Tag: Writing

Math Goals

On By Dan MelnickIn Personal, Writing ProcessLeave a comment

In order to meet my goal of writing two books this year, I’ve decided to write those two books back to back. Even though I have the outline ready for a brand new project, I’ve decided to table that for now and flesh out one of my established series. That way I’ll have content for a rapid release self-publishing schedule.

My old mantra of “why write a sequel to a book no one will ever read?” isn’t sounding so good anymore. If I want to self-publish, and do so in a seriously and productive manner, I realize that’s just going to have to happen these days. So the next two books I’m going to write will be the sequels to Altered Egos and round out a trilogy. They won’t be the only books in that series, but I figure having the initial trilogy completed so I can release them all together will be helpful. It also has two additional benefits: it increases my backlist and I think they’ll be easier to write.

To that end, rather than write one book at a time, I’m going to treat it like the second Pirates of the Caribbean movies and write them more or less at the same time. Let’s just hope the books are better than those movies. I mean, I thought the third one was entertaining I guess, but the second one … woof.

Anyway, I’m being a lot more diligent and strategic with my time here. I’m shooting for 80K a book and will make my outlines accordingly as if I’m writing one, big 160K word book instead which is something I know I can do, because that’s what Land of Sky and Blood turned out to be.

Here’s the genius part. I’d love to take credit for this, but I heard it on the Six Figure Author Podcast. I figured it took me around 4-5 months to write a book, but I’ve never really been deliberate about that. I know it takes me around 45 minutes to write 800 words. To that end, in order to complete 160K words, that means I need to have 200 sessions of at least 45 minutes long a piece.

In order to stay on track then, let’s say I want to complete 10 sessions a week. Whether that’s two per day Monday-Friday or scattered about, that’ll be up to the week’s schedule, I suppose. The important thing is that if I set the goal of 10 writing sessions a week, well now I don’t have to guess, but know that I’ll be finished both books in 20 weeks or about 5 months. And here I always thought math was the enemy.

Writing two books back to back sounds daunting, but setting the goal of writing ten times a week sounds much more doable. And if I keep at it for five months, well by the end I’ll have two books out of the deal. Not a bad deal at all!

4-12-21 Update

On By Dan MelnickIn Personal, Writing ProcessLeave a comment

It’s been a minute since my last post. Every week I feel like this is the week that I’m going to post again, but as each weeks sails by with me piled under a mountain of other work, I keep moving those goalposts forward. So this is the week …

I’m finishing up my final edits for my latest manuscript. It’s just about query ready. I did the query letter a while ago – and will probably revisit that soon – but I still have to write the synopsis. That’ll happen once all of the edits are completed.

Some people recommend that you should write your query letter first before everything else. As your query letter is the core concept/conflict, it makes sure you stay on track while writing your novel. I can definitely see the merit in this, but often times I know my core plot conflict from the outlining stage, but I don’t discover my core emotional or thematic conflict until I’m deep into the story.

For instance, my latest book is a heist novel. The core concept is my main character overthrowing a bad guy in charge and stealing his power of office McGuffin … That was never in doubt. That’s what I wanted to write the book about. What I didn’t know until after I’d written the thing is yes, the book is about the heist, but it’s also about her relationship with her partner and what she’ll do to preserve that relationship. People smarter than I am may have known that from day 1, but I needed to get there in my own time, I guess.

To that end, I agree writing your query/marketing materials early can definitely shape the content, but I suggest waiting until after the first draft. Go ahead and take a stab at it earlier if you like, but you’ll probably end up revising it anyway once your manuscript comes together.

I’m going to keep this method going forward, I think. At least as long as I’m querying. The other thing I changed this time around was that I didn’t wait 6 weeks before edits. I gave myself maybe just the 1 week but then it was back to work. That’s because I still had the story fresh in my head and didn’t want to lose what I know needed to be corrected.

