After nearly a month since Chapter Four was finished, I have completed Chapter Five.

It took me longer than expected, despite being derailed by the wisdom tooth. I should have finished it a week ago but the chapter required additional attention. Cardinal Cormac Pell O'Connor is a complicated man, and not only did I have to handle him with a certain carefulness I had to put enough back story into the chapter to satisfy the story.

You see, this story draws a lot from history. Although I did a lot of research before hand the story is still growing and I am seeing new things to add that not only sharpen the story but make it breathe a little easier for the reader. It's more interesting than it was when I began, and that means I have to keep that level of interest up for the reader as well. Cardinal O'Connor has a back story and it had to be handled right but I had to be careful to write it correctly to get the full literary significance out of it for those who like to read deeper into a story's meaning.

That's one reason for the chapter taking so long.

The other one I am more interested in. It turns out, this chapter has a lot more words than the others. When I looked at it, I realized why: the chapter is one of only three or possibly four I will have devoted to the point of view of Cardinal O'Connor. Since that is true, I have a lot less space to place with in his story. His story is important, and due to the constriction I think some of that need boiled over into a longer chapter.

I should know if that theory holds true when I write the next chapter. Chapter Six is a Richard McAllister chapter. It is one of three or four he'll have in the book. If it is longer like the Cardinal's, I'll know I am on to something about the length of my chapters depending upon how many chapters those characters get in the book.

So, for those keeping score, here we are:

Prologue: 3173 words
Chapter One: 4060 words
Chapter Two: 3244
Chapter Three: 3660
Chapter Four: 4144
Chapter Five: 4547

Now I am off to outline Chapter Six to hopefully start on it tomorrow!

Labels: The Dagda King

Well, here I am, halfway through January 2008 and I haven't finished a chapter. Why, oh why, did that happen?

Two words: wisdom tooth.

I posted here two weeks ago that I was extremely ill. At the time, my MD couldn't do anything about it. It appeared I had a virus and that virus just had to run its course. I sat here, couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, lost a lot of weight, and while the green sputum dried up some I was still in a lot of pain. My mouth and throat were pissed, and I didn't know why.

Then I remembered something I had forgotten from my youth, and it all clicked into place.

When I was 16, I was forced to endure braces. My teeth were pretty crooked and my parents made a very wise choice. But as I went through that process, my dentist at the time told me I had three wisdom teeth—two in the top that were coming in straight, and one on the bottom right that was coming in horizontally right at my back molar. He told me I'd have to have it removed, but that I had time.

That time ran out two weeks. For whatever reason, that wisdom tooth decided it wanted to see the inside of my mouth and started pushing its way upward, almost violently. It broke the surface of my gum while antagonizing that last molar, and became so infected I couldn't even swallow.

Once I realized what was happening, I drove straight to the dentist office here in Seattle. And just like I thought, it was the cause of all of my previous illness. A few days after that, I got numbed up and they popped the little mutant tooth out of my head like popping a zit.

Do I feel better for it? Absolutely. I am almost back to normal again. My jaw aches a bit but the infection is gone. I can eat again, swallow again, and sleep again. Yesterday, I felt clear-headed enough to get back to work on Chapter Five, and I am continuing on with that now. I hope to have it done by the weekend.

Personally, I blame Cardinal Cormac Pell O'Connor. He obviously does not want his story told.

So I am back in the saddle and pressing onward. Look for writing updates as soon as I finish each chapter. And as always, ask any questions you may have; I enjoy answering them.

Labels: Craft

I thought since some of you have read my Prologue, it might be fun for you to see its inception paragraph in the book's outline.

Prologue: It is Pioneer Square in Seattle at night. Raining. Fall. Creature comes through. Richard defeats it, but not before several homeless are ravaged. He stares into the gloom of the Underground Tour cavern, probing the darkness for something else that never comes. All of the homeless scatter before him—they fear him. Knows fairies and some kind of smaller fey thing have gotten through and knows they are the scouts searching for something near.

