if it's how you think you ought to work best.
Finally: write with discipline. Once you know what you're doing and how you do it best, sit down and get on it. "Write every day" is good advice, but it doesn't necessarily apply to everyone (see point B). But this is what I've found effective for me: when I'm working on a project (in rough draft), I set a daily writing goal. This is a low-balled goal, a minimum quota.* This is the, "Fine, you've earned the right to eat today" amount of writing. It's a C-. Now, many days I will write more than that quota-- and going over quota doesn't give me slack the next day. But by keeping that quota low, I keep myself from getting in a shame-spiral of failure. Because I know how I work, and if I "get behind" on even an arbitrarily set quota, part of my brain says, "We can't do it" and shuts down.
And before I learned properly how I write, I would do that to myself constantly. I would set an Unreasonable Writing Goal (I would even call it that to try and spur myself on), and then kick myself for not reaching it, and the whole thing would stall out.
Next time: Rule #2. But for now, it's time to get writing.
---
*- Currently for Banshee**, it's 500 words a day.
**- Of course, one thing that helps in having a solid outline-- I can jump all over the project and write crazily out-of-order, which makes a big difference when one section is stuck.
The rules are pretty strong, solid advice, but to a degree they have more bearing on a short-story market than a novel market. So I'll go over the five rules over the next few posts, and how I've integrated them into my process.
RULE #1: YOU MUST WRITE
You really can't argue with this, right? If you want to be a successful writer, writing is a given.
But what does this mean, in terms of actual action? Here's how I see it:
A. You must know what you're writing.
B. You must know how you write.
C. You must work with discipline.
Now, for the first part, knowing what you're writing: apply this as broadly as you want, but I think you need to know what your general plans and intentions are. Of course, things can get away with you: you can start writing a short story and discover a novel. Or you can start a novel and find it's only a novella. But the point is you've got to have some sort of plan when you sit down.
This ties directly to the second part: know how you write. Which is very different from "know how you think you write". For example, I'm a big outliner. This is what works for me, and I learned that through a process of discovery. I did a whole lot of, "I'm going to write and see where it goes" and where it went was nowhere slowly. Another example: I'm not a writer who can do the "just get it written, and then fix it in editing" thing. That isn't to say I don't edit or make a lot of changes when I do, but I see a rough draft as a foundation, and if I'm not building a strong foundation, it doesn't work for me. Another point: I get the most creative in later hours, usually after 10pm. I've accepted all these points as how I work best, and I've thrived by accepting that. So the advice I have there is: learn how you write, but look very critically at if that's really what works best, or if it's how you think you ought to work best.
Finally: write with discipline. Once you know what you're doing and how you do it best, sit down and get on it. "Write every day" is good advice, but it doesn't necessarily apply to everyone (see point B). But this is what I've found effective for me: when I'm working on a project (in rough draft), I set a daily writing goal. This is a low-balled goal, a minimum quota.* This is the, "Fine, you've earned the right to eat today" amount of writing. It's a C-. Now, many days I will write more than that quota-- and going over quota doesn't give me slack the next day. But by keeping that quota low, I keep myself from getting in a shame-spiral of failure. Because I know how I work, and if I "get behind" on even an arbitrarily set quota, part of my brain says, "We can't do it" and shuts down.
And before I learned properly how I write, I would do that to myself constantly. I would set an Unreasonable Writing Goal (I would even call it that to try and spur myself on), and then kick myself for not reaching it, and the whole thing would stall out.
Next time: Rule #2. But for now, it's time to get writing.
---
*- Currently for Banshee**, it's 500 words a day.
**- Of course, one thing that helps in having a solid outline-- I can jump all over the project and write crazily out-of-order, which makes a big difference when one section is stuck.
Monday, August 5, 2013
Quick Promotional Post: Rayguns Over Texas
Today I'm under the hammer, so the post is a quick plug:
After months of rumors and innuendo, Rayguns Over Texas, the new anthology of science fiction by Texas authors, will finally premiere in just 24 days on August 29 at LoneStarCon 3 (aka the 71st Annual World Science Fiction Convention) in San Antonio.
Over at Rick Klaw's site, he'll be posting an excerpt a day from the anthology. Look at some of the names on that: Bruce Sterling! Michael Moorcock! Joe Lansdale! Aaron Allston! And many more. I'm ridiculously pleased to be on this. Go check it all out.
After months of rumors and innuendo, Rayguns Over Texas, the new anthology of science fiction by Texas authors, will finally premiere in just 24 days on August 29 at LoneStarCon 3 (aka the 71st Annual World Science Fiction Convention) in San Antonio.
Over at Rick Klaw's site, he'll be posting an excerpt a day from the anthology. Look at some of the names on that: Bruce Sterling! Michael Moorcock! Joe Lansdale! Aaron Allston! And many more. I'm ridiculously pleased to be on this. Go check it all out.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Tools of the Writer: POV and Trust
Point-of-View is one of those funny things writers get very worked up about. And I've noticed, reading through some older* books I have, making concrete POV choices is a relatively recent development. I mean, yes, certainly, the distinction between first-person and third-person was always clear. But third-person was often more of a muddled third-person-omniscient instead of the discrete multi-person third-person-limited, where individual scenes have a clear POV character. Even the idea of a "POV Violation" as a writing mistake seems to be a relatively new thing.
Because, let me tell you, a lot of classics are just loaded with POV Violations.
However, the standard today is for clear, discrete definition of whose head your in for any given scene or chapter. George R. R. Martin's Song of Fire and Ice books do this explicitly, telling you who the POV character is instead of a chapter title.
