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Friday's the deadline for my novel portfolio for the Borderlands Bootcamp. I need a synopsis, character bios, and a 30-something pages opening for the novel. I've got a solid first draft of all them down, so its just a matter of polishing at this point. With the rest of the book unwritten, it will be interested to see how those first few chapters change or evolve as I progress through the novel.

Struggling a bit with the length of the synopsis. I want it to be long enough to convey the novel's core ideas, but not so long that people tune out. I'll be doing another pass at it to tighten up the sentences and make sure I'm using those strong verbs. Concerned as well that the summary won't really capture my own voice as I'm writing it very matter-of-factly.

Let's see what I can do in three days!

Outlining, outlining, and more outlining (and writing to yourself)

    I've spent a lot of time over the last few months outlining my novel. I've read a few books and looked at several formulas or breakdowns, like the basic act structure or the Snowflake method. The bottom line is that there's no easy method or formula. You have your idea and try as you might, it's difficult to wedge it into a formula or method. Use these as guidelines. They are incredibly helpful at getting your story ideas down on paper. But only spending time with your story can allow your thoughts to come together in a collective form that can be shaped and sculpted into a story.
   I genuinely feel that I have the beginning and the ending of my novel nailed down. At least for the purposes of the outline. I'm not going into the drafting process believing that either of those two parts cannot change. However, it's that murky middle that has me hung up. I know I need to spend more time on it and that's what I plan to do over the next few days, but I need to find a way to ramp up the story's energy during the middle and allow it to push the reader over to the climax.
   One of the more fruitful ways of spending more time with my story in terms of outlining or writing up the synopsis, is to tell yourself the story in a bit of a back and forth dialogue. As you're writing your outline, ask yourself questions, interrupt yourself, write away even if you're going on a tangent. It's all good. You'll be surprised at how useful it can be.
   That's it, go off and write to yourself!

I'm back! and with some news!

After a wonderful 17-day vacation, I'm back at work, but more importantly I'm back to blogging about my story as I make my way through the 90,000 or so words of my novel.

In the meantime, a nice piece of new to pass on: BIFF BAM POP! announced the September release of the STRANGE WORLD anthology http://wp.me/pAzGH-2v1 featuring one of my stories, "Dirt Man".


Featuring an introduction by multiple Bram Stoker Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry, Strange World: A Biff Bam Pop Short Story Anthology will also include the following authors and their stories:

Anne Michaud, Sister Mine
Andre Narbonne, The Face in the Well
Rathan Krueger, Blame Me
Ken Haigh, Lost in the Dark Woods
Kayla Tyson, Down in the Cellar Basement
Jim Morris, Crash
Lucas Magnum, Occupy Babylon
J.G. Chayko, The Storage Locker
Jason Shayer, Dirt Man
Glenn Walker, Live to Write
Ian Rogers, I Hate Needles
David Ward, Kitty
Andrew Burns, Medium Double Double