Some distance can help with perspective but for me, I rarely change the plot when I go back. It’s more fine-tuning to make sure what unfolds makes logical and character sense. So waiting this time around would only just delay my progress. I still have to write two books yet this year, but more on that next time …

The Joys of Editing

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I have a love/hate relationship with editing. I love how it makes my prose better, my stories stronger, and my characters richer. I hate … having to do it. OK, that’s not entirely true. I don’t mind a few passes in, but it’s that first pass after the rough draft that’s a real slog. I’m a quarter of the way through that very pass right now.

The other day I cleaned up an entire chapter and then realized that I think the whole thing may have to get axed altogether. I’m really trying to streamline this story down to bare bones and while I think the chapter is great character building and shows what’s at stake personally for my main two characters, it may not be fast enough. I’m on the fence. It might be a judgement call once the beta readers get their hands on it. In the meantime, I’ll probably make two versions and see if that changes how I feel.

That’s still progress of a sort, though.

Today, I’m crawling through because I’m at a scene where my main character introduces her partner to who’ll be their crew for the book. So not only am I revealing four new characters, but going through to make sure their speech patterns are distinctive is exhausting. Oh and there’s still things like basic dialogue, blocking, and exposition to do too. When I write long conversations, I tend to just write the conversation and leave most of the blocking for Future Dan. Well now I AM Future Dan and I’m a little peeved at Past Dan.

But that’s editing, right?

Back into the grind, I go!

Stoppable Force Meets (Hopefully) Moveable Object

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Well I’ve written myself into a corner again. I tend to do that every now and then. This time around, my characters are sneaking into a facility to steal something. They’re posing as a repair crew. My outline says something like they “sneak in to fix the [Thing] but really, they’re going to sabotage the [Other Thing] to help with their escape”. I had no idea what either of those would be when I wrote up the outline and left that as a problem for Future Dan. Well, here I am, 50K words later. Future Dan has become Present Dan and I’m nowhere closer to solving this conundrum.

Anyone know anything about mining facilities or refineries? Asking for a friend …

But seriously, it couldn’t have come at a worse time. Okay, inopportune time. We’re in the beginning of National Novel Writing Month after all and like usual, I’m using the event as an excuse to take a huge bite out of my novel like one McGruff might have taken out of crime. I never seem to time my books right … or maybe I do … so I’m never starting a project when NaNoWriMo roles around. I’m always finishing one.

Thing is, I can’t move forward until I figure this out. I want to get to the caper but aside from what they’re stealing, I don’t even know the layout of the place. Perhaps Past Dan should have figured that out too. Thanks a lot, guy!

So instead of drawing with words, I think I’m going to be drawing with like an actual pencil as I sketch a map of the place. I’m big into maps. My brother? He’ll read a book based solely on the map inside the front cover. I have a harder time conceptualizing everything and spend more time trying to make what I’m reading conform to what I saw in the picture which just takes me out of the story. I trust the writer to give me the important details instead.

While I don’t rely on maps so much in my books, I still like to draw them when it comes to environments. It helps with my blocking. I have literally once sketched out a room and everything in it just so I could use a couple of action figures to act out a fight scene.

Way I see it, my tasks are as follows:

  • Figure out what my facility actually does
  • Name the key components and what could conceivably be wrong with them (I mean it could be the spanocrank has snapped its driveshaft … it doesn’t have to be legit, just sound it)
  • Figure out:
    • A. What my repair crew is actually sabotaging
    • B. Why this would be beneficial in an escape

I think once I get all the above covered I’d be comfortable moving on. Some people might just skip the whole scene and continue to push the burden onto Future Dan, but I can’t write that way. I can jump around in an outline as I build it, but I like to write sequentially. No. This is an obstacle in my way and the only way is through, not around.

Anyone else doing NaNoWriMo this year? If so, I’m always looking for more writing buddies. Hit me up and happy writing.

The Over Under on Overwriting

On By Dan MelnickIn Writing ProcessLeave a comment

Hi all, it’s time for another infrequent blog post! I jest. I mean, well it is time, but I’m hoping that these will become less and less infrequent. After all of the topsy turviness in life, I’m finally settling into something of a routine. It’s only taken … counts on fingers … seven months? Oh, is that all?

