Trey Stone's Blog, page 22

NaNoWriMo Update #5

I’m finally done – and this is the final update (I swear)!

You can check out my other updates #1, #2, #3 & #4 here, but the short story is that I planned to write a novella, and I did, finishing at around 44k words, yesterday.

But man – this didn’t go as I wanted it to at all.

Everything up until the end of November did – I was at around 38k words when December hit (and maybe I can blame it on the fact that I released my second book – A State Of Despair – then and things got a bit hectic), but suddenly everything just went downhill with this NaNoWriMo Project.

I wasn’t feeling motivated, I didn’t get enough writing done every day, and for some reasons I just couldn’t pull the ending together.

And that’s kind of why I wanted to do this last update – because it’s done (at least for now) – and it’s important to acknowledge that it’s been difficult. There is an ending there, and it’s gone mostly where I wanted it to (I think), but it just doesn’t feel right. Still, I’m putting the whole thing away.

Because it’s important to take a step away, when you finish a draft. That how I work – how I’ve always worked – and I’ll always recommend it if people ask. Put the thing away. Be proud of your writing and of the fact that you’ve finished, but put it away. Don’t read it again. Not yet, not for another few months at least. It needs to simmer.

That’s what I’m going to do with this project. I’m not going to look at it for a while, maybe not for half a year or more. God knows I have many other projects I need to be working on, and I have two deadlines to meet in January. But when I do finally get back to it, when I read through it and get to that ending – maybe it’s not as bad as I think. Maybe, just maaaybe, it might be alright.

Or it’s utter horseshit, who the hell knows. That’s what editing is for anyway.

How did your NaNoWriMo go? Did you finish? Pat yourself on the back either way – you’re awesome!

WREINDEER – The Next Big Monthly Writing Craze

My wife has the most brilliant ideas some all the time.

First, some brief backstory: My wife and I live apart. I have moved away for a few years for work, she came to see me December 1, and we’re spending Christmas and New Year’s together where I live currently. Also – she thought I would be sad that November and NaNoWriMo was over.

Enter: WREINDEER – WRiting Exercise IN DEdecembER!

WREINDEER – WRiting Exercise IN DEdecembER!

Some more brief backstory: We don’t buy Christmas gifts for each other. Instead, we take turns (every other year) to make elaborate advent calendars. This year it was my turn to receive one from her (even though I made a silly one for her as well, since she came to see me).

And this is where WREINDEER comes in.

WREINDEER is a 4-part advent calendar.

Part 1 – A small piece of candy, to be opened in the morning. (For motivational purposes).

Part 2 – A Writing Challenge – These are required to be completed before I get to move on to Part 3.

Part 3 – A Memory Calendar – I open one of 24 notes that has a lovely memory of something my wife and I have done. Each of these also has a symbol on it.

Part 4 – I get to pick one of 12 presents my wife brought me – one for each time I find two matching symbols in Part 3.

Of course – WREINDEER is mostly about Part 2, and can be one without the three parts that come before and after (though it does make it more fun and rewarding). So here’s what the writing challenges look like:

First of all, I had to choose whether I was starting something new, or working on something old. I chose to starting something new, and it’s a fantasy/adventure type thing, about a man who ends up in the company of a bunch of Goblins.

Every day I have to write something related to the story mentioned above, but I have to follow special rules for each day. Remember, these are exercises, so it’s often about testing out different ways of doing things, or challenging myself to write differently. The ones I’ve gotten so far, are:

Writing Activity 1 – Title

Make a title, then write a 200 word paragraph.Write a 200 word paragraph, then create a title.

Writing Activity 2 – Main Character

Briefly outline a main character (10-50 words)Write a 300 word paragraph about your main character

Writing Activity 3 – Triple Scene

Write a 200 word sceneWrite the same scene from three different perspectives

Writing Activity 4 – Meaning

Write a 300 word scene revolving around a object – the object in question needs to be used/be meaningful in an unexpected way

Writing Activity 5 – Context

Write a piece of dialoguePut the dialogue in a scenePut the same piece of dialogue in a completely different scene

Writing Activity 6 – Villain

Write a 200 word bio for your villain/antagonistWrite a 100 word paragraph about your villains goal/purposeWrite a 100 word paragraph about your villains motivations for said goals

