September 15, 2006
synopsis
When your outline runs dry, nothing wrong with writing a synopsis. It's amazing the "facts" that seep out when I'm writing this stuff.
Poked at "The Changing Season". Apparently, Kitsu's stuff will all have "change" in the title somewhere.
Posted by sdshaver at 02:00 AM
September 13, 2006
a good challenge
PBW is doing an ebook challenge that I missed taking note of during all the hub-bub of August.
But I noticed it today. So I'm going to take that bet, and write a short story or novella or whatever I can about Kitsu, since she keeps burning a hole in my brain, and this might give her a chance to breathe and leave me alone for a while.
And to keep this as bleeding edge as possible, I'm writing the whole thing with Writely. Aw yeah, biznitches.
- she turned her face to speak
but no one heard her cry.
Posted by sdshaver at 12:17 AM
September 11, 2006
outline: ch. 4
Hurray for outlines, pointing out obvious plot and pacing problems. That's fixed, and the two-page chapter four summary is done, and I am salivating to write this in full.
The sample I posted is already out of date. I really love the magic of this world.
I'd go on to five, but sleep calls. G'night.
- kept secrets of pride locked so tight in her heart
it killed a part of her
before the rest was gone.
and just like james,
i'm drinking irish tonight
Posted by sdshaver at 12:43 AM
September 10, 2006
outline: ch. 3
Chapter three is outlined and choreographed (there's fightin'), and the characters are quite pickled. The all-important playlist for this period is also outlined.
Going to attempt chapters 4-6 after I get some chores, errands, and gym time done.
Posted by sdshaver at 12:24 PM
September 09, 2006
On Outlining
Poison to the Dead is manifesting itself as a full book, so drawing upon the experience of the last two books, I have begun the outlining process.
The first outline I ever did (for Firebird) was in a separate file and took about a week, start to finish. This time I'm evolving the technique. I'm creating a file for each chapter and writing quick scene summaries. Example:
- So they leave the village and head on out to the forest. K. is watching the light and they keep on riding and at some point E. wants to know if they should stop, but no, no, K. says, keep going.
So they do, and just as the sun slips past the horizon, K. says to stop.
He says this is the between-time, the dusk is the hour of unseeing. No wizard can see anything at this time. They lead the horses back up the road, tie them up, and slip off into the forest to find PttD.
In this way I can get out what's fermenting in my head without going insane. It's still fun to write, because things still emerge during the writing, there's just more structure to it now.
Meanwhile, I'm doing another experiment with Writely: writing a novel in my sparetime at work. A neat, twisty idea emerged while I was listening to the song "Pretty Girls (The Mover)" by Against Me! and I'm working that into Kitsu's genesis. No outline there. Just letting Kitsu lead me where she wants to go.
- make sure you call before you leave
keep on top of the game
i'm losing control, falling by the wayside
Posted by sdshaver at 11:50 PM
September 02, 2006
market for "binder"?
Possibly. "Binder" was my last stab at the final Sword and Sorceress anthology. It got stuck on an editor's desk for the better part of a year, which can lead me to two conclusions: the editor got overwhelmed and didn't actually read her submissions until a few weeks before deadline, or the editor liked the story, but didn't like it enough.
Since we are positive and optimstic about our talents, we shall go with the latter rather than the former. Also,we (this is the royal "we", folks) seem to recall that there was a "first round" of rejections that "Binder" squeaked past, but that may just be the delusions of our overtime-addled mind.
Anyway, it's a three-year-old short story, so it would need some updates, but still...hm.
Posted by sdshaver at 07:37 PM
tip tapping at two
We are under mini-deadline! AAAH!
I wrote anyway, about that which is poisonous to the dead. Now I'm going to bed. G'night.
Posted by sdshaver at 03:46 AM