Monday, November 27, 2017

About My Books (2017 November Update)

And so, here we are again, 4 months since the last update. Is that enough time in between? In terms of progress, I think it is :D

So what happened after 4 months? How have things changed, or how much have things not changed?

Well, I can start by saying some stuff is now available on Wattpad, just click here and you can see :)

Although some other stuff like "Liaffon" that I talked about first the last post (such a confoozing sentence :P ) you cannot see there and the link in the last post will not work after 12/31 because FIGMENT IS GOING TO SHUT DOWN! :0

I probably spent a good few hours screen-shotting (not a word) the heck out of that writing site that I've been on for the past 7 years. It's sad to see it go but hopefully "Underlined" the new site will be just as good. Fingers crossed!

Anyway, without further ado, here's my progress report :)

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

The Last Chapters

Let's do a Q&A with me.

How long have you been writing Liaffon, including the times when you were suffering from writer'sblockitis?

7 years.


How long have you been editing?

7 years.


Why is it the same?

Well, I did a rewrite once of the whole story but before I could finish that, I realized I had to change the entire story dynamic and have one MC instead of two. So I had to write the story with one MC.

Then I started to write that and I finished it when I realized the story wasn't interesting. Nothing made you cheer for the character. It was just too dull and dry.

All that together within 7 years.


How's that process going now?

Well, I can successfully say I'm on the editing phase of the last few chapters.


Wait...THE LAST FEW CHAPTERS?

YEAH I KNOW RIGHT???


*******************


The reason for this freak out is not because I'm almost done (satisfied with my work so far? Yes.) but because the last few chapters are as critical as the first few chapters. Just as the first few chapters make the reader read the rest of the novel, the last few chapters make them wondering for more as well.

So, let me just sprawl out my last few chapters ideas. I have two ways this can go.

1. Eventually, there's going to be a sequel and I can talk about some things that are going to be in the sequel in the last few chapters without revealing any plots.

2. Eventually, there's going to be a sequel so I don't want to reveal anything and keep it as close to the idea of book 1 as I possibly can but still add in the one marvel of the futuristic city that the characters of book 1 are all going to see at the end.


Both will have an end that obviously leads to another beginning.

I have option 1 in there right now and I'm not satisfied with it at all.

I might try option 2 even though there are some things in option 1 I really like and might want to keep for the future. When you're a writer, you have to be open to let go of your babies a.k.a the parts in the story that you really like and want to keep.

Actually, here's another option.

3. Yes they see the marvel, but just as they are about to see more, they are captured for some reason. MC is left wondering what will happen to them and whether or not he can fulfill his promise he made with his village leader.

Maybe that's more interesting...hmm...

Happy Writing, fellow writers :)

Sunday, September 24, 2017

How to Edit (part 2): What to do with Details

I wrote an article about this before and I would like to, in a way, update the info there a bit. The reason is, I discovered more things during my own editing process (ongoing) and I would like to share my insights with you.

This is all about those details you put into your story in the beginning because you thought they were necessary. Most often I have found that these include the following:

Monday, September 18, 2017

In Defense of Made-Up Languages in Fiction: I'm Not a Linguist

Lord of the Rings. The author is a linguist. He's got experience making up a language. Elvish is awesome, I gotta say.

What about Star Trek? All those alien languages. Truly, some amazing imagination going on there.

But let's back up from all those big guys for a sec and think about people who are not linguists but who are tapping into making up a language.

Sunday, September 17, 2017

Book Review: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

This Book Review might be the only one or it may become a series depending on how fast I can get through the next one and whether or not I will have something to say about it. I have a lot of books to read so I might do another Book Review. If you are interested, keep on the look-out for them :)

WARNING: This might be a spoiler for some meaning that you might reconsider reading the book. Anyway, read at your own risk.


Would I recommend The Night Circus?

The answer would be,

Monday, July 24, 2017

About My Books (2017 July Update)

Never work on three projects at once...seems to be a common advice for writers.



Throw that garbage out the window! Not literally though.

No rule says you can't work on ten things at once if you think you can do it. But only if you think you can do it. Here's an update on the books I'm working on in order of importance.

The first one is...

