A month in mid-April I took a trip to New York City, my first such trip, to attend the NY Comic Con with Terry Brooks. Terry went to publicize his graphic novel Dark Wraith of Shannara and he asked me to tag along. Not willing to say no to such an invite, I went!

And I had a great time. I was there for five days, only one day of which I was at the convention. The rest of the time was running around New York, seeing sights I've only see on television or in movies, eating great food and drinking far too expensive drinks, meeting some friends I hadn't seen for a while, and visiting the Random House offices. Sadly I didn't have time to go to any of the museums, visit Ground Zero, or the Statue of Liberty. Perhaps in July if I go back with friends.

One of the highlights was visiting Del Rey. I've been with Terry now for 10 years and I've spoken to most of the people at that publisher. They invited me in to take a look around, meet the people I hadn't yet met in person, and they asked for my advice where it pertained to marketing the publicizing Terry's forthcoming book, The Gypsy Morph. Since I hope to one day be published by Del Rey, it was a real treat.

Another highlight was taking the subway to Brooklyn and then walking the Brooklyn Bridge back into lower Manhattan. Terry, his wife Judine, and I got up early one morning before it got hot, rode the subway over, and then walked the bridge back. It was great fun, but it truly gave me a sense how old the East Coast is. It was kind of spooky realizing the bridge has been around since 1875, a full 100 years before I was born. Below is one of the pictures Judine took of Terry and I:



I have more pictures too, although I'm not sure when I will get around to getting them out of my camera and up on a website. I guess when I am finished with my book...

Labels: Pictures

Chapter 13 is now finished.

This is going to be a short post because I just murdered one of my characters and I think I need to go have a drink at the restaurant next door.

The book has a total of 31 chapters, if you include the prologue, epilogue, and two interludes. Chapter 13 is in effect Chapter 15. That puts me right at the half way point. Tomorrow I will start outlining Chapter 14 to begin writing on Monday.

The word count stands as:

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

Labels: The Dark Thorn

Chapter 12 is now finished. It took a bit longer than I thought it would, mostly because it is pivotal chapter where important new characters are introduced into the story. That always must be handled with utmost tact, and it took me -- particularly in two spots -- a longer time to get the correct words out in the right order.

That said, I really like the chapter. It was the last Bran chapter of three straight and is the finish of a good short arc. The word count is:

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

Gotta keep on writing. That's the name of the game.

In like news, last week the agent I am working with on this project asked for the outline to the entire story. I went back over my original outline, preparing it by adding aspects to it that have just been in my head for a long while, and I was struck with how close I've stayed on the outline's path. After looking at the outline again, I'm even more excited to get to its end; I think it is a good strong story that will appeal to Terry Brooks and Jim Butcher fans.

I hope Ralph likes the outline. And if he doesn't, I hope he can share insight into how to improve the story. A writer can only read so many books on plot development and storyboarding -- the writer must eventually build their own story and sometimes we are so close to our own projects that we can't see their flaws. I might be one of the latter writers, so having a professional look it over is great. We'll see what happens; I may be rewriting a huge chunk of the book for all I know!

Okay, time to outline Chapter 13, which is a Cardinal Cormac chapter. I am gonna enjoy writing this one, because I get to introduce the other Vigilo, the Pope, and set into motion other events that have a serious outcome on the climax of the story. Not sure when I will finish the chapter but I hope to by the end of the week.

As for right now, I have to read Aidan Moher's first 25 pages of his novel, Through Bended Grass, and get back to him on it. I haven't been doing a lot of reading lately, so it will be nice to break the writing routine and do something for fun for a change.

Labels: The Dark Thorn

I initially started this blog as a diary for myself, to put down on electronic paper my journey from the beginning of a book to its end. Only second have I thought it being a resource for beginning writers trying to break into the industry, and lastly third I wanted it to possibly be the beginning of a marketing platform for potential book sales down the road -- if I am so lucky.