There are a lot of "rules" of how to do a POV character, who can be one in your book and when you can let them be one. I'm of the opinion that who can be one and when is whoever you need it to be for the scene, whenever you need that scene to be.
My big thing with POV is trust. Unless the Unreliable Narrator is a technique you're utilizing, then you have to present your POV character in an honest way. You have to trust that character and what his engagement in the plot is.
Now, that doesn't mean the POV is limited to the "good guys". I love my antagonist POVs, as long as they are antagonists that I can trust are being honest with how they engage in the plot. If I have a character who is against the hero privately, but acts as his friend, and I don't want the reader to know that... then that character can't be a POV character. But if I want that betrayal clear, then that's exactly who I want as POV.
This was especially hard for me in Maradaine Constabulary, which is probably my most constrained work, POV-wise, in that I only have Satrine and Minox as POV characters. This is because, at its core, it's a murder mystery, and if you go into the head of murderer, then the mystery is given up. By limiting the POV to my two Inspectors, then the reader has the same set of data that they do.
On my current work-in-progress, Way of the Shield, it's more complicated than that, but similar rules of not using a character for POV apply. There are people whose motivation and trustworthiness I want the reader to keep in question, even in a subconscious way. Ideally, when their truths come to light, it will hit the reader like a hammer, because they might not have even suspected it.
We'll see if I pull it off.
---
*- Of course, when I say "older", I'm mostly talking about from the 80s. But, of course, older than that as well.
Because, let me tell you, a lot of classics are just loaded with POV Violations.
However, the standard today is for clear, discrete definition of whose head your in for any given scene or chapter. George R. R. Martin's Song of Fire and Ice books do this explicitly, telling you who the POV character is instead of a chapter title.
There are a lot of "rules" of how to do a POV character, who can be one in your book and when you can let them be one. I'm of the opinion that who can be one and when is whoever you need it to be for the scene, whenever you need that scene to be.
My big thing with POV is trust. Unless the Unreliable Narrator is a technique you're utilizing, then you have to present your POV character in an honest way. You have to trust that character and what his engagement in the plot is.
Now, that doesn't mean the POV is limited to the "good guys". I love my antagonist POVs, as long as they are antagonists that I can trust are being honest with how they engage in the plot. If I have a character who is against the hero privately, but acts as his friend, and I don't want the reader to know that... then that character can't be a POV character. But if I want that betrayal clear, then that's exactly who I want as POV.
This was especially hard for me in Maradaine Constabulary, which is probably my most constrained work, POV-wise, in that I only have Satrine and Minox as POV characters. This is because, at its core, it's a murder mystery, and if you go into the head of murderer, then the mystery is given up. By limiting the POV to my two Inspectors, then the reader has the same set of data that they do.
On my current work-in-progress, Way of the Shield, it's more complicated than that, but similar rules of not using a character for POV apply. There are people whose motivation and trustworthiness I want the reader to keep in question, even in a subconscious way. Ideally, when their truths come to light, it will hit the reader like a hammer, because they might not have even suspected it.
We'll see if I pull it off.
---
*- Of course, when I say "older", I'm mostly talking about from the 80s. But, of course, older than that as well.
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Thanksgiving Quick Post
Happy Thanksgiving, all. I've got pies and stuffing and turkey to make*, so I won't go on for too long on this post**. I had considered just linking to some past posts, like on worldbuilding holidays or food details. But I didn't want to be quite that lazy.
So: state of the writer, thankfulness version.
First and foremost, I'm thankful for by amazing wife, whose love and support have kept me going through this journey. She's put up with the many, many times I've stayed awake into the wee hours or sequestered myself with headphones on and nose in the computer, accepted the fact that my head is quite literally in some other world half the time, and has kept the fire under my feet when I get distracted. She's willing for me to not only have giant maps printed, but to have them framed and hung in our studio. Thanks to her I've got three novels*** in my agent's hands, and more on the way.
Second, my agent. It's hard to quantify what an agent does for someone, but in the time we've been together, he's been a source of support, as well as inspiration. He's pushed those three books into being better than they were without him. He's regularly plugged this very blog. He's working for me, and he doesn't make a dime from me until we have a sale. And when we do, you damn well better believe he's earned his percentage. I sure do.
I'm thankful for my health and my energy, and that I've had the ability and freedom to keep working like I have been. I'm thankful that I've just finished a draft of a short story, and wrote another short play last week. I'm thankful that I have more ideas than I know what to do with. Novels are cooking and brewing in this brain, and I have every intention of continuing to crank them out.
I'm thankful for all the people who've given help and advice over the past year and more-- from my mentor and friend Stina Leicht to my worldbuilding brainstorming partner Dan Fawcett to the café manager who doesn't charge me every once in a while because she likes supporting writers. Too many people to name. Besides, that's what the acknowledgement page of books are for, right?
All right, time to hit the kitchen, folks. Have a good one.
___
*- I'm a traditionalist, but that ties to my roots as a worldbuilder and an amateur food historian. Turkey, potatoes & corn are all native foods to the Americas. That's important, in my mind. That's why desert is a chocolate pecan pie.
**- I swear, half the times I say that, I end up writing twice as much as a normal post.
***- And two trunked ones. I don't think anything tests the patience of a writer's spouse quite like a trunk novel.
So: state of the writer, thankfulness version.
First and foremost, I'm thankful for by amazing wife, whose love and support have kept me going through this journey. She's put up with the many, many times I've stayed awake into the wee hours or sequestered myself with headphones on and nose in the computer, accepted the fact that my head is quite literally in some other world half the time, and has kept the fire under my feet when I get distracted. She's willing for me to not only have giant maps printed, but to have them framed and hung in our studio. Thanks to her I've got three novels*** in my agent's hands, and more on the way.
