100 Writers Project: Castle in the Swamp

Introducing Tia Kalla!                                                      

So, you remember that scene in Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail regarding the king who was dead set on building a castle in the swamp?  For the zero of you that haven't seen it, BEHOLD VIDEO EVIDENCE.  0:22 - 0:47 is the relevant part:

That castle that keeps sinking into the swamp?  Is my novel.

Close to fifteen years ago, my first novel started with a dream.  A dream involving what would be my main characters as the villains against a cast from a show I happened to be fangirling.  Being an impulsive fanficcer at the time, I began writing what was the longest project I'd ever attempted at the time.  Most of my works were short stories or one-two chapters of unfinished mess.  It was ambitious.  It was complex.  It was... a mess.  It was grammatically correct and sort of made sense, which I suppose makes it mediocre rather than outright horrific, but it was full of cliches, had a very rough writing style, and just didn't lead to a sensible plot (because even I didn't know where it was going.) Nonetheless, I made it to eight chapters, plus 20,000 words of prequel involving my own characters, which was the longest thing I'd ever written.  And then, when I graduated high school and went to college, I stopped writing.

My novel sank into the swamp.

It wasn't until five years later that I heard about this little thing called the National Novel Writing Month, And decided to give it a try.  At that point, the characters that I had almost forgotten about made their presence known in the back of our mind.  "Forget those fanfic characters," they whispered.  "We're the real main characters.  You want to write about us."  What?  These old characters from my fanfic days now wanted me to write that fanfic with them as the stars?  And yet... that story kept gnawing at the back of my mind, taking the basis of that original plot and making it not suck.  This was no longer a fanfic, but an original story in its own right.  This time, I managed 50,000 words inside of a month, failed to make it to the actual central plot, and fell over from exhaustion.

That novel also sank into the swamp.

This time, though, it wasn't forgotten.  I spent the next three years writing other novels, most of which were shoved into a drawer afterwards, a few of which were earmarked for further drafts.  I learned how to structure a novel and how to finish one.  I learned better prose, better formatting, and better characters.  I learned how to sit down and actually write, and write in volume.  And three years later, I felt ready to try again.  This time, the plot fell into place, the subplots fell into place, the side characters all shone... and the narrator character turned out to be completely worthless.

That novel caught on fire, fell over, and sank into the swamp.

But this time, I was okay with that.  This novel, I knew, had fully sunk its claws into me, and during the drafting my thoughts had shifted from "I can't quit you, novel" to "Never give up, never surrender!"  There were characters here.  There was story here.  There was a whole world that continued to be worked on and developed even when I wasn't writing the story.  There were sequel plotlines that began nibbling on the back burners, waiting their turn.  I couldn't quit here.  This time, I was close.

So five years after draft three, I tried again.  I took the nuggets of amazing from the last draft and worked them in, cleared up my POVs, and made the subplots even tighter than ever before.  I cut out close to 30k of...well, something from the previous draft.  I had a narrator who meant something to the story.  I am still having problems with the beginning, but I'm not worried, because everything else in the story has been overcome, and I now know how to tackle these problems.  Once the lead-in has been hacked out, this story will be ready to make the next step into the great unknown of editing and eventual publishing.

The fourth one stayed up.  And that's what you'll get, lad.

Tia (if that's her REAL name) is a thirty-something office slave living on the far outskirts of Atlanta, Georgia.  She lives with a cat, a roommate, and a heck of a lot of plants.  Primarily a fantasy writer, she claims to be enrolled in the remedial "million words is practice" course and has her fingers in far too many novels. She is short, may or may not be a ninja, and is most assuredly evil.

Follow her on Twitter or check out her blog In This Topic

100 Writers Project EXTRA: My first book (without pictures)

Because we want the 100 Writers Project to be inclusive, we've decided to include occasional "extras." At it's core, the 100 Writers Project is about first-time novelists, but some writers are already on their second or  third books. Some writers are published. And we want everyone to feel included and welcome in the 100 Writers community. In that spirit, we'd like to introduce Ken Magee!