Writing Activity 7 – Experience

Write a 300 word sceneWrite the same scene but change how it is experienced (note: different than just changing perspectiveWrite the same scene again, with yet another change in experience

Writing Activity 8 – For kids

Write a 300 word scene. If you write for adults, write it for kids, and vice versa

Writing Activity 9 – Writing Sprints

Do 3 x 4 min writing sprints, 1 min break between

That’s how far I’ve gotten, and it’s been a lot of fun! Not just because I get to move on to the rest of the advent calendars after! I’m learning, but because I’m challenging myself, and I’m writing a lot of fun stuff! I’m actually surprisingly invested in this story I made up on the spot. I can’t wait to see where this takes me (and to open the rest of my awesome advent calendar presents – I got chocolate yesterday!) Also – it’s great to keep writing.

What are you working on this December? Taking some well-deserved time off in preparation for the holiday season? Or are you soldiering on? Let me know what’s happening!

Thanks For Your Support!

It’s been nearly a week since the launch of my second book and it’s been absolutely amazing – so I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who’s been involved.

Unfortunately, there are far too many of you – because a great book doesn’t just happen on its own (and surprisingly, actually writing it isn’t the hardest part).

But I want to thank my wife Maria, for her ever present love and support. She’s an eager reader and loves that she gets her hands on my stories first (even if it’s often not soon enough). And thanks to Ben, who is one of my oldest and most loyal critique partners. I nag him for being a bit slow, but it’s only because he’s so incredibly thorough.

Thanks to my editor, James, whose work is invaluable; and to Les, who’s made the beautiful covers for both of my books.

And there’s all the rest of you – many more than I can remember, and more than I have time to list here, but know that if you have: given me feedback, discussed with me, taught me things, read my work, commented on it, reviewed it, liked, retweeted or shared it, or supported in any other way – then I am eternally grateful. Over the course of the last couple of years I’ve managed to build a wide network of friends and peers around me – and so many of you stepped up to support the launch of my second book (which has been many times more successful than the launch of my first, because honestly, I had no idea what I was doing back then).

A State Of Despair has been steadily collecting brilliant reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, has been featured in Magazines, on Guest Blogs, and Podcasts, and I’m so thankful for everyone who has taken their time to talk about it.

I will of course ask that if you’re interested in a fast-paced psychological thriller that keeps you guessing, you go check it out right now, and I’m looking forward to show everyone the third and final book in the series.

Thanks, everyone!



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Book Review: The Body In The Marsh by Nick Louth

The kind of British crime thriller that makes you feel like you’re right there in the passenger seat, along for the ride. And what a ride it is!

It’s been far too long since I read something like this, and I’d forgotten how much I love it. It’s the kind of gritty, detailed crime thriller that just pulls you so far in that it’s difficult to take a step away. The plot revolves around a missing woman, shortly followed by her missing husband, and the grisly crime that slowly reveals as we try to learn what has happened to them…

Nick Louth is an expert writer, and he must have done a ton of research! He gets down to (what feels to me like) every single facet of British police procedure, and has a fully developed, three-dimensional character for every single role and purpose you need along the way. It’s fascinating and it does a great job of pulling you in.

Reading this actually made me miss living in the UK, because it’s so vivid and detailed it pulled me right back to that place. I lived in Southampton for half a decade, and it was almost as if I could smell the smells and hear the sounds as I delved deeper into this book. (God I wish I could go back there right now – it’s been far too long since I’ve been!)

DCI Craig Gillard is an awesome character – but if I had to find issues with this book (and, yeah I really have to look for them), it’s that I didn’t much care for him being such a ladies man. The sex and romance always felt kind of forced and pointless in a crime novel that had so much going for it anyway, and I just kept wanting him to be done with it and get back to investigating. But hey, we all have our vices. In the end it makes him human and relatable.

I can see myself reading a lot more of Nick Louth – and if you’re into gritty British crime thrillers, then I highly suggest you do give them a chance too!

A State Of Despair Is Out!

It’s finally here!



The exciting second book in the Columbus Archives series is out today!




BUY IT NOW

«I need to finish this now. I’ve crossed so far over the line I can’t even see it anymore.»