Second, my agent. It's hard to quantify what an agent does for someone, but in the time we've been together, he's been a source of support, as well as inspiration. He's pushed those three books into being better than they were without him. He's regularly plugged this very blog. He's working for me, and he doesn't make a dime from me until we have a sale. And when we do, you damn well better believe he's earned his percentage. I sure do.
I'm thankful for my health and my energy, and that I've had the ability and freedom to keep working like I have been. I'm thankful that I've just finished a draft of a short story, and wrote another short play last week. I'm thankful that I have more ideas than I know what to do with. Novels are cooking and brewing in this brain, and I have every intention of continuing to crank them out.
I'm thankful for all the people who've given help and advice over the past year and more-- from my mentor and friend Stina Leicht to my worldbuilding brainstorming partner Dan Fawcett to the café manager who doesn't charge me every once in a while because she likes supporting writers. Too many people to name. Besides, that's what the acknowledgement page of books are for, right?
All right, time to hit the kitchen, folks. Have a good one.
___
*- I'm a traditionalist, but that ties to my roots as a worldbuilder and an amateur food historian. Turkey, potatoes & corn are all native foods to the Americas. That's important, in my mind. That's why desert is a chocolate pecan pie.
**- I swear, half the times I say that, I end up writing twice as much as a normal post.
***- And two trunked ones. I don't think anything tests the patience of a writer's spouse quite like a trunk novel.
Monday, October 1, 2012
In which I channel my madness
So I had reached the point where the floodwaters of my creative process couldn't take further damming, and the levees were going to break. This would have probably resulted in full-on madness. It would not have been productive.
So I channeled it, knowing that I should go with that urge to make a Wall of Crazy to help figure out Way of the Shield, in a way I can visualize, get my hands on it in a tactile way. If I actually went true WALL of crazy, my wife would probably not approve. So I dug through the garage and found a large board.
And now it all makes perfect sense.
OK, not really, but it makes more sense to me, and that's what matters. It also helped me see why I was having such challenges making things work.
Every project, of course, has a different process to midwife it, and this one has been especially trying. Sometimes it's about figuring out the flaw in the center of the second act. Sometimes it's just about finding the right music to work to.
I once wrote a short story once that would not come out until I was listening to a mix of Madonna, Britney, Pink and Lady Gaga. This is not what I normally listen to, but it was what made that story come together. I honestly do not understand it. I just accepted it.
And, hey, you can read that story, if you're so inclined, since it's in the anthology The Protectors, now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
So I channeled it, knowing that I should go with that urge to make a Wall of Crazy to help figure out Way of the Shield, in a way I can visualize, get my hands on it in a tactile way. If I actually went true WALL of crazy, my wife would probably not approve. So I dug through the garage and found a large board.
OK, not really, but it makes more sense to me, and that's what matters. It also helped me see why I was having such challenges making things work.
Every project, of course, has a different process to midwife it, and this one has been especially trying. Sometimes it's about figuring out the flaw in the center of the second act. Sometimes it's just about finding the right music to work to.
I once wrote a short story once that would not come out until I was listening to a mix of Madonna, Britney, Pink and Lady Gaga. This is not what I normally listen to, but it was what made that story come together. I honestly do not understand it. I just accepted it.
And, hey, you can read that story, if you're so inclined, since it's in the anthology The Protectors, now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Another Plug of ArmadilloCon Writers' Workshop
The deadline for submissions for the ArmadilloCon Writers' Workshop is a month away. High time to plug it again.
--
The ArmadilloCon Writers' Workshop has become a major event for aspiring SF/F writers. It meets on Friday morning before the convention and runs for seven hours when the convention starts. Workshop curriculum is designed for beginning and intermediate students. Workshop participants are given the opportunity to have their work critiqued by major pro editors and/or writers. The workshop will cover craft, markets, the dos and don'ts of preparing your work for professional publication, and more. Discussions range from the basics of grammar and style to plot, theme, character, and setting. Within the breakout session, students receive an in-depth critique of their work from both instructors and peers. This roundtable style critique session is invaluable for learning what works, what doesn't, and how to edit your work.
This years instructors:
Elizabeth Bear, Julie Kenner, Scott Lynch, Robert Bennett, Liz Gorinsky, Mark Finn, Martin Thomas Wagner, Martha Wells, Matthew Bey, Nicole Duson, Scott Johnson, Jessica Reisman, Cat Rambo, Joe McKinney, Marshall Ryan Maresca*, Anne Bishop, Stina Leicht, Jeremy Lassen, and Amanda Downum.
Check the website for specifics on registering.
I'm really looking forward to this year's workshop and con. If you are a writer looking towards publication-- especially in the Central Texas area-- I cannot stress enough its value. It's really an amazing experience, and compared to most other workshop/conference opportunities, it is a downright bargain.
___
*- Yeah, we totally could play the "One of these things is not like the others" game with this group, hmm?
--
The ArmadilloCon Writers' Workshop has become a major event for aspiring SF/F writers. It meets on Friday morning before the convention and runs for seven hours when the convention starts. Workshop curriculum is designed for beginning and intermediate students. Workshop participants are given the opportunity to have their work critiqued by major pro editors and/or writers. The workshop will cover craft, markets, the dos and don'ts of preparing your work for professional publication, and more. Discussions range from the basics of grammar and style to plot, theme, character, and setting. Within the breakout session, students receive an in-depth critique of their work from both instructors and peers. This roundtable style critique session is invaluable for learning what works, what doesn't, and how to edit your work.
