Category: The Writing

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Novella Update

I’m in the final stretch.  After two big days (over 4K yesterday), I broke 25K and I’m in the climax of the story.  I know roughly what needs to happen, but the timing shocked me last night (or maybe I’m just bone tired).  All the sudden, the bad guys were there, on page, and I was like OH, here.  Okay!  I need to get through the life-or-death showdown, then a happy reunion between my heroine and her heroes (yes, plural, sigh), and then the final scene. 

I might…MIGHT…have to write that final scene in someone else’s POV.  One of my “rules” is that no extra POV characters are ever used if they’re not used throughout the story (e.g. no token “throw away” POVs just to show the villain in action), but in this case, I may have no other choice.  I really really hate that…but it will only mean something if this particular person sees the action live.  After all, it’s a direct message to her and drives all future conflict, because this novella is merely a launching point for many other characters.    We’ll see when I get there.

Right now, I think it’s safe to say I’ll end up around 30K, but I might not write all that today.  I may skip that final sex scene for now to get the bones of the plot down. 

I know I’ve been rather mum about the details of this project, for a variety of reasons.  Partly: I wasn’t sure if I’d finish in time, so why get you excited about a story I might not even submit if I can’t beat the deadline?  (Of course it might not be accepted either.)  The other reason: it’s new for me.  Like new world, new genre, new.  I thought long and hard about my options, talked it over with a few people who had differing suggestions, but in the end, I have to go with the story that burns to be written.  This one was it.

Once I finish the draft, I might be convinced to share a snippet.  I’m off from the Evil Day Job today so chances are really good that I’ll be able to finish the first ugly draft today.  I’ll report back once it’s done.

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The Finish Line is in Sight

You’ve probably noticed the lack of “normal” blog posts this month.  There are a couple of reasons for this.  MayNoWriMo about killed me.  All that admin stuff just keep me crazy busy.  Then with The Bloodgate Guardian releasing this month, there were more guest posts to write and organize, which I got behind on, and then my website was down several days last week, throwing another kink into the mix.  I still owe some interview stuff to people – but until I meet my current deadline, I’m going to be hit or miss.

But the real reason I’ve been somewhat scarce this month:  I’m writing a holiday novella with a hard due date of 7/15.  I had it loosely plotted out, then changed my mind on some key things and had to start all over again early in the month.  I’ve had a lot of self-dialogue this month, rationalizing this change and that, worrying about my brand (or lack thereof), and making smart choices going forward.

In the end, I keep repeating some advice that Lynn Viehl gave me:  write a world where I would like to live, based on everything that I love.

And oh, how I’m loving this world and this story.  It’s just pure fun.  I mean, any time I can name a bunch of characters after different types of guns it’s a win, isn’t it?  Or when I can take historical events or characters and totally warp them! It’s like history…with a bonus.  I haven’t had this much fun messing around with history since I wrote Beautiful Death (which is Greek mythology and warped Maceondian history).

I hit 20K over lunch today so it’s all downhill now.  If I can finish this first draft around 25K and then take a couple of weeks to revise, I think I’ll be sitting in decent shape to submit by 7/15.  To help me reach that goal, I’ve got my three “power” songs on continuous loop:

Supermassive Black Hole by Muse

Burn it to the Ground by Nickelback

Wings of a Butterfly by H.I.M.

I’m hoping to report back an “I’m finished!” update on/by June 30th! Wish me luck!

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Another Use for Notecards

I don’t know if this has ever happened to you (or whether I’m the only obsessively anal neurotic writer out there), but I recently faced a problem where I could NOT make a decision.  I had two choices for how a story could unfold.  I knew each path pretty well, and both had their positives and negatives.  But which was the BEST?  I couldn’t decide.  I waivered back and forth, stewing about the right choice, and meanwhile, I couldn’t make progress down either path, because OMG, what if I was going down the wrong one and had to start all over again?

