I.H. Laking's Blog, page 5

Once More Into the Breach, Dear Friends

So now it’s two years and three prologues.

Today I made my first foray into the final novel in the Empire series, writing the prologue I had been mulling over for the past week.

With the second novel now in its beta form, I’ve decided that it’s best to press on and get this story completed. Each of the novels in this series has had a different feel to it, and the third book is likely to be the most complex that I’ve written, as I have to pull together myriad plot threads in order to have everything make sense.

In that vein, I’m focussing on getting each story arc well-planned, so that I can easily move between plot points without getting myself tied up in knots. This first draft is going to be challenging, so wish me luck!

And a final thought: 2015 has been a great year in my writing career. I’ve finished two novels, and seen the popularity of my Inspector Ambrose books grow. I want to thank all of you so much for your support, it’s the only way I can keep on writing the way that I am. All going according to plan, these novels will see the light of day next year.

And that’s exciting!

Edits, Edits, and More Edits.

One down, six to go!

I’ve finished the first edit of my manuscript as of Sunday, and it’s a fantastic feeling! Going through a manuscript with fresh eyes is important, especially for finding slow points, or areas that need more clarity. I’ve ended up with about eight pages of notes, and plenty to do.

One thing that I enjoyed about this edit was revisiting a few sections that I had written quite a while back, and seeing how far I’ve come in the past year. One of the sections was actually the first thing I wrote about the Empire ever! It was a great experience, and now I can get back to smoothing out the rough edges of my text.

In the meantime, I’ve also done some plot work for the third book in this series – primarily because I need to make sure I’m not giving too much away before everything comes together at the end. The challenge with writing complex plots is making sure they don’t confuse people, whilst still being compelling. That’s the balance I’m working on.

My last thought: I’ve heard it said that until you finish a book, you can’t say what it’s truly about. This has been true of both my novels so far – you can’t force a narrative to go somewhere unnatural. I’ll talk more about themes at a later date, but for now it’s back on the editing wagon.

Hello… it’s me.

Well, it’s been a rough few weeks, but I’m back in the writing game.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve found my writing ebbs and flows; there are times when everything comes naturally, and I feel strong and certain. Other times, I just doubt myself, and dilly-dally around achieving nothing at all. Since completing my second novel manuscript, I’ve taken a bit of time off, and have now battled against the monster that is Metal Gear Solid V long enough to get my head back in the right (write?) space.

The most exciting news, is that I’ve entered the Australian Society of Authors (ASA) Emerging Writers’ Mentorship Program (mental note: too many capitals). It was pretty nerve-wracking putting in my writing sample, and I’m hopeful of a good result. Either way, it’s been good to get involved, and I finally got a writing CV gussied up.

So while I wait to hear back from the ASA, I’m starting work using my new editing process for my second manuscript, to at least get it up to a readable standard. I’ve got plenty of work to do, so wish me luck. :)

And thanks for your continuing support, everyone. It means a lot to me.

Novel Writing 10: The End is the Beginning.

That’s a wrap!

This is the spot where I finished my second novel's first draft. Thanks @Library_Vic for the great #AmWriting space! pic.twitter.com/5kQWyWIpHK

— I H Laking (@IHLaking) November 2, 2015

I officially downed writing tools at 4:30pm yesterday, in the rather picturesque Reading Room at the State Library of Victoria, where I’ve written a sizeable chunk of my second novel manuscript.

But even though I’ve now wrapped up the first draft, it really does feel like a beginning, rather than an end. One thing I’ve learnt in my journey as a writer is not to kick back when you think something’s good enough; there’s more work to do!

The major work I’ll be focusing on in the coming weeks will be checking the plot consistency between my first and second manuscripts. I know there’ll be plenty of retrospective changes to my first manuscript as a result of where the plot is heading now.

From the outset, I always planned to write a trilogy to tell this story, and that’s what I’ll have soon enough. I’ve got some rough notes for the third novel, but I want to keep these fairly loose as I start work of tightening up my original manuscript – things may need to move significantly!

And so that’s it. Two books down, one to go. I’ve recently found a song that sums up where I’m at in my writing journey. “Remain” by Mutemath also perfectly sums up the tone I’ll be going for in the final novel of this series. To quote the song:

Just keep trying,

Just keep fighting,

Just keep going,

Just keep surviving.

Just keep walking,

Just keep breathing,

Just keep going,

Just keep believing.

I will.

Novel Writing 9: Endgame.

“And so we enter… endgame.”

It’s all coming down the wire now, and I’m finding myself heading into the final few chapters of my novel with a sense of excitement – which is a good thing!

