tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91911753601881892532024-03-12T21:27:57.656-07:00ThreadcasterA young adult novel by Jennifer StolzerAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16472717789327875670noreply@blogger.comBlogger57125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9191175360188189253.post-64858975868225996902013-06-15T12:13:00.001-07:002013-06-15T12:26:33.158-07:00Here we go again.Another round of queries away.<br />
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I'm quite nervous... I'm praying really hard that these ladies will be interested, they're all great people and I'd be happy to have any of them represent me. Now It's a waiting game. Wish me luck!<br />
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gulp!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16472717789327875670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9191175360188189253.post-54756847531771647912013-06-05T19:50:00.001-07:002013-06-05T19:50:09.853-07:00Long absence Greetings followers,<br />
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I apologize for lapses in blog posts. If you've been following me on tumblr or on facebook you've seen more art and activity in the past months.<br />
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I'd like to start by criticizing Google's linked account ability which allows me to edit multiple youtube accounts wihtout logging out but not multiple blogger accounts because that's just a shame. I'd have so much more to say on this blog if I didn't have to log out of gmail, youtube, gchat and etc to do it.<br />
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Anyway, I've been editing and editing for the elapsed time, finally ready to send to more agents. The last batch passed, which is fine, the manuscript is stronger now, and hopefully worth pursuing. i'll update everyone with my progress soon. Until then, have some art I've created in the time we've been apart.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EJ8Xz1KXm2E/Ua_4pdeM7bI/AAAAAAAAAFQ/dD_itDY9ilo/s1600/catPete_val.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EJ8Xz1KXm2E/Ua_4pdeM7bI/AAAAAAAAAFQ/dD_itDY9ilo/s320/catPete_val.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--h5y6nRttfg/Ua_4pwFwHnI/AAAAAAAAAFc/ucc2Ygj1hDE/s1600/threacaster_cat_miracle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--h5y6nRttfg/Ua_4pwFwHnI/AAAAAAAAAFc/ucc2Ygj1hDE/s320/threacaster_cat_miracle.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16472717789327875670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9191175360188189253.post-39327809581436931702012-10-12T08:33:00.000-07:002012-10-12T08:33:31.755-07:00Other Threadcaster LocationsI've been editing and fielding beta readers for the last couple months, so there isn't much news. If you're interested in the less significant, Threadcaster is now on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/Threadcaster" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://threadcaster.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Tumblr</a>, and<a href="http://pinterest.com/jenniferstolzer/threadcaster/" target="_blank"> Pinterest. </a><br />
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Follow any of those places for art updates, blurbs, production photos, reblogs etc.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16472717789327875670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9191175360188189253.post-79588328922342137182012-06-11T12:39:00.000-07:002012-06-11T12:39:23.275-07:00RejectionsI know every writer gets rejections, I'm not naive enough to think I'd be immune from the inevitability, but that doesn't make them easy. The interesting part of it is analyzing how I respond to them. I'm obviously a pleaser, I'm learning it more every day.<br />
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When I receive a rejection, I hit a kind of panic mode. I don't get angry; getting angry is projected negative energy. I don't necessarily get sad either, even though being sad is probably the healthiest response. I get panicky and I get doubtful and I start to believe all my faiths are delusions.<br />
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It's shocking how quickly it turns. I was at lunch today with a friend of mine who believes in me unconditionally. She read the first three chapters of my book and loved them, giving them sincere praise and lots of encouragement. I thanked her over and over and assured her, in full confidence, that I would keep trying despite getting rejections. I'm only beginning along this path. Then, the minute our lunch was over, I opened my email to find a rejection and I instantly doubted my merit.<br />
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Thinking about it, I can rationalize why this is. It's because I feel like I'm doing the best that I can. I'm making the best story I can produce with all the work and attention I can afford. Receiving a rejection fills me with this intense fire to fix things. I want to make the book better for having received the rejection but I have such a hard time pushing through what I considered was "the best I could manage". This makes my paranoid mind call into question my ability and taste level. I'm terrified that I'm clueless and delusional about my own abilities and skill level - of those who think they are God's gift to their particular field but are actually stuck in the mediocre.<br />
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I want so badly for Threadcaster to do well. I want it to be a big success - I really think it could be, and I'm terrified of failure. Not only of not making it to the national market, but also of being a blip on the radar. I feel like the world and its inhabitants could resonate with audiences, and I have faith in its promise, but there's so much that's out of my hands. If the world that receives my baby isn't receptive then my big dream and my best shot might die on the table. I'm not ready for that, and I'm not ready for by best job to be nothing special. If only passion could sell a book.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16472717789327875670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9191175360188189253.post-2657329381377916302012-05-28T19:32:00.002-07:002012-05-28T19:32:45.649-07:00Vinita OklahomaOn my way home from a family wedding in Dallas TX, I find myself in a Holiday Inn Express in Vinita OK. I legitimately love it here.<br />
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Not to live... holy cow not to live... but as a tourist of a legitimate small-town USA burg I'm enraptured. All the local restaurants are closed unfortunately (it's Memorial Day) but the hotel is very nice, they have hot tea, and there's a thunderstorm on the way. I've got the second half of Chapter 25 to rewrite but I thought I'd take a moment to update the world.<br />
