Well, it is actually finished now, at least for the current moment. Manuscript: Alpha has been revised, printed, bound, and sent off to my four lovely, devoted, selfless alpha readers. 176,000 words, plus a glossary, and a crudely drawn map to guide their mental wanderings as they read. Continue reading “Manuscript: Alpha is a Go – and it has a title!”
Tag: Jaed and Aston
Finished*
173,920 words.
That is where my completed first draft sits in its current, non-revised form. I’m spending the entirety of my day off on Tuesday revising and finalizing the draft for Manuscript: Alpha, but damn it this feels good.
Much more work to come, but “Jaed and Aston” now has a beginning, middle, and end. I might be too excited to sleep tonight.
Steve D
Creativity Sessions: Let Your Characters Write the Story
I forget sometimes that others can help pull you out of creative ruts. I’ve put a lot of pressure on myself to finish Manuscript: Alpha of “Jaed and Aston” this week, mostly by telling my alpha readers that I was almost done.
Then, I hit a narrative point that felt messy and too drawn out. I fussed over wording, I tried to find a shortcut (which I do not like admitting), I brainstormed a whole bunch. And then I happened upon an interview that gave me the jolt I needed. Continue reading “Creativity Sessions: Let Your Characters Write the Story”
Not a Real Post or Update, but Close Enough
Sorry for the radio silence this week. I’ve been stressed, and Jessie is apparently working triple-shifts, which I did not know were a thing in the 21st century. Tomorrow is also not the start of my weekend, as I am covering for someone on Saturday. At least the office will be devoid of people I’m supposed to interact with.
It’s all good though, because next week, we’ll be on yet another road trip adventure to a cottage on a river! Romantic getaway, you say??? Continue reading “Not a Real Post or Update, but Close Enough”
Creativity Sessions: Cliffhangers as a Narrative Device
I enjoy cliffhangers in novels. As someone in the marketing profession, I also understand why they are often used at the ends of novels. I’ll be just finishing up the story when the author throws a curveball, making me go Oh shit, how can you leave me hanging like that?! And then Book 2 comes out and I buy it immediately, because obviously I have to see what happens. It’s good business.
But as a narrative device? I’m becoming more and more skeptical of the end-of-book cliffhanger. Continue reading “Creativity Sessions: Cliffhangers as a Narrative Device”
Actually Nearing the Finish Line
Ugh. The tying down of plots and characters continues.
As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, part of the delay on finishing Manuscript 1 of “Jaed and Aston” has been in trying to parse out the finishing plot points for each of my characters. The biggest difficulty I’ve found in this process has been in fitting the final pieces for each character together concisely, without jamming too much info/action into one section. Continue reading “Actually Nearing the Finish Line”
Writing when Life Gets in the Way
Real-life responsibilities hit me all at once in the last week and have really interfered with my writing. Now, I’m not going to lie, before the events of the past week, I was mostly getting in my own way of finishing the first draft of “Jaed and Aston”. But it feels different when external obligations are pulling you away from something you otherwise should be doing. Continue reading “Writing when Life Gets in the Way”
Don’t Call It a Recap: Writer’s Burnout
I am burned out on writing. There I said it. It would be one thing if I didn’t want to write, or if I simply had no solid ideas. But I have a slew of drafts in my WordPress Dashboard and a pretty good handle on where I want “Jaed and Aston” to go over the final few chapters. I just don’t have the motivation to do any of them. Continue reading “Don’t Call It a Recap: Writer’s Burnout”
Almost Near the Near End: March Goals
February was pretty good for me. I’m about 100 pages from finishing Lionheart and have the makings of a draft review sitting in my dashboard. I realize that I did not meet either of those goals, but that’s mostly because I was focused on writing… and occasionally watching Justice League on Netflix. Continue reading “Almost Near the Near End: March Goals”
Creativity Sessions: Not Seeing the Trees for the Forest
Looking at that picture, most people would hear the water chiming over stones and logs, or imagine the animals that may be hidden behind that line of trees. I look at this picture and imagine the mountain spring that flows down into this river, or the wide expanse of the forest. Continue reading “Creativity Sessions: Not Seeing the Trees for the Forest”
Evening Satellite Publishing 