To quote the last line I wrote of this chapter, "What have I done?" I think I have created a monster. I have no idea how it happened, but there is no way this chapter should be nearly 20,000 words long. It just...happened. It's also one of the better chapters I've written, but it's too long, especially when the average is sitting around 8,000 words per chapter. This was an interlude. Ugh. Good news is that with the completion of this chapter, this means I only have one interlude left and the end of the story. I am closer than I have ever been to completing this abomination of text that I have worked 7 years on. Granted, I still have a lot of unfinished sections that need to be re-written, but I can finally taste the end. I will finish this, and I will celebrate. For now, work continues.
Current word count: 140,000 (rounding down to account for outline words)
Page count: 231
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Monday, October 7, 2013
Just a Little Fun
Working slowly on WMRR. I had a great burst of motivation over the summer, but now writing has slowed down as I am focusing mostly on getting a full time job. I really need to be working or learning constantly or I fall into periods of incredible boredom. Thankfully I've had my video work to keep me preoccupied.
Anyway, I came up with a random exercise the other night (partially out of boredom and partially because I was having trouble sleeping) and I thought I'd share it. Give your characters a random situation and try and come up with the way they would respond or act in that situation. It'll tell you a lot about those character's personalities and how developed they are in a story. The longer it took me to come up with an answer, the less developed I decided that character was. It was a good indicator for me to see which characters I needed to work on, even if they didn't have primary roles. Here's the simple random scenario I came up with:
The WMRR characters are each placed alone inside a room containing a single, red button for a period of time. There is one locked door and no windows. What do they do?
Ash immediately presses the button.
Dedrad patiently waits, ignoring the button, for someone to retrieve him from the room.
Dan walks the perimeter of the room, checks the door, checks the walls, scans the floor, then, finally, presses the button.
Myra searches the room, tries the door, attempts to look under the door and waits next to the button without
pressing it.
Grypt attempts to dismantle the button to see how it works and what its function might be.
Jason is suspicious of the button, tries to break down the door and eventually breaks the button in defiance.
Virgil attempts to study the effect of the button, listening for noises when it is pressed, testing the ease of pressing, pressing it softly, forcefully, repetitively, with pauses and then makes mental notes (as he has no notebook) of the results.
Samille ignores the button and meditates in one of the corners of the room.
Navar seeks to use the button to further his needs (at that point, leaving the room) or to influence anyone that may be beyond the door.
Colonel Card knocks on the door, calls out to anyone that may be listening and threatens them in case the pushing of the button should result in adverse effects.
Jarvis thinks of ways to make money off the button, but is ultimately suspicious of it. He cannot decide
whether to press it or leave it be.
Jackie becomes frustrated with the button after she cannot figure out how to get out of the room or what the
button might do. She ultimately stomps on it.
Deena rapidly hammers the button after attempting to make conversation with anyone outside the door.
Kelly becomes bored in the room and begins her workout, completely ignoring the button.
Anyway, I came up with a random exercise the other night (partially out of boredom and partially because I was having trouble sleeping) and I thought I'd share it. Give your characters a random situation and try and come up with the way they would respond or act in that situation. It'll tell you a lot about those character's personalities and how developed they are in a story. The longer it took me to come up with an answer, the less developed I decided that character was. It was a good indicator for me to see which characters I needed to work on, even if they didn't have primary roles. Here's the simple random scenario I came up with:
The WMRR characters are each placed alone inside a room containing a single, red button for a period of time. There is one locked door and no windows. What do they do?
Ash immediately presses the button.
Dedrad patiently waits, ignoring the button, for someone to retrieve him from the room.
Dan walks the perimeter of the room, checks the door, checks the walls, scans the floor, then, finally, presses the button.
Myra searches the room, tries the door, attempts to look under the door and waits next to the button without
pressing it.
Grypt attempts to dismantle the button to see how it works and what its function might be.
Jason is suspicious of the button, tries to break down the door and eventually breaks the button in defiance.
Virgil attempts to study the effect of the button, listening for noises when it is pressed, testing the ease of pressing, pressing it softly, forcefully, repetitively, with pauses and then makes mental notes (as he has no notebook) of the results.
Samille ignores the button and meditates in one of the corners of the room.
Navar seeks to use the button to further his needs (at that point, leaving the room) or to influence anyone that may be beyond the door.
Colonel Card knocks on the door, calls out to anyone that may be listening and threatens them in case the pushing of the button should result in adverse effects.