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So I haven't written in my blog recently because I've been busy in the publishing world. I hesitate to go into details, but it's requiring one last-minute scan through the full draft, an editor I made contact with on Facebook and the hopes and dreams of the last eight years. I'm hoping the effort pays off. I know having interest is driving me to finish this polishing-off.<br />
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Something I'd love to do though, one day, is to take a writing vacation to a small town like this... maybe me and another person (a fellow writer) and we'd pick a new coffeeshop/restaurant to camp at every day until we've explored most the whole town. Just sit and write forever for, like, 3 days. It sounds dreamy. Vinita OK is small enough that their fire truck is a pickup with a hose in the back. It's parked outside my hotel right now and I'm not sure why... maybe because everywhere else is closed and this is as likely a place as any to get struck by lightning.<br />
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Someday I also want to go on a Writing Cruise. One of those transition cruises that go from, like, SanDiego to Vancouver in the off-season? No stops, no excursions, just me, all the hot tea and blended coffee I can consume, and nowhere to go.<br />
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Maybe when Threadcaster's a thing we'll have a big Threadcaster writing cruise and I'll open it up to any other writers/readers/fans etc and we'll all cruise together. I'll write the sequel, you all write your own novels. Some of you can even write TC fanfic, I know I'm DYING for that inevitable Trace/Artemis slash fic (and by dying I mean I can't wait to know it exists and never ever read it and that's the honest truth. I can't wait to know it exists somewhere, the pairing is SO obvious). Anyway - writing cruise - it'll be the best thing ever. <br />
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Okay, back to Wind Town.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16472717789327875670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9191175360188189253.post-86864989783782731742012-05-06T11:13:00.002-07:002012-05-06T11:13:32.183-07:00The rapidly decaying spiral toward success, destruction or bothTo start with, I think it's a sin to occupy the only chairs at Barnes and Noble near power outlets when all you want is to nap. Sleep in chairs I don't need!<br />
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Second I have lots of news in the world of Threadcaster. Firstly the novel and I went to the Missouri Writer's Guild's 2012 conference here in town. I learned lots of things about voice and character. I also pitched to two agents and both asked for partials! So that was good news.<br />
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I worked for a week after the conference on my first three chapters. Getting them beta'd, read aloud, edited, the works... then Monday I took the plunge and sent them off.<br />
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Ten minutes later -- ten minutes -- I got a reply from one of them asking for the full. This is the dream of any author! A full draft read by a real agent!? Elation.<br />
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Or by elation I mean panic... because I was kinda counting on those four to six weeks agents ask for to do the whole beta-read-aloud-edit-final draft stuff on the REST of the book. So I asked for a couple weeks which she was gracious enough to provide and went all-in on this draft.<br />
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Which brings us to now. I'm sucking down chocolate milkshakes and tea in Barnes and Noble praying the amount of books around me will radiate brilliant literary confidence and lucidity because my brain is a curly fry and my emotions are just as frazzled. It makes you wonder why people are writers at all... but only for a minute. The fact is that for all the pain I am LOVING this. I'm collapsed in a mound of drool and tears but I wouldn't have it any other way. I have an excuse to write forever. Forever and always. If I didn't need food or rest I'd be golden, it's the rest of the world that's making me crazy...<br />
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I'll update when I'm further on.<br />
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OH and btw if you all are interested, Threadcaster has a tumblr now. <a href="http://threadcaster.tumblr.com/">http://threadcaster.tumblr.com/</a><br />
I'm a visual thinker so a lot of my character and plot brainstorms come out as pictures which I'll post up there. If you're interested in seeing Threadcaster art on the casual follow or bookmark! I predict a lot of frustrated Cats and Peters coming up... and maybe one or two Sharons with holes in her head.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16472717789327875670noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9191175360188189253.post-53044597563312782592012-03-31T12:32:00.004-07:002012-03-31T12:33:31.273-07:00Book Review and General UpdateSo I finished Catching Fire, the second in the Hunger Games series.<br />
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My review? Better than book 1. The intrigue and character development were much better in this volume. I enjoyed seeing everyone change - which is what I was missing in HG - and seeing how Katniss' actions affected the world she lived in. I'm not anxiously anticipating book 3 because the ending of this book left me jaded and disinterested, but I'll have to read it now I guess. What's the point of reading two of three? Especially when the books are so short and fast. I like the pacing of them and the sense of adventure. We'll see if the series' lack of satisfying conclusions plays out better in the concluding volume (can you hear my skepticism?)<br />
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I also saw the Hunger Games movie and it was Amazing and Fantastic and better than the book. They fleshed out the world a bit more and gave us a firmer grasp on the conflict, plus not being in whiny Katniss' head the whole time let us become involved in the story unfolding and the emotions and relationships of other characters.<br />
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THREADCASTER NEWS - I've made great progress in the draft. I've gotten past that road block that has kept me so preoccupied and I'm now rewriting more manageable things. I just finished a section that barely needed to be touched! It's so refreshing to revise instead of rewrite, it strengthens the faith I have in myself and my writing. Hopefully the rest of the draft will proceed as smoothly. <br />
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/09/Catching_fire.JPG/200px-Catching_fire.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16472717789327875670noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9191175360188189253.post-58039273688205917172012-02-24T12:20:00.002-08:002012-02-24T12:20:46.759-08:00Observing developmentI was looking back over old art and was thinking about all the changes my story and characters have gone through. Some are radically different than their concept stage others look the same on the outside but changed on the inside, still others no longer exist at all! I was thinking of doing a blog series about my different characters/Curses and the development process they've gone through to this point. Would that be interesting to anyone?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16472717789327875670noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9191175360188189253.post-10999910942381621812012-02-21T10:00:00.000-08:002012-02-21T10:00:28.943-08:00ProgressIt's been a while since I updated so here goes.<br />
