Im not sure who reads this blog, so Ill post this question here.
I want to know how words are on a page!
Thanks to the wonders of modern techology and font sizes you can make each page have one word or a ten thousand words. Because Im writing several novels I want to know just how many pages are there in the novel to date. So by playing with the font size I could fit an entire novel (okay chapter) on one page. So what is the standard font type and font size for gauging just how many pages you have in your novel?
Sunday, 30 April 2006
Saturday, 29 April 2006
Writing Deadlines
Just an update, just moved to a target of just over 200 pages with 102 written so far.
Its bank holiday weekend, but thats no guarantee of more pages being written.
Spent a little time on my provisional TV mini series on the music industry and gave it a provisional name of "Rewind and Eject." Just so you don't worry about what I will or wont write there is no mp3 jokes. Okay maybe 1 iPod reference, but thats it.
Its bank holiday weekend, but thats no guarantee of more pages being written.
Spent a little time on my provisional TV mini series on the music industry and gave it a provisional name of "Rewind and Eject." Just so you don't worry about what I will or wont write there is no mp3 jokes. Okay maybe 1 iPod reference, but thats it.
Tuesday, 25 April 2006
Writing Projects
As well as Orchid, I also have 3 other projects at the back of my mind, and wanting to be a disciplined type of author any ideas I have now go into the boiling pot, so as not to be lost forever. I'm very cagey again about what I am writing because you never know who might be trawling the web for ideas.
(a) a book concept based on a role-playing game coming out in 2007.
(b) a 6 part mini-tv series script which I am working on a proposal for, a unique look at the music industry
(c) an old idea I had about time-travel which Im dusting off and not sure where it will go, basically its a series of short stories about the same person and their choices they make in their life and in their afterlife. I might as well blow the lid on this one though because it demands a lot of the reader, more so than any book before it. Demanding in that it expects the reader to read 2 books at the same time! Its a bold experiment, and one in which I feel I can pull it off.
Maybe if I get some more feedback i.e. a comment, I might expand on any of the 3 projects listed above.
Orchid now set to be 198 pages and rising.
(a) a book concept based on a role-playing game coming out in 2007.
(b) a 6 part mini-tv series script which I am working on a proposal for, a unique look at the music industry
(c) an old idea I had about time-travel which Im dusting off and not sure where it will go, basically its a series of short stories about the same person and their choices they make in their life and in their afterlife. I might as well blow the lid on this one though because it demands a lot of the reader, more so than any book before it. Demanding in that it expects the reader to read 2 books at the same time! Its a bold experiment, and one in which I feel I can pull it off.
Maybe if I get some more feedback i.e. a comment, I might expand on any of the 3 projects listed above.
Orchid now set to be 198 pages and rising.
Monday, 17 April 2006
Still Working On
Just a quick Easter holiday writing update.
Managed to progress rather well through the chapters, and have written 92 pages, with a much better target book size of over 190 pages. Still it can be better.
For me the most important part of the last 4 days has been the chance to talk my book over with my wife, who while initially was a little skeptical about me writing (hell it was her who suggested I should write a book in the first place), she has looked at a few chapters and has read some of the comments people have made about my writing. For me it was an important step in overcoming any issues she might have with me boxing myself away at times. Her idea of me making money would be to sell more of my old role-playing games on eBay!
Still with the addition now of a full-time au pair/nanny, I should have a lot more spare time to write and spend with my daughter.
Having had big plans for the book in the early days, Im starting to cool off a little. I intend to write the book as self contained, but like all stories they are open ended meaning I could write a sequel, or instead let the readers imagine what happens.
Just a quick note to say that if you ask, I cannot as yet disclose any more specific details of the novel, nor send out any preliminary review/reading copies, but I appreciate the interest all the same. I need to legally keep track of the novel until it is placed with an agent/publisher
Managed to progress rather well through the chapters, and have written 92 pages, with a much better target book size of over 190 pages. Still it can be better.
For me the most important part of the last 4 days has been the chance to talk my book over with my wife, who while initially was a little skeptical about me writing (hell it was her who suggested I should write a book in the first place), she has looked at a few chapters and has read some of the comments people have made about my writing. For me it was an important step in overcoming any issues she might have with me boxing myself away at times. Her idea of me making money would be to sell more of my old role-playing games on eBay!
Still with the addition now of a full-time au pair/nanny, I should have a lot more spare time to write and spend with my daughter.
