5 Days

Today is the 10th of February, 2011; my deadline for the second draft of Calibre is on the 15th. This is going to be interesting - I missed one deadline of about 6 "blocks" my writing was structured in, so I'm really hoping I can get it done. It really depends on tomorrow - that is, how long I'm at work before I can go back home.
I have fixed the first nine chapters, so five remain. I wish I could say I'm intending to simply do one a day, but that really isn't the case because of other commitments. Chapter 10, Between Us and Them, is going to be mostly rewritten (although it isn't a particularly complex chapter compared to the one that follows it); as is the final chapter, which was a real rush job back when I wrote it. A few weeks after finishing the first draft, I touched up the ending a bit, but it still isn't adequate in my eyes.
So yeah. Tomorrow and Saturday are going to be busy days. The main thing is I really do feel the second draft is much better so far, with far more light shed on the intentions of the characters - "good" and "bad" alike - which really gets the mood the way I want it: a little disorientating and not black and white. That sentence sucked. I'm so tired. Moon.

Blurb 1.0

Right. Here it is. My first attempt at a blurb for Calibre. Some feedback would be awesome, but I'm self-aware enough to know that nobody actually looks at this, and if you have it's probably because of my direct instruction for you to do so, so just go back to my MSN/Facebook IM window and tell me there. As I said... this is my first attempt. I've never really created a blurb for a finalised product (I've made one here and there to try and stir interest amidst my friends, then go on to write nothing to assign it to). So I really do what to know how it sounds... so without further ado...

The giant pods of Pen Expers that somehow hang in the air; the town of Photo, where it always rains; the monstrosity that is Building 12... The world of the Fectoprine is a curious one. But something is terribly wrong.

As man attempts to scrub the world of a deity, the extraordinary are the enemy. Acting as the remnants of the mysterious Ruben Storm, those who possess calibres - supernatural abilities granted to seemingly random individuals - are dubbed competitors and hunted down. For it is only a matter of time until they become the ‘host’ - nothing but a projection of Ruben himself - and potentially destroy the Fectoprine... or redefine humanity itself. But what place does humanity have in this world?

Eric Paradinas is a competitor, possessing a tongue of silver that only the deaf can defy, who becomes reluctantly entangled in the ongoing battle between the two distinct sides. While both parties seem to share the same goal - destroy Ruben Storm - they have very different ideas as to how it will be done. And the clock is ticking, but only the elusive nemesis knows the ring of its chime...

So yeah. Let us know. Any good? Would you consider reading a book with this blurb? Thanks!

Actual progress!

About four weeks after I finished the first draft, I started marking it up. Admittedly, I did not pick up many errors, which was kind of frustrating as I knew they would inevitably be there. But my main goal - to ensure coherence in the next draft - is mostly achieved... on paper, at least. I'm yet to go through the actual documents and make the changes I've outlined, but I'm actually up to that stage now.
Right now, I actually feel rather stupid - it took me two fairly long days to mark up seven chapters. I could have finished this stage months ago. Now that I've arranged to have it looked over for errors and consistency by somebody else, which I believe will easily be a more effective method, it frustrates me that I put off doing something so simple for so long, thus meaning I can't send it right to them yet. However, at least soon I will have a coherent draft, with all of the crap that I don't want, cut.
I have a headache. Ttyl.

Just a note

Due to the fact that I have actually finished the first draft of Calibre, and don't really care too much to talk about the mundane editing process which I'm yet to begin, I'm probably going to start using this like an actual blog. With that said, onward...

Last night, tired impulse had me consider trying to do something a little more experimental with my time before beginning another large novel project. Funnily enough, though, the idea may be simpler when it comes to the storytelling side of it, but its complexity in structure will probably be enough to put me off the idea the moment I try to start it. Yet... that's what I thought about writing a novel less than six months ago, so I might as well talk about it.

