The Violet War

After I got all excited about my spectacular “Chapter One,” I ended up revising a short story that needed some work and stumbled across different submission guidelines for various markets. I took one look at the formatting guidelines and went… “Uh-oh…ARGENTUM does not look like that…”

So, I went ahead and formatted it differently using a 12 point New Courier font and one-inch margins. Then, I indented the first line of the paragraphs and double-spaced the text. Excited, I went back and peeked at this “professionally formatted manuscript” and I found mistakes in Chapter One.

I believe I literally used the phrase, “What the hell?”

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When I started working on revisions for the novel back in the Spring, I knew I was going to have to make some adjustments in my schedule.

Before I started ARGENTUM, I often worked on a contract basis, which meant that someone handed me a contract and I said, “Okay, I’ll write for you.” Then, however many days later, I’d hand in an assignment that would hopefully get published. Sometimes I’d offer an outline; sometimes my editor and I would work together on an outline. Sometimes I’d even get invited to write some new short stories, so I’d find myself working on those.

Writing ARGENTUM doesn’t work like that, because this is a project that I don’t have a contract for. (No contract equals no deadline and no money.)

When I started Violetwar.com, I was so horrified by the idea I’d be the only one who’d read this story, I thought of a way “around it.” Initially, I imagined that Violetwar.com was going to be a grand experiment, where I’d have the freedom to do whatever I wanted with my first draft. I was so full of excitement, caffeine and LOVE for this urban fantasy story, that I ended up spending more time promoting it than I did writing it. Then, when I got the momentum going for the story, my readers (maybe even some of you) said that it wasn’t enough! They wanted more, more and more! That’s about the same time I realized that I should try to take more of a professional angle to this project, since other people had already approached me saying they were interested in it.

Let me fast forward a bit…

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If you’ve been following along as I wade through revisions, you might have heard me talking about how I keep going back to Chapter One.

Well, I went back to it again. And again. And again.

Why?

When I re-read the chapter, I felt like I was puking information on the page instead of telling you a story. Serafina was in a terrible accident. Serafina was drugged. Serafina was stuck in a hospital. Serafina got married to someone she didn’t know. B-O-R-I-N-G. While those details are important to the story, they aren’t part of the story.

Whenever I went through my revisions, I kept trying to fix the issue by placing even more weight on how she felt and what had happened there. Even though it took me a while, I finally figured out that Chapter One needed to be about what had happened to Serafina the day she started getting her memories back. Chapter One needed to be about Chapter One, not Chapter Negative One or worse…six, different Prologues.

Part of my trouble, was that I had just finished writing a couple of short stories for different projects. Short stories are a different form and function than a novel, because they need to be self-contained. While I enjoy providing snappy prose, a novel provides you with more room to breathe than a short story does. What was funny about Chapter One, was that I gave myself too much room. I kept filling Serafina’s mouth with words and thoughts and emotions, but I never allowed her to tell the story in her own voice.

So now that Chapter One is pretty much nailed, I’ve been able to use that perspective to ensure the rest of the book is in line. There are LOTS of hidden meanings to very, innocent-sounding words. If you know anything about Alchemy or what sorts of things Alchemists used to do, you’d probably get a kick out of it.

Hi everyone,

After coming back from GenCon, I had a few other people contact me about licensing the Violet War setting for a potential game. I took a break from revisions and started mapping out this very. big. world.

I just stopped.

You see, I really love this story and although I’m pretty excited that there’s an interest in the setting – without the story it’s just a bunch of cool characters and descriptions smushed together in a weird world. The good thing about mapping out the setting, is that it has helped keep the story more focused; that was one of my primary concerns for the later sections of the book.

So…I’m back to revising, polishing, editing and submitting. I want to submit the novel for possible publication before I do anything else with it. Yes, “money” was a consideration and getting something out there for this setting did cross my mind…but this is my first, full-length novel. Normally I write on spec (e.g. I get a contract and the terms spelled out before I write anything down); writing a novel is different because I may never get paid for my efforts. It’s a completely different cycle than I’m used to, but I love writing “big” stories and I want to give it my best shot.

Admittedly Serafina and I have had a rough road, but I feel I owe it to both of us to finish the revisions and start the query process.

So back to work!

Hi my readers,

I have not forgotten about you! I just got back from GenCon: Indy where I spoke on several panels and had a great time.

