I'm finally picking up some momentum on Clanless, which really helps my mood. The final chapters of TWIXT went so smoothly, as did many of the novellas of the Wandering Tale, that I forgot what it was like to really struggle to make progress. I spoiled myself, I suppose. After a few weeks of laboriously scratching a few words out each day, I think I'm finally beginning to peel back the crust of this story and get a real sense for how I want it to shape up.
I'm still trying to switch writing strategies by allowing the first draft to be rougher. I don't know how the experiment will turn out in the end, but I may as well try now. It is difficult to get out of the habit of editing every sentence to death as I write it, but I think that is more due to habit and perfectionism than it is to aversion to trying something new. Of course, if the new strategy doesn't result in higher productivity and at least the same quality, I'll ditch it and either try yet another one or go back to what I know.
This book requires more deliberate world-building than TWIXT, which was always meant to have a bit of a fuzzier, mythic feel to it. Clanless, on the other hand, is science fiction. It not only needs to be much sharper on the world details, it needs to have some reasoning behind it. The hardest part, though, is coming up with names for things that feel natural and blend into the story. Most of the other things I've written required little in naming beyond people and locations. Those are easy in comparison to naming fictional plants and animals. I'm keeping a text file with names and short descriptions, and I imagine I'll be changing some of the more ridiculous-sounding ones. However, I'm not willing to break the writing groove to come up with a good plant name.
In other news, I'm steaming away on preparations to podcast The Swordsman of Carn Nebeth. No details I can safely reveal yet, but for those of you who like audio performances: You may want to keep an eye out.
Showing posts with label podcasting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label podcasting. Show all posts
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Prioritize Pending Projects
If there is one reason I'm desperate to make a living as a writer, it's so I'll have enough time to write. When I think of all the things I want to write in the near future, I
start twitching. I don't imagine I'll ever be able to find time enough
for it all, and that bugs me. And then, of course, there are the projects I want to start. And revise. And record.
Of course, when there is too much to do, we need to know what comes first. So here's my list for things I want to accomplish by the end of the summer, sorted roughly by priority.
Write "The Merchant of Menace"
As the next entry in the Wandering Tale, which is the only currently-published example of my work that I know has readers (thanks to all dozen of 'em, too!) this easily takes the cake. It is also a necessary precondition for something further down on the list. It also has a tentative publication date (set and enforced by myself, of course) that I would like to keep to. May 20, if you're wondering.
eBook Publication of Twixt Heaven and Hell
I left it last with some notes for further revisions, but was concentrating on submitting it to agents at the time. I need to finish that as well as do some truly deep editing. I need to get a cover made. I hope to have some kind of book trailer done, either audio or video (those are further down on the list, though). If all goes well, this one will hit the stores in July.
Finish Thirteenth Night
Last summer I began to write a "sequel" of sorts to Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. The original vision for it was a Shakespearean slasher play featuring the abused Malvolio as the killer. Sort of a Hamlet meets Scream sort of thing with a dark comedy vibe. It started out fairly well, and I'd really like to finish it before another summer rolls around...
Get a Serious Start to Clanless
For those of you who missed this post featuring this episode of the Roundtable Podcast - which in turn features me - I was pitching a novel to those fine gentlemen that was tentatively titled Clanless. After appearing on that podcast I got back to thinking pretty heavily about that book and I'm very excited to write it. This one and Thirteenth Night are very much vying for third place on my priority list, because while I want to finish both of them and already have the play started (and some of my friends tell me they want to read it), it is less likely to be published or performed in the near future. Can't ePerform an entire play. Not and do it the kind of justice I would want, anyway.
Film/Record Twixt Trailer
Been mentioning it for awhile, and already have a rough script written. Next step is to write a plan for a video script and then start finding some advisers and decide which format it will end up in. This depends on a lots of other people, else it would be higher on the list.
Finish and Publish the first Wandering Tale collection
I've decided to gather up the first five stories of the Wandering Tale (three of which are published now), and publish them as a single eBook. Of course, there will be additional materials thrown in to make it worth the buyer's money even if they have one or more of the singlet eBooks. Maps, additional history, maybe even a sixth story that caps everything off...
Start Podcasting the Wandering Tale
The very supportive Dave Robison (one of the peerless paladins behind the Roundtable Podcast) has several times urged me to do a recording of The Swordsman of Carn Nebeth. As with book trailers, podcasting my writing gives me one more excuse to perform, and to involve other people as well. It's enjoyable to lift a bit of the solitude from this little hobby of mine.
Aie... I could probably double the size of this list, but I'll be honest - if I'm still just looking at the summer, I've got more here than I can handle as it is. Doesn't mean I won't try to get to all of it - but I have to be careful. I've definitely suffered from project ADD in the past, and I'd very much like to finish anything item I start.
Of course, when there is too much to do, we need to know what comes first. So here's my list for things I want to accomplish by the end of the summer, sorted roughly by priority.
