tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22426971834838913342024-02-18T19:52:33.987-08:00Rebecca ChastainSomewhere between a writer and an author.Rebecca Chastainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636968583309088356noreply@blogger.comBlogger628125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242697183483891334.post-81538517502804307382014-09-18T09:36:00.002-07:002014-10-27T19:17:00.245-07:00New Location, Same Great Fantasy<span style="font-size: large;">Thanks for dropping by. A lot has happened since I moved the blog to my website, including the release of two of my novels.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">You can find me at <a href="http://www.rebeccachastain.com/">my new website</a>. </span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: large;">You can find the blog here: <a href="http://www.rebeccachastain.com/blog/">http://www.rebeccachastain.com/blog/</a>.</span></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrrR4pafCnDz_NhArt6U5on3cKrjZhXGO12Cbr1FMOMd_kWzTwFz3Il1kfedZ9hlZD6dluF_ymUJrPUL_ThmTF7Mw1DCEx6Ol6b5PkieCgYaywPF7QEnrcAOq2sHkhyphenhyphene-FG9OlB9XqinQ/s1600/A+Fistful+of+Evil+-+Ebook_Compress2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrrR4pafCnDz_NhArt6U5on3cKrjZhXGO12Cbr1FMOMd_kWzTwFz3Il1kfedZ9hlZD6dluF_ymUJrPUL_ThmTF7Mw1DCEx6Ol6b5PkieCgYaywPF7QEnrcAOq2sHkhyphenhyphene-FG9OlB9XqinQ/s1600/A+Fistful+of+Evil+-+Ebook_Compress2.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
My urban fantasy novel, <i>A Fistful of Evil</i>,<i> </i>hit the Top 100 Fantasy bestseller list on Amazon just two months after its release. It can be found on <a href="http://smarturl.it/FistfulEvil">Amazon</a>, <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-fistful-of-evil-rebecca-chastain/1120170169?ean=2940150422612">Barnes & Noble</a>, <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/fistful-evil-urban-fantasy/id917456742?mt=11">iBook</a>, <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/474465">Smashwords</a>, and <a href="http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/a-fistful-of-evil">Kobo</a>.<br />
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My internationally selling fantasy novella <i>Magic of the Gargoyles </i>is also available, exclusively on <a href="http://smarturl.it/MagicGargoyles">Amazon</a>.</div>
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You can also find me on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5660379.Rebecca_Chastain">Goodreads</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/rebeccachastainnovels">Facebook</a>. </div>
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Drop by and visit me: I love to hear from readers!</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-izaobKXUsjk/VE77jbPsf5I/AAAAAAAADvI/p8rXse95wP0/s1600/Magic-of-the-Gargoyles-compress2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-izaobKXUsjk/VE77jbPsf5I/AAAAAAAADvI/p8rXse95wP0/s1600/Magic-of-the-Gargoyles-compress2.jpg" height="320" width="200" /></a></div>
Rebecca Chastainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636968583309088356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242697183483891334.post-24883633575051074652013-01-14T11:59:00.003-08:002013-01-14T11:59:50.442-08:00Eva for the WinI have just finished a sprint at the end of the novel-writing and -editing marathon, but by the grace of some serious chair-butt and a week off work, I have submitted Eva to the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Breakthrough-Novel-Award-Books/b?ie=UTF8&node=332264011">Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest</a>! Thanks to my husband, it even has a good title: <i>Tiny Glitches</i>.<br />
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Pause for celebration. Go on, get out of your chair and dance with me! <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZGpJhDVSqOutBACelTIzjr2tPFw0PQ3hHz2WUon4G7K5m6jDoxhIRYn5rImo-nm5Q9JXUiNPwVb6vRN8PirwqxmSrM7JXD4ll6-4GEE6pNPJoWYXr7M7f3ZFdpy-FzidezP5TGNkuDaM/s1600/ChildandTV.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZGpJhDVSqOutBACelTIzjr2tPFw0PQ3hHz2WUon4G7K5m6jDoxhIRYn5rImo-nm5Q9JXUiNPwVb6vRN8PirwqxmSrM7JXD4ll6-4GEE6pNPJoWYXr7M7f3ZFdpy-FzidezP5TGNkuDaM/s320/ChildandTV.jpg" width="320" /></a>In the last week, I cut over 11,000 words from my novel, rewrote the final two chapters and the first chapter, added in and refined the magic throughout the entire novel, and polished the manuscript, reading and editing the entire novel at least three times through, and some chapters at least five times.<br />
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I've never done such an intensive edit on such a short schedule, and I honestly don't know how professional, full-time authors do it. I'm so close to my book at this point I feel like the little kid with her nose pressed against the TV: The story has become a fuzzy blur of moving colors that makes no sense. The magic of the story is gone. I've lost all perspective on pacing (I'm trusting my outline and past me who said it was good), and while I know I built in surprises, I don't see them anymore. I know this book forward, backward, in piecemeal and in its dozens of iterations.<br />
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I'm just this side of sick of my novel, and I am measurably relieved that I don't have to read through it again today. Or tomorrow. In fact,<i> Tiny Glitches</i> is doing all the work on its own for the next month, hopefully wooing the judges with its irresistible pitch. On February 13, I will learn if my pitch makes it past the first round of cuts. If it does, more celebration. If not, I'll be turning my attention toward agents. <br />
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And now, the stats. <a href="http://www.rebeccachastain.blogspot.com/2012/09/hello-world-meet-eva.html">Since September 15</a>, I have spent an additional 47 days and 101 hours working on <i>Tiny Glitches</i>. The majority of it has been editing (I did not divide out my rewrite hours as "writing," because even I'm not that detailed in my tracking), but I also had to re-outline a chunk of the middle of the novel when I cut a 6,000-word scene.<br />
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<b>Story and Character Building</b><br />
<i>Days: </i>18 <i>Time</i>: 22.75 hours<br />
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<b>Outline</b><br />
<i>Days: </i>34 <i>Time</i>: 37.5 hours<br />
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<b>Write</b><br />
<i>Days: </i>72 <i>Time: </i>127 hours<br />
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<b>Edit</b><br />
<i>Days: </i>95 <i>Time: </i>175.25 hours<br />
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<b>Total to Date</b><br />
<i>Days: </i>219 <i>Time: </i>362.5 hours</blockquote>
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<b>Percentage of Time Spent on <i>Tiny Glitches</i> That Didn't Involve Writing: </b>66%</blockquote>
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My obsessive tracking has illuminate a few things.<br />
<ol>
<li>I spend a LOT of time editing.</li>
<li>I need to speed up the process somewhere along the way if I'm ever going to write more than one novel a year! (I just learned that James Patterson has written five #1 <i>New York Times</i> best sellers every year since 2005. I feel like such a slacker!)</li>
<li>Writing the novel isn't even half the process.</li>
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I have two new projects, both nonfiction, that are eager to be written, and then I get to start another novel. Right now, the straightforwardness of nonfiction sounds absurdly appealing. (Okay, I think that's just an illusion, but leave me my hope that nonfiction will somehow be easier or quicker.) <br />
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But right now, I need some celebratory banana bread! Rebecca Chastainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636968583309088356noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242697183483891334.post-71108466328513622832012-11-16T09:07:00.002-08:002012-11-16T09:07:51.960-08:00Emotional Change: Insight into Editing Your Own Work<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZjpzcoFE-7J33PPXabKWp2OQLggLFSKypTp1dH_dkEeodZYjD9vLbOBe65cYJtaqBXoU7yJ0ROuymeEwRDSxa2xGWdRFirYBwcbIOprqyzQKSxKzF8o0aARNqSNSS_hVu12bT_E4R8g4/s1600/story_mckee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZjpzcoFE-7J33PPXabKWp2OQLggLFSKypTp1dH_dkEeodZYjD9vLbOBe65cYJtaqBXoU7yJ0ROuymeEwRDSxa2xGWdRFirYBwcbIOprqyzQKSxKzF8o0aARNqSNSS_hVu12bT_E4R8g4/s200/story_mckee.jpg" width="140" /></a>I spent this morning as I have the last several mornings: going through the outline of Eva and making sure each scene has an emotional change.<br />
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I first learned of this story principle from Robert McKee's <i>Story</i> (he calls it a Value Change, I believe). This guideline now seems so obvious, and I'm chagrined I didn't figured it out on my own.<br />
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A scene without emotional change is a scene that has a character in the same frame of mind or experiencing the same emotion at the beginning as it does at the end. <b>Scenes without emotional changes are wasted scenes. </b>Either nothing happened to move the plot forward, or nothing happened to the character (no character development).<br />
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Of all the possible rules to follow when editing your own novel, this one is at the top of the list. No matter how beautiful the prose, no matter how hysterical or poignant the scene, if it doesn't pass the emotional change test, you know it's a weak scene and has to go (or be rewritten).<br />
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If you don't believe me (or Bobby McKee), read back through your favorite novels or watch your favorite movies and pay attention to the characters scene by scene. The best movies have an emotional change in <i>every</i> scene. Or, better yet, read back through that book that couldn't keep your attention. Most likely, it had wasted scenes without emotional changes. In the meantime, take a look at your own writing, and see how it stacks up against this guiding principle. Rebecca Chastainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636968583309088356noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242697183483891334.post-60532159876018856962012-10-26T16:30:00.001-07:002012-10-26T16:30:15.863-07:00Hello, World. Remember Me?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What my cat was doing a month ago.</td></tr>
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I feel like I've been buried in work, but it hasn't been that long...<br />
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Hang on. It's been a <i>month</i>? Okay, I <i>have</i> been buried in work. It was a good time for it. My husband and I had a large setback in a business venture that took the wind out of my sales. On top of that, or because of that, my creativity well was tapped.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What my cat was doing today.</td></tr>
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I've been working on my novels, but it's the kind of work that no one can see (not that anyone has seen my books yet, but you will, I promise!). I went through my problematic Book 2 in the Madison Fox series (Book 1 was <i>Conventional Demon</i>, which I submitted for publication the first of this month—still no word from the publisher saying they're in love with it). Book 2 has holes in the plot, and needs corrections to streamline it with changes I made in Book 1.<br />
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Since I loved the process of writing Eva and feel I might have finally hit upon a mostly workable Way to Write a Book, I decided to try a reverse-engineer of the process. I created an outline based off Book 2, and the next step is to use the outline to replot the novel, then write. Seeing the whole of a book is a lot easier in outline form than in book form, and I was able to write notes down about specific scene changes as I went.<br />
