Having half-throttled this cold, and feeling so much better, I took up my latest work again and went over the first two chapters. Things needed to be done, I realised (I knew beforehand, but hoped my last impression wasn't wholly correct).
I finished last night at about 2 a.m., and rather liked what I'd done. This was now so much more how I imagined it would feel. Reading it over again a few times more helped me to retire to bed in a rather buoyant mood.
This morning my cold still bothered me a bit, but not as bad as previously. And I still felt that something extra was needed for me to feel that I could step forward to the third chapter - a chapter which, in the back of my mind, I probably haven't written or created either in my notes or even in my head. Tonight will discover more on that.
I made further adjustments to the second chapter. Suddenly it clicked - I realised I was completing this first passage, not looking for problems or clues. And it reads like a dream. Totally divorced from my fantasy style, written in a modern english and pushing along, with thought, description and action all intermingled. Well, not totally divorced - I like a bit of poetry and description, but I've developed a new style that encompasses everything I've done, but written in a modern way.
I'm sure I'll get better at it as I carry on. Not worrying about it though, as the answers are all there in front of me.
Now then, this third chapter... tonight!
Thursday, 26 July 2007
Tuesday, 24 July 2007
Bug Hunt!
No, I haven't been watching Aliens - I've got one of the worst cases of man-flu ever! Holland & Barrett's share price went through the roof after I raided their shop today. I got Aloe Vera, ginger capsules, garlic capsules, organic green tea, organic wildflower honey (not sure I like the honey), and, just for a bit more comfort, Green & Black's organic hot chocolate. I'm assured it's the best, but I'm sitting covered in sweat from head to toe after a bowl of homemade soup, so I think I better leave that until tomorrow. Oh, and I got some bananas and red grapes, too, with balsam impregnated tissues for afters.
What this means is that I'm in no fit state to write tonight. This is actually a good thing, as I've already revised the first two chapters - they read great (to my way of thinking). I'm getting more and more under the skin of the story; the layers are beginning to peel back, revealing more than I knew was there. It's that belief thing again - once you start doing it, the doubts begin to fade away.
Giving my eyes and brain a rest for a day or two is often the best way of ensuring improvement, if improvement is necessary - you give it all a fresher read the next time.
It still hasn't stopped me thinking about things, and though I know I shouldn't get too far ahead of myself, I'm having thoughts about the second book - title, storyline, why, how etc.
I also need to think very carefully as to where the flashbacks should occur in this first book, and how I should handle their content.
Need a tissue again - catch you later!
What this means is that I'm in no fit state to write tonight. This is actually a good thing, as I've already revised the first two chapters - they read great (to my way of thinking). I'm getting more and more under the skin of the story; the layers are beginning to peel back, revealing more than I knew was there. It's that belief thing again - once you start doing it, the doubts begin to fade away.
Giving my eyes and brain a rest for a day or two is often the best way of ensuring improvement, if improvement is necessary - you give it all a fresher read the next time.
It still hasn't stopped me thinking about things, and though I know I shouldn't get too far ahead of myself, I'm having thoughts about the second book - title, storyline, why, how etc.
I also need to think very carefully as to where the flashbacks should occur in this first book, and how I should handle their content.
Need a tissue again - catch you later!
Sunday, 22 July 2007
Two chapters!
I have actually written more than two chapters, but now I have what feel like the very first two chapters. The style is much more akin to the short stories I wrote as practice for writing full novels. Certainly, the literary style I employed in writing sword fantasy seems rather a long way away from my current style. Mentally, this is causing me a problem, as I always feel that I should be using more of a poetic lyric to get my point across. I know that I will, and so I should if I can. Me, the eternal artist! Uppermost in my mind, however, is an overriding desire that this latest work must be accessible to anyone, irrespective of their genre preferences - though this is definitely not a children's story, nor a story that should be given to children to read.
Neither chapter is the finished article - I may discover something later that may cause me to add to them, or remove something from them. But the main text is there. Moulding them into shape, the mental 'prodding', has begun, so I do feel that I'm writing the story proper, and not dabbling with it, or sparring around it.
I can write parts of this beginning better, so that is what I'm looking to do. Before I go any further I'm going to make it better. But it's good as it stands now, so if I can make it even better then what more could I ask of myself?
At the moment, it's all a ball of fire - but a fire I want to maintain throughout.