At the moment, it's titled Erin Decides - Erin being an intentionally unisex name, as the character's identity to the reader is pretty irrelevant. It is going to be a create your own adventure. There's not really a better way to put it. And I'm well aware that, if you are my age - a nineties kid - your mind has automatically presented you (hopefully) fond memories of the CYOA Goosebumps books. That's not really the kind of thing I will be going for, though.

Instead of presenting the reader with a choice at the end of segments, Erin Decides will instead be a 'flowing' narrative - essentially a free-flowing narrative - in which the reader interacts via 'denial'. Because the reader is not Erin, Erin is able to make their own decisions. But you can deny said decisions. In context of a digital version, which will probably be the only kind, decisions are distinguished from the rest of the body of the story, like Erin doing something as simple as pouring themselves a cup of coffee. You can deny this decision, and thus the story changes accordingly. The idea is that the initial decisions made by the reader will create completely different scenarios (which means there will be no single plot for the experiment).

This will result in a huge web of possibilities - every single decision in the project will affect the story in some way, from obvious things like somehow lagging Erin's progress; to more complex interactions, most probably with other people, that will go on to echo throughout the narrative and affect it in ways that you will not realise unless you do it all again with minor changes. Yes, it is going to be fairly difficult to make, and I intend to do planning. I'm not particularly optimistic about it actually working, but it's an experiment! What's there to lose? Free time I'm currently spending on nothing, really.

Back to Calibre briefly... at the moment, I'm not touching it. I've decided to let it cool off before getting stuck into the editing. Plus, I would like to kick start another project, whether it be Erin Decides or Time & Place or Surrogate. Whatever happens, really. But I hope to brush off all of the errors and course-correct oddities in Calibre before my birthday. *shrugs* I'm not really rushed any more, but I still would like to move onward all the same.

First Draft

On Tuesday the 12th of July, I completed the final chapter of Calibre, thus finishing the first draft as a whole. I began on the 15th of February and aimed to have it completed by the 15th of August. ^_^

So, this weekend, I will officially begin editing, which I'm slightly reluctant to get it rolling, but I'll definitely regret not doing so if I put it off. I doubt I will be updating this with Calibre-related stuff for a while, so forgive neglect. However, I will update with any projects that happen to come up!

This Must Be It

Chapter Fifteen, This Must Be It, is complete. I started it this morning and finished it about five minutes ago, with several breaks (mostly spent browsing the internet and eating). This is the fastest turnaround I've ever managed.

This means there is one chapter to go before the first draft should be completed... Shit.

Chapter Fifteen focuses on... actually, no, I won't go there. :P

Somewhere Only We Know

Chapter Fourteen, Somewhere Only We Know, is complete. It's one of the shorter chapters in the story, but is still over 6'000 words. It is one of the darker chapters of the story, taking place after C13 (at first about an hour after it before returning to the immediate events after 13). It contains one of the most important revelations in the book, plus the long-awaited emergence of what Victor has described many times as "something bad".

I will be starting C15 tonight probably, which is (based on what I intend) titled This Must Be It. And this is it. C15 and 16 are the final chapters of Cailbre. Most of it is going to be wrapped up before C16, which will focus on consequence.

I'll probably find myself hopelessly procrastinating like I did with Chapter 14 out of fear that I will handle it poorly, but alas, I am still on schedule! C14 is due on the 15th, and it is the 10th. ;)

First draft should be finished by September, which is what I've hoped for for a while now (perhaps even August, depending how confident I am the moment I begin C15).

WISH ME LUCK.

Progress - 27th of June

This morning, at around one o'clock, I finished Chapter Thirteen - titled Suddenly The Trees Are Giving Way. This obviously means that Silence Before The Storm has also been completed, and right now I'm having a small break before finishing the opening segment of Chapter Fourteen, Somewhere Only We Know. (suddenly the trees are giving way somewhere only we know? GET IT?!)