Anyhoo, today I want to talk about underwriting versus overwriting.

I’d say that I was primarily an overwriter in the beginning as I tried to describe every little thing to help set the scene. But then I did some work, read some articles, and tried to really just put down all that was necessary. That seemed to work for a while until I read some more articles and did even more work to hone craft and that latter practice stressed the addition of concrete images and sensory details. You know, stuff to really set the scene … wait…. Isn’t that where I started?

Yes and no. I’m sure it’s different for everyone, but usually, in the beginning of our writing careers we’re all overwriters. We list every little thing in the room to help with layout, we double explain just about everything, and at least I was (am), an exposition overwriter where we really want to make sure the reader gets what the character is feeling right now. All of that leads to long, drawn out paragraphs and slows down the pace.

So back to my original question, if less is more, then why are we adding more again? Well, it comes down to those concrete sensory images. We still need to hear sounds, smell smells, and see what your characters are looking at, but rather than catalog the contents like a museum, why don’t you just give me the highlights instead?

I had a book return from a publisher recently that was generally well received, but had the note that it was overwritten. I was confused at first because it had started off at 133K and I’d trimmed it to 119K before they got their hands on it. How was it still too wordy?

My usual editing process involves around a half dozen drafts that are me fiddling with this or that and all the while also chiseling away at the marble to get to the statue inside. There comes a point where I’m happy with the prose, figuring its as slim as can be, but I’m realizing now that I need to take it one step farther. Once I think it’s slimmed down, that means it needs at least one more full pass. Just because I could keep a word, a sentence, a paragraph doesn’t mean I should. I’ve started an experiment where I cut it out and tell myself I can go back and put it in again later if need be. Spoiler alert, after a few seconds of grief, I realize that eh, the scene still works just fine and there’s no need to pad it out again.

So that’s where I’ve come to in my overwriting/underwriting journey. I’m a self-acknowledged overwriter, but as long as I know that, that’s a good thing, right? To switch metaphors on you, I’ve started to treat my prose like a Jenga tower. Once it’s built, I keep removing support blocks to get it as lean as possible … this metaphor doesn’t exactly work because I’m not putting all the blocks back again but you get where I’m going with this … If the tower falls, well I’ve officially broken the story and it’s time to add to some of the support. But nine times out of ten, whatever I remove not only isn’t missed but ask me a few days later and I couldn’t even tell you what I’d cut to begin with.

Still Here

On By Dan MelnickIn PersonalLeave a comment

It’s been a while. I’m sure you’ve noticed.

Writing from home during the pandemic has been a lot more difficult than anticipated. Read any book about writing or talk to anyone who helps train other writers and one of the rules they’ll all have is the importance of routine. Set a routine, a designated writing time, and stick to it! Well, thanks to everything going on, my writing routine has not just been interpreted, but ground to a halt.

Both my wife and I have plenty of commitments during the day demanding attention as we try and do our jobs from home. Also, three kids under five don’t exactly look after themselves either. If all of that wasn’t enough, we finally found our new house after years of searching so we ended up moving! Throw in my graduate school work and … well … to say I’ve been busy is the king of all understatements.

Just because I haven’t been writing doesn’t mean I’ve given up, though. I’m using this time to figure out what went wrong with a lot of my older work, do a little editing, and even get about 13K words into a novella. I still have the outline ready to go for my next book, but I don’t want to start that one until I know I’m going to have at least some consistency again. Probably going to wait until August and the start of the school year.

It’s been interesting to say the least. And frustrating. I’m not one to sit still for long. More than that, as someone who’s trying to break into the professional author scene, I always feel like if I’m not producing, well then I don’t have anything worth selling. As my writing fields are growing fallow, I like to think that my creative juices are reinvigorating themselves. So we’ll see how that goes.

For now, most of the writing is going on in my head — I can’t even keep up a weekly blog — but I know it’s not going to last forever. It’s a hard thing to even complain about with people experiencing really dark and scary times out there. So I keep going and plan for the future. My day job is keeping me at home for the foreseeable future and I’ll be looking after the kids when my wife goes back to work in August. But with work comes routine and I know this crazy free for all isn’t going to last forever.