I finally decided to write out an outline, sort of, for each option so I could step back and try to objectively make a decision.  Since I had two options, I decided to use colored notecards so I could compare and contrast by color.

First, I wrote down a few key story points that were the same no matter which option I used (general points — of course there were many details that would work for one but not the other depending on which direction I went).  The first was “Miss Charlotte refuses the Sheriff’s proposal.”  I used blue for these so they’d stand out easier and I could quickly identify my notes vs. the next plot point. 

Then I selected two other colors (neon yellow and cream, not exciting, but I was trying to use them up).  For each plot point (blue), I wrote several key details about each option.  In A, Charlotte is this type of character.  In B, she’s someone else entirely.  In A, her motivation is to project the sheriff from the forces hunting her down.  In B, she’s ashamed of her past.  etc.  Some elements were very similar, and I made note of them.  e.g. in A, she’s ashamed of her past, too, but for entirely different reasons.

I was really surprised how well — and how quickly — this worked.  From the very first blue card, I could see that story A would be much stronger.  The character’s motivation was deeper.  I have very powerful forces chasing the protagonist from the very first scene, and there’s really no way she can defeat them if they find her.  The conflict is obviously much higher, and the premise is more unique. 

There was nothing wrong with B, and maybe if I hadn’t had this other thought, it would have been okay.  But compared to A, it was just that, okay, and as Conn would say:  I’m not the sort of person who’s satisified with okay.

On the plus side, I now have my story outlined and I threw out all those boring cream (B) options!

On an entirely different note, I foresee several word wars or timed writing stints in my near future.  In several 15-20 minute intervals today, I was able to write over 3K, even while responding to comments for Writer Wednesday.  Whoo!  Just a few more days like that and this novella will be done!

P.S. And yes, I did have to start all over again, but the story is much better for it.

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Review and a Note about Tomorrow

First, an incredible, tear-wrenching review from My Beloved Sister Molly Burkhart for THE BLOODGATE GUARDIAN:

This book isn’t a page-turner. It’s a page-devourer. The demons and their hell are chilling. The sense of danger surrounding the hero and heroine is suffocating. And yet, in all of that darkness, there is a light. And that light is always Joely’s gift to her readers. It shines in all weather, and it cannot be quenched, though her characters sometimes lose sight of it.

Hugs, wipes tears away.  Thank you so much, Sis!  Read her entire review and watch me blush.  Also, she got an incredible review herself for My Gigolo over at Whipped Cream Reviews!

Tomorrow I’ll be Tia’s guest for Writer Wednesday at Debuts & Reviews.  My workshop will be On Writing Sex, covering the basics from LB&LI Transformative Sex  from last year and the Coyote Con panels with an exclusive sexy scene from THE BLOODGATE GUARDIAN.  Please stop by if you get the chance and share a transformative sex snippet or ask questions!

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Synopsis Xibalba

My only goal through MayNoWriMo was finishing the Maya#2 synopsis.  That sounds easy — until you realize I haven’t written the book yet.

So really what I had to do was build my characters, plot out the story, and THEN write the synopsis.  I had Tara and Quinn started thanks to an axed subplot from THE BLOODGATE GUARDIAN, but they needed significant work in order to carry an entire 60K+ story. 

Then, the plotting.  My favorite thing to do.  Not.

The problem (for me) in writing this synopsis was I couldn’t pare it down to the bare bones, because I don’t have the book.  If I came up with a cool development or crucial understanding (for me as the author, whether it would end up directly in the story or not), then I had to write it down, for fear I’d forget if I didn’t.  I mean, it might be months before I get back to this book.  I know I’ll never remember all those little details.

I’m thrilled to say that I finished the synopsis tonight.  *angels singing*

On the down side, it’s a MONSTER.  6K!  The absolute longest synopsis I’ve ever written.  *boggles*  I detailed internal and external conflict; character traits; antagonist motivations; Maya mythology details; the romance arc; and of course, the plot.  I used the hero’s journey and mapped out Ordinary World, two major turning points, the Dark Moment, and the final Climax and Resolution. 

