It's been a while since I wrote a post on the art and craft of writing. Usually, my posts of this nature focus on the tricks and techniques I've learned over the course of writing eight novels and seventy short stories. If you do something long enough, you get good at it, and it's easy to build up a long list of reasons why you're good at it. You develop formulas for success: Character with trait X plus setting with trait Y plus obstacles with trait Z=Publishable Story.
It's easy to get into a comfort zone once you've found your formula. Editors buy your stuff and readers respond to it. You've probably spend years, if not decades polishing your techniques. When you are a novice, experimentation is a useful tool for growth. Once you are established, however, experimentation is more likely to produce failure than success. You've created expectations for your work, and deviating from these expectations to try something new carries the risk that you will write stories you can't sell, or, if they do sell, stories that will disappoint your existing fan base.
But there's a competing truth: It's seldom a compliment to call a work of art "formulaic." If you rely on formula to produce your fiction, you may produce technically flawless stories completely devoid of passion or heart.
I've written and sold stories based on formula rather than passion. I'm not going to single them out; I doubt that the casual reader of my work could spot which of my stories were labors of love versus which ones I built from my insta-fiction toolkit. That's another danger that awaits artists: Your audience may not be able to tell the difference between work you are passionate about versus work you simply got paid for. Why bother with the passion if it adds no economic value?
I would argue that its this very same logic that leads some people into becoming prostitutes.
So, how do you keep the passion in your writing? How do you approach the tenth book you write with the same intensity as the first book you write?
First, you must diligently strive to become aware of your formulas. I've spent a lot of time analyzing my work, figuring out what people respond to, and what falls flat. Pretty much any story I write now, I sell, because I know how to make the plot line logical and satisfying. However, it's only by being aware of my most successful formulas that I can purposefully twist and tweak my tales to keep them fresh.
Second, if you're not a little worried about your story, you probably aren't writing the right story. My most recent sale, "Return to Sender," was a fairly stressful undertaking because it's the first time I've ever written a first person female narration. I've written female POV before, notably the Jandra chapters of my Bitterwood novels, but all first person narration I've ever tried has been male. Now, if I wrote from the first person POV of, say, a dragon, I probably wouldn't be too worried about a dragon reading the story and saying, "This doesn't sound like a dragon!" On the other hand, plenty of women are going to read "Return to Sender," and I do worry that some of them are going to spot little clues in the narration that reveal the artifice of the voice. I could have side-stepped this anxiety by switching to third person narration, or by switching to a male protagonist. The plot formula I followed could have worked either way. But, if I'd played it safe, I suspect I would have produced a story that didn't have the same resonance. After selling over a dozen stories with male protagonists and mostly third person narration, I tried something different, and feel good about the outcome.
Third, continuing with the "worry" idea, it's not just tinkering with structure or form that can take you out of your comfort zone and put you into a new place artistically. You can also tackle new themes and viewpoints. If you're an atheist, you can make a real attempt at writing a religious character who you respect and admire. If you're conservative, you can try a story from the world view of a liberal. Note that if you're just ridiculing or mocking those you don't agree with, you're going to produce, at best, satire. The true artistic challenge is to try to find the beauty and honesty of a world-view that isn't your own.
Fourth, the most important way to keep your writing fresh, to make sure you're always a little out of your comfort zone, is to write naked. I don't mean physically naked; I mean that to continue producing fresh art, you need to be willing to reveal to the world things inside your head that you wouldn't tell your own mother. If your characters are to pass as human, they will need to possess not only virtues like honesty, faith, and courage, but also base traits like shame, prejudice, greed, lust, and rage. It's possible to write about these things on a purely surface level. If I want convey that my character Bitterwood hates dragons, I need only write, "Bitterwood hated dragons." Hopefully, I managed to go a bit deeper than this in the actual books. But to understand Bitterwood's hatred, I had to feel and understand my own hatred. People say all they time that they hate stuff: They hate country music or raw onions or Democrats. But genuine, raw, truthful hating is a much scarier thing. Before I could write about Bitterwood's hatred, I had to open doors in my head to allow my own deep-seated hatred to come out for a while so I could take a good look at it. Bitterwood's dark nature is my dark nature. I knew as I was placing this darkness onto the page that it carried the risk that someone would read the book and think, "Wow, this James Maxey guy has some sick crap rattling around in his skull." And, it's true. So be it. You can't write fiction if you're afraid of telling truth.