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I've launched rewrite number3. I like the place it's at a lot better, it leaves less to the characters to figure out by themselves, meaning they can focus more purposefully on the task at hand and having relationship moments. No bamboo traps for me, only exposition as exposition requires.<br />
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I got myself a tumblr account: <a href="http://threadcaster.tumblr.com/">http://threadcaster.tumblr.com/</a> Where random art and discarded excerpts go up every so often.<br />
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I'll try to cross-post every so often to spread the love around, but if anyone out there has a tumblr and wants to share thoughts, art, encouragement, likes and reblogs I would love the company :) Writing a book is sometimes tough work. I spent all yesterday writing an argument between my mains and could use some commiseration. Thankfully my biggest fan @SassyDetective is over there, you can see her artistic cheerleading on tumblr as well, its far too cute.<br />
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I'm looking at writing Water Town by next week. I've got some paid work to do for a change - I do so much pro-bono art getting a check seems like a novelty - so that might delay it. We'll see.<br />
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I'm also half a month into the Insanity workout program to counter-act all the sitting/staringatthescreen/frustratedlipgnawing I do. Maybe by the time I'm done with I'll have a book AND a set of rockin' abs!<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16472717789327875670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9191175360188189253.post-17155115397507297712012-02-11T13:01:00.000-08:002012-02-11T13:02:49.765-08:00Book Review: The Hunger Games<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So I finished the Hunger Games the other day. I'll start by acknowledging that the main characters names are Katniss and Peeta... which make Cat and Peter very nervous. They're different people though, so hopefully the similarities don't start any problems. Other than that the stories aren't very much alike, I hope that works to my advantage.<br />
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my interpretation of the two main characters</div>
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stolen from my tumbler: <a href="http://www.tumblr.com/blog/jameson9101322">http://www.tumblr.com/blog/jameson9101322</a></div>
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As for the book itself; it was alright, I really enjoyed the middle part where it was exciting adventure all the time... the rest just turned my stomach. I feel bad enjoying something as wholly off-putting and disgusting as blood sport between children. I mean kids as young as twelve years old were killed in those games! The thought of it and watching the audience accept it as something to be celebrated just grossed me out. It was barbaric. Good job Suzanne Collins for getting me in your world and stirring those emotions but it leads me to my big kinda complaint about the book and why I didn't love it as much as others did. <br />
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Spoilers btw.<br />
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I wanted more revolution by the end; more action or at least more reaction. I didn't feel like Katniss was ever really emoting the whole time - oh she talked about her thoughts on the subject but very rarely did those thoughts translate to emotional or physical reactions. There were a couple shining moments when she did: Rue for example. And when she and Peeta were separated at the end in the hovercraft; those two moments were great because she behaved like a real person would in those instances. The rest was more of her trying to pick apart other people's gameplay and not trusting people - which is the kind of girl she is, so I guess I can't fault her, but that kind of protagonist kept me from fully enjoying the book. For instance, I couldn't really get invested in the romance between Katniss and Peeta because Katniss wouldn't get invested in it. I was riding her like a vehicle and since she was stubbornly refusing to fall for the guy even though blind people could see he was being honest, I couldn't really fall for him either. I was waiting for Katniss to go first I guess.<br />
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That's the thing about first-person stories, when the tale is told by the point of view of one person we as readers are left to accept their opinions as our truths. We can disagree if we want, but in the end it's HER story and we're living in HER shoes. I guess what I really wanted from the Hunger Games was a more dynamic protagonist, because by the end Katniss felt so stagnant and stoic, I wasn't sure if she'd had an arc at all, and that ruined it for me.<br />
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That said I do recommend it for people to read. I enjoyed the ride, just not as much as everyone else in the world seemed to, and that's okay. I'm still going to see the movie when it comes out but I don't think I'll be reading books 2 and 3.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16472717789327875670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9191175360188189253.post-39810073643362267002012-01-20T12:39:00.000-08:002012-01-20T12:39:08.917-08:00More RewritesI'm sure you're all tired of hearing me talk about rewrites, but I promise this is the last one.<br />
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I've gone through a rewrite of 30-60 explaining the whole prophecy and mission and everyone's roles in more direct and deliberate terms. At this time I wanted to share a kernel of wisdom.<br />
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Simpler is better.<br />
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Is there an easier way to say things? Are you using fifteen words when five will suffice? Passive voice, purple prose and long windedness slows your plot down and confuses your reader. Here's my anecdote for the situation.<br />
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In Threadcaster God is gone. Like, he left - vanished - caught the last train for the coast, all that jazz. As a result people are getting cursed. In the book I explain this one sentence: God left and the people were cursed. with three paragraphs of flowery prose and two pages of explanation making sure my audience and my characters understood what I wanted them to without drawing false conclusions. So for this rewrite I went back in and explained the whole thing as "God left and the people were Cursed and this is how you fix it" and suddenly both Cat and the audience understood without the pages and paragraphs! Everything's better, everyone's happy.<br />