A simple drug bust. That is what the Critical Response Unit thinks they’re dealing with.

It goes horribly wrong when shots are fired, an explosion goes off, and a fire breaks out. Chaos erupts and the unit is left shocked when the dust settles.

One agent is dead.
Two hospitalized.
One missing.

Agent Greer is prepared to do anything he can to catch up with the case and find the people responsible.

Anything.

How far would you go to save a friend?

Would you risk losing another in the process?

A thrilling case of cat and mouse unfolds as the hunt for the missing FBI agent begins. Friends and enemies alike go toe-to-toe in this psychological thriller when Agent Greer is forced to put everything on the line and his own morals aside to solve the case.

BUY IT NOW

NaNoWriMo Update #4

This is it!

My final update for NaNoWriMo 2020 (probably), and it’s time to see how far we got.

As I’m writing this, my novella stands at just a little over 36k words. I have a few days left, which I reckon will take me to somewhere around 38k, but there’s nowhere I’ll reach 50. Though, that was never my point anyway. I wanted to write a novella – because I think NaNoWriMo is perfect for that – and I’m very happy with what I’ve got.

I imagine the story will be done at somewhere around 40-42k words. We’re at a point of climax in the story now, ever rising, and I just got to find a way to drive it home before everything is revealed.

This story has been great to write – it’s turned out (almost) exactly how I envisioned it (so far, at least). Though I’m a pantser, I went in with a very clear idea of what this was going to be (which I mentioned in Updates 1, 2 & 3), and most of that came true.

Around the 70% mark of the book I realized my plan wasn’t as fully fleshed out, but that’s where the perk of being a pantser came into play, and I think it turned out pretty exciting. I also have a few ideas that never actually made it into the 1st draft (not yet, at least) but I’ll note those down and see if they end up making an appearance after the first round of revision.

So, in the next few days I hope to be done with this story. Then comes the long wait, 2-3 months or so, where I don’t even think about it at all. That’s how I work. I draft, revise and edit several projects all at once, on rotation. So when this is done, I put it away for a while, trying to forget about it (a trick I learned from Stephen King’s On Writing). In a few months time I pull it back out from its folder, dust it off, and read through it without doing anything except for taking notes. Then I’ll draft something else while I revise this.

I’m looking forward to seeing what I think of if when I get to that stage – I’m often pleasantly surprised, and I love my two previous NaNoWriMo projects! I hope to maybe find homes for them soon.

How’s your NaNoWriMo been this year? Did you kick ass? Was it everything you ever dreamed and more? Or was a bit of a struggle? Let me know!

Book Review: Arm of The Sphinx by Josiah Bancroft

By far the best series I’ve read all year.

I think I said it several times in the review of Book 1 in the series, but this is one of the most unique things I’ve read in ages. It’s steampunk, it’s fantasy, it’s entirely amazing and it’s sooo gripping.

In this second book in the Tower of Babel series, Thomas Senlin has grown a lot from the stumbling, muttering headmaster we met in Book 1. He traveled to the Tower of Babel for his honeymoon, to see it in all its glory, hand in hand with his wife. When she was lost however, the real adventure began. He’s now a captain of his very own airship, and though his quest is still to find his missing wife, there is so much more going on in the Tower. The players are starting to move across the board – the game has begun.

Bancroft’s writing is so brilliant, so wonderful that even though I can get a bit tired of his tendencies to always try to spin a sentence with beautiful words, most of the time it’s just that: beautiful. I envy his writing skills, greatly. Every single letter seems to be placed where it is with the utmost care – nothing is without meaning.

I liked that this book was focused on fewer geographical locations. Book 1 sees Selin traveling through the tower as a tourist, trying to understand what’s what, but now that we’ve established ourselves in the plot, we get more details. We get to see more world building, more exciting characters, and learn more about the secrets of the tower.

It’s absolutely amazing – can’t wait to start book 3! If you were wondering what books to ask for for Christmas (though I can’t imagine any self-respecting reader who doesn’t already have a TBR list as long as the unfortunate events of 2020), ask for this. You won’t regret it.

Book Review: The Lie by Heather Dawn Gray

The Lie: When DNA Reveals the Family Secret is not my typical choice of book – but it’s excellent nonetheless!

