Holly Lisle's Blog, page 60

Completed revision of The Owner’s Tale today – Next big step to getting back to Moon & Sun

This is the first revision I’ve ever done that didn’t even require the fixing of a typo on the first twenty-four pages, and had only the addition of a hyphen on page twenty-five.

This is the lightest revision of a first draft I have ever done.

And it’s making me a little crazy that I don’t know why. 

I love the way this story came out. Made myself cry twice reading the print-out at things I wrote when I was so deep into the story I don’t remember writing them, and that took me by surprise.

This is the ending that I wanted for the entire Longviewseries, and from my perspective, I got it in the first draft, with some very minor revisions, not a single added scene, not a single added page.

This is writing in a whole different place for me, and I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been writing to find this ending for so long — for years — or because I’ve made some sort of breakthrough in my writing…

… Or because I’ve lost my objectivity toward my work. That last one will get tested after I get my type-in finished and put this story in front of Matt.

But type-in will be fast. Will probably be done in a couple hours tomorrow, and that’s just with me being extra finicky and paranoid because I’ve NEVER had a first draft that looked this clean when I was done with it.

I am my own toughest critic. I am deeply suspicious first-draft pages that pass through my brutal revision process without coming out the other end battle-scarred by massive changes.

Still — it DID come through, and as far as I can tell, I was being as brutal as usual.

So what comes next?

Short-term,when I get Matt’s edit back:

I’ll do my editor’s revision. I’ll request bug-hunters and will do the typesetting from the bugs they find.Will put the story on sale in single episode version.And will then go through and put together the six-story bundle, because The Owner’s Taleends the Longviewseries.

I figure that along with writing lessons for How to Write a Novel, writing the parts of my Demo Novel (Dead Man’s Party), anddoing the Alone in a Room with Invisible People podcast, that will keep me pretty busy through Christmas.

Once I have the complete Longviewseries available, however, my next step is to reread the first two novels in the Moon & Sun series and get the series voice back in my head, and find the various toys I left on the floor in the first two books. Pick those up, figure out how I want to use them in the final book in the series.

By New Year’s day, 2019, I want to be in a position to start writing The Emerald Sun.I’ll be plotting that out concurrently with writing the first draft of Dead Man’s Party.

And then might find myself writing two novels simultaneously for a couple months. Not optimal, but not the first time I’ve done this, either.

I would like to finish The Emerald Sunand the Moon & Sun series next year — writing, revision, editing, and publication. And get all three books back into print with new covers. Folks have waited way to long to find out how that story ends. As have I.

It’s time to get back to the kids, the cat, and the mystery of the Moonroads, and what went wrong, and how to make it right.

Just finished the first draft of The Owner’s Tale — Moon & Sun 3 on deck.

So. Just now the first draft of The Owners Tale, the LAST episode in Tales from the Longview.

Wrote the final thousand-ish words this morning and part of this afternoon, and for now, at least, I like the ending.

I’ve printed off the manuscript (in 12 point Courier, double-spaced and with large margins, of course) where it will sit on my desk for at least one week to cool off.

I like a lot of stuff when it’s still hot that I can see problems with once it’s cooled off.

After it’s cooled for at least a week, I’ll go in, do a read through and a revision, and then hand off to Matt, who will do my content edit. I want to wow him. He already figured out a part of how it will end (he’s just that good). 

But he doesn’t yet know why. That is where I want to really bring this home.

This is a story I’ve been working towards for a long time, through a lot of books. This is the story I’ve pulled from dark corners and bad spots in my own life, from the lives of family, from the lives of other people who have not always had things easy. It’s not personal, not any sort of roman á clef. 

But through the fiction of the characters, I did manage to hit some things I’ve never been able to work into fiction before.

So here’s the process once I get through the revision.

I hand off to Matt.

Matt points out all the places where I got it wrong, where I missed what I was going for, where I failed to give the characters the proper respect.

I go in and to an editor’s revision.

