Still in re-writes. :)

Working out more plot snags that came up, but it was to be expected. It's rather exciting to see the story unfold the way it has. I'm enjoying it. Wish I wasn't so tired, though. The brain wants to do far more than the body allows. Sigh... ;p

Re-writes

Starting in on the refining of the story now, and there's times when it gets rather difficult. Some days words don't come to me easily. It's like trying to run through clam flats, rather slow and sticky. But if I stand still I'll start sinking, and get even more stuck.
Time to go draw on inspiration.

Details.

Now that I have 98% of the plot worked out, I can now start going into details. Like adjusting the voice for each section, adding more details, delving into the imagination...
I sat in my car in the parking lot at Borders last night waiting for my daughter to pick up her midnight release of Stephanie Meyers' book Breaking Dawn, (which is her latest book in the Twilight series) and I worked on revising the manuscript from the beginning, on my laptop with one of those USB powered LED lights so I could see the keyboard. It was getting rather exciting, but then my arms got kind of uncomfortable from the side position, as it wouldn't fit in front of the steering wheel, it was too high, and people could see me obviously working on my laptop on my car, and it attracted too much attention. So, it was on the passenger seat. Then I played with my phone and learned to surf the web and type using the phone keypad. Rather tricky, but interesting to learn.

Mechanics

Presently I'm reading through the manuscript and making notes of each scene, so I have a running synopsis. (as opposed to a sitting one) ;p
It also helps to pull the whole story together in my head , so I can clean up any inconsistencies that happened while writing it. And set up the details for the rest of the story.
This part is easy as far as thinking goes, but hard on me physically, because of all the writing. I spent about 8 hours yesterday working on it, just didn't want to stop! But I got very tired, and feeling a bit burned out, so I had to stop to do something else.
Progress is going right along.

Book splitting. :)

I sat and looked at this manuscript and felt overwhelmed. Then I thought, why not go ahead and publish book 1 separately instead of trying to publish both book 1 and 2 in one published tome? I realize book one does have a beginning, a middle and an end to the degree that it can stand alone as one published piece. I had initially thought that otherwise book 2 would need to have a synopsis of book one, and I realize it doesn't really need it.
You know, I'm not really a writer, per se. At least it is not something I want to do professionally. I just want to tell some stories, and hope people are willing to read them. I would like to consider myself a Latarikhin, a storyteller. Buuut, I think I'm more of a Vakhar Latarin, a seeker of words. Ha. Haa! (Nobody is going to get that except me, sigh...)

Oh yes, word count for the rough draft (2 books) is 103,658. :)

Rough draft!

Finally worked out the story plot, got the rough draft completed, and also have an ending for this book. Some resolutions, even if the main problem is not yet resolved, that is because it is not the end of the story. It's too big to put into one book, so it will go into two, as far as I can see it, now. So, I had to have a kind of resolution just to end this particular book, and then go on to the next.
I'm tired of typing.. so I'll wrap up this post for now.

Catch-up

Went into hiatus for a while, because my son not only got baptized and graduated high school, he also enlisted in the Army and is now off at Basic Training. I knew it was something he wanted to do, but it was rather sudden, and the reality hit me pretty hard. Then he goes to Airborne school, after that. Not sure when I'll see him again. And of course there's that whole thing around him going overseas into combat, because that's where he wants to be. So, it took some adjustment to not having him at home any more.
Which is why I was in a state of transition and couldn't really focus on writing.
I'm back on it again, though, rewriting the end of the plot, and hopefully soon will have the story completed in its entirety. That day will be a happy one, let me tell you. It's taking me so long just to figure out what and how I was going to tell it. So much else I wanted to get figured out as well, so that once it's written, there won't be any going back, really. Characters will be cast in stone, and I won't be able to make them into something else, after that.

It's going well. And yes, I'm proud to be the parent of a soldier. Come what may, he is doing what he wanted to do with his life.

Buzz Saw

Well, just wrote through more plot tangles that just fell into place. Kind of eerie when that happens. Kind of like the way a Brush Hog tractor grinds its way through years of old bracken like it was nothing at all. Nice.
Word count: 90,654 at the moment.
Like I said, word count isn't really what I'm after, but it's a tangeable thing to mark as a measure of progress. I've actually written a lot more than it indicates, but I've also over-written some older parts that were no longer helping the plot as is. :D

Taking a break.

Reached a point where I have another plot snag, so it's going to take some thinking and note taking to work through it in a satisfactory way. Plus, I'm rather tired from writing.
Word count: 87,201

At the canter...

