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Showing posts with label writing surprises. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writing surprises. Show all posts

Friday, September 19, 2008

The Word Is In From Dr. Pus!!!!

I posted recently about my correspondence with Dr. Pus of The Library of the Living Dead podcast. There was a good chance he would spend some time on As The World Dies: The First Days. In what capacity was unclear, but tonight, he posted on my promotional thread on the Permuted Press forum.

This is what he wrote:

And this just in ......

"As The World Dies" will be presented on the "Library of the Living Dead" podcast with voice actors, f/x and music. I'm gonna do this one up right.

It's one helluva story folks!!!! I love it bunches.

Yer ole Dr. Pus ain't never lied to you about purchasing a book, or even NOT purchasing a book.

This one's a real winner. BUY A COPY TODAY!!!

You rock my undead world Rhiannon!!

Undead love,

Doc

I'm bouncing off the walls with excitement. I can't really even express how happy I am in this moment. I'm so very excited!!!

As I get more information, I'll pass it on to you!

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Creativity Overload....UGH!!!!

I think my brain is trying to kill me.

Seriously...

It is as if some sort of dam has burst somewhere in my imagination and ideas for stories and characters are flooding my every waking moment. Which is not always a good thing when I have a day job, husband, and life to attend to beyond my writing.

The funny thing about this overflow: I'm not writing.

It's too much. I'm having trouble with focus and getting my head in gear.

Ugh!

I did get some original stuff down on Friday night, but then I realized, that if I kept going, I'd be writing the beginning of a new novel. That idea scared me, so I saved and logged off. That hasn't kept the characters and scenarios from haunting my thoughts. Along with at least two other viable story plots and characters.

*grumbles*

I'm trying to sort out how to get refocused and where to direct my energies. I may have to turn out a "short" summary for the one story that seems foremost in my mind just so I can satisfy that muse and get to the ones lined up behind it.

Meanwhile, I've been cruising the blog sphere and soaking up information on the publishing world. What a confusing, conflicting, bizzarro place! I'm still watching the traditional publishing news, but I have found several good resources for Independent Authors and I've been spending lots of time there. To try and pacify the muses, I'm hoping to use The Novel Notebook that was put together by Lynn Viehl to get at least the information that's in my head down in a cohesive manner. I may not have all the answers to her notebook, but at least I can put down what I can.

The website will probably go live this weekend. We postponed it while I figured out exactly what I wanted on it. I've been swinging all over the place with some of my ideas. My husband has had to guide me toward some sort of sanity. Not always an easy thing when it comes to me.

I did split the last two novels of As The World Dies apart this weekend. The third books is the longest, which I expected, and it covers a lot of ground. As I was formatting it, I couldn't help but read a few parts and it is definitely the darkest of the three books.

The second book is "lighter" in some regards. It definitely shows the building of the new world and the work of the survivors on their fortifications. I took the time to read a bit about Katie and Travis and their relationship and I was really happy about how that turned out. Those two characters were my favorites and I loved how they evolved. I do feel I missed some opportunities in this part of the trilogy and since its the shortest of the three books so far, I am happy I now have the chance to flesh a few things out.

The As The World Dies Untold Tale of Eric was very popular with a lot of the original (and new) readers and it will be fun to integrate characters from that story into the framework of the novels. Eric is in the original novels, but he got swept to the side during the online draft.

In final news, I had to switch artists for the cover. I was disappointed that my first pick was unable to do the cover, but the artist that is coming on board is amazing. I think it will work out very well. Once the cover is done, I'll post it here.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Sometimes the Stories Push Back

Last night, I sat down to write a new mini-chapter (or scene) in my Untold Tale and I had a very good idea of exactly what I wanted to write. I started typing away and nothing "felt" right. The words weren't flowing, it wasn't "fitting", and it felt stale. Frustrated, I deleted a bunch of paragraphs and started over. But this time, instead of sticking to the script, I peered into my mind's eye theatre and "watched" the action.

"Okay, Eric," I thought. "What are you up to?"

And the scene went in an entirely different direction. By the time I was done writing, I felt emotionally wrung out and very depressed. In fact, I pondered rewriting the scenario so it wasn't so down, but I have a rule. If it happens on the big screen in my mind's eye, it happens in the story.

I saved it, posted it, and went to bed.

This morning, the reaction to this unexpected scene from those who have read it so far has been really good. One reader listed it as his favorite moment in the story so far. His words were validation for an emotionally gut-wrenching scene that came out of nowhere, but sits rather nicely in the story. It adds to the major character and made his world darker and more frightening.

The mini-chapter I thought I as going to write last night will now be written tonight. The scene from last night puts the character in a different state of mind that actually works better for what is to come.

I'm definitely glad the story pushed back last night and didn't go quietly into what I had pre-planned.

As always, writing is an adventure.