Write "The Merchant of Menace"
As the next entry in the Wandering Tale, which is the only currently-published example of my work that I know has readers (thanks to all dozen of 'em, too!) this easily takes the cake. It is also a necessary precondition for something further down on the list. It also has a tentative publication date (set and enforced by myself, of course) that I would like to keep to. May 20, if you're wondering.
eBook Publication of Twixt Heaven and Hell
I left it last with some notes for further revisions, but was concentrating on submitting it to agents at the time. I need to finish that as well as do some truly deep editing. I need to get a cover made. I hope to have some kind of book trailer done, either audio or video (those are further down on the list, though). If all goes well, this one will hit the stores in July.
Finish Thirteenth Night
Last summer I began to write a "sequel" of sorts to Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. The original vision for it was a Shakespearean slasher play featuring the abused Malvolio as the killer. Sort of a Hamlet meets Scream sort of thing with a dark comedy vibe. It started out fairly well, and I'd really like to finish it before another summer rolls around...
Get a Serious Start to Clanless
For those of you who missed this post featuring this episode of the Roundtable Podcast - which in turn features me - I was pitching a novel to those fine gentlemen that was tentatively titled Clanless. After appearing on that podcast I got back to thinking pretty heavily about that book and I'm very excited to write it. This one and Thirteenth Night are very much vying for third place on my priority list, because while I want to finish both of them and already have the play started (and some of my friends tell me they want to read it), it is less likely to be published or performed in the near future. Can't ePerform an entire play. Not and do it the kind of justice I would want, anyway.
Film/Record Twixt Trailer
Been mentioning it for awhile, and already have a rough script written. Next step is to write a plan for a video script and then start finding some advisers and decide which format it will end up in. This depends on a lots of other people, else it would be higher on the list.
Finish and Publish the first Wandering Tale collection
I've decided to gather up the first five stories of the Wandering Tale (three of which are published now), and publish them as a single eBook. Of course, there will be additional materials thrown in to make it worth the buyer's money even if they have one or more of the singlet eBooks. Maps, additional history, maybe even a sixth story that caps everything off...
Start Podcasting the Wandering Tale
The very supportive Dave Robison (one of the peerless paladins behind the Roundtable Podcast) has several times urged me to do a recording of The Swordsman of Carn Nebeth. As with book trailers, podcasting my writing gives me one more excuse to perform, and to involve other people as well. It's enjoyable to lift a bit of the solitude from this little hobby of mine.
Aie... I could probably double the size of this list, but I'll be honest - if I'm still just looking at the summer, I've got more here than I can handle as it is. Doesn't mean I won't try to get to all of it - but I have to be careful. I've definitely suffered from project ADD in the past, and I'd very much like to finish anything item I start.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Lessons from the Roundtable Podcast
I was recently a guest writer on The Roundtable Podcast's second episode. I was 'pitching' the idea for a science fiction book, and the idea is that they match me up with a veteran writer who, along with the two hosts of the podcast itself, will help me refine the initial idea into a superior form.
I met one of the hosts, Dave Robison, through the Mythic Scribes forums. He read some of the work I had put up and has been very generous with his support and advice, especially in all things podcasting (which I intend to follow up with as soon as spring - and leisure time - rolls around).
I'll be touching on the following points in this followup:
-My Preparation/Performance
-The Suggestions of the Roundtable
-Additional Thoughts on the Process
My Performance:
I think that my pitch, in hindsight, was poor. Sadly I could not have devoted much more time to it when this was recorded. I was bringing up too many technicalities and 'neat' details when I should have been dealing more with larger points of the story and leave the details out - or bring them up later when they are more pertinent.
After that, I think I improved. I've always been open to sincerely-offered criticism and am a member of a regular online workshop.
The Suggestions:
Overall, very insightful and helpful. It was especially useful that Nathan Lowell and I think about story telling in rather different ways. For interest, one topic that came up early and often was the concern over theme. As I mentioned in the podcast, I don't do themes - not consciously, at least. I do not write a story with the intent of pushing a theme or a moral. Some of them will certainly emerge (that is probably inevitable) and if there is a good one I might try to polish it a bit.
However, because of the way I feel about the interpretation of fiction (and all art, for that matter) I don't usually bother trying to clarify my interpretation of my own stories. Fiction can be both a lens and a mirror, but it is up to the reader to determine which it will be at any given point.
A couple more subjects that came up:
Early Story/Impact of Galactic Civilization - As to the possibility of taking the Avatar route, nah. Done too famously and too recently. Plus, I definitely want to stick with the idea of a resource-poor planet retarding the tech development of Proto's species. The idea of social conquest (or pollution, as it was put in the podcast) is very much attractive to me, though. The impact of high technology on the various clans is something I'll be putting a great deal more thought into.
All Aliens? - I think we were tripped up by my casual use of the term. I of course did not mean to suggest that my characters were utterly alien. I simply meant that they were not of the species homo sapiens. There shouldn't be any problem creating a sympathetic character of another species, as we've seen in countless sci-fi and fantasy stories.