A family drama turns thriller when Jahana receives her long-awaited DNA results, her whole life is turned upside down. While he tries to keep the results to herself, not wanting to upset her family about it before she understands what it all means, she also has to chase down rabbit holes to figure out who she truly is.

A book about love and family, faith and secrets, and that which binds us all together.

Gray’s writing is easy and concise, with enough of a pace to keep us interested but still stopping to take in the sights and create a lovely picture of Jahana’s lovely family. It was definitely a pleasure to read.

Faith and ancestry features heavily in this book, which was fascinating to me because it’s not something I deal with to any major degree in my personal life. It was very interesting to get such a detailed view of it.

A great read that will keep you guessing!

NaNoWriMo Update #3

Guess what it is – it’s time for update no. 3!

My project is currently sitting at around 27,5k words, which is just over halfway in terms of what NaNo is supposed to be (50k), but probably even closer to finished in reality.

My plan was always that this was going to be a novella, not a full-blown novel, and right now I feel like I might have 10-15k words left before it’s over, judging by where we are in the story. I’ve spent more time than I thought I would introducing everything, laying down the foundations, and we’ve just reached a point where I’m ramping up the tension. I think my plan is to dial it back a little before turning it to the max again soon.

This week’s writing has definitely been more unsure than Week One and Week Two. I talked about previously how I had a very clear story in mind, but apparently that didn’t include the parts I’ve been writing lately. It’s not an issue, since I am used to pantsing, but it changes up the flow when I go from being very certain about where the story is heading to suddenly being blind.

It’s interesting though. I keep wondering if this story will need a lot of revision later on, if I’m going to add bits to it or change it up. I don’t think so, but I won’t know for sure until the story is done.

At least the ending is clear to me, now that I have the beginning and large parts of the middle. It’s to the point where I almost have it written out, even though there are large gaps missing before I get there, but it’s just so perfect. Looking forward to cracking on with it, whenever I get there.

And that’s the thing – I’m not sure when I’ll get there. I’ve been writing slower this week, and as I’ve already mentioned, I’m far away from hitting 50k by the end of November. This thing might be done around 40k, which I think will be doable (just about) or I’ll just have to keep carrying on with it into December.

But that won’t be a problem – I’m excited to finish it.

How’s your NaNoWriMo project going? Is it everything you hoped it would be? Or are you struggling and worried about it? Let me know!

Book Review: Wrath by John Gwynne & The End of An Epic Series

The end has finally come.

The Faithful and The Fallen, the epic quadrilogy is over.

In one sense I wish there was more of this, because I loved it so much. At the same time, things that don’t end tend to drag on until they fall apart.

Gwynne has built an impressive world, packed full of sword fights and action, dark magic and mysteries prophecies, and giant and demons and an array of terrifying monsters. It’s been incredible to see it through to the end.

But that wasn’t always in the cards. The first book in the series didn’t really grab me until at least halfway through, and the series definitely got better with every installation. Which I think says a lot about my approach to books. I don’t need that instant hook from page on, and I’ll often read on for ages before I can properly decide if I like something or not. Sure, sometime I might get burned and finish a book only to realize, “Meh, this wasn’t all that,” but on the flip side I end up finding things like this.

And this is great. Corban’s adventures, from a young smith’s son to a… well, I won’t reveal too much, but he grows a lot. As does everyone. Kings fall, kingdoms burn, heroes rise, prophecies come to pass and by the end everything is turned on it’s head twice over. It has that Game of Thronesy feel to it, with much plotting and scheming, and you’re left wondering what is what. It’s amazing.

Gwynne’s writing style took a little time to get used to – you can read my reviews for Book 1, Book 2, and Book 3, and I think I mentioned more than once that he has a way of composing sentences that makes it sound a bit strange before you get used to it.

I’d say his strongest suit is the action scenes. The sword fights and the big battles. Sometimes that stuff can get boring, and I tend to skim past it to get to the real story that comes after, but not here. Here I loved it. Almost as much as I loved Maquin.

If you’re looking for your next favorite fantasy series, with tons of actions, intrigue, mystery, and heroism, look no further than The Faithful and The Fallen, by John Gwynne.

Highly recommended!

Rating: 5 out of 5.