Allan Krummenacker's Blog, page 23

New Entry On "The Vampyre Blogs--Private Edition"

I changed the name of my vampyre blog, because the name would be exactly the same as the book's title.  I wanted to keep the two similar but not identical.  Some people might get confused, so I decided to add the words "Private Edition" which is actually appropriate.  Since none of the entries appearing on that blog will be showing up in the actual novel, it seemed appropriate.

Readers just wind up getting a bit of free background info on the characters, as well as scenes that can be considered free short-stories.  

I've already decided that since that blog has already had over 400 views in the month and a half that it was put up, I will continue to keep it going even after the novel comes out in December of this year.  I find I enjoy doing these little shorts about my vampyre and the people who's lives touch his.

I also plan on doing more novels with him, if the first one does well.  

So in the meantime, come see what's been happening at his dance club "The Crypt".  There's always something going on down there, be it big or small.  The doors are open, and you're invited...

http://thevampyreblogs.blogspot.com/2014/02/nathaniels-blog-january-7th-20-night-at.html

My Newest Creation: "The Vampyre Blogs--Private Edition"

I run a couple of blogs where I've discussed aspects of writing, promoted my novels, and done some book reviews.

But currently, I started two mirror-blogs. These are blogs that are identical it's just one is under Wordpress, the other is under Blogger. Some people prefer one format over the other, so I made both.

However, those identical blogs are actually an experiment I'm conducting to help build an audience for my first vampire novel coming out in December of this year. The book's title is "The Vampyre Blogs", and I'm doing the entire story in the style of Bram Stoker's "Dracula". "Dracula" was entirely made up of journal, diary, and letter entries from different characters that told the story when in the right sequence.

I'm attempting to do the same thing with my novel, but using Blog and E-journal entries. I'm using this method so I can tell the story in the first-person, but from multiple points of view.

As for the two blogs, I'm doing entries by characters and my vampire which will NOT be appearing in the novel. Instead, these will give some insight into the characters themselves and some background information that may only be touched on briefly in the book.

I am one of those readers who always wanted more insight into some of the characters in books, and I thought here was a great way of giving my future readers that info, as well as wetting their appetites for the book itself when it comes out.

So if anyone would like to start meeting these people and getting to know some of their personalities, here's your chance. Leave comments here or at the whichever incarnation of the blog you check out.

There are only 8 entries so far under each, so there's not a lot to wade through. I try to do at least 3-4 entries a month, with various characters including my vampyre. He's an interesting fellow. I hope you all may give him a chance and the other characters a chance.

Here are the links:

Wordpress: http://thevampyreblogs.wordpress.com/

or

Blogger: http://thevampyreblogs.blogspot.com/

"Flare"

