Two Years in the Making
It's finally ready to go. I even have a launch date. That's exciting stuff, right there. But the journey is just getting started. And, if you believe the old adage that the journey is what matters, I've had an amazing one so far and am looking forward to the future. It's been two years since I began Afflicted Dawn, and in that time, I've underwent personal revisions just like my novel.
I started writing Afflicted Dawn early in 2012 because I had this wild idea for a game. I wanted to create that game but didn't possess the skills and knowledge required to program and produce anything of that magnitude. Well, I knew that I enjoyed writing, though I never considered myself a true writer. Plus, the game would need some sort of lore or background information to make it more appealing. The solution? Write a story in the universe of the game. It was such a simple idea. I had written several stories in the past, so I felt confident I could further flesh out the world I'd envisioned for a 3D gaming environment. Little did I know at the time that I just changed my life.
I wrote a few chapters. Then, a few more. The characters started coming to life. I was entrenched in the writing process. When the word count grew to over ten-thousand, the story became the longest I'd ever written. And I didn't want to stop. The story demanded more of me, and I wanted to see where it would go. So... I wrote more. There were few occasions where I hit a slow spell or took a break. I may have even stopped altogether, but my wife urged me on. I had no intention of disappointing her. Along the way, new ideas for other stories popped into my mind. I wanted to explore those ideas, invest in new stories. I was going to move on from Afflicted Dawn before it had the chance to even be finished. Yeah, you guessed it. My wife kept me on track toward completion. And finally, after countless hours of time spent in front of the keyboard, Afflicted Dawn (the first draft, at least) was finished in December 2012 at just around 75,000 words.
I was amazed at myself. My wife was so proud. The feeling of not only writing a story of that length but also finishing it was nothing short of exhilarating. And do you know what I had forgotten about? The game. The origin of my story. And I was okay with that because I learned something in those many months. I wanted to be a writer. An author. A storyteller.
Until I reread what I had written.
Wow. The whole thing was rubbish at best. The dialogue was stiff, the actions too controlled, the narrative confusing and boring. Talk about disappointment. But I was determined to make it better. I asked a friend (an English teacher) to help me with editing. She obliged and toiled away at my manuscript. Meanwhile, I set myself on path to learning the craft from the experts. I read many books on the matter. My favorite among them was "On Writing" by Stephen King. The words spoke to me as if King was talking to me directly. I practiced writing. I learned what I could and honed it to be my own technique. From what I was told, I had gotten better. Then came the edited draft.
I read the manuscript, noted the edits, and began the process. Not even through chapter three, I made a decision. This story was good, but my telling it was not. No amount of edits could shape it into what I desired. So there was only one logical conclusion (at least, in my mind). I had to rewrite the whole thing. One word at a time. From scratch.
And I did.
The process took several more months. The changes were so dramatic, it was an all new story. I loved the change in the plot, the richer characters, the deeper motivations, and most importantly, the way the story was told. But, as with any "brand new" work, it still needed editing. My next process began. I bought more books and learned how to self-edit. Another months-long endeavor. Many more changes to the story later, I arrived at a draft that I was proud of. I reread it and loved it. But there were bits here and there that I wanted to change. So I polished it. Reread. Polished again. Reread. Polished a third time.
At this point, I asked other people to read my story. They were my beta-readers. Each person provided great insight and helped me reach the next level. My wife gave it one more once-over as did a friend and colleague, citing some minor errors here and there. I fixed those. I gave it one final reread and polish. And that's when I gave up on it.
Gave up on it? Well, from what I've come to learn, a work is never truly finished, it's simply given up on. That's sort of a quote derived from Leonardo da Vinci in regards to his painting. The same applies to the written word.
I've been told it's a great story, and that's exciting. But beyond the story, through this process, I've learned many skills, gained a lot of knowledge, and found new friends. But, most importantly, this process showed me that I want to make a career of this. And that's my next step. Turning this simple idea into a grand life change and a career. The journey ahead of me is still long, but I've got my mind set to it, and if history is of any value, I've got my wife, who simply will not let me stop until it's achieved.