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Of course, given my energy level, available time, goal prioritization, and the general dearth of creativity, rather than jump into that project (or back into fixing Eva), I moved on to The Book That Went Off the Rails, otherwise known as Faye, the book I wrote before Eva. (Yes, even I have a hard time keeping track of what character name defines which book sometimes, and I wrote them, so I don't expect you to keep all this straight. Also, the hidden delight here is that I've written enough novels to sometimes confuse myself.)<br />
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It's time to get back to Eva and edits, and I'm ready. I want to show my book to the world!<br />
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Oh, and one last thought before I go: We've all heard about the 10,000-hour Rule, right? If not, the rule goes like this: In order to master a craft, you have to put in 10,000 hours of practice. I believe I'm pretty close to 10,000 hours of writing (though I'm not naive enough to say I'm close to <i>mastering</i> the craft). However, it recently occurred to me that I'm several thousand hours from the needed 10,000 when it comes to crafting a novel. Creative writing and crafting a novel are not always the same thing.<br />
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For some reason, this made me happy. Maybe it's the fact that I'm getting better. And, every day I work on a novel, even the unseen parts, is chipping away at that 10,000-hour goal.<br />
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Finally, <a href="http://www.ilona-andrews.com/work/splitting-the-wood">this post</a> cheered me as well; even <i>New York Times</i> bestselling authors still have plotting problems. Hopefully I'm getting better at seeing the problems earlier in the process, too!Rebecca Chastainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636968583309088356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242697183483891334.post-37346310722453947352012-09-25T12:47:00.002-07:002012-09-25T12:47:50.647-07:00Jordan, Good; Queries, Bad<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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If editing is my favorite part of the writing process, writing queries is my least favorite. It's mindbogglingly difficult to simmer down 430 pages into two to three paragraphs of energized, informative, colorful text.<br />
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Case in point, I just spent two and a half hours writing queries for Eva. I created two solid queries, both which need refinement. Total word count: 556 words. It's a slow, deliberate process.<br />
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It's also hard to ignore the critic when writing queries. While writing the novel, I write for myself. I write what I think is funny or the type of action I want to see. I don't know how else to write. But with the query, the sole purpose to is to attract representation and to sell the book. There's no pretending it is for entertainment (though a good query will entertain). <br />
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I'm calling it a day on the queries. Two and a half hours of banging my head against the page is enough. If I'm lucky, inspiration will strike again later tonight, as it did last night.<br />
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In the meantime, I've been enjoying one of the perks of this phase of the writing process: reading <i>The Fires of Heaven</i> by Robert Jordan. I've written enough books for my own style to resonate in my thoughts, so I no longer worry about what I read while I write. (I used to see other author's influences in my own writing, and my editing notes would include things like "too Laurell K. Hamilton" or "too Jacqueline Carey" in the margins, and I'd have to rewrite those passages in my voice.)<br />
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However, Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series always makes me yearn to write epic fantasies. Epic fantasies are what I cut my writing teeth on. (Hence a 1,000+ page novel for my first novel.)<br />
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I no longer write epic fantasies. Or I try not to. Faye, the book that went off the rails, turned epic. Reading Jordan while writing can alter my plot decisions, make crazy
schemes of adding in a whole new plot line seem like the only logical
solution, and twist an otherwise good novel into a hodgepodge. I need more practice in the art of writing a book, and more skill,
before I attempt to create such enormous worlds and a quilt of intertwining
stories. <br />
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So while I plan to reread all The Wheel of Time novels before I crack open the three written by Brandon Sanderson, I've been carefully pacing them between my own work. Now, while I'm editing and researching and writing queries, I can safely read Jordan, and any urges toward epic fantasies, I can write in my ongoing Story Ideas file and come back to with a clear head. If they still sound good, I'll consider them, but not while under the influence of Robert Jordan.Rebecca Chastainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636968583309088356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242697183483891334.post-62824210526097475932012-09-24T17:21:00.001-07:002012-10-13T14:49:44.705-07:00A Just UpdateAfter 17.5 hours of edits on <i>Conventional Demon</i>, I think this book is as polished as it's going to get. Bring on the submissions, <a href="http://harpervoyagerbooks.com/harper-voyager-guidelines-for-digital-submission/">Harper Voyager</a>. I'm ready.<br />
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I did a lot of subtle trimming this round. A sentence removed here, a paragraph there, a few words here and there. Nothing major. I don't think there's anything major left. I've been through this book more than a dozen times. More than 20 times. I've lost count. The fact that I'm calling this "Draft 6" reflects only the number of times I've done major rewrites.<br />
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This was the round of edits where I did a search for my trigger words. I made some progress.<br />
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Number of instances in which these words were removed:<br />
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<ul>
<li><b>Simply: 7</b></li>
<li><b>Definitely: 12 </b></li>
<li><b>Just: 103 </b></li>
</ul>
I'm especially proud of those 103 deleted <i>just</i> instances. (Sadly, my new <i>simply</i> word count had gone up by 1, so I had to do another round of searches and deletes.)<br />
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With all the trimming, I brought the novel down 1,749 words. That's more than a typical day's worth of writing for me. <br />
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<i>Conventional Demon</i> is a lean, clean, lighthearted urban fantasy ready to find its publisher. Wish me luck!Rebecca Chastainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636968583309088356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242697183483891334.post-21865557681975169532012-09-21T21:23:00.002-07:002012-09-21T21:23:41.580-07:00It's Just Out of Control<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After my last post, I wanted to see how often I used—ah, <i>over</i>used—the words <i>just</i>, <i>simply</i>, and <i>definitely.</i><br />
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The results are telling:<br />
<i> </i><br />
<i>Conventional Demon</i>: Total Word Count 94,000<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Simply: 22 times</b></li>
<li><b>Definitely: 40 times</b></li>
<li><b>Just: 244 times</b></li>
</ul>
Two hundred forty-four times! That's insane.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
But I've come a long way as an author since <i>CD</i>, right?<b> </b>I wrote three books, then I wrote Eva. So I should be well aware of my problem and have fixed it as I wrote, right? Well, at least partially.<br />
<br />
<i>Eva</i>: Total Word Count 119,000<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Simply: 13 times</b></li>
<li><b>Definitely: 13 times</b></li>
<li><b>Just: 272 times</b></li>
</ul>
I just found a very easy way to cut at least 150 words from this novel. Sweet!<b> </b> <br />
<br />
(Out of curiosity, I checked Faye, the novel that <a href="http://rebeccachastain.blogspot.com/2011/02/long-road-back-on-track.html">bloated out of proportion</a> to 250,000 words and went off the rails. Total number of times I used <i>just</i> in that novel: 491. Number of times I cut <i>just </i>from this blog: 4. Seriously, I might need an intervention.)Rebecca Chastainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636968583309088356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242697183483891334.post-74623569527516680752012-09-20T16:17:00.001-07:002012-09-20T16:17:51.391-07:00Friends Don't Let Friends Write Titles While on NyQuil<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9RxRjZTwC2bt2QzlCqvGM6b9EdCPsuloUATMPZUrLib8ZT-7tg4Qw5uO7aGLt-efjPgY-jXCMvwHicd5mKXQq4VTJxPdcLhBJ35qJXFBOjhX4ZV5ppFKf0KxxYOstqlP1Op4uVWIbJzg/s1600/A_LEGO_elephant_with_Indiana_Jones_on_its_back_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9RxRjZTwC2bt2QzlCqvGM6b9EdCPsuloUATMPZUrLib8ZT-7tg4Qw5uO7aGLt-efjPgY-jXCMvwHicd5mKXQq4VTJxPdcLhBJ35qJXFBOjhX4ZV5ppFKf0KxxYOstqlP1Op4uVWIbJzg/s320/A_LEGO_elephant_with_Indiana_Jones_on_its_back_.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Eva Parker and the Elephant of Doom</i> (<a href="http://gallery.techarena.in/showphoto.php/photo/11250">Source</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After nine blissful months since my last bout with ill health, I succumbed this weekend to my husband's cold. While my body focused on important things like white blood cells and mucus and consuming gallons of liquid and handfuls of vitamin C, I was left in charge of all forms of passive entertainment. In a snot-induced stupor, I attempted to sit through<i> Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon</i>. Even sick, even drugged on Sudafed, I couldn't handle the bad character development, terrible plot shifts, and faulty camera angles that interrupted story flow. Fortunately, I was able to wash away the bad taste of Michael Bay's trash with reruns of <i>How I Met Your Mother </i>and <i>The IT Crowd</i>, and new episodes of some of my favorite shows, like <i>White Collar</i>, <i>Warehouse 13</i>, and <i>Downton Abbey</i>.<br />
<br />
There is, however, a finite number of days and hours my muse will be hampered by sickness. On the second day, when I was too exhausted from sitting to remain upright, unable to regulate my body temperature long enough to fall asleep, and NyQuil was failing to meet all its promises, I grabbed a notebook and pen and wrote down all the titles for Eva I could think of.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
As you may guess, drugs, a fever, and muggy thinking don't produce the best of titles. Even on my good days, titles are hard. Sadly, here are the top five:<br />
<ol>
<li><i>Love in the Time of Elephants</i> (blatant ripoff)</li>
<li><i>Handcuffs and Tiny Elephants</i> (sad ripoff of <i>Arsenic and Old Lace</i>)</li>
<li><i>Electrical Malfunction</i> (because that tells you everything you'd want to know, and it's enticing, right?)</li>
<li><i>Feng Shui for the Elephant in the Room</i> (it's not a title that tags the book as a screwball paranormal adventure when you hear it, but I still kind of like it)</li>
<li><i>Apparitions Gone Wild</i> (because what female author doesn't want her fans to associate her book with all the other classy "Gone Wild" products out there?)</li>
