The Evolution of Writing

I started writing fiction while I was still up to my eyeballs in a stressful day job. As a matter of fact, I wrote so much non-fiction as a small part of the job I qualified for Professional Writer status through the Canadian Authors Association. After a long day at work, I’d go home and start writing for the pleasure of writing, and not because I had to.

I started thinking the other day about how much my writing process has changed over the years. What got me diverted was the novel I’m currently working on. I’ve started with a beginning and an ending, but the great middle is a dark and unknown continent. I keep having to go back and scatter clues, check spelling of names (characters, highways, etc.) and generally do a massive amount of changing and inserting as I go.

Which brings me to how I used to write a novel.

I’d start with a lined notebook and a pen. I’d fill several notebooks. Then I got an ancient manual typewriter. This was my introduction to white-out. You make a mistake, or decide on a correction on the typewritten page, and voila, bring out the white-out. It came as either a strip you could type on over the change, or a liquid you dripped on the sin, making certain not to put on too much or you ruined your ribbon.

Then I advanced to a second-hand electric typewriter. This was not as difficult for me as for those who might not be able to keep up with the increase in speed. I was, and still am, a two-fingered typist, which suits me just fine. I type at about the same speed as I plot so everything works out.

I won some money on a Grey Cup Ticket (Canadian Football Championship) and went out and purchased a Commodore64 computer, complete with a box of 5” floppy discs. What a great technological leap forward! I still have two novels that never graduated from the 64, but I do have hard copy. Someday I will have to sit down and transcribe them into Word, manually, changing them drastically as I go, being very early works in my writing career.

When I retired from the daily slog, I took up writing fulltime and on a modern laptop too. (Well, it was modern, back then.) Now I can glory in making as many changes as my little black heart desires, check the spelling of my characters’ names, and insert those brilliant chunks of dialogue I create while on my early morning walks.

I still have the handwritten notebooks around here somewhere, and the floppies, although the Commodore64 is hiding in the garage. The typewriters have gone to wherever typewriters go, hopefully not spending their remaining years as boat anchors. I now have three laptops, (one is a little netbook) and can write on the road. Just as well, given the amount of stuff I’ve churned out in recent years. My process has come a long way since those early workbooks. What works best for you?

R.J.Hore

www.ronaldhore.com
www.facebook.com/RonaldJHore

The Dark Lady Trilogy (Volume 1,2,3)

The Queen’s Pawn (Volume 1,2,3)
The Housetrap Chronicles (Volumes 1 to 7 with #8 due out in March)
Alex in Wanderland,
Knight’s Bridge
We’re Not in Kansas
Toltec Dawn (Book 1 of 3)

 

 

A Novel Approach

After finishing the first draft of number nine in my Housetrap Chronicles series, I decided to work on an idea I’d been kicking around for a few years. Number nine is in the hand s of my Beta Reader, I have time to kill.

I had the idea for an opening scene for a novel, nothing else beyond that. But it was something I could visualize, sort of. I sat down to sketch out a few notes.  Then I began to write. At this point I had no characters, no plot, but an idea of the format of how I wanted to tell the story. By the time I’d finished the first rough chapter I had my two main characters. Better yet, I had the ending.

Of course, there is the all-important question of what goes on in the middle?

I’m blundering my way through this monster, with little to go on other than how the characters react to each other, and the events triggered by the opening scene. I’ve passed the 33,000 word mark and still seem to be going in a straight line. Characters I’d never imagined have dropped in to fill out the cast. Sometimes I have to take a firm hand so they don’t go astray.

Usually I have more control of what’s going on. I’m a pantser, but at least I normally have  some vague idea of what to expect in the middle of a story. In this case, I just have a faint light at the end, and my final chapter.

I don’t recommend writing this way. There is a fear of having long stretches of boredom, too much description, too many mouthy characters spouting off. Looks like it won’t be stuck as a novella, but will the project make it to a full-length novel?

This was supposed to be a serious attempt at a space opera, but already I hear hints of wisecracking going on among the mutinous cast.

And then today my fitbit gave up the ghost and I spent most of the afternoon wrestling with the replacement, to no avail. Good thing I managed to get some writing done this morning!

Where am I going with this? I wish I knew.

R.J.Hore

www.ronaldhore.com
www.facebook.com/RonaldJHore

The Dark Lady Trilogy (Volume 1,2,3)

The Queen’s Pawn (Volume 1,2,3)
The Housetrap Chronicles (Volumes 1 to 7 with #8 due out in July)
Alex in Wanderland,
Knight’s Bridge
We’re Not in Kansas
Toltec Dawn (Book 1 of 3)

A New Year

Looks like another busy writing year.

