Hey Guys,
I finished a draft of Sludge. It turned out to be about 300 pages. I've also made some changes to the begging to make it jive with the what the rest of the book became. I'll also be submitting the first 35 pages to Tor Publishing so I'd really appreciate it if you'd gave another look at the first 20 pages with the new material. I'll be emailing it shortly. Does it flow with the new material? Does it make sense? How can I make it better? All comments on anything are always appreciated.
Thanks,
Alan
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Sunday, March 10, 2013
New Dark is the Night opening
Hi fellas,
Sorry this is so late. It's a new opening to Dark is the Night. Quite a few similarities to its previous incarnation, except I've bumped it up in the timeline, so the first chapter is actually the last scene before the climax (chronologically). I'm drafting a revision of this that starts en medias res but then does less chronological skipping around. Let me know what you think! And be tough! I mean business with this revision.
Ri
Sorry this is so late. It's a new opening to Dark is the Night. Quite a few similarities to its previous incarnation, except I've bumped it up in the timeline, so the first chapter is actually the last scene before the climax (chronologically). I'm drafting a revision of this that starts en medias res but then does less chronological skipping around. Let me know what you think! And be tough! I mean business with this revision.
Ri
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Late
Hi fellas,
February's been a crazy month. I probably should have posted something by now. I'm sorry I haven't. If someone has something to submit now, please do so by all means and I'll go next. Otherwise, I'll send you some pages by next weekend.
Write on!
February's been a crazy month. I probably should have posted something by now. I'm sorry I haven't. If someone has something to submit now, please do so by all means and I'll go next. Otherwise, I'll send you some pages by next weekend.
Write on!
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Clutch
Hello, hello!
I've emailed everyone the next section of Clutch. I hope to send Clutch out after one more rewriting, so please be tough!!!
Monday, January 21, 2013
FROZEN
Bill,
What an opening! As arresting and exciting as any opening I've read in recent memory, and I've been reading many (lots of short stories)!
I particularly like how you dramatize Eric's personal conflict immediately. His response to discovering the body is complex and conflicted--a part of him feels the urge to leave the body there and continue on with his life as if nothing had happened, while another part of him feels a bond with the body of the person he has discovered, and I wonder if it's that tug of compassion that foretells Eric going on a quest/mission/investigation to try finding truth and justice.
Maybe some questions about the role of Eric's compassion might help you imagine and generate: What role does Eric's compassion play in this story? How does it help him in trying to find truth and justice? Is his compassion ever a vulnerability? And I wonder, does he ever encounter more situations in which he has to choose between walking away from from his pursuit of the truth (perhaps for safety or simply so he live a life free of the burdens of his quest) and soldiering on to figure out who killed Mrs. Richardson?
Eric is set up as a truth-seeker. He observes how Sheriff Dudley doesn't really seem to ask too many questions, as if he already knows the facts, and I think this bothers him the way that things that give off whiffs something's-not-quite-rightedness (how's that for a made-up word? POW!) do bother those characters who feel that driving desire for truth and justice. And to make sure that Eric as driven and sharp as possible, make the villain as driven and sharp as you can! It takes a very clever sleuth character to catch a very clever villain!
Also, I like how you've drawn the characters into tight conflict. The victim isn't just someone Eric doesn't know; it's one of his teachers--a teacher he likes. And his mother knew this teacher. And his father knows Sheriff Dudley, who may or may not have been involved in the murder but will certainly be involved in the investigation!
I also like that Eric's vulnerable in terms of his skiing talent. It seems like he can't take the tough hills and others know this (Sheriff Dudley, for example, barbs him about this--an early attack from the villain?).
Since I'm working on a mystery/suspense, too, I thought I'd ask: Have you found any good resources as far as police investigation, etc.? I've been using two from the "Howdunit" series--Forensics and Police Procedure & Investigation--that have been pretty helpful.
In short, Bill, bravo!!! How has the story been going?
What an opening! As arresting and exciting as any opening I've read in recent memory, and I've been reading many (lots of short stories)!
I particularly like how you dramatize Eric's personal conflict immediately. His response to discovering the body is complex and conflicted--a part of him feels the urge to leave the body there and continue on with his life as if nothing had happened, while another part of him feels a bond with the body of the person he has discovered, and I wonder if it's that tug of compassion that foretells Eric going on a quest/mission/investigation to try finding truth and justice.
Maybe some questions about the role of Eric's compassion might help you imagine and generate: What role does Eric's compassion play in this story? How does it help him in trying to find truth and justice? Is his compassion ever a vulnerability? And I wonder, does he ever encounter more situations in which he has to choose between walking away from from his pursuit of the truth (perhaps for safety or simply so he live a life free of the burdens of his quest) and soldiering on to figure out who killed Mrs. Richardson?
Eric is set up as a truth-seeker. He observes how Sheriff Dudley doesn't really seem to ask too many questions, as if he already knows the facts, and I think this bothers him the way that things that give off whiffs something's-not-quite-rightedness (how's that for a made-up word? POW!) do bother those characters who feel that driving desire for truth and justice. And to make sure that Eric as driven and sharp as possible, make the villain as driven and sharp as you can! It takes a very clever sleuth character to catch a very clever villain!
Also, I like how you've drawn the characters into tight conflict. The victim isn't just someone Eric doesn't know; it's one of his teachers--a teacher he likes. And his mother knew this teacher. And his father knows Sheriff Dudley, who may or may not have been involved in the murder but will certainly be involved in the investigation!
I also like that Eric's vulnerable in terms of his skiing talent. It seems like he can't take the tough hills and others know this (Sheriff Dudley, for example, barbs him about this--an early attack from the villain?).
Since I'm working on a mystery/suspense, too, I thought I'd ask: Have you found any good resources as far as police investigation, etc.? I've been using two from the "Howdunit" series--Forensics and Police Procedure & Investigation--that have been pretty helpful.
In short, Bill, bravo!!! How has the story been going?
Sunday, December 2, 2012
New Year's Resolutions
December's got me all reflective. My resolution last year was to finish drafts--and I finished two drafts--one of The Ghoul and one of Clutch! So I'm content with what I've done this year!
I also found that if I'm working on a kind of story that needs quite a bit of planning and research, as The Ghoul does, that I shouldn't worry about taking the time to absorb myself in the planning and the research.
My resolutions for 2013, not necessarily in this order: 1) Rewrite Clutch and send it off; and 2) Rewrite The Ghoul.
Also, because 2012's not quite over, my resolution for December: Finish researching for The Ghoul.
Time is on our side!
Your resolutions?
I also found that if I'm working on a kind of story that needs quite a bit of planning and research, as The Ghoul does, that I shouldn't worry about taking the time to absorb myself in the planning and the research.
My resolutions for 2013, not necessarily in this order: 1) Rewrite Clutch and send it off; and 2) Rewrite The Ghoul.
Also, because 2012's not quite over, my resolution for December: Finish researching for The Ghoul.
Time is on our side!
Your resolutions?
New Schedule
Here's the new schedule taking us into the new year:
- December 16th: Bill
- January 6th: Andy
- January 27th: Riley
- February 17th: Alan
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)