This is taking me a lot longer than it should, and I'm not sure of the reasoning behind it. I'm not stuck at the same spot I was last time, and the writing is actually starting to go a lot faster now that I've had to go back and start all over, but something still seems off and I can't quite put my finger on it.
Every time I start to write, I get this feeling of almost dread I want to say, coming over me. Like I know what's coming and I don't want to get into it. It's making it difficult to proceed any further. I know I'm not going to get caught up in the same trap that got me doing a full rewrite this early, but that doesn't seem to be stopping the feeling from rearing up and getting in the way.
Very annoying. Especially since the actual writing is actually coming out a lot better than what I had down on paper previously. Which, when you think of that part, makes no sense why I'd be apprehensive about going forward.
Hopefully it's just a phase that I need to work through. The important part is getting to work, keeping to the schedule and not letting whatever the hell this is distract or interrupt the process. Because aside form that, I'm really liking what I'm getting down on paper so far. I think it's turning out nicely, and I know where and how to avoid the pitfalls that dragged everything down last time. So that shouldn't be a problem.
Plus I've got plenty of coffee so that helps.
Book three is starting out very action intensive, and that's actually pretty easy and very quick to write normally. I just need to make sure everything flows together like it's supposed to. Having to constantly stop and put letters in the correct order aside, I'm making a lot of progress. It's not as fast as it usually is, but still not all that slow either. It's steady.
Probably won't be getting this one out as fast as the last too, but speed isn't a goal, the story is. So that's what i have to focus on. Getting the story out and told in the way that I'm happy and satisfied with it. So far so good. Just have to push through this little voice in the back of my head is all.
Stupid voice, go bother someone else.
Independent Novelist of Paranormal/Urban Fantasy
Saturday, October 19, 2019
Saturday, October 12, 2019
First Rewrite
There were just to many problems I was having with this draft of the new novel for me to work my way around. The whole thing just wasn't coming out how I wanted it, and no matter how much I tried, for the life of me I couldn't figure out how to fix it all. It was going to be more than just a few changes here and there.
The whole tone just seemed to be off to me. It wasn't what I wanted. So, in order to fix everything, I did something I've resisted for about a week now, even though I knew this is what was going to end up happening anyway. I've scrapped the whole thing.
Well, let me revise that a bit, I kept the prologue, because that came out fine. Everything else though, had to go. I think most of the issue was, that the tone I wanted with a certain character, went a little to far. And once I got into it, it changed how everything else was being written. It actually got to the point where the interactions i wanted to have, that I actually need to have for this story weren't going to be possible.Just a little bit overboard turned into full blown spiraling descent.
Not what I intended. The good thing is, I get a fresh start at everything, and not everything that I wrote couldn't be salvaged. I'll end up probably using a lot of it, just re-written to fit better in with what I envision in my mind. Everything is going to play out in the same order, and mostly in the same way, but the tone is going to be a bit different. It needs to be if I'm going to get anywhere and if I want to avoid the same problem.
I hate writing myself into a corner. That's never any good.
And this is nothing new. I had to do something very similar with Nightwalker. I got to a certain point and it just didn't feel right. So I went back and redid the whole thing. Thankfully, I wasn't as far into this novel as I was into Nightwalker when I started over. Still, losing twelve chapters and a few weeks of work is a bit upsetting.
The hope is however, that something better will come out of all of this. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes. That's the hope anyways. It could go very wrong, but it also could go very right. It all depends on how I approach things.
And truthfully, the more you write, the better it gets anyway. Usually. We'll see how it goes with this one. It's actually flowing a lot better already. That's always a good sign.
The whole tone just seemed to be off to me. It wasn't what I wanted. So, in order to fix everything, I did something I've resisted for about a week now, even though I knew this is what was going to end up happening anyway. I've scrapped the whole thing.
Well, let me revise that a bit, I kept the prologue, because that came out fine. Everything else though, had to go. I think most of the issue was, that the tone I wanted with a certain character, went a little to far. And once I got into it, it changed how everything else was being written. It actually got to the point where the interactions i wanted to have, that I actually need to have for this story weren't going to be possible.Just a little bit overboard turned into full blown spiraling descent.
Not what I intended. The good thing is, I get a fresh start at everything, and not everything that I wrote couldn't be salvaged. I'll end up probably using a lot of it, just re-written to fit better in with what I envision in my mind. Everything is going to play out in the same order, and mostly in the same way, but the tone is going to be a bit different. It needs to be if I'm going to get anywhere and if I want to avoid the same problem.
I hate writing myself into a corner. That's never any good.
And this is nothing new. I had to do something very similar with Nightwalker. I got to a certain point and it just didn't feel right. So I went back and redid the whole thing. Thankfully, I wasn't as far into this novel as I was into Nightwalker when I started over. Still, losing twelve chapters and a few weeks of work is a bit upsetting.
The hope is however, that something better will come out of all of this. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes. That's the hope anyways. It could go very wrong, but it also could go very right. It all depends on how I approach things.
And truthfully, the more you write, the better it gets anyway. Usually. We'll see how it goes with this one. It's actually flowing a lot better already. That's always a good sign.
Saturday, October 5, 2019
Progress
I'm managing to get in some good writing time so far this weekend. I got past the chapter that was taking me so long. Though it does seem like I'm going to probably have to do a lot of work on that chapter once I get to the revision and editing stage. I'm not altogether sure about the chapter as a whole as of yet, so I pressed on and figure I'll go back over it later.