Jarvis thinks of ways to make money off the button, but is ultimately suspicious of it. He cannot decide
whether to press it or leave it be.
Jackie becomes frustrated with the button after she cannot figure out how to get out of the room or what the
button might do. She ultimately stomps on it.
Deena rapidly hammers the button after attempting to make conversation with anyone outside the door.
Kelly becomes bored in the room and begins her workout, completely ignoring the button.
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Uh oh....
So in my efforts to write Jason's chapters, a new character was born and I'm not sure if I like her yet. Though, she is working hard to finally help me develop some character, though I think she should develop herself if she's going to be sticking around for awhile. I'll see how this turns out, and hopefully I won't have to scrap the whole endeavour when I realize how bad of an idea it was. Then again, I need a few more women in my story. It's a little lop-sided at the moment.
Welcome to the cast Kelly Garth. May your pig-tails and chipper attitude survive the final cuts.
Meanwhile...I seem to be writing three chapters at once. I can tell this is going to end well. Before you know it, characters and events will be crossing space and time to invade other parts of the story they are not welcome in. I'm looking at you Kelly.
Welcome to the cast Kelly Garth. May your pig-tails and chipper attitude survive the final cuts.
Meanwhile...I seem to be writing three chapters at once. I can tell this is going to end well. Before you know it, characters and events will be crossing space and time to invade other parts of the story they are not welcome in. I'm looking at you Kelly.
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Budding
The monster chapter became two chapters. The only problem is that I need to change my plans for chapter 18 and what I'm writing about there. I think I might have to switch the OH I JUST THOUGHT OF WHAT I COULD DO. I might just be a genius at 1:30 in the morning. Of course this means I need to finish chapter 12 finally, but that's OK. Well maybe not. I haven't been so stuck on anything I've written in my life. Ugh. Regardless, I have an entire interlude to complete before that has to see the light of day. Perhaps I should begin meditating on this section a little more and it'll come to me. Anyway, I just thought I'd say I'm about a paragraph and a few lines of dialogue from finally finishing chapter 16, which is now also chapter 17. I will be moving on after tonight.
Also, current word count: 115,488 and page count: 206
We're well into the latter half now folks. For the first time ever I can see a conclusion to this work in the near future.
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Architects
Broke 200 pages a couple days ago. I think I only really realized the significance of that milestone today, especially since I've finally reached and surpassed one of the points of this story that has been playing in my mind over and over again for many years. It took a slightly different shape than I had pictured it for so long, but it works better. I still have no idea how I came to write it the way I did. My mind is...strange. Maybe I melted my brain when I got heat exhaustion in Rome.
Currently sitting at 115,000 words at the moment. I still have a couple of small gaps to fill in for the juggernaut that is chapter 16. Let's see...we have a battle, an escape, a journey, a confrontation and a consultation all in one chapter. There's a hell of a lot of information that I packed into a couple of pages with intersecting thought processes, but it really all needs to be told from one perspective. The only other option I could think of would be to put the next interlude between the escape and the latter half of the chapter. Actually...that might work. I need to refer back to this post I think. For now, I'll leave it as is.
I reread a lot of what I wrote while I was travelling and noticed that it really wasn't that bad. My writing style has evolved some, and some slight changes (that I can thankfully pick out without too much difficulty) need to be made, but for the most part, it's fairly solid. Chapter 1 needs to be rewritten and chapter 3 needs to be heavily revised, but the other chapters are easy enough to work with and edit as is. This is good considering that this version, most of it technically version 2, not 3 (in the case of the first 4 chapters and the one interlude) was written about 3 or 4 years ago. I'd have to look back at my posts to figure out how long I've taken between each chapter to determine my work ethic for the last few chapters. Based off of my past motivation levels, I have BREEZED through chapter 16, monster that it is, in less than a couple weeks (if you ignore the 5 week hiatus in the middle, where I actually continued to work on it, in my mind and in its review on my e-reader).
So theoretically, after tonight (or tomorrow based on how long this tough little part will be) I will have chapters 1-11 and 13-16 finished. Chapter 12 is still a huge problem for me, but I will need to finish it within the next couple of weeks if I am to continue the narrative. It's...a little more crucial for the final 13 or so chapters that need to come. I'd like to say I'm close to the end, but I'm really more like 60% done. A few of the chapters to come WILL be short (the only chapter that will match chapter 16 in length I believe should come much later...near the end).