Exciting! Frightening!!
Neither chapter is the finished article - I may discover something later that may cause me to add to them, or remove something from them. But the main text is there. Moulding them into shape, the mental 'prodding', has begun, so I do feel that I'm writing the story proper, and not dabbling with it, or sparring around it.
I can write parts of this beginning better, so that is what I'm looking to do. Before I go any further I'm going to make it better. But it's good as it stands now, so if I can make it even better then what more could I ask of myself?
At the moment, it's all a ball of fire - but a fire I want to maintain throughout.
Exciting! Frightening!!
Friday, 20 July 2007
Cold, is wisdom
'Just keep thinking' was great advice! Well, it is my blog, set up to chronicle and assist me as I write my latest work. I nearly closed it down, once, but solvey (he of the maggotfarm) persuaded me not to. Glad he did!
I have, at last, managed to find a new name for Leon. In keeping with my agreement with Noel the Ultimate Proofreader (and he is 100% correct), I really mustn't discuss my latest story in any more detail than that. So I won't reveal what I'm writing about until I've written more than enough to enable me to send it to agents - in about six months, perhaps.
It's such a strange feeling coming up with this new name and substituting it for the old one. It feels rather like a betrayal, as I've been using the name Leon for a couple of years - from the first idea until the planning and writing I've thus far achieved.
There is already a book and film about someone called Leon, neither of which have been viewed by me. I know next-to-nothing about them, not even whether either, or both, were successful - though I know that Gary Oldman was in the film, so I guess I probably would enjoy the film, at least.
I feel a whole lot better for finding a new name - one that I can't find reference to in anyone else's story. Still can't relax, though. How can I, when I've really only just begun writing it all out in full? It's still great fun, but it's also become very serious. Serious fun - you can't beat it!
I have, at last, managed to find a new name for Leon. In keeping with my agreement with Noel the Ultimate Proofreader (and he is 100% correct), I really mustn't discuss my latest story in any more detail than that. So I won't reveal what I'm writing about until I've written more than enough to enable me to send it to agents - in about six months, perhaps.
It's such a strange feeling coming up with this new name and substituting it for the old one. It feels rather like a betrayal, as I've been using the name Leon for a couple of years - from the first idea until the planning and writing I've thus far achieved.
There is already a book and film about someone called Leon, neither of which have been viewed by me. I know next-to-nothing about them, not even whether either, or both, were successful - though I know that Gary Oldman was in the film, so I guess I probably would enjoy the film, at least.
I feel a whole lot better for finding a new name - one that I can't find reference to in anyone else's story. Still can't relax, though. How can I, when I've really only just begun writing it all out in full? It's still great fun, but it's also become very serious. Serious fun - you can't beat it!
Tuesday, 17 July 2007
Just keep thinking
Every now and then, during the course of writing, you hit on a problem. Something doesn't match up; something doesn't follow. A bit like tripping on a paving stone: with a bit of forethought, a bit of care, you would have seen it coming and you wouldn't have tripped up.
However, some paving stones look perfectly fine - until you step on them and they tilt into a small hole, splashing your shoes and trousers with muddy water, and sometimes even worse things than that.
Yep, sometimes you can't see the problem until you've finished a piece of writing and have read it back. Well, don't panic. Just think. That's all you need to do. Don't gloss over things, don't pass over it, believing: 'Oh, no-one will notice.' They will. The people who will get you published will see, for a start: the agents, the editors. Your intended audience won't get the chance to see.
It's amazing, really, the number of times I think I've hit on a problem which threatens to send my latest story in a different direction to the one I intended it to take. It happens on a regular basis. Complications set in. Life is complicated, after all. But solutions can be found to anything if you put your mind to it.
The answer is to just think. You'll get round it. You'll think of something. Just don't panic, don't get the creeps. Just think. It can take a while for the answer to come through - days, weeks even. But it will.
However, some paving stones look perfectly fine - until you step on them and they tilt into a small hole, splashing your shoes and trousers with muddy water, and sometimes even worse things than that.
Yep, sometimes you can't see the problem until you've finished a piece of writing and have read it back. Well, don't panic. Just think. That's all you need to do. Don't gloss over things, don't pass over it, believing: 'Oh, no-one will notice.' They will. The people who will get you published will see, for a start: the agents, the editors. Your intended audience won't get the chance to see.
