Musings on Crime Drama and a little more...

Sometimes I have to wonder at how cynical about TV plots I have become. I just saw about 30 seconds of an ep of New Tricks (not something I watch regularly), but within that time, I picked the villain and the plot device used by him to get away with his crime. It's a combination of recognising actors, since TV casting directors are rarely original, and spotting the drop-in plot points that are the hints of what is going on.

Rizzoli and Isles is another one where I can usually pick the villain on first sight, and that one's just to do with plot devices, since most of the bit-part actors are unknown to me. CSI too, although this week it was the actor who gave it away, he was the only famous face among the extras and he normally plays low-lifes ;P.

I think I must watch far too many crime dramas, but they're one of my favourite types of TV show and there are still some that can keep me wondering. Lewis was one (it's a pity that it's finished for good, I loved that show and I can watch them over and over again, they don't get boring, even when I do know who did it). It's the same with Agatha Christie. I own all the Joan Hickson Miss Marples, and the ITV Agatha Christie's Marple, and I often give them an airing. The characters are just so well honed and interesting, it doesn't matter that I can quote the script :). I also like David Suchet as Poirot, although there are some of those I can give a miss (his version of Murder on the Orient Express is a travesty both to the character of Poirot and to the tone of the original book). I don't own them on DVD yet, because I'm waiting for him to finish filming all of them and then I'll buy the set - there are only a few to go, including Poirot's last case, which I have never seen filmed.

I've only written one crime drama, Sacrifice of An Angel, and it has given me appreciation for the skill of authors like Agatha Christie. She must have had a mind like a razor to keep everything straight and know when and where to drop in clues and glimpses of character. Tash and I had to plan Sacrifice very carefully, and even then, sometimes we had to rethink what clues we would drop into the story and when. It's really difficult to balance giving the reader a chance to work out who did what while not giving too much away. To be honest, when you're looking from inside the plot outwards, as the writer, it is very, very difficult to judge. I'd be happy if folks told me they had a pretty good idea who 'done it' by 2/3 of the way through the book, but they couldn't be sure - then I'd think I'd done my job.

Certainly, like any type of writing, mysteries take practice and soon, I shall be getting some more. A little later than I wanted to, due to halving my writing time by getting a half-time job and needing to finish the sequel to Death In The Family first, I and Tash will be starting on the sequel to Sacrifice, where Theo and Remy launch into another investigation whilst dealing with the fallout from Francis' death. We have the book outlined, but we're going to need to sit down together to work through it again, since it's been a good year since we developed the outline. It's a very different challenge working with a writing partner, even if she is my twin; I find I have to be much more disciplined about the whole thing, but since I am having to be stricter with myself and my time planning due to working as a project manager as well, I hope the routine of writing with Tash will help.

First though, Heritage is Deadly 2 needs finishing, and I'm glad I walked away from it for a while, because I knew it was missing something, or rather I was missing something when writing it, and, with a little reread of #1, I've actually made note of some points that will make it a much more gripping read and progress some of the plot points from #1 more fully than the current draft does. That will have to wait until Tuesday, though, since tomorrow is Mothering Sunday, so Tash and I are cooking lunch for the family and it'll be a day with my mama, and Monday is a full day of work due to time commitments of the project manager I'm taking over from at university.

Drabbles, drabbles and more drabbles - it's amazing what you can convey in 100 words!

Today I have written 12 draft drabbles in preparation for the Fantasy Boys XXX Drabblerotic Fest in April, which is Wittegen Press joining in the Blogging From A to Z April Challenge. This is not a fiction format I've played with much, I found it quite tough getting into the mindset for writing a drabble. Being exactly 100 words, they're very immediate, covering only a few seconds in the timeline of the story and so I found those moments, and those words have to be selected very carefully.

Trying to convey something that will interest a reader in just 100 words was the biggest challenge. But, as I started developing the different themes based on the letters of the alphabet, I found it got gradually easier to step into the moment and capture it (at least I think I succeeded). The drafts are with my editor now, so I'll see if I really did get it right tomorrow ;P

All in all, it was a rather fun day stepping in and out of different worlds and providing just a glimpse. One of them was based off an existing story, so it felt a little like fanfic when I wrote that moment, but the rest are all original characters and situations. I found myself revisiting some characters more than once in different drabbles, but being true to the format, I tried very hard to make each one stand on their own, not be a part reliant on another to make sense. Again, we'll see what my editor thinks of those :). 