This years instructors:
Elizabeth Bear, Julie Kenner, Scott Lynch, Robert Bennett, Liz Gorinsky, Mark Finn, Martin Thomas Wagner, Martha Wells, Matthew Bey, Nicole Duson, Scott Johnson, Jessica Reisman, Cat Rambo, Joe McKinney, Marshall Ryan Maresca*, Anne Bishop, Stina Leicht, Jeremy Lassen, and Amanda Downum.
Check the website for specifics on registering.
I'm really looking forward to this year's workshop and con. If you are a writer looking towards publication-- especially in the Central Texas area-- I cannot stress enough its value. It's really an amazing experience, and compared to most other workshop/conference opportunities, it is a downright bargain.
___
*- Yeah, we totally could play the "One of these things is not like the others" game with this group, hmm?
Monday, April 23, 2012
Nothing In, Nothing Out: I'm Not Reading Enough
Back when I did the DFW Writer's Conference last year, the keynote speaker said, in part of her keynote speech, "Stephen King reads four hours a day and writes four hours a day. That's fundamental"* The quote got posted to Twitter, and then retweeted like crazy until it reached the level of public consciousness that my wife** quoted it back to me. Of course, upon hearing this, many complained that they, unlike the esteemed Mr. King, do not have eight hours a day to devote to their craft. This misses the point: it's not the total hours, it's the ratio.
Of late, my ratio has been off. Very off, and I think that it's had an impact on writing the rough draft of Way of the Shield. It's not quite writers' block, but it is a sort of slow-as-molasses drip of words that isn't coming as easily as I would think it ought to be.
And I think the problem is I simply haven't been reading like I should. The Writer Brain is a hungry beast, and if nothing goes in, nothing comes out. I've been justifying this to myself in saying that I haven't had time to read, but I know that's really not true. The truth is I hadn't managed my time of late to make reading a priority.
That's got to change.
So I went to my bookshelf and took down all the books on my ever-growing shortlist. Here it is, in no particular order***:
So, starting with Kingdoms, which I'm about a third of the way through, I'm going to devote the next few weeks to reading all of these. I'm going to TRY to read one a week, and write about each one here.
Because, when it comes down to it, being a better reader makes one a better writer. I'm kind of amazed when I hear people say they want to write a book, but when pressed they basically will tell you they don't read at all. AT ALL. It shocks me.
If anyone has suggestions about reading order (in other words, what I tackle after Kingdoms), I'm all ears.
---
*- I cannot comment on whether the quote is accurate of Mr. King's actual habits.
**- My wife is relatively off-the-grid, and certainly not connected to the writerly blogosphere. If something viral reaches her, it mean it's gone airborne.
***- The order is pretty much "Order I grabbed them off the shelf and made into a pile".
Of late, my ratio has been off. Very off, and I think that it's had an impact on writing the rough draft of Way of the Shield. It's not quite writers' block, but it is a sort of slow-as-molasses drip of words that isn't coming as easily as I would think it ought to be.
And I think the problem is I simply haven't been reading like I should. The Writer Brain is a hungry beast, and if nothing goes in, nothing comes out. I've been justifying this to myself in saying that I haven't had time to read, but I know that's really not true. The truth is I hadn't managed my time of late to make reading a priority.
That's got to change.
So I went to my bookshelf and took down all the books on my ever-growing shortlist. Here it is, in no particular order***:
- Kingdoms of Dust by Amanda Downum
- The Wizard Hunters by Martha Wells
- Perdido Street Station by China Meiville
- Among Thieves by Douglas Hulick
- Palimpsest by Catherine M. Valente
- The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
- And Blue Skies from Pain by Stina Leicht
- Blood of Ambrose by James Enge
- Boneshaker by Cherie Priest
- Shadow's Master by John Sprunk
- Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed
- Ink and Steel by Elizabeth Bear
So, starting with Kingdoms, which I'm about a third of the way through, I'm going to devote the next few weeks to reading all of these. I'm going to TRY to read one a week, and write about each one here.
Because, when it comes down to it, being a better reader makes one a better writer. I'm kind of amazed when I hear people say they want to write a book, but when pressed they basically will tell you they don't read at all. AT ALL. It shocks me.
If anyone has suggestions about reading order (in other words, what I tackle after Kingdoms), I'm all ears.
---
*- I cannot comment on whether the quote is accurate of Mr. King's actual habits.
**- My wife is relatively off-the-grid, and certainly not connected to the writerly blogosphere. If something viral reaches her, it mean it's gone airborne.
***- The order is pretty much "Order I grabbed them off the shelf and made into a pile".
Monday, April 16, 2012
Organization of Worldbuilding
I've mentioned before how I have the various nations of the world that Druthal occupies given some degree of definition in "National Documents". These are, in essence, a handful of neutrally-written wikipedia-esque files on each country (or, in the case of areas of lesser organization, regions of general geosocial commonality). These documents were organized as follows:
So I'm thinking about how to rectify that. And, of course, whether I really need TO rectify it, or just focus on, you know, the actual writing.
POLITICS
GEOGRAPHY
- Government
- Laws
- Criminal Activity
- Military
- Foreign Affairs
ECONOMY
- Maps
- Regions/Political Subdivisions
- Major Cities
CULTURE
- Currency
- Key Imports/Exports
- City Life
- Country Life
- Religion
- Holidays & Ceremonies
- Family Units
- Homes
- Clothing & Hairstyles
- Education
- Food
- Entertainment
- Great Works
HISTORYNow, while this format is solid, and given that it's mostly for my own personal use, it's just fine, I'm not thrilled with it. I feel something is missing-- flavor mostly. Possibly from my own desire to maintain that dictionary neutrality, I've lost some degree of voice. And perhaps there is a key element to these documents that I've somehow glossed over.
