Friday! At Last…

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m definitely in agreement with Katniss and crew.

Image: summersolsticemusings.wordpress.com

This week has seemed like at least three weeks, all sort of glued together in a tangle of multi-jointed megadays. I’m guessing this is because I was sick for most of it, and when you’re sick everything seems boring and slow. It’s like being a teenager again, in a lot of ways – including the crankiness.

But, in any case, today is Friday and the week is finally over. This is a good thing. I’m starting to feel a little better, which is another good thing. But the best thing of all is that yesterday, I managed to finish Draft 2 of ‘Eldritch’, a little ahead of schedule. This means that today I’ll be off printing it, and then finding a nice quiet corner somewhere to sit and scribble all over it with a red pen. I can’t quite believe I’m at this stage already with this book; I’ve said before how easy it was to write in comparison to ‘Tider’, and that observation still stands. It was easy to write, and easy to edit, and easy to read. I reckon this means that all I’ve done is shove all the problems off into the sequels, instead of dealing with them at the outset.

Actually, that’s a pretty terrifying thing to say. I wrote it in jest, but now that I think about it, I really hope it’s not the truth.

I’ve had the story for ‘Eldritch’ in my head for many years, and I’ve gone over it and over it repeatedly during that time; so, it was easy to write. It went down pretty much exactly as I wanted it to first time, which made it easy to edit. I still really like the story, and the characters, and I’d taken a hefty break from it before going back to begin Draft 2; so, it was easy to read. But I’m still terrified that I’ve done something ‘wrong’, that the book is too simple or I’ve missed something vital, and any one of a whole list of terrors. I don’t think there’s a way of knowing, really, whether or not any of these fears have a basis in reality, or whether they only exist inside my frantic wee skull, without taking a chance on the story and sending it away to be read elsewhere.

I have a pretty clear plan for the story overall, and where I want it to end up by the conclusion of book three. I don’t have as clear a plan, i.e. what’s going to happen chapter by chapter, for the sequels as I did for ‘Eldritch’ (more an overall idea of ‘this is what I want to say in this book’), so perhaps they’ll be more challenging to write. Certainly, the first third of ‘Omphalos’, the sequel to ‘Eldritch’, which is at first draft stage, has been more difficult so far than ‘Eldritch’ was. I don’t foresee any major structural or plot problems that I’m setting myself up for down the line, but as I’ve seen time after time, when it comes to writing you’re never able to predict everything. Stories have a tendency to wriggle around and decide things for themselves, and you can’t anticipate every single problem or issue.

It feels weird to be scared by the fact that something is going well. Is it possible, when you’re writing a book, that things going smoothly means you’ve done something right instead of vastly wrong? I hope so.

I guess I’ll know more on Monday, when I’ll be finished my read-through, and hopefully I’ll have a manuscript full of handwritten edits. After that, I won’t have any excuses any more.

I’ll be starting the Query Train, and the real fun can begin.

I’ll be looking at a lot of empty inboxes for a while…
Image: andreadekker.com

Happy Friday, and happy weekend. Wish me well with editing!

Submissions

For the last little while, I’ve been trying to focus on writing stories, including several pieces of flash fiction. I’ve been submitting pieces to magazines and into competitions, with no luck so far (but it’s early days yet). It’s exciting, though, to sit down at a blank page and decide what I’m going to write (in other words, a short story or a piece of flash fiction), come up with a word – perhaps it’ll become the story’s title, or it’ll end up being included in the opening line, or something – and then watching a story come together.  It’s a bit like how Dr Frankenstein must have felt when he saw this happen:

It’s ALIIIIVE!!
Image: europeanliterature.wikispaces.com

I wrote a piece yesterday which had its genesis in an image of a lady confined to a wheelchair, sitting alone by a window. I also felt I had a first sentence, which went something like ‘It’s all my fault, anyway.’ I began to write, wondering what the lady was blaming herself for, thinking perhaps she would tell me about why she had become paralysed – but she didn’t want to tell me about that. The story ended up becoming about abuse, murder and family breakdown, and all in 500 words. When I started the story I had no idea where it would go, and in some ways it was like tuning into the thoughts of this character I’d created and listening to her as she explained how she was feeling. It’s a strange sensation. Sometimes I wonder who the writer is – me, or the people in my head. Often I feel more like a secretary. Perhaps I should learn shorthand in order to keep up with their dictation.