Putting in a whole new section that closes a lot of plot gaps. I'm enjoying this part, but I'm starting to feel the weariness of so much writing lately. Not much left over to go online and and do much interacting at the moment.
This section focuses on the school aspect of Imerh Tarkhah, and how Arinatos interacts with some key characters, who will become major players later in the story. Plus, he's in the process of getting educated in the ways of the Tarkhah, which is the Anyatin word used for the Officers. They are not so much the privileged class brats he thought they were. The Junior officers have to go through many years of arduous training with hectic daily schedules that left him exhausted when he was allowed to participate.
Word count is at 84,450. :)

Also, I rearranged my room so that I can use the drafting table as a desk. I sit there with the laptop, and my notes, and I get a lot more done this way.
A couple times a week when I'm in town, either at community college library or the church building, which is next to the town library. I either use the MPC library or one of the church's classrooms to work, and mince over to the town library if I want to look something up. An ideal setup for writing, I'll say.

Book 2

Well into Book 2 now, filling in more of the story plot, from copious amounts of notes from many months of note-writing. It's a nice feeling to be actually writing new bits for the story, at this point. Trouble is, there's times when I don't want to do anything else, until my typing fingers get tired. I love being in writing mode, though.
Word count: 80194. :D

Book one, plotted out!

Finally have the plot completed for Book One, and now am starting my "gardening" of Book Two. Both One and Two will be published as one novel so far, because the story has not reached the sort of conclusion where it can be published separately from teh succeeding book. It's more a change of gears, to enter a new era, so to speak, with new characters to add in as an integral part of the entire story plot. After I get theplot worked out with Book Two, I can actually go in and fill out the detail, work on the style, and so forth. So, for the framework, the word count is at 79,610.
Book 3 and so forth, will be published as another novel, and I work on that on occasion, and am trying to also work out the plot for that and get it solidified before publishing the first book, in case there's a plot detail in the first novel that needs adjusting.
I'm tired. But I feel a sense of accomplishment, here.

Word count...

Not a big deal, since it's quality, not quantity I'm looking for, eventually. But still filling in parts, and presently the post count is at 75357. :D

Update...

Back in actual writing mode.
Added a number of new words to the main manuscript for Fall of the Onyx, and it's going well. Word count now at 71213, at this moment.
Writing fiction is a lot like looking for gold. Sometimes one has to dig around a bit and do a lot of backbreaking work, in a manner of speaking, and sometimes you just sit quietly by a stream and pan and the stuff just appears, gleaming, from among the grains of sand.
This is all about putting the bricks together, and pressing them into the mortar to add to the building. So that the story looks less like a pile of bricks, and more like a proper structure. :)

Whew, it's been a while since an update, but nothing new to really write about, other than the continued working through of plots and even working farther ahead in the timeline, so as to keep it consistent.
Plus I've been doing more research.
I long to work on the manuscript more tonight, I need to get a newer revised manuscript version done because the original one is quite a mess with the added notes written in and all the markups. So much for single pass editing.
Besides, if this manuscript for some reason got lost or destroyed, I wouldn't have backup copy stored in memory anywhere, and I'd lose a lot of work. That's the drawback of handwritten notes. :)

Plugging away.

Still working on the storyline, filling in the gaps. These things take time, and often days of just ruminating on different elements. But it's progressing, and I'm still pleased with what's happening in the story. I'd better be! :D

Lots of notes...

A very productive day, after all.
No power outages so far, though this storm system is not yet past. Might get more wind later, and definitely more rain.
Anyway, I've been working through some more plot snags, and with the help of my son, was working out some strategy challenges. He's been helpful in that because he plays a lot of strategic war games, and so is familiar with many battle methods over the course of history. And some from fictitious worlds, as well.
So we set up some stuff and worked out the method of attack on a caravan, then I went on to work out just how the main villain is to overtake a city-state, and conquer it for his own. Have to put all the rules of this world, and fill in the gaps by manufacturing more rules for this world that need to be in place, then you put those rules in motion when planning out the plot. Had to know more how the land's boundary walls were built, how high, how many guards, how many patrols along the trade route, what the terrain was like, and so forth.
All this to be told in a paragraph by an Officer who relates the tale later, to the commander, Atero.
So at least the details are lined up and he, the reporting Officer, alludes to things that are not completely seen by the reader, but you know the things he mentions in part are there because of the assumption by the characters that those elements are already in place. Clear as mud? Ah yeah, likely.