There’s absolutely no reason I shouldn’t be able to sit down and write this book straight through without any difficulties or confusion thanks to this outline, yet I’m still worried.  Have I written this detailed synopsis only to kill my excitement for the story?  Nooo, I don’t think so.  I’m still excited about the story…just sick of the synopsis.

Of course a 6K synopsis isn’t something I’m going to torture my editor with.  *evil laugh*  So before the end of the month, I need to revise and strip down to something she might actually want to read instead of all these notes and details for myself.  Once I get something useable, I’ll blog more about how I used notecards to plot and write the synopsis.

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Carina Press is Live!

What a journey this has been!  Carina Press launched today with great books from Carrie Lofty, Shannon Stacey, Megan Hart, and Bonnie Dee, just to name a few.  Take a look, read a few excerpts, and enjoy 20% off any title purchased.

Oh, and The Bloodgate Guardian (releasing June 14th) is available for pre-order at Carina, Amazon, and B&N!

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Busy Work

Sorry for my slow blog and e-mail responses lately.  I’m still trying to recover from MayNoWriMo and Coyote Con, which means I’ve got a thousand things I didn’t do last month that I have to get through now.

First and foremost, I finished the first-round edits on Victor (HURT ME SO GOOD) and sent them back to my editor tonight.  I’ve also got several guest blogs I’m working on for the Carina launch and release of THE BLOODGATE GUARDIAN on June 14th.  Whew!

Not to mention the MayNoWriMo prizes still need to be divied up.

Meanwhile I’m *this close* to finishing my synopsis, while I’ve started a new holiday novella that I’m shooting to finish this month.  I’m also excited about the opportunity to have a Writer Wednesday workshop at Debuts and Reviews (date TBD) on sex scenes. 

AND, the monsters are out of school so we have the fun chore of shuttling them to activities.  Luckily we were able to hire a very reasonable babysitter to help out during the day.  Tonight, I took all three monsters to a “finger weaving” class at Yarn Worx where I took my knitting class.  The two oldest have finished their scarves, and I’m still helping Littlest with hers (she was right on the border of being old enough to attend).  Overall they really enjoyed it, and the scarves are really, really pretty considering how easy they were to pull together.  Picture forthcoming once I help the youngest finish hers.

So let me get back to work!  I have a shipment of stuff going out to tomorrow, so if I still owe you a book, it’s coming very soon!

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Attention Victor Beta Readers!

I want to appropriately thank everyone who helped me polish Victor before I turned him in to my editor.  If I’m missing anyone, PLEASE, please shout out and correct me!  Also let me know how you’d like to have your name in the dedication (whether full name, real or pen, shortened).  Right now I have:

Sherri, Pearl, Nicole, Susan, Christine, and Sharon

Thank you!

I’m in the final sweep of first-pass editor notes before sending Victor back in, so I do have a little time to handle corrections if I’ve messed anything up.

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MayNoWriMo Finale

I hope you’ve enjoyed the MayNoWriMo guest posts and the interesting panels at Coyote Con (the transcripts will remain up all year).   I met so many new people this month, and it was incredible to watch them reach their goals or learn something new about themselves and their writing process.  I’m working with Deena to possibly set up some new group functionality that will allow all the Coyote Con people to remain connected until next May.  (Once we finalize a few details, I’ll post the writing group link here so you can join if you’re interested.)

As for me:  I didn’t finish my synopsis.

However.

I expanded characterization for Quinn and Tara, wrote up backstory for them, and sent both through the Emotional Toolbox.  I have my major turning points outlined with supporting notecards.  Plus, I do have 1754 words toward the synopsis — it’s just not *finished*. 

All in all, I’m pleased with the story and the plotting effort so far and I shouldn’t have any problem wrapping things up and getting it to Alissa in June.  Also in June, I’m going to try and write  30K holiday novella.  *dies*

No rest for the weary!