Friday, December 23, 2011

How to Meet Me in Five Easy Steps

Step One: Buy The War Horn.
Step Two: Buy the One Year Adventure Novel (OYAN) curriculum, if you don't own it already.
Step Three: Do the OYAN curriculum.
Step Four: Sign up for the OYAN Summer Workshop.
Step Five: Go to the OYAN Summer Workshop.

The reason step one is there is because The War Horn is funding my quest to go to the Workshop. ^_^  If I can somehow get two thousand dollars...I'll be there!

So!  I've got news.

First and foremost, I received an email from Amazon shortly after I published my last post on The War Horn. In short, they gave me the go-ahead for The War Horn.  (In length, they said that *I* couldn't publish it on my parents' account, but my parents could publish it on my behalf.  Which is the same thing. XD)

So I've been working on The War Horn, and I'm hoping to have my parents and also pre-readers be reading it by mid-January or sooner, so we'll see.  Right now I'm doing some research to make my historically inaccurate novel more accurate.

I have, however, come up with a few plot kinks that need working out.  Because I had received numerous critiques of my opening scene (and I rather agreed with them) I cut it and I'm working on finding another one. But it's difficult, since the novel (after the scene I cut) opens with my character waking up.  Which is not a good place to start a novel.  It's positively boring.

See, the problem with my novel is, it gets steadily better in terms of plot/excitement/stakes as the novel goes on.  If my readers stop at the first chapter, they won't realize what they're missing.  So I need to do something to really catch their attention - BUT, I *need* to start at the beginning.  Which is normal life.  So I'm going to work on two things.

1) Questions.  I'm going to raise a few questions in the first chapter and work with my monologue so that, even though the questions aren't particularly intense, they'll want to keep reading.

2) Prose.  I'm hoping to establish an easily-readable writing style that draws the reader in.  Because there's certain books you read that just draw you in if only for the writing style, right?  Mark Twain's work, for instance, is epic because he writes in such a clear voice that it's a joy to read the most boring of things.

However, I think I've pretty much gotten my research covered, so I'll be moving on from that to working on the first chapter.

So, writers, how's your writing coming along?  Written anything you're particularly proud of lately?

And, on a completely different note:


^The official trailer for "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey", coming out in December 2012.

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

2012 is far too long to wait!  I can't stand it! D:  It doesn't help that I'm rewatching Lord of the Rings, either.  This trailer is, in one word, EPIC.

What do you think of it?

Talk to you later, and remember to check out the rather important poll on my sidebar.  And thank you to those who have already voted!

5 comments:

T.D. said...

Great news! Can't wait to read it with historical accuracy and epic opening prose :D :D :D

And my writing? Eh...... I've been writing a lot but I've been trying not to read it so that I can get the first draft done without awakening the inner editor :P Do not rouse the beast.

But, I've been making fun videos as Christmas gifts, which has been a blast xD

Oh, and I went to see Tintin in 3D, and the Hobbit trailer played before the movie.......

Seriously, there is nothing cooler than The Hobbit in 3D :)

Thanks for the updates, Sir Jake!

Anonymous said...

Step One - Check, whenever it's out!
Step Two - Check!
Step Three - Well... I'm on, like, lesson 20. Getting there!
Steps Four and Five aren't done yet, but I would LOVE to go!

Yay! I'm so happy for you! Hope writing the first chapter goes well!

Writing. Well, I just finished writing a short story for some friends for Christmas and it turned out really good. Now I just have to edit it. : P (Rousing the beast... ick.)

Ooh, The Hobbit trailer... watched it a half a dozen times in the first fifteen minutes after it came out. : D LOVED IT and CAN'T WAIT!!! (hehehe - go on YouTube and watch it with the closed captioning... lol!)

daughteroflight

whisper said...

HUZZAH! I'm quite excited about this whole War-Horn business. ^_^ If/when you need pre-readers..... this spy enthusiastically volunteers. :|

Elizabeth L.W. said...

I think it's wonderful that you have the opportunity to be published! I myself am not a very good writer but I love to write, nonetheless.
Movie producers are evil. I'm sure of it! They produce an epic movie trailer and then they expect you to wait an entire YEAR for the movie. Evil. We wants to sees it! We wants it precious! We NEEDS it!

Hannah Joy said...

AGREED on the movie producers being evil, Elizabeth! Agreed, wholeheartedly, my preciousss.

Does anybody else agree with me that the Bilbo is perfect??