Resolutions

So the other day my wife and I came across an old calendar from 2004. Each month featured an old movie poster, such as "The Wizard of Oz," "Metropolis," and "Breakfast at Tiffany's." We had the goal of trying to watch each movie of the month during the month it was up on our wall. I think we did the first 2 or 3, then we just ran out of gas.

On the first page, for January, was the poster for "Vertigo," which was one of the few that we did watch. I love Alfred Hitchcock, and "Vertigo" is one of my favorites of his. Anyway, right beside the poster we wrote our 2004 New Year's resolutions. Mine for that year: Finish a book.

Well, it's 2007 now, but I think I'm finally about to finish that novel. It's a different one than I had going at the time, and maybe someday I'll go back and finish that one. But the key is that I'm about to finish one.

It's not even my resolution to finish one this year. I'm confident that I'll do that. My resolution this year is to sell one, which is a much more difficult goal. And if I don't make it, at least I haven't written it down on a calendar so I can be reminded of it a couple years from now.

Distractions, distractions

Didn't make it to my daily goal yesterday. Only 712 words.

I could have made my goal. I had plenty to write about. Chapter 18 is one that I've been looking forward to for some time. The "bad guy," Mason, is going over why he's being a bad guy, what it all is for. And to do that, I have to delve into a little made-up ancient history. And I find that very exciting and interesting.

But...I made dinner last night, and my mom was over, and our littlest guy was fussy, and by the time we got him and his big brother to bed, I was too worn out to sit down and write. My brain wasn't functioning. So as long as my brain was dead, we decided to go ahead and watch our taped episode of Monday night's "Heroes." I really love the show. I love that it's about super-people, not super-heroes. These people have their powers, and they're trying to understand them. Some people are using them in a heroic way. Others just have them. It's stories about people that attract fans.

That's what I'm going to work at during my first edit. I need to make my people more real, more believeable. I think I'm doing a decent job of that now, or at least I was at the beginning. I just have to make it consistent all the way through.

Inspirations

Yesterday was still a good day for me--just over 2,300 words total. And I even managed to squeeze in an episode of "24" last night. That much writing brought me almost to Chapter 18, which is the one I can't wait to write. This is where we start to see a little more of the H.P. Lovecraft inspiration in the book.

Speaking of inspiration, one of the greatest inspirations for almost everything I've ever written has always been Star Trek. I just watched an episode of The Next Generation called "Time Squared," where the Enterprise is caught in a time loop. That episode has always been one of the pillars of my thinking regarding anything to do with time travel. Which plays no role in my current book, except that my main character Mark is an author, and he wrote one science fiction novel dealing with time travel. And just from the little details that I've included about that book that Mark wrote called Cactus Revolution, it sounds really interesting to me. Maybe I'll write that one next. Along with my cookbook.

So That's What I Can Do When There's No Football On

On the first Sunday without any football since the season began, I was able to write about 3,000 words. I've hit that mark quite a few times, but not with such consistency as I have the last few days. I guess that's what I'm able to do when I don't have the Colts to watch (who, in case you haven't heard, are going to the Super Bowl next week).

I'm coming up on a great part in the story, one that I've really been looking forward to. We're going to find out that our antagonist in the story, Henry Mason, has a relationship with someone from our protagonist's past. And When I mentioned thi sperson from Mark Ryder's past, I dropped one tiny hint at something that is going to have full-blown implications for the story. I'm also really excited to write it because it will finally reveal why Mason is doing the things he's doing, his motive.

On a side note, while I normally dont' stray into non-fiction reading, I've recently gotten into Stephen E. Ambrose's Citizen Soldiers, following the stories of regular guys on the front lines of World War II. I constantly find myself amazed at the things he writes. It's truly fascinating.

A Satisfying Day's Work

So yesterday I wrote my 2,100 words in the backstory, finishing that off (for the most part) before I finally got to dive back into the real story. I was able to write another 900 words in my present-day story, bringing my total word count for the day up to about 3,000. And while I have had a couple 3,000 word days, and one 5,000 word day, I think yesterday's was the most satisfying, because I was able to finish off a huge road block for myself and get back to what I wanted to be writing. I should finish off that chapter today--Chapter 16, for anyone who cares--and maybe start on Chapter 17. Chapter 18 is the one I want to get to. It's going to be exciting. I should finish it by the end of the week.

Chapter 17 is going to be along one, and one that I'm ambivalent about writing. My horror book centers around a mystery, and I'm trying to reveal little pieces at all times. I don't think there'll be a reveal in 17, or at least nothing too major, although there is going to be some action in that chapter.

Writing Fiction: Getting Started

Writing Fiction: Getting Started

You know, this posting provides one of the best pieces of advice that I already knew, but haven't thought about in years. The gist of the piece is to create a history for your story before you write the story. For the posting, it's mainly referring to sci-fi or fantasy, where you can create a whole world.

