First draft completed

My latest manuscript is now in a full, if very rough, state. This has been one of the longest spans it has taken me to write a novel, mostly because of the month I had to take off from writing around the middle of the plot.

But it's finished now and sitting in a mental drawer (and computer file) waiting for enough time to lapse so I can return to revisions with a fresh eye.

Working title: Raethe

Word count: A shade over 100k. Actually a bit longer than I thought it'd turn out. No doubt a good portion of this will be lopped off during revisions. Possibly 10-20%.

Summary: When an age-old, harmless system of shadow magic suddenly turns deadly, a ceremonial warrior, a theatrical apprentice, and a prostitute become unlikely linchpins of hope in helping their kingdom survive the ensuing chaos.

So...now comes the fun part. Polishing, snipping and reworking, while also getting a query and synopsis devised so this thing can eventually be shopped around if one of my current prospective stories isn't picked up.

What's next? Well, I've two main stories that have been jostling for room in my brain, so it's mostly a matter of picking which one I'll work on first. Otherwise I might take a whack at some short stories, and catch up on some nonfiction freelancing.

How are things on everyone else's end?

PPWC: How to Sashay

Okay, this isn't from a workshop or panel, but I was delighted to find someone from this year's Pike's Peak Writer's Conference managed to record the event where literary agent Donald Maass, fantasy author Todd Fahnestock, and conference registrar Jodi Anderson all peer-pressured each other into performing a group sashay across the stage. One of many highlights of the conference, to say the least.

This. This is why you go to these things. Oh, sure, there's the networking and pitch sessions and all that. But...this.

Insert psychic joke here

Thanks to io9.com for this bit of news that's close to home here in Colorado.

Apparently, Nancy Marks, a professional psychic based in Lafayette, CO was arrested on charges of fraud. Psychics? Fraud? How is that news, you ask? Well, it's all in the flair this particular psychic put on her readings and predictions.

Nancy managed to convince numerous clients that their money was...EVIL. That's right. Their cash was cursed, and the only way to get rid of the curse and avoid, oh, something like being condemned to Hell, was to hand the money over to her for safe de-cursing and disposal.

Sure, some believe money is the root of all evil, but full-on demonic possession of hard cash? The scam was successful enough to net her more than $290,000 before she was reported and brought in.

Here's the official news report.

Maybe I should try this shtick on 16th St. Walk up to folks on their lunch break and see if I can convince them their credit cards are demon-possessed.

And if anyone has some devilish cash out there branding the Mark of the Beast in their pocket, send it my way and I'll gladly handle the consequences on your stead.

Heartless: The Story of the Tin Man

It's a rare remake that catches my eye these days, what with every single film corporation dredging up every possible already-told story to work into some new money-making entertainment machine. However, this version of the making of the Tin Man, from the Wizard of Oz, is a mix of steampunk, fantasy and romance that makes for a compelling and somewhat heartwrenching backstory to a classic character.

Heartless: The Story of the Tin Man from Brandon McCormick on Vimeo.

PPWC: Donald Maass on Micro-Tension

If you don't know who Donald Maass is, and you are a speculative fiction writer looking for a literary agent...well, shame on you, I suppose. For two reasons. First, Donald Maass is one of those "rock stars" of literary agents with a super-successful agency based in New York. He and his agents represent authors such as Jim Butcher, Elizabeth Bear, Kay Kenyon and C.E. Murphy. He also has written a number of incredible books to help writers break in with their debut novel, including The Fire in Fiction and Writing the Breakout Novel. Writers love his advice so much, they will gladly pay upwards of 200-400$ extra to attend a 4 hour workshop based on The Fire in Fiction, like they did at the conference this year.

Oh, and he's just a cool, fun guy. So, a third reason.

Anyways, Maass ran a workshop during this year's Pike's Peak Writer's Conference based on the topic of micro-tension. What is micro-tension, you ask? As you might've guessed, it's a smaller form of tension. I know. Deep stuff.

Tension ranges in size throughout your novel, did you know that? It could be the nail-biting tension of a chase scene strung out through a chapter (or two). It could be an overarching tension that starts with a murder on the first page and isn't released until the revealing of the serial killer on the last page. It could be two characters glaring at each other over a cup of tea because one of them refuses to shower and the other won't stop spitting watermelon seeds.

We tend to think of tension as a "big" thing. It's the question whether the villain will get away with his scheme. Will the princess rescue the knight from the dragon? Will the super-intelligent kittens take over the world? Will...you get the idea. Each scene should have tension in it, because tension is what forces readers to turn from one page to the next. Tension creates that burning desire in their mind to see what happens next. It is, according to Maass, one of the most vital elements in bestselling books.

So...micro-tension. Where does it fit in?

Let's say you have a novel that has tension. Great. But what you have to do is now take a magnifying glass to each page on its own and see if it has tension on it. Each. Page. It's not good enough to have an overall tense scene. What if there are pages composing that scene that don't have it? You don't want to give up any opportunity to hook your reader harder along, and every single page gives you just that opportunity.

How to do this then? Maass gave a few examples by taking random pages from audience members at the workshop, reading a paragraph or two out loud, and then taking shouted suggestions from the audience on how to increase the tension in different ways.