If you want to see some of my work and learn more about me, you can visit my website at www.Gregory-Napier.com. From there, you can purchase Afflicted Dawn. Be sure to let me know what you think! You can always contact me via Twitter at @GregoryNapier.
I started writing Afflicted Dawn early in 2012 because I had this wild idea for a game. I wanted to create that game but didn't possess the skills and knowledge required to program and produce anything of that magnitude. Well, I knew that I enjoyed writing, though I never considered myself a true writer. Plus, the game would need some sort of lore or background information to make it more appealing. The solution? Write a story in the universe of the game. It was such a simple idea. I had written several stories in the past, so I felt confident I could further flesh out the world I'd envisioned for a 3D gaming environment. Little did I know at the time that I just changed my life.
I wrote a few chapters. Then, a few more. The characters started coming to life. I was entrenched in the writing process. When the word count grew to over ten-thousand, the story became the longest I'd ever written. And I didn't want to stop. The story demanded more of me, and I wanted to see where it would go. So... I wrote more. There were few occasions where I hit a slow spell or took a break. I may have even stopped altogether, but my wife urged me on. I had no intention of disappointing her. Along the way, new ideas for other stories popped into my mind. I wanted to explore those ideas, invest in new stories. I was going to move on from Afflicted Dawn before it had the chance to even be finished. Yeah, you guessed it. My wife kept me on track toward completion. And finally, after countless hours of time spent in front of the keyboard, Afflicted Dawn (the first draft, at least) was finished in December 2012 at just around 75,000 words.
I was amazed at myself. My wife was so proud. The feeling of not only writing a story of that length but also finishing it was nothing short of exhilarating. And do you know what I had forgotten about? The game. The origin of my story. And I was okay with that because I learned something in those many months. I wanted to be a writer. An author. A storyteller.
Until I reread what I had written.
Wow. The whole thing was rubbish at best. The dialogue was stiff, the actions too controlled, the narrative confusing and boring. Talk about disappointment. But I was determined to make it better. I asked a friend (an English teacher) to help me with editing. She obliged and toiled away at my manuscript. Meanwhile, I set myself on path to learning the craft from the experts. I read many books on the matter. My favorite among them was "On Writing" by Stephen King. The words spoke to me as if King was talking to me directly. I practiced writing. I learned what I could and honed it to be my own technique. From what I was told, I had gotten better. Then came the edited draft.
I read the manuscript, noted the edits, and began the process. Not even through chapter three, I made a decision. This story was good, but my telling it was not. No amount of edits could shape it into what I desired. So there was only one logical conclusion (at least, in my mind). I had to rewrite the whole thing. One word at a time. From scratch.
And I did.
The process took several more months. The changes were so dramatic, it was an all new story. I loved the change in the plot, the richer characters, the deeper motivations, and most importantly, the way the story was told. But, as with any "brand new" work, it still needed editing. My next process began. I bought more books and learned how to self-edit. Another months-long endeavor. Many more changes to the story later, I arrived at a draft that I was proud of. I reread it and loved it. But there were bits here and there that I wanted to change. So I polished it. Reread. Polished again. Reread. Polished a third time.
At this point, I asked other people to read my story. They were my beta-readers. Each person provided great insight and helped me reach the next level. My wife gave it one more once-over as did a friend and colleague, citing some minor errors here and there. I fixed those. I gave it one final reread and polish. And that's when I gave up on it.
Gave up on it? Well, from what I've come to learn, a work is never truly finished, it's simply given up on. That's sort of a quote derived from Leonardo da Vinci in regards to his painting. The same applies to the written word.
I've been told it's a great story, and that's exciting. But beyond the story, through this process, I've learned many skills, gained a lot of knowledge, and found new friends. But, most importantly, this process showed me that I want to make a career of this. And that's my next step. Turning this simple idea into a grand life change and a career. The journey ahead of me is still long, but I've got my mind set to it, and if history is of any value, I've got my wife, who simply will not let me stop until it's achieved.
If you want to see some of my work and learn more about me, you can visit my website at www.Gregory-Napier.com. From there, you can purchase Afflicted Dawn. Be sure to let me know what you think! You can always contact me via Twitter at @GregoryNapier.
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