PEOPLE
- Key Historical Figures
- Current Major Personalities
So I'm thinking about how to rectify that. And, of course, whether I really need TO rectify it, or just focus on, you know, the actual writing.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
PSA: In which I am grateful I'm a freak about backing things up
As I mentioned earlier this week, my laptop died on the way to Boston. Just dead. Kaput. Hard drive shot, apparently. But it is under warranty, so I should be getting it back, good as newish*, some time today.
Which means I've got a fair amount of work ahead of me setting it back up.
Fortunately, I've been exceedingly anal about backing up non-replacable files. Namely, anything to do with writing and worldbuilding. I don't use any sort of automatic service for this. It's just me, manually and actively backing things up on a regular basis.
This is a habit borne from necessity, from hard lessons. I've had two other laptops die on me, but fortunately they both had lingering, sputtering deaths, and in both cases their replacements were in hand and loaded with their data before they shuffled off. But those two were not the hard lessons.
Rather, the hard lesson was one of my own stupidity. This is when I had my old desktop PC, which I had purchased in 1998. By 2005, it was slow, outdated and a bit sputtery. We called it Tortuga**, and when my wife was bringing in a new desktop***, she wanted it GONE. The day came**** when she decided she would tolerate no further nostalgia for Tortuga on my part. I needed to save all my data (burning it to CD, because this is 2005 we're talking about) and put the computer on the curb. Which I did.
A few months later I was caught with a bit of a bug to dig up some old work, namely a novel I had started back in the 90s called "Convergence of Angels on the I-35". Don't ask me what that title means, because I really couldn't tell you. I never got far enough into it to figure that out. This, by the way, was pretty well in the height of my "I'll just write and see where things take me" pantsing delusions. I had no plan, other than writing in purplish prose about diners, miracles and broken people. But mostly diners. Hell, the thing was originally written on a yellow legal pad while seated at the counter of a greasy spoon diner, drinking obscene amounts of coffee. I was deep in a Tom Robbins phase at the time.
I digress. I looked for that file in my archive CDs. Nowhere. Checked older archives. Nope. Checked all over the place. Not to be found. "Convergence of Angels on the I-35" was lost to history, since I was terrible at backing things up.
(This is kind of a lie, as I do, in fact, still have the handwritten yellow legal pad. It's actually in my hand right now. I could, if I really wanted to, re-type the thing. And given that its been 16 years since I wrote this, and I'd like to think I'm a much better writer now than I was then, said re-typing would probably be a significant improvement over whatever I had typed before. Maybe it might be an interesting experiment.)
____
*- The CD/DVD burner had been glitchy for some time, and they're replacing that as well, so it's not that much of a tragedy.
**- Spanish for "turtle".
***- Which she named "Coneja", Spanish for "rabbit". Our current computers are Cheetah, Dolphin and Coneja II, which is the machine that just died this week.
****- If I were to guess, it would have been September 18th, 2005.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Stepping Back to look at the Big Picture
This weekend was spent, in part, organizing and purging. This tied, in part, to deciding to rename the warrior orders in Druthal. Going through documents, finding outdated info, changing the names of things, purging out needless duplicates of paperwork. (It's amazing how many times I've, frankly, thoughtlessly re-printed the same info.) But I'm working on putting together both clean working files to reference (in Scrivener format primarily, though exporting that to a text format as well, in case of disaster), as well as a single, easy hard copy to go to if I need it. It also involves digging through random handwritten notes (as I will jot down ideas just about anywhere) and making sure I've transcribed them somewhere where they'll do some good.
Part of this, of course, involved taking a good, hard look at the bigger picture of things. I've made no secret of the fact that I have four different "heroes of Maradaine" series mapped out, with Thorn of Dentonhill, Holver Alley Crew, Maradaine Constabulary and Way of the Shield each representing the first of their own respective series. Each of these four books stands alone just fine, though I've made a point of including hints and connections that pay off for readers who read everything.
Now, I have a big crazy plan for each and all of these series, which I've worked to some degree. Part of this weekend's process involved finding more detail to fill in, which then filtered back into the final bits of the Maradaine Constabulry re-write.
On some level, I know that it's completely crazy to even be contemplating the level of plan that I have. But I think in terms of epic. And hopefully, I'll be able to make that pay off.
It occurs to me that this particular blog is coming off just a hair short of a total box of crazy. Which is how stepping back and looking at my whole big-picture plan makes me feel, sometimes. The scope of what I want to do is so huge, it feels like a tidal wave that I have to hold back. It's almost the opposite of writer's block: there's so MUCH you can't get out. If I just let it go, it would be an intelligible word-salad of madness. An unsolved jigsaw puzzle, dumped out on the floor.
Thus: Plan. Organize. Focus. Build the edges of the puzzle first. I've got three sides almost done, and I'm starting to build the fourth.
This whole thing will probably make no sense to you, or it makes perfect sense, in which case you should probably be scared for your sanity. Mine's toast.
Off to the word mines.
Part of this, of course, involved taking a good, hard look at the bigger picture of things. I've made no secret of the fact that I have four different "heroes of Maradaine" series mapped out, with Thorn of Dentonhill, Holver Alley Crew, Maradaine Constabulary and Way of the Shield each representing the first of their own respective series. Each of these four books stands alone just fine, though I've made a point of including hints and connections that pay off for readers who read everything.
Now, I have a big crazy plan for each and all of these series, which I've worked to some degree. Part of this weekend's process involved finding more detail to fill in, which then filtered back into the final bits of the Maradaine Constabulry re-write.
On some level, I know that it's completely crazy to even be contemplating the level of plan that I have. But I think in terms of epic. And hopefully, I'll be able to make that pay off.