As I write Greatshadow, my eighth novel, there's a lot of stuff that's familiar to me. I have my formulas to carry me from scene to scene. But, within these scenes, I'm keeping the passion alive by daring to show my feelings. There's grief here, taken straight from the grief that burned into my heart when Laura died. There's shame here, fictionalized yet genuine confessions of my own failures and weaknesses. There are people who feel trapped by bad decisions they made years before, a refection of my own doubts and second guesses. And, perhaps most daring of all, there's a love story. Writing confessionally of genuine love is as difficult and tricky as writing of genuine hate. Maybe more so, given the sheer weight of literature that has already tackled the subject. Finding something new to say seems like an impossible challenge; yet, I'm going to tell the world what I know about love despite the risk that what I have to say is banal or absurd or flat-out crazy.
Sure, I've written about love before, and hate, and fear. But every time I open the doors in my head to let these emotions out, I always discover some new insight that I need to put onto paper. Because the subjects are so vast, perhaps it's inevitable that all my previous attempts to explore these emotions are going to fail to convey everything I meant to say. It's because I'll never exhaust these topics that I can approach every story with something fresh to say. In effect, every story becomes my first story as I try, for the first time, to get the world onto the page just right.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Sales! New Releases!
First, an apology for the silence here of late. In my last post, I mentioned my father having a medical emergency. A few days later, he passed away. So, for most of this month, I've been dealing with the aftermath. But, my life is slowly settling into a new "normal." I hope to actually start writing some more columns about writing soon. As I slog forward with the Greatshadow rewrites, I'm once again learning new stuff about writing a book that I'd like to share. For instance, one thing I've learned is that every book is really your first book. Sure, I've written other novels before, but Greatshadow is presenting it's own challenges and puzzles and I feel like I'm figuring everything out for the first time. Instead of being frustrated by the idea that I have to forget everything I've learned in order to write this book on it's own terms, it's actually kind of exciting.
But, that's a subject for a future column. Right now, I have some news to share.
First, I learned recently that I've sold another short story. It's called "Return to Sender," and it will be appearing this January at Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show. I've been working on a rewrite this weekend. Edmund Shubert, the editor, made some suggestions on taking the story to the next level of polish, and I've learned to appreciate his instincts, after the success of my prior IGMS stories, "To Know All Things That Are In The Earth," and "Silent as Dust." I also respect Ed for turning me down on the previous story I sent him. If you ever have an editor willing to buy everything you write, you should be nervous. The most valuable service any editor provides is to be a gatekeeper allowing only your most deserving works to be placed before the public, and ensuring that your less felicitous tales remain hidden so that they won't embarass you. "Return to Sender" was a story that actually originated due to this blog. A few months back, I was looking for a name of a magic weapon I could use in Greatshadow, and Cindy Hannikman suggested the "Crystal Lance." I made a joke that Crystal Lance sounded like the name of a protagonist for an urban fantasy, then, as often happens, I took the joke seriously and before I knew it I had a full blown tale involving pizza, a Chihuahua, a drunken roommate, an evil cult, a horny angel, a girl with hairy legs, and Elvis.
Back in the summer, I mentioned that "Silent as Dust" would appear in The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2009 Edition, edited by Rich Horton. I'm pleased to announce that, after several delays, the book is finally available! Run out to your local bookstore to order a copy, or purchase it on Amazon by following this link. The book has stories by Peter S. Beagle, Elizabeth Bear, Jay Lake, Ian McDonald, Sarah Monette, Garth Nix, Naomi Novik, Robert Reed, Patrick Rothfuss, and many more. This seems like a perfect choice for the SF reader in your life, if only there were some culturally significant gift-giving holiday to provide the excuse for shelling out your hard-earned money.
