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Welcome to the Writing Life! (Read 1051 times)

Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #450 - Aug 21^st, 2014 at 8:05pm	Print Post
	Have book. Now to pry information out of it.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #451 - Aug 22^nd, 2014 at 9:25pm	Print Post
	Information pried. Now on to the next thing: creating a narcissistic, self-centered, controlling (to the MAX) bitch that slowly reveals her true nature. This is gonna take a gentle touch. I also need to create a manipulative, ego-driven bitch with delusions of superiority who gets hers (after too long a delay) on the end of Our Heroine's sword. It might help if I can figure out who plays her in my "mental movie." Glenn Close? Jane Fonda (in her prime, of course)? Kathleen Turner (ditto)? And what I REALLY need to do right now is fix myself a sandwich.....


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #452 - Aug 23^rd, 2014 at 4:55am	Print Post
	I'm following a suggestion made in the book I'm reading. Given the nature of Samgara, I'm trying my hand at writing a straight up science-fiction story with Our Heroine as the lead in her much younger and more impetuous days. I'm operating at a bit of a handicap with my current books since I'm an unknown quantity and the market for short fantasy fiction isn't that big. The market for short science fiction is a little bigger so I'm seeing what kind of trouble Our Heroine can get into without the use of her magick. I've been roughing in the story this evening. I've got about two and a half pages down and the situation that she finds herself in is set. Now all I need is to come up with a problem for her to solve -- over and above getting out of the mess she's gotten herself into -- and working in those conventions that define "science fiction" that fit in with the way I've defined Samgara. No space ships or multi-tentacled aliens with ray guns� unfortunately. Still, I think I can come up with something.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #453 - Aug 23^rd, 2014 at 4:59pm	Print Post
	Went to United Art today and naturally, they didn't have the width of paper I wanted so I had to get the 36 inch width that I'll piece it together. I was going to have to do that anyway but the seam would have been higher up on the finished map. Now it will be in the middle. I hope I don't have too much located on that seam....
	« Last Edit: Aug 23^rd, 2014 at 5:05pm by Penthesilea »

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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #454 - Aug 23^rd, 2014 at 6:38pm	Print Post
	"Formal court talk" seems a bit stilted to me but it is what is expected. Post #33,666
	« Last Edit: Aug 23^rd, 2014 at 6:40pm by Penthesilea »

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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #455 - Aug 24^th, 2014 at 1:42am	Print Post
	Working on the short story. I have a cool idea for a battle between a non-magickal "metal golem" and Our Heroine but I need to decide where the battle takes place and why. Our Heroine also needs to discover who is behind "the plot" [there's always a "plot" with someone behind it!] and I have to figure that out. I'm trying out a number of different possibilities but none have clicked yet.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #456 - Aug 25^th, 2014 at 4:31am	Print Post
	I wasn't able to get a 6 foot long piece of PVC pipe to use for a map storage tube so I got two 3 foot long pieces and a coupler and MADE a 6 foot tube. I've got a cap on one end and Skywise says that I could get a screw on cap for the other end so I'll look for that when we're back at the "PVC place." Since I now have a safe place to put it to keep it away from sharp little kitty claws, I'll get started on the map -- this week I hope. The short story proceeds. I'm trying out a number of things in my head before committing them to "paper". I can usually tell if something is going to work on not by running it through my brain. If it looks like it will work, I write it down. I can always revise later. Anyway, it's coming along. I'll pick up the 2015 Writers Market once it's out and see what the SF magazine market looks like these days. With the demise of my favorite bookstore -- Borders� -- I really haven't been able to keep up with the magazine scene. I'll find out who is still in business and what they're looking for. With luck, "Cliffside Story" will be something someone would be interested in.
	« Last Edit: Aug 25^th, 2014 at 4:35am by Penthesilea »

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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #457 - Aug 26^th, 2014 at 1:49am	Print Post
	One of the disadvantages of having worked for an architect is an intense desire to get architectural details right...


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #458 - Aug 26^th, 2014 at 2:55am	Print Post
	Well, I got Our Heroine into the battle. Haven't figured out yet just how she finds out that there IS a battle that she needs to be in but that'll come. I'm trying out a number of options in my head and one should click. One thing that looks promising is having her overhear "interesting stuff" while crawling around in air ducts since the classic "villain tells attractive woman his plans believing that she can't stop him" is kinda overdone. Of course to use that, I need a logical reason for her to be IN the air ducts of the royal palace....