Why is the Spaceport there? - Upon more reflection, this isn't as important a question as I was starting to think it might be. Certainly, there needs to be a reason, but beyond certain parameters (not heavily used, not there for mining extraction) I think it can remain up in the air for awhile longer.
One Book? - Possibly the most important thing I was reminded of in the podcast! Thank you Nathan! In my hurry to tell the story about the Big Dumb Neat Event (Proto's transformation) I was ignoring the fact that I have a lot of background that I need to explore. My readers need to be comfortable with both Proto as a character and the rest of the (fictional) universe before I can go turning it on its head. I'm now thinking the first book might cover an arc that ends after Proto becomes a merc, but not too far after. There is also still the possibility of a first book dealing entirely with Proto on his home planet, in exile. Won't know until I write it!
Additional Thoughts:
A suggestion to other guest writers: I think the best criteria for the story ideas you bring to the Roundtable are ones that you have serious reservations with, but plenty of ideas for. Dave and Brion are both very creative people, and the veterans they're lining up are top-notch as well. Let them help you smooth out those issues. Furthermore, let them help you consolidate all those ideas into an actual storyline - that seemed to be the way Episode 2 went. All in all, I think this is the best of my story ideas I could have brought to them. I'm glad I picked it.
My voice: I sounded like a dork, but oh well. :) Nobody likes the sound of their voice on a recording...
There are no doubt other things I forgot, but this post is getting too long as it is. Thank you David, Brion, and Nathan for your help and your support!
I met one of the hosts, Dave Robison, through the Mythic Scribes forums. He read some of the work I had put up and has been very generous with his support and advice, especially in all things podcasting (which I intend to follow up with as soon as spring - and leisure time - rolls around).
I'll be touching on the following points in this followup:
-My Preparation/Performance
-The Suggestions of the Roundtable
-Additional Thoughts on the Process
My Performance:
I think that my pitch, in hindsight, was poor. Sadly I could not have devoted much more time to it when this was recorded. I was bringing up too many technicalities and 'neat' details when I should have been dealing more with larger points of the story and leave the details out - or bring them up later when they are more pertinent.
After that, I think I improved. I've always been open to sincerely-offered criticism and am a member of a regular online workshop.
The Suggestions:
Overall, very insightful and helpful. It was especially useful that Nathan Lowell and I think about story telling in rather different ways. For interest, one topic that came up early and often was the concern over theme. As I mentioned in the podcast, I don't do themes - not consciously, at least. I do not write a story with the intent of pushing a theme or a moral. Some of them will certainly emerge (that is probably inevitable) and if there is a good one I might try to polish it a bit.
However, because of the way I feel about the interpretation of fiction (and all art, for that matter) I don't usually bother trying to clarify my interpretation of my own stories. Fiction can be both a lens and a mirror, but it is up to the reader to determine which it will be at any given point.
A couple more subjects that came up:
Early Story/Impact of Galactic Civilization - As to the possibility of taking the Avatar route, nah. Done too famously and too recently. Plus, I definitely want to stick with the idea of a resource-poor planet retarding the tech development of Proto's species. The idea of social conquest (or pollution, as it was put in the podcast) is very much attractive to me, though. The impact of high technology on the various clans is something I'll be putting a great deal more thought into.
All Aliens? - I think we were tripped up by my casual use of the term. I of course did not mean to suggest that my characters were utterly alien. I simply meant that they were not of the species homo sapiens. There shouldn't be any problem creating a sympathetic character of another species, as we've seen in countless sci-fi and fantasy stories.
Why is the Spaceport there? - Upon more reflection, this isn't as important a question as I was starting to think it might be. Certainly, there needs to be a reason, but beyond certain parameters (not heavily used, not there for mining extraction) I think it can remain up in the air for awhile longer.
One Book? - Possibly the most important thing I was reminded of in the podcast! Thank you Nathan! In my hurry to tell the story about the Big Dumb Neat Event (Proto's transformation) I was ignoring the fact that I have a lot of background that I need to explore. My readers need to be comfortable with both Proto as a character and the rest of the (fictional) universe before I can go turning it on its head. I'm now thinking the first book might cover an arc that ends after Proto becomes a merc, but not too far after. There is also still the possibility of a first book dealing entirely with Proto on his home planet, in exile. Won't know until I write it!
Additional Thoughts:
A suggestion to other guest writers: I think the best criteria for the story ideas you bring to the Roundtable are ones that you have serious reservations with, but plenty of ideas for. Dave and Brion are both very creative people, and the veterans they're lining up are top-notch as well. Let them help you smooth out those issues. Furthermore, let them help you consolidate all those ideas into an actual storyline - that seemed to be the way Episode 2 went. All in all, I think this is the best of my story ideas I could have brought to them. I'm glad I picked it.
My voice: I sounded like a dork, but oh well. :) Nobody likes the sound of their voice on a recording...
There are no doubt other things I forgot, but this post is getting too long as it is. Thank you David, Brion, and Nathan for your help and your support!
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