Dipping in and out also gave me a chance to play with different moods as well as different fantasy/sci-fi characters and settings. Some are serious, some are humorous, and some in between, and I switched it up with tone as well. I'm usually an empathic writer, in that I want my reader to be on side with my protagonist, or at the very least understand them, but I experimented in one or two with trying to generate a sense of separation, a deliberate lack of sympathy with the central character. Not sure if I pulled it off yet. I'll be revisiting the drafts myself tomorrow once I've slept on them - that always helps me review things more cleanly.

Only 1200 words today, not an excessive amount, but with all the pauses and resets to my brain for different universes, I think I am happy with that count :)

I'm really starting to like drabbles! How about you?

I think I must be a little mad...

Maybe I'm crazy, but I just signed up two blogs for The Blogging From A to Z Challenge in April! Well, I couldn't decide which one would go best, so I signed up this blog and Fantasy Boys XXX as well. I've got a month and a half to come up with 52 themes and write 52 blog posts, that's enough time, right?

I've had my head down for the last week, because I've been putting the finishing touches to a new blog!

Phew! Setting up a new blog takes a lot of effort, but now I can announce...

Wittegen Press Proudly Presents

Fantasy Boys XXX

A blog dedicated to lovers of paranormal, science fiction and fantasy all-male erotica and erotic romance and is linked to the collection of short stories, novellettes and serialised stories of the same name.

On the blog, we'll be posting information about upcoming fiction releases in the Fantasy Boys XXX collection from sexy werewolves to horny wizards, and aliens with more than a passing interest in the male of the species. :)

Expect tantalising extracts and cover reveals, competitions and discussion posts on all things erotically fantastic!

Check out the blog for our newest steamy releases.

~

So, now all I have to do is finish upgrading the Wittegen Press website, complete my sequel to Death In The Family, write episode 2 of The Vampire's Concubine, Rage and finish another passionate short story for Fantasy Boys XXX called (working title) Cold Crystal Heart. So, I'm not busy or anything, not at all o.O.

Oh, and BTW - Happy Valentine's Day :)

Lots to do, lots to do :P

Today is going to be busy, since I have a host of things to be getting on with and all of them down to me imposing my own deadline for the launch of a new blog: Fantasy Boys XXX. If you hadn't spotted it already from the name, it's a blog for male/male erotic romance, a new series Tasha and I are coming out with to brand some of our erotica work for Wittegen Press. We're launching on 14th Feb (an appropriate date, I thought, for a romance/erotica blog) and we're joining a blog hop on the very same day, the Vampire Bite Blog Hop, since, hey, vampires - we both love them and they go well with passion and romance :).

Sooo, that means I have two stories to write, one for the blog hop and one just to show a bit of variety on our first day. I just finished the vampire story, a rather steamy start to a serial about a mysterious young man who makes an erotic bargain with a vampire lord. But anyone who writes will tell you, finishing the manuscript is about 25% of the work, so it's gone into the editing phase now and I'm moving onto a sci-fi/fantasy short that I've begun which is much more romantic, but no less sensual :). While I'm writing though, I have also to get some coding for the Wittegen Press Website done, because we're moving into new territory with Fantasy Boys XXX and having collections of books, i.e. series, under another series' banner, I suppose like an imprint almost and we currently have no way of grouping that imprint together. Then, of course, there's the blog layout and the associated Google+ page, which meant logos and css and tag lines :). Here's the new logo below: what do you think? Personally, I'm not that happy with the thorns at top and bottom, they were an attempt to balance the image into a square for the likes of G+ profile photos, but I think I may find something more appropriate to twiddle at top and bottom. I do like my dark angel, though ;P.

So, must dash, writing, editing, coding, front covers to develop and a blog post about the fangy ones to write :) I love being busy!