I used to do this all the time when I was younger. I'd spend time writing a whole history for a Tolkien-styled world I wanted to create. I'd make languages, maps, character bios, histories of the world, and even individual places I might include in the story. Then I'd never write the actual story.

Even though my story takes place in our world in the present day, this would still work for my novel. The town I've created is fictitious. While I have down my research on the area where it is located--southwestern Indiana--I did not spend much time with an actual history of my town Marietta. I think this really would have benefited me, especially while I was writing the backstory to my actual story. I still need to sit down and just draw a layout of the town to give me an idea of where everything is and how long it might take to get from one place to another. I've made everything vague to this point, but that might not be possible much longer.

Done!

Not done with the novel, of course, but I'm done with the backstory, the 1975 story. I just wrote 2,201 words today, finishing it off. Feels great to be done finally! Now I can get back to the real story.

The backstory ended up being over 14,000 words long--that's 65 pages double-spaced. It ended up being a lot sadder than I thought, even before I started writing today. I wrote a couple really good parts in there too--I can't wait to see which parts make it into the final version of the book so I can make them even better.

I have a little more time to write, I think, so now I'll get to start on the main story. Yay!

The Friday Setback

I find myself with practically no time to write on Fridays. By the time I finish with work, it seems like we're going out to eat with somebody (yesterday, my mom), then we sit and chat for a while. I know this is just an excuse for me, I should write no matter what.

I did manage to work in almost 600 words, which, while it might not seem spectacular, brought me through one chunk of my climax to the 1975 story. I just have one more chunk to do now, which I'm getting ready to write right now.

I'm very eager to finish this part of the story, because I really want to get back into the main part. Like I said before, I'm glad I waited this long to write the backstory, because it's much better now than how I'd thought it would be, but it really takes the energy out of the writing to have to pause to write that backstory, even though I know most of it will make it into the final manuscript pretty much untouched. (It will, of course, then be edited with everything else when I do all of my edits.)

Now I'm feeling it again

I may still be in the Second Act Blues, but I think I'm coming out of it. Yesterday I wrote about 2,100 words, which is more than I've written the rest of this week combined. I'm in the middle of my climax of the 1975 portion of my story. I'm hoping to finish this section today or tomorrow, then I can get back into the real story. It's kind of depressing to write all of this backstory--closing in on 15,000 words--and not have a place to put it in my book yet. But just knowing exactly what happens in the backstory will help me write the 2006 story that much better.

I mentioned yesterday that the book is a horror novel, or a ghost story, of a sort. Well, a great crime is committed by a man named Mason in 1975, and that is where the whole basis for all the action in the book starts. So while our main story is dealing with the people who have been confronted by these "ghosts" in 2006, I need to tell the story of what happened to them. I'm surprised at how much that story has changed since I've started the book. I'm really glad I didn't write the backstory first, because I would have limited myself in what I was writing. The story has really grown and taken on a great element since I started.

I even managed to write all of that while slaving over a pot roast for nine hours or so! Okay, all I did was start and let the crock pot do the rest. And I just have to say, it was awesome. I've really discovered in the last couple months that I really enjoy cooking. I don't really care to make a box of macaroni, but when you get to make real food, it's kind of exciting. Maybe there'll be a cookbook in my future--who knows?

Practicing Writing: Friday Find

Practicing Writing: Friday Find

The Resource link that's up on this posting--which goes to this blogger's own resource list--is a treasure trove of helpful finds. I already check some of the freelance writing jobs sites daily, but there are several other links that I'm checking out right now. It's definitely worth a bookmark.

Back!

All right, I think I'm getting back into it. Yesterday I wrote 438 words, which isn't much at all, but it felt good--better than the 1,000 words I wrote a couple days ago. I should get some time today to do some serious writing, so I hope to have something better to report tomorrow.

For anyone curious, this novel that I'm working on is a horror novel. I've only been working on it for almost two months, and I'm already farther into it than on any novel I've ever started before. I think my previous length was about 120 pages, then I just ran out of gas.

My current novel--working title "Horror Novel" (I haven't even thought about a title, I don't usually do that until I'm done with something)--is hard to describe, at least at the beginning. You could describe it as a ghost story, and I guess a small part of it turns out to be just that. But as you read it, you'd discover that it's more a story about regular people and the horror that they can cause among themselves. That's the true horror. Throw some H.P. Lovecraft on top of that for a little excitement, and you've got "Horror Novel."

My Greatest Downfall

I fell prey to my greatest vice yesterday--TV. I did get my 1,000 words, but barely, and only because I forced myself. But I would have had more time to write had I not spent an hour watching a taped episode of "Heroes," and a taped episode of "24." Both of them were awesome.

