Quick update, I am writing this on my new ipod touch, getting used to the keyboard. No update on Friday since I wasn't very well. Not a lot of work done on TLOTT over the past few days because of that, though have been thinking about it a lot especially what I can do with the Ana character, the main female character. Since by the Big Middle, which I'll havt to blog about soon, she has met up with Jonathan, the second part of the story is really set for her. So what I'm struggling with is working out the first part of the story where she has to get from her father's home to her uncle in the big city. Hmmm, plottinh, plotting.
Otherwise, I have used the Jim Butcher method to work out some problems with my Soulreaper story for Chapters 7 & 8. Some of what he talks about with Scenes and Sequels has really helped me realise that you can have some plot points happen even when it is a sequel.
Any way, when I have more time I'll blog some more about Climax and Big Middles!
dimanche 18 octobre 2009
jeudi 15 octobre 2009
Story Question
So today I thought I'd talk about the first step of building a plot according to Mr Butcher, the Story Question.
Let me quote liberally here from Mr Butcher himself:
I find this really helpful in getting the basic jist of the story down - it works as well for the snowflake method in creating a basic sentence describing the story, though with the Butcher method you end up with a longer sentence (I aim for less than 50 words).
It is especially useful in getting a handle on your protagonist's goal, but also the various obstacles you're going to throw in his way.
So for my story, The Legacy of the Thorn, what is the story question?
When his colleague tries to kill a visiting dignitary, secret service operative Jonathan Marlowe sets out to find out why. But will he succeed when he finds himself pitted against his own former colleagues, a global conspiracy to hide an ancient secret, and the ultimate evil herself...
Obviously, this will make a hell of a lot more sense to me than anyone else, but it sets out the basic situation at the beginning, as well as the different things he is going to have to face.
Lots of work done on the plot today, have started filling in Jonathan's plot in more detail and have started sketching in Ana's as well - I'm going to follow Mr Butcher's advice and create a character page for each of my characters, as well as a plot summary for the key ones (Jonathan and Ana, but also the bad guy and a few of the more important secondary characters).
Tomorrow I'll talk about creating the first and last scenes, and what Mr Butcher calls the Big Middle!
Currently Reading:
The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruis Zafon (still!!!)
The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown (still!!)
Listening to:
Tenth Wonder Podcasts for the most part - you guys rock!
Watched:
Heroes s04e04 and 05
Leverage s02e01 (so cool)
Fringe s02e03 (great as well, though I'm still waiting for Leonard Nimoy)
Looking forward to:
Have decided to watch Dollhouse season 1 all the way through and see what all the fuss is about
Supernatural's next episode
Let me quote liberally here from Mr Butcher himself:
The story skeleton (also called a story question) consists of a simple format:
*WHEN SOMETHING HAPPENS*, *YOUR PROTAGONIST* *PURSUES A GOAL*. But will he succeed when *ANTAGONIST PROVIDES OPPOSITION*?
I find this really helpful in getting the basic jist of the story down - it works as well for the snowflake method in creating a basic sentence describing the story, though with the Butcher method you end up with a longer sentence (I aim for less than 50 words).
It is especially useful in getting a handle on your protagonist's goal, but also the various obstacles you're going to throw in his way.
So for my story, The Legacy of the Thorn, what is the story question?
When his colleague tries to kill a visiting dignitary, secret service operative Jonathan Marlowe sets out to find out why. But will he succeed when he finds himself pitted against his own former colleagues, a global conspiracy to hide an ancient secret, and the ultimate evil herself...
Obviously, this will make a hell of a lot more sense to me than anyone else, but it sets out the basic situation at the beginning, as well as the different things he is going to have to face.
Lots of work done on the plot today, have started filling in Jonathan's plot in more detail and have started sketching in Ana's as well - I'm going to follow Mr Butcher's advice and create a character page for each of my characters, as well as a plot summary for the key ones (Jonathan and Ana, but also the bad guy and a few of the more important secondary characters).
Tomorrow I'll talk about creating the first and last scenes, and what Mr Butcher calls the Big Middle!
Currently Reading:
The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruis Zafon (still!!!)
The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown (still!!)
Listening to:
Tenth Wonder Podcasts for the most part - you guys rock!
