Finally! A post!
No, I haven’t given up on this blog. I’ve just been in a self-imposed exile for the last few weeks. Back at the beginning of January, I was all set to send out one of my early chapters to a CP when I discovered it was in much worse shape than I remembered. So I tried to tweak it into shape -- a little bit here, a little bit there, but it soon became apparent that the chapter required more than a tweak. It needed an overhaul. The current structure just wasn’t working.
As the days passed, I poured more and more time into that chapter, eventually vowing not to write another blog post until the chapter was in reasonable shape.
I’m happy (relieved) to report I finally reached that point. Kind of. The chapter flows more smoothly now, but still needs plenty of work. Nevertheless, it’s in good enough shape for my CP to read and that’s enough for now. Besides, I’ve learned that I can’t stare at a chapter for more than a couple of weeks before my eyes glaze over and my brain shuts down. I’ll need a couple of weeks (at least) before I can look at it objectively again.
So I expect to be posting on a regular basis again. Just in time for next week’s Insecure Writers post. Talk about perfect timing. My insecurity meter has already pegged out.
I do, however, have some good news to share. At one point during this revision from hell, I needed to go back to my first chapter and verify some fact. And for the first time ever, I was able to read one of my chapters and feel that it’s close to something a real writer might have written.
Progress!
Website of Ken Rahmoeller -- fantasy author, chemist, and lover of all things Hogwarts (Photo Courtesy of Scarluuk)
Showing posts with label The Book. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Book. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Simplicity is Often the Best
A few weeks ago, I was watching one of the Harry Potter movies on TV when my wife, after having checked the schedule, announced the movie would end at 10’oclock. “No way” I told her. I’d seen the movie many times before and knew there were plenty of scenes yet to go before the movie ended – definitely too many for it to end by ten. To no one’s surprise but my own, the movie ended at the appointed time, not only managing to include every scene I remembered (plus some I had forgotten), but with enough time left over to show us previews of the next scheduled movie.
Turns out it took less time to get through those scenes that I thought.
And that’s the point of today’s post. Now that I’m revising my way through my first draft, one problem that keeps popping up is my tendency to use more words than necessary to describe a scene. I’m not talking about simple filler words such as "just," "really," "sort of," and "rather" – although I do use them too much – I’m referring to my need to over-explain.
Periodically I go back and read Rowling’s chapters, not only for inspiration, but often to see how she handled a particular type of situation. And I’m astonished at how often I come across a scene that I remembered as being long and full of complicated explanations only to discover that the scene was only a page or two in length and written in surprisingly simple terms. Rowling had given me just enough information to explain what I needed to know and my imagination had filled in the rest.
And that is what I’m struggling with. Turns out I’m a very visual writer, so I feel the need to explain every movement and action that occurs, whether the reader needs to know or not. Here’s an example. Imagine a scene where a band of adventurers are about to enter a castle that looks ready to collapse at any moment. The leader of the party is out in front of the group (and is the POV character).
John looked up at the tower which leaned perilously over to one side. “Robert, you stay here. Sarah will enter with me.” John was disappointed when Robert merely nodded, his previous enthusiasm apparently dampened.
Here’s the problem (well, besides the obvious telling). As far as the reader knows, John is still looking at the tower and wouldn’t be able to see Robert nodding behind him. I suspect most readers would understand that John has probably turned his head at some point, but as a writer I feel this compulsion to add “John turned” somewhere in there in order to make sure no one gets confused.
I have yet to learn the art of subtlety in writing. Every time one of my characters moves, or sees something, or does something, I feel obliged to mention it. And that’s a habit I’m going to have to break. Learning the technique of giving the reader just enough information to understand what’s happening is one of those milestones I’ll have to pass if I ever expect to get published. And I might as well get started now, as I can only imagine what it’s going to be like when I get around to editing action scenes where all sorts of things are happening all at once.
Does anyone have any tricks they use for tightening up their scenes?
Turns out it took less time to get through those scenes that I thought.
And that’s the point of today’s post. Now that I’m revising my way through my first draft, one problem that keeps popping up is my tendency to use more words than necessary to describe a scene. I’m not talking about simple filler words such as "just," "really," "sort of," and "rather" – although I do use them too much – I’m referring to my need to over-explain.
Periodically I go back and read Rowling’s chapters, not only for inspiration, but often to see how she handled a particular type of situation. And I’m astonished at how often I come across a scene that I remembered as being long and full of complicated explanations only to discover that the scene was only a page or two in length and written in surprisingly simple terms. Rowling had given me just enough information to explain what I needed to know and my imagination had filled in the rest.
And that is what I’m struggling with. Turns out I’m a very visual writer, so I feel the need to explain every movement and action that occurs, whether the reader needs to know or not. Here’s an example. Imagine a scene where a band of adventurers are about to enter a castle that looks ready to collapse at any moment. The leader of the party is out in front of the group (and is the POV character).
John looked up at the tower which leaned perilously over to one side. “Robert, you stay here. Sarah will enter with me.” John was disappointed when Robert merely nodded, his previous enthusiasm apparently dampened.
Here’s the problem (well, besides the obvious telling). As far as the reader knows, John is still looking at the tower and wouldn’t be able to see Robert nodding behind him. I suspect most readers would understand that John has probably turned his head at some point, but as a writer I feel this compulsion to add “John turned” somewhere in there in order to make sure no one gets confused.
I have yet to learn the art of subtlety in writing. Every time one of my characters moves, or sees something, or does something, I feel obliged to mention it. And that’s a habit I’m going to have to break. Learning the technique of giving the reader just enough information to understand what’s happening is one of those milestones I’ll have to pass if I ever expect to get published. And I might as well get started now, as I can only imagine what it’s going to be like when I get around to editing action scenes where all sorts of things are happening all at once.
Does anyone have any tricks they use for tightening up their scenes?
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
The Insecure Writer and Being Slow at Writing
Today is July's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.
In my ISWG post back in January , I fretted over my painstakingly slow progress and worried aloud that my book would never get finished. I set Christmas 2012 as my target completion date and promised to give you an update of my progress in June. Well, it’s July and it’s time for that update.
Since this an Insecure Writer’s post, you’ve probably guessed by now that the news is not good. Unless some sort of miracle occurs – an accident in the lab where I ingest a chemical mixture that turns my brain into a writing machine, I lose my job and spend my time sitting at home with nothing else to do but write, someone writes a piece of software that can take a rudimentary rough draft and convert it into publishable prose at the click of the mouse – I’m not going to reach my goal. Not by a long shot.
Out of a thirty chapter first draft, I’ve only managed to give my critique partner the first four chapters. That’s less than a chapter a month. You don’t need to be a math major to know that isn’t going to cut it. To be honest, the lion’s share of this time was spent rewriting the first two chapters repeatedly to fix a structural problem my CP was kind enough to point out, so I expect things to move along more quickly now.
But I’m still in trouble.