Okay, time to quit for the day, it's 11 pm, and tomorrow's Sunday.

A couple of personal book reviews...

Time for another break from writing, to catch up on other things. I read a couple of Anne McCaffrey books, one was Dragonsdawn, the other, The Dolphins of Pern. The first book was interesting in that it showed how the first people to land on Pern established the settlements on the planet, and how they developed the first dragons. That was enjoyable reading, and obviously involved a lot of research, being a heavily sci-fi book as opposed to more fantasy oriented as the other Dragonriders of Pern books are. The second book, Dolphins, was fun in that the earth dolphins that were introduced to Pern's world could speak, and the scenes involving them were charming, but overall, it wasn't a very well written book. It seemed to lack detail in some of the scenes, so that I was not immersed in them. The momentous death of a main character of the Pern books was skimmed over to three paragraphs, and while it was from the perspective of the settlers of a southern hold, there was little mention of anyone else's reaction. I dunno, it was a bit scattered and rather disappointing. Not sure why that is. I'm not that great at literary criticism, but instead judge whether a book is readable for me, or not. Having a lousy attention span borne from long years raising a couple of challenging kids, I'm hoping that I can improve on that.

The introduction of new scenes in my book has been good, because finally finally finally, after ears of pondering and working things out, it's getting knitted together. Yes, it's taken me that long.

There's a storm blowing in from the Pacific today and lasts until the next morning, and hopefully the power will stay on. It's blowing pretty hard out there already, and the real winds are supposed to be in until 4 or 5 this afternoon. Sheesh.

Writing again...

There's nothing better in the world of wording, than plucking a new idea, like a succulent ripe fruit, from the tree of the collective consciousness, and feeding the hungry plot monster. Which also paves the way to finding the more viable solution to the protagonist's problem, further into the story. It doesn't change the story much, just makes it better. Ah, to ride the crest of a creative wave... it is golden, just golden.

Reading phase.

I needed to take another break from writing for a while. It does take a lot out of me at times, just focusing on the story and the details, and working everything out. I finally got around to reading JK Rowling's last book of the Harry Potter series, The Deathly Hallows. Quite a piece, if you ask me. A great story. Also very sad. Not just for the deaths of the heroes, but for an anti-hero, that I couldn't help but like, even if he was portrayed as unlikeable. JKR made him a very sympathetic character. She certainly has a great ability to develop her characters so well. Very realistic people. Multi-dimensional, capable of of cowardice, mistakes, and even doing wrong, but always being driven by something larger than themselves, and ultimately making the choice to do what is right, no matter what the cost to themselves.
She also has a great sense of humor. Plus she can make the characters and the situation really stir the reader's emotions.
I'm also finishing up HG Wells's collection of short stories. An archaic style, naturally, since it was written over a hundred years ago, but the unique way he told his tales, his interest in the discoveries of space and physics that were happening at the time and his incredibly complex imagination earned him his fame. My fave story of his so far is The First Men in the Moon. Good stuff.
A friend gave me, bless her, a gift card to Borders, and I used it to get some books I've had my eye on for a while, on writing and editing. I'm awaiting their arrival by mail, soon. So if I don't get back on my manuscript by then, I know that reading the books will get me going on it with renewed energy.

Short break... and then...

Started writing back stories that I may or may not use in the book at some point, or only infer to it. It's been hard to make inferences when I don't even have the subject quite straight in my head. So, in writing it all out, I not only get the kinks worked out, but also it solidifies things so that I don't forget what the facts are and have inconsistencies. So that I don't say, "Old so and so, who is from the south land..." when the reader looks up in puzzlement and says, "But I thought old so and so was from the north land."
Which often happens when one's short term memory take a small vacation. Or runs away completely... to which I have to call it back with much cajoling and many treats.
I finally got my hands on the latest Harry Potter book, Deathly Hallows, but my son spotted it and is now plowing neatly through it. He's quite the reader when he gets interested in something.
Anyway, back to backstories, I realize that in finally working out the back stories, I will have to rewrite the first chapter. But I think it will all be worth it.
Strangely enough, I've come to love the process of writing and story crafting, and not just be champing for the finish.

Whew... need a break.