I ask for a few folks to bug hunt THAT version.

I make corrections from the bug hunt.

I publish the final episode.

And then I start into Moon & Sun 3: The Emerald Sun.

Yep. FINALLY.

I’m not going to rush through writing the final book in the series. In the episode of Alone in a Room with Invisible People that Rebecca and I taped yesterday (Episode 13: Plotting VS. Pantsing, which will go live TOMORROW — Tuesday, Oct. 16th) I talk a little bit about why. 

I remembered to mention:

Currently writing my How to Write a Novel class demo novel, Dead Man’s Party
Whiles also writing the first draft of the How to Write a Novel class
Brainstorming and doing the weekly podcast with Rebecca
Doing the other stuff that has to fit in with these major activities, like spending time with my guys, answering emails, paying bills, talking with folks on the forums, and doing the still-less-frequent-than-I’d-hoped blog posts

But the biggest thing about getting back to the series is this:

I haven’t read the first two books in years, and I have to step back into that world. I’m a visceral writing. I write from inside my characters, doing my best to become them while I’m writing.

So I have reacquaint myself with the nuances of these folks, both good and bad. Walk through the concept map I drew for Book 3. Remember how to step back inside those characters, and become again the girl at the end of childhood who has had the weight of her world land on her shoulders, and who, with a brother she sometimes fights with, friends who aren’t as reliable as one would hope, and a cat who’s lying through his teeth about who he really is, has to save her people from destruction.

If she doesn’t do it, no one will.

I’m hoping to be able to announce the start of the novel around or shortly after Christmas of this year.

I expect that I’ll need about a year to write and revise it. I cannot GUARANTEE that’s what I’ll need, because I’m not just doing one book these days. I’m doing a book, classes, forums, and other things that are possible with the Internet.

Life was simpler in the days of just print publishers and just answering snail mail letters from fans a few times a year.

But cooking on a wood stove and dumping a honey-bucket in the midden downriver from your house were simpler, too. Been there, done that.

Simpler is not always better. Vive la Internet!

Poisoned Apple: After the Love Is Gone

I loved Apple computers for a long time.

Frankly, I still love the two I have: A late 2013 iMac, and an even older MacBook Pro.

But Apple has definitely been embracing the Dark Side since Steve Jobs died, and its walled garden, along with its pressure to push users into the Apple store and to make getting software from independent developers outside of its store (because in its store, of course, it gets a cut of everything created) is a giant, tedious pain in the ass.

And then there’s the fact that everything it’s doing right now is designed to FORCE people who love its hardware into an “Apple way or the Highway” scenario, which is simply ugly.

Awesome way to get folks to quit loving them is to FORCE them to do things they don’t want to do. And I’ve spent enough time on the “highway” to prefer it to the way things are going.

So here’s the latest ugliness:

Bait and Fix

At the point where I can no longer use my current computers, I have no interest in going to Windows. But Linux remains a possibility, one I’m now investigating..fca_eoi_form{ margin: auto; } .fca_eoi_form p { width: auto; } #fca_eoi_form_251384 input{ max-width: 9999px; }#fca_eoi_form_251384 .fca_eoi_layout_name_field_wrapper {display: none !important;}#fca_eoi_form_251384 .fca_eoi_form_input_element::-webkit-input-placeholder {opacity:0.6;color:#919b83;}#fca_eoi_form_251384 .fca_eoi_form_input_element::-moz-placeholder {opacity:0.6;color:#919b83;}#fca_eoi_form_251384 .fca_eoi_form_input_element:-ms-input-placeholder {opacity:0.6;color:#919b83;}#fca_eoi_form_251384 .fca_eoi_form_input_element:-moz-placeholder {opacity:0.6;color:#919b83;}#fca_eoi_form_251384 .fca_eoi_layout_9.fca_eoi_layout_postbox div.fca_eoi_layout_submit_button_wrapper:hover, #fca_eoi_form_251384 .fca_eoi_layout_9.fca_eoi_layout_postbox div.fca_eoi_layout_submit_button_wrapper input:hover {background-color:#a67035 !important;}
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Live Workshop Today: Coming Up with a Story Idea Big Enough for a Novel

This has to be quick, because I still have to do my OWN worksheets before the show so I can discuss how I got the idea I got. Since I don’t yet HAVE the idea… you see the problem.