And this brings me to this month’s insecurity. Every time I load up a chapter to send to my CP – a chapter I thought was in good shape back when I wrote it last year - I’m shocked to discover just how much more work it needs before I can send it out. I’m not talking cosmetic changes here. I'm referring to missing paragraphs replaced with the words “mention XXX here” or “describe the character” marked in red. Entire pages that need to be rewritten to align with changes I’ve since made to the plot. Scenes that need reordering. It’s gotten to the point where I’m more comfortable spending hours tweaking a chapter I’ve already sent off to my CP than with moving on to the next chapter and having to discover just how much more work it needs.
To help give myself the illusion of accomplishing something, I’ve added a progress bar to the blog to track my manuscript. It’s rudimentary and I may jazz it up a bit later, but it’ll do for now. Its purpose is to
Have a happy 4th of July (for those of you in the states)!
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Your Characters and Their Names
This will be the third Wednesday in a row in which I harp on characters and how to deal with them. Why? Because I have yet another problem with my characters. And this time I have no one to blame but myself.
After working on my story for nearly three years, I have yet to decide on the names of the characters. Yep. You heard me right. Of the 20 or so named characters in the story, I’ve only chosen names for five of them. And of those five, one has since been dropped from the story and another has a name I’m already itching to change. I don’t know if this is a matter of me being lazy or just overly anal-retentive.
The truth is, I’m being very particular about these names because Rowling was very particular about her character’s names. And since I’m patterning my story after her books, this kind of detail is important to me. Rowling often chose names that had some sort of special significance to the story or hinted at a character’s traits, usually deriving them from the Greek or Latin forms. And while I’ve had fun working up lists of possible names based on their alchemical significance (another little quirk of Rowling’s), I have yet to assign any of these names to my characters. I really need to sit down some night with a glass of wine (or something stronger) and make some decisions, but I just keep putting it off.
All this means I’m having to get by with placeholder names, which does have its advantages. For instance, I often use my friends’ names for the characters I like and the names of people I don’t like for the villains. I’ve found it’s much easier to write scenes loaded with conflict when I have a more personal connection. Since my story takes place at Hogwarts, I also need names for all the instructors, so I either name them using their field of study (Professor Herbologist) or their main trait (Professor Worrier). In a few cases I use the same names Rowling used, so my Potions instructor has gone by the name of Snape for a couple of years now.
But I’ve discovered a hidden danger with this method. You can’t let the placeholder name influence the character’s actions. You don’t want your character to behave like the friend whose name you’ve temporarily bestowed upon them. For example, I’ve called my potions master Snape for so long that it’s hard not to think of Alan Rickman (the actor who played Snape in the movies) whenever I play out a scene in my head. My potions master and Snape are similar in some ways, but very different in others, and I’ve had to periodically yell at my character for acting too much like Snape. (Heh. It’s fun to get mad at your characters, isn’t it? That is, as long as your family doesn’t overhear the arguments. L)
So how do you decide on your characters’ names? Do you ever use the name of someone you know?
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Why Can’t Our Characters Just Get Along?
When I began writing my story, my MC didn’t have much in the way of problems with the other characters. The bad guy didn’t see eye to eye with him, of course, and one of the other major characters had no respect for him, but other than that, the rest of the cast were on pretty friendly terms with the MC. And the guy who didn’t respect him grew to like him long before the end of the book. Basically one big lovefest, I guess. I didn’t see a problem with this approach at first, but as I learned more about the concept of conflict and tension, I discovered this lack of tension made my story a little too boring.
After reading oodles and oodles of blog posts and craft books pointing out how your characters always need to be at odds with something or someone, I began to change how the other characters felt about the MC. It was a slow process (I tend to get along with other other people and don’t have a lot of conflicts with which to draw inspiration), but now almost everyone in the book either ignors or hates my MC. Even his best friends are constantly telling him what he’s doing wrong all the time. And these changes have made the story stronger. The MC now has to find a way to get along with everyone, since he needs their support in order to succeed with his overall goal.
Besides, it's more fun to write dialogue when the speakers don't get along.
So I ask you, how long was it before your characters starting hating on each other?
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
I'm a Real Writer! I Have Critique Partners!
Thanks to Rachael Harrie's Beta-Match, I now have my first two CPs! Thank you Rachael. This isn't the first time Rachael has performed this wonderful service, but the last time she offered it, I didn't feel like I was ready to submit my name. After all, my first WIP, the one I'm using to develop my writing skills, is fan-fiction and I wasn't sure how people might respond to that. They might wonder just how serious I am about this business of writing.
But my biggest reason for not signing up before was that my chapters were nowhere close to being something I would show to another human being. Even my cat hacked up a hairball on one of my early chapters. I'm not saying my chapters are finished now or anything, but they're close enough that I won't have to tell prospective CPs that it'll be six months before I send them anything.
So I'm devoting the next couple of weeks to cleaning up my first five or six chapters. Because I don't want to make my new CP's eyes bleed -- as that would seem rather rude.
The two items I need to concentrate on most are:
1. Choosing which of the two (or more) versions of the same sentence (or paragraph) I'm going to keep. The fact that I have so much trouble choosing between them probably means none of them are any good.
2. Giving some of my characters names instead of calling them something like "Potions Master" all the time. (But that's a topic for another post)
P.S. If anyone else is looking for another CP and you're into fantasy, be sure to send me a line.
But my biggest reason for not signing up before was that my chapters were nowhere close to being something I would show to another human being. Even my cat hacked up a hairball on one of my early chapters. I'm not saying my chapters are finished now or anything, but they're close enough that I won't have to tell prospective CPs that it'll be six months before I send them anything.
So I'm devoting the next couple of weeks to cleaning up my first five or six chapters. Because I don't want to make my new CP's eyes bleed -- as that would seem rather rude.
The two items I need to concentrate on most are:
1. Choosing which of the two (or more) versions of the same sentence (or paragraph) I'm going to keep. The fact that I have so much trouble choosing between them probably means none of them are any good.
2. Giving some of my characters names instead of calling them something like "Potions Master" all the time. (But that's a topic for another post)
P.S. If anyone else is looking for another CP and you're into fantasy, be sure to send me a line.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Better Late Than Never
Okay, I know it’s been a while since I last posted, but I have an excuse.
Really. A bunch of them.
A couple of weeks ago I promised myself that I wouldn’t post again until I had finished revising my first chapter to the point where I could feel good about showing it to my wife and kids. Not completely finished, mind you. Just good enough to give them a feel for how the chapter would eventually sound.
Needless to say, it's not finished. (Though I decided to post anyway!)
My list oflame excuses excellent reasons for why I haven't finished:
1. The nasty cold (flu?) which knocked me out for about a week.
2. I'm a slow writer who only gets to write late at night.
3. Openings give me more trouble than anything. You need a fair amount of description to get your reader grounded, and I'm awful at descriptions. Seriously, I must have rewritten the first paragraph fifty times already and it's still not there. I wish this writing stuff would come more easily.
Anyway, I plan on staying awake this weekend until that chapter is ready. No more excuses.
