The Depths of Revision

I don't think I've ever felt as much like a writer author as I have the last few days.

I'm not talking to publishers or "getting into the business" or any of that stuff. I'm not even doing anything that I haven't done before, actually.

All I'm doing is what teachers make you do all the time: revision. So what makes it different? Just the sheer amount of it. It's one thing to do NaNoWriMo (which is a really commendable feat in its own right), but something about taking the result of 2009's into its fourth draft... Maybe it's just a mood swing on my part, but I feel like doing this is really pushing my passion for writing back to the forefront of my life.

Half of it is that I'm doing this after having taken the time to really edit other people's work, and find out what I need to see in a story, what I like and where my standard is. As it turns out, my need to give the authors of my beta reading some really good critiquing has caused me to set the bar amazingly high. It's actually extremely easy to do this revision, if time-consuming, since it's plain that the last draft doesn't live up to my expectations. The fact that I offered it to an agent is laughable.

I haven't stopped beta reading, though. In fact, with this second manuscript, I've had the luck to find one with a lot of parallels to my own work. Might even make an entry about that sometime soon...

Excerpt from The Third Face

Blood covered the gaping face, grey with death. The right arm ended in a shriveled stump, and a huge gash stretched across his torso. Internal organs had been torn out, and the Salamander looked like an empty sack.

But his ruined face was still that of Rasuke’s foster father, his only friend.

The boy’s body shook, his body that still had everything inside it, still carried life. He closed his eyes and looked back to the last time this man had been alive, kindly bringing him to that doctor’s office. And then the doctor did something, and it all went wrong...

Doctor Grin-that was the name of the man responsible for this. Rasuke saw himself in the past as if he’d resisted, struggled, grabbed the surgeon, destroyed him with his bare hands in front of his father, and then a shadowy figure came in the tent and leapt at him, and Windeater jumped in the way, and his arm was ripped off and then Rasuke ran in horror-

The boy opened his eyes, panting. “Where did that come from?” he asked himself.

Then he blacked out.

Secondary Project

Well, let's look at the status of things. I'm currently in the middle of negotiating a beta read for another work. This time I was assured that it's epic fantasy, so phew, right direction. Meanwhile, there's also someone beta reading The Third Face. She says that it'll probably be done by the end of January and--oh, wow, that's coming up really soon, isn't it?

As soon as I get my comments back I'm going to start revising like hell. I'm not sure how much time I have for this in February, but my school's writing contest may or may not be accepting novels as of this year. As in, we'll see. Still, for something that's essentially a matter of chance (and probably a slim one at that) I'm pretty excited about this.

I have a couple weeks to go till then, though. What to do with them? I don't want to stop writing, but I don't want to revise The Third Face or start on a new project just yet. The solution? Something completely different! This is probably kind of pointless and stupid but... my autobiography. It is going to exist. At least partially. I don't think I should try to get too far when I'm only 18 and all. But still, yeah. That's the writing I'll be doing for now. Not like I need another project at the moment, but eh. I can handle it.

"Beta Reading"

So I'm a writer. Naturally, that means my friends are writers too, right?

Well, okay, it's not that simple, by any means. But I do talk to lots of writers on a daily basis. Besides the fact that being social is just fun, it helps me sort of team up for better writing. The more people that look at something, the better.

Of course, as stated in the first post of this blog, things can't always be about me. So about a week ago, I, too, volunteered my services to look at someone else's work, to critique and review it. I put myself out there on the Absolute Write forums (amazing place by the way) as what they call a "Beta Reader."

Within a matter of hours, someone had sent me a message in response. She knew that her story was definitely not something I'd normally read. But she sent it to me anyway because she was confident in the results. How can I say no to that kind of guts? Even though I wasn't sure what to expect, I accepted anyway. Turns out it was at least half-romance. My worst subject. Only the tension and suspense that are in the story keep me reading more.

In fact, where I failed to make comments on the document for a stretch, I can't seem to make myself go back and find things to comment on. I just can't reread it. It wasn't till the end when I had all my comments done and I was giving a more general review that I had any confidence at all in my ability to help. My comments on that document are basically useless, but I sent them anyway. Still, I think my review was very helpful in contrast.

