December 2019 Update (Where have you been!?)

Okay... it has been a while...

I've hit some creative snags along the way, and my foray in VR hasn't made things easy on the writing side of things. I wrote and finished a first draft for a novella. I gave it a month to simmer, and when I finally read it, I was dissatisfied. Although I was dissatisfied, it gave me insight on what was missing in my novel attempts.

What I was missing was Acts. On the novella, I only had one act, and the act didn't even finish properly. Now, I'm pre-writing a new novel with acts in mind.

In the same fashion on how I do my outlines, I set out to write out "Act Questions." It's similar to the Narrative Q&A, but the Act Questions aren't answered. This gives me some wiggle room on writing the outline. If this succeeds in me creating a full-blown novel, I'll write a blog/article on it. During the course of the months, my writing process has really evolved, so some of the entries I had made in the past seem obsolete. (That's another project I need to do: spring cleaning.)


I'm still writing, folks! It's just that my output has been greatly impeded by virtual realities.

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Got my second short story featured on Anathema Magazine

I'm happy. Happy because I got a second short story published. The first time (which was on Wild Musette) I thought was luck, but with the second one, it feels like I'm doing something right (I hope).

It's good motivation to keep on doing this, but I think writing will never leave me. It is something that I have to do, so it won't stop.

Anyway, here's the link to my short story called "A House with a Home". The title was based on that song from Luther VanDross - A House is not a Home, which I didn't get to listen to until that episode in Glee with Kristin Chenowith.

You can also read up on other short stories in Anathema Magazine, which is awesome, by the way.


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August 2019 Update

Still writing, but this time I'm writing my first draft with pen and paper. I feel that I get distracted so easily on the sentence level that I can't help but revise and delete and fix and agonize at them to get it right. I know that first draft should be shitty, but my brain just can't let it be.

So, I'm tricking my brain into writing by hand. It's working so far. 25 minutes in, and I've written about 400 words (and a percentage of that is crap, but workable).

Oh, I know that revision will be a bitch, but at least I'll have a completed story. You can't fix something if it doesn't exist, so they say.

I'm ambivalent with posting copywork content now. I copy four pages to keep it small and digestible, but it is too short for me, personally. There are moments where I want to copy the whole scene, so it would be eight pages long. And I am also wary of possible copyright strike if I do so. At this moment, I am putting a hold on posting copywork content.


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Copywork #3 - The Collapsing Empire, by John Scalzi

 

Hey folks, this week's copywork is The Collapsing Empire, by John Scalzi. I've heard of Scalzi before, and I've been enjoying his posts in Twitter. Finally got to read The Collapsing Empire, and I really enjoyed it.

Narrative Q&A

I've always been curious on how scenes were constructed and made memorable. Think of Vader's reveal that he is Luke's father, or think of Brad Pitt's character in Seven finding out that his wife is in the box. Scenes are not only made to be memorable, but they are used to sustain audience interest throughout the story

June 2019 Update (What happened to May?)

Still writing although a bit slow. I'm starting the third novel about "worlds" or "realities."

Speaking of realities...

The month of May was dedicated to Virtual Reality, which is why there was a huge hole in the blog for that month. The Oculus Rift S came out on May 21, and I've been having a blast. My gaming time has toned down a bit, but at least I have some sort of "escape" apart from the escapism afforded by novels.


Copywork exercise is back on track, and I am also drafting a post regarding scene questions, which I believe is the foundation of every scene in a story. We'll get into more details once I finish the draft.

That's what I have so far, but the writing continues.


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Copywork #2 - Library at Mount Char, by Scott Hawkins

 

Hey folks, this week's copywork is Library at Mount Char, by Scott Hawkins. I had picked this book up because I like odd and weird fiction, and this book delivered.

April 2019 Update

So I had my short story published in Wild Musette Journal issue #1901. Very happy with that! And it was my very first paid gig, too. (Get it here folks! https://wildmusette.com/collections/stock/products/frog-porridge)

The second draft to No Villains is finally complete. I'm letting it simmer for a while before I start on the third draft. After I'm done with No Villains, I will close out the series as I'm refocusing my efforts to traditional publishing. Main reason? I actually don't like doing things on my own.

