NaNoWriMo Progress into the Third Week.

The first draft of volume 3 of A Seared Sky: Convergence, is going apace. I started the NaNoWriMo process when the MS was at 111,079 words and it’s now at 181,684 words, which means I’ve averaged 3922 words a day so far during November.

Believe it or not, I’ve lived a life at the same time. It hasn’t been easy, turning out this number of words each day, but the public nature of the target does concentrate the mind and helps prevent prevarication and distractions. I know that, once this draft is finished, I’ll have some serious editing to do. But the story, the essence of the novel, will be complete. I’ll have all the twists and turns in place, all the characters where intended, and all events covered.

Along the way, I’ve had to introduce new characters, of course. I made this easier for myself by creating a list of possible names for future use before I started on book 1. I also have a character template and a collection of around 1,000 assorted photographs of people, so I can hang the description onto an image of a real person. I find this helps me develop the character more fully. Some events have occurred quite unexpectedly, as characters take on more importance than I originally envisaged or as favourite characters get into situations it’s impossible for them to survive. I don’t like killing off characters, but it has to be done, of course.

And now? Well, my guess is that around 20,000 words will complete the book. I’m working on the denouement, putting each of the three groups of individuals into those situations that will close their parts in the story. There’ll inevitably be a few loose ends, with a cast of over 90 named players, but all the main characters will end up with a satisfactory conclusion to their specific tales.

I’m looking forward to the appearance of book, Joinings. FantasticBooks Publishing are currently waiting for their designer to complete the cover design. And the book should be available before Xmas. I’m excited about the publication, of course. But, for the moment, I’ll continue to use NaNoWriMo as a way of ensuring that volume 3 gets completed. At least those who buy volume 1 will then know that they won’t be let down by an author failing to complete a trilogy; something that happens far too often, unfortunately.

Watch this space for further news.

Related articles

• Halfway Through NaNoWriMo2013
• NaNoWriMo Has Me - Part 2
• Halfway into NaNoWriMo and I'm Rebelling
• NaNoWriMo
• NaNoWriMo

A Sojourn on Santorini in the Sun

If you’re a regular, you’ll have noticed I’ve been a bit idle recently. Earlier this year, I retired from Santorini, site of the original Atlantis, has always fascinated us and we therefore decided to see whether it lived up to its reputation for both beauty and culture.

employment, and my wife and I reached that milestone, the Silver Wedding. 25 years of marriage, happy and fulfilling, called for a special celebration and we chose to commemorate the occasion on a Greek island we hadn’t previously visited.

It’s not a cheap destination, but a place where many of the hotels cater for couples rather than families, and we felt such freedom from children would suit us for a change. Our fortnight there was wonderful. The people of the island were lovely; friendly, warm, kind and eager to serve with relaxed efficiency. The rest was definitely welcome and the various trips we made served to enhance our knowledge of the island’s history and it’s precarious geological position.

On the small island of Nea Kameni (‘newly burnt’ – it’s only 500 years old), we stood at the edge of the current live crater of the volcano and heard our brilliant guide, Kim, explain that we were now standing on probably the most dangerous place on Earth. She did add that seismological equipment meant that we, and the islanders, would however receive about 5 days notice of any eruption!

Our hotel, 28 Boutique, was within sight of the 7^th century B.C. settlement of Ancient Thera, reached by a snaking narrow road up to a saddle some 290 metres (about 950 feet) above sea level. It looked challenging, so we climbed it, passed occasionally by the less energetic in hired cars or touring minibuses. Once at the site, we climbed to the centre of the ruins at a little over 360 metres (about 1180 feet). Extensive and well-maintained and presented, the remains give a good idea of life up to and including Roman times. Well worth the visit.

We took the clearly marked but less manicured footpath (more like a goat track in parts) down to Perissa, where we intended to catch a water taxi back to our resort of Kamari. High winds meant the boats weren’t sailing so we could either catch a local bus, call for a taxi from the capital, Fira, or walk back the way we’d come. We did the latter and enjoyed the trek, taking advantage of the alternative views provided by the different direction of the walk.

Another outing took us to a local winery for a tasting, an almost abandoned village and to the beautiful town of Oia, to watch the sunset amongst thousands of other tourists, many from the cruise ships that visit the island every day. I had a more important motive for visiting Oia, however. There’s a bookshop there, Atlantis Books, which I was determined to find. Glad I did. I left them a signed copy of Breaking Faith to add to their amazing international collection of fiction and nonfiction books and bought a copy of The Annals of Imperial Rome by Tacitus, which I’ve intended to read for a long time.

We visited the Spa of theGods, overlooking the caldera, where we were massaged in a cave by two slender Greek maidens with skill and surprising strength, leaving us utterly relaxed. A luxury we allowed ourselves in spite of its expense.

A visit to the local outdoor cinema in Kamari allowed us to watch Great Expectations under a clear sky whilst drinking from the bar. A very pleasant experience.

           

Akrotiri, the site now considered by many historians and archaeologists to be the location of the original settlement of Atlantis, was interesting but, covered and formally directed, lacked the immediacy and intimacy of Ancient Thera.

A cruise on a local sailing boat took us to the small island of Thirassia, population 150, where we ate at the small tavern on the harbour, Captain John’s, enjoying some local delicacies and drinking local wine. We then braved the choppy seas to watch the sun as it set behind the tiny (and newest) island of Aspronissi in the caldera.