Trying out something new - a standing desk, and other things

Yes, your read that right, yesterday, I went out and bought a low table (actually a television stand) to put on my desk to turn it into a standing desk. And no, I haven't lost my senses, I have a very good reason: two weeks ago, I hurt my back and I believe slouching in my office chair has had some input to the weakness in my lower back. So, this is the first full day of my standing desk. I used it all yesterday afternoon and, apart from cramp in my right foot, which is due to my talipes, I felt really good, no sore back when I stood up and, actually, it's seems to make me relax my shoulders more as well.

So, now to work: I'm currently putting the finishing touches to a vid for our latest set of anthologies, which has taken me a week to produce - it's been a while since I did any vidding :) And then, hopefully by the end of the morning, I get to go back to my current WIP, the sequel to Death In The Family (I had a couple of revelations during my time off from writing while vidding, and there's an extra character going in, plus some scenes hitting the bin, because I don't need them).

Titles, titles, titles

Well, this morning will be spent with a blank sheet of paper, a list of short stories and a headache (probably)! That's because it's title time and I have eight (count 'em) yes, I said 8 anthologies to name and since they're going to be published in the next week or so, I can't put off the title wrangling any longer.

I am not alone in the title search, thank goodness, since my sis, Tasha, is responsible for half the stories in the anthologies and is therefore 50% responsible for the titles. However, she's busy creating the front covers, so I think I owe her to come up with some titles. Our process for working on titles together is really very simple:

• I (or she) sit and think for a long time, scratching scalp and grinding teeth
• Eventually, some ideas are thrown down in an email and winged off to the other party
• By return of email comes 90% of them shot down in flames, laughed at or just politely ignored, but maybe one or two are going in the right direction
• Then there follow ten to twenty emails where those possibilities are followed down blind alleys, thrown away entirely and even lead to jumps of literary logic that only a twin could understand.
• Eventually, after a few discussions where everyone's darlings are swatted out the way, we'll finally settle on something both of us feel fits.
• Then we sit on it, change our minds and go over it again.
• Finally, after much gnashing of teeth, one, two, three or four words drop out the other side of process.

Having broken it down, maybe the simplest way to describe the process would be, we argue a lot ;P.

So, now I just have to start the process for all 8 anthologies - now, I wonder if I should go with 8 separate emails, or one big email. Maybe a spreadsheet....

Formatting E-books - wow it takes a long time!

We're just about ready to publish the anthologies from The Wittegen Press Giveaway Games now, having spent a few months editing the short stories that went into the month-long games. Sooo, that means it's formatting time and I have just spent a day doing just that.

31 days in July meant there were 32 (yeah the last day had two stories) stories or story parts to compile into different anthologies. We thought we'd do more than one anthology since the stories are in a wide variety of genres and we wanted to offer different purchase options. Thus, there are 8 different anthologies:

• The complete anthology for those who want all the stories
• Tasha's stories in case there are some folks who are just ready Tash
• My stories, as above, except reverse it :)
• Horror stories - these are real horror stories, ghosts, gore, monsters and mayhem.
• Science Fiction and Fantasy stories - yes we grouped sci-fi and fantasy together and we could call it speculative fiction I suppose, but not everyone knows what that is.
• Young Adult stories - we have a mixture of genres in here, but they're all focused around teens.
• Paranormal stories - vampires, wereleopards and ghosts feature in these stories 
• Erotica stories - the title speaks for itself, these are explicit romances, some m/m and some m/f.

I'm currently compiling the first anthology, since all the others are just subsets of that one with some titles being changed. We've added in author's notes at the front of each story to give our readers some background on how we came up with the ideas, which we hope will be interesting, and with those added in, the full anthology is running at 250K wds. Thank heavens for word macros to help with the inserting of html tags (and the check list my sister wrote the first time she created an ebook, which I always check)! I've finally finished the formatting of the html version, which is the one we use to generate the .prc file for Kindle, but now I have to do the word document for the Smashwords version. The only pain is the table of contents, because word does enjoy inserting bookmarks when they're not needed.

After that, I'm just waiting on the covers, which Tash is creating (I have one that Tash did as proof of concept and it is great, sneak peak below) AND coming up with titles - Horror Anthology and the like do not really inspire someone to open a book, so we want to come up with titles for each anthology. Anyone who knows me knows I have issues with titles, so this may take a while!

Anyway, onwards to Smashwords formatting! :)

Back to Writing - Again!

Having spent most of December coding for the Wittegen Press website and yesterday upgrading my laptop from Win 7 to Win 8 (which went rather well actually, except it took me a while to discover how to find all the installed programs through the Search Charm), I am finally getting back to the last fifth of the sequel to Death In The Family.

I know I'm going to have to do some re-reading to get back into the flow today since I tried picking up the last scene I was on before coming to a halt and I came up empty. I think, looking back, I was struggling on those last few scenes, they need a lot of rework and a short break has done my inspiration good. Still, I want to get this first draft finished in a few weeks, so it's time to put my head down and get on with the job! :)

Death In The Family 2 UPDATE

I haven't written more than a couple of thousand words since NaNo ended thanks to having other stuff to do, like making presents for friends for Christmas and mundane tasks like taking the cat to the vet for his yearly checkup. However, crafting has left my mind free to wander from time to time and I think I have worked out the spark that was missing from Death In The Family 2, or at least part of it. :D

It means rewriting my notes for the end scenes, but since I haven't got there yet, it's no big deal! The old climax had pace, but not enough build up, this twist on the same situation will build the tension nicely so that the payoff at the end feels all the bigger. It will also allow me to show Tom's developing vampire, which is what underlies the whole second book - discovery and experimentation.

I've also had some ideas for additional pointers throughout the story that will make the subtext stronger, which I'm off to note down before they drift efemerally away. Then it's back to present making - only 3 more to go now. :)

NaNo Last Day Summary

Hmm, wow, what a month! I have really enjoyed NaNoWriMo Novermber, well, the bits of it I was writing in anyway (illness and other things got in the way a bit, but never mind). :)

I have come to a few conclusions:

1. Having a writing goal in word count form is really, really useful. I shall be aiming for 3K wds a day on writing days from now on, since that seems to be my comfortable limit. My sis has written a spreadsheet that allows you to set a time frame and a word count aim for that time frame that shows you your progress like NaNo only not just for November, it's great for keeping track of the count, and motivational when you see the count dropping below the line! ;P 
2. Sometimes I can jump sections of my work. I normally write linearly, I find I just end up tweaking later scenes if I have to go back and write a scene I missed, however, during NaNo, word counts and writer's block worked together to mean there were some bits I just had to skip, and actually, as long as they weren't really, really tied in with following scenes and I had notes on the important points in that scene then I could actually skip bits. It meant I could go back to the missed parts when I was more in the mood, or confident about what I had to write in that section.
3. I love and I hate writing for a living: sometimes, when everything is flowing, it is brilliant and then other times, when I have to fight for every word, it is frustrating as hell, but discipline to keep going is very important. It's a living, a job and if I am to make it work, I have to keep my output up.

Thanks to all the NaNoers who have been offering support and my family and friends who have been listening to the word count ups and downs. In my own opinion, I won and I lost NaNo: technically, I won, I strolled over the 50K mark a couple of weeks ago, but thanks to illness last week and distractions this week, I did not complete the first draft of my sequel to Death In The Family, which was my reason for doing NaNo. Still, for my first NaNoWriMo, I'm happy and proud of myself and it's been lots of fun watching everyone else reach their goals as well. 

So, what's next? Well, more of the same, since I haven't finished the first draft. The last 5th of the book to complete, I'd say. I had some good ideas to mix things up a bit in the last few days, so my head is going back down. Oh yes, and I still don't have a title for my novel (LOL), I shall have to think a bit more on that.

Well done to all the NaNoers who reached their goal and to those who didn't, well done for striving for something, it's the effort that matters, not the 50K wd limit!

Day 28: I won't call yesterday a washout, but...

The reason yesterday wasn't a washout is because I went with my family up to London to hear my sis, Tasha, read one of her short stories at Den Of Eek, a night of spooky tales organised by Den of Geek. She was fabulous and I'm very proud of her! :D

However, it did mean no writing was done yesterday :(. And since Day 26 was a slow start, given I take time to ramp up after the week of illness, I need to buckle down today. I like what I wrote on Monday, but it was only about 1500 wds, only half my daily aim, so now it's onward and I'm diving into some juicy confrontation scenes (climax scene is still a few away). There's a lot of conversation in the next few scenes, something that could get boring if one is not careful. The way I try to avoid this is emotion, if the character is involved in the scene, reacting to what is said, hopefully the reader will be too. Tom actually has to be rude and confrontational in these scenes, something I find difficult, because I'm not naturally like that and my British politeness gene tries to kick in :P - I just have to try harder to get into the head of the character at times like these and resist my own personal impulses.

NaNo is nearly over - keep on slogging away peeps! :)

Day 26 - A Week Of No Writing - eep!

Thanks to neck problems, which turned out to be a weird virus, not a strained muscle as I originally thought, I could not spend much time at the computer from last Tuesday. BUT today, I'm back with not quite a vengeance, but at the very least enthusiasm.

I did get to submit my novel thus far to NaNo today, since I'm over the 50K wd mark :D

Still, I haven't finished the first draft, which I want to complete by end of the month, so this week is going to be busy!

I was actually getting withdrawal symptoms this last week, but pain was a great demotivator every time I tried. Still, the rest has at least meant I sorted out a few hitches I had with the remainder of the plot. I still have to decide how the final confrontation starts, I have several ideas mulling over in my brain and about a day to sort out which one I'm going to go with before I get to the point I have to write it. I just have some little logistical issues I have to overcome as well, though. Some people might ignore them and hope their readership do too, but I can't do that, I have to have every i dotted and every t crossed. I am thinking a Taser might solve my problem. ;)

Right, back to work. Good luck NaNoers.

Day 20 - Gotta get Touchy Feely Today

Yesterday was a slow start as I got back into the flow, only 1800 wds yesterday and most of that was adding to the last scene I wrote before my hiatus. Turns out, there was a whole set of character interaction missing, now it feels like a much more complete scene!

Today, though, I have to get touchy feely - the next scene is a character development scene, an important one and I want to get it right. I enjoy character dev scenes, although I find I have to be careful with them, because they can slow down the plot if I indulge in them too often. This one, however, is integral to the plot, so I get to spin it out a little. The story has been working up to this for a while and now I have to concentrate, because, although I like writing these kinds of scenes and they're actually the ones that I find I don't have to tweak very much after the fact, they take effort to get right as I go along.

After that, I get to wing it for a bit, though, because there are several scenes that I didn't plan, but are necessary which I have to drop in. Don't know where I'll get to, but I should at least start these scenes today.

Well, onwards! Enjoy today, NaNoers!

3 Days of No Writing - Hiatus Thoughts!

Well, after an absolute blast of writing last week, this weekend I had loads on, mainly fun stuff, so I'm not complaining, but it meant I got about 50 words total written (bit of a come down from 50K :P). I'm not bothered about my word count, because I think I should still be able to complete the first draft of my novel before the end of the month, but it does impact my flow when I stop midstream. I'll have to do a bit of rereading this morning to get the mojo back (I hope) and then launch into the next scene.

One thing that has been nagging me, and it does tend to nag more in hiatuses, is that there's something missing from the plot. I don't know what it is yet, and I'm not going to push it, it will either hit me before I reach the end, or during draft 2, but I am sure there is some piece of impetus missing, something to give the story that extra zing. I'm not talking a gimmick, or anything like that, I'm talking an undercurrent that I'm not pushing enough. It may only be a few lines here and there, a tweak of a sentence to subvert the atmosphere, but I won't know until it hits me, because I'm sure it's going to be one of those Zen and The Art of Writing moments. Until it does hit me, though, it's bloody annoying sitting there in the back of my head, poking me, but not actually forming properly.

Ah well, I'll just have to get on with the main plot, where there is plenty left to do.  Have fun today NaNoers (I think that's the point of writing most of the time) - see ya on the other side!

Oops got a bit carried away yesterday...

I got a bit carried away yesterday, I came downstairs with several ideas in my head and I was so desperate to get them into Scrivener, that I thought, I'll just leave the blog post till lunch time. Well, I was so distracted that I forgot to do it entirely and it wasn't because I edged over the 50K mark yesterday, although I did do a little dance of celebration when I did. No, it was because I was in the middle of hallucinations that were proving both very difficult to write and very interesting - a good challenge.

I started them two days ago, and had bits, but I came to the conclusion in the wee hours that they were too ordered, and there was not enough contrast between them, after all, I wanted to explore more than one aspect of my protagonist's warped little psyche :). That's why I leapt in, I had a whole bundle of ideas and they were changing what I'd written the day before almost completely.

