Published Author Or Bust!

Once again, I warn you that this is the first pre-editing draft. I’ve already been told by my local writing group that this will need serious editing and possible re-writing, but at this stage I’m happy with it in its current form. This is the prologue for The Thieves’ Guild: The Forever Secrets Trilogy, and serves as the trigger for everything that is to come…

Prologue: Breach

URGENT. FOR THE ATTENTION OF THE RECIPIENT ONLY
To: General Hanald Druart, Head of Defence Research
From: General Ernest Jerfad, Camp Rothgillen

My friend,

It is with greatest regret that I must confirm thy deepest fears have been realised. By now, thou must have read the official report I sent to the Head of Western Defence regarding the recent attack, and I pray the only questions it may raise are those I have no answers to. In accordance with our agreement, I have withheld certain information from General Laposk.

First, let me state that almost all elements of my report were true. The attack was unprovoked and unexpected. Following our correspondence, I have refrained from sending any of our men into enemy territory until we are both agreed on the right time and course of action. It is not known why the enemy chose to attack after centuries of lying dormant, and I am unwilling to investigate by way of infiltrating their camp, lest it trigger another attack.

As I have stated in the report, the enemy appeared in great numbers but I do not believe it to be their full force. The attackers were at least one thousand strong but their count was not sufficient to overpower our troops quickly. We managed to defend the camp and repel the attackers for a while, but as they gathered more to their ranks, we began to lose ground. If they had not retreated, thou wouldst not be reading this letter.

One of the enemy soldiers breached our ranks and made it into the camp. In the confusion of the battle, she was pursued by only two people: myself and Cargi, one of the agents thou hast selected for my ranks. The enemy soldier bore one of the artefacts thou didst warn me about and attempted to use it against us but she was untrained, and her erroneous use of the weapon ended her own life. As the enemy fought their way into the camp and spied her remains, a retreat was called and our foes fled to the Outer Mountains from whence they came.

In the report, I included a list of the soldiers lost in the battle. There is one name among them that should not be there: Cargi. He was the only soldier to witness the weapon and its use, so I had him brought to my tent. I am thankful the shock had stunned him into silence, else our problems would be even greater. Before any of his fellow soldiers could see it, I hid the artefact from view – taking the proper precautions, of course. Once in my tent, I secured it in my private chest and explained everything to Cargi. I apologise, my friend, but I saw no alternative in such circumstances. He seemed to take the information reasonably well, though his trauma prevented him from responding verbally.

I warned him of the need for secrecy, stressed how important it was, and had him confined to his tent, with Captain Stobert on guard. However, the captain was found unconscious in the morning and Cargi was nowhere to be found on the camp. He had deserted the camp without speaking to or confronting anyone, and none of the troops claim to have seen him that night. Knowing of his past as well as thee, I immediately checked my chest. The artefact was not there.

In order to contain this incident, I have refrained from having the camp searched for it. Only Cargi knows of its existence and I’m sure thou wouldst agree it is best if that remains the case. It will be hard enough to explain the nature of our enemy and their deaths to the troops that survived the attack.

Since Cargi did not reveal anything to his colleagues during his departure, instead opting to leave unnoticed, I believe it to be unlikely he will reveal anything to the troops in the other camps. It is highly likely that he will find a way back to the capital that avoids any confrontation, both military and civilian. I have sent warnings to the every commander in the military lands, but I fear that he will reach Dervanfall unchallenged. I send this message on the day of his desertion in the hopes that he will not reach the city before my words reach thee.

We both understand the severity of this containment breach. Cargi is in possession of knowledge and an artefact that can seriously undermine the Army’s authority and destabilise the Three Kingdoms. I have withheld this from the other commanders and the official report. Recovery of both the weapon and our agent will be thy own task. I pray that thou art more successful at dealing with this than I was.

Jerfad

James Excerpt, Novel, The Thieves Guild Excerpt, Novel, The Thieves Guild

Work on my novel is proceeding fantastically. At a chapter a week, I could well stand to finish the book by the end of the year. This year.

This is of course dependant on me continuing to lose four hours a day to commuting, refraining from doing anything on the London – Hertford East train but write and never driving to work again, but we’ll see what happens.

Chapter Four is also now finished, and work on Chapter Five has begun. This is an important hurdle because in every draft of this story so far, it is always the events of Chapter Four that have prompted a complete stop and a return to the drawing board.

The chapter basically revolves around Jolku breaking into General Druart’s mansion to steal something from his bedchamber. The first time, it seemed to be too easy and actually occurred in half of Chapter Two, which was far too short for such a key even.

