Over lunch, I was on Amazon for another reason. As usual, I was presented with a “You Might Like This” list. I print-screened four sets of four covers. In each set, I put my tentative cover over one that I didn’t want to be grouped with. I definitely need a different title font. The bookContinue reading “Cover Style 2”
Author Archives: Mark
Hardcopy!
First the good news: I “finished” to the logical/plot halfway point. I put it all together. I used the “master document” thing so it’s not copy/paste. 15 chapters. 67K words. 162 pages. That is indeed half a novel. Huzzah! The bad news: I suck. There is markup on almost every other page. At least forContinue reading “Hardcopy!”
Split Infinitives
I’m sure no one cares about the trials and tribulations of swapping two chapters and splitting another one into two. I did it and I don’t care about it. It was tedious and annoying. I need to look into writing tools. That split infinitives are considered an English grammar error is a hold-over from theContinue reading “Split Infinitives”
Magic Barrier
Marcy, our first mage, is arriving on stage. Things rearranged and her appearance got moved. Her chapter also got long and split. I’m calling part two “chapter 10.5”. I’m sick of renumbering. I’m now stuck. In order to show her list of spells, I need a spell categorization system. One of the common options isContinue reading “Magic Barrier”
Frustrating, but I Can’t Help Myself
Chapter 11 got too long, not only in page count but in scene count. I split it. That pushed 12 to 13, etc… Chapter 9 needs more space. Not word count, physical space. This means I need to extend the “loop” they’re making. At least Google Maps makes that easy. I sent them into Montana.Continue reading “Frustrating, but I Can’t Help Myself”
My Competition
I’m not going to name the book or author because this is basically a random sample and there is no reason to pick on this book/person specifically. 173 reviews. 4.3 star average. “The only sound was of the doors parting and then the thing dropping through them and hitting the stone floor of the intersectionContinue reading “My Competition”
Call for Alpha Readers
I’ve mentioned this before, but it was buried in other things. Leaving a (somewhat self-serving) comment on According to Hoyt, I realized a dedicated landing page for it would be handy. This is that page. I want to send out just the first half. It’s a decent stopping point. If the feedback is “Dear G*d!Continue reading “Call for Alpha Readers”
Channeling? Possesion?
I’ve heard authors, particularly Sarah Hoyt, say that their characters want to be written. I’ve never quite understood, until now. It was more than “flow“. That smartass Luke took me over, yesterday. I was up until 0300 and the words just poured out. The last hour’s output is a bit dubious, but the rest ofContinue reading “Channeling? Possesion?”
The Hobgoblin of Consistency
That’s the last one. I think it’s a contender. Illustrate pulls at me. The chapters are getting longer. I tried to fight this, but I’m giving up. It’s too early to worry about it and constantly renumbering things is getting expensive. I’m writing as a file per chapter, so renumbering changes all the filenames. InContinue reading “The Hobgoblin of Consistency”
Winner So Far
It’s still cranking away (68% done). I’m reviewing and deleting as it goes, which will probably confuse it when it tries to show the results, but whatever. Checklist: Weapon. Glowing stuff. Monsters. Color. Not photo-realistic. My criteria: not anime, ridiculous muscles, and a not-obscene crotch. There’s something a little weird about the wolf on theContinue reading “Winner So Far”
Marked Up 