Hope everyone is happy and healthy out there!

Update From the Cave

On By Dan MelnickIn Personal, Writing ProcessLeave a comment

Hey all you cool cats and kittens … yes, like the rest of the planet I finally watched Tiger King … anyway, hey, it’s a blog post!

I’m still not as productive as I’d like to be, but I did finish the outline for my new book. I’ve put a pin in cranking out the three Altered Egos and spinoff books because I’m so unhappy with the sequel. So this story is something brand new. I don’t even know what I’m calling it yet.

The outline is finished, clocking in at 20 pages – that’s a lot for some people, not nearly enough for others – but sounds about right to me. I try and break the content down around story structure points and cut it up into what I think the chapters are going to look like. I’m not always accurate. I’m also terrible at judging the finished word count. I’d love if this was tight enough to be only 80 or 90 tops. I thought Land of Sky and Blood was going to be just over 100K and it came in at 167K so what do I know …

There are still a few spots in the outline that need attention. I don’t like to leave holes if I can help it. I’ll figure out a fight sequence when I get there, but if somebody has dirt to blackmail another character, say for instance, that’s kind of something I need to know up front.

While all that was getting fleshed out, I submitted a story to the Writers of the Future contest. I won’t give the name of what I wrote in case word gets out and a judge puts two and two together – it’s supposed to be a blind submission – so I don’t accidentally disqualify myself, but I’ll let you know how the whole thing turns out.

It did stoke my fires around short stories again, so that’s something. I’m not much of a short story writer. I have the hardest time coming up with a concept small enough for a short story, but rich enough to be interesting. That said, I think I’ve got another one cooking in the old brain pan. It needs more research. Particularly, YouTube research. I’m not above reading – I mean, come on – but it’s not like I can get a book from a library these days. OK, I can get an ebook I guess, but those rarely work for me because I’d rather read on my phone than a computer screen. I’m sure there’s a way to do it, but there are already too many extra steps now that the barrier of entry is getting pretty steep. So instead, I can read blog posts and articles, but I’ve found that a couple of YouTube videos helps with the background info so I know what questions I need to be asking later. It’s not like I can get a book about what life was like in a Shinto shrine. Or can I?

Hope you’re all happy and healthy!

What I’m Watching: Aside from Tiger King, my wife and I finally started watching the second season of Netflix’s Lost and Space reboot. It’s pretty great. We liked the first season a lot. Well the first third and the last third. The middle kind of dragged because they didn’t know what to do with Parker Posey’s character. They still kind of don’t, but this season has a larger story going on that’s pretty interesting. We’re really digging it so far. Something this show does really well in both seasons is throwing environmental problems at the characters. In fact, that’s most of what the show is and the answers are rarely straightforward. They can’t really kill anyone off because it’s a family show, but it’s still tense seeing what they’re going to put this poor family through next.

What I’m Reading: I just finished the Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow. I liked it a lot in the beginning. It was an intriguing concept, was kind of literary, and celebrated stories. I mean, what’s not to like? But then … well, then it kind of kept going. Not a lot really happens. January gets angry and upset and scared a lot. By the time the character growth comes, I was pretty much done with the book. My biggest complaint is that early on we’re told that the magic comes with a price. January even says as much. Except, for her it doesn’t. She seems to be the only one who gets to break all the rules and doesn’t suffer a single consequence.

I just started the Claws of the Cat by Susan Spann. I’m only in chapter 3. I mean, I’m still reading the free preview so I can’t really say much about it, but I like the premise and I think I like the characters. I’m always looking for books to fill the Shogun-sized hole in my heart so we’ll see.