This post kind of hits on the second one: a means of helping people understand the industry better along with the practice of writing. And this post is a cautionary tale for those of you who will be jumping into querying agents in the future.

I received word back from Ralph Vicinanza, the agent for Terry Pratchett, Robert Jordan, Robert J. Sawyer, Robin Hobb, among others, as well as Stephen King's foreign rights agent. He asked for the first four chapters of my book, The Dark Thorn, and I sent them to him a few weeks ago.

Today he wrote:

Shawn - Good chapters, Shawn. Great Prologue! I like the set-up you have here. Intriguing. Sometimes the prose can get a little purple when you're dealing with the beasts and I understand why you're doing that, but that's nothing a little line edit couldn't fix. Anyhow, I'd love to see where this is going so keep sending me chapters as you complete them. I'm not exactly sure how the Graal will fit in with all of this, but I'm hooked enough to want to see. Best, Ralph

Now, I am thrilled with Ralph's response—not from what he wrote but more with how quickly he got back to me. He took time out of his busy schedule to read little ole' me's first four chapters and that means a lot. Agents like Ralph have a massive workload, and I thank him up and down, left and right, for reading my excerpts and reading them in the time he promised.

I share his note with you, not out of vanity because I am self-actualized enough that I don't discern happiness through other people, but because you should get to see what an agent writes back to a writer. Most of the responses I have received from agents have been like this one -- both the good aspects of the writing accompanied with the areas of development needed.

With that said and after a quick read, you'd think I have a great shot at getting an agent, right? Well, remember what I just said in the previous paragraph? I've received notes like Ralph's before. Many times. Sure, it was a different book and I've improved a lot since I wrote Fell Hammer, but all of those replies were similar. Do I have an agent right now, even after such positive words from other agents? No, I don't. This note from Ralph could be one more in a string of them.

Is that fatalistic? Not really, at least I don't think so. It is realistic. It's great getting excited about such compliments but not great when they don't bloom into fruition. It took me about three rejections to overcome the feeling of being rejected; for some people they never get over the response to receiving a rejection. I've since embraced the process a bit more and realized rejection isn't a negative thing but a positive one if put into context. It's that reason I wanted to post this letter—to highlight for all of you not falling prey to the excitement or the rejection.

The important lesson here is this: Do not get so excited at the prospect of an agent liking your work that you lose focus on what is important. Kind words are just that—kind words. There is no meaning beyond them and therefore no reason to get excited. At least not yet. After a writer sends out a query, the agent will usually request a partial; a partial, after all, tells the agent a great deal about the story and the writer's ability with the craft. Sending a partial out to an agent, having it read, and receiving word back on it is just one tiny aspect of the process. The rest of the process is finding an agent who loves the entire book, then finding an editor who enjoys the entire book, and then finding a fan base who enjoys the entire book. This is reality, and good word on a partial does not a published writer make.

At the end of this post, I write it as much for me as for you guys. I have to remember to stay focused; I have to remember to not read into anything. Ralph enjoyed the first few chapters, "enough to want to see" more. That word "enough" is the key and it might have been intended on Ralph's part and it might not have been. "Enough" to me sounds like I barely made the cut; we'll see what he thinks of the rest of it.

You may ask, "Well, what about the letter are you happy with?" I'll tell you, and it will probably make most of you laugh. I really enjoyed Ralph's take on my purple prose. Yes, I admit it, I have a problem with purple prose—the kind of writing that is flowery and over the top and too descriptive. He nailed me good with that observance and I can tell Ralph knows exactly what kind of writer I am. With that said, I'm so very happy he said "but that's nothing a little line edit couldn't fix." I've been hoping hoping hoping for an agent who might take the time to highlight those areas in my manuscript that do go over the top; I'm happy to fix every one of them, after all, but need help in identifying them. Ralph gives me hope that he might be someone who can do that for me, or at least put the book in the hands of someone who can.

Overall, I am touched by Ralph getting back to me so fast. I am also pleased that I can still keep writing with a very strong goal in mind—to knock Ralph's socks off!

