Science Fiction Fantasy Chronicles: forums - Blogs - I, Brian http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/blogs/i-brian/ Friendly science fiction and fantasy forums, discussing science fiction and fantasy books, film, media, writing, conventions, and related subjects such as science and history. en Sat, 18 May 2013 14:44:35 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/images/misc/rss.jpg Science Fiction Fantasy Chronicles: forums - Blogs - I, Brian http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/blogs/i-brian/ Finding an editing rhythm http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/blogs/i-brian/1787-finding-an-editing-rhythm.html Tue, 30 Apr 2013 19:48:54 GMT My current WIP is too long and wordy so I need to focus on chopping back - but how do you do that when you thought you had something relatively good in the first place? After my first editing run with Teresa I managed to slash the first 28k words down to 14k, so have been applying those... My current WIP is too long and wordy so I need to focus on chopping back - but how do you do that when you thought you had something relatively good in the first place?

After my first editing run with Teresa I managed to slash the first 28k words down to 14k, so have been applying those principles to the rest of the WIP.

When approaching new chapter:

1. READ first. No editing. Get an idea of what information is being presented

2. DELETION: is the scene is really necessary? If not, copy out any useful prose into editing notes file for reuse and delete scene. If keep, continue:

3. EDIT: look for repetition and remove it.

4. EDIT: look for sentences that can be made shorter or even removed without taking away from the piece

5. IDENTIFY troublesome words that weaken the prose - weak modifiers, adverbs, "then" and "was" - remove or rewrite

6. CUT any extra words where possible

7. FOCUS: What was the point of the scene again? What am I really trying to show? If not clear, identify, rewrite, then edit as above until happy with content.

So far it's working well - the first section of my work has already dropped from 68k words to 46k and I still have a few scenes to go - and I know I'm going to cut another couple more thousand words from one of them (unnecessary exposition) and there are two short scenes I will also cut and replace instead with a short paragraph of reference in an earlier scene.

I'm still struggling a little with focus on earlier scenes - I am still far too tempted into exposition or dialogue to explain something whenever introduced.

However, am confident it's doing a good job for the moment, and polishing down the prose into something better.

I've had feedback again from Teresa from what I've pared down already - there are issues, and I need to address them.

I do need to be careful about a few things, and there's further work required. I figured that's why they're called editing drafts. :) ]]> I, Brian http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/blogs/i-brian/1787-finding-an-editing-rhythm.html Achievement unlocked: editing http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/blogs/i-brian/1756-achievement-unlocked-editing.html Wed, 10 Apr 2013 17:38:23 GMT So 12 years ago I had a draft novel at 700k words...

I've spent the past few years labouring with - not simply trying to chop it down to size, but also apply basic writing principles so it such as ... oh, POV use.

After a few years work I finally got it down to an overall word count of 250k.

I sent the first few chapters to Teresa Edgerton for editing purposes, to see how I was doing.

There were some experimental things I'd tried and wasn't sure if they worked, and the beginning still felt a little slow. I presumed the characters were so brilliant that a slow start wouldn't matter and it would be a good thing.

I thought I was nearly there.

Teresa very much disagreed. Her notes were quite extensive, but she challenged me on the volume, the lack of pace, and questioned some of the character motivations whom she also complained were too chatty.

I let the notes sink in and agreed that she was quite right. I had tried to be far too clever, and had been especially prone to info dumping - after all, you need to explain everything as it comes up, don't you?

And while I'd made a big effort to chop a lot back, I needed to go further.

Trying to massively cut down on what you have, while staying true to your characters and what you want to convey, has been incredibly hard. I really would never advise anyone rewrote something old, because you end up having to effectively rewrite it - yet with limitations from the old work.

Anyway, I've finally completed my editing of the beginning section. And do you know what? It reads rather good.

My flabby chattery voice has been replaced with a succint one with pace.

The original first draft of the beginning section came in at 67k words. Just to introduce the characters.

I managed to get that down to 28k for Teresa.

It's now at 14k.

I've halved what I gave her and it still feels like I've lost nothing significant, which shows how much further I still had to go.

All I've really lost is a sense of trying to be too clever.

Now each word is stronger, the prose tighter, the characters are more focused, the dialogue more purposeful. I've stopped trying to explain things for the reader and just get on with the character experience.

Some major things have been dropped. In the original draft, I realised the beginning was dragging, so I added a fight scene.

The problem here is that the fight scene added to the problem of lack of pace, because the real story was pushed back further to incorporate this.

