First Draft Completed, Now What?

Good evening all!

I'm back from a long, long, long hiatus from the blog, but it was for the best of reasons. I spent every day since early December working on a new project, the first draft of a story that I'm calling 'Air'. I set a weekly word goal of 7,777 words  (don't ask me why...seemed like a good a number as any), and each week I made sure that I hit or surpassed my goal.

I'm here to tell you that I've done it! I now stand at the far end of that tunnel, the four-month-long tunnel in which we spoke in front of at the time of my last post, when I said that I was going to be starting a new project soon. Do you see me leaning in from behind its stony lip? Can you make out that thing I'm waving in my hand while I grin a victorious grin? Well, I'll tell you. It's a completely-finished first draft! And it's so much more. It's 129,000 words worth of clay. There's some semblance of what it can become. I can see it even now, though to most it is still lost in the pudgy, shapeless folds that looks more like mechanically separated chicken than anything else. That's okay. I am armed with my scalpel... ready to carve something beautiful that everyone (hopefully) can enjoy. And yes...it's a bit daunting.

You see, I've written a few short stories before, two of which have gotten published in magazines. I've written the first draft of a 100k novel but it was full of dead ends and obstacles that were too mountainous for my level of experience. I (temporarily) put it aside. Some day, I'll go back to it, I swear. For now, my experience with actual editing stops with the completion of those aforementioned short stories. 5K words compared to what I'm looking at with 'Air'...big difference... a helluva big difference.

I've been doing a lot of research on different methods of editing. A lot of what I'm planning is being pulled directly from Chuck Wendig's playbook. You can find it here. It's a great and very helpful post, one every hopeful writer should read.

One of Chuck's first suggestions is to get feedback from beta readers. OK, great. But there's a problem already. I've shown up to the marathon, just shy of the gunshot that will start me barreling towards the finish line, only to realize that I left my damn running shoes at home. My story is chock full of unfinished scenes, plot holes and dialogue so far out there that a conversation between two crack whores would seem more intellectual. Some characters have mullets and drug problems in scene 10, but then are corporate CEOs with sexy last names by scene 20. I won't even go into all the time paradoxes and location inconsistencies.

So what am I to do? I can't send this slosh of horse manure to beta readers. It'll make their head explode, and that won't help me. I think I have a plan figured out. Before I'm ready for beta readers, I will take care of the following:

• Characters: For each of the major and minor characters, create a character-detail page. This page will have descriptive information, personality information, history, notes, hobbies, mannerisms, etc. Create a keyword out of the character's full name and link it to this detail page. (I use Scrivener, and I highly recommend it to everyone. Click here for an idea of what I'm talking about when it comes to keywords. Then search all scenes for that character. If the character has a relevant presence in a scene, attach the character's keyword to the scene. After visiting all of those scenes, you'll not only have a comprehensive list of all scenes in which this character participates, you'll also have the description page instantly available to make sure all the character info jives across all the scenes. I'll then do this for all the characters...well...all the characters that deserve it.
• Timeline: Create a timeline on a separate page that has all the major and the more important minor events that take place in the story. Also include the ages of the participating characters when these events occurred. Shuffle the scenes around to the proper order based off the timeline (Again...Scrivener to the rescue. One of the beauties of Scrivener is the ability to easily move scenes around).
• Marking Plots/Subplots: This goes hand in hand with the timeline bullet. Just as I created keywords for the characters, create keywords for the plots/subplots and attach them to the scenes as well. The beauty here is that if I want to navigate a particular plot from beginning to end to see how it flows, I can do a search for that plot's keyword and be shown only the scenes that have that keyword attached. Awesomeness to the nth degree!
• Places: Create a keyword for all the relevant places that pop up more than once in the story and attach it to the scenes where the location is mentioned. Also create a location-description page if necessary and attach the keyword there as well. Just like for the characters, what we have is an easy way to find all the relevant scenes and make sure the descriptions all jive. 

I think that after I complete these things, the draft will be ready to see the light of day... at least to a select few beta readers. At that point, I'd love to share how the process worked (or not). Give me a two weeks or so...I'll be back

Thanks for reading!

--Tim

Status of Things

Good evening all!

Even though the better part of my week (nights and weekend included) was claimed by ongoing IT-related projects, I still managed to decently chip away at my writing projects as well.

