In my experience, having a skilled beta-reader is an essential element in delivering a quality fantasy novel. It's not just about having another set of eyes on the manuscript, although that is important too. Yes, the beta reader will be able to pick up on grammatical errors which I am no longer able to objectively see. But they provide a much more important service than that.
When I receive a copy of the printed manuscript back from the beta reader, I expect to see it marked up extensively with comments. Sections of the book that work. Sections that don't work. I've had entire scenes that I've had to scrap and rewrite because the original just didn't have the proper tone or didn't get the point across. And then there are the paragraphs that needed more description in one section, or to be less wordy in another.
Passing a manuscript through a beta-reader who feels empowered to provide the author with the feedback they need is integral to a successful editing process. I do appreciate those comments in the margins about how "I love this scene." But I also appreciate the ones telling me where I need to add more description, where I need to cut out words, and where something needs to be redone.
Friday, June 28, 2019
Thursday, June 27, 2019
From Draft 4 to my Beta-Readers: Working in Parallel
I am in the midst of the fourth draft to the manuscript for Book 2 of the Stormfall Chronicles - having completed the latest rounds of edits to Chapters 1, 2 and 3. At this stage in the editing process, the edits are typically more confined, aimed at shaping the choice of words and filling in subtle details from each scene.
It has been at this point, however, that I have allowed my own impatience to get the best of me. So starting today, I have begun releasing copies of the earliest chapters to my beta-readers - starting with my middle daughter. There are scenes that I have been very much looking forward to seeing their reactions to.
As the text begins to converge, therefore, we will be working in parallel: refining the edits, and collecting my first feedback on where adjustments need to be made. This is part of the excitement that I enjoy most about writing.
It has been at this point, however, that I have allowed my own impatience to get the best of me. So starting today, I have begun releasing copies of the earliest chapters to my beta-readers - starting with my middle daughter. There are scenes that I have been very much looking forward to seeing their reactions to.
As the text begins to converge, therefore, we will be working in parallel: refining the edits, and collecting my first feedback on where adjustments need to be made. This is part of the excitement that I enjoy most about writing.
Sunday, June 23, 2019
Third Draft for Book 2 Complete
I've finally completed my third draft of the second book in the Stormfall series. It did take longer than I had expected, but I'm pleased with how the story is developing. When I get to the point where I'm excited about each chapter - and am looking forward to being able to release it to my beta-readers - I know I'm onto something.
Between the second and third edits of the draft, the book has grown from around 105,000 words to 109,000. Some words were eliminated here and there, other paragraphs needed to be added. But the text is gradually converging towards the finished product.
I am looking forward to how both Baxter and Lynette develop as characters under this second installment. I feel this is really central to the story which the first book in the series was building towards. I'm also pleased to be able to devote a little more time and attention to Elise and the world of the fae. I can't wait to complete my fourth draft of each chapter - at which point I will be able to release the individual chapters to my beta-readers to critique.
Between the second and third edits of the draft, the book has grown from around 105,000 words to 109,000. Some words were eliminated here and there, other paragraphs needed to be added. But the text is gradually converging towards the finished product.
I am looking forward to how both Baxter and Lynette develop as characters under this second installment. I feel this is really central to the story which the first book in the series was building towards. I'm also pleased to be able to devote a little more time and attention to Elise and the world of the fae. I can't wait to complete my fourth draft of each chapter - at which point I will be able to release the individual chapters to my beta-readers to critique.
Thursday, June 20, 2019
A Story Worth Telling
I often see other writers asking or commenting about "writer's block": about not knowing what to write next or how to progress a particular story line. It's an experience that, to a certain degree, I'm not sure I can relate to.
In my experience, there's always something more to be written, or re-written. Some element of the story that needs to be expanded or refined. The real challenge has not been about knowing what to write next, but rather ensuring that what is written properly conveys the sense and purpose that it needs to, in order to progress the overall story. In other words, if I already have an overall arc for the story in mind - which I always do when I sit down to write - the challenge becomes one of finding the right vantage point, the right vision each chapter of the book, to make that element compelling and alive in its own right.
I have sketched-out chapters, for example, where I knew where that particular chapter fit into the overall story and arc of the book - but had still not found the vibrancy which that particular chapter needed. Sometimes it was only later, coming back to that chapter or segment of the book, that I would find the vision and atmosphere which that chapter needed to contain.