Download your worksheets here: https://www.alonewithinvisiblepeople.com/downloads/#youtube1

The workshop is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etaIXTw7BbM

Starts at 1:00 PM, I may open a couple minutes early to test sound and make sure Becca and I have the process for getting questions from the workshop to me organized.

We’ll run for about an hour. Maybe a little longer, but not much, because this is planned to be short, focused, and to help you understand what goes into creating a novel idea. And what doesn’t.

How to login to get your class if you were affected by the Launch Bug

I have launch going on. Not going to talk about it, because that’s not why you’re here.

BUT we had an interesting (in the “may you live in interesting times” curse sense of the word) bug that popped up this morning when so many folks hit the page that they broke a part of the software.

This bug affected everyone who bought with a PayPal subscription. We’ve manually added all those folks to class, and Dan is fixing the software (and making it more robust). 

Everyone who bought the class is now in class, and the folks who are buying the class are being put in manually by Becca and me as fast as we can add them.

HOWEVER (and this is why you ARE getting this email)…

A lot of folks who bought the class are NOT on the launch list. Are not previous students. We had a surprise number of brand new members come in, and I don’t know where they came from. 

But I KNOW they didn’t get their login instructions.

So if you bought the class and did not get your login instructions:

You have the classIt’s in your accountHere’s how you get to it.

Go to https://hollyswritingclasses.com and click the Login button

Add the email and password you created when you bought the class.

If you CAN login, AWESOME. You’ll find your class on the classroom hub page, which is where the login takes you. Look for the green How to Write a Novel button. You’ll find your instructions and a bunch of other stuff in there, including your first lesson. To get past the introduction and sign-up to your lesson, use the Drop Down Lesson Menu on the top left corner of the page.

If you CANNOT log in, breathe. We got this. Your class is waiting for you, and we will get you to it.

Create a help desk ticket here: https://novelwritingschool.com/support/
Titled your ticket PURCHASED: CAN’T LOG IN.
To get you in, we’ll need to do a manual confirmation of your account, and give you a new temporary password, which you can change immediately inside the member area.

For everyone to whom this does not apply, I apologize for the extra email.

I have to know that my folks get what they paid for, and this is the only way I can do that.

Holly

How to Write A Novel: Launch Bug, & how we’re fixing it

A LOT of folks bought in the first hour. Far more than I expected.

Stripe (our credit card processor) held up under the strain.

PayPal single payment processing held up under the strain.

Our PayPal subscriptions option, which got hit the heaviest, broke.

Payments went through, but so many sub setups were hitting at the same time that that the process of adding folks into the classroom went CLUNK.

Dan is fixing this now so that it will go back to being automatic, and making it more robust.

MEANWHILE, Rebecca and I are manually adding all folks with subs into the classroom.

So if you buy via subscription, until Dan gets this fixed, you won’t be starting your first lesson in five minutes, but we’re getting PRETTY close to clearing all the folks who’ve already purchased, and doing this manually, we’ll stick as close to that as we can manage.

And this is what happens during launches. You test everything you can test, and then the thing you CAN’T test — massive traffic — is what hits you on the head with a brick.

S’okay. We’ll get through this.

Exclusive MAJOR upgrade to How to Write a Novel Super Early Bird Bonus

So I’m plugging along trying to get everything set up before the How to Write a Novel Super Early Bird class launch goes live, and Matt comes in.

“Make sure you let them know that folks who already have novels written do not have to wait to finish their class projectto have me edit for them. If they’d like to have me do something for them now, I’ll do one of their existing novels.