When I was ready to start writing the book, I took the above paragraph, pasted it into its own new .doc file, and started writing it. Those who are astute will see not everything lines up exactly in the Prologue. It's not raining—the reader never knows what it is doing outside. I took the part about scattering homeless and worked that in with how people perceive Richard in general, as well as at the end with Walker and that man's worry at what he's just witnessed Richard do. Fairies do get through, but another creature does not.

The differences come about for several reasons that I can think of. One, I wrote that paragraph a while ago and since that time I've thought more about what I want to do with that chapter. And two, when I'm writing, it is an organic thing and those important aspects I want in the chapter blossom in their own unique ways. I don't always have control over that.

That paragraph is how most of my outline chapters look—just a few sentences describing the setting, what's going on, and what happens by its end. Some chapter paragraphs are longer than others, but they are all the same in how they help me operate and keep things straight.

I thought I'd share. This is quite an intimate look at my work, and I hope it sheds some light on a part of my writing process.

Labels: Craft, The Dagda King

Names are tricky buggers. Before any description is given usually, a name gives the reader his/her first glimpse at a character, town, or country. For some writers, coming up with names is easy; for the rest of us, it is a torturous endeavor similar to being thrown on the rack and stretched.

I received this question today:

The titles of your books, the one you are currently writing, the ones you are going to write and the ones you were going to write for SONG. How did you come up with them? Do most authors come up with a name before they even begin writing? I ask because I am finding just coming up with appropriate names of people and places difficult, let alone a name for the book. It's not that I lack the creativity rather I feel names can really make the character and place and book in this case.

I embellished a bit in this post's opening. I don't think finding a name is torturous at all. Usually, it is the easiest part of the writing for me. I don't know why. I pick up names from anywhere and everywhere. Sometimes I use them, sometimes I don't. It all depends on their cadence and the character they are meant for.

Mostly, however, I take a flip through baby name books or baby name lists online. If I need an exotic woman's name, I go through the girl baby names until I find one that I think is right. Sometimes I think a name is right due to what its ancient world meaning is; sometimes I just like the name. There is no rhyme or reason to it. I just see the name and instantly I know I want to use it.

As an example, I'll use Bran's girlfriend's name. She isn't flashy or interesting. She is quite normal. To give the reader that sense through her name, I chose a name that is quite common. Heather. To me, Heather is almost as used as Elizabeth or Jane, and evokes a sense of normalcy that I liked.

On the flip side, I have a fiery, exotic woman in Avalon. She has red hair—which is a rarity in that world and a mark of power—and she has striking features. I needed a different name for her, a strong, powerful name that was unlike any of the normal names given. Her name is Dierdre.

Dierdre and Heather. See the difference there?

When it comes to titles, I look at what the book's about. With Song of the Fell Hammer, that title came about due to me wanting to use the hammer in the title. Originally, it was titled just The Fell Hammer, but I wanted to give it a literary quality. Since the people in my book sing, Song of fit the bill. But it took an unexpected literary turn when I thought about it, and it turns out the Fell Hammer isn't the physical hammer but Sorin Westfall, my story's main protagonist. So that title worked and it stayed the same for about a year.

With The Dagda King, I knew I wanted the titles simple. The reason the book exists at all is the Dagda king in Avalon, who sets in motion events to regain what he believes to be his in this world. I liked the idea of the villain's name being the book title, so I kept it.

The other two books follow similar paths. The Shadow King could easily be called The Lazarus King, since the book deals with ancient Lazarus and that man's rise from the dead at the behest of Jesus. But The Shadow King gives a different literary twist to the book's story, so I went with that one instead.

The Forever King, of course, is a reference to Arthur. And I'll leave that one alone right there.

To name people and books, I look closely at who and what they are. That who and what drives my search for something that fits. And just like a puzzle piece when it has found its home, it clicks right into place when it is found.

Labels: Craft

Every writer spends their time at the keyboard a little differently. Some write in the morning, some in the evening—some even in the wee morning hours after midnight.

