First, let me say that I received so many lovely birthday greetings yesterday, I sincerely, honestly, truly, appreciate each one. I was filled with such warm and fuzzy feelings, and there was a fabulous thunderstorm last night, that I was inspired to finish a draft for chapter 1. Thank you!!!
First Prize, an autographed copy of Eden Fell.
Winner - Melodie
Who posted a poem on this blog that I really enjoyed, especially the last line. "And yes, I'll cop to it: I wish for Eden Fell." *grins* Congratulations, Melodie! Please contact me with your full address so I can send the autographed book as soon as possible.
Second Prize, copy of the Eden Fell ARC, pdf.
Winner - Heidi
Who is a wonderful photographer and posted a photo for me on my Facebook profile. The photo blew me away. Congratulations, Heidi! Please contact me with your email address and I'll send the pdf right away.
I enjoyed this contest and I'm definitely going to do this again. I'm thinking Halloween or maybe sooner. Until next time!
Showing posts with label first chapter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label first chapter. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Prologue!!!
Wow, that took much longer than I expected. Real life got in the way, and as it turned out I still needed to do some research. But! The rough draft of the prologue is finished. Finally. Phew.
There's a lot involved with this story, and it is a series, so I think I'll be doing research until the whole series is finished. I don't mind this at all. I often stop in the middle of whatever I'm writing and quickly look things up, then go back to writing. It's all a part of the process better known as crafting a story.
For the most part, I do tend to just plow through, keep putting one word after another until it's done. But sometimes I have to stop and give something some thought before I can go on. It's so dependent on such small details, I couldn't begin to describe it all. Just, you know, trust me on this one ;)
Now for the fun stuff and the actual crafting. The first chapter...
There's a lot involved with this story, and it is a series, so I think I'll be doing research until the whole series is finished. I don't mind this at all. I often stop in the middle of whatever I'm writing and quickly look things up, then go back to writing. It's all a part of the process better known as crafting a story.
For the most part, I do tend to just plow through, keep putting one word after another until it's done. But sometimes I have to stop and give something some thought before I can go on. It's so dependent on such small details, I couldn't begin to describe it all. Just, you know, trust me on this one ;)
Now for the fun stuff and the actual crafting. The first chapter...
Friday, July 16, 2010
Musical Inspiration
I'm now heavily into the prologue. Normally it doesn't take me longer than a day to write a chapter, but a prologue is different. It's the introduction to everything and it's very important to give the reader something they can understand right off the bat. This is a little tricky since the world I'm creating is highly fictional, but the prologue seems to be working so far. I'll let you know :)
I've seen a number of authors that will promote musical inspiration while writing and even go so far as create play lists. This is most common with YA literature and it seems to work well for them. But, I do have a problem with this. A play list... for a book... not a movie... a book... the written word... I see a slight contradiction with this.
Personally, I can't write at the same time as listening to music. Well, I could, but I wouldn't want to. If I did, I'd have no way of knowing how much came from my own imagination and how much came from the music. To me, and this may sound a tad harsh, I find listening to music at the same time as writing a form of plagiarism. It makes me feel like I'm stealing from an artist and I don't like that feeling. I'd much rather rely on and nurture my own imagination.
When a story or chapter is finished, there will definitely be songs that I feel would go well with it. If every single potential reader happened to be a personal friend of mine, all readers would agree. But in reality, I'll have readers I haven't met. It happens, though I do appreciate every reader. I feel I have no right whatsoever to dictate someone else's personal musical preference or substitute their imagination with my own. I'm not God, I'm no saint, I'm just a writer and everyone is entitled to their own opinion. My job is to write the story to the best of my ability. The rest is up to you.
Now, having said all of that, I freely admit I'll listen to specific bands or songs for inspiration. There's nothing wrong with using anything in life as inspiration. I see it as no different than going to a park and allowing the activity of the wildlife to be an inspiration. I'll listen to music while I'm doing research or between chapters and especially when I'm doing editing work which can be mind-numbingly boring.
So, I do have a point. Really. I've decided during those in between moments while working on this series, I will only listen to Skinny Puppy. It just so happens I have a huge collection of every single song they ever recorded. Plenty of inspiration. But don't take my word for it ;)
I've seen a number of authors that will promote musical inspiration while writing and even go so far as create play lists. This is most common with YA literature and it seems to work well for them. But, I do have a problem with this. A play list... for a book... not a movie... a book... the written word... I see a slight contradiction with this.
Personally, I can't write at the same time as listening to music. Well, I could, but I wouldn't want to. If I did, I'd have no way of knowing how much came from my own imagination and how much came from the music. To me, and this may sound a tad harsh, I find listening to music at the same time as writing a form of plagiarism. It makes me feel like I'm stealing from an artist and I don't like that feeling. I'd much rather rely on and nurture my own imagination.
When a story or chapter is finished, there will definitely be songs that I feel would go well with it. If every single potential reader happened to be a personal friend of mine, all readers would agree. But in reality, I'll have readers I haven't met. It happens, though I do appreciate every reader. I feel I have no right whatsoever to dictate someone else's personal musical preference or substitute their imagination with my own. I'm not God, I'm no saint, I'm just a writer and everyone is entitled to their own opinion. My job is to write the story to the best of my ability. The rest is up to you.
Now, having said all of that, I freely admit I'll listen to specific bands or songs for inspiration. There's nothing wrong with using anything in life as inspiration. I see it as no different than going to a park and allowing the activity of the wildlife to be an inspiration. I'll listen to music while I'm doing research or between chapters and especially when I'm doing editing work which can be mind-numbingly boring.
So, I do have a point. Really. I've decided during those in between moments while working on this series, I will only listen to Skinny Puppy. It just so happens I have a huge collection of every single song they ever recorded. Plenty of inspiration. But don't take my word for it ;)
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