I self-published No Heroes because I wanted to see if treating this thing as a business would click with me. No Heroes did not have any editors except for a few beta readers. I had looked into hiring an editor, but the problem with that is they may not bring the story to its full potential. I'm also averse in dropping serious cash only to be presented with bad development.

Another reason is time management. If I commit to self-publishing, I would need to invest time and money on advertising, marketing, social media, rebranding and so on. I have a day job. Self-publishing would become my third job on top of my second job which is writing. Three jobs is too much. So I need to axe one of them, and I chose self-publishing.

Does this mean No Villains is kaput? Nope. I still plan on self-publishing it this year just to close the series off (although it ends with a cliffhanger, but not egregious that things are left unanswered).

In other news, I am psyched at how I'm developing my outlines. Hopefully it will help in producing short stories and novels quicker and better. I am wary of sharing how I do my outlines since it's a jumbled mess. Once my method is proven to be effective, then maybe I'll share.

Finally, my copywork exercises are all updated with a bar graph that shows the rhythm between abstract beats and concrete beats. Also, I've found the best workflow for me to get copywork exercise content out more consistently.

Thanks for reading and keep writing!


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Copywork #1 - Grendel, by John Gardner

Here’s the latest entry for my copywork exercises: Grendel, by John Gardner. I wanted to copy Grendel because it’s told in first person POV. Also, I like unreliable narrators, especially the dramatic and primadonna kind (Grendel is one in this fine retelling). Despite his histrionics, he is still and will always be a monster.

March 2019 Update

The LGBT short story is finished, but missed the due date and word count. Not bummed out, though. It was a nice story to write, and I'm going to shop it around.

Oh, if you get a chance, buy the anthology from Wild Musette (https://wildmusette.com/collections/stock/products/frog-porridge). You will see that I'm a contributor there. So happy about this! I ordered a physical copy for myself.

The second novel is back on track. Had some kinks that I needed to work out, and it's looking good. I am really aiming to finish it this month.


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Scene Analysis #13 - Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Greetings Persistent Writers! Here is my latest analysis: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.

February 2019 Update

I kinda' slowed down in finishing the second book. I often wonder if this slow-down is caused by my subconscious not wanting to finish it. Crafting a book is so immersive, so much so that the characters in it feel like real people I've journeyed with.

I'm still at the 90% mark on this book, but I feel confident in finishing it this month. (Note to self: finish the fucking book!)

Another reason why I slowed down was my outline. I reviewed and innovated how I craft my outlines (for the trillionth time). At this moment, I am very very very very happy with it. It's a cleaner look, and it stimulates my imagination better than the previous method. Maybe some day in the future I'll share my method if it holds up.

When I'm done with this book, I'll focus on short stories and maybe a movie script, which I'll call "Project A". I initially slated Project A as a novel, but after crafting the outline, it's looking more like a movie script. We'll see.

Lastly, I'm restarting the "copywork analysis" again. I had posted these every other Friday, but now I'm aiming every other Monday. The weekends will allow me to catch-up if something happens within the week.

Weather is warming up, and my mood has thawed. Looking forward to this month.

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January 2019 Update - Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone!

Quick one--

I am still writing. Won't ever stop writing. Will not stop writing. Will continue to write until I'm buried in the ground.

With that said, I've stopped listening to some writing podcasts that I frequently listen to. Whenever I listen to those podcasts, I feel pressured to finish my novels as quick as possible. The ones I frequent usually has this mantra: the faster you write, the more books you'll have; the more books you have, the more likely you'll get a purchase.

So they say.

Personally, I don't want to write fast. I like to take a trip through my imagination, taking in the scene and experiencing what my characters are going through. But I don't want to write slow either. There are more stories in this noggin of mine, and I want to breathe life to them.

I'm at ~95% on this second novel, and it's dragging. I feel that my subconscious is telling me to slow down because the next venture seems scary. I plan on writing a new novel, and with every new novel, it's uncharted territory.

As far as my copywork exercises, I will put those on hold until I get into the groove of things again. The winter weather just crapped on my lunch time routines (can't copy some great works when it's twenty degrees outside!).

Brrr...

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