Thaddeus White
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About three-quarters done with the first draft

7/16/2012

10 Comments

 
It should be stressed that, unusually for an author, my problem tends to be brevity rather than longevity, so the first stage of redrafting will actually be expanding the bits that need it. In particular, I've got one chapter (which might become two) which runs in parallel to the primary storyline and which I deliberately left mostly unwritten now, so that I could use what I wrote subsequently to make it integrate better with the main storyline.

The extra stuff isn't related to changes to the plot or adding characters or anything like that, it's just fleshing out descriptions and perhaps adding the odd scene to help smooth character development. In the past I'd try to write the first draft entirely, getting stuck now and then and sloooowly working through them. This time, I've just written through them, and I'll come back to them for the first redraft. It remains to be seen whether or not this is a better approach, but I've grown more comfortable with redrafting so I thought I'd give it a go.

I'm also thinking about updating the Book Stuff page so that it's got a miniature summary of Journey to Altmortis. After all, most people visiting the site (+1 cool point for each of you) will already have bought Bane of Souls, or at least downloaded the sample.

I've begun early work on the map for Altmortis, which is an enjoyable challenge as I'm really rubbish at artistic things. I've got the initial symbols done and know where every major feature is in relation to each other, so hopefully I'll be able to put it together reasonably well. The only slight sticking point is one of two crests. It's of a crow, and I can't decide whether it's better all black or partly grey. Anyway, it's hardly an insurmountable issue, but I'll put it below:
Picture
Thaddeus
10 Comments
Hurst Llama
7/16/2012 06:05:30 am

Well done, Mr. Thaddeus, but do push on, please.

Best Wishes

P.S. I think the all black version is the best.

P.P.S. Please don't publish a summary of the plot. The best bit about Bane of Souls (well aside from the characterisation, and the pace, and the comedy, and the doggies) was that I had no idea what it was about and was thus drawn in as the story gradually unfolded.

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Thaddeus link
7/16/2012 06:16:50 am

Sorry, I should've been clear. I just mean a brief outline of the premise. I wouldn't give away plot twists or anything like that. I rather like little surprises.

Thanks for the feedback.

Writing's been a little slow today, but in my defence that's because a slight medical worry knocked me somewhat off-course. Hopefully it'll be nothing serious.

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Hurst Llama
7/16/2012 06:37:22 am

I hope not too, and the vast majority of such worries do turn out to have been needless. There is also no point in worrying about something that you can't do anything about - its just a waste of energy. So crack, old chap, crack on.

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Thaddeus link
7/16/2012 04:55:47 pm

Yeah, I've had a few potential problems over the last few years, but only one of them was substantiated (and is now resolved).

Even accounting for my different first draft approach this time Altmortis has been a lot quicker to write than Bane of Souls. I think that's partly because when I first started writing the latter it was just so that my writing skills didn't get rusty, but I ended up enjoying it so much I wound up publishing it.

I'll delete your second post, and the 'Drat' one.

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Hurst Llama
7/29/2012 08:03:47 am

Well, two weeks have gone by and no updates. Hopefully the medical worry has been resolved and hopefully some more progress has been made.

Whilst posting I wonder if I may develop a conversation that sort of started in the other place. You posted that your preferred visuals to sounds, I posted don't be daft you are an author and you love words. Then you posted something very interesting. You said,

"The written (and thus seen) word!"

Now, 99% of us probably read with our ears, at least, 95% of the time. That is to say we sound out the words we are reading in an internal space. That is why we can read poetry and the like Shakespeare's plays (and good fantasy novels) and still pick up the pace and emotion.

There is another method of reading, sight reading, sometimes known as speed reading and, if developed it can reach photo reading (where whole double pages are captured in less than a glance). When I was working full time I was pretty good at it and it enabled me to absorb a lot of information in a much, much quicker than normal reading, but it was soulless. It was, however, completely visual - no sounding out stuff internally just sucking, if you will, the data off the page.

