Category: book: no good deed

Another Day… day 25 – i started a riot [delayed post]

[there was something kablooey with the site when i tried to post last night, but it seems alright now.]

not a bad weekend for writing. the weather was fabulous and we did a lot of great stuff around the house and elsewhere (including a trip to Portland to see Motor Booty Affair* play with the Portland Symphony Orchestra, which was funk-tastic!), but i also kept at the writing because it was going so well, reaching page 70, where i started a riot in the streets.

this was entirely unexpected. the outline has no such reference, not even a hint of such a thing, and yet, during  heated exchange between characters, somone ran into the room with news that a riot had started at the gate. as i said, this wasn’t planned, but i could practically hear the bootsteps running down the hall as i wrote the earlier dialogue. i didn’t really know what i was hearing, though, until – wham! – the door bursts open and there’s a riot in the streets.

the riot isn’t the focus, though, it’s what the riot does for the story that is so wonderful. i get a perfectly timed and solidly believable distraction for our grudgingly paired heroes, i get a short-handed but effective layer of depth for the world they’re living in, i get a more complex dynamic between the heroes and the forces arrayed against them, and i get to kick the stakes even higher with a suddenly shortened timeline.

all because i started a riot that i never intended.

of course, there are some very slight adjustments to previous pages that must be made, but these will be simply raising the awareness of certain aspects of the world-building. the riot is only believable because of the environment Manadan & Gupti are working and living in. it’s not the most pleasant of places, but it’s for reasons that are more (and less) complex than might at first seem. i’ve worked at developing the rationale and the physicality of this place, though, and this gives me another quick chance to bring the world forward to the reader. not heavy-handed exposition, but well-placed notes and traits. at least, that’s what i’m hoping.

in other news, i haven’t quite finished my NGD homework assignment yet, but i did some serious and difficult editing and revision. it wasn’t easy, but i have been using some of the lessons learned during my recent work with Uncle Deppo, and the result is, somewhat depressengly**, much better. i think i have made the majority of those changes, but i don’t want to rush anything out, so i’ll take another day or two to sit with it and make sure i’ve fixed anything that broke when i made these changes.

all in all, though, a very good weekend.

* right on, Mike!

** only because it took me this long to accept what others had told or hinted at to me. much as i prde myself on accepting criticism and using it objectively, it’s obvious i still have a ways to go to.

Another Day… day 22 – an unexpected scene, and my pep-talk queen

this afternoon i got a 2+ pages, which reached the end of a scene* just about the time my wife got home, so i broke for our afternoon walk and dinner. i went back above the garage intending to just start the next scene, just to get my official 3 pages for the day, and i actually started by using the mini-map idea. this felt awkward at first, but after a few lines, i got a good rough map. what i also got, though, was a red flag that i had missed something rather important from an earlier scene. it had been in my main outline, but i had not gone back to the outline in a while. this had the potential to reveal how far adrift i’ve gone, but i haven’t, actually. i’ve internalized most of the outline with all the time i spent on it to begin with, and this one piece was a minor oversight.

it was, however, important, and the scene needed to be completed. so, with the map for the next scene roughly sketched, i started working on the incomplete earlier scene. the result was almost another couple pages, including some nice character conversations between my principals. it’s fun and frustrating watching them get to know each other like this. i have been trying to keep myself from forcing the relationship and from dropping into cliches or stereotypes. i feel fairly confident about the former, less about the latter. either way, though, the evening’s writing went far better than i expected.

but i want to go back to that bit of time after dinner this evening, because that’s when i once again realized just how inspiring and supportive and wonderful my wife is. following the Odyssey news, i’d spent some time this afternoon looking at other possibilities for the summer. with that chunk of change no longer accounted for, we had discussed attending a couple conventions, preferably with writing workshops, to hopefully do some networking, etc., as well as look at full writing workshops/classes.

so, this afternoon i found some options and told my wife about them as we walked. i was a bit reserved about the possibilities, worrying once again at the amount of money things cost and the time involved** and whatnot, but she was having none of it. after dinner, we looked at the sites and she kept at me until i got out of my mini-funk. the result? i’ve got a homework assignment for the weekend to nip and tuck NGD one last time and then send it off to Viable Paradise* by Sunday at the latest. i’ve also got some cons to sign up for and start working out travel plans to make these a reality, rather than looking back on another year of ‘should have done that’.

she truly is the pep-talk queen.

