Chapter 25 & 26
Every holiday season it is difficult for me to get work done. From just before Thanksgiving all the way to the first week of New Year's recovery, I struggle with getting any writing done. It should be the easiest time; The Signed Page goes into a weird hibernation since authors don't usually tour during the holiday season. But there are too many distractions—family or otherwise—and I revel in them like a kid.
Unfortunately, that also means my word output suffers.
The good news is I am at the end of The Dark Thorn. As of last week it has been a year since I started writing it, and that coupled with the reality I tossed away three months in the summer for fun and games, I'm fairly happy with where I am at right now. But some interesting things have happened as of late, and I must bear down. My future is there, waiting, and it is time to grab it and make it mine.
As all writers should. Right? People who dream to write need to write, damnit, and put themselves out there!
First off, I have finished Chapters 25 & 26. That means I have a total of 29 completed chapters. The chapters ended the way I expected them but two characters in particular grew in the telling a bit, which I liked. As you can see those chapters are a bit longer than those that precede them; hopefully that won't happen in the next few chapters where the hard-hitting climax must be quick and furious and kick all sorts of extraneous ass.
Gotta force myself into shorter sentences, shorter paragraphs, short dialog, and lots of action. I don't think it will be a problem.
Chapter 26 ends with Bran in some serious trouble. He has some major choices to make coming up, choices that will shape him from here on out. To those of you who read this blog, I really do try to have my characters evolve and develop. Without character development a book is nothing in my opinion, and I hope I will leave Bran and company drastically changed by the end of the book compared to its beginning. Time will tell, but I'm fairly happy about it.
That's the first news. Here is the second of three.
Artist Todd Lockwood, who I've become good friends with over the last two years and who I respect a great deal, has agreed to create four or five pencil and/or paint sketches of key scenes in my book—all before I submit to my agent and to Del Rey. In return I will act as a sounding board to his own writing efforts, something I'm more than happy to do anyway.
Not sure if the sketches will be pencil or paint. Here is an example of what it could be like:
As you can see, I'd be happy with either. Using the sketches when I submit will hopefully do two things: 1) It will help focus the agent and/or editor on certain parts of the book and given a visual representation of what a cover could look like... as only Todd could paint it, and 2) It will remind the agent and/or editor that I have dozens and dozens of professional contacts in the industry, many of which I call good friends who will help in any way they can to make my project a success. I want those I submit The Dark Thorn to to be reminded of my strong marketing platform and what better way than to have one of the best artists going show he is my buddy.
I know, egotistical. Presumptuous. Does it really matter at all? Well, I'm leaving nothing to chance. As I wrote to one of the blog comments this morning, a submitting writer's job is mostly trying to remove as many roadblocks to the process as they can, and I want that marketing platform to be obvious to the agent and editors I send The Dark Thorn to.
Now, for number three. Random House is bringing me to New York City to cover the NY Comic Con in February 2009 for Suvudu and I can't wait. I'm super excited about it! That also means I need to finish up The Dark Thorn by mid-January, give it a good edit, so I can meet with a few people about it. We'll see, but timing is everything in this business and sometimes Luck is a wind being choked by a closing window.
As the word count stands:
So, the next chapter will be Chapter 27, the 30th of the book. Chapter 27 is the second to last Richard chapter. It is a chapter I've known from the very beginning of this process almost, one of those sets of scenes that I was shooting toward as I outlined the book. When I began the outlining process I had this climax in mind and I had to move Richard in that direction, telling his story as I went, opening him up to the reader—or closing down to the reader, as the case may be for some.
Chapter 28 I've also had in my head from the beginning. There are two writers out there who I have confided in about this chapter and both of them loved what I want to do. I'm fairly confident, in a subtle way, the scene and its direction has never been done before in Celtic mythology. We'll see if I can pull it off.
So, off to outline Chapter 27. Thanks for reading this blog. It's nice to know some people have been following me along my own journey. Let's hope the fun continues!
Unfortunately, that also means my word output suffers.
The good news is I am at the end of The Dark Thorn. As of last week it has been a year since I started writing it, and that coupled with the reality I tossed away three months in the summer for fun and games, I'm fairly happy with where I am at right now. But some interesting things have happened as of late, and I must bear down. My future is there, waiting, and it is time to grab it and make it mine.
As all writers should. Right? People who dream to write need to write, damnit, and put themselves out there!
First off, I have finished Chapters 25 & 26. That means I have a total of 29 completed chapters. The chapters ended the way I expected them but two characters in particular grew in the telling a bit, which I liked. As you can see those chapters are a bit longer than those that precede them; hopefully that won't happen in the next few chapters where the hard-hitting climax must be quick and furious and kick all sorts of extraneous ass.
Gotta force myself into shorter sentences, shorter paragraphs, short dialog, and lots of action. I don't think it will be a problem.