An excellent holiday and the reason for my silence over the past days.

Back home now and ready to continue with the fantasy trilogy and other projects I have in mind. So, you’ll find some book reviews appearing here in the next few days, along with character sketches of some of the major characters in Joinings, volume one of the fantasy trilogy, A Seared Sky, due to be published by Fantastic Books Publishing later this year.

I look forward to your comments, as ever.

Related articles

• Chasing Santorini Sunsets
• Sunshine in Santorini
• Santorini: Five reasons to visit the beautiful Greek island
• Boats, donkeys and a volcano - Kamari, Santorini, Greece
• Santorini - Beyond the Caldera

Building a World from Scratch.

Writing fantasy generally requires the invention of a world different from the one in which we live our daily lives; especially epic fantasy. I’m currently writing volume three of such a trilogy. So, how did I go about developing the world where my story takes place?

The first consideration in fiction has to be ‘theme’. As always in such tales, the basic underlying theme is good versus evil. But there are other ideas layered over that. I’m fascinated by the continuing discussion whether religions rely on what seems like self-delusion to persuade the faithful to join and remain in their ranks. Another aspect of life that intrigues me is the duplicity of our attitude to nakedness. And the way that power is given, often voluntarily, to those who least deserve it has always baffled me. So, these themes are also explored in the books.

Primarily, of course, it’s a story, an adventure story with romantic elements, and a means to entertain my readers. I’m thoroughly enjoying weaving the tale. We all love stories; have done since the very beginnings of language.

Before I could ‘invent’ my world, I had to develop systems of history, politics, religions, customs and traditions. I considered how my characters, in their separate societies, would dress, where and how they would live, what would occupy them and how they would make their various ways through the world. I developed ideas on the evolution of villages, towns and cities. I invented names for these places and the characters who would inhabit them. Names that had to follow some sort of logic in formation, of course. I researched travel by sea, river, horse, camel and on foot. And then I studied some geology and geography so that I could devise a realistic map for my world.

Maps and fantasy are almost inseparable. I wanted mine to do more than locate the places featured in the story; I wanted the map to be a central part of that story and an item of interest in itself. I drew it on a large (A1 – 34x23 inches for those who don’t know) piece of sugar paper in ink, with a drawing pen. I gave it some relief, so that there are mountains, plains, deserts, forests, rivers, seas, islands and lakes. I wanted to make this a real place in the mind of the reader, so it had to be as real as possible to me first. And, I confess, I borrowed from our own beautiful Earth to arrive at a credible outline of my lands.

Once drawn, I populated it with the names I’d made up, checking each on Google to ensure none of the chosen names belonged to anyone else or meant something inappropriate in a foreign language (there is a story that Julie Andrews’ book for children, The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodlescaused her some embarrassment when she was told that ‘whangdoodle’ had a rather obvious and obscene meaning in Australia. I’ve been unable to discover any truth in this, and suspect it’s apocryphal, but it still serves as a warning about the use of unknown words.).

All this work took time and all had to be done before I could write a word of the story. Over the period of time it took to complete the preparation and development, the map turned, as hoped, from off-white to a shade of parchment. A little damp here and there installed stains and a few folds creased the map so that it now looks like a piece of ancient cartography that has undertaken several journeys. I added a compass and a rule in kilometres and miles so that readers can appreciate distances. I’ve reproduced it here for you to explore, if you wish.

Only after all this preparation did I begin to think about writing the story. But that’s for another post. It will come, as will some character sketches, to whet your appetite for the first volume, which I hope will be published later this year. Meanwhile, the third volume is growing, standing at 111,000 words as I compose this post. That means I’m a little over half way through the first daft of the final book. Books one and two are ready for publication.

Related articles

• The Place of the Map in Fantasy. Can You Help?
• Character Development is Good for You.
• The building blocks of writing.
• "The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles."

A Belated Update.

Forgive me, for I have sinned. Some time ago, I promised to keep you up to date with my progress on the fantasy trilogy I’m writing. Well, I’ve neglected to do that. And the only excuse is…memory, or the lack of it. Put it down to extreme old age. (there have been other issues, but I’d prefer not to share them, if you don’t mind).

Anyway, here it is. The update on progress, that is.

The MS for the volume 1 remains with a publisher. I expect to hear some news on that in the not tooooo distant future.

Volume 3 is now well under way, with 65,234 words applied to the file. I was hoping to create around 3,500 per day, but life has a way of obstructing enterprise sometimes. Suffice it to say that my beautiful wife, in trying to help her fellow bowlers, slipped on the wet floor of her bowls club and broke her wrist in two places. For some reason, she seems to think this means she can’t perform certain of the household tasks. I mean, what an excuse for not doing the washing up, eh? Anyway, yours truly has become cook, bottle-washer and general factotum for the past few weeks. I’ve picked up a number of useful skills along the way, but it’s rather invaded my writing time. That ironing won’t do itself, you know. So, my target of finishing the first draft by a certain date in September (a self-imposed target set for reasons which will become clear in the fullness of time) will almost certainly be missed by a fairly wide margin. No matter, the book will be written, just a little later than intended.

Obviously, once I have a launch date (assuming I get a contract) for publication of volume 1, I’ll let you know.

For now, however, I’ll try to remember to update with a brief word count on a daily, weekly or, more likely ad-hoc, basis.

Watch this space.