The second time it was given an entire chapter and featured a conversation that hints at the overall plot of the trilogy. It was overly descriptive and when I read it out to a writer’s group, they suggested trying a different perspective or writing style – which led to me writing the book in first-person.

I’ve now finished this chapter once again, and while I’m happy(ish) with the way it progresses and am keen to push beyond this sodding point into the actual storyline, there is an issue that needs to be overcome: it’s too long. I’ve tried to keep the chapter and description as simple as possible, but it’s over 7,000 words. In fact, there’s a bit of a length problem in general.

Through the various writing podcasts I listen to, I gather that no agent will look at a novel longer than 100,000 words. I’m currently on Chapter 5 of 31 and I’ve exceeded 25,000 already.

Has anyone got any tips on how I can trim things down as I go? I’ve already got to trim down Chapter One, and there’s an entire chunk I could probably cut out of Chapter Two, but beyond that, I’m stuck.

Has anyone else had this problem? Should I worry about it now, and try and cut down or hold back as I progress? Or shall I ignore the word count and deal with the length when I edit?

(see, even this post is too long!)

James Uncategorized

For some people it’s a basement or attic away from the family. For others, it’s a coffee shop surrounded by people. For me, the best place to write is on the daily commute.

Recent car troubles (short version: split coolant hose, long version: same but with more comedic exaggeration) have forced me to get the train to work for the last couple of weeks. Now due to horrendous oversight in the construction of Britain’s railways, this means I have to catch a 45-minute train into London, then another 45-minute train out again on a different line. And vice versa to get home. Which means I’m travelling for three hours a day (minus delays and walking between trains and home) - perfect time to write.

Admittedly, I’ve only been using one of the two trains to write on. The first train is too busy for me to get a seat, but the second train is always empty, so I can sit down comfortably(ish), whip out my mini laptop and get cracking, racking up an hour and a half’s writing (and anywhere between 600 and 1500 words, depending on how well it flows each day).

So while I failed to even write a word of Chapter Three the other weekend, I did manage to write the entire chapter in four days’ worth of commuting last week. This week I’ve started and almost finished Chapter Four.

It’s fantastic, and I feel like I’m being really productive. There are no distractions, and because the journey only lasts 45 minutes, I have a strict deadline to write to (it’s not like I can put it off and make it up later). Plus the bonus is, I don’t have to worry about finding time to write more when I get home, meaning I get to enjoy all the other stuff that usually distracts me from writing.

My car will inevitably be fixed, and I’ll have to find another time and place to write (might try the coffee shop idea), but until then, I’m going to get as much written as I can.

James Uncategorized

New plan. Unrealistic, and I know I’m going in with an air of defeat, but I’ve been crap recently so I need to get my arse into gear.

This weekend, I’m going write all of Chapter Three.

I finished Chapter Two ages ago, and keep meaning to get started on Three, but by the time I’ve got home from work, cooked dinner, and done whatever else I need to do (podcast, scouts, blog, etc), I can’t be arsed to write. I keep putting off those ‘20 minutes a day’ I was using till last, meaning when I get to the stage I can sit down to write, I’m too tired to care. I need to start doing those 20 minutes FIRST and the doing all the other stuff.

But yes, to kickstart this initiative, I want to write an entire chapter in a weekend. It’s only a short chapter, literally just introducing the third character (I need to stop waffling and learn there’s nothing wrong with short chapters), so it should be doable. Although I won’t be able to start until I’ve recorded the podcast tonight (3 hours gone already), washed the car, posted a few bits in town, tidied the house. Then I’ll be able to write until 6/7pm when I have friends coming over. And Sunday’s been written off by more scouting.

Figured I’d get my excuses out there first!

James Uncategorized Misc

The Dead Robots Society Podcast: Episode 72 Interactive Storytelling is available. In it, I was lucky enough to chat with Justin Macumber and Ryan Stevenson about the various narrative techniques used in video games, how game storylines and game writing compare to those of traditional fiction and the challenges games writers face today.

I cannot thank Justin and Ryan enough for giving me the opportunity to join them. Thank you so much, guys!

James Uncategorized

As I type, I’m waiting for The Dead Robots’ Society’s Justin Macumber to appear on Skype, as I’ve been invited to speak as a guest on this week’s DRS Podcast. I’ve been talking with Justin over the past couple of months, and I’m lucky enough to be appearing on this week’s episode of the show!

We’ll be discussing narrative techniques in video games (an area I’m more than a little familiar with). Despite how much podcasting I do on a regular basis, I find I’m actually starting to get nervous… :S

James Uncategorized

Actually, looking at that abbreviation, maybe The Thieves Guild: Forever Secrets - Book One: A Thief’s Honour is a little too long for a title.

