Bwah!
Zoe: I thought you wanted to spend more time off-ship this visit. Wash: Out there is seems like it's all fancy parties. I like our party better. The dress code is easier and I know all the steps.
'Shindig'
The Great Write Way, Act Three: Where's the gun?
A place for Buffistas to discuss, beta and otherwise deal and dish on their non-fan fiction projects.
sumi - Dec 17, 2009 11:35:37 am PST #2922 of 6690
Art Crawl!!!
Gudanov - Dec 17, 2009 12:41:17 pm PST #2923 of 6690
Coding and Sleeping
I'm not kidding, it took two hours of listening before the orphan with a destiny got off the farm.
Dana - Dec 17, 2009 12:43:27 pm PST #2924 of 6690
I'm terrifically busy with my ennui.
Well, you have to get an inkling of his destiny first.
Gudanov - Dec 17, 2009 12:54:32 pm PST #2925 of 6690
Coding and Sleeping
It isn't bad, I'm just hyper critical since I'm all wrapped up in revising and critiquing at the moment. I think every fantasy book I've listened to starts off exactly the way every book on writing says you shouldn't. Slowly, with loads of narrative exposition.
Though, I think I read this like 20 years ago and don't remember any of it. And if that's the case, current advice on writing probably doesn't apply.
Wait, no there's one that didn't do that. GRR Martin did a nice job of having plenty happen right away while working in exposition in digestible chunks. That was before I was writing and didn't look at things so critically though.
Connie Neil - Dec 17, 2009 1:07:16 pm PST #2926 of 6690
brillig
That was before I was writing and didn't look at things so critically though.
I ended up with two copies of one of my favorite books, and I started editing it in a fit of o'er-weening pride. What fun to line through stuff and cackle.
Gudanov - Dec 18, 2009 4:04:03 am PST #2927 of 6690
Coding and Sleeping
Probably the thing I do most when listening and getting critical is say. "Oh, you didn't need that adverb", or "It didn't happen suddenly, it just happened."
I'm done with the 36, 37, & 38 rewrite. Now to clean them up and can get onward to 39 where I have a POV switch, another POV switch for 40. I'm at 87k words, I fear I'm going to go over my limit and I'll have to find a lot of words to cut, but we'll see.
On the positive side, 38 ended in a sex scene, or rather the start of a sex scene that fades into summary, and my wife didn't burst out in laughter while reading it. A good sign.
Connie Neil - Dec 18, 2009 5:40:21 am PST #2928 of 6690
brillig
How long are your chapters? How many do you think you're going to end up with?
Gudanov - Dec 18, 2009 5:43:45 am PST #2929 of 6690
Coding and Sleeping
My chapters vary from about 1,000 words to 3,000 words, often predicated by when I hit a spot that seems like a good place to end a chapter and leave a hook or by a POV change. I expect to end up in the mid 50s.
Gudanov - Dec 21, 2009 5:21:14 am PST #2930 of 6690
Coding and Sleeping
36, 37, and 38 are done for now. I've moved onto 39 which should be a short chapter with only a couple of scenes, one of them very short.
After that will come 40. That will be an interesting chapter, it's the only chapter from the POV of perhaps the most interesting character in the story and I'm thinking of starting it with a childhood flashback that wasn't in the rough draft.
Gudanov - Dec 21, 2009 9:50:52 am PST #2931 of 6690
Coding and Sleeping
When I mentioned the three book solution to my wife, she seemed all for it. Though actually a two book solution would probably make more sense. I'm still pondering it, and trying to figure out a possible ending for book one that would be satisfying.
Revision-wise, I'm pressing onward assuming this is one book. If I absolutely cannot compress it down enough, I might go two book, but I have a feeling having to squeeze it into my word count will make it tighter and better than giving myself a lot of extra words to work with.