Really. A bunch of them.
A couple of weeks ago I promised myself that I wouldn’t post again until I had finished revising my first chapter to the point where I could feel good about showing it to my wife and kids. Not completely finished, mind you. Just good enough to give them a feel for how the chapter would eventually sound.
Needless to say, it's not finished. (Though I decided to post anyway!)
My list of
1. The nasty cold (flu?) which knocked me out for about a week.
2. I'm a slow writer who only gets to write late at night.
3. Openings give me more trouble than anything. You need a fair amount of description to get your reader grounded, and I'm awful at descriptions. Seriously, I must have rewritten the first paragraph fifty times already and it's still not there. I wish this writing stuff would come more easily.
Anyway, I plan on staying awake this weekend until that chapter is ready. No more excuses.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Inspiration - Part II
Last week I posted a picture of an old church I use as inspiration for writing, but I have another source of inspiration I'd like to share. My garden.
I took these pictures this morning. As you can see, the arrival of fall has converted my brightly colored garden into a dreary mess. While most people (like my wife) would find this depressing, I have to admit that seeing my garden like this fills me with a certain joy. It's not that I'm into death and decay or anything. But this picture reminds me that it's fall - my favorite time of year - with long, mysterious nights, leaves blowing eerily across the yard, and the feeling that everything we took for granted over the summer is fading away. It reminds me of graveyards and old stone buildings and empty castles. It what I think living in and around Hogwarts must feel like.
As long as I'm working on my Hogwarts book, or any subsequent books (which will almost surely include castles and magic), October and November will always be my most inspirational (and productive) times of the year
I've spent enough time talking. Time to get back to my story. Novermber will be over soon!
I took these pictures this morning. As you can see, the arrival of fall has converted my brightly colored garden into a dreary mess. While most people (like my wife) would find this depressing, I have to admit that seeing my garden like this fills me with a certain joy. It's not that I'm into death and decay or anything. But this picture reminds me that it's fall - my favorite time of year - with long, mysterious nights, leaves blowing eerily across the yard, and the feeling that everything we took for granted over the summer is fading away. It reminds me of graveyards and old stone buildings and empty castles. It what I think living in and around Hogwarts must feel like.
As long as I'm working on my Hogwarts book, or any subsequent books (which will almost surely include castles and magic), October and November will always be my most inspirational (and productive) times of the year
I've spent enough time talking. Time to get back to my story. Novermber will be over soon!
Friday, October 21, 2011
On Revising Too Early
Several weeks ago I mentioned how I had stopped working on the current chapter of my first draft to go back and revise some earlier chapters. I know you’re not supposed to do this, but after battling a chapter for a while and not seeing much progress, I find that going back to those earlier chapters (which are usually in much better shape) helps reenergize me again.
The question, of course, is what happens when you go back to an earlier chapter and discover that it’s just as wretched as the chapter you abandoned? So much for reenergizing.
And that’s what I’ve been struggling with the past two weeks. Chapters 10, 11, and 13 were fine. They still need a lot of work, but I could show them to someone and they’d be able to figure out what was going on. Chapters 12 and 14 were steaming piles of crap. It was quite the shock.
Why were these chapters so much worse than I remembered? Simple. Back when I wrote them, I hadn’t yet begun reading about scenes and structure. Now that I’ve read James Scott Bell’s Plot and Structure, along with a good heaping of blog posts on the subject, I realize I have a lot of revising to do.
That’s the problem with learning while you write.
Question: What writing technique have you learned in the middle of a manuscript that made you want to go back and do it all over?
The question, of course, is what happens when you go back to an earlier chapter and discover that it’s just as wretched as the chapter you abandoned? So much for reenergizing.
And that’s what I’ve been struggling with the past two weeks. Chapters 10, 11, and 13 were fine. They still need a lot of work, but I could show them to someone and they’d be able to figure out what was going on. Chapters 12 and 14 were steaming piles of crap. It was quite the shock.
Why were these chapters so much worse than I remembered? Simple. Back when I wrote them, I hadn’t yet begun reading about scenes and structure. Now that I’ve read James Scott Bell’s Plot and Structure, along with a good heaping of blog posts on the subject, I realize I have a lot of revising to do.
That’s the problem with learning while you write.
Question: What writing technique have you learned in the middle of a manuscript that made you want to go back and do it all over?
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
It's My Birthday and I'll Post If I Want To
First off, let me point you to Mel Fowler's blog, which has a great Harry Potter themed video set to Katy Perry's music. Great find, Mel.
As you may (or may not) have noticed, it's been several weeks since I last posted. The reason is simple. I've been spending all my free time on my manuscript.
Why? Because it's October, of course! Halloween (one of my favorite holidays, BTW) is coming up soon, and what more inspirational time of the year can there be to work on a story about Hogwarts? October rules!
So why am I taking up valuable manuscript time to post today? Because it's my birthday (another reason to love October) and I thought I deserved a little time off. Don't worry, I'll get back to working on the WIP tomorrow.
-------------------------------------------------
Okay, so I haven't been completely truthful here. I did spend some of my precious time on the social media front. I finally got around to uploading my profile pic to Blogger, Facebook, and Twitter. And if that wasn't enough for you, consider this. After lurking on Twitter for the last year, I tweeted for the very first time a few weeks ago. Yeah, I know. Pretty sad. But it's progress.
As you may (or may not) have noticed, it's been several weeks since I last posted. The reason is simple. I've been spending all my free time on my manuscript.
Why? Because it's October, of course! Halloween (one of my favorite holidays, BTW) is coming up soon, and what more inspirational time of the year can there be to work on a story about Hogwarts? October rules!
So why am I taking up valuable manuscript time to post today? Because it's my birthday (another reason to love October) and I thought I deserved a little time off. Don't worry, I'll get back to working on the WIP tomorrow.
-------------------------------------------------
Okay, so I haven't been completely truthful here. I did spend some of my precious time on the social media front. I finally got around to uploading my profile pic to Blogger, Facebook, and Twitter. And if that wasn't enough for you, consider this. After lurking on Twitter for the last year, I tweeted for the very first time a few weeks ago. Yeah, I know. Pretty sad. But it's progress.
Monday, September 12, 2011
On a Roll!!!
Woo hoo! Not only have I posted twice in three days, but the Detroit Lions also won a game! Armageddon approaches!
Seriously, it’s not like posting every couple of days should be that hard. Most of the blogs I read do it. Even I managed to do that on my previous blog (now dormant except for the occasional comment – usually spam), but that was before my decision to learn how to write fiction. In fact, it was this obsession with fiction that caused me to stop posting at my old blog in the first place.
Rachael Harrie announced the first challenge for the Build Your Platform Campaign a week ago, but due to my being away on vacation and them being really busy when I came back, I never got around to taking up the challenge. The quality of the fiction written by those who did take up the challenge was quite good. Makes me jealous!
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Some of my fellow campaigners have been posting “10 Random Things About Themselves,” so I thought I’d join in.