So the lesson is: if something feels too long, cut, don't add, no matter the intention.

I'm not going to claim what I have is brilliant or publishing standard - I'll not trust that presumption - so hopefully Teresa will look at it later in the year.

Luckily the rest of the manuscript isn't so bad - the second half of the book is a lot tighter than the first. But it all still needs a lot of work.

I am more confident that what I've already started will be publishable with a little spit and polish - and hopefully not too much of that!

However, boiling down 67,000 words into 14,000 simply demonstrates just how badly I used to write.

And it was the people of chronicles who first pointed that out, on the critiques board, for which - if I'm ever published - will be forever thankful for. :) ]]> I, Brian http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/blogs/i-brian/1756-achievement-unlocked-editing.html Exploring short story format http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/blogs/i-brian/1747-exploring-short-story-format.html Sat, 06 Apr 2013 22:11:30 GMT I've long had reasonably developed back story ideas for my characters, but for some time now I've been considering the possibility of perhaps writing them up as short stories.

I've been thinking more and more about this after editing and Eastercon because:

1. Writing back stories for my characters as short stories will help me define key events in their lives clearly

2. By writing these down as stories in themselves, this will help fight against my natural predilection to info dump said stories into the novel - I can summarise points instead, or simply refer to them, leading to cleaner and more intriguing text

3. Short story writing is an exercise in precision and concise writing in itself, which could be very good practice for novel writing

4. I could bung them all together into a volume for sale or distribution, for anyone wanting to know more about my characters in the event of the first novel in my epic series being published

5. These stories affect me emotionally. I was thinking a lot about one of them while driving back from Eastercon and it made me cry. Which is a really difficult thing to do! So these aren't mere ideas for stringing words together, but instead coherent set pieces with their own pathos.

I've already started work on this as a tangential project. It would be lovely if this works out to cover all of the above, but if nothing else, it's writing, which is good exercise in itself. ]]> I, Brian http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/blogs/i-brian/1747-exploring-short-story-format.html Trying to be a nicer person online http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/blogs/i-brian/1746-trying-to-be-a-nicer-person-online.html Fri, 05 Apr 2013 23:52:30 GMT In real life, I'm fun and friendly and love socialising. I can walk into strange social situations, meet complete strangers, get an idea of when I'm not wanted and when an ear is more welcome than a mouth.

Online, I am cold, emotionless, and the bitter cynical part of me finds expression all too easily. Normally, I am happy to demonstrate I have an opinion about things I do not have any real grounding in.

I suspect the difference is partly the lack of direct engagement the internet has - but also that when I first came online, I joined a few religious discussion groups (for interest) and quickly found out first hand about trolls and getting ... emotionally burned by discussion topics.

I do have a cynical political worldview, but there's a place and time. I do have opinions, but there's something called "self awareness" to know when I can add usefully to a debate, and when I am just hot air.

I just turned a corner where I thought being published could be a near reality - only to find it's still further away than I thought. But I keep going and I know that point is coming.

The excitement is now being replaced by a real concern of being properly prepared - not simply getting the existing WIP up to scratch, but also being ready for the deadlines and business realities that will follow.

And the fact that I really don't want to be known as a cynical and negative person whom people might feel a need to be defensive around online.

It's time to show a little maturity.

I've been a little short of late especially, but I also tried to stop smoking, which isn't really working.

But I really think it's time that I thought more carefully about my online presence - what sort of person do I want to present?

This isn't about trying to set up something fake, as much as realise my shortcomings, consider the impact of my words, and what sort of consequences I would prefer to encourage.

And be a little less detached, a little more real, a little more considerate.

The internet is a funny thing. Normally I am, too. Time to be less negative. And time for a fag. :) ]]> I, Brian http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/blogs/i-brian/1746-trying-to-be-a-nicer-person-online.html Rewriting and editing still http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/blogs/i-brian/1743-rewriting-and-editing-still.html Thu, 04 Apr 2013 21:33:49 GMT Well, I've now reached another big scene I need to work on - Teresa's highlighted enough problems with it that I'll need to rewrite it, which is a headache if the previous scenes are anything to go by.

However, I've learned now that the way to do this is to shattered the scene, take all the bits I need, and try and rewrite them together.

Any pieces I like but have to leave out I can reuse elsewhere in the book or sequels. Or just bin if not salvageable. Usually they get trimmed a lot anyway.

It's an action sequence, though, so I'll probably have to re-choreograph the entire scene, which is especially difficult as there are lots of characters to consider.

