Sunday, February 28, 2010

Emotional

I haven't finished Chapter 48, but I have composed the crucial scene.  Got little watery in the eyes (lol).  Took a while to finish the scene.  This is the cornerstone of the book.  I tried to make it have the same emotional impact on me as it does for one character in the scene.

b write black.

I've seen the future and it will be...

February is over.  Book still being written, running parallel to being edited.  My goal at the moment is to be finished with the next two chapters, setting up revelations that will wind the story down.  I've become more comfortable with the book's delay for a reason.  The reason will be explained come Wednesday.  I can predict that by the end of today (as I am on a good run for writing this weekend), that I will finish, at the very least, the 1st of the two chapters that hold the big reveals in them.  Don't expect anything life changing (at least for the reader), but it will change the game plans for the characters in the book.

The chapter I'm currently working on (chapter 48) is the first chapter that shows the antagonists plotting to take down the protagonists.  Until now, some of the main protagonists have suspected the antagonists' plans, and have confronted co-conspirators to the plot.  But the book has not focused on showing the antagonists' scheming, just the schemes that are revealed to be a part of their plot.  Unfortunately, now that a scheme is shown, it sets up the potential for a predictable setup where the protagonists get out of the trouble staged for them.  However, no one will see events that favor neither the protagonist or antagonists.  Casualties will be on both sides, and the two sides must then confront one another rather than concoct clandestine schemes.

The fiancee and I talked more about the collaborative piece last night.  At the moment, though there will be research needed, it won't be a grand saga such as A Company of Moors, but it will be epic.  Wednesday, I'll breakdown where this resurfaced project will fit in the time-line of projects to come.  I would like to make it a 100 pg novel.  50 pg beginning, 100 pg middle, 50 end.  I like this idea, coupled with another short idea I'm cooking up, to come between epic poems.  Maybe just one, maybe both.  Don't know.  Stay tuned.

b write black.

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Surprise!!!!

Heading into chapter 48.  Again, protagonists and antagonists have their plans.  No one will see the wrenches thrown into the works over the next chapters.  The main antagonist and protagonists will be forced to slug it out (hehehehehe).

In other news, fiancee and I have been collaborating on an idea that we've been throwing around for a couple years.  Will be on schedule.  Her story.  I write.  Ideas in, ideas out.  Ideas mixed.  Idea is cool.  Stay tuned.  I'm gonna talk more about this.  Once I finish ACoM I'll lay down what the rest of the year will bring.  Here's a hint:  12 Stories & cheat codes.

b write black.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

The Best Laid Plans...

The protagonists have their plans to take down the antagonists.  The antagonists have plans to wipe out the protagonists.  Both sides have suffered major casualties thus far.  However, no one is ready to see a twist in greater politics, or deal with the actions of an extremely bitter man.  This man finds himself in a twisted form of Hamlet, as he continues to grieve over the death of his father, murdered when this character was six years old.  His plans of revenge, at this point methodical, become devastating when he makes a sudden act to grasp the moment to avenge his father.

Chapter forty-six, which I've just finished, ends with a very explicit love scene.  Ooooooooooh.  I know people will skip ahead.  Ah, it ain't all that.  I'm now on chapter forty-seven.  I'm far over budget, but, hey.  Still truckin'.  The book will end soon.

b write black.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Staring Down the Finish Line

Last weekend all editing for the 1st 150 pgs was completed, and editing for the 2nd 150 pgs is now underway.  The editors are a good deal in and very exited.  I'm going to apply the first edits this weekend coming up, and I will continue to wind down the story.

Everything is going as I have foreseen.

b wrote black.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

150 prt II (prt 2)

The second 150 pages has been looked through.  I will print it out and give it to the editors.  They are on the last chapter of the first 150 pgs.  We're all having fun putting this together.  For the moment, got to get back to writing.  Gotta finish the book.

b write black.

Friday, February 19, 2010

150 prt II

Today is all about a read through the 2nd 150 pgs.  The editors (that I greatly appreciate) have come to the end of the first 150 pages, and I'm happy to say that they are excited to get to the next 150 pages.

While I've been reading, I've noticed there are at least a million Star Wars references.

