Tag: writing
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Arbitrary Milestones
I passed 10,000 words on THE 7TH SACRIFICE this morning. This pleases me. I don’t know why it pleases me more than passing 9,000 words or 11,000 words. 11,000 is more than 10,000 so why doesn’t that please me more? And it can’t be some ridiculous “if I pass 10,000 then I know I’ll finish…
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Find the Fun in the Boring
I wrote chapter 2 for 7Sac today. This is a big deal because it’s the first fully original chapter of this version. Pieces of chapter 1 got held over from my first attempt and much more of it came from the wind sprint I wrote. Chapter 2 was wholly fresh. I actually tried to write…
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Beginning Anew
I revised the wind sprint I wrote a few weeks ago into a MUCH better first chapter. There’s a little too much there, but I’ll pare that down during revision. The tone and the action are so much better. Less description of action and more action. I am incredibly pleased. The thing is, today is…
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Plontsing the Sac
I’ve been on holiday! It is becoming a tradition that each Christmas my wife and I go up into the White Mountains for a few days. Though New Hampshire is a small state, the North country and the South Country are pretty different (as we’re often reminded by those that live in the North). You…
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Telegraphing the Play
Writing a novel is like writing a sports play, it may look familiar, but you don’t want the reader to know the play that’s coming. I know some people read for the experience, but some people (like me) read for the surprise. That’s why I hate spoilers so much. If the surprise is ruined for…
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The Transition Story
Empire Strikes Back is my least favorite of the Star Wars trilogy1. This is heresy among accepted Star Wars fandom, but it is the way it is. You can rattle off the various elements of the movie that make it better than the others, a richer universe, more defined characters, a darker/grittier edge to it,…
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Silver Lining
I usually don’t speak on my relationship with my mother except in the context of my upbringing and its impact on greater topics like racism or religion. This is for a few reasons: it implies I dwell on the matter, which I don’t. When hearing we haven’t seen each other in 7 years, someone inevitably…
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He Makes the Turn! He Approaches the Finish Line! …OH NO, HE’S TRIPPED!
So all other obligations were set aside for this evening. Yes, I’m supposed to be making left overs so my wife has something to eat for lunch tomorrow, but she’ll understand. This is ART! I’m flying along and get to the last chapter (now considering making it the second to last). I’m about to have…
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The
HardestHarder PartYou’ll often hear that this or that is the hardest part of writing a book. Writing a good beginning. Writing a good first sentence. Writing the middle. Writing the end. Rewriting. Revising. Querying. Being rejected. The thing is there is no hardest part, just harder parts in relation to other parts at that moment. In…