<li>Bonus: <i>Eva Parker and the Elephant of Doom</i> (ripoff, but it cracks me up)</li>
</ol>
Fortunately, Eva is temporarily off my plate. I'm taking a break from the book while friends read it over and I await critiques (and hopefully some really good title suggestions). In the meantime, I've been editing <i>Conventional Demon </i>(remember <i>Conventional Demon</i>? the book I was going to <a href="http://rebeccachastain.blogspot.com/2010/08/even-keeled-optimism.html">publish</a>, then <a href="http://rebeccachastain.blogspot.com/2012/03/self-publishing-8-reasons-why-answer-is.html">self-publish</a>, then <a href="http://rebeccachastain.blogspot.com/2012/05/back-in-saddle-again.html">abandoned</a>?). The critic in me proclaimed the novel to be lackluster just four months ago. A dud. Good, but not good enough.<br />
<br />
I was in a darker place than I realized, being harder on myself than I should have been. The book's good. Not New York Times Bestseller good, which I think was the problem. It's got potential to be a mid-list title, which has never been my ambition. But I'd cornered myself into thinking it was launch with something brilliant (read: perfect) or nothing at all.<br />
<br />
That's a horrible strategy. So I've been polishing the book and prepping it for Harper Voyager's open submission in October for novels for their eBook line. I think that will be the perfect home for <i>Conventional Demon</i>. I hope they agree.<br />
<br />
I've also learned something new about myself today (other than not to trust that dark voice of doom): Along with the words <i>simply</i> and <i>just</i>, which top my Words Used Too Much list, I need to add <i>definitely</i>. It's simply out of control. How did I just not notice before?Rebecca Chastainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636968583309088356noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242697183483891334.post-24055087522551296802012-09-15T12:30:00.002-07:002012-09-15T12:31:23.091-07:00Hello, World, Meet Eva<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyNWxfJjsThbFeI8I7dVbeIdAOP-3d8t737y6TWVOg3MQeNWQmWrtzOaG6yiY76OcwA8JpRtTkEUTRsZHkgOCQ3p7El1aFh23DU7CdeKgFWoQP6Y79aU5JcwnDzanuRz9mY2RfkWC3Xc8/s1600/Eva4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyNWxfJjsThbFeI8I7dVbeIdAOP-3d8t737y6TWVOg3MQeNWQmWrtzOaG6yiY76OcwA8JpRtTkEUTRsZHkgOCQ3p7El1aFh23DU7CdeKgFWoQP6Y79aU5JcwnDzanuRz9mY2RfkWC3Xc8/s200/Eva4.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Psst! Edits are done!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Edits are done! Victory laps have yet to be made (my brain is still a little too mushy for wholehearted celebration). It's statistic time!<br />
<br />
Because so much of writing a novel is invisible to all but the author (and the people who live with her), I really enjoy when I have quantitative stats. <br />
<br />
<u>Length</u><br />
<br />
I'm notorious for overwriting, which means each edit was as much about trimming as it was about refining the story.<br />
<ul>
<li>Draft 1 = 124,615 words / 444 pages</li>
<li>Draft 2 = 120,887 words / 431 pages</li>
<li>Draft 3 = 119,771 words / 427 pages<a name='more'></a></li>
</ul>
Of course, my goal was to cut 10% from the original novel. While I've probably cut and rewritten over 30%, I didn't achieve the size reduction I wanted. I still have <i>7,617 words to cut</i>. That translates to 17 words a page. Doable, but difficult. In reality, I'm expecting my trusted readers to point out scenes that go too long, and I can trim chunks first. I did a lot of chunk-editing this last round, but not enough.<br />
<br />
<u>Time</u><br />
<br />
As I pointed out earlier, <a href="http://rebeccachastain.blogspot.com/2012/06/how-i-write-novel.html">the actual writing of the novel is one of the shortest parts of the process</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>Story and Character Building</b><br />
<i>Days: </i>17 <i>Time</i>: 22 hours<br />
<br />
<b>Outline</b><br />
<i>Days: </i>24 <i>Time</i>: 26 hours<br />
<br />
<b>Write</b><br />
<i>Days: </i>72 <i>Time: </i>127 hours<br />
<br />
<b>Edit</b><br />
<i>Days: </i>63 <i>Time: </i>95 hours<br />
<br />
<b>Total to Date</b><br />
<i>Days: </i>176 <i>Time: </i>270 hours</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>Percentage of Time Spent on Eva's Novel That Didn't Involve Writing: </b>52%</blockquote>
<br />
Given that in the future I want to write 2-3 books a year, I'm really going to need to pick up the pace. But for now, I'm content. Averaging 1.5 hours a day on top of work and life is pretty good.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh75l6UEWHPpmRG0bdGd0uS_4PDQGQDGYDv1pgnuGy9ty-rFmkxcRVvfErT_EBTrWf0dx2nLuvDdhPmu_wNZww2AU9k5jYTxbYSoWs0xnWGzvKS86Dm5VDxkUVE913GdKBScxIR61ZxBFU/s1600/Hudson_topless.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh75l6UEWHPpmRG0bdGd0uS_4PDQGQDGYDv1pgnuGy9ty-rFmkxcRVvfErT_EBTrWf0dx2nLuvDdhPmu_wNZww2AU9k5jYTxbYSoWs0xnWGzvKS86Dm5VDxkUVE913GdKBScxIR61ZxBFU/s200/Hudson_topless.jpg" width="132" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yo. I'm ready to be critiqued.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The next step is a fun one for me: Sending the novel to my readers for feedback. I've polished the book; it's ready.<br />
<br />
It's not perfect. I was sorely tempted to do another round of edits before showing it to anyone, but there comes a point where keeping the book to myself is counterproductive. I can do another round of edits when I implement changes. Because I know there'll be changes. Right now, the book feels done. The scenes feel complete.<br />
<br />
But they're not. I know this from experience. I'm so close to my work, there are going to be things I'll miss that no matter how many times I read the novel.<br />
<br />
Now...to celebrate! Rebecca Chastainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636968583309088356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242697183483891334.post-65463672120712726332012-09-13T10:15:00.000-07:002012-09-13T10:16:12.164-07:00Massaging a Storyline<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm-ZKIZJ_jk-fcz800n812IztfBQEjROGshRpBk2-D-cujnxfS0jOrJfogd3hct30kqMdfeufPNEnsdfxDRxQd3mTcdcsogWjvif7FA4POzb6qne_OKFH0eJwaPl3IteZG_4PM2jUIqao/s1600/RingSpiral.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm-ZKIZJ_jk-fcz800n812IztfBQEjROGshRpBk2-D-cujnxfS0jOrJfogd3hct30kqMdfeufPNEnsdfxDRxQd3mTcdcsogWjvif7FA4POzb6qne_OKFH0eJwaPl3IteZG_4PM2jUIqao/s200/RingSpiral.jpg" title="" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What replotting looks like inside my head.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I finished the second round of edits on Eva last night. I celebrated for a few minutes, then got to work on the scientist storyline problem. I needed to create some major proof to satisfy some very demanding scientific research companies, and the story as it stood didn't come close to making those companies happy. <br />
<br />
But that was okay. I had a solution. It was typed out in outline form over a month ago after the first read, when I recognized the flaw in the story's logic. It was a great solution. In fact, it was so amazing that modern science hasn't even caught up with it. Which meant, sadly, it was no good for this novel. I'm not writing a futuristic sci-fi. My character has already performed a spectacular scientific feat. To have her make two amazing scientific leaps in one novel was one too many.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
Back to the drawing board. The outline was cast aside. I was back to bullet points, each bullet representing a possible way to make the story work. My goal was ten plot possibilities that could get me out of my current trap. I made it to #9 before I hit upon my new strategy. It took an hour, and I felt physically drained from the mental strain. <br />
<br />
This morning, I translated my new idea back into outline form. That took another hour of massaging the new plot points to work with the current story. The end result:<br />
<ul>
<li>one new scene will have to be written</li>
<li>two to five original scenes will need to be edited and rewritten to incorporate this idea</li>
<li>the epilog will need a few more paragraphs of explanation to help the read draw all the twists together</li>
</ul>
But, the best news: I'm happy with it. The scientific research companies are happy. A few secondary characters get a little more page time, and the story doesn't require the reader to make the extraordinary suspension of belief the previous faulty plot line did. Now to implement those changes. Wish me luck!Rebecca Chastainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636968583309088356noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242697183483891334.post-27838895664780968522012-09-06T18:01:00.002-07:002012-09-06T18:01:18.409-07:00What's This Nonfiction Idea Doing in Here?<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv193MSyXt_0x3c6t6Rn4_h5_ErJewtbVkYcPlnZBkBHXBudlRIcB-Wyn0VxFHw6gA10ZoPxMVIIpeuFEkYCf3U_rGjCjwuAtMpTRql0CwRXAYbu__p_Em5je7SKnRDfeZwR00Xjm1BDw/s1600/20100209-catstack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv193MSyXt_0x3c6t6Rn4_h5_ErJewtbVkYcPlnZBkBHXBudlRIcB-Wyn0VxFHw6gA10ZoPxMVIIpeuFEkYCf3U_rGjCjwuAtMpTRql0CwRXAYbu__p_Em5je7SKnRDfeZwR00Xjm1BDw/s320/20100209-catstack.jpg" width="211" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How I visualize my queue of story ideas.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I had an idea last night for a nonfiction book.<br />
<br />
Yep. Nonfiction. Technically, this idea has been pinging around my head for the last five or so years. It hasn't quietly gone away, nor has it worked its way into any fiction novels. It has persisted. And last night, it was done with being quiet and waiting its turn in the queue of story ideas.<br />
<br />
As I tried to fall asleep, it paraded back and forth, shouting out ideas for layout designs, cover , interior art, and, most importantly, content.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
Fortunately, I learned years ago that getting up and writing these ideas down in the middle of the night does one of two things: it either proves the idea was crap when read the next morning, and/or it keeps me up long past my bedtime, making me irritable the next day. The added benefit of not getting up is I can forget the idea. Okay, I know this doesn't sound like a benefit, but I honestly believe that if I have an idea so incredible that it's keeping me awake, it should be incredible enough to remember the next day.<br />
<br />
So I shoved the parade of structuring possibilities and themes aside, and fell asleep. This morning, I worked on Eva. No matter what, Eva edits are top priority. I want to sell this book. I'm not letting another idea get in the way of that.<br />
<br />
Then I worked. The bills wait on no idea.<br />
<br />
Finally, I sat down to write until I ran out of worthy thoughts. It took four single-spaced pages and an hour and a half. Not a shabby brainstorm session.<br />
<br />
What's the idea? Well, it's in its infancy, so I'm not sharing. But I have some goals for the book:<br />
<ul>
<li>Max page count: 56 (laid-out pages)</li>
<li>Humor</li>
<li>Target audience: 18- to 34-year-olds, but mostly high school grads</li>
</ul>
I love new projects! They're so filled with energy and possibility. I think this book just moved up in the queue to #2. <br />
Rebecca Chastainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636968583309088356noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242697183483891334.post-51654910052283625292012-09-04T11:30:00.002-07:002012-09-04T11:30:40.567-07:00Over Halfway Done<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/calvinthephotographer/7103962253/" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Apocalyptic by Calvin Merry, on Flickr"><img alt="Apocalyptic" height="213" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7254/7103962253_b9ec83e34d_n.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/calvinthephotographer/">Calvin Merry</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
