Author: Joely

Originally published at Joely Sue Burkhart. You can comment here or there.

I’ve actually begun the second draft. I’m letting myself “warm up,” so to speak, without a lot of pressure right away. I’m slowly working back toward a Dark & Early schedule. I don’t want to overwhelm myself. Although I’ve done tons of planning, something could still go wrong. I could still find a yawning plot hole ahead, or realize I don’t know this new character at all. So I’m cautiously feeling my way ahead.

The Maya had a phrase, “he entered the Road,” or “he entered the White Road,” to describe death. The White Road led through Xibalba, the Place of Fright, to the Great Ceiba, or World Tree, “Raised-Up Sky.” At the end of every day, the Sun Lord dies and becomes the Jaguar Night Sun. He must pass through Xibalba, battle the Lords of Death as he passes through the Milky Way (the White Road), until he reigns triumphant over the day once more.

I very much feel as though the White Road stretches beneath my feet. I’ve entered the Place of Fright. You’ve seen how many characters and story lines I need to weave in this story, and although I have a good start on Jaid’s story after finishing the first draft, there’s still a considerable amount of work to accomplish. I know the Lords of Death wait for me, plotting ways to trick me into staying in Xibalba forever instead of passing through successfully.

It’s not the World Tree I aim for, exactly. This journey takes me to Kukulkan’s pyramid on the other side. (See Well of Sky, my free read at Drollerie) It looks a lot like this.

And yes, all this story asks for is my heart.

Originally published at Joely Sue Burkhart. You can comment here or there.

Continuing last night’s Monster Tale:

I helped her revise her story last night and printed it off on 6 pages (including the title page) so she could illustrate it. When she’s done, I’ll scan some copies — they are hilarious. The cover has a picture of an ambulance, and the person on the stretcher has X for eyes because he died from the smell. *dies* Here’s her edited version.

It Wasn’t Me

A kid named John was sitting in the car and tooted. The whole family gagged, and he said,

Originally published at Joely Sue Burkhart. You can comment here or there.

It’s been awhile since I had a worthy tale, but this one is pretty darned good.

We decided to try a new place to eat tonight, one of our old time favorites from Eagan, MN (Old Chicago) that has recently opened. On the way, we had to cross James River, and shortly after passing it, the van was suddenly filled with a wretched odor that had both That Man and I gagging. Seriously, it smelled like the bog of eternal stench. Since we’d just crossed the river, we thought maybe that was the smell, but it just got worse and worse.

Of course, I soon suspected that one of the monsters was suffering from a gas problem. The two littlest would have claimed it proudly if they’d unleashed that torment on us, but they both denied the smell. That meant Princess Monster had done it. Oh, yes–I knew she’d lie about it because she was embarrassed. (Princesses try very hard not to have gas, you know.) Red-faced, she finally admitted she’d done it just as we entered Old Chicago.

So we’re sitting at the table, talking and laughing about how she’d denied it, she suddenly got a story idea. I’m not kidding. I thought I was the only one who sat at the table scribbling madly on a napkin! Tossing ideas back and forth with me, she finished her first draft. Spelling as she wrote it.

It Wasn’t Me

A kid named John (Me: of course, even in the story, she couldn’t claim it–blame it on Uncle John!!) was sitting in the car and tuted (Me: cracks up) in the car.

The whole family gaged. And he said It wasn’t me!

One day they were in the house and the whole city gaged. And he said It wasn’t me!

One other day he was at the White House and he tuted and here came the whole army and he said It wasn’t me!

One day he was at the Impier State Building and tuted. The whole universe gaged, even the alains. And he said It wasn’t me!

But the whole universe said It was him. Then he confessed.

Brainstorming her idea, we decided to add a scene with the President trying to escape the smell on Air Force One (after I explained what AF1 was) and also Ben Franklin’s face sliding off Mount Rushmore.

It’ll be a best seller, I’m sure.