First, dialogue. You can add micro-tension in dialogue in two ways.

1. Escalate the language. This doesn't mean tossing in a bunch of F-bombs or otherwise. That's just trying to be edgy and failing. But don't let characters use wussy words or vague phrasing. Make their statements direct and strong. Use harsher, more meaningful words.

2. Have the dialogue create friction. Besides the composure of the dialogue, consider the content as well. Are people pussyfooting around the issue when they talk to each other? Get them to call each other out. Perhaps one character uses a word the other might consider blasphemous or insulting. Don't let them become so diplomatic (unless it's that vitriolic diplomacy where tension is simmering below every nicety).

Second, exposition (also considered the interior point of view).

Exposition is where (hopefully) you are seeing the world through a character's eyes and hearing their thoughts and feelings about the situation they're in. It gives you a window into their emotional turmoil. So while you can have strong feelings on the page already, how to ramp up the tension even more?

Mainly by seeing if you can add in conflicting and opposite emotions at the same time. If a character is feeling pride, how can you make them struggle with shame as well? If they're feeling afraid, can they also have some boldness lurking about? These minor emotional clashes not only heighten the tension but also add characterization.

Third is action. Action can be divided into High Action, such as chase scenes or shoot-em-ups, etc., and Small Action, such as a character's body language or general movements around a scene. High action provides inherent tension by virtue of fast pacing, violence and the usual.

The way to add micro-tension into action is to find the less-expected emotions that play off the action in conflicting or unexpected ways. If a character sees someone get hit by a car, and instead of gasping in horror like you might expect, they break into a joyful dance number, that is more likely to snag your reader's attention and also give your character a more unique presence. Basically, you're playing mind games with your readers. You're setting them up to expect one thing, then giving them something very different and making them want to read on to figure out why it's different.

Lastly, Maass gave everyone an exercise to try. Print out your manuscript in full, he said. Then take the pages and throw them all up into the air at once and let them flutter to the floor. Then pick them all up in a totally random order, shuffle them back together, and set the pile on your desk. Now, go through each page, in that random order, and read that page to see if it has even the slightest bit of tension on it. If it does, set it in one pile. If it doesn't, set it in another. Once you're done, take the pages without tension on them and go back to revise each one until they do. This way, you can analyze for micro-tension without being caught up in the overarching tension your manuscript might contain as a whole.

For me, I did this a little differently. In true geek fashion, I went online and found a Random Sequence Generator. I plugged in the number of pages in my manuscript and had it spit out a random list of those numbers. Then I went through the manuscript on my computer, going to each page according to the list. I know some folks say revising is different (or better) when the page is printed out, but so far I haven't found it to feel any different. Plus this saves on quite a bit of paper and ink.

PPWC: Kelley Armstrong on Pacing

Kelley Armstrong is a Canadian author responsible for several paranormal series, such as the Otherworld books and the Darkest Powers trilogy. At this year's Pike's Peak Writer's Conference, besides giving a keynote speech about how to deal with "the rules" as a writer, she also ran a workshop on pacing your novel.

Chief among her advice was to go through your novel and note each scene as either Active or Passive, and then see how many of each type there are. Active scenes should far outnumber Passive scenes. If Passive scenes are the majority of your novel, that's not a good sign.

She defined them this way: Active scenes are scenes where something significant is happening. It doesn't mean it has to be a fight scene or have explosions or otherwise...but something important needs to be going on. Passive scenes are quieter and calmer and often focus on dialog and character development. Still, even Passive scenes should still accomplish something.

While determining the Active or Passive nature of a scene, you should look at each scene and ask, "What does this scene accomplish?" If the answer is nothing, then the scene either needs to be removed or revised so it actually contributes something to the story, be it plot development, twists, or any sort of progress.

Kelley noted that scenes often are composed of three parts:

1. The planning stage, where characters figure out what they're going to do.

2. The doing stage, where the characters are actually acting out the plan.

3. The analysis stage, where the characters look back and figure out what went right/wrong with the plan.

For the most part, you want have most of your scenes focused on the 2nd part, the Doing Stage. It slows the book down if the reader has to go through a scene of planning, only to then get into another scene where they see the plan enacted just as discussed previously. Skip right into the Doing part, and readers will be more engaged as the plan unfolds through the action.

Kelley also gave a number of points to help keep your novel's pace strong.

1. Get in late, get out early. Start a scene as late into the action as possible, and finish the scene as soon as possible.

2. Taking care of business. Avoid writing in all the minor, inconsequential bits of business characters might need to attend. Don't write about them brushing their teeth or walking the dog or things that "real people" have to deal with--unless something important happens during this time. You can skip over the details of the car ride across town. Just show the character at their destination.

3. Dragging dialogue. Dialogue can help move a story along, but there are also pitfalls, such as conversations that rehash things the readers or characters already know. Cut out small talk and avoid having scenes where you have nothing but talking heads (everyone knows what a talking head is, right?).

4. Cut out unnecessary detail, overly descriptive text, backstory, lyrics and poetry and introspective soap boxes and lectures.

5. Chapters should be a manageable length so the reader's attention isn't able to wander. Also, chapters should end as something is about to happen, providing a hook to take the reader on to the next scene.