And, if you'd like a book without spending money on it... stay tuned. I'll be involved in a book giveaway in December. Maybe even more than one giveaway. Details soon.
But, that's a subject for a future column. Right now, I have some news to share.
First, I learned recently that I've sold another short story. It's called "Return to Sender," and it will be appearing this January at Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show. I've been working on a rewrite this weekend. Edmund Shubert, the editor, made some suggestions on taking the story to the next level of polish, and I've learned to appreciate his instincts, after the success of my prior IGMS stories, "To Know All Things That Are In The Earth," and "Silent as Dust." I also respect Ed for turning me down on the previous story I sent him. If you ever have an editor willing to buy everything you write, you should be nervous. The most valuable service any editor provides is to be a gatekeeper allowing only your most deserving works to be placed before the public, and ensuring that your less felicitous tales remain hidden so that they won't embarass you. "Return to Sender" was a story that actually originated due to this blog. A few months back, I was looking for a name of a magic weapon I could use in Greatshadow, and Cindy Hannikman suggested the "Crystal Lance." I made a joke that Crystal Lance sounded like the name of a protagonist for an urban fantasy, then, as often happens, I took the joke seriously and before I knew it I had a full blown tale involving pizza, a Chihuahua, a drunken roommate, an evil cult, a horny angel, a girl with hairy legs, and Elvis.
Back in the summer, I mentioned that "Silent as Dust" would appear in The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2009 Edition, edited by Rich Horton. I'm pleased to announce that, after several delays, the book is finally available! Run out to your local bookstore to order a copy, or purchase it on Amazon by following this link. The book has stories by Peter S. Beagle, Elizabeth Bear, Jay Lake, Ian McDonald, Sarah Monette, Garth Nix, Naomi Novik, Robert Reed, Patrick Rothfuss, and many more. This seems like a perfect choice for the SF reader in your life, if only there were some culturally significant gift-giving holiday to provide the excuse for shelling out your hard-earned money.
And, if you'd like a book without spending money on it... stay tuned. I'll be involved in a book giveaway in December. Maybe even more than one giveaway. Details soon.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Greatshadow Flies!
To everyone who has signed up as a wise-reader: I just sent out the first three chapters. If you wanted to participate and I somehow missed signing you up, drop me a line at nobodynovelwriter (at) yahoo (dot) com. And, if you haven't signed up but would like to, feel free to jump in at any time.
I'm a little behind due to a family emergency. My father has been extremely ill; he spent 22 days of October in various hospitals, and so far all of November in intensive care hooked to a ventilator. A week ago, I was pretty certain that his body had taken all it could possibly take, but since the weekend he's been improving every day, though improvement is a very relative word. I won't feel like he's out of danger until he's breathing without the aid of a machine.
All the time I've spent on the road and sitting in hospital waiting rooms over the last month has left me really desiring a laptop I could fit in my pocket. If anyone has any netbook recommendations, I'm interested in hearing them.
Now, on to chapter four....
I'm a little behind due to a family emergency. My father has been extremely ill; he spent 22 days of October in various hospitals, and so far all of November in intensive care hooked to a ventilator. A week ago, I was pretty certain that his body had taken all it could possibly take, but since the weekend he's been improving every day, though improvement is a very relative word. I won't feel like he's out of danger until he's breathing without the aid of a machine.
All the time I've spent on the road and sitting in hospital waiting rooms over the last month has left me really desiring a laptop I could fit in my pocket. If anyone has any netbook recommendations, I'm interested in hearing them.
Now, on to chapter four....
Monday, October 26, 2009
Seeking Wise Readers for Greatshadow
I'm about to launch into the second draft of Greatshadow, and I'm looking for people who'd like to read this novel while it's still in this early stage and offer me feedback on the work. On previous novels, I've limited my early readers to four or five; this time, I'm willing to send chapters to anyone who'd like to read them.
