Tag: Jefferson and the Magician’s Curse

The Wednesday Post

Today I swallowed the giant lump in my throat and even though my stomach is still doing backflips, I think I’ve made the right call.

Sometimes the stars align and something comes up. An opportunity maybe. I’ve been researching how to submit my story to publishing houses for quite awhile now and today (of all days) I came across HarperCollins’ Wednesday Post website. Apparently every Wednesday, they open the flood gates through this website and unsolicited manuscripts (such as my own) can be submitted. I find this out on a Tuesday night while editing my novel.

Coincidence? Maybe.

They ask for the first fifty pages or three chapters of your novel. After rereading and editing them one last time I just went ahead and did it.

Screen Shot 2015-12-30 at 1.56.13 AM
Oh man, that feels odd. Like baring your soul to a complete stranger.

Am I freaking out right now? Yep. It doesn’t help that it’s two in the morning and I work in… oh god, I should sleep. Do I expect anything to come of this?

Hell no.

Just like I didn’t get a date with the first girl I asked out, I expect this will be a lesson in rejection. Worst thing is, I don’t get a nifty rejection notice. Just nothing back after four weeks. This is about to be the longest four weeks in history. Also any email with HarperCollins in it will make me freak out (so Barnes & Noble… keep your publisher call outs to a minimum) but I’m ready.

I want to tell this story.

I want everyone to meet my characters.

I want to be as successful in writing as I am at work.

Maybe if I stare at the photo below, maybe, just maybe, my dream will come true.

Good luck Jefferson and crew. Hopefully everyone will get to meet you soon.

Jefferson & The Magician's Curse
Cover by Fena at http://pheeena.com/ – I don’t want her work to go to waste!

Happy Anniversary… Three Years.

Strangely, the notification that I started this blog three years ago has made me consider why I even started this blog in the first place.

I suppose you can’t help but glance back a few times when moving forward.

This blog originally started as a place to showcase my writing. My plans were to post my every idea and piece of work on this very page. As some of you have seen, I have posted a few things, but since I gained all my followers I have felt the need to produce, but without actually producing. Sitting in this chair now, I even have a screen open with my book in it… it is begging me to finish it. I could go type some words, but I have exactly no focus. This is why I am still not actually published. Of late I’ve been more obsessed with the idea of collecting fantastic editions of classics and compilations than the effort of finishing my book.

My problem is I allow things to get into the way. Anything. Everything. I don’t just need someone to support me while I try and write my novel, I need someone to push me. I need that person who forces the time into my life. I need that time to be sacred. Consistent. Wether it’s in the wee hours of the morning, or the depths of the evening… I need it. Crave it. Must have it. But that hour must also be a time when I am alert, well rested and energised. In my current state I have the attention span of a gnat, which is said to be roughly .1 of a second. Sounds about right. Between paragraphs I have seen a raven poop over my neighbour’s house, a bug fly directly into the window, looked up the actual length of a gnat’s attention span (I was curious) and checked facebook because I have a conversation going where we occasionally get back to each other.

The thing I would love to see is just how the “successful” author organises their ideas and stories. I mean, writing one book was hard enough… but imagine JK Rowling writing seven! Middle Earth’s series of five! The countless trilogies and ongoing insanities. I feel like Tolkien had hundreds of notes, while for my book I had nothing. My story evolved as follows.

Boy joins magician in hunt for evil magicians before the rise of the forbidden arts destroys the world.

Then the next step was I broke it down into five plot points or critical events.

  1. Boy meets Magician, inducted into order.
  2. Forbidden Arts introduced, traumatic event.
  3. Magician descends into madness, breaks from order.
  4. Boy helps order to recruit for oncoming battle.
  5. Battle and Aftermath.

Sounds almost like Harry Potter there huh? Those five points can probable be applies to any number of books.

Then after that, my writing followed the direction of the plot, but the characters drove the story. My target was to hit one hundred thousand words so I said around every twenty thousand words the characters should have progressed enough that one of the points was happening. And it did for the most part. The recruiting took a bit longer and the battle and aftermath turned out to be the final ten thousand, but I never once had a note or anything. This most likely means my book is like a wet paper bag and you could poke holes through it with a limp noodle. I am proud of my foreshadowing and setup of some events along with their execution, but the overall product isn’t sold on me. No matter how many times I reread it and edit it, I find it’s not good enough…

Hopefully, that doesn’t happen to my kids someday. If it does, and they read this… know that I am sorry, I can’t help it. High standards!