I don't know that I'll get much more done today. I think my real problem lies deeper than being sick, or watching TV shows, or a Colts game (Go Colts!). I think I'm in the middle of the Second Act Blues.

I'm writing a difficult part of my story right now, and I'm afraid that it's only going to get harder as I go. I sure could use some encouragement right now, or words of wisdom.

I need to make more writer friends.

Blech

Well, last night I was sick as a dog, and ended up not writing a thing. Two days in a row. I intend to write some tonight, if my kids will let me. Even now, my youngest is in his swing here beside me, and staring at me like I'm going to start nursing him or something. That'd be a good trick, kid!

So, hopefully I'll be able to write tonight and tomorrow I can post that I had a great writing day. (Although I will be taking an hour out to watch the episode of 24 I taped last night.) "We're running out of time!" (says Jack Bauer.)

Blah blah writing blah blah--Go Colts!

Yeah, yesterday I wrote about 1,100 words. Just enough to clear my goal. It was rough. I didn't get to write today--it snowed pretty good last night, meaning I had lots of snow to shovel, then I made some spaghetti sauce for my wife's lasagna, then I watched the Colts kick some Patriot butt. (I live in Indianapolis, so yeah, it's kind of a big deal.)

Go Colts!

I'll just write tomorrow.

Angela Booth's "Hungry Characters"

Angela Booth's Blog

This is a great posting on Angela Booth's writing blog about creating interesting characters. It adds a dimension taht I know I've never thought of before when writing believeable characters. She talks about making hungry characters--they shoudl desperately want something. It's good advice. Read more about it through the link.

Friday at the Doctor

Well, I didn't get a lot of time to write last night, we ended up having to take my youngest son--our 5-month-old--to an immediate care center. He screamed and cried all afternoon, and wouldn't eat, so we thought maybe he had an ear infection. (It was just really out of character for him to cry so much, he's normally so happy. He doesn't even cry when he's hungry.) While we were waiting for the doctor to come into the examination room, we discovered the problem ourselves: He had a long hair wrapped around three of his toes on his right foot. The doctor came in and helped cut the hair off--it was wrapped so tight that it was cutting into one of the toes, the poor little guy. No wonder he was so cranky.

But by the time we were done with that, I wasn't left much time to write any more. Fortunately I'd done some earlier in the day, and got 1,030 words. I just met my daily goal!

A Good Writing Day!

I got a little time to write yesterday, and knocked out a little over 2,700 words. This is a huge accomplishment for me any day. I'm kind of busy most days--I do get to work my full-time job from home, but I'm also watching my two sons while I do this. So I start working at 6 in the morning, and go until late afternoon, depending on how much the boys let me do while they're awake before my wife gets home from work. Then we've got all the family-type things--like dinner. And bathing the boys and putting them to bed. And dishes, and laundry, and--well, you get the picture.

But last night my wife was in a cleaning mode, and I just got to write while she did some housework. 2,700 words! I'm still writing the part of my story that takes palce in 1975. I'm pretty sure it's going to end up being about 15,000 words. With these 2,700, I'm up to 5,500 for this part of the story, and about 53,000 overall. That's roughly 240 manuscript pages.

Paperback Writer: Productivity

Paperback Writer: Productivity

I love the Paperback Writer blog. Anyone interested in fiction writing should check it out. This was just one posting that I found helpful to me--especially the bit about cutting out pictures from furniture ads for designing your characters' houses.

Slow Day

Yesterday wasn't a great day for writing for me. I wrote about 400 words. My daily goal is 1,000 words. Didn't make it.

One reason I'm having a hard time writing right now is that the part of my book I'm working on doesn't follow what I've already written. See, the main part of my story takes place in 2006, but everything stems out of some actions that happened in 1975. I was planning on revealing everything that happened in 1975 later on in the book, while dropping hints about it right up to that point. But now I've realized that I won't know everything that happens in 1975 until I write it. So for me to better reference it, I need to write it first.

Since I can just add it onto the end of what I've written already, it feels like I'm going no where. I know that everything I'm writing right now will be inserted into the actual manuscript, I just don't know when yet, and that's killing me. I guess I just need to write the story and be done with it. Right now the 1975 story is about 3,400 words. I'm guessing it'll be 10-15,000 by the time I finish.

My First Novel!

I've started dozens of book sover the years, and never gotten very far into them. Well, this time, I've got a plan for my novel, and it's coming along great. I did something with it I've never done before--I outlined! It's amazing how much writing a general progression of events from start to finish really helped me.

Anyway, I'm going to try to post each day how many words I wrote and what my total is up to. Maybe I'll even reveal a little bit about what the book is about along the way. I've got a good start to it--I started December 1, and I've got over 48,000 words so far. My daily goal is 1,000 words, so I think I'm right on track. I'm hoping to be done with my first draft by March 1.