Watched:
Heroes s04e04 and 05
Leverage s02e01 (so cool)
Fringe s02e03 (great as well, though I'm still waiting for Leonard Nimoy)
Looking forward to:
Have decided to watch Dollhouse season 1 all the way through and see what all the fuss is about
Supernatural's next episode
mardi 13 octobre 2009
Building Character
So amongst other things today, I was working on the characters of the book (now tentatively called The Legacy of the Thorn), most especially the protagonist and antagonist. Both now have names, storylines and motivations, some of which have been quite surprising.
I had originally intended for the antagonist to be someone with a family link to the female hero - I have now decided to make him into an aelfin with very clear motivations for doing what he is doing. Thanks to the character work, I've also been able to come up with the basic beginning and ending of the story.
I have tried quite a few plotting and character building tools over the years, including the Snowflake Method which I still use at times. One I have come across in the past few months is not so much a method as a few pointers from an urban fantasy author named Jim Butcher, writer of the Dresden Files.
Over on his blog, he delves into quite a lot of pointers about building characters (assigning them tags and traits), building your story through the Story Question (such and such needs to do something, but will he succeed when faced with these problems or antagonists), and using Scenes and Sequels to keep the tension up or allow your reader to breath. A lot of what he says makes a hell of a lot of sense, and is a good place to start for any newbie writer.
Hopefully, I'll be able to get some more of the story and some character work done tomorrow.
I had originally intended for the antagonist to be someone with a family link to the female hero - I have now decided to make him into an aelfin with very clear motivations for doing what he is doing. Thanks to the character work, I've also been able to come up with the basic beginning and ending of the story.
I have tried quite a few plotting and character building tools over the years, including the Snowflake Method which I still use at times. One I have come across in the past few months is not so much a method as a few pointers from an urban fantasy author named Jim Butcher, writer of the Dresden Files.
Over on his blog, he delves into quite a lot of pointers about building characters (assigning them tags and traits), building your story through the Story Question (such and such needs to do something, but will he succeed when faced with these problems or antagonists), and using Scenes and Sequels to keep the tension up or allow your reader to breath. A lot of what he says makes a hell of a lot of sense, and is a good place to start for any newbie writer.
Hopefully, I'll be able to get some more of the story and some character work done tomorrow.
lundi 12 octobre 2009
Choosing A Plot
Wow, well according to Servustats, I am actually getting some people visiting this blog, which is cool. Makes me feel less as though I'm talking to myself, though I'm sure I probably am anyway... :)
Anyway, today's nano advancement has led to the following - I have decided that for the story to make sense in the world (and going with the hopeful foolish optimism that this book will get published and I might actually end up being able to make it into a series) I need to start off with a thriller story that ties in more with the overall back story, ie. a fantasy world brought forward to a 1920s era. So looks like Jonathan Marlowe will be investigating a manuscript that purports to hold the truth to what actually happened when the heroes defeated the Dark Lord (who may become a Dark Lady...)
In other news, I've been struggling with the rewrites of Chapters 7 and 8 of my Soulreaper novel, neither of which seem to want to come together. I've been hitting my head against them for the past few weeks now!
Currently Reading:
The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruis Zafon (still!)
The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown (ebook)
Listening to:
Not much since my ipod has packed up!
Watched:
Heroes s04e03
Supernatural s05e04 and 05
AMongst others
Looking forward to:
Buying an ipod touch this weekend (if I lose another kilo in Lidwine and I's diet) and seeing whether I can use the touchtype keyboard on it to write on my way to work
Anyway, today's nano advancement has led to the following - I have decided that for the story to make sense in the world (and going with the hopeful foolish optimism that this book will get published and I might actually end up being able to make it into a series) I need to start off with a thriller story that ties in more with the overall back story, ie. a fantasy world brought forward to a 1920s era. So looks like Jonathan Marlowe will be investigating a manuscript that purports to hold the truth to what actually happened when the heroes defeated the Dark Lord (who may become a Dark Lady...)
In other news, I've been struggling with the rewrites of Chapters 7 and 8 of my Soulreaper novel, neither of which seem to want to come together. I've been hitting my head against them for the past few weeks now!
Currently Reading:
The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruis Zafon (still!)
The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown (ebook)
Listening to:
Not much since my ipod has packed up!
Watched:
Heroes s04e03
Supernatural s05e04 and 05
AMongst others
Looking forward to:
Buying an ipod touch this weekend (if I lose another kilo in Lidwine and I's diet) and seeing whether I can use the touchtype keyboard on it to write on my way to work
dimanche 11 octobre 2009
Update
Been a while since I posted here. In between times, I've managed to decide that I will either be writing the Heart of the Storm for nano, or I'll do a complete rewrite (without looking at any of the previous material) of Soulreaper. That way I'll be able to end up with a full first draft to work off.