The important thing is to get back into the swing of writing on a consistent schedule. And being able to write something worth being put down on paper for that matter. It's a good thing that I've got a lot of coffee with me.
That being said, I'm just over 21k into the next entry into City of Angels. Already i can tell this one is going to be another one that is going to be over 100k when it's all said and done. That's fine. Aside from apparently being on the low end of any sort of Paranormal/Urban Fantasy writing anyway, if it fits with how the story needs to be, then so be it. At least as far as I'm concerned.
And this one is gonna take a bit. There seems to be a lot of emotion going on in this one. At least so far anyway. Poor Heaven is being put through it again so far. Not in any sort of physical sense, though that's bound to come later, but more of an emotional sort of way. She's got to deal with something that's disrupting everything she thought her life was. So there is that. The physical stuff is going to come later.
There is going to be a few parts with a certain black panther after all. That should be fun. Though I know at least one character who isn't going to enjoy that all that much.
Actually, i'm pretty sure that there is going to be a lot of physical violence. Though I'm not to sure how much of it Heaven is going to get herself fully involved with. She has grown a little bit, especially in Cherubim, as far as physical violence goes, but I'm not sure she's going to be ready enough for whats coming up. I may have to keep her out of some of it, which would fit both where the character is and where the story is going. I'm not too sure though.
What I do know is that the world is expanding by quite a bit so far. That's a good thing. Got a lot of nice little threads that I can pull on here and there. And some things that will help with the companion series and the trilogy I'm planning on adding at some point. Not sure when all this will happen, but it will at some point.
I have a whole interconnected set series planned. How much of that will happen I don't know, but some of it definitely will. I just have to get everything all sorted first. Not only that, I have to get this book finished before I can even think about starting something else. Don't want to be getting ahead of myself after all. But it's good to keep things in mind for later.
That's what notes are for.
Got two chapters done today, and I think it's time to take at least a little bit of a break. May go back later and add more, or change a few things here and there. But that's for later. For now, I'm rather pleased with my progress.
The important thing is to get back into the swing of writing on a consistent schedule. And being able to write something worth being put down on paper for that matter. It's a good thing that I've got a lot of coffee with me.
That being said, I'm just over 21k into the next entry into City of Angels. Already i can tell this one is going to be another one that is going to be over 100k when it's all said and done. That's fine. Aside from apparently being on the low end of any sort of Paranormal/Urban Fantasy writing anyway, if it fits with how the story needs to be, then so be it. At least as far as I'm concerned.
And this one is gonna take a bit. There seems to be a lot of emotion going on in this one. At least so far anyway. Poor Heaven is being put through it again so far. Not in any sort of physical sense, though that's bound to come later, but more of an emotional sort of way. She's got to deal with something that's disrupting everything she thought her life was. So there is that. The physical stuff is going to come later.
There is going to be a few parts with a certain black panther after all. That should be fun. Though I know at least one character who isn't going to enjoy that all that much.
Actually, i'm pretty sure that there is going to be a lot of physical violence. Though I'm not to sure how much of it Heaven is going to get herself fully involved with. She has grown a little bit, especially in Cherubim, as far as physical violence goes, but I'm not sure she's going to be ready enough for whats coming up. I may have to keep her out of some of it, which would fit both where the character is and where the story is going. I'm not too sure though.
What I do know is that the world is expanding by quite a bit so far. That's a good thing. Got a lot of nice little threads that I can pull on here and there. And some things that will help with the companion series and the trilogy I'm planning on adding at some point. Not sure when all this will happen, but it will at some point.
I have a whole interconnected set series planned. How much of that will happen I don't know, but some of it definitely will. I just have to get everything all sorted first. Not only that, I have to get this book finished before I can even think about starting something else. Don't want to be getting ahead of myself after all. But it's good to keep things in mind for later.
That's what notes are for.
Got two chapters done today, and I think it's time to take at least a little bit of a break. May go back later and add more, or change a few things here and there. But that's for later. For now, I'm rather pleased with my progress.
Wednesday, October 2, 2019
Mental Tangent
Writing is still going a little slower than I really would like it to go. Problem is, with my wake/sleep schedule as messed up as it has been, the writing I've been able to get out has been little more than fragmented mush. And that's never any good.
But, I think I've got a pretty good handle on getting that all fixed. I did manage to get about 2500 words written down on page tonight. Which is good, because I've been working on that chapter for a few days now. And I'm still going to have to go back probably tomorrow and change a few things up that aren't really sitting all that well with me.
I'm thinking, and hoping, that when the weekend comes around I'll be able to get back into the full swing of things and at least make an attempt to catch up a little and get some good writing sessions in. That's the plan anyways. Whether it works or not is another story entirely.
What I have gotten down, is actually pretty good I think. Getting into some expanding of the world. At least a little bit. A few hints dropped here and there about the rest of the world and how things are everywhere outside of LA as far as supernaturals go. That's always good. And it fits in with the main plot of the story, so that's a plus as well.
I've also gotten a few ideas for other things that may or may not show up at some point in later stories. I tend to do that when I'm writing. I'll get something down on paper, pause and think about the far reaching implications of some innocuous piece of information, and come up with another thread that I can pull on at a later date. I don't know if I'll ever use it, but it'll be there sitting in the back of my head just in case anyway. That's just how things work sometimes. Mental tangents.
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