P.S. I’m keeping the napkin.

P.S.S. Yes, she gets the fragment habit from me. I’m working on that. Mine, not hers.

Originally published at Joely Sue Burkhart. You can comment here or there.

With Revision Xibalba (RX) starting next week, I worked on finishing character details last week. I wrote up some nice backstory for all the main characters I wanted to consider. Although I didn’t finish the key backstory/event for Charlie and Sam, I did outline it all. I couldn’t get enthused about writing it carefully–as I would to share it publically–but I did want to capture the events. It does all come full circle, so it’s important that I know about it. I just didn’t feel like I needed to know it perfectly, although I reserve the right to come back and finish it later. I planned to give those snippets away eventually.

It’s time to clean my desk, figuratively and literally. If you have anything you want me to read, this is a good week. Once I’m head down, nose to the grindstone, it may take several weeks of snippets of reading time instead of a long dedicated time. I’m out of books, so I shouldn’t be tempted there, unless I buy new ones. (Always a possibility.) I have several TBR piles, but they’re all still packed in the garage.

I have a few short character notes I want to make, and I want to write up the synopsis. I want to treat this like a formal proposal and have query and synopsis in hand, although I’m not sending anything out yet. I want to get this next pass well started, and let the dust settle on the Letters queries/packages before starting a new round. One book in the query stage is hard enough to manage, let alone two. Likely, I won’t be in a position to query NSR until early 2009, but it would be sweet indeed if I wrapped up the revision and could send a few chapters to my brand new agent before Thanksgiving. One can dream, right????! Please don’t wake me up.

If I owe you a package, I’m going to try very, very hard to get it in the mail before RX.

This week is also significant in my writer’s journey, so I’ll be writing up a post celebrating my fifth birthday as a writer. My, the time does fly, even when it seems the slow slog will never end.

Originally published at Joely Sue Burkhart. You can comment here or there.

I stayed up until 2:00 a.m. last night to finish this book. I first heard of this series over at Dear Author and was highly intrigued. I’ve never read much contemporary romance. Name a famous contemporary “staple” and I’m about 85% sure I can say I haven’t read it.

I’m so glad I made the exception for this book.

I started it Friday night and read just the first chapter or so. I finished the rest yesterday. Around midnight I really thought I should go to bed, but I was so close to the big turning point… And if you’ve read this book, you know there’s a pretty significant development unfolding in the final quarter or so of the book. I bawled when Mel grieved for her husband, and although I expected the little twist I mentioned at the end, it was still well done.

Oh, there were a few things I wish had been done differently, but it was still a really good read. I wanted more of the killer instinct in Jack, not just the one glimpse of the Marine who had so many service records at the end. The characters are all solid, and the setting is wonderful. Sort of like a Jill Shalvis Sierra Nevada setting, only without her same brand of humor. I think what made this book so attractive is that setting. I could totally see Mel’s cute little cabin in the redwoods, the potted plants on the porch and the deer in her yard. Yet despite the beauty, Mel had very legitimate reasons for not wanting to stay.

I found I wanted to stay. I wanted to say I knew where Virgin River was so I could visit. And in the end, that is one of the greatest victories of all for an author, wouldn’t you say?

Originally published at Joely Sue Burkhart. You can comment here or there.

I was sitting in a meeting the other day, turned in my chair, and my lower back caught. I didn’t pull anything–it just feels like something’s stuck. I’ve been cripping around ever since.

Naturally, my heating pad has decided to croak. So I’ll be getting a new heating pad today.

However, most importantly, I need to recommit to exercise. I’ve gotten lax on my walking, and I know that’s why my back is out of whack, not to mention my weight loss goals. When I’m exercising regularly, my knees and back feel much better along with my overall sense of wellbeing.

With RX on the horizon, I must take care of this poor old body or I’ll end up in traction.

Originally published at Joely Sue Burkhart. You can comment here or there.