Lastly, I know, almost with 100% certainty how I will end this book. I think I will be happy with this ending. I want it to be an ending that leaves it open for the second and third books I have planned open, but at the same time with enough of a conclusion that I don't have to panic too much in beginning the next step. I don't even think I SHOULD be thinking of the next step yet considering I've been working on this for EIGHT YEARS. I started this when I was 15 or 16. I'm 24 now. Granted, I needed to hone my writing skills...am still honing them in fact. Honestly, I think they will always be in a perpetual state of honing. There is no perfection in my writing. Though if I have to be egotistical, just this once, I have delivered some damn good one-liners. Well, at least I'm entertained by them.
And it's all about having fun right?
My that was long-winded.
Currently sitting at 115,000 words at the moment. I still have a couple of small gaps to fill in for the juggernaut that is chapter 16. Let's see...we have a battle, an escape, a journey, a confrontation and a consultation all in one chapter. There's a hell of a lot of information that I packed into a couple of pages with intersecting thought processes, but it really all needs to be told from one perspective. The only other option I could think of would be to put the next interlude between the escape and the latter half of the chapter. Actually...that might work. I need to refer back to this post I think. For now, I'll leave it as is.
I reread a lot of what I wrote while I was travelling and noticed that it really wasn't that bad. My writing style has evolved some, and some slight changes (that I can thankfully pick out without too much difficulty) need to be made, but for the most part, it's fairly solid. Chapter 1 needs to be rewritten and chapter 3 needs to be heavily revised, but the other chapters are easy enough to work with and edit as is. This is good considering that this version, most of it technically version 2, not 3 (in the case of the first 4 chapters and the one interlude) was written about 3 or 4 years ago. I'd have to look back at my posts to figure out how long I've taken between each chapter to determine my work ethic for the last few chapters. Based off of my past motivation levels, I have BREEZED through chapter 16, monster that it is, in less than a couple weeks (if you ignore the 5 week hiatus in the middle, where I actually continued to work on it, in my mind and in its review on my e-reader).
So theoretically, after tonight (or tomorrow based on how long this tough little part will be) I will have chapters 1-11 and 13-16 finished. Chapter 12 is still a huge problem for me, but I will need to finish it within the next couple of weeks if I am to continue the narrative. It's...a little more crucial for the final 13 or so chapters that need to come. I'd like to say I'm close to the end, but I'm really more like 60% done. A few of the chapters to come WILL be short (the only chapter that will match chapter 16 in length I believe should come much later...near the end).
Lastly, I know, almost with 100% certainty how I will end this book. I think I will be happy with this ending. I want it to be an ending that leaves it open for the second and third books I have planned open, but at the same time with enough of a conclusion that I don't have to panic too much in beginning the next step. I don't even think I SHOULD be thinking of the next step yet considering I've been working on this for EIGHT YEARS. I started this when I was 15 or 16. I'm 24 now. Granted, I needed to hone my writing skills...am still honing them in fact. Honestly, I think they will always be in a perpetual state of honing. There is no perfection in my writing. Though if I have to be egotistical, just this once, I have delivered some damn good one-liners. Well, at least I'm entertained by them.
And it's all about having fun right?
My that was long-winded.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
No Wonder I'm Tired
Up very late, but I have finally finished chapter 15. It was much longer than expected, but I am pleased with it. I think Steve the AI worked out quite well, though I'm hoping to make it...more engaging and interesting after another look at it. The end of the chapter was a little rushed as well. I never know how to end chapters, so I just leave off at an appropriate spot and hope I'll figure it out later. Anyhow, this chapter rand in at 8500 words from Grypt's perspective, which is good because he hasn't had much "screen time" (writing time?) yet.
In total I now have 100,850 words. Throw a party.
In total I now have 100,850 words. Throw a party.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Super Hairdryers
This:
http://what-if.xkcd.com/35/
Also, quick update. I'm one chapter away from 100,000 words. Granted one of the portions written on that document may not be used, I'm still counting it. I will let you all know when I reach the number.
http://what-if.xkcd.com/35/
Also, quick update. I'm one chapter away from 100,000 words. Granted one of the portions written on that document may not be used, I'm still counting it. I will let you all know when I reach the number.
Monday, February 4, 2013
New Rewrite?