It occurs to me that this particular blog is coming off just a hair short of a total box of crazy. Which is how stepping back and looking at my whole big-picture plan makes me feel, sometimes. The scope of what I want to do is so huge, it feels like a tidal wave that I have to hold back. It's almost the opposite of writer's block: there's so MUCH you can't get out. If I just let it go, it would be an intelligible word-salad of madness. An unsolved jigsaw puzzle, dumped out on the floor.
Thus: Plan. Organize. Focus. Build the edges of the puzzle first. I've got three sides almost done, and I'm starting to build the fourth.
This whole thing will probably make no sense to you, or it makes perfect sense, in which case you should probably be scared for your sanity. Mine's toast.
Off to the word mines.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Using Structure to Best Effect
Like I've always said, I'm a planner and an outliner. I can't just wing my way through a novel.I need my big picture.
Part of having that big picture outlook is knowing what the meat and bones of the story are ahead of time. The dressing, the sinew, the sauce (depending on which metaphor you feel like using), that always comes out in the writing itself. Sometimes on the second draft. (Case in point, in the currently-wrapping-up Maradaine Constabulary, I've found Minox's whole extended family, something that didn't exist before. Taking him out of the standard 'loner' trope has had some interesting effects.)
But a problem I've run into, almost every time, is that desire to write those "meat and bones" scenes, making it something of a challenge to write those "sinewy tissue" scenes, that are just as necessary. Each time, on Thorn, on Holver Alley, and on Maradaine Constabulary, I reached a point where, in frustration, I would write a [SCENE ABOUT THIS] notation and move ahead.
And that's fine. I think every writer needs to learn their own particular process, and accept how they work it. It took me a while to realize I had to be a planner. I had many, many crash-and-burns romanticizing the "just write and see where it takes me" method. It doesn't work for me.
(If that works for you, excellent. I'm not knocking on any one person's methods. If your methods work for you, then continue with what works. Though I think people should always analyze whether something REALLY works for them, or they just THINK it does.)
Anyhow, I've now accepted that simply writing straight through in a linear way doesn't work for me. I need to satisfy those urges to write the big tentpole sequences that hold the story up, and then use the ropes and canvas to hold it all together.
(I'm just throwing all sorts of metaphors around, aren't I?)
So, this is the experiment with Way of the Shield. It'll also be my first attempt at writing a novel entirely on Scrivener. Scrivener, of course, it's quite useful in non-linear writing. Scenes can be written individually, and then assembled in the desired order, new scenes stuck in-between, and so forth. I believe that this will yield faster results, as my finish-by goal for the rough draft is May 15th.
Down to the word mines I go.
Part of having that big picture outlook is knowing what the meat and bones of the story are ahead of time. The dressing, the sinew, the sauce (depending on which metaphor you feel like using), that always comes out in the writing itself. Sometimes on the second draft. (Case in point, in the currently-wrapping-up Maradaine Constabulary, I've found Minox's whole extended family, something that didn't exist before. Taking him out of the standard 'loner' trope has had some interesting effects.)
But a problem I've run into, almost every time, is that desire to write those "meat and bones" scenes, making it something of a challenge to write those "sinewy tissue" scenes, that are just as necessary. Each time, on Thorn, on Holver Alley, and on Maradaine Constabulary, I reached a point where, in frustration, I would write a [SCENE ABOUT THIS] notation and move ahead.
And that's fine. I think every writer needs to learn their own particular process, and accept how they work it. It took me a while to realize I had to be a planner. I had many, many crash-and-burns romanticizing the "just write and see where it takes me" method. It doesn't work for me.
(If that works for you, excellent. I'm not knocking on any one person's methods. If your methods work for you, then continue with what works. Though I think people should always analyze whether something REALLY works for them, or they just THINK it does.)
Anyhow, I've now accepted that simply writing straight through in a linear way doesn't work for me. I need to satisfy those urges to write the big tentpole sequences that hold the story up, and then use the ropes and canvas to hold it all together.
(I'm just throwing all sorts of metaphors around, aren't I?)
So, this is the experiment with Way of the Shield. It'll also be my first attempt at writing a novel entirely on Scrivener. Scrivener, of course, it's quite useful in non-linear writing. Scenes can be written individually, and then assembled in the desired order, new scenes stuck in-between, and so forth. I believe that this will yield faster results, as my finish-by goal for the rough draft is May 15th.
Down to the word mines I go.
Monday, January 9, 2012
January is not the Month of Doom, for once
Last year at this time, I was sinus-deep in misery, thanks to Austin Cedar allergies. It was pretty awful, much like it was in 2010 and 2009. It actually had been bad for me in Januaries before 2009, but that was when I realized what was causing the problem. Anyway, in the two years since, I mostly did my best to manage allergy season once it hit. This year, I was actually proactive, taking daily doses of antihistamines, starting a few months out. This has made a huge difference. Cedar levels are ridiculously high, yet despite that, I'm as mentally functional as ever.
(I'll let you all judge how functional that actually is.)
So projects are getting done. Holver Alley Crew was sent to the agent today. I've been doing plenty of work on Maradaine Constabulary, and should have that draft finished pretty soon. Ideas are percolating. Work is getting done. I finished reading the manuscript for my critique group ahead of time, for once.
I like having my January be useful and productive. How about that?
So therefore, back into the Word Mines.
(I'll let you all judge how functional that actually is.)
So projects are getting done. Holver Alley Crew was sent to the agent today. I've been doing plenty of work on Maradaine Constabulary, and should have that draft finished pretty soon. Ideas are percolating. Work is getting done. I finished reading the manuscript for my critique group ahead of time, for once.
I like having my January be useful and productive. How about that?
So therefore, back into the Word Mines.