Having had big plans for the book in the early days, Im starting to cool off a little. I intend to write the book as self contained, but like all stories they are open ended meaning I could write a sequel, or instead let the readers imagine what happens.
Just a quick note to say that if you ask, I cannot as yet disclose any more specific details of the novel, nor send out any preliminary review/reading copies, but I appreciate the interest all the same. I need to legally keep track of the novel until it is placed with an agent/publisher
Friday, 14 April 2006
Writing and Life
This is become more like my writing and life blog. As you may or may not be aware of I maintain another blog on Xanga which is specifically reserved for my rants and raves and general nastiness I employ on gaming and other idiocy. Yes I am two people and I want to keep them separate.
But something I feel is being wasted is the amount of time and effort being devoted to fairly useless "memes". The definition of a "meme" on wikipaedia is "any unit of cultural information". I am not adverse to the sharing of cultural information, but from the ones Ive looked at they are anecdotal as well as not being worth the effort. The reason I say this is any study of cultural or any data needs to be collected and analysed, and portrayed in a manner which makes sense. So far these memes mostly pop up in blogs, I would say they are the SPAM on the 21st century, and unless you intend to do something with the information you read, or attempt them yourself, or indeed pass on to others, then you might as well forget about attempting them.
I first encountered them just after Lord of the Rings movies came out, and there were a series of tests (multiple choice questions) designed to map your personality out and tie you closely to one of the characters from the films. Seeing as most of the questions are plainly obvious (e.g. which weapon would you prefer, a short sword, a bow or axe!) and written by 16 year old kids who have no idea of social profiling, the data that could be "farmed" from this and other memes really should to thrown in the bin.
So really this is a rant, done in a soft, non-swearing style, in which I either ask you to avoid these wasteful activities (you'll only regret it when you are on your death bed having wasted all those years) or actually attempt to do something useful with the information other than passing them on to your friends!
But something I feel is being wasted is the amount of time and effort being devoted to fairly useless "memes". The definition of a "meme" on wikipaedia is "any unit of cultural information". I am not adverse to the sharing of cultural information, but from the ones Ive looked at they are anecdotal as well as not being worth the effort. The reason I say this is any study of cultural or any data needs to be collected and analysed, and portrayed in a manner which makes sense. So far these memes mostly pop up in blogs, I would say they are the SPAM on the 21st century, and unless you intend to do something with the information you read, or attempt them yourself, or indeed pass on to others, then you might as well forget about attempting them.
I first encountered them just after Lord of the Rings movies came out, and there were a series of tests (multiple choice questions) designed to map your personality out and tie you closely to one of the characters from the films. Seeing as most of the questions are plainly obvious (e.g. which weapon would you prefer, a short sword, a bow or axe!) and written by 16 year old kids who have no idea of social profiling, the data that could be "farmed" from this and other memes really should to thrown in the bin.
So really this is a rant, done in a soft, non-swearing style, in which I either ask you to avoid these wasteful activities (you'll only regret it when you are on your death bed having wasted all those years) or actually attempt to do something useful with the information other than passing them on to your friends!
Thursday, 13 April 2006
First Draft, Final Draft
After speaking to my writing Muse, I have decided to plow onwards and get the first draft written. Being stuck in editorial hell could ruin the book before it is already finished.
Sections that I cannot write, Ill leave blank spaces for, but to get the story down, and once that it done, then go back and revise it. Wise words that I should not have chosen to ignore.
Sections that I cannot write, Ill leave blank spaces for, but to get the story down, and once that it done, then go back and revise it. Wise words that I should not have chosen to ignore.
Wednesday, 12 April 2006
Revisionist, Revisionist, Revisionist
Ive quickly come to the conclusion that I am never going to be satisfied with anything I have written no matter how many revisions I undertake.
I went back and re-read casual my opening chapter of 11 pages (what was originally just a prologue of 3 pages at most), and found some horrifying mistakes and over-looking of things I thought already I had eliminated.
Well, I have finished it again for the xxth time, and will commit it to the bottom of my writing notes, and carry on with the story.
I went back and re-read casual my opening chapter of 11 pages (what was originally just a prologue of 3 pages at most), and found some horrifying mistakes and over-looking of things I thought already I had eliminated.
Well, I have finished it again for the xxth time, and will commit it to the bottom of my writing notes, and carry on with the story.
Monday, 10 April 2006
Writing Blocks
I have found my writing process to be odd.
