I often read hints and suggestion in articles about writing and I realised I'd never made a list of them! To me a list is a good way of making sure I do things the right way. I do it before setting out on a trip, going shopping, working out what chores to do and so on, but I've never done it for my creative writing.
So here is where I start.
1. Remove Copulas
Remove as many instances of "to be" and "was" and make the sentences more dynamic.
2. Don't use ", then"
'Cos it's lame!
Wednesday, 6 March 2013
Tuesday, 19 June 2012
Passing 40k
Haven't made a post here in a while, so I thought I'd just recap what I've been up to since April.
I've written and released an Micro RPG (Role Playing Game). It's a background, game rules, and scenario that prints onto a single side of A4 and folds into a little booklet. The game is called "Shikishima Heroes" and is set in an alternate 1902. Follow the link to read more.
It was a fun experience trying to write an entire game in what is actual fact, eight tiny tiny pages. You have to pare back your use of words and get the most meaning out of every sentence. Game rules are terribly difficult to write at the best of times, but squeezing it into just those few pages is especially interesting. Some might try flash fiction or even the odd Drabble as an exercise, but rules writing is a strong challenge!
Writing that game was so much fun, I decided to write another. The next one is called "Acrobats vs Mobsters" I think the title gives away what the game is about. It was actually easier to write the second one having had the experience of the first. I knew what to put in and what sort of thing to leave out.
So with those out of the way... I wrote a third called "Trench Full of Heroes". That's not out yet. It's a role playing game set during the First World War, my hope is that I've teased the setting so that players will not limit their play to the mud and blood of the trenches.
All three of the games have different rule systems, and that has been half the fun. Letting my half sleepy alpha brain search for mechanics and fit them together.
I've also written a "scenario" for Dungeons and Dragons (1st Edition) which I'll talk about in a future post.
Finally to cap this little list, I've also been adding the odd word or two to my novel. Tonight I broke the 40k barrier during a forty minute splurge. HUZZAR!
I've written and released an Micro RPG (Role Playing Game). It's a background, game rules, and scenario that prints onto a single side of A4 and folds into a little booklet. The game is called "Shikishima Heroes" and is set in an alternate 1902. Follow the link to read more.
It was a fun experience trying to write an entire game in what is actual fact, eight tiny tiny pages. You have to pare back your use of words and get the most meaning out of every sentence. Game rules are terribly difficult to write at the best of times, but squeezing it into just those few pages is especially interesting. Some might try flash fiction or even the odd Drabble as an exercise, but rules writing is a strong challenge!
Writing that game was so much fun, I decided to write another. The next one is called "Acrobats vs Mobsters" I think the title gives away what the game is about. It was actually easier to write the second one having had the experience of the first. I knew what to put in and what sort of thing to leave out.
So with those out of the way... I wrote a third called "Trench Full of Heroes". That's not out yet. It's a role playing game set during the First World War, my hope is that I've teased the setting so that players will not limit their play to the mud and blood of the trenches.
All three of the games have different rule systems, and that has been half the fun. Letting my half sleepy alpha brain search for mechanics and fit them together.
I've also written a "scenario" for Dungeons and Dragons (1st Edition) which I'll talk about in a future post.
Finally to cap this little list, I've also been adding the odd word or two to my novel. Tonight I broke the 40k barrier during a forty minute splurge. HUZZAR!
Monday, 30 April 2012
A blast from the past
This evening I've done something that I haven't done for an age... I added some words to my novel! This thing was started two, or more like three years ago while offline and sitting in a holiday cottage. It's an all action WWII romp that I was inspired to start after reading "Contest" by Matthew Reilly. Now there is an author who knows how to write action. Sure it's over-the-top, but it's simply fantastic fun that you can put down.
He inspired me, I wrote an outline and then started writing. Of course there have been a few breaks, such as forgetting about it for six months, writing short stories, the annotation projects, another few months break, the game book etc etc etc.
So on and off I've been hammering away at this thing for quite a while, but tonight I got back on the writing train and added another whopping 715 words! Not many in the big scheme of things, yet it's brought the total up to 33315, which is not to be sniffed at.
With luck I'll stick with it and get this first draft done. Fingers crossed, eh?
He inspired me, I wrote an outline and then started writing. Of course there have been a few breaks, such as forgetting about it for six months, writing short stories, the annotation projects, another few months break, the game book etc etc etc.