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #459 - Aug 26^th, 2014 at 3:38am	Print Post
	I just checked and the Novelist and Short Story Writer's Market for 2015 will go on sale on the 8th of September. I'll grab a copy first chance I get and check out the listings.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #460 - Aug 28^th, 2014 at 3:51am	Print Post
	I've been doing a little editing and "gap closing" on the short story. I haven't added to the page count, mainly because I've been filling in a couple of gaps in the story for which I left a number of blank lines. I haven't figured out how Our Heroine gets into the palace but she's just thrown a monkey wrench into a devious Prince's plans so he has a motive for getting his hands on her. [He also plans to take "liberties" with her person but she's not going to give him the chance. No sex in this story since Our Hero hasn't been born yet and won't be for several hundred years. Plus, the Prince is (at present) a whiny Momma's boy who wouldn't know what to do with Our Heroine in bed if he got her there.]


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #461 - Aug 29^th, 2014 at 5:21am	Print Post
	What writing I did today consisted of pulling together various word documents I've written about Samgara: cast lists, the gazetteer (which is going to be expanded when the map is done), the glossary, the bestiary and a number of things I wrote for the larp that need to be included. I'm calling the file "The Writer's Guide to Samgara" and it will eventually be printed out and put in a binder so I can refer to it when I'm away from the computer. What I'm reading in The Guide to Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction confirms my gut instinct which is even if only a fraction of what the author knows about his/her story setting is revealed to the reader, the writer HAS to have it. And yes, the making of maps is mentioned. I'll have to look up the quote by Terry Brooks about world building but I'm a little too tired to do it now but his thoughts echo my own exactly. It's rather gratifying to know that I do have the right "mind set" for my chosen genre. Of course, there's nothing I'd rather write and can't imagine myself writing anything else.�


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #462 - Aug 30^th, 2014 at 3:42am	Print Post
	I started making the map this evening. This job is gonna be a bitch, just saying. On my second try, I have two long sheets of paper taped together (gluing will be done tomorrow with flexible bookbinding glue) measuring 71 inches by 78 inches. It will be a bit -- like about a quarter of an inch -- shorter when I'm done since the cut edges need to be tidied up a bit. I may have to get out my folding cutting board to get a work surface that's big enough or nearly so. The work station isn't big enough and this poster paper isn't as tough as it could be -- only 18 pound weight. I've already decided that if I EVER reproduce this map, I'm going to take it to an office supply place with a REALLY big copier/printer and have THEM do it on heavier paper! I've put it away for the night lest I decide to start gluing it which I have no business doing when I'm as tired as I am right now. Have I mentioned how much I HATE the super late shift?
	« Last Edit: Aug 30^th, 2014 at 7:40pm by Penthesilea »

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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #463 - Aug 31^st, 2014 at 3:33am	Print Post
	The seam has been glued and the map is ready for the next step which is to trim up the ends and reinforce all the edges with clear package sealing tape. Then it will be ready to start working on. In other news, I'm working up a logical and scientific reason for why magick works and the method by which it works. My thought being that if I can explain scientifically how magick works, then I can slip it into an otherwise "science fiction" story. In this endeavor quantum physics is my friend......