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So yeah, there's my wisdom. Use the fancy language if you have to, but don't overindulge, it will get out of hand and then you'll need to do four rewrites. Peace out.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16472717789327875670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9191175360188189253.post-45753788943815002292011-12-17T15:38:00.000-08:002011-12-17T15:38:35.795-08:00Back on TrackWhew... okay! Everything is back how it was. I kept the good additions, the tweaks in character and pacing, and nixed that annoying contrivance set to establish false urgency; because that's what it was: FALSE urgency. I spent more time making my characters remind each other how urgent it was than I spent developing their relationship. It drove a wedge between my mains and kept everyone unhappy including me. I'm better off without it.<br />
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Progress wise I'm back in the realm of 60-90... that dreaded pie slice that has dogged me for so long. I'll tell you all when I get back to Kindle parts and have to snip her out again. My Betas tell me they don't miss her at all from the previous pages where she was summarily amputated. Just goes to show you that I didn't really need her to start with. I plan to write an obituary on her later when she's 100% gone.<br />
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For those friends who keep track of me on facebook and instant messenger I'm sorry I've been so absent. I've been keeping my chat streams off so I can get down to writing. I never make any progress when it's on - too choppy. I'll be back later when this stuff is sorted out.<br />
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If I don't post another blog I wish you all Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! You can keep up with me on Twitter (@threadcaster , @jenniferstolzer ) facebook and tumblr (jameson9101322)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16472717789327875670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9191175360188189253.post-81604983990707189132011-12-08T18:54:00.001-08:002011-12-08T19:03:58.007-08:00Crisis, breakdown and an emotional lowI have ruined my book.<br />
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It was doing fine. I loved it. I believed in the characters then suddenly I get some feedback.<br />
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"It needs urgency" my reviewer said. So I devised a plan... include a day in which things take place. Suddenly everything sucks.<br />
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I no longer know what's happening or what to do. I'm "fixing" things with patches I haven't preplotted out and messing with things I swore I'd never again touch. I'm at a crippling emotional low as I reconsider the value of everything I've made.<br />
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This book sucks, it'll never sell, It's a wasted effort, I'm a horrible author.<br />
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Why did this happen? Why have I fallen into this hole and how can I get back out of it?<br />
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First question I have to ask myself is was the edit worth it? Do I believe in the concept of the new story element? Well yes... on paper I believe in it fine. Utilizing it, however, has thrown me for a loop. I've edited it fifteen times... how can I use the same idea with less invasion?<br />
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Maybe I just namedrop it like it's not a big deal? No, it's a story thread... ugh...<br />
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Maybe I leave it out of the part that's confusing - aka the prophecy. We learn about the Brushcaster betrayal later in the game. Build it back up about the Curses again like I did last time.<br />
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Maybe I put this goddamn book on a shelf for another three years and rewrite it then.<br />
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I'm really miserable right now, you guys, I'm seriously considering abandoning ship and going to a previous draft where this addition didn't exist... at least to write ahead. I'm so tired of being stuck in the same ninety pages.<br />
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This blog post is more for my own frustration because my previous strategies haven't helped. I tried to talk it out but my sounding board didn't care. I tried to write it on paper and failed. I tried putting it together in the draft and sucked desperately.<br />
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All I ask from my audience right now is prayer - God's the only guidance I can trust at this point.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16472717789327875670noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9191175360188189253.post-37591825626102978142011-11-28T08:51:00.001-08:002011-11-28T09:10:55.291-08:00A sense of urgencySo I share 30 pages of Threadcaster at a time with a few close friends and mentors. They are all extremely patient with me - especially since I keep rewriting and rewriting things they've already seen, but it's their feedback that makes it <strike>necessary</strike> possible. Yesterday I got such a piece of feedback from fellow author Peter H Green. He said "Everything flows fine but there is no sense of urgency. You've got the pull toward the goal, but I don't feel any push."<br />
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Sense of Urgency huh? This posed a dilemma. My story has plenty of conflict starting around page 65... but up to that point it's getting to know the characters and getting used to the world they live in. I 100% believe this is a good thing - my world is complicated, it has rules and traditions the reader must understand to follow the rest of the story. Still a lack of urgency is a very real problem and it does not a good writer make if you ignore the input of your betas just because it's a little work.<br />
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So I thought about ways to build urgency - how about a villain actively working against the players through the plot? No... I do have villains but they are very powerful people who's leverage on the beginning of the book would probably keep our reluctant hero from agreeing to go without three pages of combatant dialog. No, the Brushcasters need to stay where they are.<br />
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What about a ticking clock? A time limit would impose some urgency and up Cat and Peter's emotional dilemma because a rush to save the world is a rush to put poor Pete in an early grave. That could do... it can't just be contrived though. I need to find a way to get it in without it creating an audience perceived False Urgency. Otherwise known as the "Just'cuz"es.<br />
