What are you working on right now?

[Ray McCarthy]

You're right Ray, trust things are good now for you?

Well, kids all grown up (one extra one since, one died six months after that time, unrelated) to point where eldest grandchild hasn't long till double figures, less than 5 years left to pay off on house, though no income right now, so better I guess. I'm only gloomy when I finish writing a novel. Cure is starting a new one.

 

[Amberfire]

Right now I've just started doing short stories about werewolves. I publish them on my blog atm and it's the first time I've done that. I haven't had anything published before except non-fiction articles on my blog.

 

[Stephen Palmer]

So, this weekend I begin a book-within-a-book...

 

[James118]

So, this weekend I begin a book-within-a-book...

Ooh, I have a few ideas for those. It's gonna be pretty cool to finally be able to analyse creative writing as a theme.

I say finally, because the two I have planned so far are a long way in the future of my series.

 

[Juliana]

Today I played with post-it notes. Trying something new (for me) in terms of plotting. It was fun, and if nothing else it served to organize some things a little better in my mind.

Pic was when I was just getting started. Green for action scenes, purple for slower paced character-driven scenes, orange for settings, blue for backstories, etc. The idea was to take all my pages and pages of notes of things that have to be included at some point and lay them out in a more visual manner so I can weave them together more efficiently. I hope.

 

[Tim Murray]

Today I played with post-it notes. Trying something new (for me) in terms of plotting. It was fun, and if nothing else it served to organize some things a little better in my mind.

View attachment 26473

Pic was when I was just getting started. Green for action scenes, purple for slower paced character-driven scenes, orange for settings, blue for backstories, etc. The idea was to take all my pages and pages of notes of things that have to be included at some point and lay them out in a more visual manner so I can weave them together more efficiently. I hope.

I recently saw an episode of Castle. Plot and acting aside, Castle, the MC, is a mystery book author and cop. He outlined his books on a big monitor. Central plot, characters, interactions, etc... I found this very interesting. Does this ring a bell with any of you fellow chronners?

 

[James118]

Today I played with post-it notes. Trying something new (for me) in terms of plotting. It was fun, and if nothing else it served to organize some things a little better in my mind.

View attachment 26473

Pic was when I was just getting started. Green for action scenes, purple for slower paced character-driven scenes, orange for settings, blue for backstories, etc. The idea was to take all my pages and pages of notes of things that have to be included at some point and lay them out in a more visual manner so I can weave them together more efficiently. I hope.

Ooh, that reminds me: I have a coming-of-age thing set in secondary school, and it's probably the most character-driven thing I've got (I'm like 25% into it after years and years, on and off). In the plan, I have scenes colour-coded for characters, and indeed plot threads. Hell, for the sake of consistency and therefore believability, I drew up the main character's timetable. Which is a giant bloody headache, let me tell you, especially given how disorganised I am 99% of the time. Anyway, even that timetable is colour-coded with what characters are in what class. As a visual learner, it's probably helping me a lot (I haven't noticed it especially yet, but why wouldn't it?).

 

[james lanfear]

Today I played with post-it notes. Trying something new (for me) in terms of plotting. It was fun, and if nothing else it served to organize some things a little better in my mind.

View attachment 26473

Pic was when I was just getting started. Green for action scenes, purple for slower paced character-driven scenes, orange for settings, blue for backstories, etc. The idea was to take all my pages and pages of notes of things that have to be included at some point and lay them out in a more visual manner so I can weave them together more efficiently. I hope.

I like this idea, as a visual learner, too.
I sort of imagine a story writer is like a detective, in reverse.
Instead of trying to unravel the story from the trail of clues, a writer tries to create the story, issuing a series of clues as they go. Each chapter revealing the next stage, without giving the game away as to the ending. A detective knows the ending but has to work out the content of the 'chapters'.
So, as I've seen detectives use this system to unravel crimes...

Thanks!

 

[Michael Coorlim]

For the rest of December I'll be nurturing my cover-art kickstarter, continuing to write my current project, and doing post production on the audio-drama podcast we're launching in late January/early February.

I like to keep busy.

 

[F.J. Hansen]

I'm over 24,000 words into my time travel novel, in the middle of Chapter 7. Right now, I'm trying again to kill off a character that I had tried to kill earlier, but was saved.

There's a chance he might be saved this time, too, though.

 

[Stephen Palmer]

Research:

for all you Carrollians...

 

[Tim Murray]

I'm over 24,000 words into my time travel novel, in the middle of Chapter 7. Right now, I'm trying again to kill off a character that I had tried to kill earlier, but was saved.

There's a chance he might be saved this time, too, though.

What tech are you using to time travel? I've got a second in my series complete in first draft form that travels through space time and dimensions. I'm interested in how fellow time travel writers do it.

 

[james lanfear]

I'm over 24,000 words into my time travel novel, in the middle of Chapter 7. Right now, I'm trying again to kill off a character that I had tried to kill earlier, but was saved.

There's a chance he might be saved this time, too, though.

Ain't that a bitch? When you plan to kill them off but they get under your skin? It's almost like, the more you 'do' for them, the more they fight for life!

 

[thaddeus6th]

Makes their death all the sweeter

 

[Edward M. Grant]

Hopping between two novels at the moment.

Comrade Stalin Goes To Tau Ceti, about a Soviet-era starship.

Man-Eating Lesbian Pirates, about... well, the title pretty much gives it away.

 

[F.J. Hansen]

What tech are you using to time travel? I've got a second in my series complete in first draft form that travels through space time and dimensions. I'm interested in how fellow time travel writers do it.

No tech as we know it. It involves an artificial wormhole (one of many that were set up around the Local Group by an ancient race). With this particular wormhole, a failed experiment (conducted by another alien long before Mankind existed) had caused it to fracture and destabilize so that it shoots you to anywhere and anywhen seemingly at random.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

Working on the 3rd book in the "Otherworld Series" (set contemporaneously, though the "Otherworld is at about 1850 level of tech) that features the Tuath De. About 35K words done. But jumping back to "retcon" the first two, "Under the Stone of Destiny" and "Carrying the Shining Sword" with characters, changes in how portals work, magic, the true fair folk (Aés Sidhe / Aos Sí etc). Nothing major, but will add more characters, events and consistency to the first two books. The current WIP hasn't got a final title. Something like "Search for the Crimmall" or "The Stolen Spear of Lightning". I think there won't be a fourth "Treasure" book, but there might be some day other stories set in the same "world". The original characters are getting older.

 

[Tim Murray]

No tech as we know it. It involves an artificial wormhole (one of many that were set up around the Local Group by an ancient race). With this particular wormhole, a failed experiment (conducted by another alien long before Mankind existed) had caused it to fracture and destabilize so that it shoots you to anywhere and anywhen seemingly at random.

That could make for a lot of one-way trips, unless someone figures out how to navigate the wormhole. An intriguing concept

 

[F.J. Hansen]

That could make for a lot of one-way trips, unless someone figures out how to navigate the wormhole. An intriguing concept

It's discovered later on (in a story I have on Wattpad and Goodreads) that you have to re-enter the wormhole exactly the same way you exited to return to where you were before.

 

[pambaddeley]

Working on what I hope will be the final edit of the epic fantasy novel I intend to self publish first. Have been working on this for more years than I care to remember, in between producing four other novels.