Shard Knight - First Draft Complete!

After 119,440 words, I've finished the the first draft of Shard Knight: Echoes Across Time (Book 1 of 3) . This is the first draft of my first ever novel and I'm a little beside myself at the moment.

I started the planning process in April and began putting digital ink to digital paper in early May of this year. Four months later I've given virtual birth to a book that I've really enjoyed writing.

I've learned a great deal during the process and plan to include many of my own insights in a separate blog spot, but for now it's time to put Shard Knight aside and start planning out book two in the series.

I'd like to release Shard Knight in October, but that will largely depend on how long the editing process takes. I don't know how bad the damage is in the early chapters as I've re-read only enough to help me with earlier names, plot points, etc. I'm a rookie here so, we'll see I guess.

I do know that I'll be throwing out chapters 1 and 2 and replacing them with a slimmed down chapter 1. As I went through the writing process I discovered what I thought was the start of the book really wasn't. It starts somewhere else and the book will be much better for it.

I hereby vow to hack and slash without mercy about a month from now at which point I'll try to look at the manuscript with "fresh eyes".

I'll post sample chapters here when I feel comfortable releasing them for general feedback during the edits.

For now, I pop the virtual cork off my virtual champagne bottle and take a sip of sweet victory.

Review: The Emotion Thesaurus

I want to offer a short review of a great book I've used to help prompt me with emotional cues while writing my first novel.

The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writers Guide To Character Expression by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi has been such a fantastic tool for me. It's helped me time and time again with prompts for all sorts of emotions as well as a reference guide for emotions themselves.

For example, I might find myself thinking "my character is feeling a sort of longing". I'll flip open their handy guide and voila, there it is.

For each emotional response they breakdown the definition, physical signals ("Feverish, over-bright eyes"), internal sensations ("racing heartbeat"), mental responses, ("a willingness to do anything"), cues of acute or long term response ("crying, sobbing, wailing"), may escalate to (listing of other emotions), cues of suppressed emotion and writers tips.

This has been instrumental for both writing tips as well as building correct emotional responses to a given situation and I highly recommend it for any writer.

5/5 stars

The blurb for Shard Knight

I'm 101,000 words into Shard Knight and closing in on my final 20,000 words. I've spent the last couple of days working on a blurb and I'd love to have some feedback on it. Would it compel you to read a sample?

I realize the cover is just as or more important than the blurb but I don't have it yet. I'd also like to hear some feedback regarding the title. I realize it's somewhat nonsensical, but it's central to the premise of the book.

The title:

Shard Knight
Echoes Across Time (Book 1 of 3)

Blurb:

At just fifteen seasons, Prince Ronan Latimer emerges from the Tournament of Knights as its youngest champion in 500 years. A champion who’s earned the right to absorb ancient Meranthian battle magic. Battle magic that places him among the ranks of an elite group of men and women dedicated to preserving Meranthian culture and upholding its law.

But what should be a time of celebration ends in horror as Ronan’s mother, Queen Arianne, falls victim to a murder plot designed to put a new king in power.

Meranthia’s beloved archbishop, Merric Pride, commands the throne in the wake of the queen’s assassination and vows to bring her killer to justice. Instead, the mad cleric leads the hunt for the one boy who could ruin all his plans.

With his life turned inside out, Ronan’s thirst for revenge threatens to destroy the life of his only friend and leave the kingdom in shambles. 

Shard Knight

I'm still plugging away even though I haven't updated in a while. My word count is right around 83,500. I believe I'll finish my first draft sometime the first week of August.

I've been on a fairly consistent 2,000 words per day, five day a week, schedule.

I've come up with a working title for my book. Its book one of a three part fantasy trilogy.

For now, I'm calling it:

Shard Knight

The subtitle:

Book One of the Echoes Across Time Trilogy

Progress Report

My weekly word count for this Sunday is 42,715 up from 34,370 last week marking it the most productive week of writing to date.  That's 8,345 words.

I crossed the boundary of the first major conflict of my story and have moved on into the middle  part. I had originally  targeted 90,000 words but I'm looking at closer to 110,000 at this point. My goal is to have the first draft complete sometime in August.

I've added the 2nd and 3rd pov characters one of whom is the antagonist, and I have all the plot lines underway.

On a side note, I find I'm being pulled into my writing emotionally. As in I experience sadness, exhiliration, elation, etc. while I'm writing.  I don't know if that's good or bad but it feels right to me and I'm using it.

When I'm experiencing the emotions, it seems as if the words come flying out. That's when the writing is the easiest. Ultimately the quality of the writing will be up to the reader.

I feel like I've made real progress.  I look back at my first pages and see how far I've come in a short amount of time.

One of the more interesting blogs I've read this week is one of a series written by Dean Wesley Smith regarding re-writes and the creative voice vs. the critical voice. It's an older series but new to me. I enjoyed it so I'm passing it along.

I Write Like...

So I pasted a few different scenes from my current work in progress into the I Write Like... analyzer and it says I write like H.P. Lovecraft.

I can't speak for its accuracy but that's pretty cool! Anybody else want to share?

I write like
H. P. Lovecraft

I Write Like. Analyze your writing!

Learning to write is like training for a marathon

When I first started running several years ago, going just a a few feet was a monumental effort. I had made a promise to myself. A promise to lose weight. Running would consist of the exercise portion of my plan.

Based on my previous life failures with running and my absolute hatred of it. I decided I would run, but if I felt any pain whatsoever I would walk. The pace at which I ran would be slow and plodding. My entire session would be thirty minutes long. I would run 5 minutes. Walk for ten and repeat this cycle a second time.

The first day was very tough. By the time 2 minutes passed, I was already staring at my watch willing the next 3 to be over. I found even the slowest plodding horribly difficult.  Then the 10 minutes of walking seemed to fly by.

But through sheer will and determination I persevered. I ran three days a week a week for the first 3 weeks. Each day I worked to lengthen the time I ran and decrease the time I walked. My progress came fast and by the end of the first month I was filling the entire thirty minute session with all running.

I eventually worked my way up to a marathon over the next couple of years. But as I run now, I notice that my progress is slower. My goals today involve shaving a few seconds off a pace or a personal record.

As I commit now to writing daily, or at least six days a week, I see many similarities. The first time or three I tried to write it was hard. The words came in fits and starts and the words were slow to pile up.

With writing, like running, I've made goals and I've kept them or at least put forth the very best effort I could to keep them. I decided to start with 250 words and pushed hard to meet that the first few times. When I wrote, I wanted my best effort. My fullest commitment of time and effort. I didn't want to just write random junk to fill a page. When I reached my goal, I wanted the work to have value.

After a week of doing that, I found it a lot easier. I moved to 500 words, 750, and then a thousand a day. Its getting easier but just like running it involves me setting a goal and maintaining discipline.

I raise four kids and I work a full time job. Finding the time to write is very tough which means I set my alarm for 4:45 AM Monday through Friday. I get up and I try. There are morning when it just doesn't happen. I'll end up writing 250 words by 7:00 AM as I struggle with a scene. This means I find time later in the evening to get as many words in as I can. I'm finding the 1000 easier and have been pushing for 1250.

I am so grateful for my time spent the last several years working towards both weight loss and running goals. It's set me up for what's in front of me now. Learning the skills necessary to commit myself has been crucial for me so far. Setting goals is the key.

I'm about a third of the way through my first draft. My current word count is 34,370. Looking back to last Sunday's post that means I've written 6,658 words this week.