But how many published writers write full time? I don't know the exact number, but the percentage of writers who do not have another job is a single-digit percentage number.

Where does that leave me? Well, I am not published so I don't fit into that statistic. But like most of those published writers, I have to have an assured means of making a living to pay bills, eat good food, travel when I want to, and impress as many women as I can!

I worked at B&N for seven years until November 2005, as a manager in one of that book chain's largest retail stores. It was a very fun time. I learned a lot, not only about the book business but management and people in general, and I really do cherish those days. It was the time I was developing what I wanted to do with my life and if I hadn't had those days, I wouldn't be doing what I am doing now.

But I left to write Fell Hammer full time. I had saved up a bit of money. My girlfriend and I had decided to move in together and she had every faith in me that I could do this. So I did. We did.

I still had my small business, The Signed Page, where people can order signed or personalized copies of their favorite writers' books. That gave me some freedom for a while.

Now, two years later, I still have The Signed Page. It is my prominent source of income as I tackle The Dagda King. The small business only takes up a few hours of my time a week if a signing isn't occurring, so that makes it conducive to writing. I also decided to take a 20 hour a week job to supplement my income; I don't like debt and have always worked hard not to have any.

My work day looks like this:

- I get up, respond to emails, shower, go to work for four hours.
- Around 1 pm, I come home to eat lunch, respond to emails.
- I try to take a walk to work off the meal.
- When I get back, I start writing. This usually around 3 pm.
- I write until 10 or 11 pm sometimes. Dinner happens somewhere in there.
- I get washed up around 11 pm, get into bed, read some, and go to sleep.

As I said in one of my other comment posts, I pace a lot. The beautiful woman who lives below me probably thinks I have some nervous disorder. But walking helps organize my thoughts in a way that staring at the computer does not do for me.

I do this schedule from Monday through Friday. I write about 1500 words a day. Like clockwork. If I am on, I can write a 4000 word chapter in three days.

Saturday and Sunday I try to leave open for friends and family. Everyone needs a bit of a break from writing to let their mind cool off and dream again. But sometimes no one is doing anything so I write those days as well.

The television and web browsers are always turned off.

The important thing for me, I've noticed, is staying healthy. If I take time in the morning to eat a good breakfast and go on to have a good day at work, my writing is always strong. If I don't have breakfast, it's like fighting a rattlesnake with two fingers. Exercising is important; keeps the blood flowing. I also try to feed my brain with current world affairs, politics, and history. I'm not a music guy and not moved to write by it, but keeping tabs on what other people are doing in the world keeps my mind limber. And a limber mind writes better.

Your schedule will differ from this. Every other writer's schedule does. My schedule during Fell Hammer was a bit different; I wrote in the mornings then. But the process is the same as before; it's just darker now when I write.

The important thing is to write every day—even if it is for just 30 minutes—and keep yourself healthy so you can write with a clear conscious.

A funny thing: I can't write if the dishes are dirty. There is just something about it that drives me nuts. Must be my OCD nature putting me in my place. haha

At least something does!

Labels: Craft

First, an update from my last post. After two days of mediocre sleep with aid from Codeine 3, I feel about 50% better. The glands in my neck aren't so tender and swollen, I'm not expunging the green/gray sputum as much, and my throat merely feels like there is a giant golf ball in it—the razor blades have disappeared, for now at least. I ate a good dinner last night, albeit very slowly, and I had a good healthy breakfast this morning.

Maybe it was my Seahawks winning yesterday and feeling positive about life in general again, but I think I am on my way to the end of this thing.

An Anonymous visitor posted some questions that I wish to address here. I've answered them elsewhere, but I might as well revisit them here as I'm sure my opinions might have changed a bit.

Question: What do you like about the direction of your new design on the website?

