Starting work on a novel (or any large project) combines an act of creation with an act of destruction. With limited time, the pursuit of an idea goes hand in hand with all of the ideas that aren’t pursued. Every idea is brought to life on the battlefield of a thousand dead ones. Considering a…
Frequently Rowling
Frequency (a quick sketch and Photoshop treatment to avoid using the same old same old frequency wave) This is a bit of an extension on the previous post about “just” showing up too much. While it’s probably old news to everyone but me, the method used by Peter Millican of Oxford University and Patrick Juola…
Did You…?
This is a public service announcement. Did you remember to save your document? Did you remember to back it up on the USB drive and another computer without checking “Yes” to overwrite all? Did you remember to save your document? This is prompted by what may have been the cause of a little lost work….
Just a Bad Habit
Just finished the copy edits and manuscript formatting on the third novel today. Feels nice to be able to tuck it away, ready for submission! One of the things I had to edit down last week were all of the “just“s. Maybe I was just being paranoid, but on the last read it felt like…
Getting to Know You
I’m sure every author feels that they have a special connection to their characters. The process that gives birth to the people that populate a book tends to foster that connection. Not only do those characters go through the many trials by fire that make it into the final draft, but they’re also forced to…
Plot and Theme, the Enemies of Character?
In Michael Chabon’s essay “On Daemons & Dust”, he mentions that plot and theme are the enemies of character. It’s an interesting statement that a little fiction writing can force someone to appreciate. Almost every paragraph involves an authorial decision, “Do I let this character be real” = deep and uncontrollable or “Do I take…
2013 Book Fair
The Japanese publishing industry’s book fair was an interesting experience. Seeing thousands and thousands of new books with nothing but an outward-facing spine to show for the months or years their authors and editors put into them, languishing on the shelves of countless publishers had me thinking about the struggle publishers (not just in books,…
Color Shifting
A new design which conveys movement and distance through the use of the color spectrum.
It
Finished reading A Child Called It. Parents have incredible power over their children. For a child who doesn’t have a solid core to keep out the monsters, a bad parent can easily transform the world into something horrific – a nightmare overlay which no one but the child can see, separating them from the rest…
Third Book Stats
I’ve finally finished the fourth draft of my latest novel-length story, which I started on November 1st of last year, as I’ve done in years past. Considering I finished the fourth draft of my previous novel-length story in October of last year, I’ve gotten a lot faster. Some of that is due to more experience…