So, I am curious. If you are keen on the visual word and not the auditory word. How on earth do you manage to write text that hits your readers' emotions? How do you manage to write passages, for example, that make me laugh?

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Thaddeus link
7/29/2012 04:20:45 pm

No need to worry, this blog was always intended to be updated only every now and then. At the moment I'm a little way into chapter 17 of 20. It's going to be a pretty large and eventful chapter, so I'll perhaps post an update after finishing it off.

The medical issue seems to be ok, I just need a scan to make sure the initial diagnosis was correct. Thanks for asking, though.

Comedy's pretty hard. I'm glad that I just have one-liners here and there rather than going for it for the entire book. At the moment there are a few more jokes/light-hearted moments to add, but Altmortis is definitely going to be a darker read than Bane of Souls.

When I read books and get really into the story/characters I see the plot unfolding in my mind's eye. I do get that sort of word 'echo' you spoke of, but when I'm visualising what's happening stories affect me much more.

It's not the same as speed reading, which, as you'll know, is similar to superficially running your eye over a painting looking for a specific feature.

When I'm writing I tend to have images in mind for this and that and the other. The scenes I usually find easiest to write are ones where I have a very clear picture in my mind's eye.

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Hurst Llama
7/30/2012 06:19:15 am

Thanks for the reply, Mr. T., some really interesting stuff in there.

I am fascinated by you hearing the words but visualising the scene. Visualising what is going on in a tale is, I suggest, what makes story telling in writing, or verbally, so powerful and why it endures.

In my experience visualisation happens much much faster than we can read and as we read we hear the "echos" as you put it and see the pictures, So for me reading a novel becomes a series of still pictures that change as I read, and hear, the next bit. The words I hear create to the picture, but the magic is that it is my picture.

For example, when I saw the Lord of the Rings films I really didn't enjoy them and the chief cause of my dissatisfaction was that the the characters and creatures were all wrong. I had read the books (thirty odd years before, granted) and knew what an orc looked like and what was given to me on the screen didn't match. You visualise what you are going to write into your story. Fair enough, but I bet my view of the dragon on the bronze door in BoS is very different from yours.

There are for me times when the joy of reading comes from not the story but the authors clever use of language. Tom Sharpe and Terry Pratchett are two authors who could pull off that trick. Do you ever get that?

As for writing comedy, I think I have mentioned prevously that a chum of mine is a succesful script- wrtiter. What he mostly writes is comedy and I was fascinated by how he could be funny to order (this script has to be done by Friday week and it must hvae a good joke every page). So I sat down with him and we worked out his strategies for success - what goes on in his mind when he is working, most of which he was entirely unconcious of.

You also seem to have strategies for visualisation and writing that are really interesting and I'd like to explore them. So how about a deal? I am due to be up in your part of the world in late September. I'll trade you a decent meal (your choice of venue) plus a copy of my paper on writing comedy in exchange for you talking to me about how you visulaise when reading and wwriting. Deal?

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Thaddeus link
7/30/2012 04:40:42 pm

I've only read one book by Dickens, David Copperfield, and absolutely loved the use of language. It was very emotive, although he was never afraid to use three sentences when a single word might do. It is something I appreciate, and when I read a book with a perfectly good plot/characters but a noticeably simplistic/basic use of language it can put me off a little.

I fear strategies might be overstating the case!

Is it ok if I send you an e-mail about that?

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Hurst Llama
7/31/2012 01:03:41 am

"... he was never afraid to use three sentences when a single word might do"

One of the best and shortest critiques of Dickens ever!

Email away, old chap. You have the address?

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Thaddeus link
8/6/2012 11:26:24 pm

Bah, I thought I'd replied to this.

Yes. I haven't forgotten to send it, I'm just trying to find something out first.

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    About Me
    I've always loved reading
    and writing, particularly fantasy and classical history. I'm also quite into F1 and politics and have no idea why this section is double-spaced.

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