writing process

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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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Reveal Just Enough Detail

This post is approximately 600 words. And if you’re not familiar with these sculptures, there is artistic nudity when you follow the links. 

prisoner-atlasTwenty years ago – almost to the day – I was at the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence, Italy, the museum that famously displays Michelangelo’s “David“. And while I was in awe of this 17-foot masterpiece, it was not his familiar form that stayed with me after I left.

It was this piece, known as “The Atlas”, one of Michelangelo’s four Prisoners done in the non-finito, or unfinished, style. To me, these seemed most representative of his philosophy about sculpture: that every block already contained the figure, he just had to chisel away the unnecessary marble. Some claim these works are the best representation of Michelangelo’s sculpting prowess, though this might not be immediately evident compared to the seeming perfection of David.

But you’re not here for an art history lesson, so let’s segue into the point for this post.

I left the museum with an understanding that Michelangelo revealed only enough of the figure for it to come to life (though whether a tour guide said it or whether I was brilliantly struck with inspiration, I’ll never know. Feel free to guess.). That thought has stayed with me for twenty years and it’s a philosophy that I’ve applied to my writing.

I love to write. I’m often verbose (this is one of the reasons I start each post with a message about word count – it keeps me in check!). If I could indulgently describe a scene or a character in a thousand lush words, I would. But I think that does the reader a disservice. I want to provide just enough detail to bring the story to life in your mind. If I write too much, well, I feel like I’m taking away too much of your imagination, which I think reduces a reader’s enjoyment of a book.

I’m not alone. In his book “On Writing“, Stephen King says something similar about his characters:

…if I describe [my complete mental picture], it freezes out yours, and I lose a little bit of the bond of understanding I want to forge between us. Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader’s.

As an example, let me describe a mountain range at the edge of sight: its jagged outline and snowy peaks; the evergreen treeline that marks the highest point at which foliage can grow; or the treacherous recesses that are but dark wrinkles upon an ancient gray face. I could go on and on, depicting the clouds that obscured the tallest peaks or the shadows they cast upon the insignificant hills below, but there comes a point where your interest fades. You get it. There are mountains in the background. They are imposing and old and magnificent. You don’t need me to zoom in until we’re so close we can see the shiny flecks of mica in the granite.

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So here’s the deal: you bring your imagination and I’ll bring the right number of words, and we’ll meet in the lands of Empyrelia, each of us with our own vision of the world around us. Work for you?

A picture might be a thousand words, but you don’t need a thousand words to form a picture in the reader’s mind. Sometimes less is more. The successful writer finds the balance.

–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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You can’t only focus on the writing.

This post is about 300 words.

Sometimes you need to step away from the manuscript because you’re so close that you only see parts, not the whole. Or it’s become all-consuming and you need to think about something else, if only for a little while.

When I need a break, I work on the other aspects of bringing a book to life. The marketing plan. Sketches. Mailing materials. Business cards? Sure, why not?

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Front

To be honest, I probably spent too much time on Amazon and Office Depot browsing colored envelopes, custom address labels, and sealing wax.

Oh yeah, you read that right: sealing wax. For me, it’s all about presentation. There’s a story to tell in the presentation itself. And while authoritative might not be the first word used to describe that author you know, that person has absolute control of the world being created.

I think that extends to the other aspects of bringing a book to life. From the moment you join me on the journey, whether the website, a mailing, or an in-person discussion, I will have put considerable thought into how I want you to begin that journey. Among other things, that includes fonts, colors, word choice, and imagery. The various social platforms I’m using all have different strategies, so you will see something different on Tumblr or Instagram than you will see here.

Assuming everything goes (roughly) according to plan, I intend to look into other ways of changing your experience as a reader. For example, a leather book cover as an add-on to enhance your reading experience. I don’t just want to take your mind to another world, I want your eyes to see, your fingers feel, and nose smell a different experience than you might otherwise have in your reading chair.

And the words on the page can’t do that alone.

–Michael

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© 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.

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