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 just finished going over the copy edits for The World of Shannara reissue that will be released later this fall. Since Terry is on vacation at the moment, Random House offered to pay me to go over the copy edits and make any changes that I deem pertinent. Pay me? Are you kidding me? Of course I'd do it for free! Since I continuity edit for Terry anyway, it wasn't a stretch.

It was great fun. They sent me the manuscript with copy edits from two different copy editors, and I got to see an aspect of the editorial process that Del Rey goes through. I went over it, checking to make sure the integrity of the continuity survived the copy edits, and I'm pleased to say they did a great job. I only found two major things that needed to be fixed throughout, and I had to rewrite a two page portion of the book that dealt with the Forbidding.

If it makes it through the next round of edits, it's conceivable my first published writing will be in The World of Shannara, in a two-page spread where I won't even be credited. But that's all right. I can say I wrote in a bestselling series!

For fun, I am reading the manuscript for Greg Bear's forthcoming book, City at the End of Time. It is fantastic so far, the best thing he's written since his Nebula-winning Darwin's Radio. I highly recommend that book, as well as this forthcoming one!

Labels: Craft

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

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

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

Today, I drove from Seattle to southwestern Washington to celebrate the holidays with my family.

I write this with an actual point. Driving is one of those activities where all the driver has is the road and their own thoughts. For some people, a drive of several hours is torturous. But for me, I use the time with my story. The story won't be ignored if I am not doing something, and that is the case when I drive.

While driving, I have the opportunity of dreaming again. Leading up to this book's outline, I did a lot of research and dreaming. It was time where I would think my way through story problems or add other subtexts that might create a stronger book. Dreaming is one of the most important things a writer can do; to me, if a person has writer's block, it's because they haven't dreamed enough and their mind is trying to catch up with the craft.

It's been bothering me for two weeks that I can't post my Prologue. I am proud of it and I want people to read it but I can't post it, knowing the similarities people will unavoidably see between it and Terry's work. Critical analysis of my work is pretty important to me, because feedback can only help sharpen my writing skills; oftentimes a person is far too close to their work to see the trees from the forest. I left Seattle today with all of that in my heart, trying to find a way to maintain the Prologue but eliminate a reader's disposition for seeing Terry in my story.

On the drive down from Seattle, I figured it out.

I mulled over the problem for about half the drive. It's a three hour drive, so that's a long time to be within my story with no distractions—no phone, no computer, no television, no books. Just my story with me at the wheel.

Then it hit me like a sledgehammer between the running lights. My problem is no longer a problem. And I'll be able to post the Prologue sometime and not feel worried about it.

Dreaming afforded me this. I think all writers should have that one thing that takes them away from the world and allows them to think clearly about what it is they are writing. It's very positive and constructive and can really make a difference. Driving does this for me, as well as showering (although I hate my water bill every month, I'll tell you that!).

For Terry, it is traveling. Or driving or going to the symphony. For other writers, it is something else. All I know is it is important, almost as important as the writing I think.

So find what it is for you that helps you get into your story, that helps you analyze it and improve it while not sitting at a keyboard. You'll be happy you did, if you are a dreamer.

Labels: Craft