Chapter 26 ends with Bran in some serious trouble. He has some major choices to make coming up, choices that will shape him from here on out. To those of you who read this blog, I really do try to have my characters evolve and develop. Without character development a book is nothing in my opinion, and I hope I will leave Bran and company drastically changed by the end of the book compared to its beginning. Time will tell, but I'm fairly happy about it.
That's the first news. Here is the second of three.
Artist Todd Lockwood, who I've become good friends with over the last two years and who I respect a great deal, has agreed to create four or five pencil and/or paint sketches of key scenes in my book—all before I submit to my agent and to Del Rey. In return I will act as a sounding board to his own writing efforts, something I'm more than happy to do anyway.
Not sure if the sketches will be pencil or paint. Here is an example of what it could be like:
As you can see, I'd be happy with either. Using the sketches when I submit will hopefully do two things: 1) It will help focus the agent and/or editor on certain parts of the book and given a visual representation of what a cover could look like... as only Todd could paint it, and 2) It will remind the agent and/or editor that I have dozens and dozens of professional contacts in the industry, many of which I call good friends who will help in any way they can to make my project a success. I want those I submit The Dark Thorn to to be reminded of my strong marketing platform and what better way than to have one of the best artists going show he is my buddy.
I know, egotistical. Presumptuous. Does it really matter at all? Well, I'm leaving nothing to chance. As I wrote to one of the blog comments this morning, a submitting writer's job is mostly trying to remove as many roadblocks to the process as they can, and I want that marketing platform to be obvious to the agent and editors I send The Dark Thorn to.
Now, for number three. Random House is bringing me to New York City to cover the NY Comic Con in February 2009 for Suvudu and I can't wait. I'm super excited about it! That also means I need to finish up The Dark Thorn by mid-January, give it a good edit, so I can meet with a few people about it. We'll see, but timing is everything in this business and sometimes Luck is a wind being choked by a closing window.
As the word count stands:
| Prologue: 3045 Chapter 1: 4075 Chapter 2: 2973 Chapter 3: 3241 Chapter 4: 4144 Chapter 5: 4547 Chapter 6: 2793 Chapter 7: 3598 Chapter 8: 4939 Chapter 9: 4257 Interlude: 2372 Chapter 10: 3346 Chapter 11: 3185 Chapter 12: 3639 Chapter 13: 4878 Chapter 14: 4562 Chapter 15: 3840 Chapter 16: 3984 | Chapter 17: 5441 Chapter 18: 4725 Chapter 19: 5651 Interlude: 3687 Chapter 20: 4122 Chapter 21: 4537 Chapter 22: 4220 Chapter 23: 4275 Chapter 24: 4468 Chapter 25: 5046 Chapter 26: 5458 Chapter 27: Chapter 28: Chapter 29: Chapter 30: Chapter 31: Chapter 32: Epilogue: |
So, the next chapter will be Chapter 27, the 30th of the book. Chapter 27 is the second to last Richard chapter. It is a chapter I've known from the very beginning of this process almost, one of those sets of scenes that I was shooting toward as I outlined the book. When I began the outlining process I had this climax in mind and I had to move Richard in that direction, telling his story as I went, opening him up to the reader—or closing down to the reader, as the case may be for some.
Chapter 28 I've also had in my head from the beginning. There are two writers out there who I have confided in about this chapter and both of them loved what I want to do. I'm fairly confident, in a subtle way, the scene and its direction has never been done before in Celtic mythology. We'll see if I can pull it off.
So, off to outline Chapter 27. Thanks for reading this blog. It's nice to know some people have been following me along my own journey. Let's hope the fun continues!
Labels: The Dark Thorn, Todd Lockwood
posted by Shawn C. Speakman | 3:37 PM
4 Comments:
Hey shawn,
I love the pictures! I can't wait to read the story that surrounds them. Please do share the artwork that Todd Lockwood produces. I love his work.
You have set a pretty lofty goal of finishing up the last 6 chapters + epilogue by mid-january. Is it easier to write the last few chapters of the book because all the threads of the story are coming together?
Good luck on finishing the book!
This post has been removed by the author.
This post has been removed by the author.
Chris: Yeah, like Aidan said, those pictures aren't from my book. Those pictures are from The Stormcaller. But they illustrate how Todd Lockwood goes about sketching his covers out first before actually painting them. Hopefully four or five sketches like those will help get my foot in the door somewhere.
I think it's far easier writing the end of the book than the beginning. At the beginning, from the first word, a story can literally go anywhere. That means there are a lot of open threads. As I get closer to the end of a book, all of those threads start focusing down toward only one possible ending and therefore it is much easier to write.
That said, a great deal of care must be given to the end of a story. A writer cannot short change the reader or finish on a deux ex machina. Plus, at the end, you have to make sure all of your previous plot threads come together with satisfying conclusions. So I wouldn't say it is easier but I would say it is challenging in a different way.
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