fiction

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Writing update: June 21, 2016

This post is about 450 words. But the word ‘the’ appears 31 times.

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Life in the asphalt stars

In my last writing update, I spoke briefly about my morning walking routine. It’s a way to clear the mind – really focus – on portions of the book that need more concentration or thought.

I’m pretty happy with this morning’s session. I got closer to a resolution on a pretty challenging portion of the book (more on that in a second), but I also conceived a nice bit of conflict for the protagonist of the next book.

I know, I know. That writing update specifically mentioned the importance of sticking to the book at hand. But what can I say? Like a swift river, sometimes the story carries you along. If it didn’t interweave three important characters within the Prince’s storyline, I might have let the thought pass me by. But since all three characters will appear in his first and last books, it seemed worth the extra attention this morning.

So, a little more information about this morning’s session: Continue reading →

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Writing update: June 18, 2016

This post is about 350 words.

Doctor Who 1

This morning, it came to me. And I love when that happens.

Recently, I’ve started taking longer walks with the dogs. I prefer mornings for the relative quiet, which allows me to work on my novel in my head as we go. Every day, I have between 30 and 60 minutes of concentration time, not factoring in doggie clean-ups, where I can work through segments of the book. I’ve seen incredible productivity improvements from this new routine and I’d recommend it if you’re looking to expand your own writing process.

Anything is game, though some days I have specific sections on which I want to focus. This morning, my mind was wide open, wandering aimlessly, while my feet followed a specific path in the park. Then the title for a future book came out of nowhere, putting me into a quandary.

For a series planned to span thirteen books, I generally force myself to stay on the book at hand. If I don’t, there are just too many possibilities to consider at once. You’ve probably experienced something similar if you’ve been to a restaurant with an enormous menu: there’s too much to chose from, making the decision that much harder. I refer to this as ‘paralysis of choice’, and for writers, I believe it’s a significant factor in story abandonment, something that’s plagued my previous attempts at fiction.

When anything is possible, nothing is possible. Continue reading →

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Writing update: June 17, 2016

This post is about 250 words.

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A quiet house tonight put me in the exact frame of mind to crank out a few thousand words: mostly new, but some came from light editing. Over the last few weeks, I’ve been filling in some gaps (intros, transitions, chapter ends), and tonight saw more of the same.

I also worked on the intro to the final conflict with the primary antagonist, shifting and re-shifting sections as I tried to find the right sequence of information delivered by the dialogue. It’s a complex section that recaps information from earlier in the book, parts of which are not fully fleshed out yet.

Then I saw the word count pass 90,000 words.

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I’ve exceeded my word count range (though I expect to cut a number of things in the second draft). It’s now twice as long as anything I’ve ever written, which feels pretty good. But as I find myself beyond the self-imposed deadline of the first draft, I wonder how much more fleshing-out is required before the draft is done. I might have to stop at 100,000 words because that’s a pretty long book for a first-time author, as well as for the audience I’m trying to reach. I’m not one to limit a story to satisfy a metric like word count, but compromises are sometimes required. We’ll see.

–Michael

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© Michael Wallevand, June 2016, except images from Superman: The Animated Series and Clue.

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Homage vs. Plagiarism #1

This post is about 650 words. It should also be noted that book and images discussed below were copyrighted by TSR Hobbies in 1982.

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This is a book from my childhood, entitled Return to Brookmere. It’s #4 in the Dungeons & Dragons Endless Quest series. As you’ve probably guessed from the worn cover, it is a beloved, multiple-read, go-everywhere favorite. While not high literature, its influence on me as a reader and writer cannot be overstated. It’s likely to make multiple appearances on this site, btw.

As such, I wanted to do it proper homage as a way to say thank you to author Rose Estes, as well as D&D itself.

I hadn’t read the book in a few years, though it had a place of honor on my bookshelf. One element that stuck with me for more than three decades is the magical amulet, named the Mouth of Mimulus, or simply Mim. Shaped like a dragon’s head, this animated charm offered advice and commentary on the adventure. I don’t recall much backstory being written, however.

Mim 1In my own story, I was looking to create another advisor for Tildy, someone to serve as a counterpoint to the witch, Tildy’s adoptive mother. I also wanted a way to have Tildy work through some of her own concerns without always relying on inner monologue. I didn’t want to add another companion on their journey, but if the advisor was also a secret, this could lead to future conflict. When I recalled Mimulus, I knew I had the inspiration I needed.

Thus, the magnificent amulet Mumnambulen came to life. Mum, for short. Continue reading →

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Excerpt – June 6, 2016

This post is approximately 600 words. A newer version of this section lives here: Spring in Dappledown.

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I’ve had several requests to start sharing some passages from the book. This is flattering, yet somewhat terrifying due to the personal nature of the work. This might seem counter-intuitive, I mean, isn’t the point of writing a novel to have it published?

Well, yeah.

But since I’m working on the first draft, there’s the challenge of sharing something that’s not quite ready for eyes other than my own. To be clear, the following excerpt needs some polish and additional detail. Many artists, myself included, want to give you a specific experience, something an unfinished work doesn’t necessarily do. Also, if the draft passage sucks (technical term), you might be under-presenting your abilities. Hopefully.

I think that’s enough caveats and deprecation for now. Here is the introduction of the main character, Tildy, the girl who lost her family, her kingdom, and even her name.