Chapter 12 is a largely flash-back driven chapter, revealing something important about Vivian and Sebastian Wyre that, hopefully, will offer some kind of insight on the Fectoprine, perhaps managing another dimension in the realism of the intentions of the different sides in this story. It also presents Angelica and Marie's "coming out" stories, although I dare say these might be moved back pretty far.

Chapter 13, on the other hand, has no flash-backs at all - it is all about the nearing to the encounter of Treefingers, and a rather vicious battle between two old enemies. He's a fun little spoiler-free extract from this said battle:

It was probably fortunate that Tide was still in a daze, as it was fair to say that he may have been spared that split second of agony as he combusted, every little thing that built up his rather buffed, well-treated, young body splitting into hundreds of fun-sized pieces and riding on the torrents of blood that covered the trees and grass around him.

Anyway... Chapter 14 will introduce Ian Treale. Yes, I know, Chapter 4 did that. But Chapter 4 and most of the information in it has become dud, anyway. Plus, I have come to agree with both Charles and Jared that holding off on throwing the reader that far in the past of the timeline is a good idea and, because the fate of Treale has been decided and laid out, it is far more meaningful to look into his strange life now.

... 14, 15, 16, and, according to my (admittedly mostly mental) plan, Calibre will be complete.

Silence Before The Storm

Chapter 12 is completed, finally, at around 7200 words. It is very much a flash-back orientated chapter, focusing on some of the more grizzly encounters between competitors and enForcers. It also offers a different perspective of some events already presented in the story, as far back as Chapter 2. It mostly follows the mysterious enForcer Vivian, who shared the spotlight with Wade in the previous chapter, and Sebastian Wyre prior to his death.

I have started C13, which I haven't chosen a name for (I could call it Treefingers, but that's a little too obvious), and it is the beginning of the final stretch of the story: the group finally cross the fence into Treefingers' territory; Seth and August arrive as do Jai and Heath, a little later; and the largest pack of enForcers any of them have had to face are heading in the same direction.

Basically, everything you need to know about the past has been covered. It's time for the story to accelerate and keep its foot off the brake. ^^

The first draft of Calibre is going to be finished before August. This. Is. Exciting. I have never come close to managing this, and I never would have thought this idea of all of them - one that I was particularly precious about executing - would be my first full-length novel. Of course, a shit load of editing will follow its completion: I may or may not try getting some of my shorter story ideas on their way in this period, but my ultimate focus will still be on prepping Calibre to attempt to get it published. :)

Missing the deadline

Well, it was the fifteenth yesterday, and Chapter Twelve was not completed. I don't feel too bad about it - it's not really a case of laziness regarding why I've fallen behind, as my trip to New Zealand had a lot to do with that. But it means I'll be putting more pressure on myself this month to complete four chapters, although I might just settle with three so next month - which, according to the plan, will be the final month for the first draft - I'll be able to create a kick-ass duo of closing chapters. Right?

Chapter 12 is going to include a series of flash-backs regarding the birth of the circle which the entire book has essentially revolved around, plus the confrontation with Wade Valentine and the situation in the water station (which I don't plan to keep going on for too long). The effects of the bond will also be fleshed out more... Yeah, at this point, most of this will probably only make sense to me. But this is for self-reference, after all.

I've done a lot of thinking regarding the nature of my antagonist and, to be honest, I'm overly pretty pleased with it: it's something a little different for the kind of book that Calibre is, and it's an idea I've tried many times with little success. In fact, I know enough about what's going on now (as I damn well should) to put together a blurb... but I'm too tired to bother right now.

Five chapters to go (according to the plan)

Chapter One
Title: Come With Us by The Chemical Brothers
Focal characters: Eric and August
In lure of a potential supporter of their cause, August, Jai and Marie head to the famous Building #12. Meanwhile, an anxious competitor, Eric, is slowly but surely stalked by the Fectoprine.

Chapter Two
Title: If You Have An Enemy by Leafcutter John
Focal characters: Heath and Seth
Sebastian Wyre, a high-ranking enForcer, heads to the hotel Eric was staying in to investigate his mysterious disappearance. The fate of August is revealed, along with Seth's past encounter with the Fectoprine.