Lastly… Happy Three Years to me and my blog… to many more words and many new friends along the way! Thanks for reading and please keep in touch!

Ramblings On A Thursday

Hello, my name is Timothy John Edwards. I have a writing problem.

As in, I haven’t done much today.

Or… in the past few days.

Okay… so maybe I have a procrastination problem!

I have exactly nine minutes before I feed the dogs and then I’ll have some time to work on my story after that. Such is my life as of late! Having pets has been a dramatic change of pace for me, I suppose I figured a smart guy like me would find this easy and these pups would be completely trained in a few days. The reality is, I’m trained and they (while being quite well behaved for two puppies just over two months old) are toying with me. We’ve been putting their collars on to get them used to it (for future walks) but it has been much harder on my body actually than anything else. I feel older than I am, but also I have a strong allergy to dogs that my body is currently trying to build an immunity to. My chest constantly feels heavy and my eyes are beyond itchy. My energy levels have dropped and I can sleep at any point in time. Would I change it? Hell no, I love these pups.

But because of these allergies my focus has been destroyed as of late. I am the kind of person who can put their mind to just about anything and achieve it. However between work and home I have been achieving next to nothing. But my mind is working overtime on the few stories in my head. Let’s give you a creative update!

My idea for one story has now evolved into four books originating from the main story idea. The main story was to be about a trio of characters all linked by destiny to come together and fight a common enemy. Now, I have the concept of a novel for each of the three to solidify their importance and build the backstory to enrich the main story idea of the three of them anyway. A Quadrilogy? There goes my writing life for the next year easily. In the individual stories there will be some similarities and cross overs as I explore the whole threads of fate concept between them.

Jefferson has been patient and I am roughly seven thousand or so words away from hitting the one hundred thousand. It will probably run just over that as they deal with the epic aftermath and sort through the fragments of what their lives used to be. Mwa. Ha. Ha. Probably within the final five thousand if I can get the pups settled fast enough.

My mind keeps revisiting a story concept set in a post apocalyptic world where the angels guarding hell are forced to retreat back to the realm of men. Together the two races are left to fend off the demonic hordes as Heaven wants no part in the matter. The concept stems from my idea that perhaps heaven and hell aren’t as we expect them to be and perhaps Lucifer is actually still the Lord’s General and lead fighter against the demons of hell in an eternal struggle. As Lucifer takes any who are not worthy of heaven into battle, he needs the vicious and the murderous alike to keep the demons at bay. When Lucifer and his forces are beaten back to the realm of men, Gabriel strips him of his rank for failing his duty, leaving him immortal but no longer an angel. This leads Lucifer to help lead the remainder of his army and the lands of men in their battle for survival as Heaven on high watches idly by.

And not bad for ten minutes, but have to run and feed the pups and get into Jefferson before I head to work! Take care ladies and gents and hopefully you’re done your christmas shopping or are enjoying the holidays either way!

An Update From Beyond The Screen

Holy crap, it’s almost halfway through December! Time flies when you suddenly have more hours at work and you have a dynamic duo of puppies who are extremely well behaved (until they decide otherwise). Needless to say I’ve been getting into a routine with the little guys but writing has very obviously taken a backseat for the moment as my routine currently goes: Puppies, Sleep, Eat, Shower. Either way, for those of you who were enjoying the daily posts I will get back into that habit as soon as my puppies stop turning pee pads into confetti… but for now the updates will be sporadic although I am more on top of my emails now as I have been trying (Read: Struggling) to keep up with those!

So, where am I in regards to completing my story?

Absolutely no closer! I have considered bringing my story to work to write on my break but as any retail manager knows, that’s near impossible. I get paged to the counter and around the shop a million and one times a day. Just at work alone I do over the daily goal of ten thousand steps. When I wake up my routine is take the puppies out to pee, breakfast for pups, out for poop (Pups only!), then if I have time breakfast, brush teeth and head to work. All excuses, I know, but until I get this new routine down I will be focussing on getting these pups trained properly. We’re not supposed to have them as our Strata setup didn’t approve them, however we’re going to make sure they’re the best behaved they can be. The final chapters of the story are coming together and I already know the last paragraph and its phrasing. However in a movie (because of the visual effects) it could be much more subtle!

