23 May 2014

Do what?

A family member just asked what was going to happen once this story is finished. There has to be a point when you're done, right? So what happens next?

That one had me stumped. This is a purely personal view, but stories were meant to be read, or told, or even sung, but definitely shared in one way or another. That's how you're supposed to be able to tell if they're any good, and whether more stories should be let loose into the world. This one... This one just needed to be written and done with, but there's no aim - should it be shopped around for a traditional publisher, should it be posted up on a blog somewhere for free to be used as advertising? Is it good enough for that? Should it just go straight to ebook, or have a chat with the Amazon publishing imprint?

They're all good questions. The story is aiming for a particular market, so there's a start, however right now, I just don't care. It doesn't matter at this stage because no matter how the story is going to end up coming into real life for people to read, its not there yet. Until it is done, reread, checked and signed off on mentally, it can't actually go anywhere yet.

Who wants to read a half-finished anything? So yeah, the question will ultimately need an answer, because that will provide a direction of where it goes once it has actually been finished. That answer doesn't need to be given now.

I've done two revisions, and I think I'm going to either deal with one plot that isn't so much as dangling as needing a quick darn with a needle and thread resolution... and when I say quick, naturally the alternative wording is something like long and torturous. Everything seems to be linked to everything else somehow, so unpicking it is proving a real... ache. I'm learning. And I just need to keep in mind that it doesn't matter. I can just keep going and learning all the time.

I'm not done yet. And oh yes. This monster has grown to 85 000 words. For a young adult book. I'll also need to learn how to chop that sucker down somewhat drastically. At least 10%, but probably more like 15. When I'm done? I may never be done.

16 May 2014

About deadlines

After years of trying to do too many things at the same time and failing at most of them, I've spent the past couple of years trying to do fewer things.
It goes against a lifetime of habits. The one I'm working on right now?
Stop writing new stuff when I haven't finished the thing I'm working on.
I get the bug for doing new stuff. I used to tell myself that it was ok, because at least I was still writing something (of not regularly) and writing anything is better than writing nothing. And while that's true, it also means I have a grand total of one finished story that I've finally amazed to get to the end of the first draft, one epic dark fantasy that is still only two-thirds finished, and a pre-cyberpunk story that I currently guess am about sixty percent done. There was also a series of sci-fi books that are intended to go straight to ebook format that were being mapped out, and the first few chapters of a collaborative work which was intended straight from the get-go to be a series of novels. All of those I want to do. None of them are going to be looked at until I've finished this story right now.

Real life doesn't have neat lines. I understand that. But a grand total of ONE THING COMPLETED isn't what you'd exactly call a substantial back catalogue. 

This is a classic case of griping. It's also a classic case of learning a whole bunch of new things that are now relevant. I'm learning editing. I'm learning to make notes and where to make them, and how to confirm when I've resolved stuff... or not resolved. I'm learning about feedback, how to take it, when to listen to it, how to not argue, or explain, but also when to take what I hear into consideration.
I'm learning about grammar, namely full stops (periods, snicker), and how to do speech marks and commas in speech marks, and how to figure out when a chapter ends, and what makes a section rather than a full chapter and... 

The point is made. In order to finish a story, any given story, it's back to one step at a time. and figuring stuff out as they come up. None of this would be happening unless there was a first draft, however bad or fractured or grammatically mangled it is at the beginning. It's all another beginning. This time, its about beginning something to get to the end of it... of which said end is at the end of May. At least I'm into the second draft, and that's hopefully starting to wrap itself up. There are more plot holes than words on the page. That's ok. One step at a time. Just do the thing I'm doing now, and leave the other stories alone, no matter how much they call out to be played with.

9 May 2014

Numbers game

I took a look at how much more I've still got to go through before I see the end of the first run through. Turns out that I must have passed halfway a couple of days ago. Yep, 50%!! There is a light at the end of this tunnel.

I wanted this run through done by the end of the month, And I've given myself the month of May to work out all those other hundreds of things that need fixing (thanks sis). I promised a friend I trust that they'll be able to go through that draft as a "proper" beta reader. To say that it'll have me on tenterhooks would be an understatement on the same level as saying the Atlantic could get you wet. 

Still, there's only one way to learn all this, and that's by doing it. Then all I'll need to do is learn how to chop the big chapters up. And learn paragraph spacing. And grammar. Lord, that spectre looming over me with my bad grammar is going to bite me on the derrière like a Doberman chowing down on a tasty snack. 

I know it's just anthropomorphising, I really do. And yet at the same time I can't help but to think that the whole subject just takes one look at my face and drool begins to dribble down its literary chops. 

In ones' defence, I started listening to the Grammar Girl podcast over a year ago. Please let me have remembered something after all this time.

:edit: Just because it was a personal goal, the end of the first revision was hit pretty much on the last couple of days in April: