Summary

I’ve been working on a book series for 7 years – between work, school, and other distractions it never made it to the written page. Now that I have a hanging diploma and lack a job, I can finally take advantage of an entire messy office’s worth of research and let my love for my characters put pen to paper. This is a chronicle of my journey from sifting through 7 years worth of research, drawings and chicken-scratch on napkins, to a completed novel ready for submission.

Day 7 – 8/2

Don’t look at me like that…I’ve been writing. Okay, maybe not as much as I could have been, which of course prompted my girlfriend to suggest this little motivation wielding application: Write or Die

No, I will not be using it. Instead I’ve – for once – embraced the art of writing a rough draft. I have always been the type OCD that only wrote final drafts, thus forcing myself to fix a sentence or paragraph for hours at a time before moving on. If this sounds like you, then please take my advice. LET GO! It’s liberating. Just write – write horribly, corny, confusing, etc. The point is to get your ideas on paper; to move from point A to point B. Then go back, re-read (as painful as that might be sometimes) and fix what you know can be better. Nothing is ever perfect the first time, nor any other time afterward. We need that imperfection, sometimes desperately, to drive us forward. If you’re writing something, or wish to, do it – go write your horribly shitty rough draft that you refuse to show anyone and be proud of it! And that’s exactly what I’m going to do…and my editor, Oxley, will be thrilled -  and also horrified at times (she can handle it).

Now, if you’re thinking: “Wait Jack, I don’t know. I’m super OCD”. Have no fear. Something I’m doing to quench my OCD is taking the sentences that bother me and highlighting them in an eye-catching green. You could perhaps change the text color or underline it – whichever you’re in the mood for. It does absolutely nothing to fix my horrible sentences, but it makes me feel as if I’m doing something like putting the sentence in a containment field, properly sequestering it from the other sentences. Yes, dorky.

Also, here’s another quick-fix you can do, much like gum over a bullet hole in a jet-pack fuel tank (a point to you, if you understood my reference…The Rocketeer). If you’re stuck on what to name a character, place, object etc., just fill it with whatever fills the space. Even if it’s: Character A or John Smith; Place C or Incredibly Creepy Location; Object X or Super Duper Potion. Just fill it. You could even make a chart, reminding yourself as what exactly Object X is: A tantalizing piece of art which contains a secret code (point to you).

So the lesson today: JUST WRITE, even if you’re not terribly fond of it at times. Roll up your sleeves and have fun writing!

Distraction of the Day!

I <3 drawing. This is Ashitaka from Princess Mononoke – finally started shading him again. And you thought my Harry Potter stick figures were fancy.

Day 3 – 7/29

Word Count: 695

Well I did it – I passed the Fantasy Novelist’s Exam with flying colors. If you’re curious, pop on over and check out what my book will not include.

Besides taking the previously mentioned exam, I wrote a little bit, condensed more of my research, and I decided that I will treat August as my National Novel Writing Month. I plan to write 50,000 words (equivalent to 175 pages) in one month. Ready to watch this painful spectacle? I’m game.

Day 2 – 7/28

I’m happy to report that I have been productive. The physical manifestation of 7 years has been successfully broken into categorized piles…in other words I now have no floor and subsequently have blocked access to the front door. The tallest stack – which I will tackle last (yay for procrastination) – is composed of hand written notes, narration, character bios and lots of doodles. The shortest stack consists of internet print-outs and run-offs from a book concerned with the topic of holidays.

Thankfully, it wasn’t all paper cuts and disobeying fire regulations. I stumbled across a The Nightmare Before Christmas scene-turn-thing my sister had given me. Unfortunately, I’m missing the third triangle-panel. Poor Sally is going to get dumped in TOXIC while Jack is singing his lament! Hurry Jack! Run to the last 1/3 of the movie!

Helpful Tip for the Eco-Friendly

During the initial sorting I came across papers I had no use for anymore. Instead of chucking them all into the trash, I determined which sheets of paper could be reused (for printing, scribbling, doodling) and set them on their own rack. Then I put the rest of the sheets in a crate, headed for the shredder and finally the recycle bin. “We’re the Planeteers – You can be one too – ‘Cause saving our planet is the thing to do!”

If you’re starting to age like a fine wine, you’re probably humming along and trying to figure out how it starts again…it’s okay – me too.

Since I would like to walk on my floor sometime in the near future and obey all safety guidelines, I began to put my first composition book together. I set it apart from the others with a quote from computer scientist Alan Kay:

“The best way to predict the future is to invent it.”

It’s my clever way of saying, “This is the one with the divination research in it!”. Also, if you’re fermenting with age, check out what’s on the inside flap of composition books now…I miss the over-sized conversion chart too.

and last but not least…

DISTRACTION OF THE DAY!

I <3 whiteboards, thus I have a whiteboard calendar and that’s where this distraction began. The calendar had been stuck in June, and I was determined to change it – but July has one foot in the grave and August just has to wait. By the time I reached my decision of not doing anything, I had erased June.

I couldn’t leave it blank…so here’s my take on the Priori Incantatem scene in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Does Harry ever know what’s happening? Oh, silly Voldemort, he never could catch a break.

Day 1 – 7/27

Word Count: 441

Today I will begin the arduous task of sorting my research into categories.

Once I’ve accomplished that, I’ll be prepared to consolidate the knowledge into organized and searchable compositions books.

When you’re creating an entire world from scratch and happen to be OCD detail orientated, there seems to be mass amounts of accumulated research.