Leonard D. Hilley II's Blog, page 10

Editing, Revisions, Oh My!

One thing I tell my English college students is: “Great writing comes through revisions and editing. Revisions are key and necessary.”

A first draft is never great quality. It’s shouldn’t be. The work needs trimmed, polished, and revised—this is where writing becomes work.

“You write your first draft with your heart. You rewrite with your head. The first key to writing is to write, not to think.”—Quote from Finding Forrester. Sound advice.

The first draft should compel us to write. We should be excited to get the words written down. I’m certain most every writer has those WIPs that he/she cannot wait to get back to writing. The zeal to write, to create, thrills us. Seeing the story birthed onto the page is wonderful but when the first draft is finished, it’s not over. Your draft is still an infant, far from maturity, and not ready for you to send it out into the world for others to see. Shelter the draft and nurture the story with necessary revisions and edits.

One revision through doesn’t mean you’ve caught every mistake or that your WIP has reached maturation. Sometimes writers need to do multiple revisions/edits to polish the work. Advice I’ve read for years by publishing editors and literary agents is to “set the story (book) aside for a month and work on something else.” What? A month? No! I need to revise now.

Why should you put it away for a month (or longer)? After finishing the first draft, a writer is too close to the work to catch mistakes. For me, I know I’m blind and can’t see mistakes right away. My second novel, Beyond the Darkness, had a glaring error on the first page that I never noticed even after reading it 100 times (not an exaggeration). I handed the completed manuscript to my wife for her to read. She immediately caught the error. I had written, “Recycling chair” but meant “Reclining chair”. I was stunned that I hadn’t seen the mistake. Why did she see it when I hadn’t after 100 readings? In my mind, I knew what I had meant to write, and my brain automatically corrected the word as I skimmed past it. This leads to my next point: Have someone else read your manuscript.

Beta readers are wonderful. Have a second (or 3rd or 4th) set of eyes read your work helps you discover errors. I have a select few who have been fantastic! Thanks, KC!

The hard part of handing a manuscript to others to read is seeing mistakes they find and we missed. The most difficult part is when suggestions are made that are contrary to what the writer’s vision might be. Constructive criticism is a good thing. But for young writers, criticism of any sort is seen or taken as a hostile insult, a brutal attack, even when it’s well intended advice. Ever wonder why novice writers get angered by such comments? Despite obvious defects, this manuscript spilled from the writer’s heart and soul; and was ‘birthed’ by the writer, and perfect, flawless, in the writer’s eyes. How dare you say this isn’t good enough!

Again, constructive criticism is beneficial, not to be taken personal. It’s not an attack on the writer. Take it with a grain of salt and take the time to fully consider the possibility from a different perspective. You don’t ever have to make such changes, but you’re receiving an outside view of your story from someone that has no stake vested in the manuscript, other than giving his/her opinion. However, if a character in your story has done something out of character or a glaring plot hole catches the reader’s attention (things not noticed by the writer); these are things writers need to study closer and make necessary adjustments.

I’m amazed at how many errors slip past, even when I carefully analyze each sentence. You must change hats. Instead of being a writer, you are now an editor, and for a lot of writers, this is the dreaded process. This is work. The joyous part of discovery in the creative process has ended.

Dean Koontz is known for his tedious editing scheme. “I don’t write a quick draft and then revise; instead, I work slowly page by page, revising and polishing.”—Dean Koontz.

While most writers are not this obsessive with editing, the editing process cannot be ignored. It’s necessary. Each writer is different and our writing processes are also different. For me, if the story’s flowing rapidly, I’ve no choice but to write it down without editing, whether it’s one page or twenty. The next day, before I add to the story, I go back and reread the previous 3-4 pages. Sometimes new ideas, description, or dialogue gets added and those 3-4 pages might become 6-7 pages. This is my habitual process and one I’ve developed over the past twenty-five years. When I’ve written several chapters into a novel, I go back to the beginning, rereading/editing as I go, which reminds me of what the characters have done and how the world is unfolding. This might occur multiple times over the course of writing the novel.