Toltec Khan, the first book in my Toltec What-If series, has completed editing and is due out shortly.

Toltec Noon, the third in the series, has reached the waiting-in-line for the editing process.

Murder on the Disoriented Express, number 8 in my Housetrap Chronicles fantasy detective series, has completed editing and is scheduled for release in March 2017.

Number 9 in the Housetrap Chronicles, still untitled, has completed first draft and is now in the beta reader stage. Should be ready to go to the publisher in a month or two. That will give me another three novellas that could form the basis of a third print collection of these silly tales.

To keep out of trouble I'm mucking about with the first chapters of a potential space opera. I'm guessing it will be a full length novel, if I ever finish it.

To try and sell some books this year I'm appearing at the following cons where I'm promoting print editions of my books. These are all in Winnipeg:

Horror Con in February
KeyCon in May
Comic Con in October

In August I'm attending When Words Collide in Calgary. Appearing on 2 or 3 panels there.

Keep on writing. It will help you off the streets and keep the brain from freezing up.

Ron
www.ronaldhore.com
www.facebook.com/RonaldJHore

Make the Most of Your opportunities!

New and aspiring writers often ask how they can get noticed by publishers.

My advice is to write often, and always submit your work. No sense in letting your writing wither in a desk drawer. If you don’t send it out I can almost guarantee you will never be noticed.

When your submission is rejected, and it probably will be, at least in the beginning, read any comments or suggestions for improvement, and send it out again.

Referring to short stories, I read advice once that said to write one submission a week and send it out. If it comes back, send it out again. After two years of this hard work you will either be published, or at the least, a much better writer.

I was fortunate to enter an international short story contest and win first place. That gave my confidence a badly-needed boost.

I got my start by sending short stories to anthologies and magazines. One perceptive editor told me on two separate occasions that my short stories sounded like they should be novels. I thanked her at a recent writer’s conference when she was one of the featured guests. Now the shortest project I work on is a novella at about 30,000 words. I prefer the longer projects.

One of my short stories was “almost chosen.” Made the second to last cut for an anthology. However, the editor liked my writing and asked me to submit for her next project. My story was accepted, and when I met my current publisher, I could at least point to something in print and the fact that I’d help launch that anthology in my hometown.

I attended conferences and took every opportunity to appear before publishers and agents in person. Be prepared for the unexpected question. Have your novel proposal down so you can tell the story in a few short sentences. Surviving a face-to-face with a book publisher who didn’t follow the meeting rules got my first novels published.

The bottom line is you are guaranteed never to be published if you never write anything. So get busy now!

R.J.Hore

www.ronaldhore.com
www.facebook.com/RonaldJHore

The Dark Lady Trilogy (Volume 1,2,3)

The Queen’s Pawn (Volume 1,2,3)
The Housetrap Chronicles (Volume 1 to 7)
Alex in Wanderland,
Knight’s Bridge
We’re Not in Kansas
Toltec Dawn (Book 1 of 3)

Apologies for Being a Day Late

I was supposed to have this written and posted for the 2^nd. But I have excuses, a whole pile of them.

I spent last Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, working a book table at a Comic Con. Long days and few sales. Sixty thousand people there to look but not to buy. Sold half as many books as I did the year before. But it was interesting and I re-connected with a few old contacts.

Then, besides re-connecting with my wife, I had to get ready for last night. It was the monthly meeting of our writer’s workshop. Three readings plus the critiques. If you have never belonged to a workshop you should join one. Just be prepared to take the comments on your work with a grain of thought. I belong to a group where I’m the only fantasy writer. I bounce scenes off of them, I wouldn’t try and run an entire novel past them.

But they do buy my books.

Today I’m waiting to hear from a contractor who is supposed to look at replacing a section of eaves trough before winter clamps down on us. Expecting a cold one this year. And I have to get ready to take part in a literary festival next month an hour’s drive from here. Want to launch my latest book there that just made it into print, Alex in Wanderland.  But first I have to lay hands on a few copies.

I also suspect the wife is getting anxious to have some action on that list she has of things I keep putting off.

Must go now.

