Category Archives: Writing

(Holiday Post #2)

I've actually completed draft 0 of my novel, and it clocked in at a pretty low word count.  Fortunately, this is pretty normal for me.  Even with a rather extensive outline (about 41 pages of it), my 'Draft 0's' tend to be about getting the ideas down on paper (plot) rather than telling an intriguing, descriptive story.  The next version, a true first draft, should be well over my projected word count, at which time I start pruning and cutting and tightening. 

It is at the end of the first draft where I will have considered myself actually having written a novel.  So, for the sake of record keeping, Draft 0 is at 34,000 words, which equates to 154 pages and an average word count of 639 words per scene (53 scenes).  For draft 1, there are a couple of scenes I'll be removing since they don't really move the story forward.  Plus, there is a new sub-plot I want to add, with will increase the scene count by about 10.

I have no idea if any other writers out there use the same method as I do, but this seems to work for me. 

There seems to be some sort of block at 6:00 AM.  Moving from a 7:00 AM wakeup to a 6:00 AM one went very smoothly.  The alarm would go off, I'd get up and start the day.  Getting past 6:00 AM has been a bit of a challenge.  The alarm is set for 5:45 AM, I turn off the alarm, and hang around in bed for 10 minutes.  Not exactly working.  I think I'll try one more day at 5:45 AM, and move to 5:30 AM anyway.

I started getting up early in order to get more writing time.  I am managing to stay off the internet, and I did write 200 crappy words this morning, but I'm not seeing the progress I want.  Most mornings I've been working on a contract technical document, which is not why I'm doing this.  Switching from the technical writing to the fiction writing is a tough switch;  I find myself using more of a passive voice.  

I'll keep plodding along.  If this getting up early thing doesn't work, when I go back to regular hours it'll be like I'm getting 2 hours of extra sleep. 

As I've mentioned here before, I started a local Writers/Critique group.  One of the rules that we instituted was that you should have something to critique every meeting.  We did allow for the occasional missed meetings, but we were looking for an overall participation rate.  Last meeting, I didn't drop anything off, so in order to follow my own (stupid?) rules, I need to have something for this meeting.

When I write, my first drafts are bad.  I have sudden POV changes, I change from third person present tense to third person past tense on a whim.  I haven't yet put any first person POVs into a third person POV work, thank goodness.  I really can't hand in the first draft stuff for critique, it'll get torn apart, and rightfully so.

For the last few days, I've been moving my first scene from its first draft stage to something more solid, something that fits in with what a scene should be (POV characters goal moving through to POV characters disaster, with multiple motive-response sequences in it, blah blah blah).  I've found it to be exceedingly slow work.  The thing is, I'm enjoying it.  I like going through and making sure things are structurally correct.  I enjoy sitting on a word or a turn of phrase, making sure it brings across the emotion or sentiment I want.  I thrill at making sure my similes and metaphors bring out the imagery I want, like the work of a fine painter on canvas.

My problem now is, I wanted my first chapter (three scenes) critiqued the next meeting, and I should have handed in my work last Friday.  How am I supposed to get this done by todays extension date?  Aaaargh! 

As an add-on: I prefer to finish a work before I start revising.  The momentum of generating new material builds on previous work, a cake made of many layers building to create a finished product.  I hope that revising before I've completed the first draft hasn't taken the wind out of my sails.  (Ugh, cliché)

Well, it’s official I guess. The writing group I started has had its second meeting. We’ve critiqued two pieces of work, and the format seems to be working well. Originally, we had five prospective members, but by the time everything settled, we ended up with two. Yup… just two. Still, it’s a start, and we are pushing each other to generate more work.

One of the rules of the group is that you must have something to critique every meeting. We’ve already broken that one, and we’re currently at every other meeting. With the feedback from the other member (d’oh), it should be easy enough to accomplish every meeting. I’ve left every meeting with a huge urge to sit down and write, which is great.