The word "Flare" has many meanings such as style, finesse, a signaling device, but for the last two days it's had a different meaning for me.  Those, like myself, who suffer from Fibromyalgia know it to mean an exacerbation of symptoms.  
There is a serious rise in pain and sensitivity levels.  My aches go way beyond the norm.  Even the simplest tasks can set off a pain reaction.  While picking up a cup of tea, I feel my hand ache in ways it shouldn't.  But I'll be damned if I let  the pain get in my way, I NEED my morning tea.  But it's usually one of the earliest signals that tells me I may be in for a bad time.
Fatigue is another major issue.  I feel wrung out and exhausted even after a good night's sleep.  One would think I'd just completed a marathon instead of just having done a few simple chores around the house.  For the rest of the day I not good for much else.  I feel weak and unsteady.  My hand will tremble with the effort of just picking up an object.  
Clumsiness and inability to judge distance or proximity is another issue.  As I leave a room I can clearly see the doorway.  Yet somehow, some way, my shoulder will still manage to hit door, or the doorway itself as I pass through.  Or I will misjudge a table or other object in the room or lying on the floor and trip over it.  Some days it feels like I am trying to navigate a minefield and I'm stepping on every hidden trap.  I've been known to trip over my own feet quite often during these episodes.
My head does not feel well either.  It feels stuffed with cotton or wool.  I do not mean in the sense of when you have a cold and your head feels all stuffed up.  No, this is different.  It is difficult to think clearly.  The simplest tasks I've done a million times before, I have to sometimes stop and think about how to do.  My flow of creativity becomes a trickle.  Not that I have the energy to actually work on any creative projects.
I am in "Flare" now.  I've been able to accomplish very little today.  But I do not seek pity, only understanding.  Fibromyalgia is one of the many "Invisible Illnesses".  It is with me every day of my life, but to others I look very healthy.  They cannot see the pain I contend with every day.  Most days the levels are very low, and I can overlook or ignore them for the most part.  Other days, I'm more aware of it and just try to watch myself.  But then there are the times like today when all I can do is be gentle and patient with myself because there's not much else I can do. 
Going into "Flare" can be frustrating, especially on those occasions when I had plans to be with family or friends, but must bow out or change what we do at the last minute.  Those who know me best and are aware of my condition are more than understanding.  However, employers, co-workers or strangers are not as understanding.  The world can be vicious without really meaning to be to those with invisible conditions.  Perhaps more patience and empathy is something we all need to have because we don't know what battles or sufferings other people are going through.  Especially when we can't see those struggles because they are invisible to us.
How long this particular "Flare" will last, I have no idea.  It may be just today and I will be much better on the morrow.  Or it may decide to stick around for a week or two, possibly a month.  I pray not, because there are things I need and want to get done.  I do not like being tired, sore, clumsy and fuzzy-brained.   But if it does last longer than a couple of days I will be kind and forgiving to myself.  For it will pass, it always does.  
I will call it quits here, because I'm feeling very tired just from thinking and typing up this entry.  Yeah, some days it's that bad., and today is one of them.     

New Entry Over On "The Vampyre Blogs". Nathaniel Through His Godson's Eyes...

Just put up a new entry over on my Wordpress version of "The Vampyre Blogs".  Today, I have my vampire's godson talking about him.  I thought it might be nice for all of you to see Nathaniel, through the eyes of someone who's known him for years.  Nathaniel's been in a kind of dark mood on his entries, but he's not always like that.    He's rather a fun fellow, just kind of shy.So why not come over and see a different side of the man who's walked this earth for over a 150 years.http://thevampyreblogs.blogspot.com/2014/02/brians-e-journal-january-7th-20.html

My Review of John Wyndham's "The Midwich Cuckoos" aka "The Village of the Damned"

  MY RATING:  5  STARS OUT OF 5I was very excited to finally get my hands on a copy of this book after seeing the 1960 movie "Village of the Damned" that was made based upon it. My wait was not in vain. While the movie followed the storyline and even small details very faithfully, actually reading the story was much more fulfilling.I can understand the changing of the title, since not many are all that familiar with cuckoos aside from cuckoo clocks. In real life, cuckoo birds are rather parasitic in their behavior. A mother cuckoo will lay her egg in the nest of another bird (who is not a cuckoo) and leave it among the other eggs already there, and take off. The cuckoo's egg will usually be similar in size and coloring so the foster-mother will not notice the additional egg and will care for it. Unfortunately, the cuckoo egg will hatch way before the other eggs, producing a very demanding chick who will constantly want to be fed and cared for. While the foster mother is away, the chick will evict other eggs or even other chicks when they finally hatch. The cuckoo chick will run the mother ragged to satisfy its own needs. Yes, nature can be cruel and even ugly sometimes.In this novel, Mr. Wyndham applies this same principle to humans. In the village of Midwich the "Dayout' occurs. The entire village falls unconscious for hours only to awaken confused and uneasy. Soon it is learned that every girl and woman of child-bearing age is pregnant. The stigma of unmarried mothers as well as the accusations of infidelity runs rampant. The women are on put on spot for quite a while unable to defend themselves.Mr. Wyndham questions a number of society's expectations of women and moral behavior within this book which I personally liked. At another point in the story one of the lead male characters talks about women he went to school with. He laments that there were young ladies who were extremely intelligent and had great future prospects, who wound up marrying and losing their chance to fully explore their full potential.Eventually, the story raises other questions after the 'children' are born.  Namely the demands of motherhood, such as breast-feeding. In one scene a woman begins to breast-feed her newborn 'child' in public (remember this book came out in 1957, and there's still a lot of arguments about breast-feeding in public today). The woman feels humiliated but explains angrily that she cannot help herself. The child demands it. Soon other strange compulsions arise from the other children born as a result of the Dayout.Nature vs nurture comes into question as well. The 'Children' do not demonstrate affection or much feelings, except when threatened or angered. They have no problem being housed together away from their families when the chance arises. No matter how much kindness or affection has been given them, there is no affection offered in return.Before long it becomes apparent these children are much more than human and they soon make it clear their long term goal is to supplant all normal humans in time. Plus they have the psychic powers to do it, which they demonstrate more and more. Even to the point of planes flying far overhead, suddenly dropping out of the sky. The pilots do not necessarily eject either folks. This is a blatant warning to those in authority not to try attacking from a distance or from above.The book is a fascinating read and raises a lot of interesting questions. It is a classic and thoroughly worth reading. I highly recommend it.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5284559-allan-krummenacker">View all my reviews