Monday, May 23, 2011
State of the Writer, May 2011
It's been a bit more than a year since my last update of my various writing projects, and I figured given the recent news it was high time to update again.
First, from what was listed then:
First, from what was listed then:
- Crown of Druthal (Book 1 of Crown of Druthal series): This project is well and truly Trunked. I don't plan on going back to it in the foreseeable future. Doing it was definitely a valuable learning experience, but the problems it has are fundamental flaws. Namely, it's a travelogue where the places I wanted the characters to go dictated the plot, rather than the other way around.
- Thorn of Dentonhill (Book 1 of Veranix series): Finished. I'm currently polishing the synopses of planned sequels so my agent can shop it as a potential series. But other than that, it's as done as I can make it.
- Holver Alley Crew (Book 1 of Holver Alley Crew series): A finished, polished draft.
- Maradaine Constabulary (Book 1 of Maradaine Constabulary series): Finished first draft, with tons of notes from my critique group to start the process of the second draft.
- From Star to Star (Book 1 of Banshee series): The original concept behind this I've more or less utterly scrapped, trashing just about everything except the central character and the name of the ship (though the nature of the name of the ship itself has changed, from being the actual name to an humanization of an alien name.) I really think the new concept can be a lot of fun, but I need to do a lot of work before real writing can begin.
- The Way of the Shield (Book 1 of Vanguard series): I still have a full outline, and I've done some more detail work, and some initial writing. But it's only been starting to come together now, since I've just figured out some key things about the main character that were eluding me.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
And On To The Next...
I've now finished the rough draft of Maradaine Constabulary, and I've given that out to my critique group. Thorn of Dentonhill and Holver Alley Crew are both out shopping. I won't be making changes to either of them in the immediate future, not until I'm given cause (i.e., an agent requests rewrites, or no agents request anything, meaning I need to give them another look-over.)
So, that means I've got nothing to do right now, right?
Not hardly.
It means it's time to develop new projects!
Last year, I was at a writer's workshop where one of the teachers indicated that you should never have only one pan in the fire. You can't build a career if you can only write one book and then nothing. He said something like, "I know someone isn't going to make it if I ask them, 'What are you writing next? And after that? And after that?' and get blank stares."
Here, I'm not lacking.
Most likely, the next project is going to be Vanguard, the first book of what would be the fourth branch series of Heroes of Maradaine. (In other words, I have with ToD, MC and HAC three potential "Book 1 in a series" books, all set in the same city and happening at roughly the same time, and Vanguard would be the fourth of that set of serieses.)
However, my ideas for my Space Opera setting (2373-verse, for now) have been buzzing. I actually just had an epiphany today why U.S.S. Banshee was inherently flawed, and thus each attempt to write it fizzled into nothing. Fixing said flaw involves scrapping much of the core idea and starting over, BUT I think there is something stronger at the core which will prove interesting. Plus I have another idea in the same setting that is flowering into a full on story.
Finally, I have two project ideas that are, really, in their infant stages. For now I'll just call them Untitled YA Project and Untitled Heroine Project. Both of which, right now, are little more than characters, some setting and over-arching concepts. Neither has a story yet. Seeds that still have to germinate.
This is a long-winded way of saying that I've got enough to keep me busy for the month of April while my group reads Maradaine Constabulary.
So, that means I've got nothing to do right now, right?
Not hardly.
It means it's time to develop new projects!
Last year, I was at a writer's workshop where one of the teachers indicated that you should never have only one pan in the fire. You can't build a career if you can only write one book and then nothing. He said something like, "I know someone isn't going to make it if I ask them, 'What are you writing next? And after that? And after that?' and get blank stares."
Here, I'm not lacking.
Most likely, the next project is going to be Vanguard, the first book of what would be the fourth branch series of Heroes of Maradaine. (In other words, I have with ToD, MC and HAC three potential "Book 1 in a series" books, all set in the same city and happening at roughly the same time, and Vanguard would be the fourth of that set of serieses.)
However, my ideas for my Space Opera setting (2373-verse, for now) have been buzzing. I actually just had an epiphany today why U.S.S. Banshee was inherently flawed, and thus each attempt to write it fizzled into nothing. Fixing said flaw involves scrapping much of the core idea and starting over, BUT I think there is something stronger at the core which will prove interesting. Plus I have another idea in the same setting that is flowering into a full on story.
Finally, I have two project ideas that are, really, in their infant stages. For now I'll just call them Untitled YA Project and Untitled Heroine Project. Both of which, right now, are little more than characters, some setting and over-arching concepts. Neither has a story yet. Seeds that still have to germinate.
This is a long-winded way of saying that I've got enough to keep me busy for the month of April while my group reads Maradaine Constabulary.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Wrting Environments
The environment I write in is a crucial factor to how effective any given writing session can be. For one, I do better when in a public place, like a bookstore or cafe. Having a (habitually refilled) coffee or tea also helps a lot.
But there's more to the environmental factors. I need music, preferably by headset, to quit the rest of the world and occupy the parts of my brain that don't help when I'm writing.
Also important is being able to achieve a state of relaxed creativity. It takes a bit of time to get into the groove. One of my biggest problems is I need a good two-three hours to really get good work done. The first hour is usually something of a wash. I'm still working on how to make that first hour as good as the second and third.
But most of all, I need to be able to think. January is a bad time for that, because of seasonal allergies in this town. Cedar fever kills my brain in a sinus fog. Allergy medicine leaves me a functional zombie-- I can do most things, save write. It's very frustrating.
Thus you note the dearth of posts I made in January. Fiction writing was similarly held back. I've made some progress on the second draft of Holver Alley Crew (namely transcribing notes from my paper copy to electronic form), and inched forward with Maradaine Constabulary. That one, I can tell when the rough draft is done, it's going to be a rough draft.