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #464 - Sep 1^st, 2014 at 1:36am	Print Post
	I've written the ending to"Cliffside Story" and I'm reasonably pleased with it. There's still a lot of filling in to do but the ending came to me so I put it in. I need to come up with a Guild name for an organization of "mind control adepts" many of whom are telepaths and/or empaths since the name I'm using just doesn't cut it. I'm going to need it for this story so it's time to put on the thinking cap and "think, think, think" like Winnie the Pooh.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #465 - Sep 1^st, 2014 at 3:18am	Print Post
	The slave auction needs work and I have to slide in a general description of the setting and what Our Heroine looks like since if things go as planned, this will be her "debut" as far as the general public is concerned, the novels notwithstanding. Still, things are going remarkably well. Guess the "changes" that have come about ARE to my ultimate benefit.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #466 - Sep 1^st, 2014 at 4:58am	Print Post
	I've added more new material to Cliffside Story and I'd love to keep working but I'm tired and Skywise will be home in about half an hour give or take so it's time to start winding down. Still I'm happy with what I've done this evening. It's shaping up nicely. I'm doing some editing as I go -- obvious things mostly -- so I'll have less of it to do later. At the moment, it isn't looking like I'll need to do a lot but that decision will be made when I have it finished.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #467 - Sep 2^nd, 2014 at 7:53pm	Print Post
	I didn't get any writing done last night -- had too many other things that needed to be done -- but I did figure out how to work the physical description of Our Heroine into the story so I'll probably get that done tonight since Skywise is working the super-late shift tonight. In other news, I'm still gathering information on starting my own "imprint"/publishing company for the novels. I'm still in "research mode" and am no where near a decision but the idea has definite appeal, given the fickleness of the publishing industry and the amount of control I'd have over my work if I handled the publishing myself. On the other hand, it's a lot of work of the "business" variety that would likely cut into my writing time at least a little. Like I said: a lot to think about and research.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #468 - Sep 3^rd, 2014 at 2:26am	Print Post
	I've added about a page to Cliffside Story so far tonight and have done some minor editing. I'm currently thinking about supporting characters -- not many at the moment and none that will be carried over into other stories -- and how much "business" to put in before the buildup to the end of the story starts. I want to bring it in at 10,000 words give or take and I just passed 6,000. I have no idea yet about word counts because I don't know where I'll be submitting it but I don't want to have to cut or add a lot so I'm being very selective about what I do.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #469 - Sep 6^th, 2014 at 3:13am	Print Post
	I'm adding a bit to Cliffside Story tonight while waiting for the storm to roll in. The last couple of days I've been too tired to think, let alone write but I got a good nap in today so I'm getting a little work done. I'm hoping that I can make some real headway next week. Skywise will be back on the early schedule so I'll be able to get to bed at a decent hour. The week after is when our vacation starts so I may not get a lot done until October.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #470 - Sep 6^th, 2014 at 4:51am	Print Post
	I've closed up the gaps in the auction scene and touched up a couple of other places. Now I'm looking at another gap which is Our Heroine's introduction to her temporary home and considering how it's going to go. How will the other residents -- all male -- react to her? Will she have to flatten one or more of them to gain their respect? Advice given to writers in my genre is "keep asking questions" and I am.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #471 - Sep 9^th, 2014 at 1:01am	Print Post
	I'm getting a kernel of an idea about a confrontation between Our Unarmed Heroine and one or more armed men who seek to keep her from foiling an assassination. Gonna need to dig out my Krav Maga books to figure out how to get the better of larger, armed opponents.....


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #472 - Sep 9^th, 2014 at 5:48pm	Print Post
	I've been poking around the SFWA (Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America) site. The membership requirements are strict as hell and I don't qualify -- yet -- so I can't get into the forums but there's plenty of information available to the browser. I read one writer's comment concerning writing or critique groups in relation to getting published and/or self-publishing. She doesn't use them, preferring to pay professional editors for their professional opinion of her work. She's self published and points out -- reasonably I think -- that being published by a traditional publishing house is no guarantee of quality. It is only an indication that the Sales and Marketing division of the house thinks that money can be made from publishing any particular work. Which is why so much boring, cookie cutter drivel fills the bookstore shelves. Appealing to the lowest common denominator sells�no matter what the genre is. She pointed out that self-publishing is hard work. I've already figured that part out. So far all the books I've found on self-publishing concern themselves with publishing non-fiction books so I'm going to have to dig deeper to find helpful information. My current plan is establish myself with short stories (like many of my favorite authors did), revise/rewrite my books, have them professionally edited and then either submit them to a publisher or start my own imprint. Yes, the "career plan" is slowly taking shape.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #473 - Sep 12^th, 2014 at 7:46pm	Print Post
	I've been doing some modest editing on "Cliffside Story" and adding a little detail. I got the 2015 Novel and Short Story Writer's Market today and now have a rough idea how long it should be which helps enormously. I've already spotted a couple of publications that would be a good fit and a third that would probably like to see a story that's perking in the back of my brain that will have elements of SF, F and Horror in it. I haven't started it yet since it is still in the "gestational stage" but since creatures that would be right at home in "Hellboy" or anything "Lovecraftian" have been established as lurking around Samgara's reality, such a story begs to be written. And it will be, probably sooner rather than later since there is a publication where it would be considered.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #474 - Sep 12^th, 2014 at 10:33pm	Print Post
	So far, so good. Aside from the name of a professional Guild I've yet to settle on, I've filled in all the gaps in the first 6 pages of "Cliffside Story." I'm about halfway to the maximum word count I've set for myself which "should" be high enough that I introduce Our Heroine adequately -- which is what this story is for -- and tell an interesting story as well. The plot is simple -- no room or need for complexity -- so the temptation to go down side roads is minimal. My eyes are complaining a bit so I'm going to take a break and do something that doesn't require peering at the computer screen.


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