Critiques for my latest short story, "A Taste", have been coming in over the past two weeks, thanks to my amazing beta-readers. Over the last week, I've gathered and summed their critiques and fixed a lot of things that both the readers and I thought were lacking in the story. Yesterday and today, I put a few more rounds of polish on it. There isn't much more to do before I start submitting "A Taste" to different publications. I'm really excited about this story.

Though I love my first published short story, "The Death Bump", I can easily see how much my writing skills have improved since then. One beta-reader actually said that certain parts of "A Taste" made her 'shudder'. It's awesome to hear something like that.

Speaking of "The Death Bump", I'm thrilled to announce that it has been added to www.barnesandnoble.com. If you haven't already, please download it, read it and tell me what you think. It's free!

Lastly, with my short story nearly completed, I went back to the second draft of "The Sorcerer's Paragon". Currently editing chapter 5 of 34, I know that I have a long way to go, but I am at a good place and hope to have more to report on it soon.

One more thing: if you would be interested in being a beta-reader, please let me know. I'd be grateful for your help!

Thanks for reading!

-- Tim

Splendors of Writing

To all the writers out there, from my mind and through my keyboard comes a question aimed at your eyes: Why do you write? Do you feel it a duty to bless the world with your stories? Do you have something to get off your chest? Perhaps you feel that you can add your own paint to something that is so routine and normal that its original color has worn away. Maybe writing serves as an outlet for your creative genius. How about 'all of the above'?

So what's my answer? Should I answer with 'all of the above' and be done with it? That'd be too easy, and I'm far too long-winded.

The fact is that writing doesn't make any money for me and actually takes a good portion of the little spare time I have. So why do it? Yes, it is an outlet. Yes, I like to tell stories. Mostly, however, I do it because I find it amazing that words, when put together in that perfect sequence, are capable of pulling the reader into my world...my splendid world that was born from nowhere else but my own mind. With a little effort, our dear reader is breathing the same air as my heroes, my villains and any other creatures/characters that didn't dare to exist before I came along.

Watching my characters come alive is another reason that I love to write. I simply give them a name, a face and a little dash of persuasion. After that, I stand back and wait for them to surprise me, and I am rarely let down. Try as I may to contain them in an outline, they find a way to bend and stretch it into one that better fits them. 

So again I ask, why do you do it? What are your most cherished reasons for writing?

Thanks for reading!

-- Tim

Writing Process By Tim

Good evening all! It's been quite some time since my last update. For that I apologize. That being said, I've been keeping true to my writing routine: daily before work and weekends before the kids get up. The second draft of my novel is coming along nicely. Of course I wish the pace was a little faster, but all in all I'm happy with the progress. I have the first five chapters of my novel completed. I let some willing souls beta-read them for me (thanks to you all). The response has been positive so far.

My story 'A Taste' hasn't been touched in months. I blame it on my novel; I've been spending all my writing time on that. I may actually put the novel on the back burner this weekend and try working on the short story for a change of pace. As I said before, the first draft is complete, so I have to concentrate on adding a bit more color to it.

As I was working on my story this morning, I took a step back and thought about my particular writing process...that it might be interesting to talk about. Why? Because I don't really like it that much. But since it has worked for me so far, I won't be changing it anytime soon.

To me, the ideal style would be to crank out an entire story in a way that's akin to carving a wooden sculpture with an ax, wildly chopping away until a rough, vague idea of what was intended stands before me. Then, only when the course has been charted from beginning to end, would I go back and etch with a fine blade until the masterpiece I envisioned comes to life.

How does that differ from my method, you ask? This is generally how things go (don't laugh): I first define the purpose for the chapter, what the chapter needs to accomplish in the grand scheme of the story (so far...nothing unusual). Then I start writing, hoping to do what I mentioned above...write like a mad man until I reach the end, saving the fine-tuning for a later date. I can get through a few paragraphs in that manner if I'm lucky...a few sentences if I'm not. The next thing I do is reread what I wrote and fine-tune it to no end until I am absolutely satisfied that it is as perfect as it can be. 

After that, I write some more in that lovely, loose fashion until I find myself compelled to revisit the very first sentence and reread the entire thing again. I again make my myriad of edits and updates until I am thrilled with the results. So it goes until I finally carve out an entire chapter. I feel like I'm knitting a sweater, always tightening the stitches that I already completed, while the rest of the threads dangle hopelessly below. Because of this insane method, each chapter takes weeks upon weeks to complete. On the plus side, once a chapter is done the subsequent drafts are little more than touch ups.