Here's what would be expected:
My second draft is a structural draft. I don't spend much time polishing individual sentences. Typos, missing words, and semi-random punctuation will be fairly common in this draft, and I'm looking for readers who have a high tolerance for these simple mistakes. I'm not looking for line editors to mark up small mistakes; I'll polish the prose in the third draft. The feedback I'm seeking in the second draft is purely on the story level. I want to make sure all the characters come to life, that the reader knows who they are, what they want, and why they want it. I also welcome feedback on my world-building, making sure that my various religious and magical systems seem plausible and not too derivative of stuff you've read before. Perhaps most importantly, I'll be seeking feedback on the plot. Are things flowing logically? Am I surprising you in pleasant ways, or just jerking you around? Am I throwing in stuff that makes no sense at all? And, finally, while this draft isn't one where I focus on polishing the prose, I do welcome feedback should you come across something that you think is particularly well written, funny, or else a real clunker.
My intention is for the final draft to clock in around 100k words. My goal is to send out chapters in clusters of three or four at a time. I intend to start sending out chapters the first week of November, and plan to finish the second draft before December 31. I'd like feedback along the way: if you sign up as a reader, I'd expect a turnaround on the chapters I send out within a week or so. I'll be working in Microsoft Word; my preference is that comments be made using the comment feature in Word, but it's also acceptable just to type up your comments at the end of each chapter.
The downside to signing up is: 1: You'll be reading unpolished prose that hasn't undergone any sort of professional proofing. 2: You'll be reading in chunks that come on a more or less random schedule. 3: You'll be reading a novel that currently has no publisher. It's possible that all your work will be going to a novel that never sees print.
The upside to signing up is: 1: Even though my prose at this stage won't be polished, I think you'll be getting a satisfying story full of quirky, loveable characters. 2: If you are interested in becoming a writer on your own, this will be a good opportunity to see a professional writer working in a draft stage to bring a world and characters to life. 3: When the novel is eventually published (which I feel very likely), I promise to acknowledge all wise-readers who worked with me on the project.
If you'd like to sign up, please send me an email to nobodynovelwriter (at) yahoo (dot) com with the header, "Wise reader sign up." I'll collect all the addresses into a mailing list, and start sending out chapters next week!
If you have any questions about the process, please feel free to ask in the comments section.
Thanks,
James
Here's what would be expected:
My second draft is a structural draft. I don't spend much time polishing individual sentences. Typos, missing words, and semi-random punctuation will be fairly common in this draft, and I'm looking for readers who have a high tolerance for these simple mistakes. I'm not looking for line editors to mark up small mistakes; I'll polish the prose in the third draft. The feedback I'm seeking in the second draft is purely on the story level. I want to make sure all the characters come to life, that the reader knows who they are, what they want, and why they want it. I also welcome feedback on my world-building, making sure that my various religious and magical systems seem plausible and not too derivative of stuff you've read before. Perhaps most importantly, I'll be seeking feedback on the plot. Are things flowing logically? Am I surprising you in pleasant ways, or just jerking you around? Am I throwing in stuff that makes no sense at all? And, finally, while this draft isn't one where I focus on polishing the prose, I do welcome feedback should you come across something that you think is particularly well written, funny, or else a real clunker.
My intention is for the final draft to clock in around 100k words. My goal is to send out chapters in clusters of three or four at a time. I intend to start sending out chapters the first week of November, and plan to finish the second draft before December 31. I'd like feedback along the way: if you sign up as a reader, I'd expect a turnaround on the chapters I send out within a week or so. I'll be working in Microsoft Word; my preference is that comments be made using the comment feature in Word, but it's also acceptable just to type up your comments at the end of each chapter.
The downside to signing up is: 1: You'll be reading unpolished prose that hasn't undergone any sort of professional proofing. 2: You'll be reading in chunks that come on a more or less random schedule. 3: You'll be reading a novel that currently has no publisher. It's possible that all your work will be going to a novel that never sees print.