It's amazing, really, the number of times I think I've hit on a problem which threatens to send my latest story in a different direction to the one I intended it to take. It happens on a regular basis. Complications set in. Life is complicated, after all. But solutions can be found to anything if you put your mind to it.
The answer is to just think. You'll get round it. You'll think of something. Just don't panic, don't get the creeps. Just think. It can take a while for the answer to come through - days, weeks even. But it will.
Thursday, 12 July 2007
Then I had an idea!
Taking a giant leap forward, I was thinking about the ending. How does it end? What are the circumstances leading up to it? Is it a valid ending?
Then I had an idea: the ending itself, happening where it does, leaves unanswered questions. Questions so important that they demand a second book be written in order to arrive at the answers. Fantastic! I now have something tangible upon which to base a second book - and, just as important, there is always the possibility of a third book. Only veiled thoughts of the future have happened inside my head, but they are there, growing.
Perhaps, some day soon I hope, the idea upon which the third book is to be based will come to me.
I do know that there doesn't have to be a third book, nor even a second. It's the quality that counts, not the quantity. At the very least for me. Just I always have to explore the possibility of future works.
Getting there...
Then I had an idea: the ending itself, happening where it does, leaves unanswered questions. Questions so important that they demand a second book be written in order to arrive at the answers. Fantastic! I now have something tangible upon which to base a second book - and, just as important, there is always the possibility of a third book. Only veiled thoughts of the future have happened inside my head, but they are there, growing.
Perhaps, some day soon I hope, the idea upon which the third book is to be based will come to me.
I do know that there doesn't have to be a third book, nor even a second. It's the quality that counts, not the quantity. At the very least for me. Just I always have to explore the possibility of future works.
Getting there...
Tuesday, 10 July 2007
About 30 pages...
I had a good look last night at everything I'd done in the way of planning and writing for the beginning of the book. Not strictly all of it, just what I thought was relevant to the very beginning.
I've got roughly 30 pages of handwritten notes concerning everything. And some chapters already typed up, which I didn't look at.
After a short while, I began to feel really pleased with what I'd done so far. The history, where it all began, was taking shape and the relevance to the present and the future was a lot clearer than it had been. As ever, the problem lies with that dreaded word 'exposition'. In this story, it's vital, and the illustration of it equally so.
I've just mentioned history. Well, this particular history began hundreds of years ago, and the absolute beginning is either a prologue, or the first chapter. Not 100% sure which, just yet. The explanations are really rooted way in the past, with the present and future continuations of this past.
Flashbacks. Can't do it any way else. Frightening! If they work, brilliant - if they don't, disaster! The first piece is a flashback on its own and works really well, introducing three of the people in the story very well. Just gotta be careful.
But I really like what I've done. Really like it - though I'm scared to death of it all, too!
Noel the Ultimate Proofreader likes it, too, and is as aware as I am that I have to get everything completely right. His laser-light questions and observations have me thinking long into the night.
It's clear that I'm spending a huge amount of time looking at the beginning. It feels like I'm on a knife edge, which is great - if the story, the narrative, can reflect this knife edge, then I will be doing rather well.
I've got roughly 30 pages of handwritten notes concerning everything. And some chapters already typed up, which I didn't look at.
After a short while, I began to feel really pleased with what I'd done so far. The history, where it all began, was taking shape and the relevance to the present and the future was a lot clearer than it had been. As ever, the problem lies with that dreaded word 'exposition'. In this story, it's vital, and the illustration of it equally so.
I've just mentioned history. Well, this particular history began hundreds of years ago, and the absolute beginning is either a prologue, or the first chapter. Not 100% sure which, just yet. The explanations are really rooted way in the past, with the present and future continuations of this past.
Flashbacks. Can't do it any way else. Frightening! If they work, brilliant - if they don't, disaster! The first piece is a flashback on its own and works really well, introducing three of the people in the story very well. Just gotta be careful.
But I really like what I've done. Really like it - though I'm scared to death of it all, too!
Noel the Ultimate Proofreader likes it, too, and is as aware as I am that I have to get everything completely right. His laser-light questions and observations have me thinking long into the night.
It's clear that I'm spending a huge amount of time looking at the beginning. It feels like I'm on a knife edge, which is great - if the story, the narrative, can reflect this knife edge, then I will be doing rather well.
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