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A "Just'cuz" is when an author's fingers start to show. "Why did he do that?" Author - "Just because." "Why did he decide to go there?" Author -"Just 'cause". "It was extremely lucky that he went to that town to run into the next action scene." - "Yeah, I needed him there for the plot"<br />
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The Just'cuzzes are as bad a disease as the Yes-mans and the Bamboo Traps. These things pander to the audience and insult their intelligence. I needed to find an integrated way to up the intensity that isn't Lady Creven saying "'By the way, I'd like you to complete this dangerous journey in about a week... Thursday's my only free day, you see. Does that fit in your schedule?" So what solution did I decide to employ? Well... it's all a matter of festivity.<br />
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I've had an elaborate backstory for a while now, but I took it out of the book because a large part of it had nothing to do with Cat. It still doesn't, really, but it has a lot to do with the rest of her world. I used the backstory as a stage and invented this great big huge festival in which the people of the Valley try to fulfill the same prophecy Cat and Peter are trying to fulfill in the book. This festival takes place on a specific day and time - the only day and time that "success" can take place. Unfortunately that festival day is a week away. Cat's going to have to hurry to keep the world from dying.<br />
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This solution is super. I can use the festival theme throughout as Cat moves from town to town. We see the decorations going up; the signs and festivities and how hopeful the people are that this will finally work. Little do they know that Cat's the one REALLY trying to fulfill the prophecy and the Brushcasters are actively trying to stop her. It gives us a C story that is separate from Cat's main quest but parallel so I don't have to cut away to any sidescenes. I've already implemented it up to a point. I have a little more rewriting to do before it's done... but I think I'm content. It definitely gets the beginning of the quest to go a bit faster.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16472717789327875670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9191175360188189253.post-77858128649943667702011-11-25T14:01:00.001-08:002011-11-25T14:12:20.451-08:00The Ensemble Cast: a Collection of NamesI thought it would be fun to share a little wisdom I've found writing a book with a very large cast and a bit of a tactic I use to implement it.<br />
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Threadcaster, as some know, is a quest story - Cat and her horribly afflicted friends travel their small world on a grand adventure. They meet a lot of people on their journey - some important, some not so important, some only important later on. So the questions is - if you meet ten new people every place you go how do you help your readers keep it straight? The answer I've found is as simple as ABC.<br />
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That's right; the Alphabet. Reading is a visual activity as much as an aural one and having a lot of characters with similar names can be very confusing. For the eye, starting the name with different letters helps the reader differentiate at first glance - if the character is the only person in the whole book whose name starts with "F" then the reader will instantly say "Oh! It's the "F" name guy!" when he shows up again. Let's apply this to Threadcaster.<br />
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As a bit of an exercise I opened a blank document and listed all the letters A-Z in rows, then filled all the names of people we meet with any significance. I do a pretty good job of this already it seems ... but some letters (A, J, and M as it turns out) had an uneven number of characters listed. These might get confusing so I've taken some of the minor characters out and either not named them at all (Is it really important to learn the Mayor's first and last name?) or renamed them (Ashley is a very minor character tucked in with some important ones like Aiden... so I swapped her for Heather since I only had one H.)<br />
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I try not to name two characters in the same place with the same letter unless it's plot-appropriate, and I try to make reoccurring side-characters the only ones in their list. This way I think the cast, although large, is a little easier for the brain to sort - and if there's one thing I pride myself on in this book is how easy I want it to read and understand. It's taking a lot of work and brainpower on thsi end of the pen but for you, noble readers, I hope it's pretty easy.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16472717789327875670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9191175360188189253.post-67240182872650110822011-11-21T12:03:00.001-08:002011-11-21T12:06:56.558-08:00A discoverySo today I discovered I'm a writer.<br />
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I know that seems silly what with me having already completed a novel, but let me explain. I had a meeting today with a very very nice local business consultant ready and willing to learn about my illustration work and how he could help me. Instead of whipping out my work and expounding on how accomplished, useful and willing I am I prattled on forever about writing - not necessarily Threadcaster, I didn't dwell on the novel itself - but about writing in general and being in writing groups and how writing works and my plans for publication. I met with him hoping to get leads on a job for my illustration and by natural conversational happenstance I wasted the whole time on my other career.<br />
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I guess that means that Writing is my primary passion then huh? I can do the rest, but when asked what I want to be doing Threadcaster is it. It is what I want to be working on, it's what I want to put my hours and invest my future in. I'm discouraged because this seems like a really stupid thing to have done, but I guess it's true now. The conversation wouldn't have happened if I wasn't being honest.<br />
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So hi everyone, I'm a writer. Lets hold hands and pray this isn't a huge mistake in priorities.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16472717789327875670noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9191175360188189253.post-28472052758557500872011-11-17T15:49:00.001-08:002011-11-17T15:51:16.291-08:00Welcome to Threadcaster.com!That's right! Threadcaster now has a domain. It's sleeker and classier than it's ever been before - special thanks to the Rampant Creative group (www.therampant.com) for their help in designing and building it.<br />