New Entry Over On "The Vampyre Blogs"

There's a new entry over on the "The Vampyre Blogs".

Nathaniel is back and sharing a letter he received from his father.  Come on over and take a look.  This is one time when you're encouraged to take a  look at someone else's mail.

http://thevampyreblogs.blogspot.com/2014/02/nathaniels-blog-letter-from-my-father.html

2nd Drafts, How I Handle Them...

As of today I'm already a third of the way through the 2nd draft of "The Ship".  Progress has been good and I've been pleased with how things are going.  There will probably be a 3rd draft as well.  What happens after that?  Well, that's a tale for another entry.
Today I wish to discuss how I deal with a 2nd drafts.  I handle 3rd and 4th drafts the same way, so don't expect any blog entries on those.  It's the same process all over again to try catch whatever I missed on the previous draft.  
Like many authors, I've been learning a lot of things on my own.  There's no exact set of rules for how to do  write and create a book, though many people have tried to explain it.  Every author is going to handle things differently, whether its how they create a story (with an outline, flying by the seat of your pants, etc.) to editing, proofreading, whatever.  Different things work for different people.
In my case how I handle dealing with 2nd drafts is pretty straightforward.  After I complete the first draft on my computer and save it.  I will then save it again using the "Save As" function and labeling it differently.  In this case "The Ship 2nd Draft".  From there I will begin going over the entire story, page by page.  I already know what the current word count is (139,806 in this case).  I know this is one of the things I want to change about the book.  I also want to keep track of the pacing of the story, as well as watch out for ideas or concepts being repeated unnecessarily.
I proceed to go over the story line by line.  As I go along I try to keep an eye out for excess verbage such as "he/she said" because it's usually pretty easy to tell who was speaking.  Another thing I watch out for are sentences beginning with "now" or "but".  Sometimes I'll use them unnecessarily, and also, if used too often they can be a little jarring to the eyes of the reader. 
Another thing I'll be looking for as I go along is how well I phrased certain ideas.  Does it read smoothly or is there something not quite right.  I may rewrite a paragraph or line and make it more easy to understand and pleasing to the eye.
As I mentioned earlier, I'll also be keeping an eye out for plot points or ideas being repeated in two or more areas of the novel.  I don't know about you, but I spend weeks or even months writing a novel.  So I sometimes I forget what I wrote a few weeks back and wind up repeating myself later in the story.  This happened a lot in my first novel "The Bridge".  However, I seem to have gotten better about it, because I haven't been finding that happening as often in "The Ship".  
Finally, one other thing I'll do as I go along is see if every scene, or even characters, are really relevant to the story.  I have removed characters, or even entire scenes, more than once from my stories.  I'll do this because either the character or subplot is not really needed, or they feel really out of place and don't belong in this particular story.  
I've also removed lengthy scenes and simplified them because I plan on using the much longer version as the basis for a follow up short story, or another novel entirely.  Certain references that appear in "The Ship" will be expanded upon in a collection of short stories I'm planning on doing down the road.
So that's an overview of how I handle 2nd, 3rd and 4th drafts.  All of these things help to cut down the word count as well as allow me to tighten the story up and improve the overall piece.  Mind you, I still plan on getting the book edited by others.  I'm just particular about getting the entire story down and told in a certain way before I let anyone else even get a glimpse of it.  
As I said at the beginning, how I handle drafts and rewrites may not be the same as other people.  What's your way of dealing with 2nd drafts and rewrites?  Enquiring writing minds would like to know, so please share your thoughts in the comments section below, this way we can all benefit and learn from each other.  
Until next time, take care and keep writing.

