Man, I get distracted easily. I purchased two new books as research material, What if the Earth had Two Moons, and Don't Know Much About Mythology. They're both interesting so far, and giving me some good ideas. Therein lies the problem, though, I find myself reading all these books and writing less. This has probably been the least productive writing week since the beginning.
Between those two books, the Breadmaker's Apprentice (which is fantastic) and The Name of the Wind, I'm full up with words and finding it difficult to make scenes coalesce on the page. Oh well, I got a good conversation started this morning.
I'm eagerly awaiting the end of this chapter. It should be cool, and it will mark the end of Part 1, at which time I'll really be able to start the big edits. Once part one is in good shape I will be contacting my novelist friend and crossing my fingers that she'll take a look at it and give me some pointers. We'll see.
I'll post Chapter 3, part 3 today, which is a departure I'm experimenting with, trying to let the narrator break the structure up a bit.
Song
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Chapter 3, part 2 is up. It is brief conversation between the girl and Feast as they reach the edge of the spire plateau and leave the monastery behind.
I have, in two places so far, little bits of song or poetry injected. They are tough to write. The first one had sound a bit lurching and ponderous because it is sung by a lonely, half-drunk man. This second bit is Feast (having that damned song stuck in his head) recalling the chorus to himself. I'm not at all happy with these bits at the moment, but I'm sticking with my decision not to edit myself during the initial stages. I know that something like a bit of song or poetry can easily be returned to later and revised, or even changed entirely. So I left the songs as I they flowed out during those writing sessions, but I'm sure they'll change and grow eventually.
I've gotta come up with a name for the girl that Feast is traveling with. I know what I've been calling her in my head, which might work, but you never really know until you've put it on the page and see how it looks. Any suggestions?
I've written the third part, which is just a few hundred words long, and will post it soon.
I have, in two places so far, little bits of song or poetry injected. They are tough to write. The first one had sound a bit lurching and ponderous because it is sung by a lonely, half-drunk man. This second bit is Feast (having that damned song stuck in his head) recalling the chorus to himself. I'm not at all happy with these bits at the moment, but I'm sticking with my decision not to edit myself during the initial stages. I know that something like a bit of song or poetry can easily be returned to later and revised, or even changed entirely. So I left the songs as I they flowed out during those writing sessions, but I'm sure they'll change and grow eventually.
I've gotta come up with a name for the girl that Feast is traveling with. I know what I've been calling her in my head, which might work, but you never really know until you've put it on the page and see how it looks. Any suggestions?
I've written the third part, which is just a few hundred words long, and will post it soon.
More Peril!
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Chapter 3, part 1 is posted. I wrote the last sentence, reread it once, and then posted it. I didn't even run a spell check.
Its actually somewhat freeing.
I loved writing this part. I was getting tired of the gloomy confines of the monastery. I'm really excited for the next bit of writing that will finally take us off of the spire plateau and give us a view of where we've been exploring for twenty-thousand words.
What I'm realizing is that I need to inject more action into the story. I've been making rewrite notes as I progress. Most of them concern two things: Add more peril to specific scenes, and add more emotion and affection to interactions between characters.
Well, Amanda is doing her yoga, so I'd better start writing the next part. Thanks for reading.
Its actually somewhat freeing.
I loved writing this part. I was getting tired of the gloomy confines of the monastery. I'm really excited for the next bit of writing that will finally take us off of the spire plateau and give us a view of where we've been exploring for twenty-thousand words.
What I'm realizing is that I need to inject more action into the story. I've been making rewrite notes as I progress. Most of them concern two things: Add more peril to specific scenes, and add more emotion and affection to interactions between characters.
Well, Amanda is doing her yoga, so I'd better start writing the next part. Thanks for reading.
All caught up
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So, I posted the end of chapter 2 yesterday.
The way it worked, was that I started this blog while the second chapter was out being reviewed by my brother. So, by the time I really got it rolling, I had two complete (but raw) chapters to post. By posting one section a day, I was able to take about a week to get them all up and readable. This meant I could get a little jump start on the third chapter.
Now that the blog is caught up with where I am actually writing, my plan is to post more frequent entries about the progress and process, and every few day post a newly complete section. This means the actual story will come a little less frequently, and in smaller parts, but it will be hot off the presses and completely unedited.
Thanks to those that have been reading so far.
What I need from YOU now, is to comment, anything that strike you. Comment on whats works, what is funny, what is groan-worthy, what is shit, or what is flat out plagiarism. The whole purpose of this blog (for me) is to get feedback.
Look forward to Chapter 3.Part 1 tonight or tomorrow. Thanks again!
The way it worked, was that I started this blog while the second chapter was out being reviewed by my brother. So, by the time I really got it rolling, I had two complete (but raw) chapters to post. By posting one section a day, I was able to take about a week to get them all up and readable. This meant I could get a little jump start on the third chapter.