Answer: This will be part of a much longer post I will be making sometime in the future, but I knew I had to redesign this website for the current project I am writing. I do not want to confuse people with what I am doing. To me, at the moment at least, Fell Hammer is dead; it is the past and I am all about the future. To fully step into that future, I had to redesign this website and bring it more into line with The Dagda King.

When it comes to web development, most of my designs come from inspiration gained from great artwork. Since The Dagda King takes place 1/3 in Seattle, 1/3 in Avalon, and 1/3 in Rome, Italy, I knew I wanted to incorporate some aspect of that. A green and lush Avalon made sense—it seems a bit more like fantasy to me—and I knew relatively quickly I wanted to use a piece called The Crossing by Michael Whelan.

For those of you who might not know who Michael Whelan is, he is a multi-Hugo Award winning artist whose work has graced some of the best books in fantasy and sci-fi literature. I won't go into them all. What I will say is I have admired his work for a very long time. To have Michael Whelan do my first novel's cover art would be... well, words escape me.

The Crossing is a landscape painting with greens and yellows and mist. I think that works for The Dagda King and one of its settings. I wrote Michael asking if I could use the image on my personal website, asking for the right to do so. One thing I've learned in all of my time working in this industry is if you don't ask for something, you won't get it. So always ask. What do you have to lose?

Michael hasn't gotten back to me. The holidays are a busy time for a lot of people and perhaps he hasn't made his way through all of his email. Or perhaps it isn't worth his time.

I am not one of those people who put all of their eggs in one basket. Not any more. I gave the initial manuscript for Fell Hammer to one agent and one editor and didn't hear anything for nine months. I realized it's not smart to place one's faith in one line of thinking, and the same was true with the new website's artwork.

When I started thinking of alternatives, I realized I could go two ways with it: I could keep it semi-epic (a castle scene or a forest scene) or semi-urban (a city scape of some kind or street view). Two great artists sprang to mind.

The first is the cover artist for Jim Butcher's Dresden Files, Chris McGrath. I haven't read Jim Butcher's series yet, but from what others have told me he uses some of the same elements I am using in The Dagda King. Chris McGrath has very nice covers—I love his Richard K. Morgan covers—and I could see him paint a scene similar to those on Butcher's books. I'm one of those people who is willing to spend significant money on a nice piece of artwork if I think it will help me, and Chris became a possibility.

The second is a man who has been dead a long time, Caspar David Friedrich. I won't go into his history except to say he has an amazing vision for seeing the fantasy that is already in this world. I had the chance to study him while at the University of Washington, and his work has stuck with me all of these years.

I went with the second, with a Caspar David Friedrich piece of art called Cloister Cemetery in the Snow. Sadly, the actual piece of art was destroyed in 1945 in Berlin. In a way, I like using it for my story; there is a literary significance for it, I think.

When I develop websites, I try really hard to use art and fonts and layouts that make sense for the subject matter. In this case, I have a story that is centered around Celtic mythology and there are some great fonts and art out there for that. After doing some extensive searching, I found the pieces of artwork and fonts I wanted to use.

And then I got sick.

I redesigned my website in one day, basically. I was sick and on my second day of being home and feverish, and I was really bored—amazing how boredom can be a driving force for these things sometimes. I already had the "outline" for the website in my head, so I just spent the entire day wrapped in a blanket and working on the site. It came together really quickly, and I am pleased with how all of the Celtic elements came together; I knew if they didn't, I'd spend all of my time working on it at the detriment of my writing.

One of the things I don't like about the website is the lack of content the older site had. That older site had a map, a synopsis, several excerpts, my bio, an FAQ, etc. But I'd rather spend my time writing The Dagda King than write those other things; I think it is important for a writer to remain focused on what really matters—the book.


Question: How you feel about Song of the Fell Hammer now that you are more removed from it? Does the unfinished storyline bother you?

Answer: I answered this one briefly in a previous post, but I'll give it another shot now that I have a month of writing behind me.

When I finished Fell Hammer, I thought it was better than some of the titles being released out there. And it still might be. But at the time I didn't take into account how much I had learned from the beginning of the book to its end and what that would mean for my next book.

