Matthew S. Rotundo's Blog, page 7

Progress Report, in which hope is expressed

So here it is 2015, and—surprise!—I’m not ready to start Petra Rising yet.

What do you mean, you’re not surprised?

OK, fine.  Neither am I.

I have my inciting incident figured out, at least.  So that’s something.  But it’s not quite enough, not for a story with as many moving parts as this one has.

A few more weeks of Dream Time, then.  Maybe a month.  Then, words will roll.

I hope.

Hey, it’s a new year.  I can be hopeful, can’t I?

No updates for Write Club.

Forward.

Current Music: "Ghost Rider"--Rush

Progress Report, in which I make a prediction about my ending

Still in Dream Time on Petra Rising.  The opening is coming into clearer focus, thank goodness, but I’m doubtful that I’ll be able to start drafting when the calendar flips.  I might need a few more weeks.

It’s occurred to me that in this third volume, I’m feeling a bit of (self-imposed) pressure to stick the landing.  And that strikes me as more than a little hilarious, given that maybe three people in the world have read both of the previous two novels.

Yeah, would hate to let the three of you down.

But as is usual in this phase of what passes for my process, I really have no idea how the thing will end, anyway.  It’s a pretty good bet that some things will blow up, as is my wont.  Beyond that, though, you know as much as I do.

No updates for Write Club.

Brace yourselves:  2015 is coming right at us.

Current Music: "I Am a River"--Foo Fighters

Holiday Cheer, 2014 Edition

Joe and I would like to wish you the happiest of holidays.

Enjoy!

Current Music: "Lonesome Christmas"--Joe Bonamassa

Progress Report, in which I reveal what even a pantser needs to know beforehand

It seems that the note-making on Petra Rising has led me down a bit of a research rabbit hole.  This is both good and bad news.  Good news, because it’s stuff I’ll need to know to write this thing, and will (one hopes) give me some better sense of where it’s going.  Bad news, because . . . well, there are less than two weeks left in the year, and I wanted to start drafting at the beginning of January, and as of yet I don’t even know where to begin the story.

Kind of important to have an opening in mind, I think, even for a pantser like me.

So.  Yeah.  I should probably work on that.

No updates for Write Club.

Headlong into the holidays . . .

Current Music: "Fight the Good Fight"--Triumph

Progress Report, in which I discuss encouragement (and quote Fitzgerald)

Dream time—AKA making notes for Petra Rising—continues apace.  As I felt a bit overwhelmed with choices, I decided to start small, picking up the thread of a single, self-contained subplot from the previous volume.  And, well.  That seemed to work, encouraging me to take on bigger things.  Now I’m busy tackling my main protagonist’s storyline, and ideas are flowing.

See, this is why you shouldn’t encourage me.

Anyway, lots to do yet before I can start drafting.

Write Club update:  Tier two bounce from Fantastic.  Response time, 53 days.  And, you know, that’s somewhat less than encouraging.

So we beat on, boats against the current. . . .

Or something like that.

Laterz.

Current Music: "Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)"--Motley Crue

Progress Report, in which I get in touch with my inner child

Done with my read-through of Petra Released, preparatory to drafting the third volume in the series.  Lots of good stuff in there, I thought.  Rereading it made me pretty happy.  I have a fondness for stories about grand, star-spanning civilizations, and that’s just what I’ve written.  It’s the kid in me, I guess.

Now I have to figure out where to go from here.  As usual, my problem is having too many choices.  Lots of dangling threads, and they could lead in many different directions.  Choices must be made.

I also have some tricky structural issues to resolve.  For example, some of my characters are currently moving at relativistic speeds, which is going to play merry hell with my timeline.  I had originally seen this as a three-book arc, with the option to add further volumes—separate arcs—that would take place either before or after the current action.  But there’s a chance this might be a four-book sequence, something I hadn’t considered a possibility until very recently.

Must ponder some more.  And must make some more notes, if I’m to have any chance of starting this thing early January.

