..:: Written .:. Off ::..

(Disclaimer: If you are new to this blog, please click the tab Read Me First, located at the top of the page) 

Before I get started, I have three potential projects to decide between for my next novel. All of them have pros and cons. Selecting the right project is important because it has to  keep my interest over a long period of time. In the past, I’ve jumped into writing a novel too soon, only to come up dry by the 10.000 word mark.

If you are serious about writing a novel, make sure that you are working on something that you love and have a connection to. If you are writing about something just because you think it will sell, you might find yourself having a hard time,  since you really have no investment in it other than to make money*. Make sure it’s something that you believe in.

The following is a list of projects that I’m mulling over:

• The Octagon: This project is the sequel to my first novel, “The God Maker”. The story takes place immediately after the events of the first book. I plan on using some of the characters from the first book and adding a few new faces to the mix. The God Maker is a blend of science fiction, fantasy, westerns, kung-fu and pulp fiction. I managed to throw everything that I’m interested into this world. If I decide to write this, I will post a summary of the first novel so that you can follow what I’m writing about. This story would be the easiest for me to tackle since the world and the characters are fleshed out.
• Barbarians at the Stargate: A Jaxx Novel: A science fiction satire based around my character Jaxx, who has graced my better flash fiction story. The story concerns Jaxx and his quest to remove the birthmark/curse that has made him the unluckiest person in the universe. This story would be a bit harder to write. I have most of the basics in place, but there would still be some world building and plot holes to work out.
• Who Wants To Rock (Working Title): The demo tape of a struggling rock and roll band falls through a hole in time causing them to become huge in the future, where rock and roll is dead. This idea is the youngest of the three. I just came up with this last week and will require extensive preliminary work.

That’s where I’m at right now. I will probably announce what I am going to write in the next week.

Thanks for reading!

Fred Charles

*This doesn’t always hold true for non-fiction titles.

I’ve decided to do something different with this blog. Instead of the normal routine of blogging about what is going on with my writing and my personal life, I’ve decided to chronicle the creation of my next novel. This experiment will detail every part of the creative process and every roadblock that I encounter.

I want to do this for a few different reasons:

• To serve as a guide to new writers who are considering writing their own novel but don’t know where to start.
• To open discussion with new and seasoned writers regarding the various stages of novel writing.
• So that I may have a detailed chronicle of the mistakes I’ve made handy for when I start novel #3.
• To keep myself writing on a consistant daily basis.

Every good experiment has a set of rules that should be followed in order for it to be successful. This list will probably grow as time goes on:

1. The Story: In order for this to be successful, I will need to impart elements of the story to the blog reader. I normally would not do this for fear of plagiarism, but I don’t want to sacrifice ability to discuss the novel freely.
2. Content: I will not hold back anything while writing this novel. Novel writing can be a grueling process and like most writers, I tend to be hard on myself and my ability. I think that blogging about every aspect of the writing process will help new writers know what they are getting themselves into and that the emotions they are feeling while writing are common.
3. Word Count: I’m going to decide on a word count and try to stick to it each day. I will probably go with 1,500 words to start.
4. Video Log: Since I was able to get my camcorder working, I may use it to do some quick video segments. Maybe a few seconds here and there of my pulling my hair out or pounding my head agaist the keyboard.

I have three ideas for novels. I’m still undecided on which one I will be writing. I am giving myself 2 weeks to decide. Once I figure out which one can hold my interest for the long haul, I will get started.

Favor:  If you have a blog that is focused on writing and think that some of your readers would be interested in what I am doing, I would appreciate a quick plug on your site. In return, I will do a quick feature here about your site.

Be back soon…

Fred Charles

I’ve been doing this simple exercise over the last few nights in regards to writing the opening paragraph to a new story. I have an idea of how I want the story to begin, but I can’t seem to get intro right. Instead of soldiering on and fixing it in later drafts, I’ve become slightly obsessed with it. So now, I sit down every night and rewrite the opening.

Here is what I wrote on the first night (In its full unedited glory):

Ryo watched her guide with mistrust but continued to follow him through the old forest. She gripped the pommel of the sword that hung from her belt, knowing that she would make a fool of herself if she had to use it. Even if she managed to land a blow, the sword would most likely break, but it was all that she could afford. The merchant at the Grand Bazaar said that it was more for “ornamental” use. She turned the word over with her tongue, wondering what it meant. When she asked her guide about it, he said, “It means that it belongs over a fireplace.”