If there are any other writers out there reading this, I'd be curious to your process. How to you pull the stories from your mind and pour them on the paper? In dribs and drabs or by the pail full?

Thanks for reading!

-- Tim

The Sorcerer's Paragon - intro

While I'm still working on the first draft of my novel, certain chapters are more "done" than others. This is a portion of one such chapter. Comments welcome!

--

Durwin Maggaster stood looking from just inside his chamber’s balcony and into the sprawl of rolling hills that stretched into the blackness of Asper Forest. The moonlight was stolen by the heft of storm clouds, and it was only because of the occasional bout of lightening that his sight escaped his fort’s outer walls at all.

He let out a sigh, just to have it swallowed by thunder. If it weren’t for the arrival of the High Guard, he would be home sipping summer wine by the warmth of the fire, but as a knight of The Swords of Dradu and lord of Asper Forest, his place was here awaiting his commander. After all, it was rare for a member of The High Order of Dradu to make such haste appearances. The visit must be nothing short of vital importance.

He listened nervously for approaching horses as he’d done long before the last bit of daylight was stolen by night, but the rain cut through the sky in thick lines and rapped loudly in his ears like a thousand incessant drummers, blocking out all but the booming thunder. A heavy knock at his door brought him back to his senses.

“What is it?” he called, refusing to part ways with the dreary scene that echoed his mood.

His chamber door peeked open, casting a shard of light over the cobblestone floor of his stay room.

“My lord, Sir Vralis Ottom has just arrived at the gates,” announced the skittish voice of his steward.

A lump fought its way into Durwin’s throat, and he swallowed hard to clear room for his reply. “See him in, Chanstor. I will meet him in the entrance hall.” Durwin sucked a deep breath into his lungs as the door closed behind him, but the attempt to calm himself failed. Vralis Ottom was a kind but powerful man, as were the rest of King Audrick’s twelve high guards, but if he was here to push the will of the king, the will would be done.

He walked across the chamber to where the bed sat and gazed atop the nearby credenza. There lay his most cherished possession, a small pendant made of polished, black stone attached to a thin, golden chain. Engraved perfectly on it was the crest of his brothers, the crest of The Swords of Dradu. He clearly remembered when King Audrick gave the customary gift to him during his knighting ceremony. Not before or ever since has more pride coursed through his veins. He picked it up delicately and let his fingers run over the markings. They were still deep and sharp after all these years.

The years have been far kinder to you than me, thought Durwin, now grey, wrinkled and burdened with age.

The crest was made up of a heater shield, sideways and tilted to the right. Following it was the land of Dradu; to the shield’s left were sharp, horizontal cuts. It was as if the shield was protecting Dradu from their approach. A long sword rested diagonally over Dradu, cutting the land in half, its blade’s tip to the upper right.

Durwin thought of what the cuts symbolized: The kingdom’s enemy during The Great Extradition, a time when the knights under Audrick numbered into the thousands, and Audrick had yet to reclaim the throne. There hasn’t been a war of that magnitude in the seven hundred years since. Often he dreamed of living in such a time, a time when the title of knight meant something more heroic than governing land or ordering around overzealous officers and their footmen. He donned the pendant and felt its power rush through him like flash fire. Even after nearly thirty years of service, Durwin still felt unable to fully master the old and mysterious magic that the stone held within.

His eyes were flooded with torch light and his ears with the excited chatter of more than one hundred strong as he made his way into the upper corridor above the entrance hall. Red banners of The Swords and the purple ones of The High Order hung from nearly every rafter in honor of the High Guard’s arrival.

From the ledge overlooking the chaos, he saw a sea of his footmen below, all dressed in their red gambesons that were usually reserved for battle. Durwin shook his head, annoyed by their eagerness. Surely Vralis was not here to offer palatable news.

Suddenly, the entrance doors were forced open by a blast of chilled autumn wind. The torches of the hall cowered in response, and colored leaves rolled over the threshold to meet the crowd’s feet. Vralis Ottom entered, causing silence to swell throughout the room. While Durwin held court with Vralis many times, it was always in the king’s castle at Bulwarck. It had been years since the High Guard’s last visit to Fort Gunther, and his face was new to most of the footmen that resided here.