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For those watching the blogspot fear not - for it is the same and all the blogger features remain they're just prettier. I'm excited for Threadcaster to have a real web presence - it's like the book is becoming a real thing.<br />
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Now back to editing it!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16472717789327875670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9191175360188189253.post-69895885333884738302011-11-05T11:00:00.000-07:002011-11-05T11:00:48.357-07:00Never Give UpWent to a workshop today by the St.Louis Writer's Guild. Claire Applegate spoke on promoting your book... it made me realize I have a lot to work on.<br />
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Firstly I need to get my website going. This blog is great and all, but I own www.threadcaster.com and I've got to get going on that. Second I might want to publish a logo for my book so that I can sue people who try and call their whatever Threadcaster before the book comes out. Third I need to start working on my BOOK TRAILER which I am going to ANIMATE because I want to use that degree I earned for SOMETHING!!!<br />
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I'm particularly excited about the book trailer. It's goign to take a lot of work, and I don't know when I'm going to squeeze it in around all my other obligations, but it never hurts to start early. I need to get an animated storyboard put together so I know what stuff I need. It'll give me a chance to show off all my designs and maybe something to submit to film festivals and local showings for more publicity.<br />
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Everything is publicity. Everything has an angle. Try anything you can, join anything you can, do anything you can.<br />
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Never give up! You've got your own strengths and skills other people dont have. You're telling a story no one else can tell - do it for your sake and for the world! Enjoy yourself but don't slack off.<br />
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Never give up! Never surrender!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16472717789327875670noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9191175360188189253.post-83405597109642487322011-10-24T14:15:00.000-07:002011-10-24T14:15:53.161-07:00Replotting the path to Water TownIn response to the twitter freakout I had a little bit ago, I realized I was flaying my baby to the point that there was no life or love in it anymore. This, of course, is no good, so I got out an oversized sketch-pad and an offensively orange pen and wrote down what my troubles were. Aside from motivation issues and otehr problems I realized that the major problem here is that Cat didn't have a thing to do before she reached Water Town. She's the protagonist; if it's not important to her then it should not be included, even if it's developing the personalities of characters we'll be killing off shortly.<br />
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So this begs a new question; how can I accomplish the same end using Cat as a more prominent character. I won't get into all the details but suffice it to say I've run out of ink in my offensively orange pen and I have a plan for a new, better scene that will play out at the beginning of 60-90. It will involve the Brushcasters and will give Sharon and Kindle more definite direction. I hope it works in my favor... and that this new scene will eliminate a bunch of the questions and concerns that have been dogging me for months. Here is a short list of what I hope the new scene will accomplish for future reference:<br />
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1, It will include the Brushcasters without killing the action and explain a bit of what they are and how they work without having a lecture scene - although I like the lecture scene. I'll use as many elements from that as I can in this new scene.<br />
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2, It give Kindle a chance to be the hero again and take off through the wild blue yonder. With one more act of courage perhaps she will justify her existence?<br />
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3, It will put Cat in Chalsie-Veneer first, therefore allieviating a lot of the problems I had with getting people into town.<br />
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Wish me luck on this stuff, I'm not sure how it's going to work out. You might see some graveyard days go up here shortly as a result... or you might not because at this point the previous series of events is pissing me off so much I'd rather not look at them again.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16472717789327875670noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9191175360188189253.post-81189872238751096462011-10-09T20:52:00.000-07:002011-10-09T20:52:17.246-07:00I'm my own thiefI've run into an interesting problem of late... I keep stealing from myself.<br />
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I had to give Fire Town a whole rewrite for this new draft - the old way of things was meandering and unfocused so I had to punch it up. I worked on it for months until I got it just the way I like it... then moved on to Water Town and found - lo! In an effort to make Fire Town exciting I'd completely stolen Water Town's backstory! I guess I only have one idea at a time huh?<br />
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So this led to a decision; do I like Water Town's version better or Fire Town's version better. The answer is emphatically Water Town. Water Town's backstory has been the same as it is in one way or another since it's inception. So back I went to Fire Town to nip all the backstory out and replace it with another.... which was remarkably easy (go figure) The present was staying the same and a couple lines of dialog removed and replaced smoothed it all over. Then it was off to work on Water Town again.<br />
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Water Town doesn't get a WHOLE rewrite but it is getting a facial and a pedicure as it were... the beginning segment was horribly boring and needed a change. I came up with a great solution - it explained a ton and got everyone in the places they needed to be (which is a problem for me) and I wrote it as I was happy with it until I realized... I'd stolen that from Castleton in, like, the third scene! One trick pony - this am I.<br />
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It's because everything relates back to Cat and Peter's friendship - her stubbornness and his martyr complex.<br />