Night came on slow and they would have to find a place to rest soon. The old guide…

(End)

It took me about an hour to write that opening. Each sentence that I wrote was followed by 3-5 minute pauses of head-scratching and hair pulling. I think my frustration is apparent in the prose. It’s a clunky read. I stopped mid-sentence and went to bed.

On the second night, I started over and wrote:

Ryo watched her guide with a wary eye. He limped ahead of her, hacking and cursing as he led her through the damp forest. She did not trust him but he was the only guide in the Octagon willing to take her to on this journey. The man called himself Graf, but Ryo thought the name was a fake.

(END)

The passage flows a little bit better but I hit a wall as I tried to establish the circumstances that brought the two characters together. I probably spent about an hour typing and deleting before I gave up.

I spent a lot of time thinking about what was wrong with opening. I liked the setting but was unconvinced about how I introduced the characters.

On the third night, I started over and wrote:

“Stay close to me, little girl. You never know what might jump out of this old wood and snatch you away,” Graf said.
Ryo gripped the pommel of her sword, and kept a wary eye on Graf, who limped ahead of her. Twigs snapped under his footfalls, and the stench of wine trailed behind him.
“I’m not afraid,” she said, “besides, you’re only trying to scare me.”
Graf turned his head only enough to get a look at her and said, “If you ain’t scarred, then why are you gripping that piece of junk sword of yours?”
“It’s not a piece of junk! The merchant said it was ornamental. Is that like elemental?”
Graf laughed and said, “It means, the sword belongs on a wall,”
Ryo frowned. She didn’t trust Graf, but he was the only guide in the Octagon willing to take her on this journey. A dozen or so others from both the Travel and Mercenary Guilds had turned her down. She couldn’t even get a contract at the Wolf’s Lair, an infamous mercenary bar where most any service could be purchased.
In the end, Graf had sought her out. He claimed to have heard about her need from Cyril, the owner of the Wolf’s Lair.

(END)

I think I’m finally onto something here by employing some “show, don’t tell”, and by letting the characters talk a bit more. The latter part of the opening is a bit dry, but it’s still miles ahead of my first two attempts.

I have to say that I really enjoy this part of writing. The first draft is always the most malleable if you allow yourself to play around with it.

One of the reasons that I never discard anything that I write is that I can always go back and look at my mistakes and learn from them. Also, I like seeing how one attempt at a paragraph will slowly morph into something entirely different.

I’ve been doing this simple exercise over the last few nights in regards to writing the opening paragraph to a new story. I have an idea of how I want the story to begin, but I can’t seem to get intro right. Instead of soldiering on and fixing it in later drafts, I’ve become slightly obsessed with it. So now, I sit down every night and rewrite the opening.

Here is what I wrote on the first night (In its full unedited glory):

Ryo watched her guide with mistrust but continued to follow him through the old forest. She gripped the pommel of the sword that hung from her belt, knowing that she would make a fool of herself if she had to use it. Even if she managed to land a blow, the sword would most likely break, but it was all that she could afford. The merchant at the Grand Bazaar said that it was more for “ornamental” use. She turned the word over with her tongue, wondering what it meant. When she asked her guide about it, he said, “It means that it belongs over a fireplace.”

Night came on slow and they would have to find a place to rest soon. The old guide…

(End)

It took me about an hour to write that opening. Each sentence that I wrote was followed by 3-5 minute pauses of head-scratching and hair pulling. I think my frustration is apparent in the prose. It’s a clunky read. I stopped mid-sentence and went to bed.

On the second night, I started over and wrote:

Ryo watched her guide with a wary eye. He limped ahead of her, hacking and cursing as he led her through the damp forest. She did not trust him but he was the only guide in the Octagon willing to take her to on this journey. The man called himself Graf, but Ryo thought the name was a fake.

(END)

The passage flows a little bit better but I hit a wall as I tried to establish the circumstances that brought the two characters together. I probably spent about an hour typing and deleting before I gave up.