“As long as they’re paid in full on the class BEFORE they schedule and know there are no refunds once I’ve received their manuscript, I’m happy to work on whatever they’d like me to work on.”

Like this should have been obvious.

Wasn’t obvious.

And this is going to be a big deal for a few folks.

So I’m sending out an email on this to the folks on the launch list, but there might be some folks who aren’t ON the launch list who would like to get a content edit from Matt for a price I had to double-check on because I wasn’t sure I heard him right.

So here’s the offer. One full novel content edit, $197.

That’s 80% off Matt’s General Member Price.

This offer is only for the folks who buy during theFIRST (Super Early Bird) launch of How to Write a Novel.The offer ends the minute this launch closes. It will NEVER be offered again to any class.The offer is a comprehensive content edit by Matt (who has been my content editor since 1995) of ONE complete novel manuscript revised to the author’s best ability before sending.Maximum word limit 100,000 words. Not a word over, and the price does not scale. No exceptions.When you schedule your edit, you state that you understand that by scheduling your edit and sending your manuscript, you agree that the How to Write a Novel class you purchased (which got you the massive discount) is nonrefundable, and the edit price is nonrefundable.Edits are First Scheduled, First Served, and we only take payments two weeks in advance. There will probably be a waiting list. To be ON the waiting list, you have to have your receipt.

When you schedule your edit, you’ll have to include your receipt (or receipts) as proof of paid-in-full purchase, and you’ll need to include the following statement in your scheduling ticket:

I understand that by scheduling my content edit on my novel for the price of $197, the purchase of the class that gave me this discount becomes nonrefundable, along with the purchase price of the content edit, which is a physical product requiring one week of work by the editor, and I agree to these terms. 

YOUR NAME

As long as you’re good with that, he’ll start work for you as soon as we can get you onto the schedule.

“How to Write A Novel” LIVE class Q&A on YouTube Live tomorrow

At 1:30 PM ET, Thursday. September 6th, I’m going to be taking questions on my upcoming How to Write a Novel class.

If you’d like to download the lesson list and descriptions (35 lessons at the moment), you can do that from https://HowToWriteANovelClass.com

If you want to show up tomorrow to hang out, ask questions, and chat, join me here: 

https://www.youtube.com/user/suspensewriter/live

If folks show up (I’m not presuming), I’ll stick around as long as there are questions (up to two hours).

If not? Well, it’s going to be a very short live broadcast, because I’m just going in to talk to folks.

Upcoming Class: How to Write a Novel: What’s in the Lessons?

I’m going to do a live YouTube chat on Thursday, September 6 at 1:30 PM ET, and will be sending out a reminder email for folks who want to come. I’ll be answering questions about the upcoming class during the chat, and making sure I’ve covered everything folks need to know.

So you’ll know what I’m planning on covering, you can download the PDF I put together about how I’m currently planning to present the class. My planned lessons are subject to possible additions if folks ask questions that I don’t have covered AND that are essential to helping you get your novel written.

Download your PDF of the current Class Lesson Outline

Download Now!
3 Downloads

If you have questions about writing a novel and DON’T see the answer to your question, come to the chat on Thursday and ask there. This is a provisional lesson. I’m not removing any lessons, but I am open to adding a few more if the questions hit something you need to know about novel writing that no one else asked.

Important: This class will cover novel writing.
It will NOT cover revision, marketing, or publishing, which are enormous subjects on their own.

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AIARWIP Episodes 4, 4.5, and 5: Brainstorming (with worksheets) & more

Because of a certain amount of chaos in my daily life right now, I forgot to mention LAST week’s TWO Alone In A Room With Invisible People podcasts.

In the Brainstorming Workshop, Part 1, Becca and I develop idea pieces from scratch (using the free, no-opt-in downloadable worksheets linked from the podcast page).

In the mini episode, we go over the problem writers face as readers, and what you do if, as a writer, you’re not enjoying reading fiction in your genre anymore.