I don't think the hallucinations are complete, I think I'll be visiting them again, but not now, they have the structure I want now and a good deal of the content, I'll go back and attack them with fresh eyes in draft 2. Now I have to march on. I have some good character scenes to write now thanks to the fall out from the hallucinations. Some discoveries to be made and some discussions to be had. Quite a lot of character conflict, plus I have an antagonist to deal with. Not all today, though, because I'm just about to go out to do the weekend food shop, I have an appointment for a hair cut this afternoon and I don't think taking my laptop to a fancy restaurant this evening would look very good! :P

So, onwards - see ya on the other side NaNoers! :D

Day 14: I talk to the trees....

As my father still loves to sing to young children to make then laugh: I talk to the trees, that's why they put me away!

My writing today has to be deliriously good, literally, since I have to write a rather significant hallucination. Now, before everyone groans and thinks I'm about to trick my reader with a dream sequence, how clichéd, I'll say now, I'm not. No trickery involved, well not for the reader anyway. I use dream sequences (not trick ones I hasten to add) several times in Death In The Family, they're the way Tom remembers his childhood, drawing it out of his subconscious. However, the hallucination is not a dream sequence, it's much more of an acid trip and does not serve the same purpose as the dreams; it's not looking backward, it's looking at the now and beyond. It is reality mixed with what is in the mind and so it has to have a different feel to the dreams. It's also a journey with way points I already have planned and I have to develop that progression convincingly. Not sure how it's going to pan out, there may be some scratches and restarts today, but I'm looking forward to writing it.

So, into day 14! Good luck fellow NaNoers - see ya on the other side!

Day 13 - Unlucky for some, but not for me, I hope

Yesterday was a bit of an unexpected slog. I did manage 3K and a little bit, but that little bit, 400wds, I think may end up in the bin during draft 2. I even had to jump part of a scene because it just wasn't flowing, which is as close as I get to truly writing out of order. However, the scenes that followed went okay.

Today, I'm ready and raring to go. One of the scenes I wrote yesterday is missing a chunk, I didn't know it at the time, not like the one I jumped, but there is a whole conversation that Tom needs to have with Sean. I also have in my little head the transition from that scene to the next, which was eluding me yesterday and was why I stopped.

So, yay for me! :P Now I just have to deliver today's potential!

Keep going NaNoers, Tues 13th will be a good day!

Day 12 - 3K a day is good for me!

No NaNo yesterday, since I was at a Remembrance Service yesterday morning and then with friends most of the rest of the day, so I have to make up 1.5K today and tomorrow, or 1K each over three days.

I get to bring Tom's past and his present together today, since I'm introducing someone from London to the folks of Coombedown. It's funny, though, even a day without writing and I'm needing to go back over more scenes to get back into the feel of it. I think that maybe the NaNo pace is good for my creative juices, I shall have to try and keep it up after NaNo. I don't think 3K a day is too much to ask for a professional writer in full flow. Of course, I will have planning and editing days as well, which are set aside for November in favour of word count, but I think I shall set my bar at 3K from now on.

So, day 12, onwards!

New Character Today, a Positive Trickster

Oof, some pretty emotional scenes yesterday! I've been handling a loose end, the death of a character in the previous book and I actually had myself crying at one point - we'll see in the reread in a month's time whether what was in my head made it onto the page. It's difficult in these types of scenes to keep the words from going very purple. I am prone to purple anyway, so I have to be careful and sometimes in my attempts not to be purple, the emotion gets thinned down too much. Not going back yet tho'.

So, today, day 10, well, I'm ready and raring to go, which is good, because I have to do quite a lot of typing today, since I don't think I'll get much done tomorrow (going out to lunch). A new subplot arrives today, something to toss things around a bit and put what has happened into the context of the wider world, a normal person's viewpoint as it were. I've been looking forward to introducing this character, he's been in my head since the beginning of book 1; he's a trickster in that mischief follows him around, but he's not intentionally bad, unlike my antagonist, and he's going to be good for Tom, he needs loosening up!

So, once more into the (NaNo) breach, dear friends - see ya on the other side! :D