I think the lesson here is: just because you can write a thing, doesn't mean to say you should. :)

I like how the editing and rewriting has worked on the previous scenes - they read much stronger to myself, but still need to be subjected to further scrutiny.

I only hope all this sinks into my brain so that new writing is better from the start. But I know that already. :) ]]> I, Brian http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/blogs/i-brian/1743-rewriting-and-editing-still.html Feeling positive about writing http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/blogs/i-brian/1736-feeling-positive-about-writing.html Mon, 01 Apr 2013 22:44:46 GMT Well, it's been an interesting month from a writing perspective!

Firstly, I pushed my first chapters to Teresa Edgerton for editing. I asked her to be merciless, and she was.

I knew my first chapters didn't feel right but I wasn't sure how - I experimented with a few things and made excuses for a few things, so as the very slow pace (slow build up is good!).

Teresa suitably ripped it apart.

I'll be honest, it was a bit of a shock to see how bad she highlighted the writing as being. I actually felt seriously embarrassed afterwards like I'd wasted her time by showing something so amateur. And even though I am an intrinsically confident person I still needed a good couple of weeks to digest what she'd corrected (I am a slow thinker - it takes a while to think on anything important).

Anyway, before that point, I *had* thought I was nearly there, and just needed to polish.

Now I know I'm nowhere near the point I nearly was - I need to do another full rewriting draft, then push it back to Teresa for editing, then do another editing/rewrite draft.

The good thing is: probably 98% of what she said was spot on. The other 2% are simply things I wanted to keep for references, but she always underlined the point that only seeing a sample, she had no idea what was important.

The one things she really underlined was that I was not doing it right - rambling dialogue, massive info dumps, and being generally clumsy.

Once I'd digested, I rewrite the chapter she'd line edited, and when I was finished, I had *halved* the number of words.

And it reads better - clearer, and stronger. Simply making editing corrections left the text a little stilted, so I had to rewrite in some "smoothness" - not extra words, but simply changing existing words, so the reading was smoother.

I won't claim that it's perfect but it's a damn sight better, so I must apply what I've learned to the rest, so I will have a stronger book, and won't feel like I'm wasting her time when I submit the next manuscript.

I also went to Eastercon this weekend, which was brilliant.

I had breakfast on Friday with John Jarrold, primarily to ask some questions about the publishing side and how to leverage my internet assets.

He said to stop over-thinking and simply focus on my words.

Story of my life - I always try to run before I can walk!

He also said that a story must have clarity and pace - lose either and you lose the story. I can see from Teresa's edits exactly how she was pushing for this.

I also talked to a few publishers and a lot of published authors, trying to practice "two ears, one mouth" - which means chip in only if I think I have something useful and interesting or funny to say, but otherwise listening and learning - and absolutely not talking about my own writing unless absolutely prompted, and even then, saying as little as possible (I think people who aren't published and talk about their own writing should practice more "listen and learn" and STFU. Just my opinion. :)

But - and this was especially good - I loved the positive atmosphere at Eastercon.

No one bitched about other writers and the publishing industry, and I realised that my being critical of published books, even just sharing an opinion on chronicles, is an immaturity I must grow out of. If I insist on being published, I must learn to behave more grown up about the industry now, be more positive, less cynical, and more supportive of those who are published.

I also realised an odd thing. I like to think I have a "big idea" and have said beofre that I don't simply want to be a published writer, but a exceptional writer.

But what I learned is that every writer loves their writing, and their characters, and worlds, and events. That's part of the dedication.

Absolutely no one talked about money, or writing to eat or pay the mortgage. Everyone talked about writing for the love of what you were doing.

John Jarrold said that, the authors said that, and the publishers even said that.

Which was interesting because I thought the commisioning editors would talk about figures and money and profits and targets and trends.

Instead, they spoke about how much they loved books and the books they represented, and how gutted they felt when something they wanted to take on wasn't accepted by the other decision makers at the publishing company.

One of the editors even made a point about how he'd love to take on writers simply by fact of the writer was a lovely person, but there wasn't always a fit.

In other words, no food at all to say the publishing industry was something to be cynical about, and no one even give that suggestion - absolutely the opposite.

Yes, there are decision makers who may be driven by the material needs of the industry - but the pointer was that gatekeepers - the agents and commissioning editors - were driven by the love of the written word and storytelling.

One editor even mentioned that their own list was specifically built to cover lots of interests and be representative and omcprehensive, even in areas where they knew such books would probably not be commercial hits, simply because it was important to have them.