1. I used to run three miles a day many years ago, even though I hated running in high school. My longest run ever was 9 miles.
2. I’m a research chemist by day, and a part-time chemistry instructor at a local community college by night.
3. I love castles. In fact, I love all old stone buildings – the older the better. Actually “love” is probably too weak a word, but if I told you how I really feel about castles, this post would most likely get banned in some countries.
4. I enjoy reading books on alchemy and trying to replicate their experiments. Hmmm, alchemy, castles, teaching at a school... Is there any wonder why I feel such a connection with the Harry Potter books?
5. My wife and I rarely watch television real time. We record them and watch them later, when it fits our schedule. Unfortunately, this often results in a three month backlog of shows by the time April rolls around, requiring marathon viewing sessions in order to finish them all up before summer.
6. My memory for names and faces is abysmal. Rarely can I make it through a movie without having to ask my wife who’s who at least once. They all look the same. And don’t even think about asking me to help the police sketch artist come up with a composite. One of my biggest fears is that all the characters in my book will end up sounding the same. I may not be able to tell!
7. Autumn is my favorite time of year. Halloween, the start of school, milder days, cooler nights (with just a hint of mystery), and my birthday. The biggest problem with fall up here in Michigan is that it doesn’t last very long. Summer hangs on too long and then it just passes right on through to winter. Sometimes we only get about two weeks of real fall weather.
8. I love video games, although I no longer have much time to spend on them. I’m also the one responsible for getting my kids hooked on Portal. Sorry, honey, I didn’t mean for it to happen. (Yeah, right.)
9. I believe I have finally entered the “Blog Event Horizon” (ala Douglas Adams), which means I am now following more blogs than it is possible to read in a 24 hour period.
10. I would love to retire in Britain someday. The castles and history alone are worth it.
Bonus random fact:
My long term plan is to eventually get around to writing my own series, sell a bazillion books, buy a castle in Britain (a haunted one would be best), spend all my time developing the Philosopher’s Stone, and pay someone else to read blogs for me.
Now all I have to do is learn everything there is to writing fiction and finish my book about Hogwarts. Baby steps, Ken. Baby steps.
P.S. You probably noticed all the extraneous qualifiers (probably, really, actually, etc.) sprinkled throughout the post. It’s best that I get them out of my system now instead of them showing up in my WIP later. Sorry if they made your eyes bleed.
Seriously, it’s not like posting every couple of days should be that hard. Most of the blogs I read do it. Even I managed to do that on my previous blog (now dormant except for the occasional comment – usually spam), but that was before my decision to learn how to write fiction. In fact, it was this obsession with fiction that caused me to stop posting at my old blog in the first place.
Rachael Harrie announced the first challenge for the Build Your Platform Campaign a week ago, but due to my being away on vacation and them being really busy when I came back, I never got around to taking up the challenge. The quality of the fiction written by those who did take up the challenge was quite good. Makes me jealous!
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Some of my fellow campaigners have been posting “10 Random Things About Themselves,” so I thought I’d join in.
1. I used to run three miles a day many years ago, even though I hated running in high school. My longest run ever was 9 miles.
2. I’m a research chemist by day, and a part-time chemistry instructor at a local community college by night.
3. I love castles. In fact, I love all old stone buildings – the older the better. Actually “love” is probably too weak a word, but if I told you how I really feel about castles, this post would most likely get banned in some countries.
4. I enjoy reading books on alchemy and trying to replicate their experiments. Hmmm, alchemy, castles, teaching at a school... Is there any wonder why I feel such a connection with the Harry Potter books?
5. My wife and I rarely watch television real time. We record them and watch them later, when it fits our schedule. Unfortunately, this often results in a three month backlog of shows by the time April rolls around, requiring marathon viewing sessions in order to finish them all up before summer.
6. My memory for names and faces is abysmal. Rarely can I make it through a movie without having to ask my wife who’s who at least once. They all look the same. And don’t even think about asking me to help the police sketch artist come up with a composite. One of my biggest fears is that all the characters in my book will end up sounding the same. I may not be able to tell!
7. Autumn is my favorite time of year. Halloween, the start of school, milder days, cooler nights (with just a hint of mystery), and my birthday. The biggest problem with fall up here in Michigan is that it doesn’t last very long. Summer hangs on too long and then it just passes right on through to winter. Sometimes we only get about two weeks of real fall weather.
8. I love video games, although I no longer have much time to spend on them. I’m also the one responsible for getting my kids hooked on Portal. Sorry, honey, I didn’t mean for it to happen. (Yeah, right.)
9. I believe I have finally entered the “Blog Event Horizon” (ala Douglas Adams), which means I am now following more blogs than it is possible to read in a 24 hour period.
10. I would love to retire in Britain someday. The castles and history alone are worth it.
Bonus random fact:
My long term plan is to eventually get around to writing my own series, sell a bazillion books, buy a castle in Britain (a haunted one would be best), spend all my time developing the Philosopher’s Stone, and pay someone else to read blogs for me.
Now all I have to do is learn everything there is to writing fiction and finish my book about Hogwarts. Baby steps, Ken. Baby steps.
P.S. You probably noticed all the extraneous qualifiers (probably, really, actually, etc.) sprinkled throughout the post. It’s best that I get them out of my system now instead of them showing up in my WIP later. Sorry if they made your eyes bleed.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Backsliding
I hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend. (Yeah, so I'm a little behind. What else is new? At least the writing is progressing.)
As far as my wife and I were concerned, Labor Day mostly involved lying around the house. We had just returned from a trip down to Missouri and were trying to recover from the shock of going from 100 degree days in Missouri to 60 degree days back here in Michigan. Quite a shock to the sinuses, let me tell you.
Of course, when you return from any trip that lasts more than a day or two, you always have to face the debris which builds up while you're away. For me, the largest debris pile was Google Reader, which held over 400 entries from all the writing blogs I follow. I've been rushing through the posts as fast as I can, but the queue seems to be refilling almost as fast. I suppose that's one of the consequences of having made so many new friends through the Building Your Platform Campaign. (Which I heartily recommend, BTW. Thanks, Rachel.)
Now all I have to do is start posting a little more often to give all my new followers a reason to keep coming back.
On the writing front: Even though I'm only about two-thirds of the way through the rough draft, I've gone back and started editing the first third of the book (again). I know you're not supposed to do that, but I just can't help it. Besides, after beating one's head against a chapter for a week or two and realizing it's still crap, it boosts my morale to go back and see how much better the earlier chapters read. Gives me hope that even when I write crap, it's still fixable -- at least in theory.
As far as my wife and I were concerned, Labor Day mostly involved lying around the house. We had just returned from a trip down to Missouri and were trying to recover from the shock of going from 100 degree days in Missouri to 60 degree days back here in Michigan. Quite a shock to the sinuses, let me tell you.