All has been quiet on the blog front for far too long. Unfortunately, with editing, there's not a lot of excitement. At least, not for anyone other than me. I get excited when a scene comes together or when I find something I wrote funny. The best is when I find a line that I love and I'm so pleased I wrote it.<br />
<br />
Here's one:<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<br />
"The elephantini had sounded science fiction enough for me. We'd just moved into apocalyptic thriller territory."</blockquote>
<br />
I love this line because:<br />
<ol>
<li>the action just got more intense</li>
<li>in answering some ongoing questions, a vast, new, horrific world of possibilities now plague my characters</li>
<li>I always have wanted to write an apocalyptic thriller.</li>
</ol>
This novel, despite the quote, is not a thriller. It's a comedic adventure with some paranormal elements. But maybe if I put it out there, in print, all my ideas for my apocalyptic thriller will converge into an actual story, and not just fragments of short stories.<br />
<br />
And in a side note, I'm more than halfway done with this round of edits. Yay!Rebecca Chastainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636968583309088356noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242697183483891334.post-18383666634940644762012-08-14T11:17:00.000-07:002012-08-14T11:17:30.397-07:00Editing Milestone and Google Takes a Power Trip<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8RBda45lUuD5JmLoaoWFEfW5blCumktMwVcHph2brUKYx_9EsIjAmmN-WCkJsK9uMWZ2bLWU-HaGhj5G_ad1G8G9KhksfXEcC-hnW3MSoKMIjhJO_BcLV316SMAYzUDXRWagKVlgdmxY/s1600/IMG_3233.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8RBda45lUuD5JmLoaoWFEfW5blCumktMwVcHph2brUKYx_9EsIjAmmN-WCkJsK9uMWZ2bLWU-HaGhj5G_ad1G8G9KhksfXEcC-hnW3MSoKMIjhJO_BcLV316SMAYzUDXRWagKVlgdmxY/s320/IMG_3233.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The original picture of Zenzo, the coughing cat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
All was quiet on my blog for several days. Not by choice, and not that I post so regularly that anyone could tell. For once, the reason was not procrastination or laziness. Nope: Google was having a power trip.<br />
<br />
It all started when I tried to email a video of my cat coughing to my vet. The video wouldn't go through. Not to the vet, not to my husband. So plan B. Upload the video to YouTube. Only, in order to upload, I had to make an account. Fine. I made one under my cat's name, with my cat's birthday, hit enter, and realized before the error screen had time to pop up that my cat was under 13 years old. Which meant she couldn't have her own channel.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
Easy fix. Change her birthday, gain access to her account, upload video, send vet the link. Done. (Yes, my poor cat has asthma. No, she does not like an inhaler.)<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt7nxl45GixgiO9z7wG6NyhHE3-sMF5ZhuSLLs93HP324BYIptYRzLUURiFhjdIc1Kp43rP44FKS7ju5Vr3cSM1m5t2j_WrP2rIP5FxMefXvDxk4KsXFeHMEFNmj2Hm5E2FtNzz-4UDEA/s1600/ScaryZenzo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt7nxl45GixgiO9z7wG6NyhHE3-sMF5ZhuSLLs93HP324BYIptYRzLUURiFhjdIc1Kp43rP44FKS7ju5Vr3cSM1m5t2j_WrP2rIP5FxMefXvDxk4KsXFeHMEFNmj2Hm5E2FtNzz-4UDEA/s320/ScaryZenzo.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paranormal Zenzo's ghostly impression (see, it's magic)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The next day, I clicked on my blog. I received an error page. My blog was temporarily taken down. I was not old enough to have it. This was suspicious. Checked my Gmail. Same message: send a copy of my driver's license or birth certificate, or pay $.30 with my credit card.<br />
<br />
What? Scam! Call my husband. No, it's not a scam. It's Google flexing their might. Unbeknownst to me (okay, intentionally glossed-over by me), my Gmail account was linked to my YouTube account. So when I entered my birthday for my YouTube account, it linked that birthday to my Gmail and my blog, despite the fact that I've had this blog active for almost five years. Also, despite the fact that I was able to change my birthday in YouTube to make me older than 13, I wasn't able to reinstate my old birth date on my Gmail account.<br />
<br />
After much fist waving and grumbling, I paid the $.30. Yeah, take that Google. I showed you. I totally bowed to your wishes and proved you have all the power in this relationship. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT9ptTHHKRuzpbN_rvf2iSJ9eMb-vdJ6xLsaKZCkNaYj8Md3NTOspl7K18vZYC4tgYX-ykaVIUOKk-kXSI1IzsomH_NDG3bkYibPB_G2ooAkSMG9zCyNNsv8itKn6B561PWK-BxMsrwkk/s1600/ZenzoBronzed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT9ptTHHKRuzpbN_rvf2iSJ9eMb-vdJ6xLsaKZCkNaYj8Md3NTOspl7K18vZYC4tgYX-ykaVIUOKk-kXSI1IzsomH_NDG3bkYibPB_G2ooAkSMG9zCyNNsv8itKn6B561PWK-BxMsrwkk/s320/ZenzoBronzed.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cat bronzed and still alive! Miracle at aspiring author's house!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Of course, while my blog was untouchable I thought of a half dozen interesting posts. Now? Hum...<br />
<br />
I reached page 100 in my second-round, intensive edits of Eva. I'm pleased by that, though I still feel it's going too slowly.<br />
<br />
I have taught my cat how to retrieve a treat from an opened, otherwise empty Gerber baby food container. Or I should say, my cat has learned how to stick his paw into the container and tip it, and I have spent a lot of time laughing at him pat around the outside of the container, puzzled by how he could see the treat but not touch it.<br />
<br />
I have dabbled in Photoshop, during which I learned two things.<br />
<ol>
<li>Photoshop is modern magic. </li>
<li>Photoshop is not for the faint of heart. (Have you seen how many options are listed under each button? Photoshop is no Word, that's for sure!)</li>
</ol>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1MJUTtebU_V9BiZHlDIkrVQso1iDi-bX6X9_AWZ8gcit5K47UN1qvClATIIetZgVuVIeb-9V_0snW_OQbKO5OF38k5t2lXDSNazK4qHcmz-4BPAh2wmaC1MIIZKOZyyEcjq3F-_MnvSo/s1600/ZenzoImproved.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1MJUTtebU_V9BiZHlDIkrVQso1iDi-bX6X9_AWZ8gcit5K47UN1qvClATIIetZgVuVIeb-9V_0snW_OQbKO5OF38k5t2lXDSNazK4qHcmz-4BPAh2wmaC1MIIZKOZyyEcjq3F-_MnvSo/s320/ZenzoImproved.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Best touch-up of original after an hour</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The pictures seen here are the result of over an hour of messing around in Photoshop. As you can see, I am not a Photoshop savant. Rebecca Chastainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636968583309088356noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242697183483891334.post-64267517874891421882012-08-03T14:47:00.001-07:002012-08-03T14:47:02.248-07:00Nine Books Read in July: Or, No, I'm Not Obsessed with Charts<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit6Cttp_chQX3XVAdPydXCgGLeKxzHoCfCkV775A3GuxghVbdDp-6NJUCO_AH_p-Cn186V-hx0vSi2fWDj6f4LBNLnAwxrCzjBMuztFiJUMZOiIVOB5zHxNy1qS976cGKYYAlJGgddajI/s1600/Baby+Goat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit6Cttp_chQX3XVAdPydXCgGLeKxzHoCfCkV775A3GuxghVbdDp-6NJUCO_AH_p-Cn186V-hx0vSi2fWDj6f4LBNLnAwxrCzjBMuztFiJUMZOiIVOB5zHxNy1qS976cGKYYAlJGgddajI/s200/Baby+Goat.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I got to pet a baby goat recently. Made my day.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Lest you think I get "worried" about my reading quota in a general year or month, let me begin by saying that I don't really care about quantity. I care about quality. But I like to track things. I like to compare year-to-year results, and I like to have a quantitative view of what I've been doing. It's why I track my daily writing/editing amounts. It's why I have a spreadsheet to track my income from my jobs. And it's why, for the last four years, I've tracked the books I've read by month, author, and genre.<br />
<br />
Which is why I know that in July, I read 9 books! That's on top of a very busy personal month and a very busy work month. How did this happen? Easily: Good books.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
I have several authors I stalk. I follow them on Facebook, I read their blogs, I even follow their links. And of those authors, I found a book out by almost all of them in July. In no particular order, the authors were:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Gail Carriger, <i>Timeless</i> </li>
<li>Jacqueline Carey, <i>In the Matter of Fallen Angels</i></li>
<li><i> </i>Sharon Shinn, <i>Jenna Starborn</i></li>
<li><i> </i>Laurell K. Hamilton, <i>Hit List</i></li>
<li><i> </i>Ilona Andrews, <i>Magic Slays</i></li>
</ul>
Obviously, there were four other novels I read, the only other notable one being Richard Castle's <i>Heat Wave</i>, which I enjoyed far more than I thought it would. In fact, I'm currently reading the next in the series, and I hope to find some other TV-to-book novels to see if they're as much fun. <br />
<br />
Nine books in a month is not a record for me. In 2010 and 2011, I read 10 books in both Augusts. What this tells me is two things:<br />
<ol>
<li>A lot of my favorite authors have books that release in paperback around July/August.</li>
<li>I do more reading around birthdays. (From August to early September, I celebrate 4 family birthdays and 3 friend birthdays.) [Side note: I just realized I picked a very challenging time to cut out sugar. I might have to change my goal to cutting way, way down.]</li>
</ol>
I accept that I'm not quite normal when it comes to my obsessive tracking. My husband and family mock me kindly for it, so I understand if you don't exactly relate to the contentment I feel when I open my Excel sheet and spend twenty minutes crosschecking random stats. However, if you're reading this and quietly agreeing, intimidated to say it aloud, please know, this is a safe place to express yourself. How many books have you read this month? What do you track?<br />
<br />
(Incidentally, I am now caught up with my year-to-date reading totals from last year. I'm on target—if I cared about such things—to match last year's reading record of 81 books in a year.)Rebecca Chastainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636968583309088356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242697183483891334.post-56215547180661537142012-07-20T14:21:00.001-07:002012-07-20T14:21:09.613-07:00Writing Tips from a Personal HeroLike a lot of people—like a lot of <i>writers</i>*—I'm a bit in awe of Joss Whedon. He makes complex writing look easy, fully flushed-out dichotomous characters appear natural, and weaves a fine balance of action, thrill, humor, and romance in ways that delight mass audiences. Much to my disappointment as an audience member, but my secret envy as a writer, he's ruthless with characters, and even favorite cast members aren't safe from death (so not <i>Star Trek </i>here, folks!).<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiohCqm94s1W8DYh6m8smanQbLaZgS0awnkN0WM3Yj39XwMIhlD32XPILyvlPmK5_AljAUeFCD-9PiFdzm-A9fVgJrWEBYoQF4Ujnwu_AxSCs-IHoODmieJVHcWJXWt8YEZmR0SKTzzujk/s1600/joss-whedon-sp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiohCqm94s1W8DYh6m8smanQbLaZgS0awnkN0WM3Yj39XwMIhlD32XPILyvlPmK5_AljAUeFCD-9PiFdzm-A9fVgJrWEBYoQF4Ujnwu_AxSCs-IHoODmieJVHcWJXWt8YEZmR0SKTzzujk/s320/joss-whedon-sp.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Which is why, when I found his <a href="http://www.whedon.info/Joss-Whedon-s-Top-10-Writing-Tips.html">Top 10 Writing Tips</a>, I felt disproportional glee when I read this:<br />
<a name='more'></a><blockquote class="tr_bq">
Structure means knowing where you’re going; making sure you don’t
meander about. Some great films have been made by meandering people . . . but it’s not as well done today
and I don’t recommend it. I’m a structure nut. I actually make charts.
