Posted by nightphoenix on Jun 18, 2011 in
Input,
Life,
Novels,
Output,
Process It’s been a while. And actually, I haven’t been writing for a few weeks either. Most of you who know me in RL already know, but for those who don’t…
Back on Memorial Day, we had to take our five-year-old son to the emergency room. He’d been tired for a couple of days, and then his mouth got really dry. When we took him in, he was so weak and tottery that he could barely walk himself to the bathroom. They tested him in the ER and determined that he had Type 1 diabetes and was suffering from diabetic ketoacidosis, and immediately admitted him. Ketoacidosis is what happens when your body cannot use the sugar in your blood for fuel, and starts breaking down its own tissues instead. Read more…
Posted by nightphoenix on May 10, 2011 in
Novels,
Output Yesterday I had the interesting and depressing experience of having two rejections land in my inbox on the same day. The second, naturally, appearing having gotten up from the brief nap I’d taken having been down about the first. Both were typical form letter rejections, the kind that give no insight whatsoever into why the agent passed up your work. What was especially depressing was that I’d mentally tagged one of those agents as a particularly good fit for Shades, given their online description for the sort of story they are looking for.
It’s so easy to take it personally. It’s easy to start thinking things like, “Man, my work must really suck if an agent who wants that exact kind of story doesn’t even want it.”
But I know that’s not true.
One’s taste in books is a highly subjective matter. I know this, because I know how picky I am about what I like to read. For example, I just finished the last book in Melissa Marr’s Wicked Lovely series…and I found myself mildly disappointed.
***Spoilers below***
Read more…
Tags: agents and editors, business of writing
Posted by nightphoenix on Apr 2, 2011 in
Output,
Process This week, being spring break, I knew I wasn’t going to get much done in the way of actual writing. So, instead I’ve spent a little time concentrating on Amphiptere’s Vision, the MMORPG the hubby and I’ve been working on. It was inspired partially by World of Warcraft and by a turn-based, cartoonish RPG called Dofus, plus a heavy dose of experience from playing Achaea, a text-based MUD. The game I imagine is what’s called “sandbox” style: heavily role-playing dependent, where players can directly affect the world. Players build the houses, towns, roads, and cities; players create and run the organizations; players generate the big conflicts in the game. There are 61 discrete sentient races, 21 of which are playable. The abilities are many and varied, and a lot of the skillsets require creativity and imagination to use. Read more…
Tags: worldbuilding
Posted by nightphoenix on Feb 10, 2011 in
Input,
Novels,
Output This week I started shopping Hands, Like Secrets around to some agents, and believe it or not, I’ve already had a request for a partial! I actually heard from this agent the day after I queried them. In case you aren’t familiar with the publishing business, such a response is jaw-droppingly fast. Of course, I’ve also already received my first “form” rejection from a difference agency, so I guess it all balances out. But again, fast.
Interestingly, the agent who requested the partial was one who requires a writing sample with a query. The agency I got a rejection from only wanted the query itself. This means that the one who was interested saw some of the writing itself, and the one that wasn’t, didn’t. If this pattern keeps up, that will tell me that my writing is compelling and my query is not…meaning I’ll need to revise the query letter. But I’ll climb that ladder when I get there, I guess. I’m cautiously optimistic at this point.
Meanwhile, I’ve begun the process of revisiting the first draft of the second and third books. The first thing I noticed was that the writing isn’t as bad as I was afraid it was. Having said that, yeah…it needs a whole lot of work. Second realization was, man, how this story has evolved since I wrote this draft. Still using mage and cleric as terms, still third person, still working out kinks in Raphel’s character, for instance. Most of my scenes don’t have nearly enough conflict. Stakes don’t feel high enough. Motivation feel very contrived in places. Things work out too neatly.
Having said that, general pacing is okay. Secondary characters are believable and generally deep enough…no major tweaks needed. Scenes are more or less in the right order. My main tasks are going to be raising stakes, revising Naeth’s character, and revising the Keeper’s character. I will also need to weave bits of Caosgi in when my characters are on Dheu, and bits of Dheu in when they are on Caosgi…otherwise, it’s going to feel like two smaller books smashed together. I need to weave some flashbacks or dreams about Saeli’s Aschamon days in there, too, so the second book will connect back to the first. Tie Saeli’s feelings about Brendan to her feelings about Naeth.
It feels like a lot of work, but I think once I really get going, it won’t be so bad. Been working on this story long enough that I have a pretty good handle on where it needs to go.
I’m also going to start brainstorming and plotting The Waters, so I have something else in the works if the trilogy doesn’t get picked up right away. I chose that one because of the ones I’m really itching to do next, it’s the most straightforward. I love Raphel to death, but he makes me want to write an awesome “bad boy” who actually is the hero…not just masquerading as one. Alex Merrett is that character. Then I’ll do Windwaker, or maybe by that time I’ll be ready to work on Mask of Eldarmarch again. Dragon Singer is so complex and will require so much research that this is not the time to tackle it. Like Briar Rose, it needs to percolate for a while longer.