* i just realized i haven’t made a single chapter separation yet. so far, it’s one long piece. hm.

** several of the items have dates in september and october, which are obviously not optimal if i want to keep teaching.

*** as usual, i pinned too much on a single option and should have applied for this along with Odyssey, but there may still be time.

crits and gupti and my Monster denied

this week is Spring Recess at the college, so i’ve been using the extra time to buckle down on reviews for OWW, including a few more this morning. as a result, though, i’ve been putting Another Night… on the back burner.

i haven’t taken it off, though, and i’m back to doing at least five minutes a day on it, usually more. i’ve spent the last couple weeks basically away from it while focusing on Uncle Deppo‘s revisions (deadline looming, must get in mail soon) and now the crits, but coming back to it these last few days has made me realize just how close i am to starting. in fact, over the past couple months of working on Another Night…, i’ve handwritten 32 pages of notes and ideas and backstory and plot elements and characters and such, in addition to my revision of the 30 pages of the original NaNoWriMo attempt.

now, it’s time for the final outline, which i’m hoping to finish within the next week or so. with any luck, i’ll be ready to dive into writing proper at the beginning of april, which would be very cool. i’m still focusing on a novella-length piece, so i’m hoping to turn around a completed first draft before the beginning of june, which, hopefully, will perfectly coincide with my attendance at the Odyssey Workshop. of course, just thinking about that right now is making my stomach hurt.

so i need to focus on the now.

writing plan:

  • give Uncle Deppo a final pass and get it to Odyssey and out of my triple-guessing hands
  • finalize the outline for Another Night…
  • do some more reviews and crits for OWW
  • make a change i’ve been thinking about for No Good Deed and see if that plays better for audiences

that last one reminds me, a friend who is currently reading NGD has asked to take a stab at turning it into a screenplay. i was at first hesitant, but she’s serious and very interested, so i’ve given her free rein. the more i think about this, the more excited i am to see what she comes up with. this has been another back burner item for me, but to have someone else do it without my too-involved lens will be very interesting.

also, i recently got another generic rejection for One Man’s Monster, which makes more sense after a great morning spent this last Saturday with a writer friend over tea and oatmeal pie (mmm…). this was our first sharing of critiques, which is always an uncertain time, but his comments and questions were very good, and (i think) he got something out of my comments on his piece. we talked about the difficulties of receiving criticism, not just the personal attachment hurdles, but what to do with contrasting comments from different reviewers, and how one measures the weight of one point of view over another. obviously, there were no hard and fast answers, but just being able to have an informed and invested conversation about these things is, in itself, extremely valuable. what’s more, reading his piece has pushed me to write another piece of my own that i’ve been rolling around for almost ten years and never quite doing. it’s not a monumental thing, but a short non-fiction essay, which will be new for me. hm. better add that to the list.

  • draft the 5 paragaph essay (this will make more sense later)

okay, so that’s more than a little to think about, and the morning’s cruising by.

i think there’s some oatmeal pie left…

chop! chop!

the challenge: cut 11oo words from Uncle Deppo (from 5100 to under 4000)

the deadline: this Friday

the reason: twofold – 1) to fit the length requirement to be considered for application to The Odyssey Fantasy Writing Workshop, and 2) to see if i can*

this is as much a challenge of my perception of my own writing (i think Uncle Deppo is great right where it is, but how valid is that?), as of my ability to revise. i think Uncle Deppo has the most potential of all my short stories for acceptance into the program, but losing more than a thousand words will have to have a major impact on the story, won’t it?

it is also possible to use a chapter from a novel for the application, though, and there are a some particular chapters of NGD and HHNF which could suit as well and are already within the length limit, but i really feel like Uncle Deppo has the goods (but will it after such a drastic weight-loss regimen?) and want to push myself to make it work.

here goes.