Where are the jokes? The thrills? The romance? Who knows what, and
when? You need these things to happen at the right times, and that’s
what you build your structure around: the way you want your audience to
feel. Charts, graphs, coloured pens, anything that means you don’t go
in blind is useful.</blockquote>
I agree wholeheartedly. I need the structure. In editing my latest novel, I realized I need to add additional structure to the beginning, story-building phase. I need yet another round through the outline where I check to see what hasn't been revealed—that absence of information that keeps the reader interested and engaged in the story.<br />
<br />
I think I could benefit from plotting out the humor, too. I can see where that would be a lot easier in the outline phase than from the back end, reading through the story and realizing all the humor comes in two chunks or that the level of humor doesn't carry through the novel.<br />
<br />
I'm especially taken with the advice to build your structure around the way you want your audience to feel. Not just around the plot or the characters and what's happening to them. I could write the same kidnapping scene to be funny, scary, horrifying, or romantic, depending on the tone of voice and word choice. Always keeping in mind the generic reader is key.<br />
<br />
Thanks for the advice, Whedon. But one question for you: Are you British? What's with "coloured"?<br />
<br />
*Yes, I know writers are people, too, in case there's any confusion.Rebecca Chastainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636968583309088356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242697183483891334.post-30331919730581658092012-07-19T09:00:00.000-07:002012-07-19T12:22:29.354-07:00My Idea Files Are Brimming<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9TmrOBvV-CUIpN8cKSJYzG1gTOpoHljIAVvpeEmJno6fx5ATsMsaewuAns9fMXQ4xqvW1Fba3RneotcCSztG1qe1Z83foeOsgaKyx08rN39ctlpKiizGHfj19hCWRWpgUcWZtOIOHBH8/s1600/oh-happy-day-full4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9TmrOBvV-CUIpN8cKSJYzG1gTOpoHljIAVvpeEmJno6fx5ATsMsaewuAns9fMXQ4xqvW1Fba3RneotcCSztG1qe1Z83foeOsgaKyx08rN39ctlpKiizGHfj19hCWRWpgUcWZtOIOHBH8/s200/oh-happy-day-full4.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://sideoatsandscribbles.wumple.com/2012/06/20/sss-hop/oh-happy-day-full4/">Source</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I'm so excited by my next project! <i>Wait, </i>you say, <i>aren't you still editing the novel you just finished writing.</i> Yep. Still chopping 20 words from each page. Still debating over every single word. Still putting in the hours every day. But that just means that my creativity is free to explore ideas unconnected to this book without any censoring or plotting.<br />
<br />
No critic. No agenda.<br />
<br />
That's a vast, free place to exist in. <br />
<br />
Which means that while I'm excited to work on my next project, I don't really know what it'll be yet. However, I do have a plethora of options. In no particular order:<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<ul>
<li>magical mirrors</li>
<li>wildcats</li>
<li>time travel</li>
<li>mutant carnivorous grass</li>
<li>telepathy</li>
<li>psychics</li>
<li>post-apocalypse Earth</li>
<li>(water) ship / spaceship</li>
<li>a grumpy dog</li>
<li>steampunk or a variation of my own making</li>
<li>historical women in the flesh </li>
</ul>
I honestly don't know which of these will meet up in the next novel. Maybe all of them. Maybe none of them.<br />
<br />
<br />
For now, I'm not making any decisions. I'll keep jotting ideas down and daydreaming. There will be time later to cluster the ideas into a novel.Rebecca Chastainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636968583309088356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242697183483891334.post-10790918297648767962012-07-16T09:00:00.000-07:002012-07-16T09:28:01.946-07:00A Gift for Eva<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Y164Uv-iKoepdjoGeg8mEyEggTXi7xEFi6Ec8zBUALzvsfNVXfwENP3AGncPJabcUvozBzH2lR6DydNxR4o5PE9ciZ_rxums6qeQWAkp8Gr_BAL84Lwezcb-YPamZ0qVNBnwbQD1kq0/s1600/IMG_3486.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Y164Uv-iKoepdjoGeg8mEyEggTXi7xEFi6Ec8zBUALzvsfNVXfwENP3AGncPJabcUvozBzH2lR6DydNxR4o5PE9ciZ_rxums6qeQWAkp8Gr_BAL84Lwezcb-YPamZ0qVNBnwbQD1kq0/s320/IMG_3486.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kyoko atop the<br />
complete Eva manuscript</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I have often fondly mocked Laurell K. Hamilton, despite being her devoted fan. I know from religiously reading her blog that she embraces a melodrama in her daily life that would be exhausting for me. To her credit, she seems equally as exuberant in love as she is in her darker beliefs. None of this I mock. I imagine her family loves her dearly for her intensity, and I know I benefit from it when reading her novels.<br />
<br />
To be specific, I mock the fact that every Christmas, she blogs about purchasing gifts for her characters.<br />
<br />
For. Her. Characters.<br />
<br />
For the make-believe people that exist in her head. Yes, I understand her logic that the people are so real to her it feels like they exist, and since they are the manifestations that perpetuate her livelihood, it's great that they're so real to her. But to buy presents for them, or to get up to the register with an item in hand, only to realize the person doesn't truly exist, seemed just shy of insanity.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
Until yesterday, when I bought Eva a tiny glass elephant. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxDkFVAZ2qMyg5tzCNtb6gZhASeMx4u77bSQ2uGL9hEDFyGss-mCtN8eLVFxa0JFoDqFzsUpHfvwLVNpHzeKlKNl9q6CI4wKtWD9T0lKvAsmP27IGs3pttm1wBOm6KiL51lXG6w4YK-z8/s1600/IMG_3438.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxDkFVAZ2qMyg5tzCNtb6gZhASeMx4u77bSQ2uGL9hEDFyGss-mCtN8eLVFxa0JFoDqFzsUpHfvwLVNpHzeKlKNl9q6CI4wKtWD9T0lKvAsmP27IGs3pttm1wBOm6KiL51lXG6w4YK-z8/s200/IMG_3438.JPG" width="200" /></a>Okay, maybe I didn't first think: <i>This would make a great gift for Eva. </i>My first thought was much more crowlike: <i>Ooh, look! Shiny glass! </i>Followed by: <i>So cute! It's a baby elephant! I want!</i><br />
<br />
So let us be clear that I wanted it first because I am inevitably drawn to colorful glass things. It's the reason why despite not particularly needing or being overly fond of gas lanterns, I have three, which share shelves with a large glass fuse that reminds me of a lighthouse, an antique painted-glass perfume bottle, and a green glass heart.<br />
<br />
My second thought while staring at all the tiny elephants was that buying one would be a great way to put out to the Universe my aspirations for Eva: Every time I looked at it, I could picture Eva being published and becoming a <i>New York Times</i> bestseller. A rather happy thing to contemplate throughout a workday.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RAhKXB8cPws/UANc9hUCwKI/AAAAAAAADcg/INMPcdb_BCI/s1600/IMG_3439.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RAhKXB8cPws/UANc9hUCwKI/AAAAAAAADcg/INMPcdb_BCI/s320/IMG_3439.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jeff Geren, the artist, has many more glass creatures <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/glassturtlesbyjeff">here</a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Of course, I've made a few purchases based on my crow-brain and later regretted the impulse. So I made myself walk away from the elephants.<br />
<br />
Twenty minutes later I was back. Not because of the two reasons I've listed, but because, while roaming through other vendor's stalls, I was thinking of Eva—Eva who had her house vandalized and her memorabilia shattered. Eva who spent the last week trying to protect the life of Kyoko, an elephant. Eva who is rebuilding her life and her home based on some pretty amazing things that happened to her. After all the trouble I put her through, the least I could do was buy her a twelve-dollar glass elephant to sit on her library shelf and remind her of Kyoko.<br />
<br />
I'm not sure what conclusion to draw from this. I'm either borderline insane, as I accuse LKH, similarly melodramatic, or perhaps LKH is on to something good, and I've finally reached the right level with my story, where the character is so real to me that I think of her like an absent friend. In which case, dear Universe, may I please follow in Hamilton's footsteps and become a <i>New York Times</i> bestselling author? Please?<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMBjoKNqifSiIX5LYoqkuuaHKZ_Y3RDR3FFHlJL08Ye8S2fnQN4PKne1EuuOleN6gTEasubRHMB2PbBr9_E23MIyzDh3LBQago-hSu0r16FNuaUkr7ZY4A3r5Y0mm3Q7tWw83mmJ3J8nU/s1600/IMG_3467.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMBjoKNqifSiIX5LYoqkuuaHKZ_Y3RDR3FFHlJL08Ye8S2fnQN4PKne1EuuOleN6gTEasubRHMB2PbBr9_E23MIyzDh3LBQago-hSu0r16FNuaUkr7ZY4A3r5Y0mm3Q7tWw83mmJ3J8nU/s320/IMG_3467.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My cat, who does not care that I've decreed this figurine to be the physical representation of my writing aspirations, interrupts the photo shoot to see if Kyoko tastes good. Verdict...</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0M4XHuIkyDfFEgr2YlDxJPNYyOaJuMAuRHbY30oh35pQW1cIUGkLMqMKoOlMzhGagpwD_PIjTU0JDsaVPahBnFBUwNCq1Y9zZAhQtFK0hw-JTHPga-BazajxPmf8bYJ5mIot_faSaGAQ/s1600/IMG_3465.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0M4XHuIkyDfFEgr2YlDxJPNYyOaJuMAuRHbY30oh35pQW1cIUGkLMqMKoOlMzhGagpwD_PIjTU0JDsaVPahBnFBUwNCq1Y9zZAhQtFK0hw-JTHPga-BazajxPmf8bYJ5mIot_faSaGAQ/s320/IMG_3465.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...not as good as my shoes, which require a good polishing, delivered by her head.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Rebecca Chastainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636968583309088356noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242697183483891334.post-34507365591405193772012-07-13T21:24:00.000-07:002012-07-13T21:24:11.735-07:00Eva Edits: Round 1 Done!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP6fgaDcHQ3srQpzZU5NYUg_IlbY0ntFQHFq7lh2h152PlhjrrisR61NXGM8KtODLV4yC5x0D_58IO2piYvWFhrJGA85GsoDNFglVqIEeCoh8Cyv1bU1zT6dHtS7q3BVia7ilJTG3Vk2k/s1600/Happy-Elephant-Calf-590x415.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP6fgaDcHQ3srQpzZU5NYUg_IlbY0ntFQHFq7lh2h152PlhjrrisR61NXGM8KtODLV4yC5x0D_58IO2piYvWFhrJGA85GsoDNFglVqIEeCoh8Cyv1bU1zT6dHtS7q3BVia7ilJTG3Vk2k/s320/Happy-Elephant-Calf-590x415.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://utterlycute.com/2011/10/happy-elephant-calf/">Source</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The first round edits of my 443-page screwball magical realism are done. I now have four sticky note's worth of issues to address, one major plot point to streamline across the novel, and a genuine, good story. <br />