Last year, I finished Books 3 & 4 of the Aetheaon Series, both epic fantasy novels. I finally had enough time to revise the longer of the two novels in December (~six months after the first draft had been completed). The total number of words before revisions was 123,000. After edits, ~114,000 words. I trimmed off 9,000 words or roughly, 36 pages. Why so much? Excessive wordiness, redundancy, and characters explaining too much were the culprits. Some of the problems were simply syntax (poorly organized sentence structure) or needful prose tightening. I didn’t cringe to lose 36 pages. I cringed for not noticing the errors while I wrote. Honestly, I couldn’t believe how messy the writing was. But after the revisions, I’m happier with the novel and thankful I had yet to send the book to Beta readers.

Keep writing!

Until next time ….

Happy New Year! 2019 is here!

Welcome to 2019!

With a new year, we often set goals we can never achieve, or after a few days of trying, we fall to the wayside and give up.

Regardless of the time of year, each day matters. Setting goals doesn’t take a New Year’s Resolution. Any day of the year is a good time to pursue goals/dreams. Take the chance to fulfill a dream. Often, we’re the only ones standing in our way. We’re the wall that we can’t climb over, or we refuse to attempt the journey because we believe the mountaintop is too high to reach. Pace yourself. Some mountains turn out to be mole hills with even greater heights on the other side. Life is full of gambles. But you cannot win if you’re sitting on the sidelines watching others pursue and fulfill their dreams. Here’s hoping your dreams come true in 2019!

More to come … Blessings to you!

Farewell to 2018

2018 was an interesting year with a lot of wonderful events. The highlight of the year was the birth of our beautiful granddaughter. That’s something impossible to surpass.

As for writing, 2018 was quite a productive year overall. Books 3 & 4 in the Aetheaon Chronicles were finished. Revisions for those are currently in progress and launch/release dates will be announced soon for 2019. The third book in the Nocturnal Trinity Series is almost complete and hopefully will be released in late Spring. I’ve written about 600,000 words in novels this year.

A great thing is that libraries are making some of my eBooks available so readers can check them out. If your local library doesn’t have my books, call your local library and ask them to add the books to their catalogue. Libraries are wonderful and one of the reasons I fell in love with books at an early age. What a great place to be–surrounded by books.

Saying goodbye to any year is sometimes hard. I’m looking forward to 2019 and hoping the productivity exceeds 2018. More adventures to come.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year!

Georgia Game Park

Many years ago, our father used to take us on this endless driving trips. Not vacations, necessarily, as we never spent enough time in one spot to be considered a tourist. I must have been 3-4 years old when, on the spur of the moment, he decided to drive us to Washington state … AND turn around and drive back. No real purpose for the trip, other than his wanderlust.

Although I wasn’t old enough to remember a lot of the trip–I do recall some–my mother told me years later that what had frustrated her the most was seeing a sign, “The Grand Canyon, One Mile”, but he kept driving without taking even a few minutes of his time to drive the short side route where they could have seen one of the most majestic scenes ever. However, that’s a story for another day.

Of all the fond places I recall seeing during those early years of our trips to Middletown, Ohio, from Fort Payne, Alabama, was a the store called the “Georgia Game Park” in Rising Fawn, Georgia. Now, this was only a twenty minute drive from where we lived, but each time we made the trip to visit our family in Ohio, we stopped at this store, which is now gone, replaced by a huge Pilot truck stop/gas station.

Georgia Game Park was a small store with lots of souvenirs, fireworks, and strange attractions. At the time, they sold jugs of apple cider and from the concession stand, they sold cherry apple cider, which was my favorite and something our father bought us each time we visited.

The most intriguing aspect of this store were the large taxidermy animals on exhibit. A large male lion and a lioness were on display. A six-legged beagle, a five-legged cow, and a two-headed calf were creatures that entertained and puzzled my budding imagination early in life. They had a two-headed pig and other animals as well. These displays fascinated me regardless of how many times we stopped at the store.