I think it’s a good decision to take a few days away from novel-writing at the moment. I hope it will help me keep my thinking fresh and give me renewed vigour for the story I’m creating in ‘Omphalos’. I’m at a point in the book where it’s a little bit difficult to maintain my focus, and I think getting away from it for a bit will make me more appreciative of it when I go back. I’m about as athletic as a wine-rack, but at the moment I feel like an athlete warming up and getting ready for a sprint, doing stretches while huffing and puffing in my ill-fitting singlet and shorts. My novel-writing muscles are tired and overworked, and while I don’t want my short-story muscles to atrophy, of course, it’s been a while since they were used as intensely as this. I’m trying to take it easy and gently urge them into action, but sometimes my enthusiasm overtakes me. I’ll have to remember to take my time and understand that a story doesn’t necessarily have to be finished the same day it’s started. Perhaps it’s not my fault at all, though – if the characters want to talk, who am I to tell them not to?

So, that’s my plan for today. I’m hoping to have an idea-spark for at least one, if not two, new stories, before filing them carefully away in the hope that a suitable submission opportunity will present itself. I seem to be more naturally suited to the flash-fiction form – a lot of my recent work is coming in at around the 500-word mark – so today I hope I’ll manage to stretch myself a bit more and write a slightly longer piece. Fingers crossed I won’t pull a mental muscle in my self-improvement attempts, though. I don’t think I can imagine anything more painful than a brain-cramp…

Image: weheartit.com

Happy Tuesday to you! I hope your writing endeavours (and general life-endeavours) are going swimmingly.

Tough Going

Do you ever feel like your brain could do with some oil? Or maybe WD40, perhaps. Something, at least, to help it to move freely, like the supple youth it once was. I’d love to be able to give my brain a soothing bath, from which it would emerge relaxed and refreshed, possibly swathed in a fluffy robe, ready to attack the world once more.

Yesterday was one of those days where I felt that for every inch forward I managed to crawl, I was being forced to take ten steps back. I spent most of my day undoing and rewriting bits of the chapter I’m currently working on, and reading what I’ve done on ‘Omphalos’ so far with a critical eye, seeing where I could improve it. And, like everything, the more I prodded and poked at it the more stodgy and ridiculous it seemed to become, until I threw in my lot and left it alone. I haven’t been brave enough yet today to even open my file to have a look.

Image: blogs.lawyers.com

It got me thinking about the way I write, and made me remember something I learned years ago. When I was younger, at school, I liked art. I still do like to draw, but I never find the time to get to it any more. One of the things I remember most clearly about my art lessons was that my teacher once told me I had a very ‘definite line’, by which he meant I looked carefully at what I was going to draw and let it sink in to my mind before I put my pencil near the paper. Then, I just put my line down with confidence and a heavy hand, reasonably sure that I wouldn’t need to erase it or change it very much. I had never noticed this before he said it (I just drew the way I’d always drawn), but he was right. I wasn’t the kind of person who drew lightly on the page so that corrections or adjustments would be easily made; my lines were heavy, sure and hard to remove.

This isn’t to say I was some sort of artistic savant who never put a nib wrong – of course I did, often. But my style never changed. I always drew the same way, with that strong, heavy hand. I think I like to write the same way – or, at least, that seems to be how my ‘creative’ brain works, and so I feel the impulse to write the same way as I draw. It not so easy when you’re writing, though, of course – getting your ‘line’ right on the first attempt is much harder when you’re talking about a storyline instead of a pencil line. Perhaps that’s why I feel it so strongly, like a failure in my heart, when I have to unpick something completely and redo it from the ground up. I feel like it should work, so when it doesn’t, it makes me wonder if everything – my idea, my method, my style, my work – is flawed and wrong.

Another piece of advice my old art teacher gave me was this: ‘It’s easier to darken your darks than lighten your lights.’ By this, of course, he meant it’s easier to add to a piece than it is to take bits away. Particularly when you’re talking about pencil marks or charcoal shading. If you go too heavy with your charcoal on a picture, it’s virtually impossible to lighten it. It’s easier to go over the entire picture and make the whole thing darker so that your overworked bit looks lighter by comparison, or just chuck the lot and start again. I wish I hadn’t forgotten this good advice as I set out on this writing lark – I think the work I’ve done so far would’ve benefited immensely from remembering those wise words. Start off sketchy and light, hinting at the outline of a piece, until you’re happy with the structure and the overall picture. Then go back over it and add detail – a wisp of shade here, a suggestion of texture there, a glint of light dancing over the eyes perhaps. Then, step back and reassess. If the piece needs more, add it a little bit at a time. But always be aware that sometimes the piece will need a light touch, and adding too much (whether it’s words or pigment) will destroy it.