<br />
I also have a few new stats (because we all know how I adore stats).<br />
<ul>
<li>Number of pages cut: 12</li>
<li>Number of words cut: 3,728 (only 2 percent of the novel)<a name='more'></a></li>
</ul>
Since the goal was always to cut, at minimum, 10 percent of the novel, that means I still have 8,734 words left to cut. Hack and slash and let the paper run blue with ink. Or, in more constructive terms, eliminate all excessive words, verbosity for verbosity's sake, and all passive verbs and lackluster adjectives. Any way you word it, it means an intense second round of edits.<br />
<br />
For those of you counting, cutting 8,734 word means cutting 20 words a page. And I'm feeling good enough about this novel right now that the challenge sounds fun.Rebecca Chastainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636968583309088356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242697183483891334.post-54217636796012071102012-07-03T17:04:00.000-07:002012-07-03T17:04:20.665-07:00The New Page 69 of EvaLast week, I posted <a href="http://rebeccachastain.blogspot.com/2012/06/page-69-of-eva.html">page 69 of Eva</a>, following the idea that page 69 of a book can give you a micro-view of the greater themes and characters of the book (according to <a href="http://page69test.blogspot.com/">The Page 69 Test</a>).<br />
<br />
However, I've been hard at work editing this last week. Editing for me often means trimming, so after cutting two pages worth of text out of the first 68 pages, here's the new page 69, which I feel more accurately reflects the themes and characters of the book even if it doesn't include one of my favorite scenes.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<h2>
The New Page 69 of <i>Eva</i></h2>
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“I’m more concerned about the bad
luck that elephant carries with her,” Hudson said.</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“The
cars breaking down?” Sofie guessed. I didn’t say anything, and Sofie didn’t
look at me.</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Yeah.
And the phones. It’s more than a string of bad luck.”</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“You
don’t honestly believe that, do you?” I asked. “A cursed elephant?”</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Exactly.
It’s cursed.” A marble winged cherub floated off his left shoulder. I eyed it,
then Sofie. If I could see the divination, she could, too, along with a whole
lot more. But if she understood what it meant, she didn’t clue me in.</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Plus
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can’t. Not with all that water damage. Somehow we’ve got to get that cleaned up
before we can report that it broke down. That’s going to take time I’d rather
spend finding Jenny and getting ourselves out of this mess.”</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Perhaps
the car will be working by tomorrow,” Sofie said, eyes innocently wide.</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I
calculated the distance from the pool house to the carport. Far enough. Ten
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Hudson
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itself. Plus, I can’t impose on you. I really should be getting back home and
get working on finding Jenny.”</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I
thought you said you had your coworkers doing that?” Sofie asked.</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I
do, but this whole thing is a mess, and the sooner we can get it straightened
out, the better. God, the back of that Suburban…” He shook his head. “I don’t
think we’re ever going to get it cleaned.”</div>
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Poor Hudson is only beginning his frustrating experience with the "elephant curse." (Cue maniacal giggling.)</div>
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<br /></div>
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Okay, back to edits. I'm 31 pages from the end with only one plot line that needs to be massaged into making sense, with changes affecting the entire book. Yes, that will be a pain in the butt, but I'm celebrating the fact that it's only <i>one</i> plot line.</div>Rebecca Chastainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636968583309088356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242697183483891334.post-28229832238249616262012-06-30T12:14:00.000-07:002012-06-30T12:14:12.982-07:00On Quotes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6MHQyKba5YonXbXr2yTyTjAHjywAoVhyphenhyphenVv9EFNF7eXeHyP0l6EKwKJI6vMqoTk9B4fc8ovMzIZkiqpWU7SSSURzgvOHN183bMDf6nPDP2pay87IoEdDTUi6EFgRjIY8Zolv3sIbwbToQ/s1600/IMG_2521.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6MHQyKba5YonXbXr2yTyTjAHjywAoVhyphenhyphenVv9EFNF7eXeHyP0l6EKwKJI6vMqoTk9B4fc8ovMzIZkiqpWU7SSSURzgvOHN183bMDf6nPDP2pay87IoEdDTUi6EFgRjIY8Zolv3sIbwbToQ/s400/IMG_2521.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
I've been amusing myself this morning by looking through quotes by writers on writing. It a pastime one degree away from being productive, while still mimicking the feeling. Plus, there's a lot of really great nuggets of wisdom in those authors' off-the-cuff (or perhaps well-thought-out) words.<br />
<br />
Such as this quote: <br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book, or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now.”<br />
—Annie Dillard<br />
<a name='more'></a></blockquote>
It took me two novels to recognize the wisdom of Dillard's words. I kept wanting to save that "great scene" or the character nugget that made it all make sense for the next novel, or better yet, for the third in the trilogy. It's a compulsion born of fear: fear that I won't have another great idea, fear that I'll use up all my brilliant ideas on one book, fear that I'll need that amazing scene later to boost a flagging storyline. Six novels later and several more in the queue, I'm happy to say that using all the "great" ideas frees up the mind to think of more even better ones. By letting each idea go, using each one or discarding it, I learn, and my imagination grows stronger.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<br />“When your story is ready for rewrite, cut it to the bone. Get rid of
every ounce of excess fat. This is going to hurt; revising a story down
to the bare essentials is always a little like murdering children, but
it must be done.”<br />—Stephen King</blockquote>
I'm here. I'm doing this. And I know that my first round of edits is not cutting it to the bone. I know that I'll need to go back and cut more, but I'm doing my best. Trimming, cutting, tightening, clarifying. <br />
<br />
This is hard: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“The difference between the almost right word and the right word is …
the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”<br />
—Mark Twain</blockquote>
This is what the second round of edits will be. The first is the big-picture sweep, in which I feel that I'm making all those right-word decisions, but will later realize that I missed a great many opportunities to replace passive verbs and boring descriptors.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Cheat your landlord if you can and must, but do not try to shortchange
the Muse. It cannot be done. You can’t fake quality any more than you
can fake a good meal.”<br />
—William S. Burroughs</blockquote>
While I've never cheated a landlord, I fully agree with this statement. There's no substitute for inspiration, and without it, any writing is going to be nothing more than words splattered on a page. <br />Rebecca Chastainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636968583309088356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242697183483891334.post-11422791108525632062012-06-28T09:00:00.000-07:002012-09-15T12:00:41.488-07:00Page 69 of EvaI recently learned about <a href="http://page69test.blogspot.com/">The Page 69 Test</a>, a blog that, to the best of my understanding, believes that page 69 of a book can give you a micro-view of the greater themes and characters of the book.<br />
<br />
I immediately wanted to see if this held true for Eva.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<i>Eva </i>page 69</h3>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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I rose and walked to the window.
