Chapter 13: Vivid descriptions.

Have you ever seen a man with two left arms? Maybe some of you have. Maybe some of you have seen pictures on the Internet, some of you may be experts with photoshop and are making the photos of people with two left arms that are found on the Internet.

And some of you may be like me, and you're writing people with two left arms. I was editing a fight scene in Overshadowed when I first discovered I had a problem.

The problem I was facing, is one all writers face when describing fight scenes. The fact is fights are fast, and writing about them is not. So I was of course committing the cardinal sin of writing the scene too fast. And as these sort of things usually do, it came back to bite me.

The end result was my protagonist spent two whole sentences fighting with two left arms. I had vividly described the scene of the struggle, the placement of all parties involved and their interaction of combat. Unfortunately I hadn't taken the laws of basic anatomy into consideration when I was typing everything out.

When I write a fight scene, I do what probably most anybody does. I try to record how I think I would handle the situation (and that is why it is called fiction), how I would react to fighting a small band of monstrous beasts, and what moves I would make to overcome them. In short, I watch the movie in my head then try and copy it onto paper.

Does anybody else out there write fiction? And if so, what are you finding for roadblocks when describing action sequences? It is a part of story-telling that can be a pitfall for all of us. I know it is for me because I get excited and it's a part of the movie-in-my-head that I really enjoy watching. I want it on paper soooooo bad that I put it down as fast as I can.

What I need to do is take a step back when I approach these types of scenes and find a more disciplined method for capturing those moments. As always, the better your earlier drafts; the easier your final ones will be. I can be entertained by it, but I also need to be responsible in my content handling.

I find one thing to be true about any type of written story. That if you spend lots of time thinking about it before you put it to paper, you're usually going to end up with a better finished product. So if you find yourself trying to record a scene, and you're stuck on the details, take a step back and think over the sequences you are creating. Spend extra time imagining how you would expect a fight to go. And most importantly stick to the basics when it comes to things like physics and anatomy.

I'm going to leave Glass Walls up for one more week. If you haven't read it, go read it!! As always I appreciate feedback. Hope you all have had a good week.

'Til next time.

Chapter 11: Story building, Part 3

So I have finally finished my first draft. I even came in under my 5k word limit. This is a new feeling for me. Usually I am cutting words to make the length. This time I was a bit too judicious in my efforts and my reward is that I now get to add content.

My characters shaped up well. I have my strong hero; confident and self-assured. And my equally strong heroine, who is a bit more fragile only because of her size. Capturing the dynamics of their relationship as they grow closer together through has been my goal for this story all along. I think the idea of two people falling in love having never touched, or heard each other speak is an interesting one. And thanks to the World Wide Web it is not such a far-fetched concept either.

The story is entirely first-person perspective, from Toms point of view, so we unfortunately never really get to hear much of Sophie’s side, but we see how he grows to care for her and becomes more and more tortured by what happens to her. I also want a seed of distrust to flow through the final decision Tom has to make. Has Sophie been turned? Is she being used by the aliens against him, and if she is does he even care anymore?

So what do you guys think? Do the tidbits I've thrown out show my story to have enough of the "good stuff" that it will need in order to keep its intrigue, suspense and enjoyment levels high enough to keep you interested? I sure hope so...

One final note about line-editing. Someday I want to do a chapter dedicated solely to the art of line-editing, so I won't go too deeply into detail tonight. I have been doing line work on Glass Walls this week and have found it to be quite frustrating, nothing new there. But I love how it can help to open up a brand new direction that you may have been hinting at, but have not quite put your finger on yet. I know that's pretty vague, but I want to save some of my technical examples for a later date.

A little technical, non-story related blurb. I am going to be changing my Chapter release date from Thursday to Friday. My weeks have become quite busy and Friday is now the best time for me to post this thing. I don't know, I hope that isn't such a problem. Not like anybody has anything better to do on a Friday night anyway.

Hey is anybody excited for Glass Walls? I know I am even more excited about the feedback that hopefully all of you are dieing to give. I cherish opinions, (especially harsh ones) for I feel they help me grow. If you would like to make a comment, but lack the gumption to subscribe you can post it. Please take a few seconds and email it to me at OverdshadowedIPod@yahoo.com and I will post it for you. I hope to have some discussion points from my story, so please don't be shy.

Without further ado; I will make this official, Glass Walls will be available for your reading pleasure on September 17th, so set your calendars and get excited. But hurry it's only going to be available for a limited time.

'Til next time...

Chapter 10: Story building Pt. 2

So just to give a quick update. I am about 40% done with my short story's first draft , and thoroughly enjoying myself; short story writing is fun!

I've gone with the remarkably common names of Tom for my hero, and Sophie for my heroine. My goal is to make the physicality of the pair be as normal as possible, run-of-the-mill, in fact. I have with the aliens as well, they are also rather generic. I have decided to call them Ralphies, not as there actual names but as the name they are referred to by.

The setting will be called the 'X galaxy', I went with a roman numeral name system because I grow so weary of ridiculous made up names that no one would ever consider naming a galaxy after. Also cheesy "new" locations named after current places on earth, (New Memphis, New Jordan) just don't work for me. So the galaxy will be the tenth galaxy currently under human exploration, and one that is only a few thousand years from being swallowed by a black hole.

My characters are losing a battle with time. They are on the side that's winning the war, but are stuck in the clutches of the enemy. They face daily torture sessions, solitude and loneliness, and slowly but surely they are falling in love.

Around them their world is reduced to nothing more than a glass bubble, and daily trips to the torture room. It also seems that the outside battle is drawing close, but they can't be sure of anything.
I already have the ending pretty much wrapped up. I have decided that Tom is going to have to face a decision; to run and leave Sophie, or stay and tempt death.

What would you do?

That seems to be a reoccurring question for me as I write this story. What would I do in that situation? If I can compel my readers to ask themselves that same question, then I have achieved a goal as a writer, and perhaps will have the makings of a good story.

I'm pleased with my progress so far. I just checked my word count, I am at 2900 words. I have finished both the beginning and the end. All I need to do now is throw the middle scenes together and I will have the first draft.

I think I'll have a contest, a test of loyalty from my group of loyal followers.

Does anybody want to play the role of Alpha reader for this project? I will select someone for the job. The pay is unbelievable, and the benefits are out-of-sight. If you're interested just fire off a comment, if you can't comment due to lack of google account, than go ahead and email me at Overshadowedipod@yahoo.com

I'm going to halt my efforts at practical advice for the time being as I have quite a bit on my plate right now. Keep an eye out in the coming weeks though I'm sure it will be back.

Also I'm considering on changing the format in coming chapters. I want to invite reader participation, and have more open discussions. If you're reading this than you're obviously interested in writing, and that means you have something to contribute. More on that in the future.

'Til then...