Chapter Three
Title: In All The Wrong Places by Ulrich Schnauss
Focal characters: Eric and Jai
After his disappearance from Prada Hotel, Eric heads to green hill in an attempt to distance himself from potential capture while Marie pursues him due to Victor's unusual desperation to have him join them. Jai attempts to outrun the Fectoprine after August's fall at Building #12.

For the sake of trivia, it should be noted that the first three chapters string together to make a sentence - Come with us if you have an enemy in all the wrong places.

Chapter Four
Title: Untitled
Focal characters: Marie and Heath
This chapter is to be revamped.

Chapter Five
Title: No Solitude for the Patient by Eight Frozen Modules
Focal characters: Eric and Jai
Eric finally arrives at the circle's "The Other Woman" and meets other calibre-bearers for the first time. Jai awakens in the much-feared complex, Pen Expers.

Chapter Six
Title: Pen Expers by Autechre
Focal characters: Jai
The rescue attempt begins with a semi-suicide mission to Pen Expers, while Jai is guided to some level of safety within the facilities by a mysterious accomplice, Demi.

Chapter Seven
Title: Who's Afraid Of... by Namco Sound Team (from Tekken 5)
Focal characters: None
Pen Expers lands in Photo after an unnatural flight, and The Other Woman winds up in Voteporix. The effects of the hitruix are thus revealed, and the sentique make an appearance for the first time.

Chapter Eight
Title: What You Waiting For? by Gwen Stefani
Focal characters: Victor and Yvonne
Victor's past is revealed, and the nature of Ruben Storm is explained while the circle transit from Photo back to Tirus to begin the first proper stage of their mission.

Chapter Nine
Title: You Are The Reason by capsule
Focal characters: None

Phase one of the plan goes underway - the infiltration of Dario FM begins.

Chapter Ten

Title: Between Us And Them by Ulrich Schnauss

Focal characters: August

Phase two of the plan, and Jai's sentique catches up with him while August discovers a potential strategy to deal with them.

Chapter 11 is also complete, being the second-longest chapter in the book so far. I have three days to complete Chapter 12, currently titled Silence Before The Storm. This will cover the group's encounter with the new Wade Valentine, better known by the crude nickname Treefingers. I dare say the story will be complete in sixteen chapters... which means I am almost on the home stretch, with the main characters fleshed out enough for me to go back and touch up their human-ness, and the intentions of the Circle now revealed.

In good time (most probably after Calibre is complete), I will probably be writing a short story about the character Vivian, who has only appeared in a few chapters (1, 4, 11). There is also a lot of potential for a short story - perhaps even a novella - of another calibre-bearer that has been mentioned a few times in Calibre but is never to be seen in the book. The significance of said character is omitted due to the spoil factor.

Anyway, today and tomorrow are going to be very busy if I'm going to meet my 3 chapters per month deadline, which is on the 15th. I'll update this accordingly.

You Are The Reason complete

I never thought this would actually happen, but I finished a chapter within a day of beginning it. Chapter Eight took about two weeks to complete... Chapter Nine took two days. This puts me ahead of schedule, although I'm still sure Chapter Eight will implode in the second draft.

Chapter Nine, You Are The Reason, is act one of Victor's major scheme, which involves infiltrating a radio station. The chapter also offers further insight into the characters' attitudes towards the events going on, and, more importantly, tells the reader what happened to Seth in Voteporix (which will probably be moved back into C8 when it isn't broken).

6 days left

I have six days to finish Chapter Nine, which I have begun with a decent 2000-ish words. I have completed Chapter Eight, although I don't think I will be sharing it - the whole thing is very broken, and will kind of be spread over previous chapters, particularly C4. So, I dare say after the second draft, an entire chapter will be gutted.

Chapter Nine introduces a future time line for the first time, although it is nothing drastic - the current time line is set on the trip to where the second one is set. Basically, I have done this to decrease the transportation, which would probably come across as needless filler.