Hudson came over to stand beside me. Kyoko was using the end of her trunk to
twist hunks of grass out of Sofie’s lawn and shove them into her mouth.</div>
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“She
seems to be eating that okay,” Hudson said. “Jenny somehow found a baby
elephant who was already weaned.”</div>
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“How
old do you think she is?”</div>
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“Can’t
be more than a year. She’s barely larger than they say elephants are when
they’re born.”</div>
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I
couldn’t prevent my gaze from dropping to examine Hudson up close. The sweats
were baggy, but not baggy enough to conceal the fact that Hudson was going
commando. I jerked my eyes front and center again, turning my head so Hudson
couldn’t see the flush staining my cheeks. What was I? Sixteen? </div>
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A
muffled beep emanated from down the hallway.</div>
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“Dryer’s
done,” Sofie announced.</div>
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Hudson
was moving before she spoke. I turned to watch him, admiring the clench of his
ass beneath the soft material stretched tight around his hips, and silently
laughing at how short the sweats looked on him. My laughter died when he peeled
the tight shirt off. He waited until he was beyond the kitchen, in the gloomy
hallway, out of Sofie’s sight. Had I gone back to my seat on the couch, I would
have missed the show, too. As it was, I wished he’d flipped the hallway light
on. What the shadows revealed was enough to make my mouth water.</div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">And now, let’s see the front,</i> I thought,
admiring the play of muscles across his back. As if he heard me, just before he
slipped into the washroom, he turned his head and met my eyes. A slow grin
spread across his face, and he looped his thumbs into the waistband of the
sweats, tugging it down a tantalizing three inches to reveal the upper swell of
his white ass before he stepped out of sight. I blinked and took a step in his
direction.</div>
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“Close
your mouth, dear,” Sofie said, softly enough for only me to hear.</div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
Micro-view?</h3>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I think page 69 passes the test. It's got the baby elephant, the sexual tension building between Hudson and Eva, Eva's sexuality seen in some of its multiple shades, and Sofie, who plays a major role in a minor way. Plus, that little unplanned snippet of a scene is one of my favorites in the first 150 pages I've edited.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Not too shabby.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
Rebecca Chastainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636968583309088356noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242697183483891334.post-16299243815350609642012-06-25T16:32:00.001-07:002012-06-25T16:32:40.457-07:00Great Minds...On Different PagesAs part of a challenge, my husband and I both wrote a paragraph to the theme "I love this bar." Cody wrote his in about five minutes in his head while we folded clothes and made the bed. (Wait, who's the wannabe author in this house?) I took forty-five minutes of dithering over tone and word choice, mentally building the follow-up scenes, learning who my character was, etc., before I was happy with my paragraph (and, yes, I edited it <i>again</i> just now).<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<br />
Cody's masterpiece:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgptMMTK2vohz9NZHxUd6x1grcY0OKkNbB9I7inGsBeEikdvlvEVGI436jkO-FyIx0rRZmCnFqnRiIuIDXa2YvyzwnKEyMXGyCAu2jz5VXFWYpJQWvmgRgDuAD9YgLxefV8lyoi5dxvZjM/s1600/M47C1-lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgptMMTK2vohz9NZHxUd6x1grcY0OKkNbB9I7inGsBeEikdvlvEVGI436jkO-FyIx0rRZmCnFqnRiIuIDXa2YvyzwnKEyMXGyCAu2jz5VXFWYpJQWvmgRgDuAD9YgLxefV8lyoi5dxvZjM/s200/M47C1-lg.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">They
pour warm beer, cheap whiskey and hold my favorite shotgun under the bar for
times like this. A short barrel spray of close-quarter death, Mr. Shotgun
protects my ass from hunters like this guy entering this bar at this very
moment. My copilot of doom will bring this room to order.</span></div>
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<br />
My much reworked piece:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Q3jApskIXtTNhPhyMFrD345nPxWcpJupTe4VsofUVChMHc5pxPgU-V2Oyu8S_TJnsESkhr3yhyphenhyphenJfxlEo-BlM83kUCiJcCXt-uwbZe_bMCxTXjzQq70bzGLG_B5s9tMOraGXoXF9Gjis/s1600/furminator_cat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Q3jApskIXtTNhPhyMFrD345nPxWcpJupTe4VsofUVChMHc5pxPgU-V2Oyu8S_TJnsESkhr3yhyphenhyphenJfxlEo-BlM83kUCiJcCXt-uwbZe_bMCxTXjzQq70bzGLG_B5s9tMOraGXoXF9Gjis/s200/furminator_cat.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Photo from <a href="http://www.hhahsalisbury.com/Products/tabid/63/Default.aspx">here</a>.)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Cat hair coated the bar, and every stool was a grooved
scratching post. The music was a lounge rendition of reggae that buffeted the
subconscious toward thoughts of homicide, if not genocide. The drinks sucked. It
was your standard gargoyle-run bar in all ways but one: A fistful of glass
marbles bought ten seconds in front of a Mirror of Foretelling in the back
room—the kitty litter room. It’d taken me a week to get the smell of cat piss
out of my hair the last time. I had to be insane to be contemplating a second reading.</div>
</blockquote>
<br />
Whose book would I rather read based off these
paragraphs? Mine, of course, because it's pure, raw fantasy, which I
veered away from on my last project, and because now that I know a
little about my character and her world, I want to know more. That said, I'd love to
read Cody's story, too. It's guaranteed to be bloody, fast-paced, and a
bit tongue-in-cheek noir, which sounds downright charming.<br />Rebecca Chastainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636968583309088356noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242697183483891334.post-29516354209821529432012-06-20T08:58:00.000-07:002012-06-20T08:58:00.143-07:00Where Are All the Tall Buildings?<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK99NkKUVY8ec3MvFnCCZve8lBYApeJa5wUpSE5jo6_95FJNRbmWh96pd2AP6HCyBy8Ygi0-xMRF9F8QGiK12BLCDwSf4qHyGTyEGcXJhTF-vI-J9jRt8zhI4JShxaKmX1OWuOPjH95Jk/s1600/losa_angeles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK99NkKUVY8ec3MvFnCCZve8lBYApeJa5wUpSE5jo6_95FJNRbmWh96pd2AP6HCyBy8Ygi0-xMRF9F8QGiK12BLCDwSf4qHyGTyEGcXJhTF-vI-J9jRt8zhI4JShxaKmX1OWuOPjH95Jk/s200/losa_angeles.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Photo from </i><i>Hispanically Speaking News</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<![endif]--> a friend gave me. Early in the character-building process, I decided that Eva would live in the Culver City/Palms area of greater Los Angeles. I've been there, I like the neighborhoods, and it's close to several key locations in the novel that can't be moved (it's really hard to move the coast line of the Pacific Ocean inland without harming a lot of people). </div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
I also really want Eva to live in a seven-story building. Or a five-story building. However, today, as I was adding actual street names to the text (something I didn't bother with while writing), I realized that in driving the streets of Culver City (via Google Maps), there were no seven-story buildings in Culver City. In fact, I believe that Culver City has banned buildings taller than four stories. </div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
Since my novel is fiction, I could plop Eva's loft structure anywhere I please, but I want it to have some veracity. Hence, my hunt for taller buildings. Unfortunately, the sites I found don't show LA by height. </div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
Are you familiar with the LA area? Do you know where taller structures are located? Especially ones that aren't near downtown LA? If so, please let me know. If not, do you know of any good plane ticket deals? </div>Rebecca Chastainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636968583309088356noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242697183483891334.post-31100334884909321782012-06-14T16:33:00.000-07:002012-06-14T16:37:00.145-07:00Sneak Peek: Eva's Take on Love<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I
pulled this three-page snippet from my novel, <i>Eva. </i>(Much better title to
come.) Things you need to know for this to make sense: </div>
<ul>
<li>Sofie is Eva's aunt. </li>
<li>Kyoko is a baby elephant. </li>
<li>Eva
and Sofie both see paranormal apparitional personality divinations, or, in
layman's terms, random objects around people that reflect their emotional
state. </li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i>“He’s a handsome man, your Hudson,” Sofie said. </i></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG8QkJQzp6HZY6BJo2pd4ui1v8tN_7N833_oMc9AnQnWHfn42CSdD6-yd16hjyTXGnyV0IEspqkOWfRpBS_VVnY_VOT6YRVjbqTMAWhuLjKWeFVg4FF8Evn4f5WBICFI75lieaXZhpykg/s1600/lalootka-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG8QkJQzp6HZY6BJo2pd4ui1v8tN_7N833_oMc9AnQnWHfn42CSdD6-yd16hjyTXGnyV0IEspqkOWfRpBS_VVnY_VOT6YRVjbqTMAWhuLjKWeFVg4FF8Evn4f5WBICFI75lieaXZhpykg/s200/lalootka-3.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Source: <a href="http://lalootka-toys.blogspot.com/2007/05/finger-puppets-set.html">lalootka's attic</a></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> “He’s
not </i>my <i>Hudson,” I said. </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> “Mmm.”
</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> I
eyed the finger puppets on her hands and considered picking my book back up, but I was too
curious about what she’d seen on Hudson, so I was going to have to put up with
the meddling, too.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> “Just
tell me what you saw. I know you want to.”</i></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> “Oh,
I saw lots. He’s a good man. Very intriguing. He handled the cars breaking down
very well, don’t you think?”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> “About
how most people would.”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> “And
Kyoko and Jenny, he handled that about how most people would?”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> “What
are you trying to say, Sofie?”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> “You
know exactly what I’m saying. He’s attractive. He’s patient. He’s adaptable.
He’s—”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> “A
career electricity man.”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> Sofie
shrugged. The finger puppets were replaced with the fairy godmother wand. “He’s
very attracted to you. I’m just saying that you shouldn’t let the little things
get in the way of your happiness.”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> I
twisted to look straight at my aunt. “You’re pushing. Why?”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> “I
like Hudson. He’s complex. He’s nice. I like what I see when he looks at you.”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> “What
</i>did <i>you see?” I demanded. </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> “I
saw the way he couldn’t tear his eyes off you when you were bathing Kyoko and
when you were sitting on the couch. I saw you blush when you looked at him. I
saw the way you snuck glances at him when you thought he and I weren’t
looking.”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> “You’re
avoiding the answer. What did you </i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">see</i><i>?
Did you see us together?” </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> “You
know it doesn’t work like that.”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> “Bull.
You saw Nana Nevie with Theo the first time they met.” Grandma Nevie and Theo’s
marriage had lasted two years and three months. For Nana Nevie, that was a normal-length
marriage, and while they’d been together, you couldn’t be in a room with them
without knowing in your bones that they loved each other. When they’d divorced,
it had been an amicable parting, and they were still friends, as Nana was with
all her ex-husbands. </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> “Mom’s
a lot more open to love than you are,” Sofie said softly.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> I
opened my mouth to protest, then closed it. I was open to love, but I didn’t
believe in the One True Love and it didn’t believe in me. Men were wonderful in
short doses, which was about all my curse allowed. Lasting love was a myth.
Marriage was out of the question. On some level, Sofie agreed with me. She had
never married. She had long-term relationships, but they were always an
afterthought, something tucked in around everything else she enjoyed. No man
had ever shared a home with her. </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> The
women in my family didn’t experience traditional love. Maybe we weren’t capable
of it. Even Nana Nevie, who had been married five times in my lifetime and
three times before my birth, didn’t have traditional love. My mother, Bella,
had married once. It had lasted three months before the annulment. The man
hadn’t been my father. She hadn’t married since, and as far as I knew, she’d
never come close again. </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> “Hudson
is nice, okay?” I said. </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> “I
want you to be happy, Eva.”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> “I
</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">am</i><i> happy.”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> “You’re
content. Happy is different.”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> “Content
feels like happy.”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> “Content
is a bland cousin to happy.”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> “You
think a man is going to make me happy?”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> “No.