I spent a lot of time thinking about what was wrong with opening. I liked the setting but was unconvinced about how I introduced the characters.

On the third night, I started over and wrote:

“Stay close to me, little girl. You never know what might jump out of this old wood and snatch you away,” Graf said.
Ryo gripped the pommel of her sword, and kept a wary eye on Graf, who limped ahead of her. Twigs snapped under his footfalls, and the stench of wine trailed behind him.
“I’m not afraid,” she said, “besides, you’re only trying to scare me.”
Graf turned his head only enough to get a look at her and said, “If you ain’t scarred, then why are you gripping that piece of junk sword of yours?”
“It’s not a piece of junk! The merchant said it was ornamental. Is that like elemental?”
Graf laughed and said, “It means, the sword belongs on a wall,”
Ryo frowned. She didn’t trust Graf, but he was the only guide in the Octagon willing to take her on this journey. A dozen or so others from both the Travel and Mercenary Guilds had turned her down. She couldn’t even get a contract at the Wolf’s Lair, an infamous mercenary bar where most any service could be purchased.
In the end, Graf had sought her out. He claimed to have heard about her need from Cyril, the owner of the Wolf’s Lair.

(END)

I think I’m finally onto something here by employing some “show, don’t tell”, and by letting the characters talk a bit more. The latter part of the opening is a bit dry, but it’s still miles ahead of my first two attempts.

I have to say that I really enjoy this part of writing. The first draft is always the most malleable if you allow yourself to play around with it.

One of the reasons that I never discard anything that I write is that I can always go back and look at my mistakes and learn from them. Also, I like seeing how one attempt at a paragraph will slowly morph into something entirely different.

What makes a book good? What makes a book compel you to pick it up again? I’ve been asking myself these questions over and over for the last few days in preparation for my Nanowrimo novel.

I love to read but I have to tell you that I don’t finish 60% of the books that I start. A lot of times I get a few chapters in and put the book down. Sometimes I will get halfway through a book and forget that I’m reading it since I’m not compelled to pick it up when I have free time.

When I do find a good book, I will blow through it in a matter of days. I find myself looking forward to reading it instead of just reading to kill some time.

So what makes a book good? What makes it special enough that you will continue reading day after day until you’ve finished?

For me, the book must contain the following:

- Great and memorable characters. It’s not an easy feat to create solid likable characters who are different than the slew of generic characters that populate fiction. Multi-dimensional character who the reader roots for are hard to come by. The reader has to identify with the character in some way. This doesn’t mean that the author should fall back on a stereotype that is comfortable and easy to write.

- Tight story telling. I personally do not like books that trail on and on about things that are not integral to the story. Tight story telling keeps things moving for the reader.

- Originality. There is not enough originality in literature these days, especially in fantasy. I know that I’ve gone on about this subject before but nothing seems to change. I like to read books that are different and take chances. I think that a lot of fantasy authors are afraid to take chances with the conventions that have used over and over for years.

-Cliffhangers. I’m not talking about a cliffhanger at the end of a book, I’m talking about end of scene/chapter cliffhangers, that make are interesting enough to make you want to read the next chapter. The cliffhangers come from knowing when to end a scene and crucial time. A cliffhanger can be as small a detective finding a clue but compelling enough to make the reader want to know more.

-Great Opening. A novel must have a great opening scene and not only that, it should sustain throughout the beginning of the novel. I can’t tell you how many books that I’ve put down because nothing interesting happens in the first few pages. Fantasy novels are famous for prologues that go on and on about a character who either has little to do with the story or a scene that is more interested in showing the reader how lovely and detailed her world is. Here’s an idea, open your book with a murder, that will get the readers attention!

It’s easy to point these things out but not easy to incorporate them into your own writing. Writing a good novel takes planning and writing one that takes place in another world, even more.

I’ve been reading the forums over the Nanowrimo site for awhile now and a lot of the writers there are discussing how to pad their novel to reach 50,000 words but are not doing much planning beyond that. I know, the point of Nanowrimo is to write 50,000 words in a month. It’s more of a badge of merit than anything else. I just think that with some proper planning and thought, a lot of these writers would surprise themselves at the end of the month. Not only would they have reached their goal, they would’ve come up with a story that they could actually do something with!