At the moment, I'm leaning more towards THOTS (The Heart of the Storm) since I had a number of brainwaves as to how to create this fantasy modern world. At the moment, I'm especially working on the races and this is what I've come up with:
* The Aelfin - Elf-type creatures, they are the only ones to have 'magic'. They are a very spiritual race, who once had a theocracy. However, during the last war, their land was totally poisoned and they are now nomadic, kind of like the Jews after the Diaspora.
* The Dwelven - Dwarf-type creatures, they are as short as normal dwarves, but relatively low-tech compared to some of the others. Though they do have their own lands, many are captured and enslaved, used as slave labour by the other races.
* The Huld or Huldrae - Trolls/Ogres. They are shapeshifters and changelins, whose initial form is the hulking giants of legend. They are the most powerful race in the Old World, highly intelligent, with lots of tech.
* The Genossans - Goblins/Gnomes. A small race, kin to the dwelven, but thinner and more twisted. They are the most intelligent, and have developed most of the tech that the others use.
* The Urchs - Orcs. Ugly bastards, they are a very honorable warrior race. Kind of like the Turkish Empire in the early 20th century. Very cultured, but decadent.
The Virii - Basically plant-people. These are the least developed, but I think the most interesting. There are so many different types of plants, I think these could be pretty cool.
So there we go, the six races, to which we must add the humans. All seven races are living in a 1920s type world, so tech level will be steam-based river boats and trains, the first combustible engines making their appearance, blimps, high skyscrapers appearing, etc. And behind all of this in the deep past is a classic fantasy situation, with a Dark Lord, etc... who was defeated about 2000 years before.
So that is the basic world in which the Heart of the Storm will be set.
Now for the plot!!! :)
At the moment, I'm leaning more towards THOTS (The Heart of the Storm) since I had a number of brainwaves as to how to create this fantasy modern world. At the moment, I'm especially working on the races and this is what I've come up with:
* The Aelfin - Elf-type creatures, they are the only ones to have 'magic'. They are a very spiritual race, who once had a theocracy. However, during the last war, their land was totally poisoned and they are now nomadic, kind of like the Jews after the Diaspora.
* The Dwelven - Dwarf-type creatures, they are as short as normal dwarves, but relatively low-tech compared to some of the others. Though they do have their own lands, many are captured and enslaved, used as slave labour by the other races.
* The Huld or Huldrae - Trolls/Ogres. They are shapeshifters and changelins, whose initial form is the hulking giants of legend. They are the most powerful race in the Old World, highly intelligent, with lots of tech.
* The Genossans - Goblins/Gnomes. A small race, kin to the dwelven, but thinner and more twisted. They are the most intelligent, and have developed most of the tech that the others use.
* The Urchs - Orcs. Ugly bastards, they are a very honorable warrior race. Kind of like the Turkish Empire in the early 20th century. Very cultured, but decadent.
The Virii - Basically plant-people. These are the least developed, but I think the most interesting. There are so many different types of plants, I think these could be pretty cool.
So there we go, the six races, to which we must add the humans. All seven races are living in a 1920s type world, so tech level will be steam-based river boats and trains, the first combustible engines making their appearance, blimps, high skyscrapers appearing, etc. And behind all of this in the deep past is a classic fantasy situation, with a Dark Lord, etc... who was defeated about 2000 years before.
So that is the basic world in which the Heart of the Storm will be set.
Now for the plot!!! :)
lundi 28 septembre 2009
Nano Ideas #1
I've decided to use this blog to put down my ideas for nanowrimo 2009 in the hope that I'll be able to decide which of them to use. To start off with tonight, I'm going to look at The Heart of the Storm.
Nano Idea #1 - The Heart of the Storm
Tag - Terry Brooks meets Robert Ludlum with a hint of Clive Cussler
Genre - A science fantasy thriller
Back cover copy -
The ancient order of the Hearthunters. An organisation of untold wealth and power, the shadowy hands behind the Dark Crusade that saw mankind forced from the Old World. An organisation devoted to protecting the secret location of one of mankind’s most treasured artefacts. An organisation lost in the fires of the Exodus… Until now.
