Minerva
Some Happy Writing Developments
11/12/10 15:03 Filed in: Writing
Two positive things to report today.
First, I went to my neighbourhood Staples outlet and had my revised manuscript, The Silent Goodbye, printed for review purposes. Double-spaced but double-sided, the novel fills 390 sides of paper and now sits happily in a black binder, waiting for Patti's attentions and then mine. As I have said, I hope to have it revised and polished by the end of 2010 to be ready for submission to the publisher in January. I think it's a reachable goal and it's a nice feeling to see the whole thing so neatly presented.
One of the reasons for printing it out at this point is because Patti prefers to have a physical document in her hands when she reads and to be able to make comments and corrections right on the page. Another reason is the fact that I composed the novel entirely on-screen on computer: when I come to review it, I am hopeful that the new format (black print on a white page) will help me to gain some distance and perspective on the manuscript.
The second positive development is the fact that I have posted a revised and extended version of The Way Forward, my in-progress Rowling-world novel featuring characters from the Harry Potter series of books. For those of you who have already read the original four chapters, you'll find new material at the end of chapter four and in chapter five. I should mention, of course, that I have corrected and polished all four of the original chapters, even adding in several new scenes along the way. So, if you have the time and inclination, you may wish to re-read from the beginning.
I very much enjoying writing this novel, probably because I feel I know the characters so well from Rowling's books. I just throw them into new situations and see how they respond. I'll probably continue to write new material for The Way Forward for a while yet, at least until I dive back into the Phillip Gold manuscript for the final polish.
I don't really have a final plot plan for The Way Forward so we'll just have to see what develops for Minerva, Aberforth and George.
First, I went to my neighbourhood Staples outlet and had my revised manuscript, The Silent Goodbye, printed for review purposes. Double-spaced but double-sided, the novel fills 390 sides of paper and now sits happily in a black binder, waiting for Patti's attentions and then mine. As I have said, I hope to have it revised and polished by the end of 2010 to be ready for submission to the publisher in January. I think it's a reachable goal and it's a nice feeling to see the whole thing so neatly presented.
One of the reasons for printing it out at this point is because Patti prefers to have a physical document in her hands when she reads and to be able to make comments and corrections right on the page. Another reason is the fact that I composed the novel entirely on-screen on computer: when I come to review it, I am hopeful that the new format (black print on a white page) will help me to gain some distance and perspective on the manuscript.
The second positive development is the fact that I have posted a revised and extended version of The Way Forward, my in-progress Rowling-world novel featuring characters from the Harry Potter series of books. For those of you who have already read the original four chapters, you'll find new material at the end of chapter four and in chapter five. I should mention, of course, that I have corrected and polished all four of the original chapters, even adding in several new scenes along the way. So, if you have the time and inclination, you may wish to re-read from the beginning.
I very much enjoying writing this novel, probably because I feel I know the characters so well from Rowling's books. I just throw them into new situations and see how they respond. I'll probably continue to write new material for The Way Forward for a while yet, at least until I dive back into the Phillip Gold manuscript for the final polish.
I don't really have a final plot plan for The Way Forward so we'll just have to see what develops for Minerva, Aberforth and George.
Back to Writing
04/12/10 11:26 Filed in: Writing
Having put The Silent Goodbye, my completed
second-draft mystery manuscript, on the shelf for a
while, I've been wondering what my next writing
project should be. Even though my subconscious mind
has been working on ways to rewrite my earlier
Phillip Gold novel, All That Glisters, in
the new format and I have a new Gold project already
started (The Final Curtain, from an idea
provided by my nieces), I've decided to put my
mystery protagonist aside completely for a couple of
weeks.
When I do return to do revisions and polishing of The Silent Goodbye, I want to be coming back to it completely fresh.
So, instead, I've decided to go back to The Way Forward, the ongoing Rowling-world novel that I began last year. The rough first draft of the first 40 or so pages is available on this website but I've made the decision to use this free writing time to try to move the project significantly forward.
To that end, I've copied all four existing chapters into one file, moved that file onto my trusty net book and started working.
I really like this novel, to be honest. And, having now re-read all seven of Rowling's original books and seen the excellent seventh movie, I am enjoying the prospect of spending more time with her fabulous characters.
I re-read and revised the first 40 pages this morning and was pleased with what I found. There are a couple of scenes in there that I think are very effective and affecting and the basic concept of the book is sound.
It might seem strange to some people to think that I could spend this much time and energy working on a book that I will never be able to publish or sell but, in some ways, that makes the work all the more joyful. I am writing this book because I love doing it, because I enjoy the world and the characters Rowling created, not because I hope to make a name for myself, a career, or even money from it.
My book focuses on Aberforth Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall and George Weasley. It explores the relationships among the magical races and between them and the Muggles in the world. It unfolds in the aftermath of the late-won war as the main characters attempt to deal with their new realities.
I don't know if I'll finish it and I'm not sure that's even the point. I want to enjoy the writing, the creating, the ongoing immersion in Rowling's world. If a finished work comes out of it, great. But that's not the goal of the enterprise.
When I do return to do revisions and polishing of The Silent Goodbye, I want to be coming back to it completely fresh.
So, instead, I've decided to go back to The Way Forward, the ongoing Rowling-world novel that I began last year. The rough first draft of the first 40 or so pages is available on this website but I've made the decision to use this free writing time to try to move the project significantly forward.