Of course, when you return from any trip that lasts more than a day or two, you always have to face the debris which builds up while you're away. For me, the largest debris pile was Google Reader, which held over 400 entries from all the writing blogs I follow. I've been rushing through the posts as fast as I can, but the queue seems to be refilling almost as fast. I suppose that's one of the consequences of having made so many new friends through the Building Your Platform Campaign. (Which I heartily recommend, BTW. Thanks, Rachel.)
Now all I have to do is start posting a little more often to give all my new followers a reason to keep coming back.
On the writing front: Even though I'm only about two-thirds of the way through the rough draft, I've gone back and started editing the first third of the book (again). I know you're not supposed to do that, but I just can't help it. Besides, after beating one's head against a chapter for a week or two and realizing it's still crap, it boosts my morale to go back and see how much better the earlier chapters read. Gives me hope that even when I write crap, it's still fixable -- at least in theory.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Harry Potter - Books vs. the Movies
My family and I finally got around to seeing the Harry Potter movie this weekend. Previous commitments, conflicting schedules, and a desire to view it in 3D at the IMAX theater conspired to push our viewing date back well into August.
But it was worth the wait.
I enjoyed this movie much more than the last, in part because it felt more like a Harry Potter movie. The previous one had felt as though the director had decided to “Twilight” it up a bit.
But I have another reason for mentioning the movie. Back when the movie was first released, I ran across several websites (on writing, of course) that mentioned how Snape had loved Harry at the end. Now this struck me as odd, since I didn’t recall Snape as being anything but disdainful about Harry, even at the end, but since it had been a while since I’d read the book, I just chalked it up to a poor memory.
But during the movie, they played up Snape’s seeming anguish over Harry’s requisite death so much; I couldn’t believe I had been that far off. I asked some other people at the movie whether they remembered Snape being that concerned about Harry in the book and they didn’t recall it being that way either. So I went back and checked the book, and sure enough, Snape didn’t strike me as all that worried about Harry. Indeed, he appeared far more worried that all the time he had spent protecting Harry (for Lily’s sake and at Dumbledore’s insistence) was going to be wasted. Now I don’t care why the decision was made to play the scene that way – it’s not the first time the movies have veered away from the books. My point is that it’s easy to confuse what’s in the movie with what’s in the book.
And this whole idea of confusing books and their movies is important to me. A year and a half ago, I made the decision to write my Hogwarts book as if it were to be THE eighth book. To match Rowling’s style, imagination, and sense of humor so closely and to stay so consistent with her universe, that if she put her name on the book and released it to the public, no one would think twice about it. (Whether I can actually pull this off is another question, of course, but that’s part of the fun.) But to do this, my book has to be based solely on what’s in Rowling’s books. Not the movies.
Turns out this is more difficult than I expected. Thanks to DVDs, ABC, and the ABC Family channel, I’ve seen the movies so many times that the line between the books and movies has become very blurred. (The LEGO Harry Potter games haven’t helped either.) When I reread the books in preparation for my book, I was shocked at how many facts I thought I remembered from the books were actually scenes from the movies and not in the book at all.
And based on the various Harry Potter sites I’ve visited for the purposes of research, I’m not the only one confusing the two.
Only time will tell if I get my book right or not.
But it was worth the wait.
I enjoyed this movie much more than the last, in part because it felt more like a Harry Potter movie. The previous one had felt as though the director had decided to “Twilight” it up a bit.
But I have another reason for mentioning the movie. Back when the movie was first released, I ran across several websites (on writing, of course) that mentioned how Snape had loved Harry at the end. Now this struck me as odd, since I didn’t recall Snape as being anything but disdainful about Harry, even at the end, but since it had been a while since I’d read the book, I just chalked it up to a poor memory.
But during the movie, they played up Snape’s seeming anguish over Harry’s requisite death so much; I couldn’t believe I had been that far off. I asked some other people at the movie whether they remembered Snape being that concerned about Harry in the book and they didn’t recall it being that way either. So I went back and checked the book, and sure enough, Snape didn’t strike me as all that worried about Harry. Indeed, he appeared far more worried that all the time he had spent protecting Harry (for Lily’s sake and at Dumbledore’s insistence) was going to be wasted. Now I don’t care why the decision was made to play the scene that way – it’s not the first time the movies have veered away from the books. My point is that it’s easy to confuse what’s in the movie with what’s in the book.
And this whole idea of confusing books and their movies is important to me. A year and a half ago, I made the decision to write my Hogwarts book as if it were to be THE eighth book. To match Rowling’s style, imagination, and sense of humor so closely and to stay so consistent with her universe, that if she put her name on the book and released it to the public, no one would think twice about it. (Whether I can actually pull this off is another question, of course, but that’s part of the fun.) But to do this, my book has to be based solely on what’s in Rowling’s books. Not the movies.
Turns out this is more difficult than I expected. Thanks to DVDs, ABC, and the ABC Family channel, I’ve seen the movies so many times that the line between the books and movies has become very blurred. (The LEGO Harry Potter games haven’t helped either.) When I reread the books in preparation for my book, I was shocked at how many facts I thought I remembered from the books were actually scenes from the movies and not in the book at all.
And based on the various Harry Potter sites I’ve visited for the purposes of research, I’m not the only one confusing the two.
Only time will tell if I get my book right or not.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
The Two Blogs I Enjoy Most
I've finally gotten around to adding a blogroll. Considering that I'm tracking over 100 blogs on the subject of writing -- no wonder it's taking me so long to write my book -- it's embarrassing that I haven't gotten around to listing some of my favorites.
The first two blogs I'm adding today are the blogs I enjoy reading the most. The first is Janice Hardy's blog, The Other Side of the Story, which I've been reading for nearly a year now and her posts are the one I bookmark most often. She explains concepts well and gives lots of examples, which I find VERY useful. And although she does caution against telling, she allows that it's sometimes okay to tell, as long as it's in moderate doses. As someone who is firmly in the "you need a good mix of showing AND telling to keep your readers hooked" camp, I find this to be a breath of fresh air. Many writing sites view ANY telling as the work of the devil.
I discovered the second blog less than a month ago, but it's already one of my favorites. It's Harry Potter for Writers and the goal of the site is to use the Harry Potter books as a guide for learning how to write fiction. Susan Sipal analyzes the techniques Rowling used in her stories and shows how to weave them into our own. Since I'm trying to match Rowling's style in my book, it's the perfect website for me.
I'll be adding more blogs in the future. Stay tuned.
The first two blogs I'm adding today are the blogs I enjoy reading the most. The first is Janice Hardy's blog, The Other Side of the Story, which I've been reading for nearly a year now and her posts are the one I bookmark most often. She explains concepts well and gives lots of examples, which I find VERY useful. And although she does caution against telling, she allows that it's sometimes okay to tell, as long as it's in moderate doses. As someone who is firmly in the "you need a good mix of showing AND telling to keep your readers hooked" camp, I find this to be a breath of fresh air. Many writing sites view ANY telling as the work of the devil.