Léa Barmoor, daughter of renowned historian Benjamin Barmoor, is travelling with her father through the wilderness of the Shattered Shore, when a group of assassins try to kill them by derailing the train they are travelling on. Léa narrowly survives the attempt, but her father is killed… Before he dies, though, he entrusts her with the location of a family diary that may hold the key to secrets she has tried to elucidate her entire life…
Jonathan Marlowe, an operative of the Royal Secret Service with a magical ability he hides from all, is part of the security detail protecting a visiting aelfindred prince come to the New World as part of the Concord Initiative – an attempt to rebuild the alliance of races that once existed. When the leader of the detail tries to murder the prince, Marlowe intervenes, saving the prince’s life. Assigned to look into his superior officer’s betrayal, Marlowe discovers a plot rising to the highest levels, a conspiracy intent on stopping the Concord Initiative before it can begin. Before he can reveal the plot, however, Marlowe is declared rogue. On the run, unsure who he can trust, Marlowe must turn to Barmoor and the diary in her possession to make sense of the conspiracy… and find his way to the legendary Heart of the Storm.
Pros -
A familiar idea dealt with in an original way
The possibility of a fun story with lots of action and set pieces
Combines two of my favourite genres - thrillers and epic fantasy
Cons -
Still struggling with the exact plot, although I have a few ideas of how it starts and how it ends
Also struggling with the 'alien' races in this world, and the worldbuilding in general
Will require a change in my way of writing to fit the thriller style
Risk of it becoming a cliche thriller
Comments
This is a modified version of a very old novel, the second novel I ever finished. I doubt anyone who ever read that original novel back then would recognise it, though: apart from a few names, there is little to link the two.
The basic world idea is this - in our far future, the human race is forced to flee the Earth through a stargate type machine known as the Heart of the Storm. They arrive in a world with a bunch of alien races, all very much like certain fantasy archetypes - you have your elves (the aelfindred), the dwarves (dwelven), the dragons (mribish) and other weird races (see above - I'm still struggling with these). A dark lord is ruling over them, the humans get together a coalition and defeat him. Unfortunately, a few centuries later, the humans turn on the others and launch a war to seize control - the aliens make a coalition and throw the humans from the Old World, forcing them to flee to another continent.
In recent times, there has been another war. That has come to an end and now the humans are reaching out again: they want to reform the Concord. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who do not like the sound of that. I still don't know exactly who these people are beyond the fact that they will have some kind of a link to the Hearthunters, a Templar-like organisation mentioned in the back cover copy above. What that link is still quite unclear... A lot of things are, unfortunately. Still, I think this could be quite a cool story, and I'm hoping it could lead to a series following Marlowe.
Excitement Rating: 7/10 at the moment
Nano Idea #1 - The Heart of the Storm
Tag - Terry Brooks meets Robert Ludlum with a hint of Clive Cussler
Genre - A science fantasy thriller
Back cover copy -
The ancient order of the Hearthunters. An organisation of untold wealth and power, the shadowy hands behind the Dark Crusade that saw mankind forced from the Old World. An organisation devoted to protecting the secret location of one of mankind’s most treasured artefacts. An organisation lost in the fires of the Exodus… Until now.
Léa Barmoor, daughter of renowned historian Benjamin Barmoor, is travelling with her father through the wilderness of the Shattered Shore, when a group of assassins try to kill them by derailing the train they are travelling on. Léa narrowly survives the attempt, but her father is killed… Before he dies, though, he entrusts her with the location of a family diary that may hold the key to secrets she has tried to elucidate her entire life…
Jonathan Marlowe, an operative of the Royal Secret Service with a magical ability he hides from all, is part of the security detail protecting a visiting aelfindred prince come to the New World as part of the Concord Initiative – an attempt to rebuild the alliance of races that once existed. When the leader of the detail tries to murder the prince, Marlowe intervenes, saving the prince’s life. Assigned to look into his superior officer’s betrayal, Marlowe discovers a plot rising to the highest levels, a conspiracy intent on stopping the Concord Initiative before it can begin. Before he can reveal the plot, however, Marlowe is declared rogue. On the run, unsure who he can trust, Marlowe must turn to Barmoor and the diary in her possession to make sense of the conspiracy… and find his way to the legendary Heart of the Storm.
Pros -
A familiar idea dealt with in an original way
The possibility of a fun story with lots of action and set pieces
Combines two of my favourite genres - thrillers and epic fantasy
Cons -
Still struggling with the exact plot, although I have a few ideas of how it starts and how it ends
Also struggling with the 'alien' races in this world, and the worldbuilding in general
Will require a change in my way of writing to fit the thriller style
Risk of it becoming a cliche thriller
Comments
This is a modified version of a very old novel, the second novel I ever finished. I doubt anyone who ever read that original novel back then would recognise it, though: apart from a few names, there is little to link the two.