And in THIS week’s podcast — the Brainstorming Workshop, Part 2, — we take Becca’s raw ideas from the first half of the workshop, and do a second brainstorming session in which she takes the material from the worksheets and turns it into a solid story idea that fits in her world and that she wants to write. (You can download the Brainstorming With A Partner hints and rules for this episode without an opt-in, too.)

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div.fca_eoi_layout_submit_button_wrapper,form.fca_eoi_layout_9 div.fca_eoi_layout_submit_button_wrapper{border-bottom:solid 4px transparent;border-radius:5px;padding:0 !important;text-align:center;width:100%;}div.fca_eoi_layout_9 div.fca_eoi_layout_submit_button_wrapper input,form.fca_eoi_layout_9 div.fca_eoi_layout_submit_button_wrapper input{border:0 !important;border-radius:5px;font-weight:bold;margin:0;height:2.8em;padding:0;white-space:normal;width:100%;}#fca_eoi_form_251384 .fca_eoi_layout_9.fca_eoi_layout_postbox { border-color: #ffffff !important; }#fca_eoi_form_251384 .fca_eoi_layout_9.fca_eoi_layout_postbox div.fca_eoi_layout_headline_copy_wrapper div { font-size: 28px !important; }#fca_eoi_form_251384 .fca_eoi_layout_9.fca_eoi_layout_postbox div.fca_eoi_layout_headline_copy_wrapper div { color: #000000 !important; }#fca_eoi_form_251384 .fca_eoi_layout_9.fca_eoi_layout_postbox div.fca_eoi_layout_description_copy_wrapper p, .fca_eoi_layout_9.fca_eoi_layout_postbox div.fca_eoi_layout_description_copy_wrapper div { font-size: 14px !important; }#fca_eoi_form_251384 .fca_eoi_layout_9.fca_eoi_layout_postbox div.fca_eoi_layout_description_copy_wrapper p, .fca_eoi_layout_9.fca_eoi_layout_postbox div.fca_eoi_layout_description_copy_wrapper div { color: #000000 !important; }#fca_eoi_form_251384 .fca_eoi_layout_9.fca_eoi_layout_postbox div.fca_eoi_layout_name_field_wrapper, .fca_eoi_layout_9.fca_eoi_layout_postbox div.fca_eoi_layout_name_field_wrapper input { font-size: 18px !important; }#fca_eoi_form_251384 .fca_eoi_layout_9.fca_eoi_layout_postbox div.fca_eoi_layout_name_field_wrapper, .fca_eoi_layout_9.fca_eoi_layout_postbox div.fca_eoi_layout_name_field_wrapper input { color: #919b83 !important; }#fca_eoi_form_251384 .fca_eoi_layout_9.fca_eoi_layout_postbox div.fca_eoi_layout_name_field_wrapper, .fca_eoi_layout_9.fca_eoi_layout_postbox div.fca_eoi_layout_name_field_wrapper input { background-color: #ffffff !important; }#fca_eoi_form_251384 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div.fca_eoi_layout_submit_button_wrapper input { font-size: 18px !important; }#fca_eoi_form_251384 .fca_eoi_layout_9.fca_eoi_layout_postbox div.fca_eoi_layout_submit_button_wrapper input { color: #ffffff !important; }#fca_eoi_form_251384 .fca_eoi_layout_9.fca_eoi_layout_postbox div.fca_eoi_layout_submit_button_wrapper input { background-color: #fc9211 !important; }#fca_eoi_form_251384 .fca_eoi_layout_9.fca_eoi_layout_postbox div.fca_eoi_layout_submit_button_wrapper { background-color: #aa5336 !important; }#fca_eoi_form_251384 .fca_eoi_layout_9.fca_eoi_layout_postbox div.fca_eoi_layout_privacy_copy_wrapper div { font-size: 14px !important; }#fca_eoi_form_251384 .fca_eoi_layout_9.fca_eoi_layout_postbox div.fca_eoi_layout_privacy_copy_wrapper div { color: #597473 !important; }


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