I’ve found that exciting writing is similar to exciting reading. In the same sense that I just can’t put a good book down, I find that when I hit the climatic point of a story, I’m so engaged that I find it hard to stop writing. It’s a great feeling, and I hope that same sense of urgency and intrigue comes through when people read my work.

Endgame is upon me, and I’m still left with a number of story issues to resolve. I also know I’ll have a lot of editing to do come the end of this story; not on my second novel, but on my first. so I’m looking forward to reaching the conclusion to this story over the weekend (hopefully).

I took to Twitter yesterday with a key question about one of my characters as well…

The next two sentences in my novel will determine if a major character lives or dies. What should I do?
#amwriting

— I H Laking (@IHLaking) October 28, 2015

Based on this poll, I made my decision; but it’s not what you’d expect! Thanks so everyone who engages with me on Twitter, and for your ongoing support as well.

Now it’s back to endgame. Wish me luck!

Novel Writing 8: the Second Novel Rolls On

It’s been a long time coming!

My last post related to novel writing was almost two months ago now. At that stage, I was plunging into the first draft of my second novel. So, what’s happened in these past 60 days?

Well, quite a lot! I attended the Melbourne Writers Festival, took part in a Writers Victoria publishing intensive, and generally got to know more about my local writing community. I’ve really enjoyed getting out there and connecting with other writers, and it’s been a really massive time of learning for me.

In the midst of this, I’ve still been plugging away at my second novel. I’m now almost 60K words in, and am nearing the end! I’ve had a really up and down time with this manuscript, but it’s exciting to get to some sections I’ve been looking forward to writing for quite some time.

If you want to get more regular updates on where I’m at/what I’m writing, remember to follow me on my most active channel: Twitter! I’m always keen to connect with readers and writers, so stop by and say hi!

Now back to the manuscript! :)

How Many Drafts Must a Writer Draft?

Ian:

Love this!

Originally posted on BREVITY's Nonfiction Blog:

I’m pretty sure you’re supposed to be writing right now.

How many drafts must a writer draft

Before you call it a book?

How many times must you read the text

Before your editor looks?

Yes, how many times should it be revised

To get a reader hooked?

The answer my friend is seven.

**

Last week I was invited to speak to Wrimo India, a group of participants in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) who formed their own writing support group on Facebook and also do in-person meet-ups to write, talk writing, and write some more.

We met at a coffee shop in Mumbai and live-streamed the chat through Periscope so non-local writers could join in and ask questions. One of the best questions, though, was after the camera was turned off:

How many drafts do I need to write before hiring an editor?

First, let’s deconstruct. Not everybody…

View original 1,257 more words

Three reasons why you should connect with your local writing community.

Before you read any further, I want to be clear: no one paid me to write this! It’s simply a reflection on the past year in my writing life.

You see, my Writers Victoria membership has just come up for renewal. When I first joined it was because I was submitting my manuscript for assessment. I didn’t know what I was getting myself into, but as it turns out, connecting with my local writing community is one of the best things I’ve done as a writer. So here are three reasons why you should get involved with your local writing community.

1. No Writer is an Island: It takes a community to get a book published. You certainly can do everything by yourself – from drafting to editing, cover design to marketing, but why would you? By networking with writers through your local writing society or writing group, you can access quality editors, publishers, and mentors. Not only that, but you can get to know what’s coming up in a community that’s bigger than any one author

2. You get access to opportunities: Whether it’s a course on publishing, or a session on writing for a specific audience, there are many opportunities that are available to you once you choose to be part of a community. Many are free of charge, or only cost a nominal fee. When you attend these events, you also have a chance to network – and you never know when networking will come in handy.

3. It keeps things real: Once you start writing, it can be easy to either get demotivated, or even lose perspective as to where your work is at in terms of quality. The great news is that there are dozens of people out there who would love to chat about the challenges of being a writer, and even share a few insights into their journey. The flow-on effect of meeting other writers is that it grounds you: you’re not just some Twitter handle that pumps out ads for your book, or an anonymous eBook author struggling to make it; you’re another writer in the great history of literature around the world. Your struggles aren’t new, so why not share the burden with others?

Here in Australia, there are writing communities in every state, as well as the national Society of Authors. The joining fee for each community is nominal considering what you get in terms of services, support, and opportunities. I think connecting with your local writing community is a no-brainer, wherever you are in the world. As our friend Shia LeBouf would put it:

Back to the Start.

Sometimes it’s helpful to go back to where it all began.

Today, I found myself back in the place where I started writing. It wasn’t a physical location, though: it was the first location in the Empire that I ever wrote about: the capital city of Traville.

It’s a strange feeling writing about Traville again because I haven’t written about it for about a year now – such has been the process of writing my first novel. Now, midway through the second novel (no spoilers), I find myself describing the city again; walking through its laneways, and getting to know the special place I created when I first started out.