How are the pups?

Puppy Lounge
Thor and Loki, sound sleep together… after a hard day of trying to destroy each other.

 

Loki
Life is hard for Loki the Destroyer.
Thor Lounge
Thor the Conquerer napping after sitting on Loki for awhile.
Guilty as charged!
Thor’s guilty face. Still damn cute.
I'm sorry
Loki’s “I’m sorry I just bit you” face.

Needless to say, I am absolutely taken by these two cute as hell fluffballs, despite their ability to get into trouble and absolutely tear apart their pee pads. It’s hard to stay strong when little Thor whines when we leave him alone. Luckily for us, they’re never truly alone as they do have each other and they do cuddle up (as well as try and murder each other). They’re both cuddly (on their own terms) and Thor likes to ensure Loki stays in line. Frequently if I am correcting Loki’s behaviour he also comes in and nips at his smaller counterpart. This is different to their play time nips… but then again, maybe I’m reading it differently. I’m sure the little sausage dog is laughing and saying “Haha, sucker… you got caught!”

It has definitely been a big adjustment for me not only routine wise but health wise as well. I haven’t had any time to really get bored and snack throughout the day which is great, but on the flip side my allergies are taking their toll on my energy levels throughout the day as their dander fights with my immune system. Do I regret getting them? Hell no. Just look at Loki’s eyes… just little balls of love. They’re actually quite well behaved for only having them for a week! It is rough at times as their little cries just tug on the heart strings unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. These are my first pets ever and I’m so glad I finally got my dachshund. It’s been years in waiting and it’s so worth it!

How is work?

Retail is definitely not the dream, but I love it. Christmas is the one time of year that challenges my passion for helping people as occasionally the customers can ask for more than I can offer. Not only that but with the holiday stress on everyone, customers can get rude (so can staff, don’t get me wrong) and make easy situations harder than they need to be. I’ve also been told that I am most definitely stuck in my current role until at the very least September next year. This is good because I can push to ensure the team is up to scratch for then but also I will be the one in charge of many decisions and planning the opening of the new store next September. It’s going to be another month of working my rump off, but that’s fine. It’ll be a great experience and I still have to learn the program for rosters as well as get deep into our Telco and Finance sections. I’ve got a bit to learn before I get my own shop anyway, I’m just really excited to help build a team and a culture where people want to be at work and love being there! This is how successful stores run! I’ve done it before with EB Games and HMV, so I’m excited to get my own shop again and get that vibe back into my life!

And such is life!

All in all, things are going really well, as soon as I work writing into this new schedule I’ll be on my way to virtually the right life! Lately I’ve been reading mostly Puppy Training books (Cesar The Dog Whisperer actually works!) and the new tunes I’ve been listening to include Jake Bugg’s Shangri La as well as KO and his various songs (Two faves Capable and Moving Mountains). Every once in awhile its good to get into some new tunes! I love that I get free streaming music through work! Although the last album I bought was Bad Religion’s Christmas Album!

So, lastly I want to wish you all happy holidays, no matter what you celebrate, no matter where you are, I want you guys to just enjoy the time with family and friends. This is one of the first years where I’m content. People asked me what I wanted and the only thing that jumped to mind was more time to write and still get everything else in. Despite not owning a next generation console, I’m not even interested in them at the moment. There’s simply nothing out until next year and by then they should be available in shops. Either way, how are things going with you ladies and gents? Where’s your writing at? Anything new in your life? Did you finish your NaNo project yet? So many questions! Take care and until next time!

 

TJ Edwards or: How I Learned To Stop Procrastinating And Edit My Novel

I reread the conclusion to my novel Jefferson and the Magician’s Curse today. This is a big deal because I have now fully finished rereading the entire thing. Do you know what I noticed?

The ending was good… But it could be so much more…

What do I mean? Well, I had an ending. I edited from eighty five thousand words up to the ninety thousand word mark. Then I had an epiphany as I read through the last pages of my story.

This was all too easy, the end? Too nice. Let’s crush some souls.

I’d like to think that at the end of my story, the reader will see the signs. They’ll see them and beg, BEG the protagonist not to do it.

But then… he does.