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In light of that though I think perhaps I might keep it...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16472717789327875670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9191175360188189253.post-15447463319703326112011-09-10T13:30:00.000-07:002011-11-17T22:27:27.193-08:00Graveyard Saturday: Water Town ExpositionToday I decided to make an effort to show not tell. It's a re-up of the intention stemmed from a great lecture about scriptwriting. I'm afraid I get addicted to dialog and I realized my characters are talking a lot and saying nothing - I want the whole book to be really snappy and I just got off a huge chunk of dialog, so I decided to cut this portion out completely even though I like it. So in it goes to the Graveyard. I hope you all enjoy this segment from Chapter 15<br />
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">"We should reach the Southern road by nightfall," Peter called from the trailing wagon. "Then it's south to Chalsie Veneer from there."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">"That long?" Ildri said and wiped her brow, "It's so hot out here."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">"Hold on, I packed an awning." Kindle recovered a roll of canvas from her things and stretched over them on a set of polls, "Better?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">"Yes." Ildri answered in a weary tone, "I guess you knew you were coming all along."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">"Yeah, I figured that out the minute you and Mom started arguing. It gave me all night to pack and make stuff." She grinned briefly at Peter then shrugged, "Lucky I'm over-prepared. I didn't think we'd get two Fire Curses. Lucky I made extra booties."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">Aiden raised the scab that used to be his eyebrow, "Booties?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">"Oh yeah." She rummaged in her duffel and produced a sack of bags and string. She thrust her foot into one of the plastic pouches and tied it at the knee with a piece of colored yarn. "See? Waterproof!”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">Ildri smiled uncertainly, “It's very clever, Kindle.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">Aiden bit dead skin off his lip, "How wet are you expecting it to get?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">"Water Town is super wet!" Kindle replied cheerfully. "Water Curses leaking, you know. They sweat and drool and cry and snot all over the place constantly. I can't wait to meet one!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">"Sick," Aiden sneered, "Do we really need one?"</span></div>
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“<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">We need one of each suit,” Cat confirmed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">"He can ride in your wagon then," Aiden groaned, “Keep the walking pain factory as far away from me as possible.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">"Don't worry, you'll be fine!” Kindle insisted. "I've got enough booties to wear on your hands too!”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">Aiden wrinkled his nose, "I'll pass."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">"What?" Kindle demanded. "Come on, I've made your life, like, fifty times easier. You can at least say 'thank you'."</span></div>
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“<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">Okay,” Aiden looped his arm out from behind Ildri and leaned forward, “Thank you for making us painful footwear that will take all the skin off our legs, stick to our sores, inflate with hot air and collect puss on the bottom until they're just as wet as the ground we're avoiding.”</span></div>
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"Ew," Kindle scraped her tongue on her teeth, "I think I just gagged a little."</div>
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"Nature of the beast, kid," He slouched in satisfaction, "We're Fire Curses."</div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">"You're nasty." Kindle stuffed her invention back in her bag, "Our Water Curse will take Cat's wagon by choice."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;"><span style="color: black;">``~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</span>~~~~~~ </span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16472717789327875670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9191175360188189253.post-84903490032344788362011-09-06T11:48:00.000-07:002011-09-06T11:48:35.206-07:00The Evolution of a townSo my little Threadcaster world hasn't gone through a lot of significant changes. It's a very small world - a collection of towns within the bowl of a huge crater surrounded by mountains. In the center is the capital city called Castleton and in the four cardinal directions like a compass-rose are Dire Lonato, Chalsi Veneer, New Torston, and Astonage.<br />
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Saying the world hasn't changed through development is a bit misleading however. It's been changing constantly. The towns have changed locations, names, appearances and attitudes, but the things that are have always been; four towns in a compass around Castleton- the center around which this small universe rotates.<br />
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I just finished the final revision of Dire Lonato. Sure I'll go back and give it some shine later, but the series of events and what happens there is pretty much set in stone. I thought it would be a nice time to talk about the town's staggered history through the eyes of its author.<br />
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Dire Lonato was always named Dire Lonato. It was always Fire aligned and always the first stop on our tour of the Valley. The place was originally sort of a Disney's Aladdin looking place (further emphasizing the middle east and the allegory and ho boy that's another blog post). Square sand-brick buildings with colorful awnings and simple people who make pots and textiles. Cat and co were initially forced to adventure into the bad part of town because there are Curses among them. They left their things with a blind, toothless stable owner and got stuck in the market place on their way to Sharon Fiammetta's house.<br />
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I guess I could go back even further - in teh first first draft of this book, the place was an artistic town and we found Sharon by attending her daughter Kindle's school play. Not only was this impossibly slow and dumb but Peter's a liability everywhere we go. His trauma and hardship hinges on the fact that he's not tolerated - and walking into a school auditorium was really obviously misaligned. Instead I had Cat get nabbed in the street and trapped in a burning house. This was also bad so I had her attacked by fire monsters.<br />
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It's hard to believe these rough draft ideas ever worked now that I've got the final version - I won't spoil the events for those who will inevitably read the novel - but it does not involve school plays. What it does involve is the strengthening of global themes and the more poignant introduction of a main character. And more than one burning building - I scaled up :)<br />