Image: paradigmthrift.blogspot.com

But this is all very easy to say, isn’t it? If you have a style – a natural style – it’s difficult to overcome it and write (or draw) a different way, even if you know on an intellectual level that it’ll make things easier or more manageable. If you write (or draw, or whatever) in a way that comes effortlessly, maybe it’s impossible to teach yourself to do it differently.

And maybe the lesson I should take from all this is just to take it easy, and work with my natural style instead of against it. But I think I’ll bear my art teacher’s words in mind, regardless – the advice about lightening your lights and darkening your darks is a good rule for life, as well as art! Live lightly, except with those who matter; focus your effort and your ink on people and things which are important to you.

Happy Friday, and have a wonderful weekend, everyone.

 

Progress Report

In case anyone was wondering how things were going with the various WiPs (they’re starting to pile up now), here’s a quick rundown of what I’ve been up to.

It hasn’t come to this yet, but it’s not far off!
Image: tempesttcup.wordpress.com

WiP #1: Tider

Well, ‘Tider’ has languished in limbo ever since the competition ended. It’s currently sitting on my sideboard in all its papery glory, absolutely covered in two different colours of ink, where I’ve made corrections and edits. Several pages are turned lengthways-on – these are pages which I’ve completely rewritten by hand (and which I must not lose *note to self*) and lots of the typed pages have handwritten notes all over their reverse sides. So, it’s all perfectly well organised and completely foolproof. All I need is one good bump against the sideboard and the whole thing will slither to the ground in a heap of horror. I don’t recommend anyone else stores their WiPs in this manner. Every time I look at it I tell myself ‘buy some box files, fool.’ Yet, I do not.

I’m giving serious thought to rewriting the whole book, and changing it from a YA story into a children’s adventure. I’m still not entirely sure about this (hence I’m leaving it to percolate for a bit). Either way, I know I’m still deeply attached to the concept behind this story and the characters – even if they might need to slip around in age a little – but for the moment this book is parked.

The last time I took a word count, ‘Tider’ was about 150,000 words. I’m not sure what the count is now as I have yet to input all my handwritten edits. I have a feeling there’s at least 20,000 words to be cut, but I’m not sure. No matter what way you look at it, this book is a beast. But I will tame it.

WiP #2 – Eldritch

‘Eldritch’ is complete in its first draft at just over 54,000 words. It’s a children’s book about a boy (Jeff Smith) who is forced to undergo a magical test (his Eldritch Test), for which he is completely unprepared. ‘Eldritch’ deals with his first challenge in this testing process, but it turns out that there’s a catch in the test’s structure. More than just Jeff’s magical ability is under scrutiny, it seems – someone is trying to kill him, and he needs to figure out why.

*cue scary music*

I’m largely happy with it, but there are things I need to change. I need to bulk out a character, edit another character, and address the question of whether there’s enough tension and thrust to the plot. There’s also an unusual narration style which I really love, but which some of the people who’ve read the first four chapters have had major problems with. So, that needs to be looked at and overhauled.

WiP #3 – Omphalos

‘Omphalos’ is the sequel to ‘Eldritch’. It’s incomplete in its first draft at about 12,000 words. So far, it’s going well. Jeff and Joe (his stalwart, trusty friend) now find themselves in the second part of the Eldritch Test. They’re still trying to figure out what’s going on; it seems like they’re being transported between different, alien planets, but that’s not exactly what’s happening. Only the Omnipotent Author knows for sure! *mwahahaha, etc* It will all become clear to the characters as the book goes on (hopefully).

The challenges in writing this story are multifarious.

Firstly, I have a first-person narrator, which brings its own problems. However, it seems to be the natural way for me to write. I’m not quite sure why I do this to myself.

Secondly, my first-person narrator doesn’t have a clue what’s going on and has to figure everything out. Again, for some reason, I do this a lot. Clearly, I like a challenge.

Thirdly, the setting of the book owes a lot to history, myth and folklore, which is hard to describe without turning the book into a classroom.

Other than that, it’s a doddle.

