Shameless Self-Appreciation Thread

[Incanus]

I'm just generally happy that I finally have a nice, big epic fantasy story to work on that I really like, and think might be pretty good if it gets finished.

That's saying something. It took about 40 years to get here. I wish it could have happened a little sooner, but I'll take what I can get.

I'm picky, a perfectionist, and rather hard on myself, so it's something of a minor miracle I've arrived in such a place.

I've reached a point in the project where in previous projects I ended up giving up because I saw too many flaws in the work. But this time, the thing is only getting better and even more fun and exciting to work on.

There's always the chance I fall flat on my face (again). And I wish I wasn't such a slowpoke. But, I think I may be past the some of the worst difficulties.

Still, I like to believe there is almost no stopping me now---

 

[skip.knox]

You don't need to fall flat on your face. Just twist on your way down and take it on the shoulder.
Pro tip #845

 

[pmmg]

I've reached a point in the project where in previous projects I ended up giving up because I saw too many flaws in the work. But this time, the thing is only getting better and even more fun and exciting to work on.

Yay, for getting to the fun part

There is a quote, something like, you cant edit something that's not written. All those things that make you stop can be fixed in the edit.

 

[Incanus]

Yay, for getting to the fun part

There is a quote, something like, you cant edit something that's not written. All those things that make you stop can be fixed in the edit.

On that last point, yes and no.

My failed first novel is, I believe, un-fixable. Or to put it another way, I would need an almost whole new cast of characters, and a different plot. Which to me, is just writing a new novel and not really fixing the old one.

 

[pmmg]

Ah well...i still like my first novel too, but I'm not going back to fix it.

Maybe it will be an undiscovered treasure someday, when I am dead and famous and gone.

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

Since we're being shameless, I can tell you there's always hope. Just finished "Freaksville" after more than a year of restarting it, rewriting it, screaming in horror at the laptop, and giving up on it! It's only 136k, but I'm guessing I wrote over a million words to get to those 136,000! (Oh the pain of being a pantster!)

Cheers, Greg.

 

[Incanus]

Hi,

Since we're being shameless, I can tell you there's always hope. Just finished "Freaksville" after more than a year of restarting it, rewriting it, screaming in horror at the laptop, and giving up on it! It's only 136k, but I'm guessing I wrote over a million words to get to those 136,000! (Oh the pain of being a pantster!)

Cheers, Greg.

Wow--sounds like a hard-won victory. You deserve something a bit more than a pat on the back for all that work. Maybe splurge on some good sushi or something.

 

[Jackarandajam]

This is sort of an adjacent shameless brag:
I've been reading the Aubrey/Maturin series (master & commander) and I've come to this delicious buildup and delivery:

1. Maturin became addicted to the use of coca leaves several books ago and stocks up for sea voyages.
2. At the beginning of this book he's stuck in a room with a brit who hates the Irish. It infuriates Maturin and he cuts the guy down to size.
3. Much later, rats eat all his coca leaves on the ship during a voyage, then go through withdrawals and tear each other apart.
4. Stephen, also going through withdrawals (though he's in denial, it's very clear to the reader), has to then go to a dinner alone with a bunch of sea captains who immediately start saying things about the Irish that are a thousand times worse than what the guy at the beginning of the book said. His best friends career is on the line if he opens his mouth.

It's absolutely BRILLIANT storytelling. The writer didn't point to any of this, he just laid it all out and I just realized what he did.

And you know what?
I read my current wip, I study the outline of what I've got planned, and I think, yeah. I think I can bring that kinda level to the table.

 

[skip.knox]

O'Brian's work is great. My favorite is the dialog, but I also like the somewhat odd way he handles battle scenes. It's not unusual for him to carry the reader to a certain point in the fighting, then suddenly jump to the immediate aftermath.

 

[Jackarandajam]

O'Brian's work is great. My favorite is the dialog, but I also like the somewhat odd way he handles battle scenes. It's not unusual for him to carry the reader to a certain point in the fighting, then suddenly jump to the immediate aftermath.

Yeah, it's a very narrative style, such a well executed throwback I forget it was written in the 70's. His "Jane Austen at sea with guns" style just reinforces my believe that genre-mashing is one of the rarely sung secrets of success. That, and reinforcing the comfort world of the reader in a long series is paramount. The H.M.S. Surprise is basically a Hogwarts, grog his version of Butter Beer.

 

[Finchbearer]

Jane Austen at sea with guns?? Is it set in Regency era Britain?

 

[Jackarandajam]

Jane Austen at sea with guns?? Is it set in Regency era Britain?

Yep, Napoleonic wars.

 

[Incanus]

Hit a milestone last night: reached and completed page 100 of my WIP, in manuscript.

Yay, triple digit page count! Hell, I'll just about celebrate anything resembling progress.

Should put me around 30K words now, but this is a thin 'half' draft. Sure seems like a lot of work for middling amounts of material, but that's the way it goes.

I'll have to take some time doing more world-building and planning the next chapters. But, I've got some momentum now, which feels good----

 

[pmmg]

100 pages should be closer to 50k less you have very large fonts.

 

[Prince of Spires]

100 pages should be closer to 50k less you have very large fonts.

It's why I purely think in word-count, unless a non-writer asks how long my story is. 100 pages can be anything from 25k to 50k words, depending on the settings. But 30k words is always 30k words, no matter how big or small you make them.

Anyway, congrats on your progress Incanus ! Keep your momentum going and ride it for as far as you can get!

 

[Incanus]

100 pages should be closer to 50k less you have very large fonts.

It's in manuscript--pen into notebook by hand. I'm pretty sure the average is 300 words per page.

My page count is precise, but my word count is an estimate.

 

[Fyri]

Yeah, generally I take my word count and divide it by 250 or 300 and give them a range of potential page length.

 

[Fyri]

It's in manuscript--pen into notebook by hand. I'm pretty sure the average is 300 words per page.

My page count is precise, but my word count is an estimate.

Oh, but do you mean you are writing it in longhand or handwriting it? Or is manuscript a program? XD Man, I miss writing in long hand. I did that for all my first drafts.

 

[Incanus]

Oh, but do you mean you are writing it in longhand or handwriting it? Or is manuscript a program? XD Man, I miss writing in long hand. I did that for all my first drafts.

It's not a program. No computer is involved. It is longhand, handwritten, manuscript--which all mean about the same thing I think.

 

[Fyri]

It's not a program. No computer is involved. It is longhand, handwritten, manuscript--which all mean about the same thing I think.

Nah. Manuscript can also mean typed. ^_^