Kim Harrison's Blog, page 134

lettered pages

And at long last, after almost a year of talking about it, I've got a lettered page for the Hollows Graphic Novel for you to look at.  I picked this one to show you because it has the marvelous colors of the coming sunset that I've been enjoying.  There isn't a lot of action in this page because it's the first of a new chapter, and just like my regular prose, I usually take a bit of extra time to set the scene.  When writing, it's about four paragraphs after an initial bit of dialog.  With a graphic novel, it seems to be an extra large panel.  I'm sure it will evolve, as everything does.  Enjoy!

Had a great idea Saturday

I really like my weekends.  The two days of pushed back from my desk give me the proper time I need to reflect on what I've been doing the last five days.  And as is wont to happen, I had a great idea Saturday that has kept me thinking all weekend.  I've got just the last 100 pages on my rewrite, which should fill up the rest of my week nicely, but now I'm going to have to work a bit harder to stay within my personal deadline to fit the new stuff in.

Sliding a new character in at last moment is tricky, but it comes with its own joys as I discover things about said character as Rachel does.  It's how I build characters, unlike some authors who write everything down and build a character before they ever reach the page.  Both ways work, and both ways have their own perks and downfalls.  With my on-the-fly method, I have to be a lot more flexible when I'm writing, especially this close to the end.

My new guy is fitting in really well, but he's going to take a lot of work before I'm happy that he's evolving in the right way.   Today should be fun as I go back and tweak him before moving on to the new chapter I realized I need to write.

Had a great idea Saturday

I really like my weekends.  The two days of pushed back from my desk give me the proper time I need to reflect on what I've been doing the last five days.  And as is wont to happen, I had a great idea Saturday that has kept me thinking all weekend.  I've got just the last 100 pages on my rewrite, which should fill up the rest of my week nicely, but now I'm going to have to work a bit harder to stay within my personal deadline to fit the new stuff in.

Sliding a new character in at last moment is tricky, but it comes with its own joys as I discover things about said character as Rachel does.  It's how I build characters, unlike some authors who write everything down and build a character before they ever reach the page.  Both ways work, and both ways have their own perks and downfalls.  With my on-the-fly method, I have to be a lot more flexible when I'm writing, especially this close to the end.

My new guy is fitting in really well, but he's going to take a lot of work before I'm happy that he's evolving in the right way.   Today should be fun as I go back and tweak him before moving on to the new chapter I realized I need to write.

Friday!

I've got nothing going on in the house today except writing, and that means it's going to be a GOOD day.  ;-)

So, I'm working yesterday turning my dialog of the previous day into text, and it's going along pretty well.  If I can get to page 400, I will be right in line with my original goal of finishing the rough draft by the end of October, but of course, now that I see I can probably make it, I want to push it a little.  Get done before the end of October so I can plan out the next book a little before NaNoWrMo starts.  The wiser part of me is looking at the 150 pages left to go and is laughing at the determined two-year-old in me, contrary, willful, and needing a nap.  -laugh-  I've learned to listen to the wiser five-year-old, so I'll just keep at the pace I am so I don't miss anything vital on this rewrite.  Sacrificing quality for speed isn't the point right now. That's what rough drafts are for.

Okay, quick lesson for you writers out there about pacing.  I had a sentence I was working with yesterday that I gave some thought to.  One of the things you do when you rewrite is to get rid of redundant words, but sometimes, the wordier way is better for pacing. Example:

This is the beginning of a paragraph where Rachel is feeling a little stressed out, a little vulnerable.  There is no action in the entire chapter, but there's a lot going on in Rachel's mind.

Original sentence:  There was a hint of concern in his voice.  It went to my gut and twisted.

In my zeal to tighten, I changed it to: The hint of concern in his voice went to my gut and twisted.

Not a lot of difference, but when I got done changing it, I realized that I'd sacrificed pace for brevity.  When the action gets faster, sentences should get shorter.  I do this a lot in fight scenes.  It gives the reader a sense of urgency that translates to faster reading and a closer connection to the work.  It's harder to see why it works in a scene with no physical action, but THIS was where something is happening to Rachel.  She is figuring out that this man is starting to care for her, and that scares her.  With the two shorter sentences, the reader knows subconsciously that this is important without me adding "It scared me.  I didn't want him to care."  With the longer sentence, more relaxed and less stressful, it might get lost.  (Which I might want to do if I wanted Rachel to be ignorant for a while longer, but in this case, she needs to deal with it now.)  Two short sentences stand out, and the reader feels urgency, and makes the connection of fear without me saying so.

A small thing, sure, and most readers might just skip over it with no difference, but writing is full of small things that add up to big changes, and the more subtle your shifts, the more natural it feels to the reader and the more believable it is.  So next time you're editing for brevity, stop and see what the pacing is like, and maybe keep those two choppy sentences for effect.