I discovered the second blog less than a month ago, but it's already one of my favorites. It's Harry Potter for Writers and the goal of the site is to use the Harry Potter books as a guide for learning how to write fiction. Susan Sipal analyzes the techniques Rowling used in her stories and shows how to weave them into our own. Since I'm trying to match Rowling's style in my book, it's the perfect website for me.
I'll be adding more blogs in the future. Stay tuned.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Hogwarts on Hold
Yes, I know I've been a bad boy for not posting here for awhile. Yes, I promise to do better in the future. Really, I do. It's just that I have so little time for all things writing-related, (60-120 minues a day, if I'm lucky) I feel bad when I take time away from, you know, actually writing the book.
Especially right now.
You see, I'm fighting my way through a rough patch at the moment. I've spent the last two months working on one stupid chapter. Seriously. And it gets worse. This is the first draft. Please don't laugh. I know you are supposed to get through the first draft as quickly as possible and come back later, but my mind just doesn't work that way. I can't leave a chapter until I feel it's come together, no matter how badly I want to move on.
In fact, that's kind of where the problem started. Two months ago I was three chapters past this point when I glanced back at this chapter and was horrified to find just how big a mess it was. Apparently, I had told myself it was good enough for me to move on to the next chapter - obviously a big mistake! So I promised myself that this time, I wouldn't move on until I got it right.
I never would have imagined it would take two months.
I think I've almost got it now. Oh, there is still a truckload of revising and polishing yet to do, but the structure is in place now, and that's what's important.
Especially right now.
You see, I'm fighting my way through a rough patch at the moment. I've spent the last two months working on one stupid chapter. Seriously. And it gets worse. This is the first draft. Please don't laugh. I know you are supposed to get through the first draft as quickly as possible and come back later, but my mind just doesn't work that way. I can't leave a chapter until I feel it's come together, no matter how badly I want to move on.
In fact, that's kind of where the problem started. Two months ago I was three chapters past this point when I glanced back at this chapter and was horrified to find just how big a mess it was. Apparently, I had told myself it was good enough for me to move on to the next chapter - obviously a big mistake! So I promised myself that this time, I wouldn't move on until I got it right.
I never would have imagined it would take two months.
I think I've almost got it now. Oh, there is still a truckload of revising and polishing yet to do, but the structure is in place now, and that's what's important.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
What Makes a Book Young Adult, Anyway?
Even though I spend most of my time working on my Hogwarts book, I still occasionally think about what I will write once it's finished. After all, if I ever want to be published, I can't keep writing what is essentially fan fic. I do have a story in mind, but there is still one big decision to make -- the age of the main character.
My first instinct would be to have the MC be a twelve year old boy, which would make it a MG (middle grade) novel, since I think my whimsical writing style lends itself to that age group. But as the story involves learning about magic in a castle, I wonder if that will make it too much like Harry Potter.
I could easily have the MC be someone who just finished college, and that does have a certain appeal to me. After all, think of all those people who grew up with Harry Potter, but have since graduated from college and who desire to read stories similar to the HP series, but filled with characters closer to their own ages. Unfortunately, I've been told by a few authors that adults read mostly dark fantasy or high fantasy, with very little whimsicalness.
I could make the MC a teenager, which would make it more of a YA (young adult) book, but I've been told that YA books are heavily focused on female protagonists, with lots of emotional angst, and coming of age themes. Most importantly, they require being able to write in a YA voice. Don't think I would be very good at that.
Why am I mentioning all this?
Last week I picked up The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, by Michael Scott. I haven't finished the book yet, but I already have one big question.
Is this book considered YA?
I mean, it was in the teen fantasy section, and the MC's are in high school, but they don't sound like high-schoolers at all. Scott occasionally reminds us that the MC's are young by giving them thoughts such as "she hated it when adults did that", but 99.9% of the time the MC's talk, act, and think like adults.
The book made the best sellers list, and there are three sequels, so it must be at least somewhat popular, so I can only see two possibilities. Either this book is not considered YA (so lots of adults or middle graders must be reading it instead) or YA books don't require all that much of a YA voice to be successful.
Anybody know the answer?
My first instinct would be to have the MC be a twelve year old boy, which would make it a MG (middle grade) novel, since I think my whimsical writing style lends itself to that age group. But as the story involves learning about magic in a castle, I wonder if that will make it too much like Harry Potter.
I could easily have the MC be someone who just finished college, and that does have a certain appeal to me. After all, think of all those people who grew up with Harry Potter, but have since graduated from college and who desire to read stories similar to the HP series, but filled with characters closer to their own ages. Unfortunately, I've been told by a few authors that adults read mostly dark fantasy or high fantasy, with very little whimsicalness.
I could make the MC a teenager, which would make it more of a YA (young adult) book, but I've been told that YA books are heavily focused on female protagonists, with lots of emotional angst, and coming of age themes. Most importantly, they require being able to write in a YA voice. Don't think I would be very good at that.
Why am I mentioning all this?
Last week I picked up The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, by Michael Scott. I haven't finished the book yet, but I already have one big question.
Is this book considered YA?
I mean, it was in the teen fantasy section, and the MC's are in high school, but they don't sound like high-schoolers at all. Scott occasionally reminds us that the MC's are young by giving them thoughts such as "she hated it when adults did that", but 99.9% of the time the MC's talk, act, and think like adults.
The book made the best sellers list, and there are three sequels, so it must be at least somewhat popular, so I can only see two possibilities. Either this book is not considered YA (so lots of adults or middle graders must be reading it instead) or YA books don't require all that much of a YA voice to be successful.
Anybody know the answer?
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Showing Vs Telling: Whom Should I Believe?
Maybe it's just me, but lately it seems everyone is blogging about "showing vs. telling." And for this I wish to thank the blogosphere. "Showing" has been one of the hardest concepts for me to grasp as a writer, and even after working on my story for nearly two years, I'm still struggling with the concept.
Now I do understand it well enough to catch the more obvious cases. For example, I realize
Everyone in the room was nervous.
is telling. And I know it's better to "show" that everyone was nervous.
Jane paced around the room in circles while George kept wringing his hands. (Lame I know, but whatever. I'm writing this during lunch.)
It's with the less obvious examples that I run into trouble and part of this confusion stems from the fact that not everyone agrees on what constitutes telling. It's easy to find conflicting views scattered across the myriad of writing blogs available. Even worse, writers often can't even agree on the amount of telling that should be allowed. On one end of the spectrum, I'll hear experts say that you should "always" show, whereas other writers will acknowledge that some telling is okay, perhaps even necessary at times, in order to keep the reader's attention. After all, showing often involves describing things to the reader in a less direct manner than telling, which requires more work on the reader's part to translate. This extra work is what makes the reader more emotionally involved -- one of the reasons for showing -- but too much showing will wear them out.
BTW, I'm firmly in the latter camp. Unless the author is very, very good, I find books that strive too hard to avoid telling often sound too writerly, and I usually put them down, unable to get into the story. On the other hand, I loved the Harry Potter books and there was a lot of telling mixed in there with the showing.
