Busy, busy day

When I went to make a new post, the first thing I noticed was my last post had all three reactions selected. That made me grin. See? --->  :D

I'm still working on chapter 2, between a lot of other stuff that needs to be done today. I find it interesting, while working on chapter 2, I realized there were some things that needed to be added to chapter 1. So at this point, I definitely feel I've tweaked chapter 1 enough. It feels much more rounded now, not as many gaping holes.

As a result of having such a nicely rounded first chapter, this allows for a much easier time to write the following chapters. See, it's not just about a proper introduction for the potential readers. It's about a proper introduction for the author so they can write the rest of the story.

I've introduced, I'm moving on :)

A tweaking we will go

So I've fleshed out chapter 1 as much as I can. I know there should probably be more, but it's hard to tell what should be put into the first chapter and what should be saved for a later chapter. Some things belong in a certain chapter and some things don't. But I'm not worried about that. The point is to just keep writing and start the next chapter after a natural end has been reached. And it has, so I'm moving on.

If I spent all my time on a single chapter, I'd never finish the whole story. I shudder at that thought.

RANDOM SIDE NOTE: This has nothing to do with the current writing project. On a message forum for poetry I was confronted by someone I've named "poetry dud." And I just wanted to say, despite this guy's ridiculous beliefs, all forms of poetry IS subjective, dammit.

Thanks for reading.

Side Characters

Not that much to report today. All I'm doing is fleshing out the rough draft of chapter 1. I should be done and start chapter 2 by tomorrow. Basically, this is author editing work. Not the editing authors do for the editor at a publishing company, that will come much later. This is my own editing,what no one ever sees, something no one but me can decide on. It's my responsibility as the author. And honestly, I love this kind of work. (I'm such a geek).

I get a real kick out of side characters. They always fascinate me. Of course, it's easy to put a little too much into side characters - full names, back story, personality, etc. I often find myself having to ask, Is this relevant to the plot? Does it matter at all? If I answer 'no' then I'll slim down the character. After all, the only point of side characters is plot and main character development. In my personal opinion, putting too much info into a side character the reader would only see once, is unprofessional. Sure, I can write anything and fully develop any character, but that doesn't meant that I should.

The main story and the main character are the most important aspects.

My daily mantra is, Follow the KISS rule!

Keep It Simple Stupid....

Birthday Post and other news

This is where you can post birthday greetings to enter the contest for a chance to win a free copy of Eden Fell. Post away!

So I finally got a major start on writing Chapter 1. This story is definitely coming together, it's only a matter of writing it all down. But I have say, holy hell this story is involved. With each paragraph, each line I write, I'm discovering new dimensions all the time. And I'm loving it :D

I did run into a small snag yesterday while working on Chapter 1. Names. Normally, with side characters, I'll just plug in any name. If I decide I don't like the name, I'll change it later. My trick for finding names is to look up the top 100 baby names for the year when the character would have been born. Now here's the snag. The story is set in the future. The characters haven't been born yet. Uh oh...

I spent some time looking into trends for baby names and tried to find futuristic sounding names. I don't like using names that are long-winded or hard to pronounce or just made up gibberish. When there's a whole story to be read, I don't want the reader to fumble or take too long deciphering a fictional name. That's just tedious.

But! I found a great website that has a long list of names based on the current trends, basically predicting the baby names of the future. Jackpot! And now it's easy to plug in a name as I go along.

I love it when a story just flows and everything makes sense :)

I'm entitled to a day off. I think?

So yesterday, I decided, meh, it's Friday. I have other things to take care of, I'm taking the day off from writing.

And in the back of my mind I was mentally writing chapter 1.

I caught up on some emails, and mentally wrote chapter 2.

While making dinner, Chapter 3 was almost completely written in my mind.

So much for taking a day off...

As wonderful as it is to have a story come to life and it's one of the best feelings in the world, there are disadvantages as well. It just doesn't end. The story continues in my mind regardless if I'm actually writing the words. Although that's great, to help fully develop the ideas so writing it out will be easier, at the same, I'd like to have a day off, thank you very much.

So, fine then. This story has officially taken over my life. I don't even have a choice in the matter. So I will be actively finishing up chapter 1 today.

I'll get fresh air later...

Always Know Your Audience

Here's a topic that tends to confuse writers. Some say you should write for yourself while others say you should write for your readers while everyone says you should write what you know. I both agree and disagree. Let me explain before I confuse you even more.

When I'm actively writing a story, I'm in the story. I'm living and breathing this story until it fully comes to life. It's not possible for me to write for anyone but myself when I'm in the story. I only have one brain after all. No can be both the writer and the audience.

But, if I don't know who I'm writing for, or at least have a general idea of the kind of people who would enjoy this story, then things could get pretty screwed up. It would be silly for me to write a futuristic post-apocalypse story in the style of an adult novel and then try to sell it as YA fantasy. Not to mention, I'd have a hell of a time trying to get it published.

See, it's not about writing for anyone specific. It's about knowing and truly understanding the genre you're writing. You should always know your audience, but you should also write for yourself.

Truth be told, knowing your audience isn't innate knowledge. It's not like knowing how to flip a burger before you get a job at McDonald's. Creative writing isn't a job, it's a craft. The scary truth is, it takes experience. I know, I know, for authors who are just starting or haven't published anything yet, that can seem like a catch 22. How are you suppose to gain experience in order to gain experience?

What I do, is just talk to people. Friends, family, people I'll meet online, readers I'll encounter. I'm constantly filing away info about likes and dislikes, and how it could relate to the subject I'm writing. I also read all kinds of material, from books, both fiction and nonfiction, to articles, scientific magazines, lots of reading. That's experience. That's writing what you know.

So, I'm getting into Chapter 1. I've found I need to create a new name for a fictional, though plausible, illness. I could make up gibberish or use pig latin, but I know that's not the kind of audience I'll have. So after some discussion and thought, I've decided to rename certain things, using words people are already familiar with, rather than creating a name no one has heard of, because I know my audience :)