Now that the blog is caught up with where I am actually writing, my plan is to post more frequent entries about the progress and process, and every few day post a newly complete section. This means the actual story will come a little less frequently, and in smaller parts, but it will be hot off the presses and completely unedited.
Thanks to those that have been reading so far.
What I need from YOU now, is to comment, anything that strike you. Comment on whats works, what is funny, what is groan-worthy, what is shit, or what is flat out plagiarism. The whole purpose of this blog (for me) is to get feedback.
Look forward to Chapter 3.Part 1 tonight or tomorrow. Thanks again!
Doubt
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Last night I waged a little internal battle with myself. The self-doubt grabbed hold around my brain and squeezed. I found myself thinking, "this stupid thing isn't working". And of course, if it doesn't work perfectly right away, it's not worth doing at all. So I laid there in bed, fretting about how poorly things where going.
I woke up this morning with the clear understanding that 'this is the process'. It works, its been proven time and again. The writing I've done up to this point is unpolished, and the pacing and structure is messy. By the end this first bit of writing will be unrecognizable to what it is now.
So instead of continuing work on Chapter 3, I assuaged some of my creeping doubt by going back and working on some edits.
I restructured a troublesome conversation in the second chapter, as well as simplified some architectural descriptions. I think this helped.
I did come to a conclusion though. Up until this morning, the idea had been that the story would take part in something like four parts, each consisting of three or four chapters. The first part, which I'm about 70% finished writing, was conceived of as "Feast's solitary journey to the mainland". In outline form, this made sense. Part 1-Introduce Feast and his situation, Part 2-introduce the other characters, etc.. But, having written quite a bit now, spending so much time without a 'sidekick' might not work. With that in mind, I'm thinking of reorganizing some events so that one of the secondary characters gets introduced earlier. Any thoughts?
I will begin posting the rough edit of chapter 2 (as it currently stands) this afternoon.
I woke up this morning with the clear understanding that 'this is the process'. It works, its been proven time and again. The writing I've done up to this point is unpolished, and the pacing and structure is messy. By the end this first bit of writing will be unrecognizable to what it is now.
So instead of continuing work on Chapter 3, I assuaged some of my creeping doubt by going back and working on some edits.
I restructured a troublesome conversation in the second chapter, as well as simplified some architectural descriptions. I think this helped.
I did come to a conclusion though. Up until this morning, the idea had been that the story would take part in something like four parts, each consisting of three or four chapters. The first part, which I'm about 70% finished writing, was conceived of as "Feast's solitary journey to the mainland". In outline form, this made sense. Part 1-Introduce Feast and his situation, Part 2-introduce the other characters, etc.. But, having written quite a bit now, spending so much time without a 'sidekick' might not work. With that in mind, I'm thinking of reorganizing some events so that one of the secondary characters gets introduced earlier. Any thoughts?
I will begin posting the rough edit of chapter 2 (as it currently stands) this afternoon.
Progress
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This evening I got comments back from Amanda and my brother regarding the second chapter. Good stuff, solutions to a lot of little problems I had. I'm going to do some editing, then start posting chapter two on Monday.
The seed
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This story actually has a pretty interesting starting point. Back in the summer of 2007 a group of friends and myself decided to create a tabletop RPG. I was new to the whole world of role playing games. Only a few months earlier I'd been asked to participate in a few indie RPG sessions. They were good fun and a great creative outlet. So when I was asked to be involved in starting a large scale ongoing campaign I jumped.
A group of around five friends and myself got together around a bonfire with a couple bottles of wine and some notepads. We chatted about our goals for creating this world. We discussed settings, and themes, and aesthetics. I won't claim to be the person who first brought it up, but I do remember being a loud voice in the conversation. The idea was, sword and sorcery, conan-like world where grit and blood abound, with the twist that the world has a finite lifespan. We came up with several ideas, and settled tentatively on a periodic global flood that devastated the planet. I think we all got really excited when we discovered that the floods were caused by the complicated tidal patterns of a whole mess of moons, thirty or forty of them. Again, I can't claim it was only my idea, but I'll put my flag in it regardless.
So we had this world, and a few kernels of plot, but nothing more. We ended the initial world building session with the assignment to create a character with a brief back story. I went home excited, knowing exactly who I was. The next day I wrote the following:
The Would-Be Vessel
I am Speaker Feast of the Second Mylthaenii Waning. I am one of the few who still believes in the preservation of the old gods naming convention. My birth was witness to the second waning cycle of the minor sub-mother Mylthaenii, an event very few are fortunate enough to experience. Mylthaenii’s many faces foretell a great tapestry of history that will blanket our world for better or worse. I am told that at the moment of my birth the sub-mother wept in the sky and a thousand lands were drowned in her tears. I am Mylthaenii’s sorrow. I am the Astronomer’s Feast. I am the speaker of my people. And I am alone.