Social Distancing — Not so Isolated

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I’m glad that others are making the best out of a bad situation and getting a lot of writing done. Seriously, I am. I’m also super jealous. With three small kids at home, my writing has ground pretty much to a halt. As you can imagine, they don’t quite get what Daddy does on his computer. But I’m not really complaining. I’m lamenting. There’s a difference. I may not be making a lot of headway, but I’ve been spending tons of time with my family which is pretty great too 🙂

In the past, I’ve tried to publish a post every Monday — and missed more than a few deadlines — but this is going to be hit or miss for a while. In the rare moments when I DO get a chance to write … like right now … I may choose work over blogging. Sorry blog-buddies! So don’t expect any kind of consistency from me on the ole website. Hey, don’t blame me. Blame the Coronavirus.

If we’re talking actual progress then I think I figured out the problems I had with the second half of my new book. I knew what the protagonists were doing, but not how the antagonist would respond. That’s solved. I hope.Now I just need time and space to get back to the outline to plug all that in.

And I decided I’m growing a quarantine beard. Is this a thing? I haven’t shaved since work told me to stay home and I’m getting pretty bristly.

What I’m Watching: Lots and LOTS of Paw Patrol. I’m usually the one who gets up first with the kids so my wife can sleep. I need less hours than she does and can typically go more sleep-deprived days than she can before a recharge. So the task of keeping the kids alive and quiet often falls to me. We don’t usually use a lot of TV but early morning is the exception. Whenever I need them to be quiet so Mommy can keep sleeping, I just yelp for help!

What I’m Reading: I finished The Sword of Kaigen and … I have mixed feelings. I like it, I think. I like the world but the author doesn’t do much to help ground the reader in it. There’s a specific term that gets used a lot that I have a problem with because I don’t think it fits the rules the author created. I mean, this is just my outside opinion here.

That’s only the start of it. Not to give away a major spoiler, there’s a big battle halfway through the book. The entire second half is dealing with the fallout from said battle. And this is where it completely kicked me out. Again, my opinion here, but I feel like the author set up some promises and then either ignored or broke them all during that latter half. The climax of the book isn’t what the climax of the book should have been about. Or if so, then there wasn’t enough ground work to get there. Don’t give me the ole dangling threads excuse either. I love a few open ended things as much as the next person, but I’m talking central conflict points here. They don’t need to be resolved, but there should be movement. I think I see what the author was trying to do and how it made sense in their head, but it just didn’t work for me. It’s a shame too because I was all on board and then felt like I didn’t fall off, but was pushed.

I’ve also just finished Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch, the fourth Rivers of London/Peter Grant book. It was pretty much what I expected. It was the old friend, the sure thing, I needed after the previous disappointment.

Favorite Video Games of all Time

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I’ve been updating my site some with more personal information. Favorite movies. Favorite books. The next, obvious list for me would be favorite video games. I mean, I’ve been playing video games since probably the second grade when I used to go over to Peter VanVarga’s house across the street and play Super Mario Bros. 3 or Battletoads. It was a fun, but it wasn’t until visiting my older cousins that video games really became a part of my life forever. They had the Super Nintendo, Mortal Kombat II and Super Mario World. My brothers and I would play over at the cousins’ house for hours. Sometimes it was NBA Jam, but usually it was MKII or Super Mario World. Favorite MK character? Sub-Zero, duh!

After how many visits, I decided that I needed a Super Nintendo of my own. I remember saving up every last dollar and cent I had. Up until that time, the most expensive thing I’d ever bought with my own money was the T-Rex from Jurassic Park. A SNES was about four times more expensive.

I rolled loose change, scrubbed my family’s brick walk, and did every kind of odd job I could think of including house sitting some cats for a family down the street. Eventually, I had enough to buy the SNES and it came with a free copy of Super Mario World and Donkey Kong Country. The rest, my friends is history.

That Super Nintendo lead to so many great gaming moments with my brothers. I still can’t help but think of Donkey Kong Country every time it snows. That was our snow day ritual growing up. That one system has lead to the purchase of many more and an unknown amount of games.

I’ve tried coming up with a top 5 list of favorite video games to go with the others, but I’ve had a really hard time deciding what to count. There are some that I love for nostalgia — NBA Jam, looking at you! — and others that I love for the feeling I had playing them. I remember the absolute terror of Silent Hill but I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite. It’s been incredibly difficult deciding what makes the cut. So instead, here’s a list of games that I love. Some new. Some old. All great!