It is perfect and completes the ultimate circle. Besides the fact I have to rewrite the final ten thousand or so words of my novel, it works on many different levels and fits in perfectly. Much like finding the diamond puzzle piece that makes it all combine together… I feel… I feel…

Liberated!

Don’t ask! It feels so good to have crushed the ending I had with this new, Ending Version Two, Superior. This does put me a bit behind now though. I thought, edit some words… finish it today. Editing fifteen thousand words is easy once you get going. Just do it, I told myself. Then suddenly without warning, this comes through and despite the ending of the story already being written, I decided to rewrite it. I still want my book to be over one hundred thousand words. But now, it feels whole. Now it has things like foreshadowing, suspense, drama, action (which have been spit shined and polished) and now it has this moment. The moment the whole book has been building up to and is executed so perfectly it makes my mouth twist into an insane sort of grin smile. I think this might be called winning.

So now that I have to rewrite the final ten thousand words, I’ve set myself a deadline of the end of December. This is a near impossible target as in retail I work many hours, and then followed up by everyone wanting to see us over the holidays I think I may have to start overlapping mundane tasks (Brushing teeth and Showering, Eating and Writing) or get up earlier and go to bed earlier (which is hard when social events run until nine to eleven at night). If anyone can figure out how to write while they sleep… there is money already in the bank for you.

But the reason I decided to smash into it today was because I reread some of Ray Bradbury’s “Zen in the Art of Writing”. Mr Bradbury has so much energy and passion that immediately after reading any portion of it, you leap up and run to your computer to write. It is most disappointing that this man is gone as he will never know how much he influenced me from his small pocket sized book of writing suggestions. If you are a writer, go find this book and give it a read. I’d love to discuss it and when I eventually get published, he will definitely get a mention.

Also, procrastination is so easy. Pick up the challenge of eliminating all of these distractions we have at our fingertips and focus on what matters most to you. I put my phone away, used an app to limit my access to the internet and told myself to get to ninety thousand and read the rest. Now, things have changed… the story is going to rock and once I end the novel, it is then on to my partner to read. I just hope she enjoys it as much as I do!

Anyway get out there and write. Also, what is everyone writing right this second? Fantasy Novel? Story of a boy and a girl? I’d love to hear from you!

Sharing Is Caring

Well, I’ve got a much more interesting following than I did a mere week ago. Now what to do with you… hmm?

Perhaps I could stalk all of your NaNoWriMo posts and post your word counts… MWA HA HA, no no… too evil!

Or you could volunteer your information, and I could dedicate a post to you fine ladies and gents beyond the typing glass! That’s entirely up to you, let me know if you’d be okay with that and I may have a weekly monday post that tosses out the previous week’s wins! This would also allow you guys to see who else is following along here as well as how they’re doing so you can offer them support just as I have you! That’s my hope, anyone seen that movie called… umm, what was it? Pay It Forward! That’s it! Well if you liked how you felt when some random guy swung by and tossed you a follow, or a like, or even a fabled comment; I ask of you to pay it forward and offer one of the struggling NaNoWriMo Writers your support so they can know, we’ve got their back too! If you guys would like me to post the title of your story or even a link to your NaNoWriMo page, let me know! I’m willing to go all out!

So I will be the first one to share my story with you… I always struggle to tell people what my story is about because it has been inspired by a number of things. Currently I am up to the eighty five thousand mark of the first edit for my novel, Jefferson And The Magician’s Curse. The lovely cover at the top right was made for me by a young lady who was offering free covers last year by the name of Fena Lee. She did a fantastic job and is actually part of the reason I pushed on. You see, she listened and made me the exact image that I had in mind for my cover and in taking that time she inspired me to be sure I finished the story. I told her that I would use her cover and I think even if I am heading out to get published, I may see if I can use that design as it is important to me.

Would you like to hear some details of the story? You would? I was hoping you’d say that! *Wink*Wink*

***

Magicians and circuses, orphanages and escapes; these are the obsessions of one young boy. As Jefferson the orphan escapes to the circus, he finds his obsession with illusions runs deeper than he ever imagined. Leaving the abusive carers he’d been entrusted to, he embarks on a journey of self discovery and lessons under Gabriel The Great. As they travel, Jefferson learns that most illusionists are part of a secret society of good magicians who protect the world from the forbidden arts.