GenCon this year was a world of difference from last year, partially because instead of running a booth I was on several panels at the Writer’s Symposium. This selection of panels, organized by Jean Rabe was structured so that budding writers and game designers could get the help that they needed on a variety of topics ranging from world-building to their careers. In my opinion, even with my late evenings, I thought that the panels went really well because they were focused and pragmatic. Some of the panelists included authors like: Anton Strout, Pat Rothfuss, Mike Stackpole, John Helfers and Kerrie Hughes, Jean Rabe, Paul Genesse, Jennifer Brozek, Kelly Swails, Chris Pierson and more! –SOURCE: My GenCon: Indy in Review

In addition to having such an awesome experience, I was able to connect with some other authors and talk about “the pitch” to an agent. There’s also quite the interesting opportunity on the horizon for this setting. Darn contracts! Darn non-disclosure agreements! But, like all things in publishing, they’ll take a bit of time to flesh out.

First things first, though. I need to plow through the revisions before I send it out for consideration. Once I’m done and I’m able to start that ball rolling, and I’ll keep you posted on that process, too.

Thanks again for sticking with me!

If you’ve read part of the first draft for ARGENTUM, you know that the book is structured in a chapter and chapter break format. In between the main storyline, you’ll read one of Serafina’s memories.

As part of my revisions, I’m incorporating the memories a little bit more into the story when it’s appropriate. Not every memory is a “useful” one for the plot; and not every memory happens linearly either. Serafina doesn’t remember things in the order in which they happened, but some of the memories she relives first are from her childhood. I wanted to make her amnesia somewhat realistic, even though my rendition isn’t medically accurate. I felt I was able to take a few liberties for a few reasons (outside the fact that this is a work of fiction). First, Serafina isn’t human. (And no, I’m not going to tell you what she is.) Second, the rituals that were performed on Serafina to remove her memories were based on Alchemy. Third, the first attempt didn’t take. (Please note, that I’m not spoiling anything by telling you that. It’s not crucial to the plot…)

As I revise the novel for pacing and add new chapters here and there, I’m also adding in more of Serafina’s memories. The latest one? A homework assignment where she has to critique a poem. I’m finding that adding in little bits and pieces of her “real life” in the Realm is helping to flesh out her character (so to speak). I’ve always enjoyed writing about the little things that make characters more (or less) human; by sharing her lost memories with you I hope you can identify with her character more and be drawn deeper into the story.

I feel like I turned a corner this past weekend, because the last two weeks have been…painful. I knew I needed to change the verb tense of my exposition from present to past, but I wasn’t sure how that was going to work for the beginning of the story.

Instead of opening the novel with “Sophie” in the hospital, I had initially decided to flip quite a few years into the future–to a trial held in a place called Aztalan. King Mitra’s successor, an ancient god of the seasons named Horem, was the first character you’d meet. From his perspective, you would have been immersed in the world of magic that I’ve been developing right from the start.

Here’s the first couple of paragraphs from King Horem’s point-of-view:

Trials in the Realm were not normally held out in the open, where a mortal might stumble across a lion-headed Justicar or a fae Sergeant-at-Law. Of course, a public trial was dangerous, but not unprecedented.

King Horem felt he had no choice in the matter, for this particular trial would determine the course of the Violet War, a war that had proven to be very deadly. There was no other place in the entire Realm that would serve as neutral territory, but the Trial still had to be held somewhere magical. Above ground, there were very few places left that were both defendable and accessible. Horem also knew that no matter where the trial was held, there was always the remote possibility that they might be attacked. He hoped that by holding the trial here — in Aztalan — that someone might think twice before exposing the Realm to mankind. Fortunately, there was only one thing that all sides of the War seemed to agree on: magic must be kept a secret at all costs.

Well, I decided not to go with that approach because it was “too” much. The world of the Violet War isn’t just on one planet, it’s a very, large universe. By offering Horem’s point-of-view up front, I revealed so much about that universe that getting back to Sophie’s perspective felt like one, giant let down. Part of the fun I’ve had reading books, is being connected to that discovery process where you not only wonder what’s going to happen next – but you’re curious about the world the characters are in.

So I’ve taken a step back and started revising the first chapter from Sophie’s perspective. Things really seemed to fit a lot better when I did that. I’d like to share those revisions with you here.

Immediately after I had woken up from a coma in the hospital, the pungent stench of antiseptic overpowered my senses. For a split second, I wasn’t able to figure out why that medicinal smell was so strong, until I looked down and noticed my broken body. As soon as I saw that I was covered in bandages that oozed yellow, red and green; my heart started to pound through my chest. What happened to me? Unfortunately, I couldn’t remember who I was or how I had gotten hurt so badly. Alone and feeling more than a bit lost, I placed a lot of trust into the nurses and doctors who attended me because I believed they would help me.

That was my first mistake.

As always, thanks for supporting my efforts as I wade through revisions. I feel like things are flowing so much better now, because I finally hit that right “tone” for Sophie’s voice.