The basic world idea is this - in our far future, the human race is forced to flee the Earth through a stargate type machine known as the Heart of the Storm. They arrive in a world with a bunch of alien races, all very much like certain fantasy archetypes - you have your elves (the aelfindred), the dwarves (dwelven), the dragons (mribish) and other weird races (see above - I'm still struggling with these). A dark lord is ruling over them, the humans get together a coalition and defeat him. Unfortunately, a few centuries later, the humans turn on the others and launch a war to seize control - the aliens make a coalition and throw the humans from the Old World, forcing them to flee to another continent.
In recent times, there has been another war. That has come to an end and now the humans are reaching out again: they want to reform the Concord. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who do not like the sound of that. I still don't know exactly who these people are beyond the fact that they will have some kind of a link to the Hearthunters, a Templar-like organisation mentioned in the back cover copy above. What that link is still quite unclear... A lot of things are, unfortunately. Still, I think this could be quite a cool story, and I'm hoping it could lead to a series following Marlowe.
Excitement Rating: 7/10 at the moment
dimanche 27 septembre 2009
Back...
After reading Gary Gibson's fantastic blog over on White Screen of Despair, I've decided to start this little blog up again. Even though I'm sure no one will be reading it, I reckon it will be a good place to talk about my current writing projects, my progress and whether I manage to actually get published. At best, it will give someone else a boost some years down the line to read these posts and see my own trials and tribulations. At worst, it will be funny to come back and read these some time later on.
So... current projects - as it has been for the last few years: Soulreaper. The story of a former assassin turned thieftaker investigating a couple of murders with an old man's soul in his head. Damn, how many times have I written that??!
At the moment I'm on a second, or third (?), draft, and have the first 6 chapters written in some form or another. I'm trying to do a constant write-reread 5 or six times-move on kind of way of writing, which I've never really done before. Not sure of the word count now and can't be bothered to check, I'll try and do it tomorrow.
Otherwise, I'm working on a series of ST fan fics I quite like, which I may or may not talk about on here.
What else? Nanowrimo is getting closer and I'm wondering whether to carry on with Soulreaper during that time and get a first draft done (slightly against nano rules but...) or whether to try something completely different. Maybe space opera I'd try and publish through Ray Gun Revival, a great pulp type ezine with a lot of guys from ex-Deep Magic. Or a more serious SF book about 4 friends caught up in an alien invasion and picking their friendship back up 250 years later (wow that doesn't sound so serious when you put it like that). Or one of three or four fantasy ideas... Choices, choices.
Currently Reading:
The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruis Zafon
The Atrocity Archives by Charles Stross (ebook)
Listening to:
Muse - The Resistance
Watched:
The Sentinel
Supernatural s05e03 (So good!)
True Blood s02e06 or 07
Looking forward to:
Catching up on Heroes/Desperate Housewives/Fringe
over next few days
So... current projects - as it has been for the last few years: Soulreaper. The story of a former assassin turned thieftaker investigating a couple of murders with an old man's soul in his head. Damn, how many times have I written that??!
At the moment I'm on a second, or third (?), draft, and have the first 6 chapters written in some form or another. I'm trying to do a constant write-reread 5 or six times-move on kind of way of writing, which I've never really done before. Not sure of the word count now and can't be bothered to check, I'll try and do it tomorrow.
Otherwise, I'm working on a series of ST fan fics I quite like, which I may or may not talk about on here.
What else? Nanowrimo is getting closer and I'm wondering whether to carry on with Soulreaper during that time and get a first draft done (slightly against nano rules but...) or whether to try something completely different. Maybe space opera I'd try and publish through Ray Gun Revival, a great pulp type ezine with a lot of guys from ex-Deep Magic. Or a more serious SF book about 4 friends caught up in an alien invasion and picking their friendship back up 250 years later (wow that doesn't sound so serious when you put it like that). Or one of three or four fantasy ideas... Choices, choices.
Currently Reading:
The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruis Zafon
The Atrocity Archives by Charles Stross (ebook)
Listening to:
Muse - The Resistance
Watched:
The Sentinel
Supernatural s05e03 (So good!)
True Blood s02e06 or 07
Looking forward to:
Catching up on Heroes/Desperate Housewives/Fringe
over next few days
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