Man, if there's one thing that I both love and am frustrated by, it's how much research I'm doing for this book. You'd think once I typed the words "The End" I'd be done looking stuff up, but nope. Rewrites. Edits. Double-checking that words and concepts are what I think they are.
Its intense and feels so amazing to learn something new, especially when that information fits perfectly into the story's narrative, but... I hate it when I'm actually writing and I have to stop to do an hour long research session on the twelve tribes of Israel to make sure that one, TINY reference is correct and won't come back to bite me in the end. So, when I first started writing, I casually opened up a side window and started jotting down a few notes. Potential characters, some dialogue I thought would be cool for future chapters, maybe a couple ideas on real life locations to base story settings on. It was a couple pages. Now, it's forty-three. And you know what, that's not including cut content that I've set aside, my outline(s), and visual references. What's more insane, apparently, for most serious authors, that's not even very much! I have to say though, I've learned a lot over these last couple years. So many times I've had a faint idea in my head, wrote it out, then did a little research and had to change everything. Still, those changes have always been for the better. I like to think I'm a humble man, but I have to say this: every draft of The Paladin is better than the last and I LOVE this story more and more as I keep writing and editing. Guys, I have to be upfront. I'm excited. I know about the flaws in my story, my betas have been more than forthcoming about those failures, but the story, hell, just the idea of this novel, I'm excited about it and want so badly to share it with all of you. Every time I take a research break, this story gets that much better. The plot flows that much more smoothly. I love this story and I sincerely hope you will all love it, too. Be Excellent to Each Other!
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I feel like getting really descriptive, visceral narrative going is a skill I need to work on. I'm not terrible, by any means, but I see some of the bigger named authors go pages without the need for dialogue. They're able to convey emotion, intent, and desire without anyone uttering a word. Honestly, it made me think of a old Hollywood. Now, if you know my story, you'll know I'm a media geek. I've filmed, editing, been on TV, and of course there's the whole pro wrestling thing. But all this thinking about describing without the need for words brought this to mind. That's the master himself, Buster Keaton. Silent films forced people to get creative with their storytelling. Everything had to be conveyed unambiguously through actions alone. Watch this short little clip and you can see so much subtlety. The way he looks at her. The hesitation in his action. The movement. Her quick and definite response. There's a whole story going on in this scene that takes no words, but shows so much more than what's on the surface.
This is, admittedly, a little silly, but the art form is there, no doubt. I'm working every day to refine my craft in the hopes that I can rely a little less on dialogue, a little more on context, and convey an even deeper meaning with my words. Be Excellent To Each Other. I did my best to find a way to link to something official for this one, but I can't find a YouTube channel or a Twitter account! Still, music is music and this is a song I love for inspiration in fights. From Shawn McPherson for the Capcom game Devil May Cry 3, I give you Taste the Blood. This is an intense, dirty, aggressive song meant to only do one thing: get you in the mood for ass-kickery. You're wandering around in Devil May Cry and some enemies pop up? This song hits. It's not just motivation, it's a challenge. The song dares you to stand up to the opponents the game provides, taunts you, and warns you that you are not worthy. If you've been following my blog, I would hope the usefulness of this song would be obvious, but just in case, lemme clear it up. A warrior is faced with a swath of demons. They want his blood. His life. His soul. He doesn't have the option of running or hiding. There is no surrender. The demons know they are superior, in numbers, in strength, and in raw power. They have nothing to fear. The warrior's bravado is nothing but a facade and they will end it. The will not only defeat him, but make him cry out in terror, make him announce and exclaim his fear to the whole world before they grant him the boon of death. If you have stepped in front of these demons, you have done so in error. You are not prepared. You are not worthy. You will not survive. But... just like in the game, if your warrior survives this, it's all the sweeter. Damn this is a great ass-kicking song! Enjoy Taste The Blood by Shawn McPherson, from the soundtrack to Devil May Cry 3. DFTBA! I think I want to find a group of other aspiring writers out there. Now, there is a caveat, of course. Everyone and their dog claims themself a writer, so what I'm looking for are people actively trying to get published. I've been a "writer" for decades, but I haven't put myself into this kind of focused effort to get published until just a couple years ago. It's different.
So now I have to figure out where to find others. I've considered my circle of friends, but I think I might be the only one actually doing this seriously. Everyone wants to write a script or a fan fic, but I have no one to compare novel writing techniques, mapping out a plot, various ways of outlining or a myriad of other problem unique to those pursuing publishing. In case you're wondering what's brought this on, there are a couple reasons. A published author named Jenna Moreci, who is about to release her new book The Savior's Champion, highly suggested getting in a writer's group to compare your stuff with other writers. I considered it after hearing her talk about the benefits. Then I started listening to Writing Excuses, a podcast about writing that I've mentioned before. Big name, multi-series authors take 15 minutes out of their day to share some experience and advice with whomever decides the podcast is worth their time, and these highly successful authors... are a frickin' writing group. I don't know why it didn't strike me immediately, but as I listened, I realized they've all been reading each other and giving feedback. Even these people utilize writers groups. So, I suppose now I just have to figure out where to find them. I'll probably start somewhere on Reddit and move on from there, but, gosh, I wish I could a decent circle of people near me to meet in person. Until then, my lovely and amazing Beta Readers will pull me through. DFTBA! Its officially happening, I have my first game to review. It's an interesting feeling, playing a game when I have so much writing and editing to do, but still feeling like I'm doing something responsible. I'm actually pretty excited. The game is pretty good so far, though I'm not sure I can reveal what I'm reviewing quite yet. I've got about a week left to finish it and write up my review, and I have to say, knowing that I need to review is changing up how I'm playing.