I began writing seriously when I was in my late teens. That’s when I started a story called Dark Tidings, but then there was a long gap while I got a job and earned a living. All through that period, I got a recurring niggle which told me that someday I’d have to finish the book, partly just to prove to myself that I could do it.

In 2010, I decided that the time had come to get the book that was in me out. I tried to write every day, but that proved to be too difficult a discipline for me to follow. I’ve always been a bit of a lazy sort of guy, unless I’m under pressure e.g. if I have a deadline to meet. That meant that the best way to get the book finished was to pile on some pressure.

I think I also wanted some validation… was the story any good, was my writing style and ability up to scratch? I decided that I’d start looking for an agent or publisher, and if someone was interested then I’d have no choice other than to complete Dark Tidings.

I researched who’s who in my genre very carefully, Dark Tidings is a funny fantasy which lives under the tagline ‘ancient magic meets the Internet’. I knew there was no point in sending my fantasy to someone who only published romance or children’s books. Also, it was important to check that they were currently taking submissions and the only way to do that was by visiting their websites. They gave the very latest information, unlike listings in books, which get out of date very quickly. The websites also set out exactly what was required in the submission e.g. format, length, hard copy/email. Most of them seemed to want the first three chapters plus a synopsis of the whole story.

I compiled a list of potential agents and publishers. Then I set about editing, refining and polishing the first three chapters. In parallel, I wrote the story synopsis (which forced me to think through the complete story in more detail than I had previously). When I was happy with my work, I started submitting it to my list.

Then I waited, and waited. I used the time to further refine the three chapters and the synopsis. I’d decided not to have more than four submissions out at any one time, so when a rejection arrived, I sent out another enquiry. After seven standard rejection letters, I struck lucky with a small English publisher, Ragged Publishing.

They asked to see the completed manuscript. They wanted at least 90,000 words, but I’d only planned to do 50,000 so the pressure was really on.

As I said, I thrive under pressure and I found that, with someone pushing for the finished work, I was able to write all day, every day. The first draft was soon finished and I immediately passed it on to a professional proofreader/editor. I also worked on it in parallel searching out errors and improving the storyline. Between us, we got the job done and shipped the manuscript off to Ragged Cover... and they accepted it!

There was plenty more to do… design a cover, write the blurb, agree the contract etc., but that’s another story. Dark Tidings is now published and available in paperback, on the Kindle, Nook and Kobo. Here’s the Amazon link in case you’d like to check it out.

My name is Ken Magee and I’m an author. I live in Bangor, County Down. I worked for many years in the computer industry in a wide variety of roles including programming and sales. In the middle of it all, I served in the Royal Naval Reserve for five years... which was hard work, but fun. In 2010, I decided it was time to finish the book I’d started many years earlier (writing not reading). I would have finished it sooner, but life got in the way. The book’s now finished and published, but I don’t think any of the original story survived the process!

Follow him on Twitter

100 Writers Project: Kill Your Darlings!

Introducing Jesse Rebock!

About ten years ago (that'd put me in middle school, I suppose), I took up a pen and decided I'd write a story. After a hundred video games, books, and movies, how hard could it be, right? Heck I've been telling stories long before that - not that they were any good - but a novel, eh? Now there's a challenge.

Several revisions, a hundred epiphanies, and ten years later, I figured I'd finally gotten it down. It wasn't as though I'd spent all that time working solely on writing, but after picking up the hobby and deciding to make it a serious business, I edited and wrote and patched and fixed and edited again. I even attended the Writer's Digest Conference of 2013 and pitched my book idea at a multitude of agents, having garnered enough confidence from peers and anonymous critiquers alike.

But I came to a horrible realization. This book, the first of planned series of seven (maybe eight), was wrong.

I thoroughly enjoyed writing the story, got very involved with the characters, and especially loved piecing together the setting. I had written histories, bloodlines, even finished a rough-draft of book two. The characters and the world(s) in which they lived were as alive in my mind as a celebrity is to …well, to a normal person. I had gotten loads of positive response and praise until I spoke to one person who changed everything.

And all she did was ask me the simplest of questions, even after reading it herself. "What is the plot?"

