Update 34, Jan 25-31, 2021
Transitioning to What?
I still don’t know what the next phase will be called, I mean my “system” for queries is going to be boring and not conducive to a weekly update… but I am adamant about keeping this diary weekly. God forbid I actually go back to writing other types of blog posts. 😊
But maybe that is what might have to happen? I have been toying with doing a monthly update for the Query posts and then doing a diary as I outline the next novel and start writing that, but that might be bi-weekly. And I really want to keep each week with at least a single post. It keeps me writing.
So, what would I do with the other week of the month? Do I go back to gaming posts? All the games I’m playing in currently are months if not a full year into the game, and while I do keep notes during those games, they aren’t exactly written in a thrilling story format.
But really it comes down to I don’t know what entertains the handful of readers of these posts, and the score of you who have subscribed to email updates. I’m not just writing these posts to share my experiences and thoughts, but I also hope that some or them are entertaining as well?
I’ll have a think on it. I really prefer to keep this dairy weekly and the idea of rotating through a bunch of different style posts doesn’t quite appeal yet. I might try to add in EXTRA posts instead. It all comes down to time management.
Last Week
That was a long-winded intro. Sorry for the ramble, but these posts are meant to reveal how and what I’m thinking about. Also, shed a little light on the process from the point of view of someone who is freshly navigating the industry.
And yes, I can claim to be fresh to the industry despite the number of publishers, editors, and others in the business I know. Because I mostly know those people personally, and not as a writer trying to land and agent and sell a novel. This is a different feeling than sitting back and having a couple beers over the summer with like-minded people.
This week, I wrote the second draft for a personal essay that I’m targeting for a magazine. I know it will need a third draft, as I cut out a bunch of material and added in more, after tightening the previous pages. So, a third draft is definitely on the menu, but for this project I have an actual editor. I’m awaiting feedback and I’m certain next weeks TD will also be talking about the same essay.
Speaking of essays, I had to write a final reflection essay for my Capstone class, and put together a final portfolio. I’m feeling good about it, I probably could have written a better essay, but I tried to be brief. I’m a classic over-writer, so it’s difficult to come in just at the expected page count.
Take a Step Back
Let’s revisit the previous paragraph. Where I mentioned writing an essay for a “magazine.” I notice so many authors will “vague-book.” They go on their social media and say they made a sale but they can’t say where or to who. I always wondered if they were told point blank, they weren’t allowed to announce it… or if they’re like me and they don’t name places because they don’t want to be embarrassed if they get rejected.
That’s one of those funny things were the posts can be taken in either way. Now, I have seen posts where the author has stated that they can’t say anything until it is officially announced, but wouldn’t you want an author hyping up a sale and generating buzz? Maybe someday, I’ll have the agent and the book will be shopped around and they’ll tell me… “Don’t say anything now, but we’ve got this sold.” But until that day I’ll always wonder if they’re just afraid that if they name it, it will disappear.
Other Work
Besides the essay and finishing up my school work, I have also been painting (Instagram) and working on the outline of the series.
The outline is sort of at a stuck moment. I’m trying to broad stroke the whole 5 book series, knowing that as I write I’m going to change things. So, I have this thing where I want to try to stay within the outline, but I’m training myself to just throw out the outline when I need to. It’s a hard lesson to learn right now. A lot of the notes for my fantasy world were written over thirty years, based on lots of games I ran. (There are a series of posts in my writing advice that talk of the genesis of my world HERE HERE and HERE).
World Building Fight
Often, I will write some new information and then find out later that it doesn’t fit with the original notes I created for the world. Most of these notes are written on scraps of papers (not even in notebooks) and were written during different editions of D&D or other Fantasy TTRPGs. My notes were influenced by something I read or watched at that time.
Whenever a new idea clashes with an old idea I often have to break down and argue with myself for days about which continuity I want to keep. Seriously. I have had to reorganize timelines and change histories multiple times to fit new data, because I unearthed a new set of paperwork stuffed into a random gaming book and now I need to determine which set of notes I like more.
I know that all sounds rather silly, but it actually is a problem for me. Sometimes I find old notes that had a WAY better idea for a storyline or origin. Also, a LOT of my old notes stole names and ideas from all over the place because they were originally only meant to be used in games and not in novels.
An example of this was I had a villain named Lucian Alpharius. Because he was the first-born son. But Alpharius is a name used in Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000… now using the name Alpharius as a surname for a character is not in anyway treading on GW’s rights, but the fact that the character also has a twin brother and is a Trickster God… does sort of lean into the character a bit. Even if there wasn’t a rights dispute, their would be readers who linked the two. And do I really want emails or reviews saying “he stole a character from 40k.”
Rambling
Perhaps that is all a little too rambling? That’s how my mind works. The point I was trying to make a whole 6 or so paragraphs back, is that I’m trying to board stroke the main story lines of each book. Then I’m going to do full outlines of the first book or two, but I don’t plan on fully outlining all five books before I start writing them.
I’ll have the loose arcs to guide me and I’ll outline one book ahead. So, I’ll start with book 1 and 2 outlined so I know where I have to get to by the end of book 1; then when I finish book 1, I will outline book 3, before I start book 2. And so on.
I never talked with another writer about how they outlined an entire series before. Jim Butcher has a formula for his series… I forget how it goes but I think its every even book deals with the fae, every 5th book has Nicodemus, etc.
Next Week
Well, I’m filing my taxes as soon as I finish this blog. Then the next week will be spent third draft of the essay. Outlining book 1 and making full character charts for the whole of the series. Maybe I will talk more about character next week?
