Not really a WIP update as such because that’s a little in limbo at the moment.
But I’ve had a serious think about my plans. I have got so many stories I want to write that I need to gain a little focus - lol.
Therefore the plan (currently) is as follows:-
The Land of the Fey was originally conceived as a Trilogy so I’m going to stick to that. Book 2 - Lily and Darvan and Book 3 to lead off Book 2. There are potentially lots of other interesting , side stories to follow (Genys and Reynard especially) but I’m going to try and stay strong and hopefully there will be time to squeeze those stories in, in the future. Lily and Darvan’s story will be up next, I have an outline though it needs some reworking following feedback from my crit partners. However, the main plot is down, it’s just a little of the nitty gritty that needs sorting.
The Bargain (working title). I am so looking forward to working on this story and getting it as good as it can possibly be. There are definitelyother stories in this Universe that I’m just dying to tell. So after I have a working version of Raven, I’ll be looking to write another story leading out of this one.
Wednesday, 25 February 2009
Monday, 23 February 2009
What I'm Reading
Still Pride and Prejudice but I am a lot farther through it now, about halfway. Charlotte has married Mr. Collins. (So I guess he doesn’t end up with Mary huh?) I’ve also watched the first episode of the P&P series which featured Colin Firth as Mr.Darcy. Even though I’d never watched it, I’d seen that many trailers that those actors were pretty much fixed in my head as the characters anyway.
Although I initially thought I’d struggle with the story, even though I’m only half way through I can completely understand why for some people this is their ultimate comfort read. Jane Austen’s use of language is so precise there is never any doubt to her meaning, and I very much appreciate how cleverly it is written.
One of the reasons it’s taking me so long to get through P&P is that I’m currently beta reading. Now I don’t know how other people beta read but I write lots and lots of notes.:)Though this can depend on what the writer is looking for, sometimes it’s just a general overview, other times it’s a line edit. I always feel privileged when someone asks me to betaread, apart from anything else it’s helped me a lot as a writer to see how other authors go about developing their stories and ideas. So if ever you have the opportunity and have the time and commitment I heartily recommend beta reading.
Although I initially thought I’d struggle with the story, even though I’m only half way through I can completely understand why for some people this is their ultimate comfort read. Jane Austen’s use of language is so precise there is never any doubt to her meaning, and I very much appreciate how cleverly it is written.
One of the reasons it’s taking me so long to get through P&P is that I’m currently beta reading. Now I don’t know how other people beta read but I write lots and lots of notes.:)Though this can depend on what the writer is looking for, sometimes it’s just a general overview, other times it’s a line edit. I always feel privileged when someone asks me to betaread, apart from anything else it’s helped me a lot as a writer to see how other authors go about developing their stories and ideas. So if ever you have the opportunity and have the time and commitment I heartily recommend beta reading.
Sunday, 22 February 2009
WIP Update
Second draft completed.
And it’s come in at 32,615 words and is currently 23 chapters. Now it’s off to the beta reader and waiting to hear back from them.
So still a way off from 50,000 words, and whilst I think it might not quite make the 50,000 mark, I think the finished version will come in at a lot closer to 40,000.
Where it stands at the moment. If the first draft was the skeleton, the second draft is the skeleton plus the muscles. The plot niggles from the first draft have been sorted out and basically what’s left is fleshing out, making sure everything makes sense and perfecting the love scenes.
In the mean time I’m going to start the first draft / outline of The Fox Prince (Land of the Fey).
And it’s come in at 32,615 words and is currently 23 chapters. Now it’s off to the beta reader and waiting to hear back from them.
So still a way off from 50,000 words, and whilst I think it might not quite make the 50,000 mark, I think the finished version will come in at a lot closer to 40,000.
Where it stands at the moment. If the first draft was the skeleton, the second draft is the skeleton plus the muscles. The plot niggles from the first draft have been sorted out and basically what’s left is fleshing out, making sure everything makes sense and perfecting the love scenes.
In the mean time I’m going to start the first draft / outline of The Fox Prince (Land of the Fey).
Tuesday, 17 February 2009
WIP Update
Currently working on The Bargain (second draft), Chapter 17, word count 25,002
Have merged four chapters down to two. Things are proceeding smoothly at the moment.