I couldn't answer, and was horrified because of it.

I realized that this story, this "gateway" breakout novel, was little more than the ramblings of a teenager, without direction or meaning or subtext. Over the years, the story stuck with me, and I kept adding to it, eventually laying a plot line over the "journey" that I had spent years polishing. But said plot-line was not only sub-par, it was boring.

So lo and behold, I found myself in a position I would never have thought myself to see. Rewriting a book, yeah, that's feasible. Roll up the old sleeves and crack your knuckles, it's going to be a lot of work. But I had attended a Pitch Slam only weeks before, and was still waiting to hear back from the last of the agents. At this point, I'd heard from a few who'd read samples, and was rejected. But now, with the new-found realization that I not only needed to, but wanted to fix the novel, I actually felt relief in seeing the rejections.

After all, what if one of them actually said they liked it, and wanted to see more? I would have to turn them down. Turn THEM down.  Who ever heard of a first-time up-and-coming writer turning down the publishers?

So after a few days of contemplation (and they thought I was working at my day job! Ha~ha, nice try sucka!) I formed an idea. Scrapped it. Played with some other ideas. Something stuck. I'll skip this part - you all know how chaotic and subjective the creative process can be. Suffice it to say, I put my mind to the grindstone. Is that even a phrase? You know, put so much concentrated, prolonged mental effort that you work up an appetite despite lunch concluding fourteen minutes ago.

I did what I had dreaded - I went back to square one. The story was not scrapped entirely, for there is much that remains in it that I will salvage, but there's going to be some serious trimming and the addition of two story-lines coinciding with the original ­solo. I made a plan, I used spreadsheets, I jotted down ideas on Post-Its and transcribed them to digital later.

The short of it: I now have a plot (gasp), and by extension a better story. Gathered a bunch of proverbial phoenix downs after ritualistically slaying my books original premise, and without getting into details, well, I'm more emboldened and excited than ever.

I have taken up two new mantras as a direct result of this event in my writing career.

“Books aren't written - they're rewritten. Including your own. It is one of the hardest things to accept, especially after the seventh rewrite hasn't quite done it.”
― Michael Crichton

and

“Kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler’s heart, kill your darlings.”
― Stephen King, On Writing

Fantasy Writer, Health Nut, Mango Slayer. I'm kind of a self-described audiophile and harbor a passion for trivia. I was born in Connecticut, raised in the Catskills of New York, and matured in New Jersey. I’ve traveled a little - been to Alaska and S. Korea - and hope to travel more in the future; life is an experience and I’m hoping to experience quite a lot. I have a degree in Fine Arts, have taught English as a
Second Language, and have a penchant for listing things in threes. Also really enjoy mythology and linguistics - often lacing my writings
with hidden meanings and dastardly names.

Favorite and/or Influential Books:  Shogun (James Clavell), Ravnica: City of Guilds Trilogy (Cory J. Herndon), Dune (Frank Herbert), Foundations (Isaac Asimov), The Hobbit (Yeah yeah…)

If you're interested in learning more about Jesse Rebock, follow him on Twitter, or check out his blogs, redamnesia.wordpress.com (more traditional blog posts)
redamnesia.blogspot.com (Fantasy Writings for public viewing.)

100 Writers: Inspired by Revision

Introducing Alexis Lantgen

One of the things that you discover when you're writing your first novel is that the internet is full of advice. Write quickly, they say. Self-Publish! No, find an agent! Be yourself! But write something marketable! Books are dead! All your stories should contain at least one vampire! Don't write about vampires unless you want to make an agent gag!

There are tons of lists everywhere you look on twitter and blogs. Top ten mistakes most authors make. Top ten things you should do to promote your work. Top ten reasons why your book isn't selling. Ten top ways to get a billion twitter followers. Blah.

This advice starts to get tedious, especially when you realize that it's all A) completely contradictory B) not your style and C) boring. I suspect that anyone who has a fascinating story buried inside them somewhere can't stand reading these goddamn lists after a while, much less writing one. So despite the mountain of advice out there for new writers, actually getting your book on paper for the first time feels like forging an entirely new path.