So on and off I've been hammering away at this thing for quite a while, but tonight I got back on the writing train and added another whopping 715 words! Not many in the big scheme of things, yet it's brought the total up to 33315, which is not to be sniffed at.
With luck I'll stick with it and get this first draft done. Fingers crossed, eh?
Sunday, 1 April 2012
Story telling game
Next, I'll be converting the ODF file into an ePUB. Once in that format I'll be able to push it onto Kindle via the "kindlegen" software, and onto the iBook Store/Nook Store via LuLu.
The ODF is only about 37 pages and the cover art is already done, had to do that for the PDF release mentioned above.
So this afternoon will be dedicated to using my favourite ePUB software, the free and excellent "Sigil".
P.S. Now ePUB'ed at LuLu
Saturday, 31 March 2012
Sidetracked
I have only give about half a dozen entries in my game book written up, because in the last week I have been distracted by another writing project.
I decided to enter a "one page dungeon" competition hosted on the Role Playing Geek web site. During the creation process of a dungeon, I actually not only invented a dungeon but also the bare bones of a whole role playing game. That sounds like a lot of work, but wasn't really. The one page dungeon itself was knocked up within an evening...and so this wasn't really the distraction.
What the distraction was, is that the bare bones RPG I came up during that process deserved to be fleshed out into a real full length game. This is where I've been spending my writing time.
It's interesting to note that the one page dungeon competition is not a money making project, but that short diversion has set me off on this RPG project which will be a money maker.
Anything "Cthulhu" or "Lovecraft" is extremely popular at the moment so the RPG I'm writing is themed that way. A completely opposite direction from the original one page dungeon.
I think that this proves that taking the occasional diversion can really inspire the muse. As a bonus this project is shorter than the game book project so will be finished quickly.
I decided to enter a "one page dungeon" competition hosted on the Role Playing Geek web site. During the creation process of a dungeon, I actually not only invented a dungeon but also the bare bones of a whole role playing game. That sounds like a lot of work, but wasn't really. The one page dungeon itself was knocked up within an evening...and so this wasn't really the distraction.
What the distraction was, is that the bare bones RPG I came up during that process deserved to be fleshed out into a real full length game. This is where I've been spending my writing time.
It's interesting to note that the one page dungeon competition is not a money making project, but that short diversion has set me off on this RPG project which will be a money maker.
Anything "Cthulhu" or "Lovecraft" is extremely popular at the moment so the RPG I'm writing is themed that way. A completely opposite direction from the original one page dungeon.
I think that this proves that taking the occasional diversion can really inspire the muse. As a bonus this project is shorter than the game book project so will be finished quickly.
Monday, 26 March 2012
A good weekend
I wonder if I've done something wrong during the sign up, or if the story is getting lost in amongst all of the other free stuff. A quick look on the Amazon store seems to confirm that the story is free to borrow. Strange happenings indeed!
My other good news is the "Cthulhu and How I found Livingstone" book, which has sold 9 copies at DriveThruRPG. This is because the book is currently on the "new in the store" page. Within a week or so, it will slip off that page into obscurity and the realm of zero sales (well, maybe one sale every few months).
All in all a good weekend.
Saturday, 24 March 2012
It's started!
I have just completed the first two paragraphs of the game book, the first draft. Actually it's not paragraphs, I should say "entries". In the old Fighting Fantasy game books, most of the entries were paragraphs. In my book most entries will be more than one paragraph, and indeed featuring a lot of dialogue, which will make the "paragraph" terminology redundant. So henceforth I will try and say Entries.
Word count on the document is at 3000, but at this early stage that is mostly a junk number. The majority of that is the headings for each entry and the "go to ..." that appears at the end of most entries. After this however the word count will allow me to see how much it's growing by. Yet, now I think about it, word count hardly matters in a game book. Progress is really measured in entries that have been completed. So in those terms, 2 down and 119 to go. Boy oh boy that sounds like a lot.
Word count on the document is at 3000, but at this early stage that is mostly a junk number. The majority of that is the headings for each entry and the "go to ..." that appears at the end of most entries. After this however the word count will allow me to see how much it's growing by. Yet, now I think about it, word count hardly matters in a game book. Progress is really measured in entries that have been completed. So in those terms, 2 down and 119 to go. Boy oh boy that sounds like a lot.
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