The upside to signing up is: 1: Even though my prose at this stage won't be polished, I think you'll be getting a satisfying story full of quirky, loveable characters. 2: If you are interested in becoming a writer on your own, this will be a good opportunity to see a professional writer working in a draft stage to bring a world and characters to life. 3: When the novel is eventually published (which I feel very likely), I promise to acknowledge all wise-readers who worked with me on the project.
If you'd like to sign up, please send me an email to nobodynovelwriter (at) yahoo (dot) com with the header, "Wise reader sign up." I'll collect all the addresses into a mailing list, and start sending out chapters next week!
If you have any questions about the process, please feel free to ask in the comments section.
Thanks,
James
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Capclave, WSFA award, Codex Halloween
Capclave finished up today. It was a lot of fun; any weekend where I can have serious conversations about Darwin, Spiderman, and how the Abbott and Costello "Who's on first?" routine get's translated into Klingon is a good weekend. And, I got to cap it off tonight with dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant. Bonus!
I mentioned here a few weeks back that I was a nominee for the WSFA Small Press Short Fiction Award. I am pleased to report that the winner of the story was: "The Absence of Stars: Part 1" by Greg Siewert, published in Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show, edited by Edmund R. Schubert, Hatrack Publishing. Intergalactic Medicine Show and Ed Schubert have been very good to me in recent years; if I have to lose an award, I'm glad I lost it another IGMS author; it sort of keeps things all in the family.
Any way, I got a consolation prize on Friday before I left for the con, when the latest Codex Halloween Contest results were announced. I won again, with a story currently titled, "Return to Sender. But, this was my closest squeaker ever. I had amazing competition; the top four stories were virtually a four way tie; I finished only a single point ahead of Second Place: “Stan Musial, Therapeutic Mathematics, and the Physics of Curve Balls” by Gray Rinehart. Third Place was tied, only one point behind Gray: “Counterclockwise” by Alethea Kontis and “Clockwork Fairies” by Cat Rambo. If I'd come in behind any of these, I would have regarded it as a fair result. Expect to see all of these stories soon in magazines.
A note about Return to Sender: Back in August, I asked readers to chip in names for a magic weapon that I could use in my new novel. Cindy from Fantasy Book Critic offered a couple of suggestions including Crystal Lance. I made a joke at the time that this sounded like the protagonist of an urban fantasy novel; she could be the first ever female Knight Templar. When the Halloween contest rolled aroud, I got a prompt from Christine Amsden to write a story about "The Order of the Golden Dawn." As I sat around trying to figure out what my story might be about, I suddenly realized that the perfect protagonist would Crystal Lance, Knight Templar. The story is kind of a fish out of water tale, as Crystal, who has been raised in strict isolation by the secret order of monks who train the knights, must undertake a mission in the modern world in which she navigates the unknown dangers of snark, snake handlers, and Elvis. It's a fun story; I'll make an announcement once I place it.
Coming soon: More news about Greatshadow.
I mentioned here a few weeks back that I was a nominee for the WSFA Small Press Short Fiction Award. I am pleased to report that the winner of the story was: "The Absence of Stars: Part 1" by Greg Siewert, published in Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show, edited by Edmund R. Schubert, Hatrack Publishing. Intergalactic Medicine Show and Ed Schubert have been very good to me in recent years; if I have to lose an award, I'm glad I lost it another IGMS author; it sort of keeps things all in the family.
Any way, I got a consolation prize on Friday before I left for the con, when the latest Codex Halloween Contest results were announced. I won again, with a story currently titled, "Return to Sender. But, this was my closest squeaker ever. I had amazing competition; the top four stories were virtually a four way tie; I finished only a single point ahead of Second Place: “Stan Musial, Therapeutic Mathematics, and the Physics of Curve Balls” by Gray Rinehart. Third Place was tied, only one point behind Gray: “Counterclockwise” by Alethea Kontis and “Clockwork Fairies” by Cat Rambo. If I'd come in behind any of these, I would have regarded it as a fair result. Expect to see all of these stories soon in magazines.