This probably shouldn't surprise anyone who knows about what actual writers are like. Ernest Hemingway probably never wrote anything until he'd had at least three glasses of scotch, while Jane Austin wrote on her dining room table. Douglas Adams wrote while listening obsessively to music like the Beatles. In other words, no one does it the same way, and what works for one writer may not for another (although I'd be curious to see what Jane Austin would write after three glasses of scotch). Maybe you write best early in the morning, and maybe there are no workable thoughts in your mind before noon. Maybe you work differently on some days then you do on others. Whatever feels like the right way to work, that is the right way to work.

So writing my first novel has ultimately been about discovering how I work best. Some of my discoveries so far? I can't NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). I tried, I really did, but I...must...revise. I can't just write and write without fixing things. In fact, I get hopelessly stuck when I try it. On the other hand, revising my previous chapters inspires me to write more. Why? It helps me to remember some of the fine details I've included in my story thus far, and I can rewrite characters or scenes to give my later chapters more impact. Most important, it helps me keep my entire story in mind, so that every scene feels like a part of the whole. I understand that for some people, NaNo helps them get out their first draft, but it doesn't suit everyone, so don't feel bad if you're a NaNo dropout like me. It doesn't mean you can't still finish your novel.

So revision helps me find my inspiration. If that works for you, great. If not, try something else. No matter what anyone on the internet or elsewhere tells you, it only takes one thing to become a writer, and that's actually writing things. Find your story, and you find your core. That’s what’s worked for me--I love my story. I want to finish it, whether it’s published or not, or critically praised or not, or even if no one reads it but me. If you’re not in love with the story you’re writing, then write something else and keep writing until you find a story you love. Because chances are, if you love it, someone else will too.

Alexis Lantgen
Alexis Lantgen is a musician and writer who holds a master’s degree in music performance from Florida International University, as well as a Bachelor of Music in viola performance and a Bachelor of Arts in Letters (Magna cum Laude) from the University of Oklahoma. She performs on violin and viola in orchestras including the Wichita Falls Symphony and the San Angelo Symphony. She currently teaches private violin and viola lessons, and in the past taught eighth grade English and ESL in Dallas public schools. Her first novel is a YA Urban Fantasy about a young African American boy with special powers who must save his sister from an evil voodoo sorcerer and his demonic feathered serpent. She hopes to finish editing and revising her manuscript by this summer.

For more from Alexis, you can follow her blog or catch her on Twitter

If you are interested in participating in the 100 Writers Project, comment below or contact Grace Wagner on her Facebook page or Twitter.

Just Keep Going

I'm learning that writing a book never really ends. When I started out about a year ago, determined to take my shot at writing a novel, I had the idea that, at some point, I would feel accomplished. Like I'd done something. Finished some wonderful story and could move on.

So far, that hasn't happened. 

My first (very naive) assumption was that I would feel this way after finishing the first draft. Yes, I knew intellectually that there would still be a lot of work, but the emotional centers of my brain insisted that I would feel done. 

I finished the first draft last November (thanks to some intense NaNoWriMo encouragement!) and instead of feeling accomplished, I felt overwhelmed. Overwhelmed with how far I had come. Overwhelmed with how much further I had to go. I felt like I'd spent ten months climbing a mountain, a mountain that was steeper and more dangerous than anything I'd ever tried, only to find out that there was a much taller mountain just behind it. One that I couldn't see while I climbed the one in front of me. 

I spent December in a haze of stunned lethargy. Really? I'd come this far and I wasn't even close to finishing? I would have to push harder and farther than I'd imagined and I felt like, maybe, I couldn't. Maybe I wasn't strong enough. Good enough. Brave enough. Maybe I just wasn't capable. 

But at some point I decided to go on. To take one more step. To pick up this burden, this book I'd worked so hard on, and carry it a bit further. 

And here I am, pushing towards the end of the second draft. And I know that when I do finish this draft, it isn't the end. It isn't even close. And I'm okay with that. 

And, maybe, just maybe, some day in the distant future when I finally hold a physical copy of my book. Maybe then, I will feel done.




image credit: burtn.deviantart.com