Again, apologies for the sparseness of posts. I’m going to make an effort to post something at least once a week, but I’m not promising anything. I’m not one for “check-in” posts…I only post when I have something to blather about.
Now…back to work. 
Tags: business of writing, editing and revisions, goals, Shades
Posted by nightphoenix on Jan 24, 2011 in
Input,
Output Well, there’s one week until the conference.
I’ve finished the copyedit…finally…so this thing is about as good as I can make it. I just need to do a run of business cards, and finish up the bags we’re going to hand out to the speakers. I’ve been slowly working on a synopsis, and I’ve been doing some digging around on AgentQuery.com’s articles about agents and query letters. Boy, that’s going to be a…process.
Started an Excel worksheet of all the agents I’m going to query. Slow work.
I’ve also been taking a long look at my writing queue, and rethinking what I should work on next.
Obviously Shades has first priority. Now that I have the first book done, I really need to get the second and third books written. The overall story is incomplete. However, I’ve been poking around on some writing forums, and realizing that in the interest of furthering my writing career, dedicating myself to working exclusively on a series may not be the smartest thing for me to do.
Even if I get an agent for Shades, the first book may not sell. Then my agent is going to turn to me and say, “Well, what else have you got?” And if all I’ve got is the rest of that trilogy…yeah. Or, the book may sell but not do all that well once it’s published. The publisher may not want to put out the other two books, or at least not right away. Again, they’ll turn and ask “What else have you got?” Or heck, the book may do well enough, but the publisher wants to space out the trilogy and have me release something else in the meantime…and it’s back to that question.
What else have I got?
I’ve made the decision that I don’t want to work on Mask of Eldarmarch next, like I’d planned. I’m just…not all that enthused about it right now, and I’ve gotten a lot of other ideas over the past few years that I’d really like to tackle first. Right now Dragon Singer is at the top of the queue, but now I’m wondering if that’s a good idea. Dragon Singer is going to be a challenge…complicated plot with time travel, and a lot of research about stuff I don’t know a whole lot about. Maybe I should start with something simpler, you know?
I’d probably start with the Waters, if I was going to pick one. Straightforward romance. Fantasy setting. The research is on stuff I already know a lot about (sailing ships), and on stuff I can utilize my “artistic license” (what was Earhart’s personality like after X years in a place that doesn’t actually exist?). Then I’d tackle Windwaker, another relatively easy one. Then, then maybe I’d be ready for Dragon Singer.
What I think I’m going to do is try and work on Shades plus another project in tandem. (And yes, I know you aren’t supposed to do that.) Shades needs to get done, but I want to have another project in the works in case I need it.
Hopefully I won’t. Hopefully Shades will take off, and I’ll have people frothing at the mouth saying, “Where’s the rest of it???” At that point, yeah, I can focus my efforts.
Tags: business of writing, the queue
Posted by nightphoenix on Jan 14, 2011 in
Novels,
Output,
Process Well, I finished the line edit a week or so ago, and have been (mostly) diligently working on copyediting. And realizing that there’s often a wide gulf between what I think I wrote and what the sentence actually says. And that I tend to read what I think I wrote. Blarg.
I’m also working on a synopsis, which is more blarg…but not as bad as it could be, since I had the foresight to sum up all the important events of Hands on index cards in preparation for editing. I think I’ll have everything ready for the conference.
Speaking of: Hey, the Space Coast Writers Guild conference is coming up! Jan. 28th and 29th (which is a Friday and a Saturday). It’s a great conference, and not too pricey, as far as writing conferences go. Click here for details and a registration form. You can also walk in and register the day of.
I did the conference booklet again this year (yeah…last weekend’s mad project), and I hope it looks as good printed as it does on a computer screen. The registration booklet I did was a little graphics-busy, IMO.
So…one might ask why I’m blogging when I probably should be copyediting or synopsising or somesuch. Well, I’m feeling a bit burnt out and I figured writing something is at least more productive than reading pages upon pages of Slacktivist comments. Not that those aren’t interesting, and un-productive…anyway. Read more…
Tags: business of writing, Shades, the real world
Posted by nightphoenix on Dec 20, 2010 in
Art,
Output They happen. Sometimes I go through stages where I just have to draw something before I can write again. Anyway, I’ve started something of a series. I’m (maybe) going to do a shot of every hero and heroine from each of my story ideas paired together. I finished Saeli and Raphel this morning, and have put together the guide for Caleb and Fayna (Briar Rose).
So here’s the one I finished. Keep in mind I did this really fast. For some reason, the skin color I used for the shadows in Saeli’s face came out really dark on the web…makes her look kinda dead or something. 
Oh well.
Saeli / Raphel
In other news, I’ve been line editing…slowly…and also creating a basic overarching plot for my Grimms concept. Oh, and wrapping presents. And making presents. Speaking of…I should probably get to that at some point today.
Tags: digital, Raphel, Saeli, Shades
Posted by nightphoenix on Dec 10, 2010 in
Film,
Output,
Short Stories Remember how I said I discovered a great, gaping hole in my Grimms premise?