A note about Return to Sender: Back in August, I asked readers to chip in names for a magic weapon that I could use in my new novel. Cindy from Fantasy Book Critic offered a couple of suggestions including Crystal Lance. I made a joke at the time that this sounded like the protagonist of an urban fantasy novel; she could be the first ever female Knight Templar. When the Halloween contest rolled aroud, I got a prompt from Christine Amsden to write a story about "The Order of the Golden Dawn." As I sat around trying to figure out what my story might be about, I suddenly realized that the perfect protagonist would Crystal Lance, Knight Templar. The story is kind of a fish out of water tale, as Crystal, who has been raised in strict isolation by the secret order of monks who train the knights, must undertake a mission in the modern world in which she navigates the unknown dangers of snark, snake handlers, and Elvis. It's a fun story; I'll make an announcement once I place it.
Coming soon: More news about Greatshadow.
Monday, October 12, 2009
CapClave schedule
This weekend I'll be at Capclave near Washington, DC. I'm really looking forward to hanging out with friends from the con circuit and to meeting new folks in the DC area. Here is my schedule:
Fri 8pm Randolph - Comics and Graphic Novels
Participants: Michael Pederson (m), James Maxey, Steve Stiles, Lawrence Watt-Evans
Comics and graphic novels frequently feature SF/Fantasy elements. Which ones are the best and why? What comics should sf readers be reading and why? Can comics ever overcome the prejudice against them?
Fri 10pm Montrose - Did Fandom Lose By Winning?
Participants: David Bartell (m), Elaine Stiles, Christopher M. Cevasco, Doug Fratz, James Maxey
The top movies are almost all sf/fantasy, most videogames are sf/fantasy and many television shows mix in sf/fantasy elements like Lost or Ghost Whisperer. But fandom as a separate culture seems to be dwindling. Are we being absorbed into the mainstream?
Saturday 3pm – Book Signing - Alan Smale, Eric Choi, and James Maxey
Sat 4pm Montrose - Even Hard SF Uses FTL
Participants: David Louis Edelman (m), Eric Choi, Michael Flynn, Ed Lerner, James Maxey
What science is taken for granted in SF and can it really happen? What new scientific discoveries are more likely than others? What science is underused in SF? How much of the science is real and how much handwaving?
Sat 9pm Plaza - Small Press Award
Participants: WSFA and the nominees
Who will win the annual WSFA small press award? Come and see. Celebrate with cake.
Sun 10:30am Twinbrook - Reading: James Maxey
Sun 1pm Plaza - Darwin Bicentennial
Participants: Sam Scheiner (m), Brenda Clough, Mike Flynn, James Morrow, James Maxey
Darwin was born 200 years ago. Why are his ideas still controversial? Is the voyage of the Beagle the prototype for sf missions of scientific discovery? Why aren't there more books about Darwinism?
Sun 2pm Montrose - Post Consumer Economy
Participants: James Maxey (m), Lenny Bailes, David Louis Edelman, Tom King, Kathy Morrow
Is it possible to have a post consumer economy? What will it look like? - What happens when we decide we all have enough Stuff? The Stuff industries won't go away, any more than the auto and appliance industries went away when their reliability went away.
Fri 8pm Randolph - Comics and Graphic Novels
Participants: Michael Pederson (m), James Maxey, Steve Stiles, Lawrence Watt-Evans
Comics and graphic novels frequently feature SF/Fantasy elements. Which ones are the best and why? What comics should sf readers be reading and why? Can comics ever overcome the prejudice against them?
Fri 10pm Montrose - Did Fandom Lose By Winning?
Participants: David Bartell (m), Elaine Stiles, Christopher M. Cevasco, Doug Fratz, James Maxey
The top movies are almost all sf/fantasy, most videogames are sf/fantasy and many television shows mix in sf/fantasy elements like Lost or Ghost Whisperer. But fandom as a separate culture seems to be dwindling. Are we being absorbed into the mainstream?