Overall, a general sense of positivity and creativity at Eastercon that was absolutely wonderful, and after the initial editing, I feel - genuinely - like I may be going somewhere at last.

The lesson I'm especially aware of is patience - I want to finish and polish my WIP by World Fantasy Con at the end of October this year - but I need to accept all I can do is push myself as hard as I can, but be aware that everything happens in its own time.

The only trouble is, there are not enough hours in the day, and when I do set aside time, it can be a struggle: writing is easy, but writing very well is very very hard. For me, anyway. :) ]]> I, Brian http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/blogs/i-brian/1736-feeling-positive-about-writing.html Achievement unlocked: Rome http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/blogs/i-brian/1516-achievement-unlocked-rome.html Fri, 05 Oct 2012 14:35:54 GMT The axis of Rome and Constantinople in the late Roman period and later Byzantine are key influences for my work in progress.

I've already managed to visit Istanbul for research, but for the city featured in my first WIP, I've wanted to use Rome as a significant influence.

Luckily both myself and my girlfriend celebrated our 40th's this year, so for her turn I figured a research trip to Rome would be a good idea. :)

Anyway, I've come back with a whole ream of notes, not least on city details and aspects of the character experience want to use.

I'm also reading a lot of Roman historical fiction as well and am mining them for further details on everyday life I can use.

I know sometimes people may think fantasy doesn't need realistic detail, but I think storytelling is a lot like telling a lie - and the lie is the most convincing the more truth it uses.

Of course, there's more to writing than just trying to be a good liar, but when it comes to painting a good background for the characters to play out their actions against, I want to make the most effort possible.

I know I can't be entirely comprehensive and I'm still learning wonderful historical details - but that doesn't mean to say I won't make every effort possible.

I'm also very lucky that I've been able to visit both cities and their historical sites - however, I think it's important to make the effort while I can.

While the two most important cities in my WIP are *not* Rome and Constantinople, I want to get a feel of the different flavours, sense of culture, and more importantly - the differences between them - so that I can use that basis to define my own in my own terms.

Anyway, Carcassonne is next on my list for another major city, though that won't apply until book 3. I've also noticed I may need to visit Rajastan in India for book 4. And Venice. :D ]]> I, Brian http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/blogs/i-brian/1516-achievement-unlocked-rome.html 1st rewrite draft - done! http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/blogs/i-brian/1494-1st-rewrite-draft-done.html Wed, 19 Sep 2012 00:31:41 GMT Tonight I finished my first full rewriting draft - hooray!

I spent the last year trying to get a badly over-written MS of 700k words rewritten into something at least half-decent - and especially get the word count down, without losing any of the meaning and character.

I've mostly succeeded in that, but the WIP still comes in now at 300k words, which is still far too long.

However, I noticed that towards the end of my big rewrite that my chapters were getting shorter and more succint, so hopefully I'm doing something right. And if applied throughout the book, will definitely lessen the word count significantly.

Still a lot of work to do - I have 10,000 words of notes I'll incorporate in the next rewrite draft.

After that I'll look to edit down further. I figure I should be able to bring down the overall word count to somewhere in the region of 220-250k. Maybe lower. Just with basic editing.

Even if too high, I'm not worried yet - perhaps the polishing stage should see further cuts.

After that, perhaps that's when I get the editors in.

Either way, another milestone achieved. This is damn hard work, and takes up so much time. But I'm just happy to be able to take my original idea, and shape it into something I'm reasonably happy with. Just got to make it something I'm very happy with over the next couple of drafts. :)

I will succeed - I have no doubt about that - but success is something to be worked for, to be earned. So I'll not begrudge the fact that I expect to be still working on this through next year, so long as I'm confident it's all going somewhere. :)

Will have to ensure I get on the con circuit next year, though, and do some networking, ready for submission. :) ]]> I, Brian http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/blogs/i-brian/1494-1st-rewrite-draft-done.html New writer - BIG HEAD http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/blogs/i-brian/1408-new-writer-big-head.html Thu, 05 Jul 2012 23:34:48 GMT Back in 2001 I was finishing my manuscript for my epic fantasy, that had taken 7 years of fairly solid writing and rewriting to complete. It evolved massively during that time - but at every stage, I wrote in a vaccum.

I would only look at another fantasy book to sneer at it - I wouldn't read writing books because I figured they were mostly written by armchair critics.