To that end, I've copied all four existing chapters into one file, moved that file onto my trusty net book and started working.
I really like this novel, to be honest. And, having now re-read all seven of Rowling's original books and seen the excellent seventh movie, I am enjoying the prospect of spending more time with her fabulous characters.
I re-read and revised the first 40 pages this morning and was pleased with what I found. There are a couple of scenes in there that I think are very effective and affecting and the basic concept of the book is sound.
It might seem strange to some people to think that I could spend this much time and energy working on a book that I will never be able to publish or sell but, in some ways, that makes the work all the more joyful. I am writing this book because I love doing it, because I enjoy the world and the characters Rowling created, not because I hope to make a name for myself, a career, or even money from it.
My book focuses on Aberforth Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall and George Weasley. It explores the relationships among the magical races and between them and the Muggles in the world. It unfolds in the aftermath of the late-won war as the main characters attempt to deal with their new realities.
I don't know if I'll finish it and I'm not sure that's even the point. I want to enjoy the writing, the creating, the ongoing immersion in Rowling's world. If a finished work comes out of it, great. But that's not the goal of the enterprise.
Great Ideas Come to Town
27/10/09 19:38 Filed in: Writing
It's been an interesting couple of days. First, my
sister, Lynn, and her partner, Gavin came to town
from Toronto for a visit. We've been having a great
time. And, as an added bonus, they are both extremely
computer and internet savvy, so I've been picking up
a lot of tips for my website.
For example, I've added a new page to the website entitled "Video". This page allows me to embed the videos I've posted on Youtube so that people can simply access them from this webpage rather than having to find them on Youtube itself. It's pretty cool. I don't know if any of you will take advantage but I like the idea.
Second, and arising out of that first item, Lynn and Gavin have also suggested that I think about videotaping myself reading sections from my creative writing. I can post the videos on Youtube, then add a link to them on this website. That way, you can read my writing or let me read it to you. Sounds like fun. Of course, it will take a lot of planning since I'll have to make sure everything looks and sounds good. I'm also now feeling some self-inflicted pressure to revise the earlier Phillip Gold books before I do the reading. Or is that just a delaying tactic?
I'm quite interested in trying it with The Way Forward, my in-progress Rowling-world novel featuring Minerva McGonagall, Aberforth Dumbledore and the surviving Weasley twin. I wonder if I'll have the guts to do voice characterizations for each.
Third, Gavin showed me how I can put more photos on my website without making the computer file too big. It seems Rapidweaver saves each picture in its original size, even though what you see on the website itself is a much smaller version. By the press of a button, however, I can tell the program to shed the massive versions of the photos and just keep the smaller ones. So the size of the website dropped from about 15 MB to just two and a bit, without any loss of quality on the web. Cool. It means I can get back to putting more photos on the site and not worry about overloading my computer.
Best of all, I actually broke out of my slump, at least for the day, and wrote an entire scene for The Silent Goodbye. I'm pleased about that since it had been a while since I had been able to get myself to sit down and write. As so often happens when you start writing after a long absence, I had to leave a gap between where I left off in the plot and where I started up again; that way I can simply write the bridge section later, rather than having, say, two versions of the same scene to reconcile.
I wish I had a better memory, though. I have already forgotten some character names and many of the physical descriptions. That's really bad. That's why I've had to create the character and setting outlines: so that I can maintain consistency throughout the Phillip Gold collection, in spite of my bad memory.
A good day all around, thanks to Lynn and Gavin.
For example, I've added a new page to the website entitled "Video". This page allows me to embed the videos I've posted on Youtube so that people can simply access them from this webpage rather than having to find them on Youtube itself. It's pretty cool. I don't know if any of you will take advantage but I like the idea.
Second, and arising out of that first item, Lynn and Gavin have also suggested that I think about videotaping myself reading sections from my creative writing. I can post the videos on Youtube, then add a link to them on this website. That way, you can read my writing or let me read it to you. Sounds like fun. Of course, it will take a lot of planning since I'll have to make sure everything looks and sounds good. I'm also now feeling some self-inflicted pressure to revise the earlier Phillip Gold books before I do the reading. Or is that just a delaying tactic?
I'm quite interested in trying it with The Way Forward, my in-progress Rowling-world novel featuring Minerva McGonagall, Aberforth Dumbledore and the surviving Weasley twin. I wonder if I'll have the guts to do voice characterizations for each.
Third, Gavin showed me how I can put more photos on my website without making the computer file too big. It seems Rapidweaver saves each picture in its original size, even though what you see on the website itself is a much smaller version. By the press of a button, however, I can tell the program to shed the massive versions of the photos and just keep the smaller ones. So the size of the website dropped from about 15 MB to just two and a bit, without any loss of quality on the web. Cool. It means I can get back to putting more photos on the site and not worry about overloading my computer.
Best of all, I actually broke out of my slump, at least for the day, and wrote an entire scene for The Silent Goodbye. I'm pleased about that since it had been a while since I had been able to get myself to sit down and write. As so often happens when you start writing after a long absence, I had to leave a gap between where I left off in the plot and where I started up again; that way I can simply write the bridge section later, rather than having, say, two versions of the same scene to reconcile.
I wish I had a better memory, though. I have already forgotten some character names and many of the physical descriptions. That's really bad. That's why I've had to create the character and setting outlines: so that I can maintain consistency throughout the Phillip Gold collection, in spite of my bad memory.
A good day all around, thanks to Lynn and Gavin.