Sex/love scenes - I’ve just completed one - are something of a stumbling block. Mainly because I think these scenes perhaps more than any other you are conscious of having to get right. Nothing knocks a reader out of a moment quicker than a badly written love scene. So it’s almost sweating blood to get them so what you have in your head matches what’s on paper. I’m still not happy with what I’ve got as it stands in the second draft but I know there’s going to be much more refining to come before I even think of submitting.
Have merged four chapters down to two. Things are proceeding smoothly at the moment.
Sex/love scenes - I’ve just completed one - are something of a stumbling block. Mainly because I think these scenes perhaps more than any other you are conscious of having to get right. Nothing knocks a reader out of a moment quicker than a badly written love scene. So it’s almost sweating blood to get them so what you have in your head matches what’s on paper. I’m still not happy with what I’ve got as it stands in the second draft but I know there’s going to be much more refining to come before I even think of submitting.
Wednesday, 11 February 2009
WIP Update
Sorry this is a day late.
Currently working on The Bargain, Chapter 15, word count - 21,574
Things are going well. I have a few days off work next week so fingers crossed that I can blast through this to the end and get it off to my beta reader. Usually my number of squee moments (when I hug myself and go “This is soooooo good”) compared to my dark moments (when I go “This is crap and no one will ever read it!”) is low. But I’m used to that. So it was great this week to have two squee moments, which makes it worthwhile.
So after the second draft is complete - what then? Some authors write a lot and then cut down. I’m the opposite. I write a very spare first draft. The second draft I flesh out and correct character motivations, change things that aren’t working, cut unnecessary scenes, add more scenes sometimes chapters, to clarify things that don’t make sense. That draft goes out to be looked at by someone who doesn’t have my author bias. lol
Then the third draft will be taking into account what the beta reader has said, adding more description, intensifying emotional scenes. I’ll put it on one side for a couple of days and maybe draft again. Then I’ll hopefully be ready to submit.
Currently working on The Bargain, Chapter 15, word count - 21,574
Things are going well. I have a few days off work next week so fingers crossed that I can blast through this to the end and get it off to my beta reader. Usually my number of squee moments (when I hug myself and go “This is soooooo good”) compared to my dark moments (when I go “This is crap and no one will ever read it!”) is low. But I’m used to that. So it was great this week to have two squee moments, which makes it worthwhile.
So after the second draft is complete - what then? Some authors write a lot and then cut down. I’m the opposite. I write a very spare first draft. The second draft I flesh out and correct character motivations, change things that aren’t working, cut unnecessary scenes, add more scenes sometimes chapters, to clarify things that don’t make sense. That draft goes out to be looked at by someone who doesn’t have my author bias. lol
Then the third draft will be taking into account what the beta reader has said, adding more description, intensifying emotional scenes. I’ll put it on one side for a couple of days and maybe draft again. Then I’ll hopefully be ready to submit.
Thursday, 5 February 2009
Thursday 13 #16 - Villains
Last week Josh Lanyon did a guest blog about villains - the guys who wear the black hats - at Reviews by Jessewave. The post can be found here and is well worth reading. Please be aware this blog is for those 18 and over only.
So inspired by that post, here are my 13 favourite villains. What’s interesting about most of them is that as Josh points out in his blog - they wouldn’t consider themselves the bad guys.
1 - Admiral Helena Cain (Michelle Forbes) - from Battlestar Galactica Razor. She does what has to be done, no matter the personal cost. She sacrifices her humanity to her belief that she’s doing what has to be done. (In a way not unsimilar to The Operative from the Serenity movie who acknowledges that he IS a monster).
2 - Callisto from Xena. Well it wouldn’t be a complete villain list if she wasn’t on it. lol What’s slightly different about Callisto’s story is that she is eventually redeemed. I think possibly the only villain on this list who is.
3 - Sark from Alias. David Anders is great at playing a villain. Maybe because he has just this hint of vulnerability. Lol - it was always a great relief when Sark got away to fight another day. And I have to watch Season 5 at some point, it never really made it to the tv in the UK.
4 - Adam Monroe from Heroes. As I said above, David Anders makes a great villain.
5 - Another Alias villain. Sloane. What was great about this series was that the lines shifted so much, that you were never 100% sure of the motivation of characters. Were they doing the right thing for the wrong reasons, or the wrong thing for the right reasons?
6 - The Borg Queen. Definitely wouldn’t consider herself a villain. And it’s interesting to see both Alice Krige’s and Susanna Thompson’s versions.