Over the years, I have heard from Terry Brooks and Greg Keyes that their first book efforts were terrible and just should not see the light of day. They were learning books. I had hoped I had approached Fell Hammer in a way where that wouldn't happen. But now, upon reflection, I think Fell Hammer is my learning book; I think it may never be published, not in its current form anyway. I think it is very naive in certain aspects like early character development and story structure, and I would have to spend significant time improving it to my own satisfaction.

The story itself is a good one. Battle's Perilous Edge, the title of the trilogy, is still a viable epic fantasy I think and one I may be able to make work. But Fell Hammer would have to be rewritten from scratch I think. Do I feel comfortable with that? Not really. As I said above, I like to look forward to the future. So who knows what the future of Fell Hammer may hold.

Concerning the unfinished trilogy, I'm pretty okay with it; after all, I know how it all ends. But I do feel terrible for those people who have read Fell Hammer in hopes of learning more about Sorin, Relnyn, Nialls, Dendreth, Arianna, and Thomas in future books, but there is nothing I can really do about it. I will say the first five chapters I wrote in The Winter Scion were very good, at least I think they were, and I am sad that story can't be told. But maybe the future will allow me to do it eventually; after all, if I can get The Dagda King onto the bookstore shelves, perhaps someone will want Fell Hammer and its two sequels.

I do know this though: writing the first six chapters of The Dagda King has been far easier than those first six chapters of Fell Hammer. I don't think I realized it, but I learned a lot from writing that first book. The confidence at knowing I can finish a book helps, but it goes beyond that. I know I can develop characters, create a story, and drive that story forward to a satisfying climax. I know there are people in New York who are waiting for me to finish this book so they can read it; I didn't know that last time. So far, this experience has been far more satisfying simply because I don't have to worry about many of the things a first time writer does, mainly "Can I do this?"

Let me tell you. You can. If I can do it, you can do it.

Writing is such a personal thing. Every letter a writer punches into his/her keyboard is a direct extension of who they are. Beliefs and philosophies may differ between a writer and a character, but that character has melded and become a part of the writer in an odd symbiotic collection of wills versus right that can't be ignored.

But what happens if one aspect of that amalgamation—the writer—becomes so ill he/she can't write?

I'm sick.

Really sick.

I had no idea that color of green could exist in my Crayola box let alone in my snot.

For four days straight and three sleepless nights, I have fought the most tenacious disease of my life. That includes cancer. Cancer was easy compared to this. This thing, whatever it is, has decimated me, brought me so low I didn't know I could be brought to dregs in a matter of days. I have lost 15 pounds in a week.

Check mark the square box: one of my New Year's Resolutions for 2008 finished!

Upper respiratory infection. Sinus infection. Minor ear ache in my right ear. And the worst part: a sore throat that when I swallow my own spit it feels like I am downing broken glass and razor blades.

How does that effect me? I haven't slept. When I do sleep in the three minute bursts I get before I have to swallow and be jolted back into awareness, I have paranoid dreams. I went to the MD today and they told me I don't have strep, that it's probably viral, and that I have to "man up" and take it like a man with Codeine 3 as my pain free guide.

And since I can't think clearly, I simply can't write.

It's making me quite sad. And frustrated. And that familiar pressure of my characters needing their time only grows thicker with every hour that passes.

Let this be a lesson of some sort and take what wisdom you can from this—even if it is that Codeine 3 is good. Life intervenes, sometimes drastically, and one's writing can be thrown into disarray faster than Lindsay Lohan and her sobriety. But it is important that while these problems may arise, it is important to spend time with those problems, get them fixed, and then sit right back in the chair and write. I've read so many people starting a book and then life pulls them away and they never return.

Don't let that be you. It won't be me.

Now that I am done with my diatribe and self-peptalk to keep focused on my project despite wanting to die, a bit of news. I have uploaded the PDF version of the Prologue. It looks a bit purtier than the HTML version I put up, but both work.