Normally, I don't really think through much of what's going on while I'm playing a game; I'm just trying to relax or whatever. But now I'm kinda pushing the game, seeing what I can and can't do, experimenting with how I can solve the problems it throws at me and how well the controls handle. It's kinda fun. Now, of course the idea isn't to give up writing novels to do game reviews by any stretch of the imagination. Writing is writing, and I'm looking to make my living by doing so. If I can get a get reputation and start to earn some extra cash doing these reviews, it'll help keep me in a situation where I can focus the rest of my time solely on writing my novels. Hopefully, from here I'll be able to move up to other writing gigs to help pay the bills between books, but know that I'll never stop focusing on my passion. Keep your eyes here, because The Paladin will be out before you know it. Be Excellent to Each Other. Another day, another very slow internet forcing me to consider posting from my phone again. But, that's neither here not there. No, today I wanted to touch briefly on character motivation. I'm reworking a scene and I realized that the side character in it didn't have as strong a personality as I wanted and it struck me why. They were just set dressing.
Every person that exists in your story, from the main protagonist to the person that sells them donuts in act 2 has some kind of motivation. This is gonna get a little nerdy (as if it isn't already) but there's a good example for keeping this in mind. Might anyone out there be familiar with a little franchise called Ghostbusters? Well, I doubt you're familiar with the short lived table top RPG that was created around them in the late '80s. The company that made it went under and all their stuff is available online for free, so if you're looking a for fun, very different RPG, give it a shot. Back on topic, though... this RPG has character cards, as they do, and every character has a motivation. Now, when you make your character, you give them motivations like "help humanity" or "get rich," but even throwaway characters in this game are given a motivation. Some have been "to have lunch," or "to find the perfect book." These may sound weird, but it helps to remember that every character you come across has their own motivations. So, when I wrote this shopkeeper for The Paladin, I lost track of what they wanted, of what their goals and motivations are. Now, they can be grandiose and epic, like saving humanity or conquering Kentucky, or they can be mundane like "get this person out of here so I can eat my pizza." The point is, those motivations drive the actions and dialogue of the characters and make them real. DFTBA! Now, I'm 97% I've talked about this subject before (I've done well over 100 of these silly things now) but it bears repeating: don't get too attached to characters, ideas, plot lines, or anything else in your novel because it all has to be able to change.
I'm getting a lot of good feedback from my betas. As you know if you follow the blog, I'm focusing heavily on editing the first half of a novel, which, as I understand it, is usually the part that needs the most work. Writers don't have their voice fully fleshed out or know their characters quite well enough when they start, but by the end, they've got it down. So... that usually means the end is way better than the beginning and that first half needs to revamping to match the tone and speed of the second. So... that's what I'm working on. And you know what, being flexible has meant seeing some of my scenes improve drastically. I'm getting good initial feedback on the revisions and I can't wait to get them finished and out to my betas. I've made some significant changes, including flat out dropping some scenes and chapters with characters that, while I found them interesting, didn't help the flow of the overall story. By swapping characters, switching out POVs or even just changing a setting a little, I've found some immensely satisfying outcomes. So for anyone out there that cares to hear my advice, this is it: don't be too married to your initial concepts. Right now, The Paladin is the story of a young priest in training who's mentor is captured by a demon and who is then swept up into a world of clandestine monster hunters that span the entire globe, several of which seem bent on utilizing Jonathan for their own means and gains while he's simply trying to figure out what happened to his mentor. This all stemmed from the simple idea of "what if there were warrior priests who prayed to channel their strength?" Such a stupidly vague concept. And the first draft?! Yeah.... my chapter 12 (out of 50 or so) is where the first draft ended. Jonathan wasn't a young man. He wasn't even really a paladin. There was no Reagan, no Giz, no Simon Trevor, and definitely no Katie! (check out their art on the bonus page!) So what I'm saying is, being open to change means a richer experience for your reader. Listen to your betas. Put that draft in front of everyone who will tolerate it and listen to their feedback... then do it! Don't cling so tightly to your initial ideas that you end up crushing them. Don't Forget to be Awesome! First off, I need to gush just a little bit. The other night I officially dropped my word count below 140k. I know it's still a long way from 110k, but that wall has been staring at me for months. I'm just happy to be over it.
Now, that aside, I wanted to talk a little bit about what else I'm doing besides writing and editing The Paladin. After a few months of waiting and wondering, I'm finally getting a chance to do some game reviews for a website. I won't go into too many details at the moment until it's published, but I must say that I'm super excited. I get to play a video game AND claim I'm being responsible! Seriously though, this is step one of setting up a side deal to help support myself through writing. I'd like to think that this blog has helped me develop the discipline to focus on writing something other than my fiction work, and that I'll be able to channel that into writing for this website (and hopefully more!) Once my living situation is a bit more settled down, I'd also like to use these reviews to revamp my YouTube channel. If I'm getting review copies of games, I might as well milk them for all I can, right? Plus, it'll be a good chance to utilize my editing and voice over skills, as well. Oh yeah. I'm a Jack of All Trades, baby. That's all for today. Hope everything is absolutely stellar for you guys! And remember, be excellent to each other! |
Matias TautimezKeep your eyes open for my debut novel, The Paladin. Archives
January 2023
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