Saturday 3pm – Book Signing - Alan Smale, Eric Choi, and James Maxey
Sat 4pm Montrose - Even Hard SF Uses FTL
Participants: David Louis Edelman (m), Eric Choi, Michael Flynn, Ed Lerner, James Maxey
What science is taken for granted in SF and can it really happen? What new scientific discoveries are more likely than others? What science is underused in SF? How much of the science is real and how much handwaving?
Sat 9pm Plaza - Small Press Award
Participants: WSFA and the nominees
Who will win the annual WSFA small press award? Come and see. Celebrate with cake.
Sun 10:30am Twinbrook - Reading: James Maxey
Sun 1pm Plaza - Darwin Bicentennial
Participants: Sam Scheiner (m), Brenda Clough, Mike Flynn, James Morrow, James Maxey
Darwin was born 200 years ago. Why are his ideas still controversial? Is the voyage of the Beagle the prototype for sf missions of scientific discovery? Why aren't there more books about Darwinism?
Sun 2pm Montrose - Post Consumer Economy
Participants: James Maxey (m), Lenny Bailes, David Louis Edelman, Tom King, Kathy Morrow
Is it possible to have a post consumer economy? What will it look like? - What happens when we decide we all have enough Stuff? The Stuff industries won't go away, any more than the auto and appliance industries went away when their reliability went away.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Greatshadow Draft One Basically Done
My word count is now roughly 80k, but it's a mostly meaningless number since some of my last chapters aren't so much written as outlined. For instance, I have a scene in chapter eighteen where I have a character who is more or less a wizard cast a big spell to open a gate to the spirit world. In the final book, this scene will be a big production, lots of mumbo jumbo; I'll think of a little rhyme to chant or some weird dance and fill it with symbolic value. But, for now, in that chapter, I hit that scene, didn't want to get hung up on making up the specifics of the spell, and so wrote "Deceiver casts his spell." I then just moved on and wrote about the things that happened after that. I know know that the book is 22 chapters long; the final draft will clock in around 110,000 words. But, the chapters I've written for 19 to 22 are mostly outline, as I hammered out the big picture choreography of how all the subplots have to tie up in a series that makes sense and keeps the tension building up through the end of chapter 21.
This is how I finished up both Dragonseed and Dragonforge. Now that I've got the big choreography mapped out, I'll spend the next couple of months figuring out the fine details. The important thing is, I now know who my characters have to be at the end of the story in order to do the things that need to be done. This is the main information I need to go back to the beginning and start my rewrites. The first draft is about exploring who these characters are... every action they take deepens my understanding of them. My first draft starts with me writing about skeletons of characters, stick-men on a bare stage. As the chapters unfold, the characters gain substance and flesh and their personality emerges. They world they move around in slowly reveals itself as well. My second draft, I'm writing about fully fleshed out characters in a world where I know what people eat; I know about smells and temperatures and shades or light. Second drafts are where the story starts to resemble an actual published book.
I'll post here once I start rewrites. At some point this week, I'll also post an update on Capclave. I've got my schedule for it now. I know I get to talk about comic books on one panel, and Darwin on another. Woohoo!
This is how I finished up both Dragonseed and Dragonforge. Now that I've got the big choreography mapped out, I'll spend the next couple of months figuring out the fine details. The important thing is, I now know who my characters have to be at the end of the story in order to do the things that need to be done. This is the main information I need to go back to the beginning and start my rewrites. The first draft is about exploring who these characters are... every action they take deepens my understanding of them. My first draft starts with me writing about skeletons of characters, stick-men on a bare stage. As the chapters unfold, the characters gain substance and flesh and their personality emerges. They world they move around in slowly reveals itself as well. My second draft, I'm writing about fully fleshed out characters in a world where I know what people eat; I know about smells and temperatures and shades or light. Second drafts are where the story starts to resemble an actual published book.
I'll post here once I start rewrites. At some point this week, I'll also post an update on Capclave. I've got my schedule for it now. I know I get to talk about comic books on one panel, and Darwin on another. Woohoo!
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