What do you think makes a good novel? What compells you to keep reading page after page?

Something occurred to me this morning and I’m not afraid to say it in print: Writing is a pain in the ass.

Go ahead and say it because it’s true. It will make you feel better.
Most of you who have been writing for a few years already know this secret. But for those of you, the beginning writer, with hopes of being the next Stephen King or, god forbid, Jackie Collins, I offer you the following bits of about writing that you probably won’t read about in most books or hear from your creative writing teacher.

Enjoy.

1. Writing is Work: Whether you are writing a novel or a short story, it requires lots of work. You will have to reread and rewrite whole sections and sentences over and over until you get it right (at least in your own mind). Then you need to have someone who is impartial read it so that they can point out all of the mistakes that you missed.

2. Your First Draft Sucks: If you think that you wrote a perfect first draft, you are kidding yourself. Put it away and read it again, then let me know what you think of it. You can read some of the Flash stories posted at this site to see examples of poorly written first drafts. To put it simply, just because you typed The End, it doesn’t mean that you are even close to being finished.

3. Writing is Tedious: In order to produce a story that has a chance of being published, you will have to reread your work over and over to the point that you will start to hate it. Dialogue that once seemed snappy will seem stale. Plot twists that you once thought clever will seem cliché. Think about your favorite novel and how many times you have read it. You will probably have to read your own novel more times than ever thought. Unless you are some sort of writing prodigy, you will have to read it over and over to find everything from plot holes, continuity errors, grammar mistakes and spelling errors.

4. Your Friends and Spouses Opinions Don’t Count: Most of your close friends and spouses will always tell you that your work is great. Don’t be misled. Their enthusiasm is most likely genuine but don’t let lead you to believe your work is flawless. It’s not. You should take their enthusiasm and channel it back into your work to make it better.

5. Most People Will Assume You are Wasting Your Time: When you tell people that you are writing a novel, they may not say it to your face, but a lot of them will assume that you are wasting your time and will never be published. This is something that you will have to deal with. I stopped talking about writing to my friends when I realized that they had no interest in what I was doing. Listen to me when I say this; Even if you never get your work published, you are not wasting your time. Most folks in your everyday life can’t even string three coherent sentences together. Take a minute and read some of the emails that you get at work from your coworkers for evidence. Don’t ever let anyone persuade you that you are wasting your time.

6. Not Everyone will Like Your Work: There will be times when you write something that you will be extremely proud of, only to have it met with either negative reactions or no reaction at all. Keep in mind that you have no control over people’s tastes and opinions. How many times have you seen a movie that you thought was great, only to have others tell you how bad they thought it was?

7. Listen to Constructive Criticism: Sometimes you will find a reader who like your story but suggests something to make it better. A lot of times these criticisms may be valid, even if it hurts your feelings to believe it. I’m not saying that you should make every change that someone suggests, but you should at least consider it or try to figure out why you did something a certain way. I was recently told that my story The Eater had and anti-climatic ending. I considered the ending carefully but realized that there could be no other ending for the story. I wrote the whole story based on the idea of someone noticing something beautiful even though he was heading toward death. To change the ending would be a mistake.

8. Ignore Jealous Criticism: If someone tells you that your work sucks without anything constructive to back it up, just ignore it. Period. If someone can’t tell you why they didn’t like your story, you shouldn’t beat yourself up trying to figure it out.

9. Your Chances of Being Published By a Major Publishing House are Slim: Publishers receive hundreds of unsolicited manuscripts a day. The poor bastards who have to read though these manuscripts have no doubt become jaded from reading shitty manuscript after shitty manuscript. If you don’t have a great opening paragraph or your book still contains spelling and grammar errors, the person reading it will probably toss it right into the reject pile. If you think your novel is so wonderful that the publisher will ignore all of your spelling and grammar errors, you are kidding yourself. Get out your red pen and get back to editing.

10. Write a Novel in 30 Days? Yeah right: The bookstores and the Internet are loaded with quick methods to writing a novel. There’s no quick way to write a book. Even if you do finish a book in 10 to 30 days, it’s doubtful that it will be in any condition to get it published. What you will have is a first draft that will require months of work before it’s in any condition to be published.