Awesome.  George Lucas is gonna sue me.

b write black.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

The Wind Down

A major battle sequence has just been finished.  I actually finished the battle last night, and throughout this morning (when time permitted), I have been re-editing it and also finishing chapter forty-four.  I really enjoyed writing these past few chapters.  One of the main protagonists got a lot of page time.  He was center stage.  He's sort of been in the background, and there was a plot line initially written (3 years ago) to have him leave the story.  That was not only switched around at the last minute, but so were love interests.  He is with another character, and the man that was supposed to be with that woman is with another.  It works out so much better.  But I'm glad that this character, named Ojodo Yerodin, got heavy page time.  Ojodo is a titan.  He's a big guy, but of course, he's a teddy bear (when he's not mauling people like a black bear).  Ojodo is a dramatist, a playwright.  And though he finds himself in many adventures, he yearns to write the ultimate adventure.  He is a philosopher whose appetite for knowledge is insatiable.  In chapter forty-four he pushes that aside to help lead a major battle, and, earlier in the book, he has one of my favorite lines.  Not only has keeping Ojodo Yerodin around made me switch up his love interest, but he has also made me present him as the 1st major character that I have spoken about.  I was supposed to speak about another.  Perhaps later, when the moment's right.  That's what writing is anyway.

So, the book has got some extra pages than planned.  Yeah, I'm over budget.  I don't care.  I'm looking to just tell the story.  The good news is that the end of this battle marks the beginning of the end of the story.  The last act is upon us.  From here on out there will be nothing but big reveals, twists, surprises, more deaths, and a climax between protagonists and antagonists.  It's February 16th.  Looking at the calendar now, I can guess-timate that finishing this book mid-march.  Editing is happening side-by-side.  My editors are goin' crazy.  We got the weekends to converge and talk about thangs.  So all that needs to be done is applying the edits, putting the various documents together as one whole, copyright the book, assemble the final look of the cover, and send it to the printers.

All in a daze work

b write black.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

150 x 3

I've hit the third 150 page mark.  Happened earlier this morning.  Finished chapter forty-three, crawled back into bed.  Just woke up to start chapter forty-four.  Because the first 150 pgs went over by six, and even with being under the mark for the 2nd 150 pg story arc, I know that I'm still over 450 pgs for the book.  Every page from here on out is an 'added expense'.  But I don't care.  I'm having fun going into the final act(s) of this book.

More editing happened for the 1st 150 pgs yesterday.  It's giong very well on that end.  Everyone is in agreement, and even my fragile ego isn't shattered when the editors scream, "THIS SUCKS!  WHO TOLD YOU THAT YOU COULD WRITE?"  It's all good.  I know they're just trying to make the book a masterpiece.

I think.

Regardless, we're all having fun (despite the occasional cursing and punches thrown).  But we should be through with that soon, and edits will be applied as we move on to the 2nd 150 pg story arc.  Need more ink for the printer already.

The next book will be choc-full-of interesting characters and a tight story, but the overall work will not be this intense.  It'll be short(er) and to the point.

I hope.

b write black.

Friday, February 12, 2010

Editing in Full Effect

Last night there was a small meeting for editing the first couple of pages on ACoM.  It was exciting, to me anyway.  People were actually reading the book and helping the manuscript reach a spotless, final draft, and have this thing shipped out to the shelves.  More editing will take place this weekend, more discussion.  Getting excited.  Still punching out the finishing chapters.  I'm on chapter forty-three, right at the beginning.  There's been a lot of otha people's newz that I've had to deal with this week, but hey, it's payin' the bills right?

b write black.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

On the Table

The editing is full steam agead.  Today, I have a great deal of otha people's news to jump at.  But, I'm going to at least get to a comfortable break in the story.  The first major battle sequence takes place.  Once I have finally written the scene the final act of the story will commence.  There will probably be 50 - 100 pages more to this book.  550 pgs?  Maybe.  I'm not so mad anymore, or anal-retentive about making this book fit the 450 pg mark.  My fiancee keeps telling me to just 'Tell the story'.  So that is exactly what I'll do.  More updates soon.

b write black.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Sweet Dreams Are Made of These

I have no had three dreams that have featured the characters in ACoM.  Well, truthfully two.  The third dream dealt with people I know (including myself) dressing up as the characters and trying to film the book as a movie.  It was very low budget, filmed in my backyard.  The first two were the actual characters.  The first dream, hysterical  All the characters, good and bad put out a hit on a particular, undeserving Grammy winner.  Lol.  You can decide for youself who that might be...you'd probably be right.  I guess that was just my anger at this person winning.  But it was fun to see my characters (as I imagine them too) saying they would put aside differences to right this injustice.  Lol.  Hysterical.