Got A New Post Over On "The Vampyre Blogs"...

Just did a new post on "The Vampyre Blogs".  Today I introduced another of the main characters.  Why don't you come on over and meet Marisa...

http://thevampyreblogs.blogspot.com/2014/01/marisas-musings-october-5th-2007.html

First Draft Completed, Next Up Proofreading and Starting the Second Draft...

Yesterday I finished the 1st draft of my second novel "The Ship".  The word count came in at 139, 345.  A bit high I admit, but a damn sight better than what my first novel "The Bridge" came in at.  That sucker wound up in 195,000 words.  Man did that puppy need some serious editing and rewriting.  I finally got it down to 102,000 words before I finally released it.  Yeah, I practically took a chainsaw to that sucker. 
So what's my next step?  
First up is PROOFREADING!  I've been lucky enough to have a trusted beta-reader who has been checking my spelling, punctuation, etc. the entire time that I've been writing "The Ship".  I kept all the corrected pages she sent back and am going through them and making the corrections already.   So far, 166 of the 525 pages have been fixed on that front.  It's been going pretty fast, but she told me a while back that she was finding a lot fewer mistakes in my writing this time around and that my style had matured.  I was very glad to hear this.  I have been trying very hard to do a better job this time around, so it's good to hear my efforts are showing.  
After the proofreading, I intend to start a second draft.  How will this be different than the proofreading? Simple, once the grammatical errors are fixed I can re-read the story myself and start looking for unnecessary repetition of ideas/concepts, simplifying concepts, expanding on thoughts where it might help the reader, eliminating scenes or characters who do not really make a serious impact on the plot, etc.
When I write a first draft, it's simply to get the entire story told.  Only then can I go back and look at it from a reader's perspective and see if it's all making sense.  I'll also study the pacing, the details, are the characters actions logical and  if not is there a reason, etc.  Automatically, a lot of the repairs and adjustments I make will start cutting down the word count.  
After I've completed the 2nd draft, I may unleash it on a few 'trustworthy' beta-readers to get their impressions.and feedback.  From there a 3rd draft will be made incorporating some, but not necessarily all, their ideas. Why won't I use all of it, because I'm already plotting the next story in the series.  Some of what they talk about, might be things needed to help set the stage for the next book.  They will have no idea of this, but I do and I'm not sharing that info just yet.  I don't want to spoil the next book in the series for them.
As you can see, finishing a first draft is a huge accomplishment, but the work is just beginning.  There's so much more to be done, before I release the book in its final form to the public.  There is a lot to think about in creating your novel.  NEVER publish your first draft and say "It's perfect as it is!"  You will regret it.  Take the time to go over it and have others add their input.  But choose those editors, beta-readers, and proofreaders carefully.  You could wind up with a bunch of "Yes-Men" who offer only praise and no solid advice.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have more proofreading to do.  Until next time... keep writing.

Over On My "Vampyre Blogs" Nathaniel Speaks...

New entry on "THE VAMPYRE BLOGS", Nathaniel discusses what happened after he completed his last blog entry and went for a walk....

http://thevampyreblogs.blogspot.com/2014/01/nathaniels-blog-january-4th-20.html