I am heavily debating beginning the next version of WMRR, just because the beginning is so weak. The quality of writing definitely improves over time and the poor start just gets on my nerves. I will be able to integrate it better with the latter half of the story. I personally believe that it starts to get better around Chapter 5. Chapter 4 isn't bad, it's just shorter than I would like and it's the last time a Chapter is written from Grypt's POV until CHAPTER 15. It makes sense as he is more of a support character and his character is to inherently exist in the background, but still, the reader needs to know what's going on with him as he plays an important role in the end. The first 3 chapters and Dedrad's Interlude are just...brutal. I could barely read it without getting uncomfortable with how terrible it is. Regardless, I still really like chapters 5-7, even though they need heavy editing.
The downside of the rewrite though is I will be stuck at chapter 15, and I really want to try and get this finished. I have been working on this for too long to be stuck on loop for the next few months. As school isn't exactly keeping me busy, I can focus on WMRR. Speaking of school, I am glad that I am almost finished. My classes are just silly this semester. I have no idea what we are doing or learning in my Art and the Media class. The prof has mysteriously gone missing and his students have taken over. I'm not sure they are 100% sure what they are supposed to be teaching, but at least they're giving it a shot. My communications class is good for meeting interesting classmates...and bad for pretty much everything else. I haven't learned too much, but the teacher's pretentiousness is enough to keep the lulz a-coming. History is interesting, but it's nothing I haven't seen before. I'm just glad I'm actually learning something in that class.
The downside of the rewrite though is I will be stuck at chapter 15, and I really want to try and get this finished. I have been working on this for too long to be stuck on loop for the next few months. As school isn't exactly keeping me busy, I can focus on WMRR. Speaking of school, I am glad that I am almost finished. My classes are just silly this semester. I have no idea what we are doing or learning in my Art and the Media class. The prof has mysteriously gone missing and his students have taken over. I'm not sure they are 100% sure what they are supposed to be teaching, but at least they're giving it a shot. My communications class is good for meeting interesting classmates...and bad for pretty much everything else. I haven't learned too much, but the teacher's pretentiousness is enough to keep the lulz a-coming. History is interesting, but it's nothing I haven't seen before. I'm just glad I'm actually learning something in that class.
Monday, January 14, 2013
New Year, New Post
I did hardly anything over the break. I've been reluctant to continue WMRR because I lost a bit of it when my laptop finally died. Thankfully I was diligent about backing up the document (mostly out of paranoia) and only lost about 400 words worth of writing. I rewrote it better anyways.
Speaking of word counts, I am now officially over 90,000 words with the re-completion of chapter 14. The small bits I have of chapter 15 aren't as bad as I thought, and I've had some new insights on how I can complete chapter 12. There are just a few tiny plot points that aren't so tiny to hash out. I have been thinking on this aspect for the past 6 years and I'm still not sure how it will be resolved. I'm hoping that the answer will just...come to me as I write. I am also thinking of re-writing two of the stories I completed in my fiction writing years and see if I can get them cleaned up enough to try submitting them to some magazines or contests. I will learn quickly of the shame of rejection, but I shall try regardless.
Meanwhile...in class...
I walk in on my first day about two minutes too late and notice my prof was playing a cow bell. I still have no idea why. Also, I feel old. I'm pretty sure it's just me. When asked who was NOT intimidated by science in my communications class, only about five of us raised our hands...out of about 40. Then half the class was busy texting and playing games on their phone right in front of the prof. Again, maybe I'm just old and bitter, but why do people seem to be getting more disrespectful?
Speaking of word counts, I am now officially over 90,000 words with the re-completion of chapter 14. The small bits I have of chapter 15 aren't as bad as I thought, and I've had some new insights on how I can complete chapter 12. There are just a few tiny plot points that aren't so tiny to hash out. I have been thinking on this aspect for the past 6 years and I'm still not sure how it will be resolved. I'm hoping that the answer will just...come to me as I write. I am also thinking of re-writing two of the stories I completed in my fiction writing years and see if I can get them cleaned up enough to try submitting them to some magazines or contests. I will learn quickly of the shame of rejection, but I shall try regardless.
Meanwhile...in class...
I walk in on my first day about two minutes too late and notice my prof was playing a cow bell. I still have no idea why. Also, I feel old. I'm pretty sure it's just me. When asked who was NOT intimidated by science in my communications class, only about five of us raised our hands...out of about 40. Then half the class was busy texting and playing games on their phone right in front of the prof. Again, maybe I'm just old and bitter, but why do people seem to be getting more disrespectful?
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