Friday, July 7, 2017

How to...Keep Moving the Story Forward: a NaNoWriMo article

I talk about it a LOT in this blog. One way I say is to ask "who what when where why and how"? But there's another way to do it and I must confess, I just recently realized what it was I was doing.

The trick is

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Types of Endings: The Last Lines

Congrats, you have successfully come to the end of your book.

Now all you need is a good ending.

But what kind of ending? All this time writing you may have never even considered what kind of ending to write. It was just all going to come to an end and everything was going to be all fine and peachy.

Endings aren't that simple though. Just as the beginning line, that first sentence, grips your reader and sends them off on an epic journey through the pages of your book and gives them many exciting, sleepless nights, the ending also has a function.

In fact, endings can have several functions. It all depends on how you want to send your reader off.

Through reading many, many books, here are some ending types I have found.

First, the typical,

Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Tips for CampNaNoWriMo

Welcome to this post, CampNaNoWriMoers.

I wouldn't call myself a veteran NaNoer but I have been through quite a few of them. And I know what you must be going through right now, trying to see into the future, one month later, when you have met your word count and feeling mighty proud of yourself...but then, there's that moment of doubt.

Can I do it? Me? Can I really commit to this? Am I serious enough to do it?

Getting those first few words down on the screen might be painful.

"Once upon a time... no that's not it. Jim was alone in the old cabin and...no that doesn't work. Where's my creative spark when I need it!"

And even if you get to 1,500 words, you still might wonder if you were in over your head when you signed up for this.

Someone of you may have even signed up with NO PLAN on how each chapter will go.

But don't fear! Here are some helpful tidbits (and an EXTREMELY IMPORTANT PLANNING TOOL at the end of this article).

These are little bits from other articles in this blog. If you would like to read the article the bits came from and learn a little more, I added the link :)


Just write even if it sounds stupid.

Google wallpaper in Google Images for visual inspiration.

Write the first part on paper. Apparently the act of writing by hand can keep you focused on your story and away from distractions. But don't feel obligated to write the whole story by hand :0
(From - How to: Start Writing Again)



If you have a plot line, write the climax scene first. The one where the MC is in such trouble. Make it your temporary "prologue" and go from there. Inspire yourself :)

Writers are often pressured not to write cliche. But for NaNo, you can write cliche. Use it to get you started.

Imagine you are watching your story. Imagine an opening scene in a movie. What do we see first? Describe that.
(From - How to: Begin Writing a New Story (5 Tips))



There are many different types of beginnings, as you may well know. Here are some for you to consider trying:

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

On main characters and focus characters.

Why should you even bother to have one main character? Can't you just write a story, stuff a bunch of point-of-views (POVs) in from a bunch of main characters and get on with it?

Thursday, February 9, 2017

What is my story (really) about? The Struggle 2

At any stage when you write your story, you need to ask yourself "What is my story about?"

I have found, through my own experience writing one story for 7 years, that if you can't explain it in one sentence, you're still lost. And if you're lost, imagine what the reader must feel like... :0

No one wants to listen to you talk like a little kid explaining their dream they had last night, right?

Example:

Monday, January 9, 2017

Details in Conversation: A Discussion

So, I'm editing like crazy these days and one thing I started to do was to add more conversation and less "Interesting Tidbits".

Here are some Writerly Jargon and I'd like to add "Interesting Tidbits" as one.

Interesting Tidbits: Those details that the Author thinks is interesting and/or creative. Those details are only there because the Author wanted to show the reader some interesting detail about the story even though that detail does not make another appearance in the story. Those details are there because the Author is boasting how creative they are.

Admit it. I do that, you do that, we all do that, we are creative writers who love to show the world how creative we can be.

Now, to get back to the topic, I have started to replace details with conversation to MAKE THEM IMPORTANT.

To give an example,

How to Edit: What Details to Cut, What Details to Keep

In some stage in your editing process, you will find that you've got your story down and you know exactly how the beginning, middle, climax, and end are supposed to play out, you've got your world set up and your characters straight. The relationships between characters are so clear you can tell them to anyone.

Now you need to get rid of those details that hold the story back.

But how do you distinguish that from the details that you actually need?

Here's how.