Tag Archives: Writing

Chapter 3 – first draft completed

So I have now completed the three critical chapters of Cawdor. At least in rough draft form. I’ve done the edits to the first two chapters and I am currently entering the edits on the third. Tomorrow at my day job while on break and lunch I will start writing Chapter 4 and at home I will complete entering the edits and corrections on chapter 3.

The edits are going pretty well. It helps that I think I know my first draft weaknesses pretty well. I tend to overwrite – so it’s lots of taking out words I do not need. And I tend to write passive on my first pass, she the edits also tend to switch the sentences to active instead of passive construction.

I’m hoping I can find someone who is not familiar with the work to let me know if the first three chapters have any grab to them

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Making progress despite constant headaches.

Until I was 40 years old I did not need to wear glasses. That doesn’t men I’ve been blessed to live trouble free where it come to my eyes. I had a real fright in high school with an infection that almost blinded me. However, my vision after that was 20/20 just restricted in terms of light levels.

On my 40th birthday my gift from the fates were my first reading glasses. Every year since then I have had to had a new pair fashioned as my prescription changed. Each year as my vision gets worse, I start getting headaches that eventually become constant headaches with the occasional migraine tossed in for variety’s sake.

This year is no different. Last week I had my exam because I could feel the strain building after long bouts reading. The new doc confirmed my rx had changed — again and I ordered new glasses. Seven to ten day wait to get them so I am living in the land of constant headaches again.

However, I am still writing. I am clocking about 1500 words a day and if I can maintain this pace I should have the draft of Cawdor finished by the end of May or early June.

Tonight I will continue chapter three. Now all chapters are important but the first three have a special place for the unknown author. When you get a bite from a query letter it nearly always is a request for the first three chapters. This is what you have to sell the editor or agent on reading the rest of the book.

In the case of Cawdor the third chapter is really important. It is where those who were not clued in by the title, but familiar with MacBeth will realize what it is I am attempting; with great hubris, stealing from Shakespeare. Tonight I will take my first crack of the highly modified scene where the witches first encounter Macbeth.

Wish me luck.

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Catch up

There is no Sunday Night Movie this weekend as I was at Condor and too tired after the convention for movie watching. I wish I could do Condor justice in a review but the combination of a really busy and good con plus a series of headaches that has been pretty consistent since last Weds has just ruined my ability for decent blogging.

However I can say this. This was the best Condor I have been too. There were plenty of interesting panels, I rarely felt that I lacked anything to do. I had a number of really good conversations and re-connected with a number of friends I only see at conventions. I also came away with the idea I needed to make chapter three of Cawdor work. So despite the pain it was a pretty good weekend.

Today I managed to write over 1500 words on Cawdor. 750 at work on my laptop and the rest at home after my sweetie-wife went to bed. If I can keep up that pace I will have the first draft finished by the end of June early July.

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An Anguished State of Mind

The blog title refers to two things.

The first was the migraine that started yesterday and didn’t break until around noon today. Iy was a nasty brute and I spent about twelve hours in bed in the dark to deal with it.

More importantly the title refers to how I feel about my writing currently.

I’m two chapters into Cawdor and I think it’s going very well. This is turning out to be something of a stressor. I feel shaken in my ability to judge my writing. My last submission to the Writers Of The Future Contest I thought was a very strong story. I thought it was better written than Regret, I Am Allowed which placed as a semi-finalist. It had a more interesting conceit than The Station On The Edge, which placed as a semi-fianlist.  I also though it was a better story than either of the Honorable Mentions, Araceli and The House Of Bad Blood. (which actually sold.) Yet my latest story, Proof of Principle didn’t make any of the above cuts or honorifics. Is my judgement off that badly or is theirs?

So with that in my recent memory when I re-read and edit the start of Cawdor and I’m so pleased at how it’s working I can’t help but feel that maybe I am fooling myself.  That what I see and feel good about — well maybe it isn’t that good after all.

It kept me awake last night while I lay there in the dark with sub-kiloton nuclear explosions going off behind my eyeballs burning my brain with doubt and pain. It has kept me away from the keyboard today, but I will force myself past it.

On the plus side I did manage to do some more exercise today. After the headache broke I did a mile on the treadmill and another three miles on the stationary bike. Lucky for me it turns out the stationary bike does not tear up my knees like a real bicycle does. I think it is because the pedal on the stationary bike are further forward and not directly beneath me.

Anyway I’m keeping up with the new heart healthy exercising and I will finish Cawdor. As a personal reward for completing Cawdor I will treat myself to the big VIP tour at Universal Studios.

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It’s going to be a long day today.

Yesterday I got stuck sitting for three hours plus without the ability to stand or walk around. Sadly yesterday was also a bad arthritis day for my knees. By the time I went to bed both knees were hurting fairly steadily. I had hoped that when I awoke they would be better, but that is not the case. My right knee is going to be giving me fits all day. I can tell.

On the plus side I got several more pages written on chapter one of Cawdor and that seems to be progressing well. Today I take my laptop to work with me and I’ll utilize my new hour long lunch to get more writing done.

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Well I was wrong.

I did get writing in yesterday. Oh no where near as much as I would like, but more than 500 words just the same. Even with the migraine.

I say — Go Team Me!

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Next Week I start Cawdor

Well I had meant to start writing Cawdor this week, but that just didn’t happen. Between the hellishly busy pace at the day-job and two days sucked into the Big Bang Experience, I got nada done this week.

Still, I am excited. This will be a challenging novel for me to write and I am looking forward to it.

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iPad

Short post — I want one.

Longer post. I can’t afford to buy one right now and unlike Steven Colbert I can’t beg for one on television.

So here’s the deal I made with myself.

I can buy myself an iPad when I can pay for it entirely with monies earned from my writing. Not from my day job, not from tax overpayment returns and not from any gift cards, but solely from money paid to me for my writing.

It could be a long time before I get one.

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Still Excited

So today I was working my way through the outline for Cawdor and I was relieved to find that I am still excited for the project.  With all the interruptions and emotional turmoil of the last few months I had not been able to devote much time or energy to this project. Then the short story — A Song Of Silence — came along diverted me again.

After all that I was afraid that my passion for Cawdor had ebbed; not so.  Reading through the outline feeling the pulse of the story got me excited to get working on it. I hope to be turning out prose pages within a week or so. There is more spade work to be done. Mainly in area that were underdeveloped in the first version of my outline that I have a better understanding in how to develop.

I’m still hoping to bring this in for around 110,000 words.

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Cawdor outline, version one, finished

So tonight I finished my outline for my next novel, Cawdor. This is version one of the outline as I will need to go through and tweek it a bit and flesh out things I had not expected. However that said I am very happy with the outline and where the story went. I started where I wanted to, I ended where I wanted to and I think the trip in between was interesting. Now a week or so of detail work and I can start writing the novel it self.

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