So for me, it's never been a question of "writer's block" in the traditional sense - about not being able to write. It's been about finding the vantage point as a story teller that makes a particular segment exciting to write, and exciting to read. Working through the third draft of my second novel, I can confess that each time I find that needed vantage point, a certain thrill passes through me. I know I have created a story worth telling, and worth reading - and can look forward with anticipation to the day it will be released.
In my experience, there's always something more to be written, or re-written. Some element of the story that needs to be expanded or refined. The real challenge has not been about knowing what to write next, but rather ensuring that what is written properly conveys the sense and purpose that it needs to, in order to progress the overall story. In other words, if I already have an overall arc for the story in mind - which I always do when I sit down to write - the challenge becomes one of finding the right vantage point, the right vision each chapter of the book, to make that element compelling and alive in its own right.
I have sketched-out chapters, for example, where I knew where that particular chapter fit into the overall story and arc of the book - but had still not found the vibrancy which that particular chapter needed. Sometimes it was only later, coming back to that chapter or segment of the book, that I would find the vision and atmosphere which that chapter needed to contain.
So for me, it's never been a question of "writer's block" in the traditional sense - about not being able to write. It's been about finding the vantage point as a story teller that makes a particular segment exciting to write, and exciting to read. Working through the third draft of my second novel, I can confess that each time I find that needed vantage point, a certain thrill passes through me. I know I have created a story worth telling, and worth reading - and can look forward with anticipation to the day it will be released.
Friday, June 7, 2019
Second Draft of Book 2 Complete
I finally completed my second draft for Book 2 of the Stormfall Chronicles. It was a longer, more demanding process than I had anticipated, with the book growing from 74,000 words at completion of the first draft, to 105,000 words at completion of the second.
As I had described once before, for me, the purpose of the first draft is to get the skeleton behind the story written down. The purpose behind the second is to insert any missing scenes and get the scene order right. From there, the process of detailed editing - getting all of the words right - can begin.
With any luck, I can be through the third and fourth drafts - and ready to submit to my beta readers - in another four weeks.
As I had described once before, for me, the purpose of the first draft is to get the skeleton behind the story written down. The purpose behind the second is to insert any missing scenes and get the scene order right. From there, the process of detailed editing - getting all of the words right - can begin.
With any luck, I can be through the third and fourth drafts - and ready to submit to my beta readers - in another four weeks.
Sunday, June 2, 2019
Series or Sequel
When writing a series, there is a constant tension between how much each book in the series should be able to stand on its own merits - without requiring any pre-existing information regarding the other books in the series - and how much each book should intertwine with its predecessors.
On the one extreme are series such as Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, which was really written as one complete story - but which was judged by the publisher at the time to be too long to squeeze into a single volume. It was therefore broken into a series after the fact, making it difficult or impossible for a reader to pick-up any of the later books in the trilogy without having read their predecessors.
On the other extreme are series which are written as stand-alone stories, which just happen to follow the same character or theme. Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series is a good example of this approach. Each book becomes its own independent story, and readers can pick up any book in the sequence which happens to strike their interest, and expect to understand everything that's going on.
My own series, the Stormfall Chronicles, is intended to fall somewhere in the middle of this. On the one hand, it would enhance the reader's enjoyment if they had read the preceding books in the series. I do attempt, however, to provide enough background in the successive novels for a reader to pick up the story-line without necessarily having read or recently read the books which preceded it. In my view, for better or worse, this leads to a more flexible and rewarding reader experience - although it does add a certain number of pages to the successive books, while certain concepts have to be re-introduced and explained.
On the one extreme are series such as Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, which was really written as one complete story - but which was judged by the publisher at the time to be too long to squeeze into a single volume. It was therefore broken into a series after the fact, making it difficult or impossible for a reader to pick-up any of the later books in the trilogy without having read their predecessors.
On the other extreme are series which are written as stand-alone stories, which just happen to follow the same character or theme. Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series is a good example of this approach. Each book becomes its own independent story, and readers can pick up any book in the sequence which happens to strike their interest, and expect to understand everything that's going on.
My own series, the Stormfall Chronicles, is intended to fall somewhere in the middle of this. On the one hand, it would enhance the reader's enjoyment if they had read the preceding books in the series. I do attempt, however, to provide enough background in the successive novels for a reader to pick up the story-line without necessarily having read or recently read the books which preceded it. In my view, for better or worse, this leads to a more flexible and rewarding reader experience - although it does add a certain number of pages to the successive books, while certain concepts have to be re-introduced and explained.
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