But there's more to the environmental factors. I need music, preferably by headset, to quit the rest of the world and occupy the parts of my brain that don't help when I'm writing.
Also important is being able to achieve a state of relaxed creativity. It takes a bit of time to get into the groove. One of my biggest problems is I need a good two-three hours to really get good work done. The first hour is usually something of a wash. I'm still working on how to make that first hour as good as the second and third.
But most of all, I need to be able to think. January is a bad time for that, because of seasonal allergies in this town. Cedar fever kills my brain in a sinus fog. Allergy medicine leaves me a functional zombie-- I can do most things, save write. It's very frustrating.
Thus you note the dearth of posts I made in January. Fiction writing was similarly held back. I've made some progress on the second draft of Holver Alley Crew (namely transcribing notes from my paper copy to electronic form), and inched forward with Maradaine Constabulary. That one, I can tell when the rough draft is done, it's going to be a rough draft.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Reader question answered
OK, this is actually the first time I've had a Reader Question in which to answer. So why not make a post of it?
I have tried out Scrivener, and was more or less underwhelmed. When I first saw the pitch for it, I found it interesting, and yet vaguely offensive. They've since changed the pitch, from what I can tell, but at the time it was along the lines of, "You can't actually write on MS Word, because that doesn't make sense to your writer brain. Here's some software that thinks like YOU do."
I've never quite understood the complaints with MS Word as a writer's tool. I've, personally, found it completely functional for my needs. I can do whatever I need on it, write how I want to, move text around, re-format in a snap. I don't see what's non-functional about it. Maybe someone else can explain it to me.
Anyway, back to Scrivener. I think it is probably a perfectly fine tool for helping one organize ones thoughts and materials. The thing is, I already have my thoughts and materials organized my own way, so the act of transferring it all into Scrivener seemed more work than it was worth. On top of that, most of what Scrivener actually DOES is take anything you put into there and make it into text files. Scrivener just allows you to look at text files in different ways. Again, I'm sure that helps a lot of people, but it's not particularly useful to me. At least, not MORE useful than what I already do.
Like I said, I use MS Word to actually write, as well as most of my notes are done on MS Word. On any project, on top of the actual Rough Draft file, I make three other files: Outline, Dramatis Personae and Facepage.
The Outline I already have a template document, in MS Word, using Notebook Layout mode. Twelve sections for the twelve parts of the outline.
The Dramatis Personae is just that: a list of all the characters, with a basic description of who they are and their relation to anyone else in the piece.
The Facepage is a word document with just headshot pictures of the characters with their names. Collecting said headshots is part of the prep process.
Worldbuilding is done on MS Word, with MS Excel, Filemaker Pro and Adobe Photoshop all playing a role. Also, with my Space Opera worldbuilding (for USS Banshee) a wonderful star-system program call ChView has proven invaluable.
But sometimes it's just a notebook and a pen, of course.
I forgot to ask: do you use any tools like Scrivener, or do you just use a good ol' fashioned word processor (or the even more good and more ol' fashioned yellow legal pad)?I essentially use Microsoft Word for actual writing. I occasionally will work longhand, as it's sometimes a good way to get cobwebs out... though I prefer a lined notebook to a legal pad. Something about turning the pages instead of flipping them over the top appeals to my sense of aesthetics. Of course, in a desk drawer I have about twelve such pads with a ton of unorganized notes. Most of those have been typed in, so they are essentially redundant.
I have tried out Scrivener, and was more or less underwhelmed. When I first saw the pitch for it, I found it interesting, and yet vaguely offensive. They've since changed the pitch, from what I can tell, but at the time it was along the lines of, "You can't actually write on MS Word, because that doesn't make sense to your writer brain. Here's some software that thinks like YOU do."
I've never quite understood the complaints with MS Word as a writer's tool. I've, personally, found it completely functional for my needs. I can do whatever I need on it, write how I want to, move text around, re-format in a snap. I don't see what's non-functional about it. Maybe someone else can explain it to me.
Anyway, back to Scrivener. I think it is probably a perfectly fine tool for helping one organize ones thoughts and materials. The thing is, I already have my thoughts and materials organized my own way, so the act of transferring it all into Scrivener seemed more work than it was worth. On top of that, most of what Scrivener actually DOES is take anything you put into there and make it into text files. Scrivener just allows you to look at text files in different ways. Again, I'm sure that helps a lot of people, but it's not particularly useful to me. At least, not MORE useful than what I already do.
Like I said, I use MS Word to actually write, as well as most of my notes are done on MS Word. On any project, on top of the actual Rough Draft file, I make three other files: Outline, Dramatis Personae and Facepage.
The Outline I already have a template document, in MS Word, using Notebook Layout mode. Twelve sections for the twelve parts of the outline.
The Dramatis Personae is just that: a list of all the characters, with a basic description of who they are and their relation to anyone else in the piece.
The Facepage is a word document with just headshot pictures of the characters with their names. Collecting said headshots is part of the prep process.
Worldbuilding is done on MS Word, with MS Excel, Filemaker Pro and Adobe Photoshop all playing a role. Also, with my Space Opera worldbuilding (for USS Banshee) a wonderful star-system program call ChView has proven invaluable.
But sometimes it's just a notebook and a pen, of course.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
The next step...
Now I have my rough draft of Holver Alley Crew done, the question is What Next?
Of course, I will keep shopping Thorn of Dentonhill, and putting Crown of Druthal through the workshop process...
But the big thing is to start work on one of the three rough drafts of new projects: Maradaine Constublary, Vanguard and USS Banshee. Have to decide which is going next.
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