I have this strange concept of the writers of old toiling away at their typewriters (in the days before Word Processors and cheaply available printers) crafting their story as they went, surrounded by Dictionaries and Thesauri (is that the correct pluralisation?). Well, even if that WAS the past, this is the future, DTP, more fonts than you could imagine and formatting options to keep you busy until the next millennium, but you still have to write.
I'm finding myself instead of sitting in front of my laptop and writing, that instead I'm printing my chapters out and re-writing material using editor's remarks. It seems to work for me, but I feel bad about wasting so much paper (I use scrap wherever possible), but then I do use as much of the paper before adding it to my word files.
Still, this combing technique works for me. So far I have been able to complete 4 main chapters, each one focusing on a different character. For me this novel is something unique in that it concentrates much more on characterisation than any fantasy novel before it. Motivation is crucial.
I am now up to 168 pages, and rising.
I have this strange concept of the writers of old toiling away at their typewriters (in the days before Word Processors and cheaply available printers) crafting their story as they went, surrounded by Dictionaries and Thesauri (is that the correct pluralisation?). Well, even if that WAS the past, this is the future, DTP, more fonts than you could imagine and formatting options to keep you busy until the next millennium, but you still have to write.
I'm finding myself instead of sitting in front of my laptop and writing, that instead I'm printing my chapters out and re-writing material using editor's remarks. It seems to work for me, but I feel bad about wasting so much paper (I use scrap wherever possible), but then I do use as much of the paper before adding it to my word files.
Still, this combing technique works for me. So far I have been able to complete 4 main chapters, each one focusing on a different character. For me this novel is something unique in that it concentrates much more on characterisation than any fantasy novel before it. Motivation is crucial.
I am now up to 168 pages, and rising.
Thursday, 6 April 2006
Wednesday, 5 April 2006
Writing Progress
Not been a writing update in a little while, so here it is for all you readers.
I now have the beginning all sorted, with the first 2 chapters all written barring a few minor re-writes. To me it is essential the book lays down the foundations on which the rest of the book sits, the tone, flavour and feeling is vital for things to develope nicely.
The characters I have created are living and breathing, and while I know each of their fates, I am more than willing to up the ante, and make their lives even more hellish or change certain ideas. I know the end of the book, but I've no idea who will be standing.
My biggest challenge is presenting the world, and characters and their backgrounds in the shortest space possible. Although the book has historical basis, it still needs explaining events that act as a backdrop to the story.
So, 1 chapter down, 30 odd to go.
I have knocked up an excel spreadsheet which calculates the likely size of the book in page numbers. Its more vanity than anything, as Ive used The Lord of the Rings as a comparison in the number chapters, and pages per chapter. Im expecting my book to have around 600-700 pages, but right now with what Ive written so far, Im on target for a paltry 160 pages! Must write harder. To be fair, the actual number of pages I have written so far amounts to 84 pages, but that is over 8 chapters, of which only 2 are finished. Early days.
Because my book is based on an existing IP (intellectual property), I have to be careful in how I approach a potential publisher. I have already approached the IP holder, who while they are not interested in publishing books themselves, would be willing to allow the IP to be used (for a sum or royalty) should I secure a publishing deal for the book.
I now have the beginning all sorted, with the first 2 chapters all written barring a few minor re-writes. To me it is essential the book lays down the foundations on which the rest of the book sits, the tone, flavour and feeling is vital for things to develope nicely.
The characters I have created are living and breathing, and while I know each of their fates, I am more than willing to up the ante, and make their lives even more hellish or change certain ideas. I know the end of the book, but I've no idea who will be standing.
My biggest challenge is presenting the world, and characters and their backgrounds in the shortest space possible. Although the book has historical basis, it still needs explaining events that act as a backdrop to the story.
So, 1 chapter down, 30 odd to go.
I have knocked up an excel spreadsheet which calculates the likely size of the book in page numbers. Its more vanity than anything, as Ive used The Lord of the Rings as a comparison in the number chapters, and pages per chapter. Im expecting my book to have around 600-700 pages, but right now with what Ive written so far, Im on target for a paltry 160 pages! Must write harder. To be fair, the actual number of pages I have written so far amounts to 84 pages, but that is over 8 chapters, of which only 2 are finished. Early days.
Because my book is based on an existing IP (intellectual property), I have to be careful in how I approach a potential publisher. I have already approached the IP holder, who while they are not interested in publishing books themselves, would be willing to allow the IP to be used (for a sum or royalty) should I secure a publishing deal for the book.
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