Two Chapter Weekend
I managed to finish two chapters of Tyrmia this weekend. It's part of my push to get the first draft finished by the end of September. My word count is up somewhere north of 87K words. The outside limit for a novel is 120K words. So either I'm going to make that without much worry, or I will glide right past it and need some serious cutting in the second draft.
To be honest, I only fret about not having enough words, rarely about having too many. In this case, I know the story is a long one and I can probably cut it down to meet the 120K goal if I go past that. The novel is turning out to be far richer in detail in terms of characters, and world building than I originally imagines. I don't have a lot of sub-plots going, but I do have lots of minor characters and two very different geographical and political systems at work.
Much of this novel has been written seat of the pants, but I do have an overall plot goal and I am for the first time ever, following the Hero's Journey as mapped by Joseph Campbell. My outline was pretty flexible, i.e. not super detailed so I could be free to discover new ideas along the journey. I usually map out three or four chapters ahead of where I am actually writing and that has continued with this novel.
Next time, I'll discuss the new AVATAR trailer and the similarities I see between that movie and my novel.
To be honest, I only fret about not having enough words, rarely about having too many. In this case, I know the story is a long one and I can probably cut it down to meet the 120K goal if I go past that. The novel is turning out to be far richer in detail in terms of characters, and world building than I originally imagines. I don't have a lot of sub-plots going, but I do have lots of minor characters and two very different geographical and political systems at work.
Much of this novel has been written seat of the pants, but I do have an overall plot goal and I am for the first time ever, following the Hero's Journey as mapped by Joseph Campbell. My outline was pretty flexible, i.e. not super detailed so I could be free to discover new ideas along the journey. I usually map out three or four chapters ahead of where I am actually writing and that has continued with this novel.
Next time, I'll discuss the new AVATAR trailer and the similarities I see between that movie and my novel.
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As I mentioned in previous posts, this blog is moving to a new domain. That new domain is now up and running. You can get there from here. The new site is on a different server and has my name – ken-mcconnell. This is an attempt to capitalize on future brand awareness. All of the posts [...]Boise Weekly Quote
I was quoted in a local paper today. “The people that work [at Rediscovered] really know books very well. They’re not afraid to talk up the local authors,” says McConnell. “That helps me as a writer who lives here, and it can only help the community to get to know those writers that do live here.” Cool. [...]Baker’s Dozen
I’ll be appearing at Rediscovered Bookshop this coming Saturday, the 21st of November with 12 other Idaho writers in Baker’s Dozen. The event got a nice write-up in the local paper here. I spoke with a reporter from the Boise Weekly, on Friday, so I expect a similar that article this week, also on Baker’s [...]© 2009 Created by Ken McConnell on Ning. Create a Ning Network!
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