And I had an abominable degree of arrogant self-belief. I thought I was on a par with Shakespeare!

I was just looking through some old archived files, and this is how my synopsis started:


Quote:
The [series title] series is the defining moment in 21st Century English literature, a timeless masterpiece and classic that has no peer.
I even started work on the first chapter of a "How to write" book!!

The MS was rejected, and then in trying to figure out what I'd done wrong, I entered a small crit group. One of the members, who later joined chrons as littlemissattitude, pointed out - after reading the first scene of 20k words - that it was probably over written.

Well, at 700k words overall, I hadn't thought it a bit unwieldy for a first novel!!

Life took over, and I found myself unable to get into editing it.

Then last September I decided to really start pushing on rewriting the entire piece, and have managed to keep a general pace of 10-15 hours of editing/rewriting per week.

Already, it's looking as though when I finish this stage, the novel should be down to somewhere around 280k words, which is a helluva improvement.

However, I know there are further editing stages to come that will likely cut this down further to no more than 250k words.

The main forces of change have been: I've been prepared to accept I've made mistakes, and relearned a little humility. It's really important for me to get this story "out there" as it's like a demon in possession of me: it won't leave until I exorcise it with writing and publishing it.

I've also read a lot more - simply because I wanted to read fiction again, especially following any recommendations on chrons, and then pushed more into reading books I thought would be closer to my own - GRRM, Joe Abercrombie, Guy Gavriel Kay, and now some historical fiction from the mediaeval period.

I like to think my writing is a lot better, but even since last September, I've learned a lot - both from critiques on chrons, as well as now immersing myself in "how to write" books that have been recommended.

I'm now a lot more aware of structurual issues I never contemplated before - issues such as motivation and conflict I never quite grasped, but now I do. I know I'll need to go through an editing draft to tweak even just these two issues, and that's before I look to tighten up the writing, cut down more scenes to focus more on the character POV, and then address grammatical issues such as passive voice and similar.

I am now a lot more open to learning how to write, a lot more open to criticism (though it always smarts in some small way! But bring it on - it's important), and learning the intricacies of actual structure has been a real -opener on the technicalities of what's involved in writing (especially "Save the Cat" by Blake Synder, which I only read last week).

What's really good, though, is the feeling that I do genuinely know a lot more about writing. I can see the flaws in pieces posted to the Critiques board - not least my own - and and gladdened when I find resources agreeing with what I think I've already learned.

For example, I'm currently watching a series of videos online from Brandon Sanderson's lectures on writing:
http://www.youtube.com/user/WriteAbo...&view=0&page=2

I found myself taking notes from Lectures 4 and 6 (I'm just starting 8), but also noticed a couple of things he mentioned I think I'd already figured out - which I'll take as a good sign.

For example, when talking about POV use, he mentioned Frank Herbert's "Dune" as one of the best examples of Third Person Omniscient writing. Which is good because I also came to the same conclusion a few years ago, and used it as a template when I experimented with it (I'm now firmly in Third Person Limited).

I was also very satisfied to see him mention that omniscient has given over to limited over the past 20-30 years, which is something I'd noticed, too.

However, while it's great to see how much I feel I'm leanring, I still have to put it into practice. I'll be editing again in a few minutes, and will hopefully do another two hours tonight, and then take something of a break over the weekend.

I feel I've learned a lot. But that's not good enough. I have to know how to translate that learning into action.

Additionally, I have to remain open for anything important I have yet to learn.

I found myself wondering earlier that, if I put everything in practice, I could end up with a very good novel. Not because I'm Shakespeare - but because I've been willing to accept mistakes and been open to learn - and push myself on this.

However, that the leads me wondering as to whether the sequels to it will be as good. After all, if I put so much into this one, will I not fall into bad habits later?

But that's probably not a concern for now. It's too easy to rush head and think your MS is great, and worry more about agents and publishers. I'll focus more on worrying that the MS is as good as I can ever get it, and I'm still some time off before it can be completed to a level I'm happy with.

One of the things I did in 2001 was write an interview with myself. Partly because I was big-headed, but also because I wanted material to put up on the website for potential future readers to reference. In that, I've recorded a few things I otherwise forgot.

What everything overall has really taught me about writing is that it's a process whose progress is measured in years. No matter what happens, no matter if I'm accepted for publishing, I'm still years away from seeing my book on the bookshelves.

I'll no longer panic about that, though. That's just impatience, and that's not a sign of a good writer I think. I think as writers we have to hold back that part of our humanity.