Now that I’m back in Traville, I’m seeing the benefits of the early pieces I wrote. One of the things I’d recommend to anyone who’s thinking about writing a novel is to start with short stories first: they allow you to learn and grow in your writing style, whilst getting experience in story crafting. In my case, the Inspector Ambrose stories I wrote also enabled me to save time as I wrote my first novel – I’d done the background work that I could build on.

Over the next week, I’ll be writing a bunch of scenes in Traville before my story rolls on. Someone emailed me recently saying that they think Traville is like a character; it grows, it breathes, it has secrets. I think there’s some real truth in that.

And I’m enjoying walking the streets of the Empire once more.

Writers Victoria Publishing Intensive: Insights into the Publishing Process

A publisher, a literary agent, an ePublishing guru, and a media expert walk into a room.

No, seriously. All these people walked into a room at The Wheeler Centre this weekend for the Writers Victoria Publishing Intensive. If you’re looking for some quick insights into the publishing process, here are some of the key things I learned over the past days:

The Publisher – Donna Ward

Donna is the Publisher at Inkerman & Blunt, and had plenty of great advice regarding when and where to go with traditional publishing. As a group, we shared where we were currently at with our manuscripts, and then Donna provided some thoughts on potential publishers, and the layout of the industry.

Key point: Publishing is a partnership. If your book gets published traditionally, the publisher’s marketing department will schedule several weeks of promotion, and they’ll expect you to be a partner in getting your book out there. Interviews, festival appearances, and media pieces will be part of the gig. We’re all in this together, after all.

The Agent – Jacinta Di Mase

Jacinta has spent over 20 years in the publishing world, and this shone through in her colourful session. Before the course, Jacinta invited us to send in a synopsis for review. The wonderful thing I discovered was that my view of a synopsis (a straight telling of my manuscript’s storyline) was very different from what Jacinta was after. This led to an excellent insight around what she was looking for in a synopsis:

The manuscript title.
A strapline (25 words that say what’s at the heart of your manuscript).
A short synopsis – top line details only. The synopsis needs to quickly convey why the agent should read on. Make it hard to say no!
A short bio saying why you’re the the best person to tell this story. Make this bio specific to the manuscript you’re submitting.

We also did an exercise to pull out interconnected themes between our manuscripts. It looked a little something like this:

Dozens of manuscript themes in post-it form at the @Writers_Vic Publishing Intensive. Great session, @Jacinta_DiMase! pic.twitter.com/LRaohw069k

— I H Laking (@IHLaking) September 26, 2015

Key point: Find your cornerstone moment. You need to hook the agent or publisher into your submission, and the easiest way to do that is to find your cornerstone moment. When did everything change for you? For me, things changed when I was listening to a piece of music, and I started to piece together years of travelling experience into a story that I had to tell. Your cornerstone is your angle – the thing that makes you stick out, and hooks the reader in.

The ePublishing Guru – Euan Mitchell

Euan has loads of experience in ePublishing, and while I’ve been in the self-publishing game for some time now, I still got plenty out of his session. It was helpful to hear about the Small Press Network, which has a lot of options for publishing if you’re having trouble with larger publishers.

It was fantastic to hear from someone else who’s been in self-publishing for a while, and it’s one of those things where you don’t realise how far you’ve come until you’re chatting with others at the start of the self-publishing journey.

Key Point: Consider your options. There are lots of options in the modern world for people looking to break into the literary scene. Euan recommended being careful with your digital rights, since digital royalties are so lucrative. This thought alone was worth the price of admission!

The Media Expert – Erina Reddan

Erina was superb. With her wealth of experience in media and public relations, her session was one of the rare times when you feel you’re in the hands of someone who knows media backwards – and it made for a highly engaging experience. Erina took us through the process of creating a pitch – looking for the angle, the background, and the catchy quote that will make for a great story. There was a lot of workshopping, which I personally found invaluable.

Key Point: You need to MAP your points. Break down any interview into maps – Making a point, Anchoring it with concrete details, then letting people know your Perspective. You need to think through what you’re saying or you may not get your message across when you’re being interviewed.

In summary:

I’m so glad that I went to the publishing intensive. The industry experts provided excellent insights into different parts of the publishing industry, but the bottom line is this: it’s hard to get published, and you need to take your fate as a writer into your own hands. Dream big, don’t get discouraged, and find a way through the publishing machine. Find the people who can support you on your journey, and don’t be precious about your work – there are a lot of great authors out there.

Above all, you need to stay humble on the publishing journey. People in the publishing industry are looking for great material, you just have to find a way to make it impossible for them to say no.

Now it’s time for me to take my next step in the publishing journey. Wish me luck!