The forbidden arts are guided carefully in the world by warlocks, evil magicians hell bent on destruction and power. The forbidden arts come with a price. Casting magic normally draws upon the caster’s own energy and spirit, thus limiting the type and strength of the spell cast. Yet the warlocks have the ability to channel the energy of others, through themselves, for greater spell power and destruction. Casting these spells links the caster mentally and spiritually with their victim for eternity, causing most warlocks to hear many voices and leading them into the depths of insanity. Their heart taints black with the Magician’s Curse, the veins blackening outward from over use of the forbidden magic.

Luckily for Jefferson, these magics are nearly forgotten… Unlucky for him, shadows move in the darkness and the forbidden arts begin to rise up, threatening the weakened societies of magicians and the world itself. Will Jefferson fall to the allure of power from the forbidden arts, or will his master’s teachings be enough to guide him through these dark times and into times of peace? As his destiny balances on the edge of a knife, two secret societies and the world await to see who will be victorious… and who will perish.

***

Okay, hopefully that sounds good. It does to me, but I am virtually sleep deprived and worked through… so it could be the equivalent of the song “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” and I might not even notice. Strangely enough though, I spelled that right on the first try. Good to know where my brain’s priorities are! I should be able to edit the final fifteen thousand words in the next week or so, but I also have to puppy proof my house. We get our pups (A Dachshund and a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel) around the seventh of December if all goes well, and here’s to hoping it does! But before that I need to completely destroy and rebuild the back garden and go all “Better Homes and Gardens” on its sorry excuse for a planter and install a raised veggie patch complete with a tiny peeing area for new pups. Should be fun! By the way, I’m a nerd and not handy in the slightest… so, does anyone know if IKEA sells raised planters? That’d make life easy!

In closing, if you do want to be mentioned in tomorrow’s post, please let me know! I’m hoping that everyone will be up for participating, I think it’ll make this particular group closer than others and it gives you that sense of, “I have to write so everyone can see my progress!” Remember, try my five tips from the last post if you’re struggling and I guarantee you’ll start to see results! Either way do what is best for you and good luck with your writing ladies and gents! Thanks for stopping by again!

It Begins Anew AKA I Hate Mornings.

After my last post, which one of my wonderful friends dubbed my semi annual soul searching, I began to revisit why I continually disappoint myself when it comes to my writing. Thankfully, this friend also gave me some fantastic outside input with regards to my habits and lifestyle and how that could have a definite effect on my writing. In retrospect I should have seen this a lot sooner, but better late than never I suppose!

You see, I find I work better at night. My creativity is flowing freely and the days events have culminated into a relaxing evening ripe for writing. This is somewhat of an issue though, as both my lovely girlfriend and I work days. This means my social life exists pretty much after dinner, which also means any time I try and allocate for writing will eventually be interrupted. Every time I have failed before, the routine breaks. Work gets in the way. Social events take precedence. I go to bed early. I have needed a consistant block of writing time for a long time.

The worst part of everything is, I’ve ignored this advice because I hate mornings. Hate, HATE mornings. I love to sleep in, the thought of getting up early simply nauseated me, especially coming off night shift less than six months ago. But every writer out there has said: Set aside some proper writing time, an hour a day, uninterrupted, early in the morning is best.

What do they know right?

Here I am now, after revisiting my grand total words for this blog last year. I have written over one hundred and six thousand words. That is thirty thousand more words than the first Harry Potter! That is almost three times The Chronicles of Narnia’s The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe! What do I have to show for it? Not a lot, many short stories I suppose. But to consider I only did that over less than 100 posts? Madness!

Effectively, I have made the decision to take a single story and try to bring it to completion. Considering I already have a sweet cover for Jefferson and the Magician’s Curse, I’m going with that one. Also, I have begun waking before the sun, at five in the morning. I have set aside this hour each day to write, plan and research for my story. This first week will be the hardest. I can jump straight up out of bed, I can get to my desk, but I’ll be damned if I say I am awake yet. The only good news about this time of day is no other rational person will interrupt my writing!

So, for my 100th post! For the future of my writing! And finally to prove I can finish a novel! I hereby promise to myself and to any out there who read this, I will complete this story. I will type at least a thousand words a day until it is complete!

I may also take up drinking coffee!

I may also develop narcolepsy!

I will give myself until August 21st to complete this story! One hundred and forty mornings, One thousand words a day, One hundred thousand word target, with forty days for revision. Wish me luck!