Basically, C9 sees the first properly structured stage of Victor's scheme, having the group return to Tirus (the city) temporarily to attempt to discover the whereabouts of the corpse of Ian Treale. So, I have basically chosen what is going to unfold. So it's a pretty exciting time for the writing process. With the Pen Expers happenings over with, I can finally begin to draw the curtain.

Chapter Eight Progress

I have been very lazy.

Chapter Eight, Fly Like An Eagle, is currently sitting at around 6000 words... So, it isn't far from being finished. But at the same time, it carries a kind of burden: because I decidedly changed my mind about what's going to happen, I had to lay out a description of the 'problem' in the book with a wall of dialogue. It does work well enough in context (Eric finally demands Victor tell the others and himself what's going on and why they're doing what they're doing), but a lot of it should be eased in during the earlier chapters. This'll be fixed during the second draft, though.

Fly Like An Eagle focuses mostly on Victor, somebody who has been around since the second chapter but has never really stepped into the spotlight... the only other character who hasn't done this yet is Angelica. It is the most dialogue-intensive chapter of the book so far, I dare say, thanks to Victor's explanation on Ruben Storm.

What I've decided on isn't something completely surprising to myself - the first time I attempted a super-power based project, which was called Black Calibre, it had a similar threat. I've always favoured the idea of having a non-human antagonist, which is going to be the case in Calibre. It is also not unconditionally biased towards the protagonist's intentions, which is something I feel helps make the world seem more vivid: there is always to sides to a story, and that is going to be the case with Calibre.

Anyway, I hope to finish C8 by tonight. I'll update this if I manage to do so.

Chapter Seven: Complete

I should probably get back to updating this more regularly, as the idea is to offer myself a fairly vivid chronology of the writing process... but oh well. I completed Chapter Seven, Who's Afraid Of..., last night at around eight o'clock. I will have another look at it (a few events aren't really tied up, which I feel should be done in that chapter), but at the moment it's sitting at 6713 words. It reveals what occurs after Jai and Seth's exposure to hitruix, and introduces two brand new locations: Photo, a riverside community tucked in a forest where it always rains; and Voteporix, which is essentially the Antarctica of this world.

Chapter Seven is the chapter I have been most pleased with since the first one. I think this is because now that I have a solid idea what's going on, the chapter feels like it has proper momentum behind it. It also begins to introduce the Sentique, which is a huge deal in terms of plot points.

I'm hoping I will get a decent chunk of Chapter Eight done this weekend. I might be working on Saturday, but still, I have no plans that night or all day Sunday at this point.

Some things I'm definitely going to need to touch up on the second draft is, predictably, alluding more to what is going on instead of hiding it behind a curtain, pointing at it, and saying 'what's behind that is a big deal, k?' Because of the mysterious, unique nature of the story's true antagonist, I'm thankful I have Chapter Four which, at this stage, is acting much like a blank slate (because of the removal of Ian Treale, I can radically change it without affecting surrounding chapters too much).

Anyway, it's a Thursday, which means it's production day at the newspaper. Hurk. Better stop stealing McDonald's Wi-Fi and get going.

Decisions

Last night, I spent a couple of hours sitting on my thinking hammock, rocking back and forth, listening to music, and was thinking about the story. And I'm pleased to say... after six chapters, I know what's going to happen.

But this outcome comes at a price, which means extra work for the second draft: I will be removing Ian Treale as a character. He was developed as a kind of 'saviour', but was completely absent in the first three chapters. What was evident in those chapters, however, was things like a 'greater fate' than things like Pen Expers, which has also been looked into in 5/6. Despite the removal of Ian Treale, however, Treefingers will still be in Chapter 4, and will be a big deal later on...

I'll admit, I haven't done much for Chapter Seven yet. But because it is essentially the first chapter of part two of the book, I don't think this is a huge deal - I think it'll benefit if I write it on the weekend when I have a clear head and an empty schedule. :)

Chapter Six: Complete

Very late, I know. But it's complete. And it turned out very different to how I imagined it would.