But as time changes all things, the aging display animals suffered, too. Taxidermy preserves animals for years, but with so many visitors, the harsh lighting, dust, and folks touching these animals, they slowly deteriorated. One by one, each was removed from the store. Eventually, the store was sold and for many years into the 80s, the only thing that reminded us it had been there was the long dilapidated, pale yellow fence with black peeling paint: Georgia Game Park.

THIS WRITER’S REFLECTIONS:

Memories are interesting for writers, especially early memories. Without realizing it, these events stick in our minds with some eventually popping up in our stories years later. Those animals, in particular, were considered ‘freak attractions’ but simply put, the animals’ deformities were the result of bad genetics. They were nature’s accidental anomalies. Mutations.

This triggered for me, at least, a different slant on what might emerge if genetic engineers purposely meddled with the genetic makeup of animals (or humans) to produce transforming creatures capable of hunting/tracking and were used by the military during war occupations in other countries. It’s an intriguing notion, and quite possibly the reason for how the ‘shifters’ came to be in my Predators of Darkness Series. To be honest, I never made this connection until this morning. Subtle memories play a heavy role in crafting stories. Bits of my past end up in my work. Parts of me are instilled into a lot of my characters, and a lot of the villains in my books have characteristics of bullying people from my past.

I have had college students in my English courses over the years who share their nightmarish memories of what happened to them early in life, how they’re finding it difficult to get past it, and wondering what they can do to escape it. I connect with these folks, not because I’ve suffered as badly as some of them have, but because I’ve lived through darker times in my life with some horrible family ordeals and a hellish first marriage. My advice? Write it out. Destroying the evil traits of those who’ve harmed me on the page was my therapy, which might not work for everyone else. But for me, it saved my life. Kill the evil ON THE PAGE. You don’t go to prison for killing in fictional writing, and you put to rest those haunting demons that disturb the mind.

While not all writers have suffered horrendous ordeals in life, most who write the darker suspenseful novels and short stories have. Some of the best songwriters and book authors dealt with or suffered oppressive early childhoods. Perhaps it’s a coping mechanism that alleviates us from those ordeals. For me, I’m drawn to writing because it comforts me, even though the isolation at times can become agonizing. Regardless, I know of nothing else in this world I would rather do for an occupation. I am a writer, a creator of fictional people and worlds, and no other job brings me such satisfaction. This passion is instilled within me. The pattern is there. On days when I’m unable to write, I’m anxious, wondering what I’m missing or what might be written if I were at the keyboard.

Isaac Asimov stated it best:

“I write for the same reason I breathe – because if I didn’t, I would die.”

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Extending my Happy Holiday greetings to all of you! Have a wonderful Christmas and be safe, enjoy the time you have with loved ones, and TRY not to eat too much!

2019 is fast approaching. Good things to come! Thanks to all of you who’ve visited this past year and hopefully, you’ll send friends and family this way.

Blessings to all of you!

Leonard D. Hilley II

Audio Books

If you don’t have an Audible on Amazon, the one-month trial is FREE and includes 2 FREE audiobooks and 2 FREE Audible originals. $14.95 per month thereafter, but you can cancel at any time.

Do you enjoy listening to epic fantasy novels? Check out my first two novels (40 hrs. combined length) in the Aetheaon Chronicles Series:

Shawndirea

“Often the smallest unexpected surprises garner the most demanding dilemmas, which proves to be the ordeal that entomologist Ben Whytten faces. While netting butterflies to add to his vast collection, he mistakenly sweeps what he thinks is the most spectacular butterfly he has ever seen into his net. Upon examining his catch, Ben is horrified to discover he has captured a faery and shredded her delicate wings into useless ribbons.

Devastated, Ben vows to take Shawndirea back to her realm, Aetheaon; but he discovers that doing so places their lives into immediate danger. To get to Aetheaon, they must pass through a portal rift deep inside the haunted cavern, Devils Den.