Last night, I finally finished Chapter Two, only a few months after starting it, and a few years after starting this draft. Plan to get Chapter Three done by the end of the month, as it should be quite a short one.

Not sure if i’m going to post the whole chapter up here. Might post an extract, but it’s the first draft so quality isn’t fantastic. Plus, don’t want to be giving away massive chunks of the book now that I have A Plan.

So yeah, just a quick update for anyone who cares. May post some of the chapter tonight.

James Novel Novel, The Thieves Guild

I really need to do some more reading. Actual reading, not podiobooks. The thing is, I’ve got in the habit of listening to podiobooks and podcasts on the drive to and from work, which essentially adds up to two hours reading per day - so surely that will suffice for a day’s literary intake? I’ve recently finished Scott Sigler’s Earthcore and I’m currently enjoying Playing For Keeps by Mur Lafferty.

I know I should read more actual books, and I’ve actually built up a pile by the side of my bed: The Time Traveller’s Wife, Bernard Cornwell’s Holy Grail Trilogy, The third and fourth Thursday Next novels, The Wheel Of Time: Book one, Peter Hamilton’s The Reality Disfunction, Red Dwarf: Last Human, Star Wars: Shadows Of The Empire, Indiana Jones And The Seven Veils a Wilbur Smith double bill - and my recent encounter with the Golden Compass movie makes me want to read Northern Lights again (if only to confirm how much they got wrong).

But - and this will sound silly - until this weekend, I didn’t have a reading lamp, so reading in bed (my preferred reading location) meant getting out of bed to turn the lights off afterwards. Which is irritating. So now that I have one, I can read some more actual books - when I’m not writing my own.

That pile’s depressingly big now. Need to cut it down.

James Uncategorized Misc

To prove my dedication to The Plan, I have purchased www.thethievesguild.com. And - through a typo during the process - I’ve also purchased www.thethievesguid.com (for anyone as stupid as me!).

Eventually, they will have a website dedicated to the novel (and possibly the podiobook. We’ll see), but that won’t be for at least a year. In the meantime, they’re directed at my novel’s page here on the blog.

James Uncategorized Novel, The Thieves Guild

It’s all well and good to say “I’m going to write more” or “I’m determined to finish my book” but if you don’t have a plan beyond that (other than “er, get it published somehow”), there’s nothing really driving you to finish your work. You just relax and think “I’ll get it done in my own time”.

No more.

My growing relationship with podiobooks has inspired me. I have two years of experience podcasting, even longer writing – the only reason I can’t instantly get in on this phenomenon is because I haven’t finished anything. So, now I have a plan for The Thieves’ Guild:

- Establish a writing routine
I think I’ve just found one that works. Now that I’ve stopped commuting by train (thus ridding me of over an hour’s writing team per day), I’ve tried doing 100 words a day and failed. After 150 words, I found myself stopping because I’d met my goal, and I never prepared properly because a mere 100 words didn’t seem to matter.

I’ve tried writing an hour a day, but I can never find a full free hour. Ideally, I want more than an hour but that’s even more unlikely.

After reading Cory Doctorow’s article, I’ve now started doing a solid 20-25 minutes per day. The result is that I get more done. When I leisurely wrote for an entire Sunday morning, I did about 600 words. In each 20-minute slot, I seem to be doing at least 800.

I need to stick to this. I already faltered last night by not writing, so I need to get on top of this now.

- Finish the book
Self explanatory. I know what’s going to happen. For the most part, I know how it’s going to happen. Stop thinking and just bloody write it down, will you?!

- Seek publication
I still intend to see my book in print, so I’ll do my utmost to get the book published through conventional means first. I’ve got a good proposition – a fairly unique story, merging two genres together and written in a reasonably original way. And it’s a trilogy, followed by a series that will culminate in another trilogy – so there’s plenty to follow if publishers like the first book.

- Podiobook it!
This is the key to the plan.

As Mur Lafferty recently pointed out, there’s a very good chance this book sucks. Which means publishers won’t want the second and third parts of the trilogy, or the series or the second trilogy.

If that’s the case, I move on to something different, while continuing The Thieves’ Guild in my spare time and releasing it through podiobook.

This means that, come what may, this book will be released.

And that revelation, that determination, is what will keep me going. So far, any low points that I’ve hit have generally been hand in hand with the idea that if my book isn’t good enough for publication, it will never be read, so what’s the point in writing it? But that’s not that case today, thanks to the Internet.

Book One will be finished by the end of the year (or at least very close to it). If I’m writing 800 words a day, it won’t take 12 months to rack up the full 50,000 – 100,000 words of the finished work.

Watch this space.

James Novel Novel, The Thieves Guild