Effulgent Corruption Week ? (3 maybe?) : 32k Words

This is going to be the stupidly longest book ever.
I'm just saying that because we've eaten up 32k and I'm NOT EVEN DONE WITH PART ONE.
OF SEVEN.
GAH.
And I can't even cut it in half because it technically is already cut in half since it's part of a two book set...thing.
The good news is I'm churning out, on average, 3k a day taking Sundays off (figure I deserve the break). Usually I try to beat my average but it depends on where in the story I am.
Another plus is part 1 is completely planned out (even though it keeps getting longer because I'm a bad judge of how long scenes will last) so I am hauling through it at a decent rate.
I also queried a bunch of people and still have no job, but that isn't really the point of this post.
Anyway, just saying I'm still writing. The Angry Bird plushie is watching me intently, determined that I continue. I MUST OBEY THE BIRD.

Effulgent Corruption: 15,000 words (current) & Shifter

I have been writing, I just haven't been blogging. I apologize for the lack of updates. Mostly I've been working on Effulgent Corruption everyday, while brainstorming for new projects.

Speaking of which, I have a new YA novel planned. It's a standalone with sequel potential, technically urban fantasy but probably not as much as one would think. I actually dreamed the framework last night, and filled out the details through brainstorming today. I think it will work really well.
It's tentatively titled Shifter. Without saying enough for you jerks to steal my ideas, it's about a boy who finds he has the power to shift to alternate/parallel dimensions. Of course, there are quite a few catches (such as once he shifts, he can never return to the dimension he's left). So, in attempts to improve his life, he's essentially gambling as he shifts around.

Anyway, I have a very basic plot idea, which I think could work out to be very cool. I'm excited to write it, once Effulgent Corruption is out of the way. I'm not going to try writing them at the same time (maybe) because that didn't work at all for WGMD and Paradise Seekers when I attempted it.

So here is my current game plan for 2011's writing adventures.

Spring: Effulgent Corruption. 
Break: Take two weeks or a month off to cool down from EC.
Whatever month is next: Shifter, which I will write in 30 days.
Break
Mid-summer (I'm being optimistic) -  Steelgods 2 - The Gears of Anbar
Break
Early Fall - Either a new fantasy project or rewriting Harbinger 
Break
Winter - Whatever I pick in early fall, I do the opposite now.

I think this is possible. We'll see how it goes. At any rate, my bare minimum for this year will be EC, Shifter,  and Steelgods 2. Here's to pulling it off.

Also if EC goes according to plan, it'll require a second book. So that needs to be written sometime. I'll just wait to see how much I end up liking EC before then.

So there you go. Now back to writing.  

Effulgent Corruption Day 3 - 2,050 Words

The bad news is I decided to take the weekend off. Nothing to major. The other bad news is I didn't get my morning writing in today, so I only got about 2k in. Not great.

The good news is this finishes the chapter and puts me past the part of the story that I felt I was stuck on. Everything from here on out (well, maybe after the next chapter) is stuff I really am going to enjoy, not to mention our hero is about to meet one of my favorite characters in the book.

So, soon enough things will be moving along fast. Which is good, since I took the weekend off.

I'm also not caring if this sucks or not (I took a similar approach to Steelgods, and it didn't seem to hurt me any). I'm just going to push through until it finishes. I'm not even going to worry about length, though I have a hunch it's going to be monstrously long.

Here's a bit from today.

            “What have you done with my family?” Drake gasped, addressing anyone who might have been outside the door. His voice rose, despite the chalky dryness that engulfed his throat. “Where is my daughter? Where is my Cristala?”

            He kept pounding with both hands. It was but a moment later that tears were running down his face, unbidden, as he struck the hard barrier again and again. Images of his wife and daughter, what had once been his sanctuary from the horrors of war, now offered no such solace. He knew he must have been chafing his hands raw, and could feel a slickness on the door that might have very well been his own blood, but he still felt no pain. Tears made way to gasping sobs, Drake’s stern demeanor breaking.

Effulgent Corruption Day 2 - 4,358 Words

Chapter 1 done (fixed the intro...I think). Chapter 2 is about halfway finished. I'm adding cute little before-chapter quotes (see the bit for today at the bottom) and am going to add a few more things.
Despite me hating on Effulgent Corruption, re-reading it makes me realize it really wasn't that bad. It was plagued with the "first couple chapters are only about 50% worth keeping" syndrome, but 50% is better than 0%, and I'm fairly certain the later chapters will improve.
Keep in mind I had about 20k when I quit, all of which I'm using (sort of) as a reference. There was some good stuff in there, stuff I don't plan on losing, but having been away from it for a while I can see what needs to be altered.
The main issue with this project is ambition. I have three viewpoint characters, each with conflicts specific to them, but the conflicts also co-exist in such a way that they have to be hinted at in every other VP character's story archs. This makes it incredibly hard for me to know exactly how much information to put in one character's VP (because I want to put all the cool stuff in), when I know I'm going to have to wait for another character's turn before I really give it all away.
In short, it's ambitious, which is kind of why I abandoned it before. However, I'm determined to finish it, even if it totally ends up sucking, because I like it too much to let it die completely.
Even though I really just want to write Gears of Anbar now.

Today's bit:

“What I saw that day? How can one describe the death of a god? How can one so blessed suffer such unmatched torment? How can immortal flesh burn like the leaves of an autumn pyre?”

- Gramatticus, Priest of the Living, second witness of the Burning of Utana

5 A. G. D.

Effulgent Corruption Day 1 - Editing

I've started Effulgent Corruption again, for reals this time. I scrapped everything except the prologue, which I have edited today. I also have a few more distinct ideas for the novel, which have only resulted in making it much more complicated. This novel's going to either be awesome or completely awful. This should be interesting.

Anyway, today I planned the next portion, which was the part that made Jason sick so that he almost quit. Sorry? It happens. My current writing goal is going to be between 1-2k a session, possibly more if I figure stuff out. I'm also going to try to write twice a day: once in the morning, and once in the evening. That has been a great way of bumping word counts without burning out completely.

So that's the plan. Goal to get off the xbox/gamecube enough to write. If I can pound out 4k a day in two chunks, I should be able to get this book done in 50 days (I'm estimating it'll be long, like 200k, though I'm going to try REALLY hard to keep stuff moving at a rapid pace).

If I get this entire book done before February ends, I get a present. I don't know what that present is yet, but I'll figure it out. Though, considering I'm rusty, I have a hunch I'll probably finish Mid-March. This also depends greatly on if I find a job.

Anyway! Expect updates as they come!

2011 Writing Goals

Everybody's doing it, so here goes.

- Update my blog weekly at the least. If I'm writing, I tend to do good updating daily. As you can see, I haven't been writing, so...yep.
- Always be reading a book. With my new Kindle (which I still haven't reviewed), I have no excuse as I have any book I could ever want on here.
- Write a minimum of five novels in 2011. I wrote four in 2010, so it can't hurt to up that goal. I'm guessing 2-3 of them will be Steelgods books, or at least YA of some sort. Effulgent Corruption will be the first of these books.
- Submit more. Lots more. To everybody. Agents, editors, whoever. Submit it all.
- Go to LTUE, CONduit, World Fantasy, and WorldCON. Continue harassing people to get more contacts. Network more. I actually really enjoy networking.
- Get an editor or agent. I don't really have control over this goal, but making this a goal will push me harder.

Life goals:

- Get a job (I have interviews lined up already).
- Play less video games.
- Write every day (starting this Thursday) of the entire year.
- Exercise.

There you go. See you Thursday for Effulgent Corruption.