R. Jackson-Lawrence's Blog, page 10

A Knight off

I realised something today.  I am approximately 40k words into book two (Darkest Before Dawn) and every chapter has been one difficult experience for my characters after another.  Really, not one of them have had anything good happen, it's all conflict and strife and heartache.  What I also know is that things are only going to get worse for them as the story goes on, which seems typical of my writing. 

I'm sure that says a lot about me, probably things that I don't want to know!

I promise, my next book will be about unicorns and rainbows and puppies all singing and dancing and having fun together.  Or maybe not.

Anyway, after this revelation, I decided to do something about, and that something was writing my characters a night off!  They get to have a few drinks, talk about anything but their problems and hopefully even get to have a good time.  I hope they enjoy tonight, because tomorrow is going to be hell....

Third review

Another good day at the computer and another 5 star review on amazon so that gave me a buzz.  I also think that createspace has sorted the cover format problems so I've ordered another proof to arrive next week.  All in all, a really good day.

I'm starting to feel the pressure now with people wanting the next book.  I don't want to rush it, and in all honesty I don't know how long it will turn out to be, I just know roughly what happens to everyone at this point in the story.  I guess it'll be done when it's done so that's that.  If anyone is really desperate, I could always let them have the first couple of chapters to tide them over!

Really hope the good reviews turn into sales.....

Proof copy

Had the proof copy of my paperback come today, bit of an anti-climax!  Opened the box and the cover has been distorted by the printing process so it all looks out of focus.  I spoke to the printer and they are going to sort it.  Hopefully in the next few days I will get to see what my brain tells me it should look like.  I only hope the content inside lives up to the awesome cover!

Cracking on with chapter 5 again today and it really seems like Ben and his friends can't catch a break.  Maybe they need a holiday, I'll see if I can work it into the narrative somehow.

Blue October

Another good day at the keyboard, 1800 words done on chapter five today and I'm happy with almost all of them!  Ben and his friends do keep making some foolish decisions, but I suppose that's where the drama lies.  It also helps that I know where the story is going, and as they say about hindsight, its always 20/20.  Anyway, if they were to hide at home under the bedclothes and wait for life to get better, I can't promise the narrative would be half as interesting.

It might make an interesting side project though - make a compelling story about a 15 year old boy hiding under his bedclothes, trying to avoid any sort of interesting things that might be happening in the outside world.  If there are any readers of this blog out there, send me your first drafts by Friday....

And keep it clean, please!

Listened to some Blue October today whilst waiting to pick my daughter up from school.  Another awesome band, give them a listen if you haven't heard of them - check out Hate Me, it's one of my favourite tracks ever.

That's all for today, I'll be back at the keyboard though bright and early tomorrow morning!

The power of Hobnobs!

Managed to eat a whole pack of Hobnobs today whilst working on chapter five, and to make it worse I'm a dunker!  You can't beat soggy biscuit crumbs on a computer keyboard to make you feel like you've done a hard days work....

Unlike the other chapters, chapter five starts with the equivalent of a newspaper article instead of the usual snippet from Bens Journal.  Something terrible has happened that the city leader have deemed worthy enough to put into print for everyone to know about.  What strikes Ben most of all though is that the article is clearly written in English!

I know where Ben is and how he got there, but I'm not sure if I want Ben to work it out.  Well, not yet a least, there's still so many clues and snippets to leave him to try and suss it out for himself.  If anyone has read the book and wants to know where he is, just comment or send me a message via my website, you can tell me what you think of the answer!

P.S.  It's not a dream or the future or anything like that, it's a little obscure but I hope it will make sense in the end.

Finished chapter 4

I have finally finished chapter 4 of the second book in the Benjamin Knight series - Darkest Before Dawn.  I don't know why, but I seem to have been ages on this chapter.  At least now I know where the next four chapters go and how the characters get there.  There are some very exciting bits coming up, the scenes I really enjoy writing!  Anyway, book two now stands at 35,000 words so lets hope I don't decide to bin it all and start again.
Lamb cooking for dinner, the smell is making it really hard to concentrate.  I think I'll leave any more writing until tomorrow!

Nothing can stop me now 'cause I just don't care anymore!

A motto to live by?

Just picked my step-son up from his Saturday club and was sat outside in the car listening to Nine Inch Nails - what an amazing band!

Managed some more writing today, one section left to finish in chapter 4 and then I need to decide what happens next.

The way I write, I have a general overview of the story and I know the arcs for the principal characters, but a lot of the finer detail I work out when I get to a particular scene.  Chapter five will have 8 or 9 separate 'scenes' and I will plan them all out when I have finished chapter four, knowing where people are and where they need to get to for the next part of the story.  I've managed to write my way into a few holes that way, but then there's the fun on resolving it, which can add a whole new and unexpected layer to a story.

Was hoping to go play airsoft tomorrow but I checked the bank and 'computer said no' so I'll see if it looks any better next weekend.  At least I have Dr Who to watch later - I am so looking forward to rose coming back in November!

A reasonable Friday

Not done as much writing today as yesterday but I hope it's still quality.  Been playing around and changed the look of my blog and posted a link to my book at the top - please let me know if it offends anybody!  Also realised that the money I spent on a press release was probably a waste of time, several sites I came across today mention that they hardly get read anymore. 
Live and learn I guess.
So far not much I have done has made any difference to sales, the sales figures are totally static!  I am going to go for a three day freebie event next month, hopefully people will read and enjoy the book then and look forward to book two.
Look out for paperback copies from createspace too - I registered there today as well.  They just need to review the file I sent before I can order a paperback copy to evaluate.  Really can't wait to actually hold a copy of my book in my hands though, I'm sure I've dreamt about it more than once.

Wives are great aren't they!

Another day finished at the computer and managed to get another section of chapter four finished.  Today I need to say a big thank you to my wife to be.  We sat in Starbucks and had a coffee and she let me talk through a plot point that was bugging me.  In the end she helped me realise how two characters were connected and how their arcs will intersect in book three.  It should make for a much better resolution for both characters and a much more interesting plot point for the reader.  For those who have read book one, one of the characters is Victor, who returns for a much more prominent role in book three and I now know so much more about his back story.

Curry and Justified now for the rest of the evening and I'll be back at the computer tomorrow!

End of the day

So its two days since the press release went out and apart from some out of office replies from the BBC there has been no other contact. I guess it's hard to compete with north Korea and Margaret Thatcher. I know a lot of people didn't like her but she had to make some tough decisions during her time and she had the conviction to stand by them. I can't think of any politicians today who I could say that about.
Taking the mother-in-law into Lincoln tomorrow to get a bus pass and then crack on with more writing! Yeah, that deserves an exclamation point!