I Love It When A Plan Comes Together...

I have completed another pass at "Dabblers" and I like the result. The story became more complex, but that's okay. Stefanie also became more complex and more likable to me, another good result. Next, I may  have to indulge in an exercise I think of as outlining in reverse While some writers do a complete outline of the story before they start writing, my outlines -- if any -- come somewhere in the middle. The main goal of this exercise is to determine if I have covered all the points I wanted to cover and that each chapter moves the story forward, supplying a critical piece of knowledge or some action. As Arline Chase puts it, in each chapter, something must happen which changes everything forever. In my rather disorganized approach to writing, where I go forwards and backwards at the same time, I can lose track of the form and function aspects. But no worries. All things are fixable.

With "Game Faces" now out of my hands, I must also think about promotion. As soon as I receive the final files from Shelley at Write Words, I can construct a Facebook page for "Game Faces," do blog design changes, and update my Google website. I'm beginning to think the rash of FB "likes" for "Two Faces, Two Faced" is a result of the FB ad I created for it. If that is so, I can only hope that "likes" translate into sales.

Put It To Bed...

Just sent the documents for "Game Faces," (corrections, blurb, bio) to editor at Write Words. Novel #4 is complete! With an August 1 release date, I'll have to jump into promotion pretty soon, too.

Back to juggling two other novels at the same time. It seems that whenever I do some work on "Dabblers," I suddenly get inspired with ideas for "Faces 3" and vice versa. I think "Dabblers" will be completed sooner, though, as I still don't know how the other one ends.

I have rediscovered the value of proofreading from print instead of the computer screen. Repetition of words seems to jump out more on a printed page. Given my edit-as-I-go approach to writing, it becomes too easy to replace a single sentence and not notice it creates repetition of something nearby. For example, by working off paper, I noticed I used the word "retorted" twice on a single page, and the phrase "a bit more" twice on a page. Those are the kinds of things that are harder to spot on the screen. While I certainly hate to kill a bunch of trees, doing so might save a whole lot of time.

On another note, my Facebook page for "Two Faces, Two Faced" is up to 77 Likes! I am both amazed and humbled.

Dabblers Progressing

Now that I've started the rewrite of "Dabblers," the ideas have been developing further. Since the story is told from Stefanie's point of view in first person, I am following some advice I once received from a literary agent. The story should flow as if Stefanie were telling it to her best friend. I've considered this hint and refined it (correctly, I hope). I'm telling Stefanie's story as though she is telling it to someone who does not know anything about her at the outset, unlike a best friend who would know some of her history. This includes providing flashbacks to earlier events which have meaning and/or bearing on the current story. It's proving to be a tricky exercise because I want to reveal enough of the background stuff to provide motivation for Stefanie's actions and decisions. Her past experiences play a very important role in this. But I don't want to reveal too much all at once, because Stefanie is also learning about the peculiar talents she has been blessed with.

The rewrite may prove challenging enough that it will require a fair number of readings to make sure I get it right. It might be necessary to take a break from it after a complete first pass.

Then it's back to "Faces 3". Even as I work on "Dabblers," I find myself thinking about Tracy's latest adventure, and each time I follow a thread about it, the story becomes more clearly developed. At the moment, I'm working out the actual part certain tertiary characters play. Then there will be the big climactic scene which I don't have a single idea about at present. But it will come. It always does.

Where to Find the Time

I am trying a slightly different approached to proofing galley for "Game Faces." I printed off the PDF file and my initial list of corrections from the first pass. Now I'll mark those corrections on the print copy and start reading it again on paper. This has some advantages. First, I don't have to keep switching back and forth between the correction file and the PDF file to see if I noted something or not. Second, since the correction file must note page (of the novel, not the PDF), paragraph, and line number, this might be easier to do instead of trying to keep count while scrolling on the computer screen. Third, for some reason, some errors are just easier to see on paper than on a screen. I don't know why this is, but I prove it to myself over and over again. One more modification to my earlier proofing method is to give it a rest for a couple of days between readings. I get way too close to the material and stop seeing what's on the page.

Faces 3 is heading for another stall. I have a scene in mind coming up, but then I don't know where it's going except in the vaguest sort of way.

This being the case, I will probably do some more work on the rewrite of "Dabblers." I've been through the first chapter already, and I now like my character better that she's less of a victim. Instead, she has her peculiar talent that she chooses to hide from everyone, including her soul-mate husband. She dislikes being "special" or different and longs to fit in, just as she did in the earlier version, but I've tweaked the premise enough so that once she feels she must embrace that talent to solve her uncle's murder, she begins to morph into a different kind of person. As others around her see her begin to change, it causes -- guess what -- conflict! Oddly enough, when I concluded the novel the first time, I had envisioned a sequel to it, but with the rewrite, Stefanie is even better suited to that sequel.