  • Donkey Kong Country and Super Mario World. Both for SNES. I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve spent playing either game. I could probably draw the levels for you, I’ve played them so much. All time favorites.
  • Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy Tactics for PS. Probably the stories that resonated with me at influential times in my life. They showed me that video games could tell actual stories and it wasn’t just jumping on goombas or crocodiles all the time.
  • Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for N64. I mean, the game helped launch a complete mechanics revolution. How could it not be good?
  • Nioh for PS4, XBO, PC. I’m not as good as this game wants me to be, but it doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy playing it. I love the world and the mechanics. It’s just fun to run around and fight everything. Plus, for as hard as the game can be, I really appreciate the fast load times when you die.
  • Bloodborne for PS4. It’s a modern masterpiece. It’s challenging, fun to play, but it’s the story and aesthetics that really got me. It was like someone had made a game specifically for me. I love everything about this game and it’s the only one I’ve ever bothered to platinum.

That’s about as definitive as I can make it. I mean, I still love the original Resident Evil and I’ve played enough GoldenEye to wear out a controller, but again, if we’re talking pure favorites here, it’s probably the list above. My apologies to all of the great games I’m forgetting at the moment.

For me, the real takeaway is that gaming isn’t just a hobby, it’s a lifestyle. Most of the games on that list are on there because yes they’re fun to play, but they also connect with me on another level. Whether its my hobbies and interests or memories with my family, video games have been a part of my life for over twenty years and I don’t see that changing any time soon.

Outlines. Gotta Love ‘Em

On By Dan MelnickIn Personal, Writing ProcessLeave a comment

Still plugging away at ye old outline. Outlines are funny things. Even us outliners have different definitions of what that term means. I know some people who use a single page and cram the whole thing on there in broad strokes. Another author has an eighty page document that he’ll keep expanding and basically rewrite until that thing is basically the novel itself. For me, mine are around 20 pages. I want those broad strokes, story beats, and memos of important set pieces and dialogue, but I can’t have any holes. I no longer trust myself to figure it out when I get there.

The current thing I’m struggling with is what my antagonist is doing the whole time. This is a heist novel. I’ve got my plucky crew stealing things to ultimately rip off the big bad. OK cool. So what’s Mr. BBEG up to while all that’s going on? He’s not just waiting to be stolen from. Well, I guess he could be, but I need more than that from him. This is another way to raise the stakes. He’s got to show the reader how much worse things are getting so we’re routing for him to get ripped off.

I think I’m cracking it. On the verge or a cusp at least. I’m examining and extrapolating some of the other conditions I’ve introduced in the book around civic unrest to tease out some natural responses that way it makes sense for both the character and the world.

In the mean time, I’ve finally gone back to finish a short story I started way back in August. So that’s pretty exciting.

Also, while getting sucked down a research rabbit hole on YouTube (I was going to hyperlink it but come on, it’s YouTube), I was recommended the following video by everyone’s favorite algorithm. I took one look at the speaker and immediately jumped to conclusions. He did not disappoint. His channel is pretty awesome and I just wanted to share this new gem with everyone. Enjoy!

What I’m Reading: I dropped Red Winter. Speaking of stakes, there weren’t any. To not become an embodiment of your god means your god has to wait another ten years to try again even though it’s been a hundred years since your god has walked the earth last time and we see no reason why this is either a good or a bad thing … OK. Do it. Don’t do it. I don’t care.

I ended up picking up The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang instead. I liked the sample so much I had to enroll in a free trial for Kindle Unlimited to keep reading. I actually did that! If that’s not an indication of praise, I don’t know what is. So far, I really like the book. My only hangup is the jargon. Yes, SFF has jargon, but this feels … superfluous, I guess.

What I’m Watching: Well, hope to be watching Altered Carbon. Season 2 dropped a couple of weeks ago and I’m hoping to sink my teeth into that real soon.