11. You Have to Have Passion: If you aren’t passionate about writing, then you should probably give it up. You have to love writing to be a writer. You have to love everything about writing, even the dull bits. I know lots of people who tell me how they are going to write a book someday. Guess what, they will never do it because they lack the passion you need to be a writer. I question any writer whose main goal is to get published. If you aren’t writing because you love it, you will most likely not have the drive to finish anything worthwhile.

Okay, I’m finished. Phew! I feel better now. Did I miss anything?

I swear, writers turn up everywhere. I take the train everyday into the city and often notice people writing into their Moleskine journals or notebooks. I always wonder what these people are writing. I write on the train sometimes and I can feel the eyes of those around me trying to figure out what I’m jotting into my notebook as I try to keep if covered.

I had to go to a funeral today, so I took the train into the city and hoped into the nearest cab. The cabbie was a very old man with thick glasses and balding hair. He reminded me of a kindly grinning skeleton. The guy liked to talk and I tend to be the quiet type. The first thing he said to me was how he was glad that we were going into the city, since he would be able to get some coffee at Dunkin Donuts before his next stop. He asked me what I did for a living. Since I’m being laid off next week (the suits call this a Reduction in Workforce to make it sound nice) I was caught a bit off guard. After stammering for a bit I told him that I was in computers.

He looked up at me through the rearview mirror and said, “I’m a different kind of animal”. I though this was a strange thing to say until he added, “I don’t really know how to use a computer, so I do all of my writing on legal pads. I’m writing a trilogy.” My ears perked up and this so I ventured the question, “What are you writing?” To which he replied, “Who-Dunits”. How old school is that?

The man went on to say that he has a nice young lady who helps him by transcribing what he writes from the legal pads to a computer file. His son is getting him a computer soon. Soon after that we arrived at my stop and I gave him a good tip since I felt like I should look out for my own.

I can imagine that this guy drives his cab all day, chatting to people about different things while silently piecing together what he’s going to write about at night.

I relate. Mentally.

You may have taken note that at no point did I mention that I was a writer. This is my grand failing as a salesman. I can’t sell myself. Whenever oppurtunities crop up in conversation for me to talk about my writing, I never mention it. When my wife tells people that I’m writing a book, the most I can get out is “It’s a science-fiction”.

I’m not sure what my issue is when it comes to talking about writing in my daily life. It’s almost embarrassed about it. I think it has to do with me not liking to be the center of attention. I have friends who love to be the center of conversation and can talk about themselves all day. I, cannot.

So here I am, with my computer, blog, flash-fiction site, scores of writing books and a lot of bytes worth of writing and can’t even promote myself to a cabbie, who, has none of this stuff and yet can talk freely and proudly about his work to complete stranger.

I may have to hire him as my publicist.

Some of us get excited when we find out that our favorite books are being made into movies while others may cringe. I am one of those hopelessly optimistic people so I usually give the filmmakers the benefit of the doubt, unless it is one of the directors that form the Hollywood Axis of Evil (Michael Bay/Joel Schumacher/Jerry Bruckheimer). So here is a list of the Hollywood hits and misses in my humble opinion:

Lord of the Rings Trilogy: One of the rare cases when the director does almost everything right. Peter Jackson wisely made three films instead of compacting the book into one movie and it paid off. People will be watching these movies for years.

The Shining: I love the Shining. It is one of my favorite movies but it really is a poor adaptation of the book. Stephen King has admitted to really disliking it from an adaptation point of view and even went as far as to help make the made for TV version (which was not half bad and much closer to the book). Stanley Kubrick Directs.

2001: A Space Odyssey: Another Kubrick film that works on its own but is a poor adaptation of the book. Arthur C. Clarke worked on this with Kubrick so it’s hard to put all of the blame on Kubrick. Maybe they spent more time getting high and making it trippy than trying to stick to the book. I still like this movie but it is not a great adaptation.

Johnny Neumonic: A horrendous adaptation of a short story by William Gibson. Never see this movie. Period. I remember wishing that Hollywood would make Neuromancer into a movie until I saw this abortion. Pull the chain on this one.