How does the sentence(s) read now?  "There was a hint of concern in his voice.  My gut twisted."    Short, quick, and very worrisome.  ;-)

Thursday push

Just as I thought, I pushed back from my desk yesterday with very little to show for it but a handful of dialog and a fuzzy idea of what's going on in this next chapter.  It should go faster today, and then I can get back into some action.  Admittedly, I lost a couple of hours looking for a series of drama box posts I made in 08 that don't exist anywhere, either on my machine or the internet archive.  sigh  It would have made someone's job a lot easier, but at least I have the pictures.

Today is Thing Two's last race of the year as well, and since my "boss" is going to be nice and let me go see it, I'll have to work extra diligently this morning to try to make up for it.   Balance, balance.  I feel a headache coming on.  Must get some chocolate.  -laugh-

Thursday push

Just as I thought, I pushed back from my desk yesterday with very little to show for it but a handful of dialog and a fuzzy idea of what's going on in this next chapter.  It should go faster today, and then I can get back into some action.  Admittedly, I lost a couple of hours looking for a series of drama box posts I made in 08 that don't exist anywhere, either on my machine or the internet archive.  sigh  It would have made someone's job a lot easier, but at least I have the pictures.

Today is Thing Two's last race of the year as well, and since my "boss" is going to be nice and let me go see it, I'll have to work extra diligently this morning to try to make up for it.   Balance, balance.  I feel a headache coming on.  Must get some chocolate.  -laugh-

Progress

Made good progress on the rewrite for book ten yesterday, chunked through almost a hundred pages of action, action, action, but today I'll be lucky to get through twenty, now that I'm in the reflect and repair stage.  -grin-

Reflection is good, and woke up this morning with the thought that I need to go back to the last little bit I worked on yesterday and add a few things that Rachel would be questioning at the time.  If I were doing rough draft, I'd just make a few notes in the margins and push on, but since it's a rewrite, I'll be slogging it in.  ;-)

So far, so good . . .

Good to have a goal

I have a goal.  I want the rewrite for the next Hollows book done in time that I can NaNo with you guys this November again.  I had fun last year.  It's a very do-able goal, but it won't leave me much time to enjoy the last few hours of sun outside this month.  It's cold outside, anyway, so I'm content.

I pushed through a hard pair of chapters yesterday.  It took me an unreal three days for 45 pages, but I'm happy, or mostly happy.  I will be peaking at it this morning and taking something out that will be pushed deeper into the manuscript.  Too much is going on in it, and I have to reduce to keep the pace moving.  That was the big issue in this chapter.  Pacing.

I had three introductions and a first look-see at several sections of the church.  I like to have no more than one "important" introduction and two scene descriptions in a chapter, (the original scene, and then one shift) but will fudge it all the time if I can keep the pace fast or the dialog interesting.  Everything was important in this chapter, and I tried something I'd seldom do.  It worked really well.  I had Rachel walk out of the room, and when she came back, it was obvious that greetings had been exchanged.  It was an important introduction, but the reader didn't have to see it.  What the reader saw was the comfortable ease in the room when Rachel came back, and that was far more important than "Hi, I'm Ivy."

Still learning . . .  ;-)

Good to have a goal

I have a goal.  I want the rewrite for the next Hollows book done in time that I can NaNo with you guys this November again.  I had fun last year.  It's a very do-able goal, but it won't leave me much time to enjoy the last few hours of sun outside this month.  It's cold outside, anyway, so I'm content.

I pushed through a hard pair of chapters yesterday.  It took me an unreal three days for 45 pages, but I'm happy, or mostly happy.  I will be peaking at it this morning and taking something out that will be pushed deeper into the manuscript.  Too much is going on in it, and I have to reduce to keep the pace moving.  That was the big issue in this chapter.  Pacing.

I had three introductions and a first look-see at several sections of the church.  I like to have no more than one "important" introduction and two scene descriptions in a chapter, (the original scene, and then one shift) but will fudge it all the time if I can keep the pace fast or the dialog interesting.  Everything was important in this chapter, and I tried something I'd seldom do.  It worked really well.  I had Rachel walk out of the room, and when she came back, it was obvious that greetings had been exchanged.  It was an important introduction, but the reader didn't have to see it.  What the reader saw was the comfortable ease in the room when Rachel came back, and that was far more important than "Hi, I'm Ivy."

Still learning . . .  ;-)

Halloween Costume Contest Open!

My lawn is yellow and orange, and the smell of wood smoke is in the air.  But even more telling is the stash of ten candy bags stuffed in the back of a closet, treats hiding from me until the big day of ghosts, goblins, and witches.  Halloween is fast approaching, and my annual costume contest is now officially open!  The first new pictures will go up tomorrow, but please follow the link to the website for a list of the rules, how to enter, and a glimpse of last years winners.  This year, every category winner will receive a signed Advanced Reader Copy of PALE DEMON.   (Yay!)  So gear up, take a picture, FOLLOW THE SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS, and have a great Halloween!

HalloweenCostumeContest2010