</i>A <i>man isn’t. But finding the right
person to share your love with? Yes, that will make you happy.” The wand
disappeared. A plate of coffeecake sat on her lap. Now I was in trouble.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> “Where’s
this going, Sofie?”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> “The
same place all your missed opportunities go, if you let the damn curse rule
your life,” Sofie said, her voice sharp.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> “It
doesn’t rule my life. I have relationships.”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> “You’re
a serial dater. You play with men. You don’t have relationships.”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> “Tell
that to Antonio or Jordan or Locke.”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> “You
just proved my point.”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> “I
don’t know what your point is. Did you or did you not see something on Hudson?”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> “Yes.”
She was quiet for a long moment, staring at the cover of the book on my lap, or
possibly at something else she saw there. “I saw danger—”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> “Danger?”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> “—and
adventure and a puzzle that unlocked with a key you held.”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> I
swallowed. “That could mean a lot of things.”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> “It
does.”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> “How
dangerous?” I asked.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> She
shrugged. “More than a little but not too much.” The coffeecake was still on
her lap. I saw coffeecake near Sofie only when she was in high meddling mode.
The only problem was, she knew exactly which of my buttons to push. If she’d
told me Hudson was safe or reliable—chemistry be damned—I would have kept my
distance. A dangerous puzzle, though…</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> She
stood, kissed my forehead, and then headed for the door. “I’m so glad you
brought Kyoko to me. This is going to be fun,” she said. </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> “Sofie…”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> “Sleep
tight, Eva.”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> “Sofie!”
</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i> The
door clicked shut behind her. I flopped back against my pillow and glared at
the empty room. “Great. Now I want some coffeecake.”</i></div>Rebecca Chastainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636968583309088356noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242697183483891334.post-80018454072864358612012-06-11T07:12:00.000-07:002012-08-29T14:46:59.670-07:00How I Write a Novel<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
I think I've finally found
the novel-writing method that works for me. It's a hodgepodge of organization I learned
from screenwriting, advice from other writers, and my own experience. If you'd
like to give my approach a try or pick and choose the tasty bits, here it is in eleven "simple" steps:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY0IOkM2o0JRIeVeji_ZH4okqaDN30MbaJOnaSQzwgbzr-6SJD0snArS-AZJtIv8q_nH2-j_iGp42ycB3Nr-FJuumXdt9a8DLPgDO1Slf2CMDPbd2gfFKrgQpJxNs3oAUQt_ca-J3fCcA/s1600/Hudson_topless.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY0IOkM2o0JRIeVeji_ZH4okqaDN30MbaJOnaSQzwgbzr-6SJD0snArS-AZJtIv8q_nH2-j_iGp42ycB3Nr-FJuumXdt9a8DLPgDO1Slf2CMDPbd2gfFKrgQpJxNs3oAUQt_ca-J3fCcA/s1600/Hudson_topless.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hudson, male lead</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Story build.</b> Grab a piece of paper or a blank Word file and write
down everything you want in the story, in a bullet-point fashion. For me,
the list included everything from "Eva sees personality
divinations" and "Hudson is cynical" to "Eva has to
face her fear of men" and "Ninjas!" There are no
limitations here, no plotting that needs to be done, and no censoring
yourself. Anything and everything that sounds like fun to write about,
slap it down.<br />
<br />
This story was forming in my head for two years or more, so I had a lot of my bullet points ready to go. I liked this method of keeping track of ideas so much, I already have four pages of bullet points for the next novel in a completely different series and a few bullets for the story after that. It's an easy way to keep track of new ideas for projects that are next in line, or five projects down the queue. <br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7tlEvKOYbvs/T9E79FD8h4I/AAAAAAAADY8/bNOLy7Bo6AA/s1600/Eva2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="146" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7tlEvKOYbvs/T9E79FD8h4I/AAAAAAAADY8/bNOLy7Bo6AA/s200/Eva2.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eva, female lead</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Characters. </b>You've probably got a good idea of a story now, and you
know who your main characters are. It's time to flesh them out. I have a
Character Profile sheet I use for all my main characters. It includes
basic physical characteristics, personal history (family, emotional and
physical scars, education and work background), and the more nebulous
elements of personality, like weaknesses and strengths, what they fear the
most, what their ultimate form of happiness would be but what they really think
their ultimate happiness is. During this phase, you'll probably get even
more ideas for your story. Add them to the list.<br />
<br />
I also collect pictures of people who look similar to the character I have in my head so that if I lose that mental picture, I have an easy reference. The few here are just an example. <br />
<br />
<b>Outline. </b>Take all those bullet points and put them into an
order. Fill in the gaps. My outline for my <i>Eva</i>, a 443-page novel,
was 23 pages long. That's about twenty pages of text for every page of
outline, and that worked wonderfully. While I outlined, if I had
ideas for dialog or specific descriptors, I wrote them right into the
outline. When it was time to write, I had a few complete scenes to pull
straight from the outline and simply edit into real text.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoPqgZY-caoQIvDG3IkaPxet6g_IcKRzTqY1bKlGxtqKwBKi4ih4L-nyFQiHmcJijMWG0UsDcIonDmeJHVF0XKCQxrupbvaEgeTbth5soJm3EFfcQay6-wamgwYj_Zqwps37IR1fMSn8k/s1600/Ari's+Cat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoPqgZY-caoQIvDG3IkaPxet6g_IcKRzTqY1bKlGxtqKwBKi4ih4L-nyFQiHmcJijMWG0UsDcIonDmeJHVF0XKCQxrupbvaEgeTbth5soJm3EFfcQay6-wamgwYj_Zqwps37IR1fMSn8k/s1600/Ari's+Cat.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chatter, character's cat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b>Review.</b> It was so tempting to jump straight into writing, but
I forced myself to read through the outline at least four times, each time
looking for something different. One time I checked the days—was too much
or too little happening in one day? Did the pacing of each day make sense?
One time I made sure the scenes were starting as close to the main point of the scene as possible, and ending as soon as they could, so there's no unnecessary non-story text taking up space. One time I inserted chapters where I thought they made the most sense, making sure each chapter ended with an emotional or physical cliffhanger.
Another pass was just for Hero's Journey notation to make sure I had the
whole story (I didn't! Even after reading it through three times, I missed
a few key ending elements.). Another pass to include notations of
Eva's divinations. Another to make sure her emotional arc made sense. You
get the picture. It is much easier to keep track of all the broad-strokes
and tiny threads of a novel in a 23-page outline vs. a 443-page novel.<br />
<br />
<b>Write.</b> Everyone has their own method and deadline goals. For
me, it was write six days a week and at least 1,667 words a day. For the
most part, I stuck with that goal.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl-N3inl6G7Aqd6PVYwyI2TKnUmPCrijIqoMR7pDBS6hvcSpKnQnz8TvibT-SdiesiqMofKm5k0a8uvveJnyGUoab6ad3dMBRNMwExpX6w3EMYdx11MotoJ369_C8QH3YIaBGLnFoymyc/s1600/Sofie's+tattoo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl-N3inl6G7Aqd6PVYwyI2TKnUmPCrijIqoMR7pDBS6hvcSpKnQnz8TvibT-SdiesiqMofKm5k0a8uvveJnyGUoab6ad3dMBRNMwExpX6w3EMYdx11MotoJ369_C8QH3YIaBGLnFoymyc/s200/Sofie's+tattoo.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A character's tattoo</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b>Celebrate.</b> Even if it doesn't feel like it, even if you're
skating the emotional high of finishing a novel, you need to take time to
celebrate your accomplishment. You will crash. You've just run a marathon.
Give yourself some breathing room. It's also important to put some space
between you and the words you've just written. It gives you perspective
for the next phase.<br />
<br />
<b>Edit.</b> And edit, and edit. I don't know that I have a
hard-and-fast rule for this (or if any of 1-6 are hard-and-fast rules), but
the general process goes like this:<br />
<ol>
<li>Read it through once for the fun of
it, pen in hand for those glaringly obvious typos and the sentence that
simply must be deleted. This is not the time for editing. </li>
<li>The second
read-through is the broad-strokes and minor editing, fixing absolutely everything
that you see. You'll miss stuff, but still, try to catch everything. I do
this by hand, so the next step is... </li>
<li>Enter it all in the computer. </li>
<li>Check
to see how much you cut from the novel. </li>
<li>Realize it's nowhere near enough. </li>
<li>Go page by page and cut as many words as possible from each and every
page. </li>
<li>Enter edits.</li>
</ol>
<b>Critiqued.</b> It always helps to get an outsider's perspective.
They'll see the things you didn't (like failing to mention the sex of your
gender-neutral-named main character in a recent novella I wrote).<br />
<br />
<b>Edit.</b> Take into account what people have said and what rings true to you. Edit again. Hopefully this is your final pass (for now). Polish
your novel.<br />
<br />
<b>Query.</b> That's a whole separate post on its own.<br />
<br />
<b>Publish. </b>There's a bunch of steps between Query and Publish, but for the sake of semi-brevity, we'll say it's one step.<br />
<br />
Since this was the first time I've attempted this particular novel-writing strategy, I kept pretty good notes on the process. Here's a general time breakdown of the steps:<br />
<br />
<b>Story Build and Characters</b><br />
<i>Days: </i>17 <i>Time</i>: 22 hours<br />
<br />
<b>Outline</b><br />
<i>Days: </i>24 <i>Time</i>: 26 hours<br />
<br />
<b>Write</b><br />
<i>Days: </i>72 <i>Time: </i>127 hours<br />
<br />
I include these incredibly nerdy calculations because I think it's important to note that already, I've spent nearly 30% of my total time on this project doing something other than writing, yet outlining and building the world and characters was just as crucial to a successful novel as writing the actual words of the book.<br />
<br />
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I have yet to finish edits (I've edited 38 pages on my first pass), but I think it's safe to estimate that the actual time spent writing the novel will end up being a fraction of the overall time. Anyone care to wager how many hours the first round of edits will take? Also, if you use this method, or a piece of it, let me know. Or if you think this is completely bogus, tell me your method. I love to chat writing methods with anyone who will engage me on the subject.</div>
Rebecca Chastainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15636968583309088356noreply@blogger.com0