7 - Gretchen from Prison Break. Completely cold. Does what has to be done with ruthless efficiency, but is not as 2-D as she first appears.
8 - Dexter. Ultimate villain or hero? I love that in the second series his mental quips get even more deadpan.
9 - Elle Driver from Kill Bill 2. Okay it’s difficult for me to decide between her and O-ren Ishii. But I love the scene in the trailer from the second movie and the way Daryl Hannah delivers her speech to a dying Budd.
10 - Sylar from Heroes. What I’ve especially liked about the latest season is how we’ve been able to glimpse into the future and see that he does have the potential to be a good person. Which adds a completely new layer to his choice to be a villain.
11 - #6 - from Battlestar Galactica. Lol - this is difficult because there are so many different versions and they all have their own personalities and back story. They also have the potential to evolve and change. But here I’m thinking back to the mini series and the character that could calmly kill a baby and seduce a man to enable an armageddon.
12 - The Oracle from Jennifer Armintrout’s Blood Ties series. A character who predicts the exact number of pieces she’s going to break your spine into.
13 - Angela Petrelli from Heroes. Another character who it’s difficult to pin down, which is what makes her so interesting. She’s completely capable of sacrificing a son for what she considers the greater good. But when you see the future you play the long game.
So inspired by that post, here are my 13 favourite villains. What’s interesting about most of them is that as Josh points out in his blog - they wouldn’t consider themselves the bad guys.
1 - Admiral Helena Cain (Michelle Forbes) - from Battlestar Galactica Razor. She does what has to be done, no matter the personal cost. She sacrifices her humanity to her belief that she’s doing what has to be done. (In a way not unsimilar to The Operative from the Serenity movie who acknowledges that he IS a monster).
2 - Callisto from Xena. Well it wouldn’t be a complete villain list if she wasn’t on it. lol What’s slightly different about Callisto’s story is that she is eventually redeemed. I think possibly the only villain on this list who is.
3 - Sark from Alias. David Anders is great at playing a villain. Maybe because he has just this hint of vulnerability. Lol - it was always a great relief when Sark got away to fight another day. And I have to watch Season 5 at some point, it never really made it to the tv in the UK.
4 - Adam Monroe from Heroes. As I said above, David Anders makes a great villain.
5 - Another Alias villain. Sloane. What was great about this series was that the lines shifted so much, that you were never 100% sure of the motivation of characters. Were they doing the right thing for the wrong reasons, or the wrong thing for the right reasons?
6 - The Borg Queen. Definitely wouldn’t consider herself a villain. And it’s interesting to see both Alice Krige’s and Susanna Thompson’s versions.
7 - Gretchen from Prison Break. Completely cold. Does what has to be done with ruthless efficiency, but is not as 2-D as she first appears.
8 - Dexter. Ultimate villain or hero? I love that in the second series his mental quips get even more deadpan.
9 - Elle Driver from Kill Bill 2. Okay it’s difficult for me to decide between her and O-ren Ishii. But I love the scene in the trailer from the second movie and the way Daryl Hannah delivers her speech to a dying Budd.
10 - Sylar from Heroes. What I’ve especially liked about the latest season is how we’ve been able to glimpse into the future and see that he does have the potential to be a good person. Which adds a completely new layer to his choice to be a villain.
11 - #6 - from Battlestar Galactica. Lol - this is difficult because there are so many different versions and they all have their own personalities and back story. They also have the potential to evolve and change. But here I’m thinking back to the mini series and the character that could calmly kill a baby and seduce a man to enable an armageddon.
12 - The Oracle from Jennifer Armintrout’s Blood Ties series. A character who predicts the exact number of pieces she’s going to break your spine into.
13 - Angela Petrelli from Heroes. Another character who it’s difficult to pin down, which is what makes her so interesting. She’s completely capable of sacrificing a son for what she considers the greater good. But when you see the future you play the long game.
Tuesday, 3 February 2009
WIP Update
Currently working on The Bargain - 2nd Draft - Chapter 13
word count - 18,925
This week combined chapter 9 and chapter 10 from the first draft into one chapter in the second. Extra scene to be added to chapter 13 to provide some plot clarification.
word count - 18,925
This week combined chapter 9 and chapter 10 from the first draft into one chapter in the second. Extra scene to be added to chapter 13 to provide some plot clarification.
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