I recently came across a post by Victoria Mixon in which she discusses exposition and whether or not it should be in your story. She writes:
"Now, when you write in exposition—when you tell your story instead of showing it—you’re putting yourself in front of your characters and interpreting what they go through for your readers.
Readers don’t like that. It’s talking down to them. They really prefer to interpret for themselves."
Now, Victoria dispenses a lot of excellent advice on the art of writing, and I would strongly encourage you to read her blog, but on this point I have to respectfully disagree. Sure, poorly written exposition that's stuck into the story to make things easier for the writer is not a good thing, but for me, well written exposition can be just as enjoyable to read as dialogue. It pulls me into the world, not out of it. Just ask fans of JK Rowling or Douglas Adams (Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy). Neither of them made me feel as though I was being talked down to, despite long sections of exposition. IMHO, a good dose of well written, enjoyable, and sometimes humorous exposition can be a good thing.
Now I admit that I'm still an amateur and there are plenty of things I don't know, but the Harry Potter books were rather successful, and this leaves me with a bit of a dilemma. Here I am, reading books and blogs, trying to learn how to write well, so that an agent might take me seriously someday, but at the same time I'm practicing my craft by writing a story set in Rowling's world, in Rowling's style; a style that broke a lot of the so-called rules of writing (exposition, narrator intrusion, a multitude of adverbs, unusual dialogue tags, etc.)
Who should I listen to?
Perhaps you can argue that the Harry Potter books, at least the early ones, were MG, so the rules don't apply as much, but I have no idea. If that is the reason, I suspect my first real book will no doubt be MG.
Now I do understand it well enough to catch the more obvious cases. For example, I realize
Everyone in the room was nervous.
is telling. And I know it's better to "show" that everyone was nervous.
Jane paced around the room in circles while George kept wringing his hands. (Lame I know, but whatever. I'm writing this during lunch.)
It's with the less obvious examples that I run into trouble and part of this confusion stems from the fact that not everyone agrees on what constitutes telling. It's easy to find conflicting views scattered across the myriad of writing blogs available. Even worse, writers often can't even agree on the amount of telling that should be allowed. On one end of the spectrum, I'll hear experts say that you should "always" show, whereas other writers will acknowledge that some telling is okay, perhaps even necessary at times, in order to keep the reader's attention. After all, showing often involves describing things to the reader in a less direct manner than telling, which requires more work on the reader's part to translate. This extra work is what makes the reader more emotionally involved -- one of the reasons for showing -- but too much showing will wear them out.
BTW, I'm firmly in the latter camp. Unless the author is very, very good, I find books that strive too hard to avoid telling often sound too writerly, and I usually put them down, unable to get into the story. On the other hand, I loved the Harry Potter books and there was a lot of telling mixed in there with the showing.
I recently came across a post by Victoria Mixon in which she discusses exposition and whether or not it should be in your story. She writes:
"Now, when you write in exposition—when you tell your story instead of showing it—you’re putting yourself in front of your characters and interpreting what they go through for your readers.
Readers don’t like that. It’s talking down to them. They really prefer to interpret for themselves."
Now, Victoria dispenses a lot of excellent advice on the art of writing, and I would strongly encourage you to read her blog, but on this point I have to respectfully disagree. Sure, poorly written exposition that's stuck into the story to make things easier for the writer is not a good thing, but for me, well written exposition can be just as enjoyable to read as dialogue. It pulls me into the world, not out of it. Just ask fans of JK Rowling or Douglas Adams (Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy). Neither of them made me feel as though I was being talked down to, despite long sections of exposition. IMHO, a good dose of well written, enjoyable, and sometimes humorous exposition can be a good thing.
Now I admit that I'm still an amateur and there are plenty of things I don't know, but the Harry Potter books were rather successful, and this leaves me with a bit of a dilemma. Here I am, reading books and blogs, trying to learn how to write well, so that an agent might take me seriously someday, but at the same time I'm practicing my craft by writing a story set in Rowling's world, in Rowling's style; a style that broke a lot of the so-called rules of writing (exposition, narrator intrusion, a multitude of adverbs, unusual dialogue tags, etc.)
Who should I listen to?
Perhaps you can argue that the Harry Potter books, at least the early ones, were MG, so the rules don't apply as much, but I have no idea. If that is the reason, I suspect my first real book will no doubt be MG.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
I Survived Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey!!!!
Yesterday, my family and I returned from a four day trip to Orlando – three days at Universal Studies theme park and one at Disney's Epcot. It was an excellent time; the weather cooperated (for the most part), no one got sick (at least not until we got back home), and I’m extremely happy to report I rode the Harry Potter ride three times.
You have no idea how surprising that last bit is.
You see, I’m a huge chicken when it comes to rides. I hate the dropping sensation that comes with rollercoasters, or log flumes, or even fast elevators. Just absolutely hate it. The stuff of nightmares. So when I read reviews of the ride that mentioned there was at least one sharp drop, I was sure I was going to have to pass.
On our first day at Universal, we made a bee line to the Hogwarts area. Hogsmeade was nicely done, although seeing fake snow on the roof of the buildings seemed weird in 80 degree weather. We tried butterbeer, which I was told was JKK Rowling's own concoction (or at least had her seal of approval). Conclusion: not too bad. We checked out the merchandise in the gift shops, but unfortunately all the things I was interested in purchasing were the props used to make the shops look more authentic. Too bad. Then we headed to the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride.
I waited in line with the family, since the queue takes you through a nice tour of Hogwarts, but I left before it was time for the ride itself. After they finished the ride, my wife and daughter worked very hard to convince me that there really wasn’t much of a drop and that I would love the experience. Had it been any other ride, I probably wouldn’t listened, but... it's A HARRY POTTER ride. Who was I kidding? I love the world of Harry Potter, I wish I had been able to attend Hogwarts when I was a student, and I'm writing a book based around Hogwarts. How could I not take the chance? I might regret it forever.
So I rode the Harry Potter ride.
And it was wonderful.
For those of you who haven’t been on the ride, there are several times where it convinces you that you're diving toward the ground at breakneck speeds, but the effect is almost all due to the video you see in front of you (or actually below you, since you are facing straight down when this happens). You don’t physically drop all that much; but your mind tells you that you're accelerating downward. Close your eyes and the effect vanishes. Amazingly, it was the drops that I looked forward to the most on subsequent rides. (BTW, I did not close my eyes.)
I should take the time to point out that, although the ride is okay for chickens like me, if you are prone to motion sickness, I suggest you stay away from this ride. You are bounced all over the place and even though I don't consider myself prone to motion sickness, after riding it twice in a row, my head strongly suggested that I not try it again for a while.
As I expected, being surrounded by Harry Potter paraphernalia has motivated me to work even harder on my Hogwarts book. Not that I needed any additional motivation. I was, however, reminded that the movies and the books don't always match. And since I've made the decision to base my book on Rowling's books, and not the movies, I'm going to have to work hard to ensure I don't get them mixed up when writing.
Now it's time to recover from the vacation.