And today should have been the end of Chapter Five. But due to the illness I have only written a page of actual writing and the rest of it is outlined heavily. My Cardinal's name is Cardinal Cormac Pell O'Connor. Maybe when I can get back into the seat with coherent thought, I will be able to finish it. Terry Brooks threw the gauntlet at me five days ago, asking me if I am going to keep pace with him while he writes his new Landover book. I have some serious ground to pick up now.

One last thing: Thank you to everyone who read my Prologue and posted your thoughts on it. You all helped me improve it. I just sent it to Terry tonight; he asked for it so I gave it. We'll see what he thinks.

Now, let's see if I can fall asleep tonight and stay that way for 15 hours.

Labels: Craft

Just a quick post to let you all know I have uploaded the Prologue of The Dagda King to this website. It is in HTML and will eventually be made into a .pdf file.

The Prologue!

Read it and post your thoughts on it here!

Labels: The Dagda King

Every so often I'll receive a writing question from a reader who believes I actually know something about all of this. I like posting their questions and my answers, mostly because if one person has the question there is a chance others might too.

Long time no talk; sounds like everything's heating up with your new project - congrats on that. Sorry that Song of the Fell Hammer didn't work out, or more accurately, didn't work out yet. I still think there's a place in the genre for that manuscript. Anyhoo - I've been working on a couple different projects recently - one's an urban fantasy I'm co-authoring with a guy in Oklahoma, the other's a "thriller" type of piece that is intended to be a short story. So, I'm finding that things are a mess - particularly, I've got word documents spread out everywhere (okay, not everywhere, but you get my point). So I was wandering if you did anything specific to keep your projects "tidy". I mean, do you keep your outlines in a separate document, and then each chapter in their own document, or do you write in one large document, or do you use a project management tool or something like that? Or is everything done with good old pen and paper? Just curious. I'm trying to be proactive - I don't want to waste time "looking" for a plot point that I've already written out when I could be writing. Hope you had a great Christmas and an even better New Year.

My response:

When I started writing, I knew I wanted to develop my stories like Terry does. He is fairly organized and I'm OCD enough to need a certain level of organization. After Fell Hammer, I learned a lot about what worked for me and how I would use that experience to help the next book.

But here's something to keep in mind: What works for me might not work for you and vice versa.

When it comes to research and tidiness, I keep everything in one .doc file. The file for The Dagda King starts with the five or six most important characters, who they are, why they are, their histories, their futures. This part grew over time as I was developing the characters in my head. The next section in the file is what back story is necessary. That part also grew as I was researching and developing. Then I put in a quick time line for the past so I keep my dates straight. Below that is the creatures I would be playing with and their ties to our world's history and the scenes I see them in. There are a couple of other sections like important locations, quotes, bits of dialogue, etc. Only then did I start the outline and it is 27 chapters. All of that is in one file and is about 21 pages, single spaced.

The outline has Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, etc. All the way to 27. Each chapter paragraph highlights what is important about the chapter that moves the story forward.

I have a file on my Desktop titled THE DAGDA KING. Inside that folder, I have another folder called BUSINESS. That .doc file with the outline gets put in the BUSINESS folder. Later, my query letters, synopses, maps, completed manuscript (in .pdf and .doc) and other business elements will be included in it.

Outside of that folder, in THE DAGDA KING folder, are my individual chapter files (ie. 00.doc, 01.doc, etc.) This is how Terry sets it up and it works well for me. Greg Keyes, however, writes his books in one long .doc file. This is how Robert Newcomb does it as well. So it all depends on the writer. I find it easier to write a book if I break it up into manageable parts and that's why I do it. Later, I'll place all of those files into one.

Then as I write, I revisit that initial 21 page .doc file, reading over what I wrote earlier in hopes of not losing anything.

I hope that answers your questions. Getting a handle on the beginning part of the story is fairly important as it will help you avoid missing subplots and what not. Good luck!

Labels: Craft