R.J.Hore

www.ronaldhore.com
www.facebook.com/RonaldJHore

The Dark Lady Trilogy (Volume 1,2,3)

The Queen’s Pawn (Volume 1,2,3)
The Housetrap Chronicles (Volume 1 to 7)
Alex in Wanderland,
Knight’s Bridge
We’re Not in Kansas
Toltec Dawn (Book 1 of 3)

Say It Isn't So!

You’ve just finished spending long hours on your manuscript and you’ve typed in, “The End.” You are now ready to send your beauty off the publisher and become famous.

Not so fast!

I must now whisper a hated word to you. Proofread!

This is one of the final steps before you send your baby away. Yes, an editor will proofread your manuscript once it has been accepted, and horrors, get back to you with recommended changes. But before you send it away you want to make certain you have done everything you can to bring it to perfection. This means proofreading it again one final time.

On the positive, a properly proofread manuscript probably has a far better chance to be accepted by a publisher.  And no, you still won’t catch every one of your errors at this stage.

Proofreading comes after you have made your own editorial changes. You’ve cleaned up the plot holes so the story makes sense, now you are on the lookout for spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors. Even though you may use a spell and grammar checker as you write, these little devils still can slip through. If you have the stamina at this stage you can watch out for those items you know an editor will pounce on. You will probably get lists of these once you have an accepted manuscript and an assigned editor.

Watch out for run-on sentences, passive sentences, and over-used words that editors hate such as, had or that.

Tricks to help you proofread:

I increase the size of the page when I proofread and often when I’m in the creating mode to the 120% to 125% range. It must feel comfortable for you.

Some like complete silence when they proof, others swear by background music.

Don’t try to do the entire manuscript all at once and remember to take frequent breaks to ease the strain on tired backs and re-focus eyes on longer distances.

When in doubt, look it up. You may have to refer to an actual paper reference such as a large dictionary or thesaurus.

This morning I was doing my final proofreading of the eighth novella in my Housetrap Chronicles fantasy detective series. This project has been bouncing around for several months as I wrapped up other projects and it was with some relief I sat down today with the intent of doing the final proof.

Horrors! I’ve already discovered serious formatting errors due to the time elapsed between some segments, not to mention some plot holes, and an entire scene I intended to write that I omitted, leaving a character dangling.

I think I’d better take a deep breath, lay this project aside, and wait for a rainy day. Too many other things to do before fall turns to snow.

R.J.Hore

www.ronaldhore.com
www.facebook.com/RonaldJHore

The Dark Lady Trilogy (Volume 1,2,3)

The Queen’s Pawn (Volume 1,2,3)
The Housetrap Chronicles (Volume 1 to 7)
Alex in Wanderland,
Knight’s Bridge
We’re Not in Kansas
Toltec Dawn (Book 1 of 3)

A Murder Mystery

Yesterday I was finally able to get back to wrestling with one of my Housetrap Chronicles fantasy detective tales I had to set aside while working on other recent priority projects. This one has a murder mystery as part of the tale.

Unlike a lot of writers I don’t plot everything out to the last detail. Where I left off several months ago was at the start of the investigation into the murder. I realized now I had no idea at the time who done it, or why. As the detective is now interrogating the prime suspects I have to just follow along.

Was it the wife? She is pleading innocence, but we did find the gun under her mattress. At least we think it’s the murder weapon. Too obvious?

Was it the public relations guy? Is he having an affair with the wife? Probably. They are sort of alibiing each other at this stage.

Are they too simple a solution? Maybe it should be some highly convoluted plot with shadowy figures in the background. How about the train security officer who is assisting with the investigation? Could she be working with someone higher up?

This is one reason why I enjoy writing. I get to stick my characters into complicated situations and then sit back and watch while they try to figure out what is going on. I think I know which way I’m leaning as to the guilty party, but as usual, I could be in for a surprise.

Of course, just as I’m getting back into the swing of things with this tale, this morning I get the galleys of a manuscript back with a ten day deadline as to read and re-read for any errors. Getting close to going to press on this one. The detective is going to have to figure this case out on his own. I won’t be able to assist him for several days.

Darn. Now I’ll have to wait to find out if the wife really did it.

R.J.Hore

www.ronaldhore.com
www.facebook.com/RonaldJHore

The Dark Lady Trilogy (Volume 1,2,3)

The Queen’s Pawn (Volume 1,2,3)
The Housetrap Chronicles (Volume 1 to 7)
Alex in Wanderland,
Knight’s Bridge
We’re Not in Kansas
Toltec Dawn (Book 1 of 3)