Even to the oblivious, there was no mistaking who he was. The dark-purple robes reserved for The High Order peeked from beneath his cloak, but even more telling was the raw power that he exuded, a power similar to, but infinitely more potent than, that of the pendant Durwin wore around his neck.

Vralis Ottom’s black eyes scanned the hall hurriedly, and a chill fell over Durwin as they found him. Refusing to push his dripping brown hair from his face, Vralis summoned Durwin with a nod.

Durwin found himself walking quickly down the stairway to meet him, and he wondered if his men could feel his fear as he threaded through. Something is wrong, he thought as he neared. Vralis’s eyes looked blank, yet determined. He didn’t offer the usual greetings as Durwin approached; he only offered a thick, chilling stare.

“Sir Vralis, it’s a pleasure to see you again,” Durwin lied as he kissed his commander’s gloved hand. The words were coarse as they pushed from his throat, and when they came out, they were without meat.

Vralis offered no reply. Usually he was a man of many gentle words, but thus far his sharp eyes did the talking, and they were not gentle at all. He was a tall man, at least a head taller than Durwin. His clean-shaven face bore slight wrinkles around his eyes and mouth, confessing the age he reached before his gift was discovered by King Audrick. For a moment, Durwin tried to imagine what it must be like to live forever.

“Sir Durwin Maggaster,” said Vralis finally, his voice as cold as his eyes. Vralis almost seemed to be looking through Durwin as he spoke. “An urgent matter has come up, one that we must speak about at once.”

“Y...Yes, my lord. Let us retreat to my private chamber.”

Durwin could smell the country air drifting off Vralis’s cloak as he glided past. The red crowd parted quickly as Vralis led the way towards the stairs. Durwin felt their eyes on him. While some wore looks of pity or fear, most had relief on their faces that they were not the ones chosen to follow. Where was their joviality now? he wondered.

They entered the chamber, and Durwin, for the first time, realized how dark it had become. He eyed the dying embers in the fireplace, their pithy light only strong enough to illuminate the large, limestone mantle containing them. Durwin hurriedly went past his bed to the forgotten fire and prodded life back into it. He turned to see the dark shape of Vralis already across the chamber, staring out at Asper Forest through the balcony entrance.

“Are you feeling well, my lord?” Durwin asked as he approached.

There was no response or any indication that his voice was even heard. Durwin took a moment to gaze at the landscape from alongside Vralis and saw that the storm clouds were waning, their blackness surrendering to the moonlight which now cast a brilliant blue glow over his land.

“So what news do you bring us?”

This time, Vralis looked him over, and Durwin suddenly preferred being ignored.

“Another was found with the gift,” he said calmly.

“The gift?” Durwin stroked his chin’s whiskers. “You mean Arii?” he said after a moment.

Vralis nodded slowly. This was indeed extraordinary news. The power of Arii, as far as Durwin knew, only ever belonged to King Audrick and his twelve.

“So who is this one you found?”

“A boy,” Vralis answered. “A villager in Asper Forest.”

Durwin felt pleasure that such a treasure lived in his forest, but he fought to keep the pleasure from surfacing. Vralis was obviously not pleased by the report, so Durwin was obligated to feel the same.

“So what is to be done?”

Vralis’s eyes were lured back to the landscape. Finally in a tempered voice he uttered, “Asper village, as well as its sons and daughters, must be ended.”

Updates

I was finally able to put that last chapter of my novel to rest. With that one behind me, I figured I'd take a long enough break to revamp my blog.

Being newly published, I have a lot more stories "in the works" than available for you to read. Therefore, I went ahead and added my current projects to the site (because there isn't much else I can add). This way anyone who's interested can see what I'm working on and how far along I am in the process.

Let me know what you think.

Presenting...The Death Bump

I'm proud to say that my first short story has been published! Please check it out at Allegory Ezine and while you're there, please check out the other exceptional stories as well.

I have another short story in the works as well. Currently it is completed as a first draft, but needs a lot of polish before I submit it anywhere. Once I complete the first draft of my novel, I will give the short story the focus it needs.

Drop me an email with what you think of The Death Bump. I love any and all comments. They all do their part to help me hone my craft and are much appreciated.