Having the opposite problem for now, doing too much. I'm feeling rather drained, mentally. Added 45 pages to my manuscript, which puts it at 63319 words. This was not a NaNoWriMo novel, it is a series of fragmented scenes that need to be properly knitted together. So, it isn't word count I'm all that concerned with, but making a story with a beginning, a middle and an end. Because this was begun such a long time ago, before I really knew how to knit a story together, it was not created with the methods I use with new stories every year at NaNoWriMo. I did wonder at one point why I didn't write new stories at any other time of the year, and that is due to not having enough time or energy to do more than I'm doing now. I have so much on my plate, right now, writing-wise, and the real life monster has been gnawing at my ankles again.
My son is almost ready to graduate high school, and he took a course for spring semester at the local community college that requires him to go to class for three hours in the morning, twice a week. On top of finishing his high school requirements. He's also looking to get his driver's license, which requires jumping through more hoops for insurance and such. And we're down to one car, and I hope that in his navigating the morning commute that nothing happens to him or the car... because otherwise he'll be having to take public transit.
*pauses for a moment*
I'm a worry wort at times, but life experience has shown that Murphy's Law is alive and well. Ah well. I resign myself to such a fate as this life has seen fit to provide. :)

Slogging on, and occasional dancing.

Right now, the progress on this book is quite satisfactory. I've made great progress by changing the beginning of the Fall from Azren confronting his meddlesome cousin, to the point of view of a young woodcutter's son whom Azren encounters several years earlier, and the information this youth had that would ultimately change the destiny of the entire country. From this innocent bystander's POV, the reader is better introduced to Azren's ways and character, and sets up the story's main plot. I'd say the next chapter will have Azren confronting his cousin, who is a member of the Council, and the disaster that happens afterward, that goes in Azren's favor. While it does create hardship for the main character, he is propelled into his mission in such a way that there is no turning back. And yes, while his best friend, former Patrol partner Atero (Frenet's husband) hunts him down, and another disaster causes tragedy and irretrievable setbacks for Azren, it also causes him to gain another strategic advantage. The Trade Route is destroyed by a severe earthquake, and so are parts of the boundary walls. This weakens Anyat's economy and causes further unrest among its citizens. Which plays into Azren's hands.
This took me years to work out, and it's all finally coming together. The jigsaw pieces are starting to form a clear picture. And so I am inspired once again.

A case of the winds... of change. ;)

Having made some changes in how I navigate around the net, I've started this blog to post thoughts and what kind of progress I've made with my manuscripts. And anything else I can think of in a stream of consciousness sort of format. If you want to call it that... and so grammar and what not goes out the window when the right side of my brain takes over.

I had an interesting dream last night, I dreamed, or dreamt, that I was hanging around with some fellows from Mirage, a publishing company. They were not necessarily good at publishing, but instead were better at drawing and writing stories, similar to what I do, only they have done so with more degree of success. Yet the message I got was that our capabilities were generally the same.
One of the men who worked there, who had long, blond hair and dark plastic rimmed glasses like from the 50's and 60's, was arranging a shelf in their store, (it looked like a grocery store, interestingly enough) which carried all the products they have licensed, and even produced a CD of the music they liked to listen to while working. I really wanted one of those CDs, but when I asked the guy to help me, he started getting into a snit about something, and started weeping. He said he was overloaded, wasn't cut out to stock shelves, and his workload was backed up. He wasn't cut out for administrative work.
Another guy, who looked a lot like Steve Murphy, came over and listened to his grievances. He kept trying to convince him to keep going, because he was doing good work. The fellow in the long hair and glasses kept shaking his head, and then I woke up asking him the question,"What is your forte? What do you excel in? That is where your worth lies. The rest is just a job. Don't let it eat you up."
Hm. Interesting thought to begin the day...

I have been discussing my book Fall of the Onyx with my kids, (which I'm revising and arranging the content for the final time before retyping the manuscript, the next revision will be editing for spelling, etc) and in the telling sometimes one can work out plot snags. I should do that more often. Talk into a tape recorder, or something. I have a couple lying around... I should be using them. This book is complicated. But I have so much to tell, and there's probably about 4 subplots going. One is a flashback, the other are from different characters' P.O.V. You know, that "meanwhile, back at the ranch" sort of things a majority of novels have.
Since my short term memory is not the best, it's a bit difficult to remember who was doing what before the next thing happens, so in telling the story in synopsis in an audio form, it helps give my memory a jump start and get back into the cadence of the story. I think it also helps when you haven't been working on the book for a bit, and when it's hard to get going on it, and regain momentum and enthusiasm.
Plus having a 3 ring binder with plenty of colored tabs and such for notations and page markers.
I need to get a laptop holder, and a portable, adjustable side table so that I'm not hunched over when it comes time to revise the manuscript on the computer. I've getting hunchbacked, and this isn't helping matters any.