Now that I have the plot ironed out and card-by-card plot decisions on what I can keep from the first draft (nearly all of NSR, whoo-hoo!!!), I’m gearing up for Revision Hell, or more appropriately, Revision Xibalba. RX for short.

I’m writing up deeper character backgrounds for the new POV and select key characters. I’m also writing up backstory, especially for Jaid’s father. I missed several key opportunities in the first draft. Eventually, I hope to share most of this backstory with you as snippets, but I can’t yet, not without revealing the ace up my sleeve .

I’m trying to be very careful in my planning this time. I have 63K of storyline finished, that will remain mostly intact, and easily another 50K to build around and inside it. Two new POVs, and dozens of new characters. Some are entirely off stage, but I need to know them. I need their image, their motivations and fears in the back of my mind. And, with all this plotting and story arc fresh in my mind, I want to plot out the second book as far as possible. I need to figure out the structure. Will Jaid continue as the protagonist, or become a key supporting character as the story arc continues (rather like Alexandria and Michael in Lynn Viehl’s Darkyn series)? I don’t know yet, but that’s another reason I’m spending so much time on these new characters.

I’m hoping someone’s story begins to shout loud and clear. Pick me! Pick me! However, no sequel bait has arrived yet, so I might rely heavily on Jaid to carry me through the next leg of this White Road.

Anyway, October and November will be key months. I probably won’t participate “formally” in NaNoWriMo this year, since NSR is a revision, but I’ll definitely be there in spirit as I whip this baby into shape and kick it out the door. I plan to start serious revision 9/28/2008. Mark your calendar for:

• sick kid(s)
• That Man’s revolt
• massive Evil Day Job issue (don’t ask me what my company’s doing in October. Yes, it’s big, although I’m not directly involved)
• sick dog
• broken appliance
• car trouble
• computer trouble

The list is infinite! But it won’t stop me from finishing this story by the end of the year, unless I let it.

Edited after domain transfer to fix the links

Originally published at Joely Sue Burkhart. You can comment here or there.

Okay, after a few tries, I think I finally devised a worksheet that I can use to plot NSR. This is what works for me, for this book. I’ve never needed this much detail for a book before. I may never need it again (but I suspect I will). Nor are these likely final drafts. I’m sure as I begin writing and diving deeper into character that some of these scenes will change. I haven’t eyeballed it yet from a symmetry standpoint either. Certainly nothing is written in stone! This is not a list of rules I have to follow, but rather a guidemap to help me find “The End.” That’s truly all I’m trying to do here. I need to get the VISION, and these worksheets are helping.

I created 4 worksheets:

Timeline – Act I Act II Part 1 Act II Part 2 Act III

Some notes:

1. The first column is for your characters or threads you want to track across the paradigm. They do not have to be POV characters. I chose to list several characters that did not have a POV.
2. I used colored pens to keep track of each POV. This will help me see the balance across the story.
3. I drew a number on the timeline, and then used the number in the appropriate character’s row for reference. Any character that might be included in the scene also got a note.
4. I don’t recommend trying to get every single possible scene on the paradigm. I quickly ran out of room in Act II Part 1, even though I thought I was listing only the crucial scenes.
5. You may choose to list story scenes that are not actually “on page.” For instance, I listed the bad guys’ movement, even though they don’t have a POV, and even though no POV character was on scene with them. I wanted to keep track of where they were, and this helped.
6. I’ve laid a few hero’s journey notes on top of Syd Field’s recommended turning points in his paradigm. Not every stage of the hero’s journey is listed.
7. Don’t get too hung up on the exact sequence of numbers. A few times I used “A” instead of the next number because I realized I needed to insert a scene and I didn’t want to start over on that page.

Below, I’ve included small screen shots of the first “finished” draft of these worksheets for NSR, my grand project tonight. Again, subject to change. I doubt you can read the detail (I actually hope you can’t I may delete the images later to protect the story), but wanted to give you a general idea of what mine looked like.

