Posted in Fallen Cloud Saga, Writing, tagged blogging, creative writing, Fallen Cloud Saga, novel writing, self-publishing, simplification, Writing, writing techniques on 15 Oct 2012| 4 Comments »
I’m on vacation, so naturally, I am working on my book(s).
My wife chides me. Work has been in a furor for over a month and I haven’t had a day off in three solid weeks, so what do I do on my first day off? I finish the edit on FC:III and start the copy-edit/formatting process. This is fun? This is gearing down? This is taking time off from work to…work?
Actually, yes, it is.
Posted in Fallen Cloud Saga, Hi Tech, Writing, tagged creative writing, ebooks, editing, Fallen Cloud Saga, FC:V, Kindle, novel writing, self-publishing, Writing, writing techniques, writing tips on 10 Oct 2012| Leave a Comment »
For any writer, the time between final MS edits and seeing the work in print is the longest ever experienced. For the self-published writer, who has greater control over this “pre-production” period, there is great temptation to push the process forward, cut corners, and accept less-than-perfect results, in order to get that book into readers’ hands.
With FC:II (aka The Spirit of Thunder) I have had to be very strict with myself. I’ve gone through four proofs—one physical, three digital—finding and then fixing one small error after another. It’s been tough, and I’ve had that conversation in my head…you know, the one that starts, “Who’ll notice?”
Bottom line: I noticed. So will someone else.
Posted in Fallen Cloud Saga, Writing, tagged Beneath a Wounded Sky, creative writing, editing, Fallen Cloud Saga, FC:V, novel writing, self-publishing, Writing, writing techniques, writing tips on 09 Oct 2012| 1 Comment »
While I’m struggling with the proof process on FC:II (the errors are entirely my own; nothing to do with CreateSpace), another topic came to mind on which I have an opinion: Character Names.
I’ve seen some doozies—in print and in workshops—that left me shaking my head in wonder. Don’t these people read their own stuff? Don’t they see/can’t they hear how awful that name sounds? Below are some of the naming practices that drive me batty.
Posted in Fallen Cloud Saga, Hi Tech, Writing, tagged CreateSpace, creative writing, ebooks, Fallen Cloud Saga, Kindle, Lulu, novel writing, novels, self-publishing, Writing, writing techniques, writing tips on 04 Oct 2012| 2 Comments »
Yesterday, the second proof for The Year the Cloud Fell (2nd Edition) arrived from CreateSpace, and it was easy to see that the revisions I made were warranted.
The smaller font size and the wider margins make all the difference in the “feel” of the text on the page. Bookman Old Style still has that open, hot-lead, typeset look in 11pt, and the extra white space to top and side actually make the smaller font look less cramped. It’s readable, it feels good in the hand, and it passes all my criteria for a quality product.
It’s ready.
Posted in Writing, tagged blogging, creative writing, Fallen Cloud Saga, novel writing, Writing, writing techniques, writing tips on 01 Oct 2012| 1 Comment »
I know I’m not alone. I am pretty sure most writers suffer from it. It presents itself with many symptoms, but the cause is the same. At some point, we lose confidence. Without warning, we are sure that we can’t write, that everything we write is crap, and everything we’ve ever written is crap.
For me, this condition crops up at regular, predictable intervals. I’ll be writing along, and suddenly it all seems so much dross. The outline sounds stupid, juvenile, uninteresting. The story is just so much blathering. I hate what I’ve written, I’m sure everyone will hate what I’ve written, and I can see no point in continuing.
I’ve hit it. I’ve hit the 30k wall. (more…)
Posted in Culture, Fallen Cloud Saga, Movies, Writing, tagged creative writing, editing, Fallen Cloud Saga, novel writing, orson welles citizen kane, welles citizen kane, Writing, writing techniques, writing tips on 29 Sep 2012| Leave a Comment »
We are informed by our experience. A lot of my experience comes from cinema. I am informed by cinema.
Many readers have told me they can “see” the scenes I write, that my style is “cinematic.” I take this as a compliment, as it is something for which I strive. I want the reader to see it in their mind. I won’t provide each hair or feather or leaf in a scene—that would be awful—but I want my words to paint just enough of the picture that the reader has all she needs to move forward and fill in the details she wants.
But I am definitely informed by cinema. Case in point: a scene I just came across during my re-edit of The Spirit of Thunder. I remember writing the scene, I remember storyboarding it out in my head. I remember knowing exactly what inspired me to construct the sequence as I did. (more…)
Posted in Writing, tagged adverb, adverbs, creative writing, novel writing, Writing, writing techniques, writing tips on 25 Sep 2012| 3 Comments »
There are few classes of words with a worse rep than adverbs. The title of this post, taken from George Meredith’s The Ordeal of Richard Feverel, is pretty much the gold standard of bad adverb use. Editors hate them; many writers eschew them. I, however, will stand up in their defense.
Kurt R.A. Giambastiani 