My birth stirred up great turmoil amongst the Astronomer’s of (insert name of monastic island enclave here). Children born with the mixed eyes of Great Father Je’Cheris and the idiot-sleep are beyond rare, and a sign of powerful change and destiny. Many saw these traits and marked me as the vessel re-born, an omen my people wait their whole lives to see. But sub-mother Mylthaenii marks her children as destroyers, and dealers of deeds much darker.
The political infighting, compounded by my increasingly infrequent bouts of idiot-sleep saw my expulsion from the good graces of the Great Father and Sisters. They say the signs were wrong. They say I am not, after all, the vessel re-born. They say it is another. But I know who I am. I can feel the overwhelming weight of perfect geometry weighing down on my soul. I can see a thousand lifetimes spread out behind me like a great caravan across the sea of stars. I am the Astronomer’s Feast. I am Mylthaenii’s Sorrow. I am Hesetiah’s one true child. My people burned for their disbelief. Now I have only my duties, and my destiny, and the child.
The highlands writhe with whisper’s of the coming flood. A flood the likes of which this world has not seen since the days of the men who fell. Soon a thousand children across a thousand lands will be hailed as the one. The chosen one. The one who dries the world. The vassal come to pull the ill and meager mumbling ones from the rising tide. But these false idols are born of fear and superstition. They will bring only false hope and complacency.
In a time when C’Kana marks imminent turmoil, I say Amen.
I go back and read this now and cringe a little. Seems pretty melodramatic to me.
Our gaming group never met again. The project died and we all forgot about it. My interest in role playing died as well. But from that project the seed of this novel was created. For that, I owe thanks for my fellow role players.
Almost three years later, when I decided to commit to writing a novel, I immediately thought of Feast, the would-be vessel.
A group of around five friends and myself got together around a bonfire with a couple bottles of wine and some notepads. We chatted about our goals for creating this world. We discussed settings, and themes, and aesthetics. I won't claim to be the person who first brought it up, but I do remember being a loud voice in the conversation. The idea was, sword and sorcery, conan-like world where grit and blood abound, with the twist that the world has a finite lifespan. We came up with several ideas, and settled tentatively on a periodic global flood that devastated the planet. I think we all got really excited when we discovered that the floods were caused by the complicated tidal patterns of a whole mess of moons, thirty or forty of them. Again, I can't claim it was only my idea, but I'll put my flag in it regardless.
So we had this world, and a few kernels of plot, but nothing more. We ended the initial world building session with the assignment to create a character with a brief back story. I went home excited, knowing exactly who I was. The next day I wrote the following:
The Would-Be Vessel
I am Speaker Feast of the Second Mylthaenii Waning. I am one of the few who still believes in the preservation of the old gods naming convention. My birth was witness to the second waning cycle of the minor sub-mother Mylthaenii, an event very few are fortunate enough to experience. Mylthaenii’s many faces foretell a great tapestry of history that will blanket our world for better or worse. I am told that at the moment of my birth the sub-mother wept in the sky and a thousand lands were drowned in her tears. I am Mylthaenii’s sorrow. I am the Astronomer’s Feast. I am the speaker of my people. And I am alone.
My birth stirred up great turmoil amongst the Astronomer’s of (insert name of monastic island enclave here). Children born with the mixed eyes of Great Father Je’Cheris and the idiot-sleep are beyond rare, and a sign of powerful change and destiny. Many saw these traits and marked me as the vessel re-born, an omen my people wait their whole lives to see. But sub-mother Mylthaenii marks her children as destroyers, and dealers of deeds much darker.
The political infighting, compounded by my increasingly infrequent bouts of idiot-sleep saw my expulsion from the good graces of the Great Father and Sisters. They say the signs were wrong. They say I am not, after all, the vessel re-born. They say it is another. But I know who I am. I can feel the overwhelming weight of perfect geometry weighing down on my soul. I can see a thousand lifetimes spread out behind me like a great caravan across the sea of stars. I am the Astronomer’s Feast. I am Mylthaenii’s Sorrow. I am Hesetiah’s one true child. My people burned for their disbelief. Now I have only my duties, and my destiny, and the child.
The highlands writhe with whisper’s of the coming flood. A flood the likes of which this world has not seen since the days of the men who fell. Soon a thousand children across a thousand lands will be hailed as the one. The chosen one. The one who dries the world. The vassal come to pull the ill and meager mumbling ones from the rising tide. But these false idols are born of fear and superstition. They will bring only false hope and complacency.
In a time when C’Kana marks imminent turmoil, I say Amen.
I go back and read this now and cringe a little. Seems pretty melodramatic to me.
Our gaming group never met again. The project died and we all forgot about it. My interest in role playing died as well. But from that project the seed of this novel was created. For that, I owe thanks for my fellow role players.
Almost three years later, when I decided to commit to writing a novel, I immediately thought of Feast, the would-be vessel.
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