WiP#4 – Necromancer (tbc)

‘Necromancer’ (I’m still not completely sold on that name) is the third and final part of the ‘Eldritch’ story. It’s in the planning and plotting stages at the moment, and will involve the boys going on their most dangerous challenge yet. As well as that, Jeff needs to face the person who’s been trying to kill him and scupper his test, and find out their reasons for doing this to him.

Hopefully, each of these books will weigh in at about 60-65,000 words when they’re completed. I hope to have ‘Eldritch’ out on the query rounds by the end of March. That’s the plan, at least.

Other WiPs

 #1 (title unconfirmed) – plotting and planning stage. Time-slip story about a modern girl and a medieval boy who are connected in a mysterious way.

#2 (title unconfirmed) – plotting and planning stage. Story about a little girl who has lost her father. As she and her mother are dealing with their grief, she realises there’s something weird about the wardrobe in her bedroom. She’s never liked it, but there’s a deeper connection between the two which she needs to figure out.

#3 (title unconfirmed) – plotting and planning stage. Story about a boy who finds a strange object which connects him to another world.

As well as all the other little flickers of ideas and tiny story-seedlings which are nestled in my brain, phone memory and computer, I have a lot to be getting on with. So, I’d better push on!

(By the way: If anyone wants to set up a support group for struggling WiPs, give me a call.)

Image: memegenerator.net

 

Another Draft Done

On Saturday, I had the chance to knuckle down and focus on finishing Draft 1 of ‘Eldritch’. I’m glad to say that I managed to see it through, and I’m largely happy with how it all worked out. The final word count ended up at just over 54,000 words which – after completing the beast that was ‘Tider’ – seems so short and slight as to barely count as a book at all. I feel that ‘Eldritch’ is a delicate story, ready to fly away at the slightest wind, but that doesn’t reflect the effort and planning that’s gone into it.

A little bit like this!

I hope this is just a side-effect of having coming straight from a mind-bendingly difficult and much longer project, and not a reflection on the quality or depth of the story. If nothing else, I’m so pleased to have finally brought two stories that have been living in my brain for years to the page (even if one of them hasn’t yet worked out quite how I’d like, but I’ll whip it into shape before too long). As well as that, it’s a huge buzz to know that the ideas I had for them, so long ago, were strong enough to stand as fully-written stories. It’s one thing having an idea, and something entirely different making it work as a story – as anyone who writes will know.

I’m not used to feeling like an ‘underwriter’ – by which I don’t mean, of course, someone who works with insurance, but instead a person who takes too few words to tell a story – because I’m so used to being an overly wordy writer instead. I’m pretty sure I’ll add some words in when I come to working through Draft 2. I think I was focusing on getting the story out of my brain at the expense of describing and creating a world, so there’s a bit of room there to fill in some of the gaps. It’s a nice feeling, though, to think you have room to expand on your idea rather than having to cut some of it away. I quite like it.

I’m taking a couple of days off and going to visit my parents for a little bit of ‘shore leave’, and then I’ll dive right into the second book in the trilogy I’ve planned for our ‘Eldritch’ heroes Jeff and Joe. Its working title is ‘Omphalos’, though – as with everything – that’s subject to change. I’m planning to title the final book ‘Necromancer’, but that’s so far down the road that I’m not completely sure about it yet. It’s hard to find titles (particularly single-word titles) that encompass what the book is about without giving too much away! I’m already trying to imagine book jackets for these volumes, and thinking how I’d like them to look, one day. I hope that doesn’t come across as arrogant or delusional! I just find it easier to focus on a dream if there’s something definite to attach it to in my head. Seeing the finished book, even if it’s only in my mind’s eye, will help me bring it to completion.

I’m planning to work a bit on ‘Omphalos’ before I start to go back and edit ‘Eldritch’ (though, even as I type those words, I realise my brain is screaming at me to fix ‘just this one little thing!’ at the end of ‘Eldritch’ – I may not last that long!) I think I’ll spend the second half of this week doing up a plan for ‘Omphalos’ and working out the story arc. I mean, I know where I want the story to go and I know where I want the characters to end up, but knowing how to structure that over twenty-something chapters is a different thing.

Anyway, I guess this post is just to say ‘farewell’ for a few days, and I hope you’ll all be here waiting for my return. Will someone please make sure to have the kettle on? I’ll be dying for a cup of tea after all my travels. Oh, and make sure to keep the fire stoked up – there’s nothing that helps the stories to spin like a good warm blaze in the hearth.

Image: coucoumelle.blogspot.com