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Past Dire Lonato is Fire Town which has gone through it's own set of changes. Originally it was out in the desert. Then I moved it to a dry riverbed. The final location is wedged in a mountain pass where (and here's some lore for you) the most impressive waterfall in the Valley used to fall. The hidden falls trailed down from the western mountains and carved a deep lake and snaking river out into a forest. The forest is long dead and the lake is now dry and that's where Fire Town is. It's pretty fancy. I'm quite fond of the "lake of fire" pun I serendipitously arrived at through this system. The Curse town itself still looks the same as it always has - and the members that survived the pruning are the same members that always lived there. There are about a dozen other named Curses that exist in town, but it's hard to keep track of a bunch of named characters when there's no time to flesh them out.<br />
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Fire Town and Dire Lonato's current incarnation is relatively young, but I feel like its the way they were always meant to be. When you read the book see if you can spot fragments of these old locations in the current ones.. there are more than a couple bones buried there.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16472717789327875670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9191175360188189253.post-18102669159082071192011-09-04T22:19:00.000-07:002011-09-04T22:19:17.207-07:0030-60So I'm done with the next 30 pages. I'm using the term "done" in a "I'm SOOOO done with this" sense. I know it's not perfect, but I've changed so much and worked so hard that i'm ready to move on. I'll go over it with the spit polish when I'm done with the rest of it. Part of it hurts my heart - since I have an ingrained sense of perfectionism when it comes with my book - but its time to move on.<br />
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I'm on to the next 60-90. I have just as much work to do on these as I did looking at 30-60... these pages were written five years ago and my goodness are they showing their age. It's being made better, and that pleases me. I'm excited to move on to Water Town and getting the next leg of the journey behind me.<br />
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For those I've spoken to about possibly querying at the beginning of September I'm sorry to report that I'm not ready to do that yet. I'm going to save it until I'm ready for it to go out. hopefully it won't be THAT long.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16472717789327875670noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9191175360188189253.post-29829858833941812122011-08-30T16:39:00.000-07:002011-11-17T22:27:12.337-08:00Graveyard Wednesday<div style="color: black;">
Graveyard Friday kinda failed, so I'm changing the rule to Graveyard Whenever.</div>
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I wrote this really sweet scene today, but I have to take it out because it's filler and filler is bad, so I'm putting it here, because it's sweet. Maybe someday when someone cares, people will find this section and a couple of the details will become fringe canon. Huzzah</div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">They stopped briefly back at the Fiammetta's inn for supplies. The town gate sat wide in the wake of the mob who'd ransacked the barn and busted open the front door. Sharon and Kindle went in to pack and assess the damage. Cat and the Curses waited in the garage. Ildri sat with her head bowed and Aiden's arm around her back. Cat approached with a heavy heart, "Hey."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">Ildri glanced up. Aiden eyed her steely, "Hey."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">"Um," Cat cleared her throat. "I wanted to thank you both for being so brave. I know it's not easy..."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">"It's not," Ildri said. "But you guys are right. The rest of the world is afraid of the truth but you're facing it. My mother has never been able to cope like that."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">"It's a lot to ask of someone," Cat agreed. "We'll make the best of it. You'll see. It won't be too bad."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">"Hey Cat," Peter called. He was standing near the broken stable door staring out at the ruined sculpture. "Take a look."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">The square was covered in evidence of the fight, but was no longer burning. She checked the rooftops briefly for strangers but saw no one. Instead her eye was drawn to the plume of fire in the Goddess's amputated hand. The base was covered in red jewels invisible from the ground until it fell; a mournfully poetic detail meant only for God. "I still don't think I can do this."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">"You can." Peter said. "You were meant to."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">"Was I meant to leave a trail of hate and destruction in my wake?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">"Don't blame yourself for that," Peter said. "You're the messenger. People always try to kill the messenger."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">"That pretty much sums up Fire Town." She griped.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">"Yeah and look how well that worked out!" Peter nudged her encouragingly, "You asked for one Fire Curse and got two. We'll ask for a Water Curse and get a dozen. By the time we get to Wind Town you'll be beating them off with a stick."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">"The Brushcasters will try and stop us." She said. </span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">"We'll beat them off with a stick too."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">Cat smirked up at him. "You're faith is unshakable."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">"Of course it is," Peter answered. "I believe in you."</span></div>
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16472717789327875670noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9191175360188189253.post-51331862089909273982011-08-24T11:42:00.000-07:002011-08-24T11:42:55.032-07:00Fire Town update: 2The hard work continues. I'm knee deep in a third drafting of this sequence of events. It's a complicated mess, but I know it's required. The hard part is making it interesting.<br />
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Some of the decisions I'm making seem like a stretch to the canon. I'm making excuses and coming up with awkward solutions to make the events fall in line. At what point does logic become lazy? When does watching people argue turn boring? At what point does "okay we'll do it" seem like a logical solution?<br />
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I'm at kaldi's right now. I plan to keep going. I'll report back when I can.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16472717789327875670noreply@blogger.com0