Part of the idea is that children are kidnapped by faeries when they are babies and toddlers, because children who grow up in Arcadia make better, more docile slaves. It’s all they know. All my Grimms are kidnapped as toddlers, and rescued as teenagers. But the problem with that is, and I can’t believe this never occurred to me before:
See title of post. Read more…
Tags: Grimms, worldbuilding
Posted by nightphoenix on Dec 10, 2010 in
Books,
Novels,
Output First, Shades. I’ve finished the bird edit, and am now about two chapters into the line edit. Line editing is hard, mostly because I’m realizing how much I skim when I’m reading. Now I’m forcing myself to actually read every sentence, and make a judgment on whether that sentence says what I want to say in as few words as possible. Slow work. One interesting thing I’ve discovered are…well, I’m calling them “remnants”. Little snippets of phrasing in certain places that are from two or three drafts back. Most of them no longer belong, because the wording and motivation and flow of the scene have evolved so much. Interesting how common they are, and how easy they are to miss on a casual read-through.
I’ve begun re-reading my First Draft in 30 Days book, and thinking about how I’m going to approach re-writing the second installment in Shades. At the conference, I want to at least be able to say that I’m “working on” the second book. Hopefully if I start the re-write with a system, it will go faster than this first book has. Read more…
Tags: books, reviews, Shades
Posted by nightphoenix on Nov 30, 2010 in
Novels,
Output This is something, thankfully, that I know nothing about firsthand. I don’t think I’ve ever spent a significant amount of time with anyone who would fall under that category (if I have, they hid it really well). But alas, that means everything I know is going to come from reading the experiences of others, and reading the sort of official literature on the subject. Which, on one hand, is by far the closest I want to get to dealing with an abuser…but on the other hand, there will always be that voice in the back of my head saying, “You aren’t qualified to write this…you don’t really know what it’s like to be taken in by someone like that.”
I say all this because Raphel has what I’d call an abusive personality. In this, the first book, he’s very, very subtle about it. But in a way, that means this is the book where I have to walk the finest line between dark hero and villain. I don’t want Saeli to know she’s dealing with an abuser, but I do want the reader to start wondering. One of the things I find myself pulling out of this edit is the tendency of abusers to blame their actions on the victim. “Look what you made me do.” “It’s your fault I had to do this.” Raphel does this to Saeli a lot in “justifying” his kills. “I wouldn’t have had to kill this person if you had done *this*…” I haven’t even had to bring it out except in one scene…I was putting it in there all along without realizing it. He doesn’t outright blame her; she wouldn’t stand for that, not yet. But the implication is clear.
Raphel does it for control. If Saeli is too busy blaming herself for all the bad stuff that happens, she won’t think to blame Raphel and she won’t question him. Late in the second book, things will probably get to a point where Raphel doesn’t even have to make excuses for himself anymore; Saeli will just automatically cast Raphel as the victim of her own incompetence. She’ll start seeing herself as directly responsible for Raphel’s morality; she’ll start thinking in terms of being good enough and pure enough to save him from his own dark side. Thus, when he “fails” and kills someone, or whatnot, Saeli fails. Bad mental place to be. Especially since Raphel is the one who orchestrated that mindset in the first place, and will actively use it to his advantage.
I have to plant the seeds in this first book, or no one will believe it when Raphel gets worse later on. I’m working to make those seeds as subtle as I can, because I know from hearing people’s stories that abusers are really difficult to spot early on in the relationship. Raphel has to be particularly careful with Saeli, because she could at any moment hide herself inside Aschamon and be out of his reach forever. (Which is why one of the first things he does is start undermining her faith in Aschamon’s defenses. Part of the reason she decides to hear him out at all is because she’s afraid the school can’t protect her if she refuses.) He can’t afford to scare her off, so he’s cautious and gentle with her. But if a guy slaps you across the face within five minutes of first meeting you, he is not a nice person. (If he later confirms that he’s not a nice person, you might want to listen.) If he starts making you responsible for the deaths he could cause, unless you do what he says, he is manipulating you. If he kills people and then tries to make it sound like he wouldn’t have had to if you had done something different, he is manipulating you. If I can get readers to recognize the signs in this story, I hope it will help them recognize those signs in real life.
I imagine there will still be readers who will be upset with me for not redeeming Raphel in the end, but I don’t want that to be because the clues weren’t in place for them to see his downfall coming. Part of the overall theme of Shades is the inherent tragedy one faces in cutting oneself loose from someone you love who is abusing you. (And recognizing the fact that they are, in fact, abusing you.) You cannot help a person who refuses to be helped, and staying with them does not help them. It enables them to keep abusing. You have to get yourself out, even if that means abandoning them to their own darkness. That’s what Saeli essentially has to do.
I’m a little more than halfway through this second pass of this edit. My word count is essentially unchanged…I guess I’ve been taking out more or less the same amount of words I’ve been adding. The next edit will be a line edit, which will be loads of unfun, I imagine.
Tags: editing and revisions, Raphel, Saeli, Shades
Like!