Labels: Craft, The Dark Thorn

I finally finished Chapter 11 this morning of the newly titled book, The Dark Thorn. At the beginning of the chapter I had a fairly strong epiphany about the third book in the series, and I realized the perfect place to plant a seed for that third book was in Chapter 11.

It took me a while to straighten out all the details for that third book so this chapter took a bit longer to write than I had originally thought. But the results make me happy and that's all that matters.

Word count is as thus:

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

Now on to Chapter 12, which is another Bran chapter. After that comes a Cardinal Cormac chapter, which is going to be great fun to write. All I know is I keep having more and more fun as each chapter is started and I don't think a writer can ask for more than that other than a contract, great cover art, a publisher behind ya 100%, lots of readers, and meeting fans. Oh wait... guess I have a ways to go!

Labels: The Dagda King, The Dark Thorn

Sometimes artists really scare me. Their talent is scary enough, usually, but this is a case where I am befuddled.

First off, the below piece of artwork is the cover of a book. It is wholly conceivable that this other writer and I are channeling from the same source in the cosmos. If so, that's pretty damn cool. But the reason I am blown away by the below painting is how eerily similar it is to a scene in The Winter Scion, my now halted sequel to Song of the Fell Hammer.

Here it is:



For those of you who have read Fell Hammer, you'll probably recognize the character standing with the book open. Remember the Dym, up on the mountains high above the city of LOCKWOOD? Remember the dark book of magic in the Dym? Remember Kieren and his dragon Rashykh and their desire for more power? Even though the painting has a gargoyle in it—which Song of the Fell Hammer has as well but in a different context—the resemblance to Kieren's dragon is pretty unmistakable, at least how I imagined it. Eerie, eerie, eerie how similar the visions are to me; there is a scene in The Winter Scion where Kieren steals the Dym's imprisoned book, and looking over the Giant city below knows their time is about to end.

I've known Todd for two years. Super nice guy, fanfrickintastic artist. Perhaps he was channeling my work somehow? If so, he might have to be my personal artist because the man sees into my mind and he deserves to at least get paid for that horror.

Labels: Artist, The Winter Scion

I finished Chapter 10 this morning. It was a Bran chapter, the first of several in a row I will write, and oh boy... is he in a mess now. Chapter 10 was a very fun chapter to write, as it allowed me to discuss some of the back history of the series and why Bran should even care at all about his situation. Plus, this is the first chapter where I felt like I had a firm grasp on the dialogue for the two characters in the chapter, and that is a comforting feeling for someone who has a hard time with that aspect of storytelling.

I've already outlined most of Chapter 11. And Chapter 12 is fully outlined and won't take long to write. I plan on having these two chapters finished within a week. Then I'll be at the halfway point and every chapter I finish thereafter will feel great as there will be less in front of me than what came before.

The word count as it stands right now is:

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 will be of a similar size to that of 10, perhaps a bit smaller. Chapter 12 should be a bit more than Chapter 10. We'll see. By now, all aspects of the Celtic mythology I am bringing into this story are rearing their nasty little heads and hopefully all of the mythology, British history, and Arthurian legend will intrigue people by this point in the book. Those first 10 chapters were the massive set up not only for this book but for those to come after it; I only hope I've done a good job of building that foundation.

Plus I plan on writing a few posts here that don't relate to my book but about the industry and some of the things I get to do on the side. I've had a few people write me wishing I'd spend more time writing about what it's like being a webmaster for Terry Brooks or getting to know some of these writers I get to meet. Might be fun to talk about that too for a while.

Anyway, I plan on reading your work Aidan sometime this weekend. I'll definitely get to it once The Signed Page has settled down a bit. Lots going on and so little time to do it! But as many of you notice, I keep writing despite life intruding; I think that is an important lesson for all of us to take on. Write when you can, even if it is for only 15 minutes. It never hurts to placate that beast inside your head called The Story!

Labels: The Dagda King