It was a long and hard process, but really, it only took me one week to receive, read, comment, review, and finally send everything back. It was 64,000 words long, almost three times the length of my own novel's first draft. That's crazy. I didn't really think it was possible to do that. On the other hand, it was such tiring work that I hope I don't get my next assignment for a few more days.

Here's an idea of how hard it was. Over the last week, if you haven't talked to me, you missed me moaning and groaning about this project and how I didn't want to do it. I didn't mind homework or any of that other stuff because it gave me an excuse not to work on it. I'm not quite the complainer I used to be, but really the fact that I didn't think of anything else as a problem during that time probably says a lot.

I'm probably being really longwinded and dramatic about this. I just want people to understand how hard it actually is to do this. If you are asking someone to give you feedback on your work (like I currently am, actually), then realize that it's no small favor. Same goes for agents and editors and anyone else who has to read it. This is not "Oh hey this book looks cool I'm going to read it and it will be great" time. Forgive me for using the phrase, but it's serious business.

Review: The Golden Compass

As I sit down blearily in front of my computer, it's hard to believe that just a week ago life wasn't that hard. Back then, the only thing I had to do was read some books. Well, I'm glad that one of the ones I picked up was The Golden Compass.

I don't know why I did. The concept didn't interest me, and I felt that I already knew enough about it by having watched those commercials for the movie when it came out a few years ago. I thought it was too childish for me. Who wouldn't come to that conclusion after seeing a little girl ride a polar bear?

I regret that first impression.

Okay, I probably still won't watch the movie. But that's because I suspect the movie itself of being at fault for my original bias. It's hard to trust movies anyway, especially having been hit pretty hard back at the infamous Eragon fiasco.

The book, though. Wow. For a popular classic from the 90's, it's surprisingly deep and dark. Turns out just because the main character is a little kid doesn't mean the reader has to be. In hindsight, I should have known that all too well.

What I liked about it was that it did not shrink from the subjects of torture, deception, and even religion. The latter, luckily enough, is enough in the background that a person who'd rather not deal with religious debate can pretty much ignore it.

Anyway, Pullman puts us deep into the mind of a girl living on the line between civilization and savagery. The primal force is what pushes this story along, but the cleverness of a sophisticated mind shines through. We get to see genius lying and the science of a sort of psychic reading that the main character, Lyra, is able to perform. It gives her a lot of answers, but only enough to build anticipation for what will happen next in this fast-paced action.

Okay, I promise a better review next time. At this point I really just wanted to put something on the page for people to see. Anyway, if you like your reading with a dash of mysticism, a bit of eerieness, and some tastefully executed violence, there's no reason not to pick up The Golden Compass. Unlike most literary classics, this one made it big for a reason: it's really good stuff.

The Third Face: Summary

Rasuke has just learned three things: he is not the only Human in the world; two warring demigods are petitioning great warriors; and he has a vicious alter ego who's already answered the call to arms.

He will have to fight alongside both demons and living experiments, not only to win the struggle, but to understand it. His origins will prove to be tied to those of the war in the ugliest of ways.

First Look

If you're looking at this blog post seriously, odds are it's because I haven't added many other posts yet. You're either one of the first people to look at this blog, or so interested in it that you actually looked towards the back.

Regardless, you've invested your time in me and my blog, and maybe even my book. There might not even be anyone or anything telling you that it's worth it--just your personal faith. That's something really valuable, and I just want to start off by thanking you for it.

So, what can you expect out of this blog?

First and foremost, I'd like to spend a lot of time reading and reviewing other people's books. So if you keep reading, you'll probably get to know my personal opinion on what I've read. You'll find a lot of dark fantasy and a bit of science fiction here.

What I review could be anything from a popular classic to an unpublished manuscript. You see, since I do some work in editing other people's novels, I often get a look at them before anyone else, even publishers. With the author's permission I'll review (and promote) their work on this blog.

Of course, I have to admit I'm not entirely selfless. You wouldn't expect me to do all that and then not talk about my own novel, would you? I'll probably talk a lot about how it's going and my quest for publishing and all that other good stuff. Later on, I'll post actual material for it like excerpts and summaries and stuff.

Hey, wait, why can't I post a summary right now?

Oh, and also the link back to my website: Link!