Wow I have not been here in a while, glad to see its all working again.

So I am finally in a situation in my life where I can be comfortable putting more focus on my writing. I started work on a short story that has been kicking around in my head for years.

Back in collage me and my friends would often discuss how we would take over the world and rule it, as one does. For some reason mine was often the favored concept though it was the least realistic. Over time this idea has developed and mutated into what I would call and interesting story idea.

Basically, without giving any details away, the story is about the fall of the old world to something new starting out with America and eventually spreading across the world. An invading force of superior technology and devotion declares a war of conquest on the whole of the world, and is winning. The story will be some what similar to World War Z in how it was narrated. It will be divided up into sections from different peoples point of view through the conquest. The view points will be from both sides of the conflict, and there will also be parts that are suppose to be journal entries of the commander of the invading force.

Now so things I want to get out of the way. The invading force is not alien in nature though it surpasses the vast majority of the earth forces. This is not a war of annihilation but of mental conquest. The invading force is doing a lot of undermine the integrity of its enemies so that its citizens willingly join their cause. As such the invaders use a lot of fear tactics and maneuvers that are devastating but cause almost no collateral damage.

The forces of this invasion are fanatically loyal to their cause and very very well trained.

If you have any questions, comments or critiques pleas post them below.

Good to be back.

Not sure how much I can help you but I thought of you when I saw this.



Saw it on a post from someone who got it from someone else.



The Deposed King

Thanks Mr. King always good to get one of those much needed friendly slaps in the face to get me going lol.

I have gotten over the hump with a rather simple solution. Why try and explain everything in one scene when I can spread it out. I am planing on this being at least a trilogy, unless the characters go union then I'm screwed lol.

I find it funny that I am at almost two thousand words and my main character hasn't yet left his bedchambers, though granted a good chunk was prologue.

There are a few different ways to start a book that will grab the reader.  You can try to ease them in and explain as you go.  The other is you throw them off the deep (action from the first sentence) and and start the book with a bang that you try to keep up the whole way through.

I've tried a bunch of variations.  As a writer I tend to bleed my back story, back ground and some of my outline into my prologue or first chapter.  Its necessary to let me know who it is and where they're going.  But the reader doesn't generally like that.  Show don't tell.

So my advice is to, as much as possible, let things unfold naturally and if you keep getting stuck with the dreaded info-dumping, which you recognize as soon as you take a step back and reread it.  My advice is either A: just keep writing and come back later to fix the opening.  B: start with some action instead and introduce something as it becomes relevant to the situation.

Of course I haven't read anything you've written so always let your conscience be your guide and all that.  But, uh, best of luck with your story.



The Deposed King

put a few more words down but then I hate them and rewrite them. Its getting really frustrating that i am spending a good long while on a part but my story is not getting any longer.

Remember traditional publishers say, if I can't get past the first page I reject it.  Then if I can't get through the first chapter I reject it.  For online e-books now a days the reader can read the first 10% for free.  An average novel length is like 120k.  So I guess obsessing over the first 12 thousands words isn't the end of the world.

But anything over 12k and I've got to advise you to give up the ghost and go with the crud you've just written.  Most people shoot themselves in the foot.  C.J. Cherryh says on her website that she's heard of authors who send their first draft off to the publisher as soon as she's written it.  But that's not her experience (somewhere between 30-50 books and counting she's published), she has to go back and edit the total crap out of her manuscripts.  Multiple times before she sends it in.

My advice write it bad and move on.  You can come back and give it the puff later.  IMO its easier to CREATE, than it is to FIX and CREATE at the same time.  You try and do both and at least for me I run out of steam and wind down.

Ilona Andrews another author with somewhere around 10 books under her co-writing belt (ilona is the female half of the husband wife team that write the books under the pen name Ilona Andrews) and she says you have to give yourself permission to write total and utter crap here's the link http://www.ilona-andrews.com/writing-tricks/writing-crap#comments

Essentially she says first drafts just plain suck for 95% of the writers out there.  To paraphrase her elegant way of putting it.  You have to get down with the suckage and be okay with it.  Then come back when you are finished and much like a plain hunk of wood that you wouldn't dream of putting in your house, you varnish the bejeebees out of it until its not this ugly hunk of wood.  And people gush about all the grain and nice swirls you've managed to capture for their viewing pleasure.  Off the wood analogy.