Once they cross the rift, Ben enters a world where mysteries, magic, betrayal, and power struggles await. He must adapt quickly or die because Aetheaon is filled with enchanted creatures and numerous races where chaos often dominates order. And since Shawndirea’s destined for the throne of Elvendale, opposing dark forces plot to prevent her from ever reaching her kingdom again. The faery’s magic isn’t enough to fully protect them, so he must trust other adventurers to aid them during their journey.”

Audible Audiobook
Listening Length: 18 hours and 41 minutes

Lady Squire: Dawn’s Ascension

“How much degradation would an exiled princess of a fallen kingdom suffer in order to regain her rightful throne?

During a dark, foggy night, Vyking ships from the Isles of Welkstone slip into Hoffnung Bay to aid Lord Waxxon’s coup to take Hoffnung’s throne from half elf Queen Taube. As Lord Waxxon’s guards storm the castle, Queen Taube flees to Lady Dawn’s chambers to help her daughter escape.

After Hoffnung’s fall, Lady Dawn flees for her life in the hope of gathering together an army to overthrow Lord Waxxon, who killed her mother to take the throne. With Waxxon’s guards and hired assassins searching Aetheaon to find and kill her, she disguises herself as a peasant boy and takes the lowly role of a squire under one of her father’s former Dragon Skull Knights. But her identity must remain a secret even to the noble knight she serves, until he can join the other Dragon Skull Knights to bring Waxxon’s reign to an end.”

Audible Audiobook
Listening Length: 24 hours and 22 minutes

Happy listening!

 

Cloudy Days, Clearer Mind

I’m not sure why my writing flows better on cloudy days than when the sky is blue. What should be dismal, depressive weather seems to inspire me.

In 1985-86, while a student at Berea College, I enjoyed the cloudier days, not just for writing. I hiked the hillsides behind the soccer fields or the trails near Pinnacle Mountain whenever I was fortunate to get a ride.

The overcast skies provide a veil of protection, offering enough isolation for me to dip into my thoughts while seeking understanding and resolution for questions I might be mulling over. My thought processes tend to search for deeper meaning, greater understanding, when the sun is absent. This might better explain why I enjoy late fall and the dead of winter, as the skies tend to be cloudier.

Wintertime often keeps us indoors. During my teenage years, when I wasn’t outdoors looking for cocoons, I was in my room, writing and deep in thought. As a teenager, I held so many questions for why family members behave the way they do. Some years later, I understand some folks better than I did in my youth. Some I’ve never figured out, and perhaps that’s one of the unsolved mysteries each of us get confronted with. Certain folks are unreadable, and they might not even understand why they act in unexplainable manners. That’s just the way they’re wired. Eventually, I had to accept that and move on.

During cloudy days and even rainy days, the splendid colors of nature are different than when the sun casts its light upon the various surfaces. The next chance you get, go experience this firsthand. While others long for the sunny days, I thrive during the glorious grays of the sky. The gates to my creativity fling open, and who knows? Maybe my writing is better during this time because I’m painting a different landscape with words where my mind takes me. Whatever the reason, I enjoy the journey, cloudy days or not.

Blessings to each of you. Until next time …

Current Works-in-Progress

Just to give everyone an update on future books and tentative publishing dates.

Currently, I am writing the third book in the Nocturnal Trinity Series at ~39,000 words. This book has flowed almost effortlessly and I hope to finish sometime in December/January.

Next month, Lady Squire will experience a reboot with a new cover (by Daniela) and we’re working on a better map. While we love the color map, it’s simply too difficult to see the names in eBook format. Once the map is completed, I will announce the release date for the new edition.

The third book in the Aetheaon Chronicles is Frosthammer: The Dwarves of Nagdor and the cover reveal was yesterday at my Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/posts/22555243

The fourth book in the Aetheaon Chronicles is Shadowfae and the cover reveal was also yesterday. If you’d like the sneak peek of the covers, please visit my Patreon page.