Eagerly awaiting second quarter payroll from Write Words. While I'd certainly like to see a larger check, I also want to get some idea of what effect various promotion efforts are having. We shall see.

Game Faces -- Coming August 1

Yesterday, I downloaded the galley for "Game Faces," sequel to "Two Faces, Two Faced." Cover looks awesome! I am in the process of proofing and writing up list of corrections. I've almost completed a first reading.

I'm also updating various websites to reflect the scheduled release date. Maybe this time, I'll have another go at sending out press releases. I did not get much response when I tried that route for "The Dreamer Gambit," but in most cases, it's free.

Of course, this breaks up writing of the third in the series. Still not sure what the title will be. And there's the rewrite of "Dabblers" which is bubbling under the surface, waiting to come out. Maybe I need to take a week of vacation from my day job and really lean on the writing.

I am also considering a major change to this blog once the new book comes out. Rather than have all the different links listed on the lefthand side, I might just add a link to my Google site. That website has a separate page for each novel with room for lots more detail about it, as well as links. Just an idea I'm toying with.

Updates and Miscellaneous Notes

First, a big THANK YOU to all those who have "liked" my Facebook pages in recent days. "Two Faces, Two Faced" is up to 27 Likes. This is great! "The Changeling Kill" comes in next at 9, and "The Dreamer Gambit" comes in last at 2. Really, having lots of likes is quite helpful as it improves chances of my books showing up in searches. I can always use as much advertising as I can, and free is always better.

Got past a stuck place in the newest "Faces" novel, although another still looms ahead. I need to figure out how Tracy is going to ultimately get herself out of her jam. And of course that begs the question of how each of the characters comes out of it too. My ideas in this area are still very sketchy.

Also, ideas for the rewrite of "Dabblers" are coming on strong. A new opening is in my head:

I fall backwards slowly into eternal darkness. Above, a point of light grows ever smaller. It becomes a mere pinhole through velvety black just before I am enveloped in cold. It closes all around me until I cannot breathe, cannot hear, cannot see. But my mind remains active, conscious, reaching out beyond the physical senses to find knowledge, truth, answers...

The flash of dream-memory-fantasy came to me in an instant, and then I returned to the real world, sitting in the car in front of Uncle Hank's old house. The mid-twentieth-century brick ranch had not changed at all since I last saw it more than twenty-five years ago. Nothing about its exterior suggested its last occupant had died in a freak act of nature, struck down by lightning, but the occurrence of the falling vision announced that all was not as it should be in Windsong Lake and I would once again travel the dark road it foretold.

I swallowed hard in a dry throat and hoped my sense of trepidation did not show.

That's sort of a rough draft of the opening. I'm getting very eager to work on this one as the manuscript has been sitting around in its earlier form for some time, and I think it has merit.

Maybe when I get to the next stuck place in "Faces 3" . . .

Still waiting for galleys on "Game Faces."

From Adversity, My Darker Side, Dabblers Re-envisioned

Entered one of my books in a contest (and paid for the privilege). Results came out today--I didn't even make the first cut, i.e., the screening process. Bummer. BIIIIG bummer. I started thinking about it and decided that perhaps the book did not seem to fit within the category in which it was entered. It always struck me as a sort of genre-bender anyway.

So in a black sort of mood, I went out to do some errands, and on my MP3 collection, "Lady In Black" by Uriah Heep played. For some reason, all the elements combined and, voila!, Stefanie from "Dabblers" got a make-over. I had noted in a previous post that I stopped work on "Dabblers" when I realized I found her too weak, too needy. That meshed with the idea of my contest entry not clearly fitting into a specific genre. My dark mood morphed into Stefanie's personna. While the original premise of a woman with unique talents trying to hide and deny them getting into a situation where she must embrace them still stands, some fresh ideas were born out of my sudden inspiration. One, she doesn't deny them but tries to hide them and control them because she still wants to fit in and enjoy normalcy. But instead of being frightened, nervous, and lost, the character will react in a far different way. I also had some ideas about important elements of the story, certain events, and how they transpire. I'll be thinking about all this more in days to come.

But I am also in the middle of Book 3 in the "Faces" series. I got past the first "stuck place" and have formulated some events that will move things forward. Still need a vision for the dramatic climax though. I may be interleaving this one with a bit of work on "Dabblers." Two books at once? We shall see...

Someone I know bought and is reading "The Changeling Kill," and I warned her before she started that there was a scene that might prove shocking. Well, she reached it, and shock her I did. Let us just say there was an abrupt need to do some laundry. (If that makes anyone curious, read it and find out.)