What it does mean, though, is that hopefully I'll have plenty of time to get the second book in a first draft by the time of acceptance, and plenty of notes on book 3, too. :)

This isn't the first novel I've ever tried to write. I've had a handful of false starts and a couple of fun projects. But this one is the one I'm deadly serious about. And the more I learn about writing and publishing, the more I realise that the author's worst enemy is themselves.

Hopefully I'm through the worst, and it's all about patience now.

But, lordy, though I find my old arrogance funny, I still remember how I met other people online who felt the same way about their own works.

May we always strive to be better writers. :) ]]> I, Brian http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/blogs/i-brian/1408-new-writer-big-head.html Editing process http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/blogs/i-brian/1152-editing-process.html Wed, 21 Dec 2011 10:49:47 GMT The first book in my masterpiece series stood at 700k words. No kidding.

I had already realised that it was badly overwritten but figured the editing process would take care of that.

However, despite my personal belief that the book was absolutely brilliant, it's amazing the amount of stuff I've been taking out and rewriting.

Firstly, I've moved it from third person omiscient to third person limited, which means internalising a lot. Rather than adding volume to the MS, it's proving more succinct as at present too much is told through dialogue.

Secondly, the book is split into five sections. Have already edited and rewritten the first to a "rough diamond" stage - potential for further editing but on a much smaller scale. And I've cut it down from 140k words to 73k.

However, I've been reading ahead, and while in I had considered I might need to remove either section 2 or 3 to cut down length, I now know I'll be culling the third section almost in its entirety. That's another 160k words gone. Plus quite a lot from section 2.

It was the least developed section and quite immature. While my writing can get dialogue heavy at times, this is usually justified by excellent characterisation.

There was none in section 3. There was also far too much backstory. And I can easily write out the events covered.

In fact, that's the most surprising thing - seeing how much chaff I actually wrote. I knew I was doing it at the time, thinking I could simply edit it out later, but all I've done through lack of discipline is make to create more work at the editing stage.

Originally it was a huge web of a plot, with a main plotline, and loads of sub plots, all fully referenced.

But editing out some of the subplots and references isn't proving too challenging - sad at times as there are a couple of sections which I think are good, but cannot keep because of this. I can't be sentimental about about these, though, because the novel is already a slow starter and I accept the story is better without these sections.

But I'm very happy with what I'm getting out of this - a more solid, succint, enjoyable and readable story. Something really deserving of my idea of a "masterpiece".

I'm still a long way from finishing - once I've edited through this draft, I'll start work on the second book, then return to the first to complete my editing, then getting the first sent to a third-party editing service.

Once I complete any writing/editing adjustments from that, I should have a polished novel, a good draft of the second, and probably started work on the third.

I know some people advise against getting carried away with writing a series, but this isn't the first novel I've written. I've worked on others for fun or interest, but this story absolutely demands to be written, and I can't fight that.

I've long plotted this as a 6 book series, and know how it ends.

One day I expect to be a published author, but long gone are the day dreams of riches. I've worked bloody hard so far and I'll expect to have to keep working bloody hard. If I've ever published it's entirely because of that, nothing more.

Anyway, the editing process is quite involving. I spend much of my spare time doing this now, and even when busy, snatch time inbetween to keept things moving. If all I managed to do was 3 paragraphs, that's better than nothing.

Just a kind of rant, partly because it is quite exhausting, and also because I guess there's an emotional need to justify to myself that what I'm working on is worth the effort.

I just hope it's good enough for the traditional print route, because that's what I've discplined myself for. ]]> I, Brian http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/blogs/i-brian/1152-editing-process.html Welcome to chronicles blogs! http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/blogs/i-brian/2-welcome-to-chronicles-blogs.html Sat, 02 Aug 2008 16:15:36 GMT What's a blog?

Simply put, an online journal.

Obviously, it's a public journal, so you may not wish to post your most intimate and personal thoughts.

However, I'm sure there have been times when you've wanted to cheer about something, rant about something, just share your thoughts on something - anything - but you maybe didn't feel like starting a thread about it?

Well, now you have your own space to do it, running parallel with the forums. :)

I remember some time ago someone asked if they could have their own personal board. Of course, I said now, because that's not what the boards are for. But a blog can be exactly like that - your own personal board to start discussions as you see fit.

Your blog is your own personal space on chronicles - use it as you see fit. After all, it's yours. :)

- Brian ]]> I, Brian http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/blogs/i-brian/2-welcome-to-chronicles-blogs.html