Comments, discussion? Is this way too anal for you?

 

 

 

Originally published at Joely Sue Burkhart. You can comment here or there.

As I mentioned, I found Syd Field’s paradigm outlined in his Screenplay and The Screenwriter’s Workbook very helpful in finalizing my vision for the Mayan fantasy. Several people wanted more information, so I’ll go into more depth on what the paradigm is and how I used it. Just personal preference: I use the Workbook more than the original Screenplay. It’s worded a little different and it just clicks better for me personally, although I have both books.

Okay, so I’ll assume you have a story idea, which includes a subject, a character, and some action. The example Syd uses is: a visitor from outer space misses his spaceship home and is found and befriended by some children, who help him escape. (E.T.) Skimming off the uber-sekrit details of NSR, I have: Epigrapher Dr. Jaid Merritt may be known as the Un-Indiana Jones on campus, but she goes on the dig of her life in Guatemala in order to rescue her father.

The paradigm is sort of a timeline that graphs the major events of your story. Draw a line on your paper. You’ve heard me rambling about the Three Act Structure before. Act I and Act III are each roughly a quarter of your timeline; Act II is the middle half. Mark them off. Then toward the end of Act I, place an X or circle to represent the major turning point that moves your story from setup (the Ordinary World, if you’re more comfortable with the hero’s journey) into confrontation (Accept the Call and Cross the First Threshold). Place another X or mark at the end of Act II, another turning point that moves your story from confrontation to resolution (Return with the Elixir). This is the major turning point in or near your Dark Moment.

That’s it!! See how easy it is?

Where I got hung up was taking the existing paradigm for NSR and figuring out how to place the new, more complex story around/on top of it. It was so large, so overwhelming, I just couldn’t figure it out. Is the new story entirely new? Does it overlap part of NSR? Or encompass it entirely? Was NSR all backstory — or concurrent?

Pulling threads helped me get a grasp on each new story element. Once I got an idea of each thread’s beginning and end, I started to feel where it lay on the paradigm for NSR. The key here is to forget perfectionism. I used pencil and eraser and was determined not to stress out about getting this right from the very first try. I jotted. I doodled ideas. I marked possible places I thought certain events might begin to fall, and then moved it if it felt better somewhere else. I drew arrows, scribbled thoughts on the back and down the margins, all very loose and comfortable. I didn’t stress about balance or symmetry yet. Just flow and feel.

I did this for all the threads and there, on four (** see below) messy sheets of paper, I saw the story laid out in enough detail to see exactly how to start and where to end up.

I finished going thorugh the notecards last night and outlined the current draft of NSR, where I think I need changes, and where the new threads may fall. I’m going to start with clean legal sized paper, the timeline and Jaid’s paradigm (NSR). Then I’ll lay out each story thread (whether the character has a POV or not) on top. I want to be able to see each major player at a glance, where he/she is (I’m spanning Texas, Mexico, and Guatemala at any given moment), and what that means.

I’m sure this will take several drafts. I’ll also go into detail about each thread and make sure it has a solid beginning, middle, end, with a clear goal. I’m a big fan of “every character is the star of his/her own story”, so there will truly be several major mini-stories unfolding. It’ll be a @&#* to manage.

So does it sound crazy when I say I can’t wait to dig in?

** why four pages when there are only three acts? Personally, I like to break Act II into two pieces and have another turning point somewhere around 150-225 pages or so, depending on length. A major crisis in Act II helps break up the sagging middle. It gives me a “candybar” scene to write to, as Holly Lisle calls it. I put this extra turning point on the second page, so each page has a turning point except the last (Act III), which actually has one or two big climaxes.

Ironically, the first time I drew the NSR paradigm, I messed up the first turning point, which certainly didn’t help me see the story I was trying to add. I had the midpoint turning point listed in Act I instead of my true “accept the call” turning point. Big difference! Once I got that straight in my head, it was much easier to lay down the other threads.