Spring in Dappledown

Tildy sat upright so quickly, her head swam. Eyes blinking slowly in the dim morning light, her fuzzy brain struggled to comprehend where she was. Trying to calm her heaving breaths, she closed her eyes. She was in bed. In her room on the second floor of the cottage.

She was glad to be awake. It was the dream again—that shadow in the tall tower. It thrilled and terrified her in a way that meant it was not an unwelcome recurrence. But she always woke up exhausted, as though it were less dream and more reality. She focused on the last image in her mind: had there been a crying baby? As usual, the details scattered like butterflies in a storm. Continue reading →

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May 14 writing update

This post is approximately 400 words.

Sometimes the writing can be an obsession. You’ve hardly enough brain power or typing ability to keep up with the flurry of thoughts racing across the vision of your mind’s eye.

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And sometimes, you need a break. Maybe not from writing in general and certainly not from creativity. But another outlet, perhaps.

For me, this occurred in late April. I’d been writing pretty consistently for four months: through the holidays, through one of the busiest and most stressful points in my corporate career, and through those long Minnesotan winter days when we all go a little stir crazy.

I was happy with my progress, which had been more satisfactory than most other writing periods in my life. Still, I needed to take a step back.

KIEV UKRAINE - MAY 12 2015:Collection of popular social media lo

Six out of nine ain’t bad. Wait…is that a MySpace logo? Six out of eight.

I found that starting on the marketing – the social presence – of the book series was an excellent way to keep my writing and creative energy going. I now had outlets for blogging and photography, for sharing inspiring landscapes or thoughts on books. When there are too many distractions or I’m walking a dog, I can still be doing things to promote the project. It also allowed me to put into practice many of the things I’ve learned about digital marketing over the last ten years.

It’s a welcome distraction, but hopefully, not too much of a distraction from the most important part of the project: the book itself. At 72,000 words, that’s quite an investment of time. I’d hate to derail myself by spending too much time away. Believe me, every day away from the manuscript makes it that much harder to return.

Fortunately, the words for the first book are still flowing, as are ideas for the next books in the series. Honestly, that’s the greater danger: the excitement of a new project when the current one has its luster smudged a smidge (more on that in a future post).

For now, my time on the project is split between the manuscript and things like this website, which I’ve soft-launched until I’ve finalized all the details. Expect more updates like this: May 31 is my deadline for the first draft of book one.

–Michael

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© Michael Wallevand, May 2016

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April 30 writing update

This post is about 400 words.

There’s a quote attributed to Anton Chekhov that goes something like this:

  • If there is a gun on the mantle in the first act, it must go off in the third.

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In other words, don’t put in unnecessary details, especially when they seem to promise something that will never be delivered. I’m sure we could endlessly debate the literary merits of this kind of thinking, and we probably should. At a later date. And over beers.

I was reminded of this quote today when I realized that I had my own version of a gun on the mantle and it was never set to go off. At least, not in this book. Writing to resolve this situation would have added at least a chapter, or another couple thousand words. I’m already a bit concerned about the novel’s length, but more importantly, I didn’t want to accommodate this need.

But I really wanted to keep the passage.

I love fairy tales and folklore. I love rhymes and songs, and I partially attribute my affection for Tolkien to these things. Inevitably, they make it into my own writing. I was particularly proud* of a bit of verse I’d written earlier in the week. Besides the fun of writing it and the whimsy it conveyed, like most nursery rhymes, there was a cautionary tale within the words about a particular creature. A creature that never appeared.

Then I had a literary epiphany. You’ve probably experienced the same thing in your own writing: you’ve written yourself into a corner and you’re certain your hero will not escape. And then, the answer comes out of nowhere. The solution to the problem. It’s so simple and effortless, you can’t believe it works. And while you’re happy, a small part of your brain nags you for taking so long to figure it out. That’s OK, because you have a solution and it feels natural.

There’s an element of surprise that the solution creates, so I won’t spoil it. However, don’t forget that, when you’re creating words and creatures, the definitions of those things can be exactly what you want, especially when your story uses general English and made-up languages.

So now, the gun has gone off and I’m very happy with the results.

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Until next time!

–Michael

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*”Proud” is usually followed by a feeling of abject despair when, upon reading the passage, I realize it’s rubbish.

© Michael Wallevand, April 2016

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April 26 writing update

This post is about 100 words. Lame.

This is a lame post, mostly because it was half written, mostly uninspired, and the result of not thinking I’d have writing time tonight.

I have writing time tonight!

So. I’m abandoning it, having scrapped most of the junk. Which is good. On to the real writing after this briefest of updates. I’ll hit 70,000 words tonight, the result of about four and a half months into a pretty decent writing routine. Not a great routine, but a better output than I’d originally hoped.

–Michael

Enjoy what you read? Leave a comment or like the post and we’ll ensure that you see more like this from Michael!

© Michael Wallevand, April 2016

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Greetings!

This post is about 300 words.

Fancy RWelcome to the website for my fantasy book series, The Lost Royals. These books follow the royal twins, who were thought killed when their kingdom was invaded.

Unlike a typical book where the point-of-view switches between primary characters, each book in The Lost Royals focuses on one of the twins. So, in our first adventure we walk with the princess in the forests of the south. When it concludes, we journey north in the second book to explore the ice fortress where the prince is being raised. Each pairing of books occurs over the same timeframe, so for example, when the princess sees a Dragonflight racing north, we see them soar into action in the prince’s story.

Continue reading →