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy: I just hated this movie. I could have left in the first 15 minutes and not felt that I was missing anything. I love the book. I thought the cast was perfect and I love, love, love British humor. I don’t know what went wrong here but the whole movie just seemed to be rushed. You could hear a pin drop in the movie theater because there was so little laughter. If you have seen this movie and never read the book, please do yourself a favor and get the book. As a side note, the BBC did a made for TV version of this book which is fantastic and way better than this movie.

Sin City: This movie was based on a graphic novel and not a traditional book. It deserves mention for the meticulous detail the director took to create a movie that is almost a panel for panel replica of the graphic novels. This is another movie that I like and one of the most faithful adaptations that you will ever see.

Please post some of your favorite or least loved movie adaptation while I sit back and watch some old Star Treks.

You can’t force creativity.

Lord knows I’ve tried.

For the last two weeks I’ve tried to write an outline for my next novel, a science-fiction satire, but it just isn’t working. I get two chapters in and I hit a wall. Part of the reason that I’m having such a tough time with this story is because there are certain aspects of it that I’m unwilling to let go. I know, I know, every book on writing tells you to “kill your babies”, which is essence means, if something does not work, get rid of no matter how much you love it.

Sorry, but I’m not ready to do that yet. My stubbornness has driven me into a huge writer’s block. If there is such a thing as writer’s block, this is it for me. I usually attribute writer’s block to laziness but this is different. I was banging my head against the keyboard with this idea until I just gave up and put it on the back burner. The whole idea needs to simmer for an unknown amount of time until something clicks. And let me tell you, right now, it ain’t clickin’.

When things like this happen to me, I tend to question whether I should just give up writing. Sometimes I think that my level of commitment is just not where it should be. Before I reach utter despair, something always comes along to pull me out of the muck.

I was pulling out of train parking lot yesterday and listening to a terrible radio show. The Howard Stern imitator” said something like “I am the wizard!” For some reason, I hung onto those words and a moment later, two brain cells containing separate story ideas collided in my head. I’m not sure how it happened but two novel ideas that I had banged together into one.

I believe that creativity cannot be forced. It happens on a subconscious level and cannot be controlled no matter how hard you try. It felt like I’d opened up a deck of cards that I’d been trying in vain to open for two weeks. When I got the deck open, all of the cards came spilling out onto the floor, each card representing a different idea. I went home, logged onto my computer and keyed in all of the ideas that were popping up in my head. So while my Sci-Fi idea simmers away, my new fantasy project is well on its way.

If I could figure out a way to bottle the creative spark, I would be a multi-millionaire. Every artist in the country would be walking around smiling like that guy on the Enzyte commercial.

One of the challenges that fantasy and some science fiction authors encounter is coming up with names. Most fantasy authors create a world to set their story in and with this comes the problem of naming everything.

That city the characters met in? It needs a name. The strange creature that they met on the road who tried to stick his mace up their ass needs a name too. So does that dish they were severed in that pub (which also needs a name).

Even writers of fiction that set their stories in the present run into these issues. They need to name things too but if you were to set your story in a real city, you don’t have to go crazy coming up with too many names.

With Fantasy, you have to make everything up. If I were to set a story in Philadelphia, I would not end up getting sued as would be the case if I tried to set my story in my new world of Narnia. I can hear C.S. Lewis’s lawyers lining up as I type this.

I would say that 80% of the time, I have no problem coming up with names. I just reach back into my years of playing role-playing games for that. One thing that I try to do when writing is to keep going if I cannot come up with a name. I tend to use a lot of placeholders in the form of typing XXXX. I am interested in seeing how many times XXXX shows up in my novel.

There are other times where I will have a name for something that I know is bad but I will use it anyway because it is more descriptive than XXXX. For instance, there is a city in my story that is a known for its advances in technology. I refer to his place as TechTown. I know it is an awful name but it’s just another placeholder.

Other names come from things that I see in everyday life. I’m lucky enough to live in a suburb that has some streets with cool names. I’m not far from Blackswift Lane, Old Stump Road, Cathedral Lane and Dragon Circle. Of course, there are some clunkers that would never make it into my list of names like Lena Road or the infamous Cushmore Road. My barbaric friend Henry lived on Cushmore road for a while and he had to endure endless jokes from us as we refered to him as “Conan of Cushmore.”