Write Club update:  Tier one bounce from IGMS.  Response time, 96 days.  Not gonna lie, folks—that one kinda stings.

Anyway, onward.

Current Music: "Relay"--The Who

2014 Pimpage

So it’s awards season again.  If you’re reading for the Nebulas or Hugos, please note that my novella “From Earth I Have Arisen”—which appeared in Alembical 3 (Paper Golem) in May 2014—is eligible.  One reviewer called it “a crackerjack post-apocalyptic action-adventure tale,”  which I thought was quite kind.

If you’d like a copy, hit me up in the comments.

Here endeth the pimpage.

Current Music: "Enjoy the Silence"--Depeche Mode

Progress Report, in which I wonder about George R. R. Martin

Am now officially into dream time on Petra Rising, which basically consists of me scribbling random notes until I feel ready to begin drafting.  But there’s a little wrinkle to the process this time around:  as I’m working on a sequel, I’m going back through the previous volume in the series, Petra Released, and reacquainting myself with it.  This is a little weird, taking notes on my own novel, but undeniably helpful.  My experience writing Petra Released taught me that I’ll forget a lot of important stuff.

Like, for example, a key supporting character.  I’m sitting there rereading my book, and this guy pops up, and my first reaction was, “Who the hell is that?”  Only after he announced his name did I remember him, and then only vaguely.

So, yeah.  I’m relearning a bunch of stuff I once knew.  Occupational hazard with sequels, I guess.  How George R.R. Martin does it, I will never know.

Write Club update:  Tier one bounce from Fireside.  Response time, 42 days.

Back into dream time . . .

Current Music: "Reach Down"--Temple of the Dog

Progress Report, in which I demonstrate my sunny optimism

OK, I’ve decided.  The next novel project has been selected.  It will be (drumroll please) . . .

The Sequel!

Yes, folks, after much deliberation and consideration of sage advice, I’ve decided to write the next book in the Petra series.

I think.

I mean, I’m pretty sure that’s the way I’m going.  I poked a bit at another story idea last week, and much to my surprise, I found some signs of life.  Which is encouraging, but I still think I’m proceeding with the sequel.  Tentative title:  Petra Rising.

So for the next several months, I get to work on something completely unmarketable, unless the first book sells.  Hey, at least that takes some of the pressure off.

That’s me—ever the optimist.

Write Club update:

Tier one bounce from Our World of Horror.  Response time, 136 days.

Onward.

Current Music: "Take Me in Your Arms"--The Doobie Brothers

Progress Report, in which I make a LeBron James reference

OK.  I’m getting a bit annoyed with the lack of a decision on the next novel project.  As are you, I’m sure.  So I’m this close to doing something I promised myself I’d never do again:  I might embark on a sequel.

I’ve done this once before, with Petra Released.  Though I was pleased with the result, I later realized with some chagrin that I had just spent a year working on a novel I couldn’t market unless the original sold.  That struck me as a, shall we say, suboptimal use of my time and energy.  After that, I made a deal with myself—no more sequels until a publisher or editor expressed an interest in the original.

Makes perfect sense, right?  But here’s the thing:  I don’t have anything else firing my imagination at the moment.  (In fact, this was the reason I wrote Petra Released in the first place.)  Maybe the reason that no other stories are popping into my head is that I still have these sequels to do, and they’re taking up the necessary brainspace.  Given a choice between writing something unmarketable and writing nothing at all . . . that’s kind of a no-brainer, isn’t it?

I haven’t committed to the sequel just yet.  I have one more idea I think I’d like to explore a little bit more before I make my choice.

Right, then.  Come next week at this time, The Decision will be announced.  Which, I suppose, is almost but not quite as exciting as that other Decision from a few years ago.

Write Club updates:

Just over two months to a personalized no from an agent on a novel query.

And 31 days to a tier 1 bounce from Uncanny.

‘Til next time, kids . . .

Current Music: "Trapped"--Bruce Springsteen