Currently, we’re looking for more members. I think five or so in total should be a great size. If everyone submits something for critique, and each critique is allotted 15 or 20 minutes, that’s a good length for a meeting. We’d still get time for socializing and discussing concepts and plots, etc. Originally, we’d planned on a group that didn’t cater to any particular genre, but now there may be a slight lean toward Science Fiction and Fantasy. I’m not sure yet. Keeping things genre specific allows us to skip some preamble on the critiques, since everyone would be familiar with the basic concepts. On the other hand, being non-genre specific give us more points of view and a fresh pair of eyes.

Something to think about.

At any rate, if there’s anybody in Winnipeg, Manitoba interested, leave a comment here and we’ll figure things out from there. I’m trying to create a nice tight knit group, so we’ll need to get together and talk first, maybe have a meeting with you, and then we can both decide if the group is a good fit.

Oh, and I plan on getting back to weekly updates on the blog. I’m aiming for every Tuesday and keeping my fingers crossed (which makes it hard to type).

Announcing the James Patrick Baen Memorial Writing Contest

Since its early days, science fiction has played a unique role in human civilization. It removes the limits of what “is” and shows us a boundless vista of what “might be.” Its fearless heroes, spectacular technologies and wondrous futures have inspired many people to make science, technology and space flight a real part of their lives and in doing so, have often transformed these fictions into reality. The National Space Society and Jim Baen’s Universe magazine applaud the role that science fiction plays in advancing real science and have teamed up to sponsor this short fiction contest in memory of James Patrick Baen.

CONTEST RULES:
-Write a short story of no more than 8,000 words, that shows the near future (no more than about 50-60 years out) of manned space exploration in a positive, exciting and hopeful way.

-No entry fee. But please only submit one story…your best one!

-All entries must be original works in English. Plagiarism, poetry, song lyrics, or characters from another person’s works will not be considered.

-E-mail submissions only. Send entries as .rtf attachments to: isdc.jbu.contest@gmail.com

-Please put the word SUBMISSION in the subject line when sending a contest entry and QUESTION in the subject line for questions to the contest administrator.

-Each entry must have a cover page with the title of the work, the author’s name, address and telephone number, and an approximate word-count in the body of the email. The manuscript should be in standard manuscript format and should be titled and numbered on every page, but the author’s name MUST BE DELETED to facilitate fair judging.

-Deadline is April 9, 2007.

WHAT WE DO WANT TO SEE:
Moon bases, Mars colonies, orbital habitats, space elevators, asteroid mining, artificial intelligence, nano-technology, realistic spacecraft, heroics, sacrifice, adventure.

WHAT WE DON’T WANT TO SEE:
Stories where everyone dies, stories that show technology or space travel as evil or bad, dystopias, Star Wars type galactic empires, UFO abductions.

JUDGES:
Semi-final judging will be by Jim Baen’s Universe editorial staff, final judging will be by the Publisher at Baen Books, Toni Weisskopf and Jim Baen’s Universe editors Eric Flint and Mike Resnick.

PRIZES:
-The GRAND PRIZE winner will be published in a future issue of Jim Baen’s Universe* and paid at the normal paying rates for professional story submittals. The author will also receive free entry into the 2007 International Space Development Conference, an autographed copy of The Best of Jim Baen’s Universe, a totebag and coffee mug.

-SECOND and THIRD place winners will receive a year’s membership in the National Space Society ($45 level), an autographed copy of The Best of Jim Baen’s Universe, a totebag and coffee mug.

*Publication details will be worked out between winner and JBU. In the unlikely event that none of the stories qualify for professional publication, a cash prize, of an amount determined by contest organizers, may be substituted in lieu of publication.

-Winners will be announced and notified no later than May 9, 2007. (only the winners will be notified) The winners will be honored at the 2007 International Space Development Conference Gala Awards Dinner, in Dallas TX, on May 22, 2007. (though we would prefer the winner attend this Gala, it is not required.)