Other than final edits/revisions, both epic novels are complete. These will be released six weeks apart through all book outlets. Paperbacks will be released ~1 month after their eBooks.

More to come!

Toadstools and Fairy Rings

Photo by Christal Hilley

Do you believe in fairies? When you see mushrooms the day after rain, do you think about fairies?

This year we’ve encountered numerous colorful types of mushrooms and toadstools. With the mythical tales about fairies that are associated with these fungi, I find it captivating to take a closer look whenever we find them on hiking trails and in our yard.

These white caps were in our neighbor’s yard.

 

The red caps were found in Wildwood Park in Vienna, WV. The ones below were also found at Wildwood Park (Sept. 16th, 2018).

Photo by Christal Hilley; Wildwood Park, Vienna, WV
Photo by Christal Hilley; Wildwood Park, Vienna, WV Hen and chicks fungi
Photo by Christal Hilley; Wildwood Park, Vienna, WV
Photo by Christal Hilley; Wildwood Park, Vienna, WV

Photo by Christal Hilley; Wildwood Park, Vienna, WV Hen and chicks fungi
Photo by Christal Hilley; Wildwood Park, Vienna, WV
Photo by Christal Hilley; Wildwood Park, Vienna, WV
‘Hoof Conk’ Photo by Christal Hilley; Wildwood Park, Vienna, WV
Photo by Christal Hilley; Wildwood Park, Vienna, WV
Photo by Christal Hilley; Wildwood Park, Vienna, WV

Photo by Christal Hilley; Wildwood Park, Vienna, WV
Photo by Christal Hilley; Wildwood Park, Vienna, WV

These are just a few of the interesting fungi we happened upon while hiking.

One of the best we found at Carter Caves in Kentucky in 2014.

Photo by Christal Hilley
Orange Mycena at Carter Caves, KY

We’ve not found this particular orange species since.

Unboxing Dungeons & Dragons Art and Arcana

I greatly appreciate @DevenRue pointing out the pre-order for the Dungeons & Dragons Art and Arcana. When I looked this up on Amazon, there was no hesitation in pre-ordering. After opening the boxed set, I was amazed. Still am! From the description, I knew the boxed hardcopy had bonus materials, but I didn’t expect so much!

Over the years, I have found the artwork of D&D inspiring. I’ve collected back issues of Dragon magazine and Dungeon magazine because of the detailed fantasy art for years. I’ve been fortunate to get early copies at junk stores at bargain prices because the owners of the shops didn’t think they’d sell. The greatest attribute in this set, aside from the artwork, is learning more about the history of the game.

I remember in 7th grade, sitting in an empty classroom during break and watching one of my friends assume his role of Dungeon Master. This was back before computers, cellphones, and the printed game and character sheets. They used pencils and lined notebook paper to keep up with their gold and leveling. I didn’t know the rules, but I enjoyed watching their interactions. I had already written my first novel, so listening to each of these guys fight their way through a dungeon was entertaining.

Not too long after this, in the early eighties, I remember the harsh attack on these games and gamers by various religious groups. A church I had attended at the time frowned upon such games for ‘using your imagination.’ I won’t get into the argument over this, but needless to say, those attacks were unfounded. Schools started banning the games …

I marvel that in our rural area of Alabama that my friend had even learned of the game, as we had no major bookstores in our county. I imagine he had either discovered the game at the mall in Chattanooga or the one in Gadsden.

Various prints and a reprinted copy of the original handbook.

Seldom getting the opportunity to go to the Gadsden mall, I was thrilled when I finally visited the bookstore near my senior year of high school. I walked down an isle with dozens of Dragonlance and Greyhawk books, as well as other D&D books. The artwork floored me and stirred inside me a desire to write more books.

One of the posters.
Another foldout poster.

So I hope you enjoy the pics of me unveiling the package that we received yesterday. If you’ve not ordered yet, trust me, it’s worth the money and the memories.

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