* and thereby answering the question: just how much fluff do i write, anyway?

once more into the breach

this morning at way-too-early i spent an hour or so fixing the plot lines down for Another Night*, which was a very good thing, and this afternoon i biked down to the post office and sent a manuscript of NGD direct to one of the publishers that accept un-agented submissions. what the heck, right?

i’ve still got a few agent queries out there, but earlier this week i received another rejection for the book, which wasn’t so awesome. that being said, this one at least wasn’t a form letter, which was awesome, but the message has been on my mind quite a bit. in essence, this agent said he was very excited by the query letter and the premise was a great new angle on the crowded urban fantasy, but that the voice simply didn’t click for him. there followed the requisite ‘this is subjective/someone else will surely love it’ items, but i can’t get the first part out of my head. this is the most positive and personal response i’ve had to date, and it seems to make the whole message worse.

why?

for the same reason my students hate peer reviews: anyone can say something is broke or doesn’t work, but that’s nearly useless if he or she can’t explain why.** i’m more than willing to say i don’t actually enjoy being told my writing doesn’t work, but what good is that if i’m not also told why or how? i certainly understand that liking or disliking something is inherently subjective, but i’ve yet to find a situation for myself where i can’t discover the source of that feeling (either way). yes, this can take more time, and yes agents read hundreds of queries and sample pages a week, but i also think that there is far too much emphasis on not offending people in this arena. i don’t mean agents should be abusive or mean, but if the author can’t take a balanced statement that their work is not up to par or lacks elements, then that author needs to stop clogging up the field for the rest of us who are committed to getting better at this craft.

okay, so this is a rant and i’ve gotten off track. in all fairness, i have to say that i very much appreciate the positive things stated in the rejection letter. that much at least indicates that i have something going for me, but to be told that he was excited to read it but that it just didn’t click so he’s going to pass makes me feel like i made it to the doorway only to have it shut on me because of some spinach in my teeth that i didn’t (and still don’t) know was there.

so, stop complaining about it and ask him for more explanation, already! the worst he can do is say he doesn’t have time for such interchanges, and you’re no worse off than you were before. the best he can do is see that you’re committed and perhaps consider a dialogue towards a revision/resubmission.

well, okay, fair point.

* which will have to get another title, i think, given the direction changes.

**much less – and this is just crazy talk – goes so far as to suggest specific improvement(s).

unexpected workoad, but that’s okay

at my computer job has taken up the vast majority of this week. it unfortunately seems to come with the territory of web work, but it’s a good team of folks and i’m glad i have the time to help out. unfortunately, this week is also when i was going to prep for spring term’s classes starting on monday, so i found myself locked down on wednesday with school work and nothing but school work. that was probably a good thing, actually, as it kept me focused and i’ve just got to refresh the content for the first two classes in my head to prepare, finalize a couple things on the schedules, and i’ll be ready.

there’s been one more thing that’s kept me busy this week, and that’s some editing i’m doing of someoene else’s book. this is a great reversal for me, and has been an intriguing, challenging and rewarding experience for me (and i hope the author feel’s the same). the topic is well outside my normal content zone (and possibly comfort zone), and has pushed me to beboth more introspective and more objective. it’s been an interesting process, and i’m nearly there.

anyway, that’s the long way around of saying i haven’t done any of my own writing at all this week, but i’m okay with that. the computer and school work has to be done, but the editing work has been keeping my writing mind in shape. i’ve gotten a couple more rejections on the last batch of agent queries for NGD* over the last week, which is par for the course. it probably wasn’t wise to send them just before the holidays, but it was that or freak out for ten days with them hanging over me.

anyway, it is what it is, and this weekend, perhaps, will see some new work.

* including the HHNF submission to the agent who allowed me to do so. it didn’t suit, any better than NGD, apparently. s’okay, and i learned something about rejection notes: it’s actually possible to make form letters sound individual and personal (until the second one arrives with the exact same text, except the title). instead of being bitter at this, though, i’m impressed by the skill of the agent’s writing (especially in terms of the Business Communication course i teach). i suppose that says something about my own writing…

HHNF beta feedback? – mostly cosmetic!

after quite some time away, i’ve finally compiled all the feedback from the beta readers for HHNF and typed up the majority of the edits. it took a couple days to get through them all, and it could easily start to feel like death by a thousand cuts, but it never did because these ‘cuts’ were overwhelmingly mechanical edits (extra spaces, double commas, typos, et cetera), and i’m quite happy with that.