You have no idea how surprising that last bit is.
You see, I’m a huge chicken when it comes to rides. I hate the dropping sensation that comes with rollercoasters, or log flumes, or even fast elevators. Just absolutely hate it. The stuff of nightmares. So when I read reviews of the ride that mentioned there was at least one sharp drop, I was sure I was going to have to pass.
On our first day at Universal, we made a bee line to the Hogwarts area. Hogsmeade was nicely done, although seeing fake snow on the roof of the buildings seemed weird in 80 degree weather. We tried butterbeer, which I was told was JKK Rowling's own concoction (or at least had her seal of approval). Conclusion: not too bad. We checked out the merchandise in the gift shops, but unfortunately all the things I was interested in purchasing were the props used to make the shops look more authentic. Too bad. Then we headed to the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride.
I waited in line with the family, since the queue takes you through a nice tour of Hogwarts, but I left before it was time for the ride itself. After they finished the ride, my wife and daughter worked very hard to convince me that there really wasn’t much of a drop and that I would love the experience. Had it been any other ride, I probably wouldn’t listened, but... it's A HARRY POTTER ride. Who was I kidding? I love the world of Harry Potter, I wish I had been able to attend Hogwarts when I was a student, and I'm writing a book based around Hogwarts. How could I not take the chance? I might regret it forever.
So I rode the Harry Potter ride.
And it was wonderful.
For those of you who haven’t been on the ride, there are several times where it convinces you that you're diving toward the ground at breakneck speeds, but the effect is almost all due to the video you see in front of you (or actually below you, since you are facing straight down when this happens). You don’t physically drop all that much; but your mind tells you that you're accelerating downward. Close your eyes and the effect vanishes. Amazingly, it was the drops that I looked forward to the most on subsequent rides. (BTW, I did not close my eyes.)
I should take the time to point out that, although the ride is okay for chickens like me, if you are prone to motion sickness, I suggest you stay away from this ride. You are bounced all over the place and even though I don't consider myself prone to motion sickness, after riding it twice in a row, my head strongly suggested that I not try it again for a while.
As I expected, being surrounded by Harry Potter paraphernalia has motivated me to work even harder on my Hogwarts book. Not that I needed any additional motivation. I was, however, reminded that the movies and the books don't always match. And since I've made the decision to base my book on Rowling's books, and not the movies, I'm going to have to work hard to ensure I don't get them mixed up when writing.
Now it's time to recover from the vacation.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
How Long is Too Long?
I spent some time last night counting the number of pages in my Hogwarts book. This may seem like a trivial task, but each chapter is in its own file and I have to open each one up separately and add the totals by hand. I’m currently on Chapter 20 out of an expected 30 chapter book and I wanted to get a feel for how things were progressing.
The result?
Just over 600 pages!
OMG!
Now, I admit this number is somewhat misleading. Although I’m officially only on Chapter 20, I’ve done quite a bit of rough writing on many of the subsequent chapters. (I tend to jump around a bit while writing.) And some of the earlier chapters have multiple versions of the same scene, much of which will be cut later. But still, at the current rate, this book is going to hit 900 pages if I don’t do some heavy trimming.
To think there was a time when I worried I wouldn’t be able to come up with 300 pages.
Anyway, I’m already thinking about which parts of the book to cut. I know many writers will say I should wait until I get to the end before I do this, but I’m just not built that way. I’m going to fret about this until I do something, so I might as well do some of it now. Besides, if I don’t, I just know I’ll subconsciously start to write the rest of the chapters as short as possible to compensate. And that’s no way to write a first draft.
The result?
Just over 600 pages!
OMG!
Now, I admit this number is somewhat misleading. Although I’m officially only on Chapter 20, I’ve done quite a bit of rough writing on many of the subsequent chapters. (I tend to jump around a bit while writing.) And some of the earlier chapters have multiple versions of the same scene, much of which will be cut later. But still, at the current rate, this book is going to hit 900 pages if I don’t do some heavy trimming.
To think there was a time when I worried I wouldn’t be able to come up with 300 pages.
Anyway, I’m already thinking about which parts of the book to cut. I know many writers will say I should wait until I get to the end before I do this, but I’m just not built that way. I’m going to fret about this until I do something, so I might as well do some of it now. Besides, if I don’t, I just know I’ll subconsciously start to write the rest of the chapters as short as possible to compensate. And that’s no way to write a first draft.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Exposition? Nothing wrong with it.
Okay.
I know, I know. It’s been over a month since I last posted. Entirely my fault.
I’ve been busy with a lot of things at home - painting the living room, repairing holes in the wall, working with my daughter’s robotics group (I’m the coach and the competition is in less than two weeks). It’s not like I haven’t had a few minutes here and there to write, but my story insists on coming first and spending time posting to this blog leaves me feeling guilty (and a little dirty). You may look at this post and ask yourself, “How long could it have taken to write this?” Unfortunately, I’m a notoriously slow writer, and even a post as short and simple as this one will take over a half hour. Lord knows how other bloggers can manage to write multi-page posts and still have time to work, or eat, or sleep.
Anyway, I ran across this blog post about “exposition” today and it caught my attention enough for me to stop and share it with you. In the post, the author rails against the notion that exposition is “always” worse than story. I completely agree. In my opinion, exposition, written well, and in an entertaining manner, is just as much fun to read as dialogue.
As a newbie, unpublished, wannabe writer, I suppose my opinion doesn’t count for much, but many of my favorite books contain exposition – Harry Potter, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, SciFi by Arthur C. Clarke and Issac Asimov, etc. I’m not saying all exposition is good. I’ve been turned off by badly written exposition, but I’ve also been turned off by poorly written dialogue, so what’s the difference?
Feel free to comment.
I know, I know. It’s been over a month since I last posted. Entirely my fault.
I’ve been busy with a lot of things at home - painting the living room, repairing holes in the wall, working with my daughter’s robotics group (I’m the coach and the competition is in less than two weeks). It’s not like I haven’t had a few minutes here and there to write, but my story insists on coming first and spending time posting to this blog leaves me feeling guilty (and a little dirty). You may look at this post and ask yourself, “How long could it have taken to write this?” Unfortunately, I’m a notoriously slow writer, and even a post as short and simple as this one will take over a half hour. Lord knows how other bloggers can manage to write multi-page posts and still have time to work, or eat, or sleep.
Anyway, I ran across this blog post about “exposition” today and it caught my attention enough for me to stop and share it with you. In the post, the author rails against the notion that exposition is “always” worse than story. I completely agree. In my opinion, exposition, written well, and in an entertaining manner, is just as much fun to read as dialogue.
As a newbie, unpublished, wannabe writer, I suppose my opinion doesn’t count for much, but many of my favorite books contain exposition – Harry Potter, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, SciFi by Arthur C. Clarke and Issac Asimov, etc. I’m not saying all exposition is good. I’ve been turned off by badly written exposition, but I’ve also been turned off by poorly written dialogue, so what’s the difference?
Feel free to comment.
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