It doesn't really strictly follow any one given character - with the full cast introduced, it was time to not just gently push the ball into motion, but give it a solid kick. Hence, Chapter Six includes the full infiltration of Pen Expers, and basically all of the competitors leave the city altogether by the end of it.

However... this was a decision I made about half way through it. So, the actual tying up contrasts with the first half of the chapter. This is something I don't feel I need to address at this point - it is still coherent, and will be fixed in the second draft. If I was to rewrite any chapter or do any major change to one at this point, it would be C4...

Chapter Six is currently titled Pen Expers and is currently the longest chapter by far at 8738 words. This will undoubtedly decrease in the second draft.

Because I was in a real writing mood, I started to get into Chapter Seven, Dead Men Can't Talk, They Can't Do Anything, and am at around 1000 words with it. Chapter Six's finale is similar to Chapter One's in the sense that it doesn't give much information as to what has happened to the characters and where they're going to turn out... and now it's out of the city, the tone is almost a little more lighthearted than usual, I guess you could say.

Anyway. I'm hungry. 'Bye.

Quick update

I've done some more of Chapter Six and expect it will be complete by tomorrow afternoon, leaving Sunday free for kick-starting Chapter Seven, Pen Expers. Which will ultimately mean that I finished this trio of chapters a few days faster than the first... not too bad.

This is a bit late, but a friend did a sketch of Eric, one of Calibre's main characters. I was so excited when I saw it. ^_^ Here it is...

Hopefully by tomorrow afternoon I'll be able to post a 'chapter completed' thing on here... wish me luck.

... Failure

Right, so, I missed my Sunday deadline and have done absolutely no writing this weekend, as I have been in Perth and have been spending every moment taking advantage of that fact. So, Fly Like An Eagle, Calibre's sixth chapter, will probably not be complete until this coming Sunday. However, in terms of my monthly deadlines, it will still be 5 days ahead. Yeah, that system doesn't really make that much sense, but shut up.

Chapter Six is far more fast paced than any of the other chapters in the story, presenting the readers with the first part of the infiltration (that I dare say will conclude at the end of C7). It also offers insight into different characters' attitudes towards the workings of the Circle and just generally what's happening around them, which is finally actually being unveiled.

It has sort of been indefinitely decided that the story of Calibre will be in three parts (all in one book).

Right. I'm about to watch a movie. My V pocket rocket has not had any effect on my energy levels, so I doubt I'll do any writing. D:

C6 Progress

Unlike other weeks, I have actually written a decent amount while it isn't the weekend - on Tuesday, I wrote over 2000 words, and after another heap of writing last night after work, Chapter Six is now at 3841 words. Originally, Chapter Six was going to introduce Angelica's sister... but I have actually decided to remove that character altogether. So, it will be following pretty much all of the main characters, which is something the story has not done prior to this chapter.

The chapter is currently titled Fly Like An Eagle. It is far more fast-paced than chapters before it, but it's yet to actually hit Pen Expers - however, it is offering important insight into "the pianist", who has decidedly become rather crucial, and the importance of Ian Treale and hitruix in the current events. Yeah, Chapter 4 was probably the worst of the bunch, but the information in it is important, especially in this chapter.

One of the main questions roused in this chapter are the importance of each character individually - previous chapters showed that they have a tendency to be sent out in a small group (C1) or pairs (C2/3), but the actual reason each character is involved in the Circle is at least being questioned in C6, with a few answers: eg, Angelica's 'mission' will be revealed, whereas August's will be kept a secret (with good reason...)

I dare say I'll have this chapter done by Saturday, giving me another two days to get into Chapter Seven, which will probably be called Pen Expers. Tonight, I'm going to be trying out the local writer's group - the only reason I have never done this is because I usually work late on Thursdays (it runs on the first Thursday of each month), but production night was last night... so yeah. ^_^