The second dream was more demented.  The main antagonist was manipulating my life.  He was good.  I guess I trained him well...er...created him well.  He was badass, I gotta give it to him.  It was some scary shit.  But, I got out of that one.

All in all, I am apparently wrapped up in the final pages of this book.  The book may actually be 500 pages.  Yeah, 50 pgs over budget.  Oh, well.  It will be an epic.

Sweet dreams, or sweet nightmares.

b write black.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Casting Call

Last night I started putting together the list of characters for the 3rd epic poem.  I've had notes before, this time I was trying to get all the names correct.  The main character's last name is still being debated.  Of course, now that I've just said that, I've come up with it.  Go figure.  There are still some more names to put together.  I have to look back at notes to see what the main villain's name was supposed to be...at least one of his names (you'll know what that means soon enough).  I used the last name for a character in ACoM.  And it's applied to a good guy (kind of).  The first name was too obvious.  So, that's scrapped.

Okay.  Calling all Imaginary and fictitious characters.  There is an open casting call for a mystical, magical tale.  Once I have all the character names finalized I'll start to define them, who they are, their motives and what nots.  I'll gather previous notes together once ACoM is floating on its own.  I'll start 'pre-production' come late April.  Maybe around my birthday.  That should give me a cool down from ACoM and help me expose myself to a whole new set of dysfuntional emotions that these new characters bring.  Actually, the greatest emotion is determination.  So, hopefully that rubs off.

b write black.

Friday, February 5, 2010

150 and counting

No, I haven't made it to the third 150 yet.  All day I was editing and I re-printed the first 150 pages.  They have been delivered to the editors and they will get their official edit.  I won't be able to get back to writing until Sunday.  But I have completed the intro pages and after pages of the book.  Lookin' good.

b write black.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Chapter 42

Okay.  So chapter 41 isn't going to be that long.  I've decided to split it up into two chapters.  It was just running long.  Give people a break when they read.  You know you'd use to flip the pages to see when the chapter ended, and you just hated when you saw page after page after page.  No end in sight.  Well, here's to the end.

b write black.

The Longest Yard

I'm in the middle of Chapter 41.  It'll probably be the longest chapter in the book.  Oh, wait.  I think the first chapter was thirty pages.  Okay.  It'll be one of the longest chapters in the book.  This Friday I'm taking the day off to concentrate on giving a run through edit for the 1st 150 pgs.  I've gotten through the first sixty pages or so.  May go back and start over again.  One whole day to reading and editing my stuff.  No otha people's newz.  Saturday, I will re-submit the 1st 150 to the editors.  I'll do the same next Friday for the second 150 pgs.  Between then, I'm gonna be writing.  I got a whole lot of ground covered yesterday, when opportunity presented.  Twelve pages were knocked out.  I've skimmed them, done some edits.  This is the last month for this book.  Can't wait for the end.  Editing will all come together, everything will be complete.  Sending to the printer/distributor may be a hassle.  The cover has to be centered correctly.  Then the proof read through.

In other news... I did a voice over for a friend's commercial.  Cool.  He directed a commercial that will air in Atlanta.  It was fun.

b write black.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Behind a Week?

I am.  But then again I'm not.  But then again I am.  But I'm not.  But I am.

The Blackman is God.

Anyway, obscure references aside.  I'm not a week behind.  But then again I am...wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.  It goes like this.  Where I am now in writing was where I had hoped to be this time last week, but it was not a definite and I knew that it was an impossible feat to pull off for last week.  But, now I'm there.  So, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming.

b write black.