You've taken the first step by writing something.  The next step in IMO is being okay with the plain hunk of yuck you've just written.  When you've got a full length anything.  be it short story, novella or novel.  Then its time for the next step.  Getting the critisism you need to turn snow white in her ugly coffin, into a princess with a beautiful gown.  Then my young Jedi you too shall be ready for either, e-publishing (and much consumer discord in the force) or the many rejection letters yet to come until the Jedi Publishing Order is ready accept your application.   

Whatever you do, don't give up on yourself and if what you're doing works and what I suggest doesn't, disregard everything I've said and go with your own flow.  (I mean ultimately who am I?  Just another guy)  However if what you're doing doesn't work.  Ol'Albert Einstein famously said.  The definition of insanity is trying the exact same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

Anyway have a blast, and remember,

Follow the Dream and don't let anyone get you down.  Not even yourself.



The Deposed King

I'm up to 42,612 for this month on the sequel to my first book.  Wrote 80% of my 133K rough draft (1st book) last month and all 42K of the sequel (2nd book) for this month starting february 3rd.

I've been bedeviled with two days (1st and 2nd) lost trying to edit an electronic copy of the first book, without power of course as soon as I got on the bus.  A day for a birthday.  And two other days without action because of life events that were unavoidable.

And then yesterday I had like half a day and totally flobbed it.  Only like 1.5k written.  I'd scourge myself but I've been battling some kind of lung infection for the past week and a half.  I may have to break down and go for some medicine.  Its not super bad its just sapping my strength and slowly getting worse.  Anyway any scourging would only be likely to reduce my productivity.

I honestly don't think I'll be able to finish the second draft this month.  Maybe first week of march if I can maintain.  I keep getting distracted with other ideas.  I wrote 16-18k of a little urban fantasy idea that caught my fancy around the 6th and cranked 2.8k (on the 11th? I think), essentially a section which I'm using instead of chapters on that project, for a 3rd work that stalled out and I haven't been able to do anything with since 06-07.  It was kind of liberating to unblock and write down a whole new section.

Maybe if I continue to have trouble with this sequel.  When its done I'll try to get off the current project for March.  Either finish the half a book that's been on the shelf since 07 or the urban fantasy.

Then I can come back in april and shoot for the last in the trilogy.

Assuming of course, something doesn't come up to monopolize my time (fingers crossed), this is a very real concern.



The Deposed King

If one of the bad guy powers is the rare ability to temporarily 'puff' up vanilla mortals.  You'd have hordes of vanilla fodder.

Alternately you could have edgers, people with minor abilites who want into the big league but just aren't suited for it.  A bunch of one hit wonders.

Also if the bad guys could have a power that they could use to temporarily neutralize the good guys, then the vanillas start to come in strong again.

All depends on your magic system.  Heck cryptonite is a bit cheesy but it worked for superman.



The Deposed King

You sound married to Hong Kong and want your characters totally out of their element.

But if you wanted to have your characters in the friendliest asian country in the world you'd send them to the Philippines and if you wanted to throw them off the deep end they'd end up on mindanao where the rebels are still shooting.

Its a crazy country, there are lots of educated people and everyone educated speaks english.  In the middle part its peaceful.  About a decade or two the heart of the middle visayas region was starting to be over run with crime and gangs so the local government organzied secret death squads and basically went around wacking the southern rebels and home grown criminals.  A decade and a half later they are still trying to convict the local police and politicians that did the deed, and Cebu is the most peaceful island in the country.  Its also the most tourist friendly.

This is also the same place where the Muslim and Communist rebels, routinely negotiate christmas and ramadan 'holidays' to temporarily stop the blood shed so everyone can go home and celebrate.

In cebu there are lots of run down buildings in the heart of the city.  For while there was even an abandoned hotel (30-40 stories)that was built with substandard materials and tried to immitate the leaning tower of piza.  don't think its still around though.

Plus I know for a fact that lots of native philippinos (of which I'm not, I just live here at the moment) are active on the JB site.

This is the same country that is on the top ten countries in the world for two things Happiness and Corruption.

But as I said lots of walking contradictions over here.




The Deposed King

Here's mine:  http://aspiringauthor1.blogspot.com/

I started it 1/28/2012, I've had fifty three views since then and only my sister has commented.

I started out just writing updates on how far I've gotten.  I put in two snippets from a side project I'm puttering around with while I'm pounding away 5k a day on the sequel to my first book.

Google nixed my adwords application.

So I just try to post every day, as another way to keep me on track writing 5k a day.

If having a blog will help you keep yourself on task, go to google like I did, they have a free one.  If you get cool enough that you need to go pro then that's great too.





The Deposed King