there are several dozen outstanding items i’ve flagged for further consideration having to do with word choice in dialogue or organization of a scene. in each case, i can see the reader’s reason for making the edit/suggestion, but now i must take some time to get back into that passage and see what fits best for each item. this is where the give and take of editing is the most difficult and, i think, powerful. whether or not i choose to make a change, i have been challenged to determine what i think is the best answer, and i force myself to answer for it.

thank you to all who have shared your thoughts on my work.

finally, there are two larger items that have been raised. one is an out and out plot flaw, involving a complete oversight on my part (a weapon that shouldn’t have been in Kelly’s possession is used to some effect in a scene). The other is a bit more nuanced, but no less important. in the latter case, i have a few options, while the former has only two (1: revise earlier loss of weapon, or 2: revise later scene to work without weapon). even as i write this, i realize which is the better answer (#2) and why (it’s more interesting and more real), so i’m looking forward to that revision. that should be some good fun.

not a bad start to the new year.

oh, one more thing: i don’t think i mentioned it before, but an agent who passed on NGD just before the holidays has allowed me to send the first 5 pages of HHNF to see if they spark any more interest. this is not a normal experience for me with agent rejections, but there was something in the letter that implied there really was some interest so i ran with it and she has the HHNF pages now. of course, there are no guarantees, but it feels like a step for me to realize that i don’t necessarily have to take ‘No’ for an answer, regarding rejections. Really, the worst that can happen is the agent says ‘No’ again, and hey, far worse things have happened.

um, huh?

so, as i do, i was looking at amazon to see if anyone’s posted anything about Witness recently. while the answer to that question is no*, and the rank of the book has been hanging out past the 2 million mark for a while, the price of the paperback is now cheaper than the price of the Kindle version.

say what?

yep, as of this morning, it’s actually cheaper to buy the paper copy ($9.58) than it is to buy a digital copy (9.95).

why?

well, amazon is having a “Sci-Fi Extravaganza” sale, which apparently includes my book.** while i’m not complaining in the least (and i would strongly encourage anyone to take advantage of this fantastic offer), it’s just one of those weird things that catches me off-guard.

in unrelated news, i got another rejection for NGD this past Monday. it’s getting harder to be upset by this when it’s the same thing every time. bleh.

well, better get back to revising Rubber Bands and Random Numbers, i suppose. had a good start this morning, thanks to the internet being down for a while, until the provider got it back up.

oh, and don’t forget to consider an ultra-cheap copy of Witness for someone on your holiday list!***

* if you’ve read it and not posted something to amazon, i’d be most appreciative if you’d consider it, negatives as well as positives. every little bit helps.

** which seems odd, given that there’s nothing about science in Witness at all (well, not yet, anyway).

*** ah, shameless hucksterism.

another five minutes, another rejection

today was mainly focused on catching up on school work, so little revising done, but i’m pretty clear now for a good solid block of revision tomorrow morning before the other job.

the five minute rule gave me some more good result, though. scanning ahead in the manuscript, the next half-dozen pages are relatively minor edits, but there’s a big nest of scribbles right behind it. well, at least i’ll get some good momentum built up at the beginning. hopefully i can stick to the revisions i’ve written.

in NGD news, the publisher who requested the full manuscript returned a ‘no thank you’ last night. that was a bummer, but it is what it is, and we continue.

nothing new

besides a looming headache.

thanks to an overly self-indulgent crack at a computer game earlier in the day yesterday, school work took far more time than expected, with the added bonus of seeing the clock turn to midnight before i finished tweaking because i was losing all functional capacity. i am so not a night person.

as a result, then, i did zero book work  yesterday. not a good thing. not even five minutes. very bad bill.

now, it’s quarter to 8 at night, my eyes are starting to burn, a headache is hovering, i have another bunch of homework to correct, i’m behind on my writing, i got another NGD rejection in the inbox this afternoon, and i did it all myself.*

waaa, waaa, waaa.

so i’m off, dragging my sorry butt up above the garage for at least five minutes, before sacking out and praying for no illness in the morning.

* well, okay, so the rejection i didn’t do, but this is my pity party and i’ll cry if i want to.