Seven: Update #4

Not much to say this morning (or tonight), so I'll get right to it.


Added
Chapter 1.04: I really don't want to give anything away (which is why there wasn't a teaser last week for this chapter), I'll just say that Day 2 begins and something happens to characters we've meet.


Notes
In my original outline (summary), I planned on 2 chapters per day. So, you can expect that format unless some days bring about new ideas while I'm writing them. This is the goal and the base line for this part, so there could possibly be more. And unlike NYC, I do have the political stuff planned so I'll be including that as well.

Seven: Update #3

Another chapter is on it's way as we wrap up Day 1! Here's what's up this week:


Added
Chapter 1.03: David meets a new friend as we wrap up the first day.
Seven Days Cover Page: Added a cover page; similiar to the one for NYC.


Still no updates yet. Although I did make one to Kurt's intro (in chapter 1.02), but I updated the text before the post last week. I guess that's another benefit of my "one chapter per week, one week ahead" plan.


Enjoy!

Misspellings

This is something I found quite usefull and rather funny as well. Here are a few other peices I liked:

Pretending not to know about Computers

Web Design Hell

9 Crappy Handshakes

Preparing your Pets for War

Video Corner 01

Happy Sunday everyone!

This new segment is to share some cool and/or funny videos I've discovered on the grand and vast internets.

1. Romona Falls - I Say Fever

The first is a music video from the new band Romona Falls for their first single 'I Say Fever'

John August said "At first, I thought it was just clever, but then it gets awesome."

2. HALO Movie Concept

The second is a proof of concept feature for the HALO movie that Neill Blomkamp (the director of District 9, which was an amazing film) had done. Neill was working on a HALO movie before financing fell through and it was shut down and he moved on to make District 9.

Seven: Update #2

Ok, so while last week's update to Seven Days was technically Update #1, I didn't title it as such for some reason. So, I renamed the post so there isn't any confusion.


Here's what's up this week:


Added
Chapter 1.02: David finally figures out what the Test is all about (sort of).


Note
Also, some of you may have noticed that I have been putting in a few extra sentences or a paragraph at the end. This is in addition to the chapter that I said I added. So, when I put chapter 1.01 up, there were also a few lines from the beginning of chapter 1.02. This is not an error on my part but rather to provide a little teaser of what is coming up. This is something I usually do when I can. And I usually can because I am trying to keep one chapter ahead of what is posted online.


Hope you enjoy the update!

Chapter Evolution (pt. 2)

This is a continuation of my process in writing a chapter. You can see part 1 here.

After the first (spelling/grammer) pass of a new chapter, I print it out and re-read it. (Mind you, I 'only' print the new chapter, nothing else!) The previous step is about preparing for this step. This re-read/edit is about polish. This is where I can see things like wording issues, points that need to be cleared up, and some sentances or paragraphs that just don't flow and need re-written. I make notes, scratch out text, write in new words that make more sense, and sometimes just note that something isn't working or I need to add more info about something. This only takes an hour or two but I think it is vital. (This step was the new component I stumbled upon hlaf way through NYC and allowed it to evolve into what it is today.) Again, printing out only the chapter is about minimizing distractions (like the rest of the story) and this gets rid of them all.

Then, I take my pages that are marked up and commented on and apply those changes to the text on the computer. Sometimes the notes are specific like use this word instead of that one. Other times, its an idea or concept that needs added so this is where that gets fleshed out. For example, in a revision in NYC, I simply commented to add more technology to a specific scene. So, my edits (notes, comments, corrections) on the page are more like a guideline for this revision.

Lastly, I do another grammer/spelling pass. This is very short as I'm just prepparing to post the new chapter. Usually, I just skim the text backwards looking at the grammar errors Word picks up on and try to reword it if possible to correct the error. Sometimes, its just a word change or a reorginazation of the sentance. Other times, I don't want to correct it as I want to keep my particular voice (like my single word sentances).

After that, I'll copy the new chapter, and any revisions to prior chapters, to the online file and create the PDF for posting.

With the chapter done, I'll usually write the blog post which introduces the update. This includes a small description of the new chapter and any revisions to existing chapters. So, on Thursday mornings, posting the story revisions and the blog post only takes about 5 minutes. And that's nice since I start work pretty early.

Well, I hope this was informative, interesting, and somewhat understandable. Until next time...

Oops, I Forgot

I forgot to include a part of my process in the previous post so I'll just include it here. Another thing I do while actually writing is to have Dictionary.com open to check spellings of words and sometimes to varify the meaning of a word. This is helpful becuase I prefer to use the correct word at first. Also, the online dictionary helps in finding other words that I could use for more variety.

Chapter Evolution (pt. 1)

This post went a little longer than I planned, so I divided into two parts.

About halfway through writing NYC, I had finally honed in a set process that I now do for every chapter I write. This and the next blog entry explains (hopefully with some clarity) that process.

In the beginning, there is just a summary of the chapter. As most of you know, I have already written a summary (about 4-8 sentences) describing what is happening in the chapter.

First off, before I even begin the actual writing, I'll read the summary a few times (mostly for refresher) and then think about it and what could be happening. This last from a couple days to a couple weeks. These are ideas for specific details that could happen or details I hadn't thought of when I originally wrote the summaries. Another note about this phase, I usually do this a few chapters out, so I'm generally thinking (and to a lesser extent, planning) a few chapters in advance.

Secondly, I'll research anything I need to. This begins just before actually writing and continues, as needed, until the chapter is done. This could be anything from a specific location (like Columbia University) or a general area (like Manhattan Island). Sometimes, I'll just hunt for pages that have a lot of information (on Wikipedia) and save the links for use later, when I'm actually writing and need to reference something specific.

Then, I'll actually set out to write the chapter. This takes as short as a few hours and as much as a couple of days, but I usually don't write any more than an hour or two at a time (since I have a full time job). During this part, I'm thinking in a lot more detail and I try to work in any of the new ideas/concepts/thoughts I had previously and what ever comes from them. If the writing goes over a couple days, I'll usually re-read what I had written and make revisions as necessary (which I know doesn't help me move too quickly, but it works for me and brings me up to speed as well).

This is also the part where I may go back and revise a previous chapter if needed due to something I came up with. So, the thinking/planning and writing phases occur throughout writing the entire book. For example, if I get an idea I like better or just feel a charactor needs a differant or new intro in a previous chapter then that gets done here.

After the new chapter is written, I'll go back through and correct any misspellings and grammatical errors. This is generally done in MS Word because it picks up a lot of grammar issues, most of which I ignore but some are needed. That is in contrast to actually writing the chapter, which is done in a text editor. This is because a text file is smaller in size (on the hard drive) and takes away the distraction (in Word) of cleaning it up and making it look pretty (formatting page widths, columns, page numbers, colors, etc). It's just the words and minimal distractions.

That's all for now. Part 2 will be posted in the next day or two.

The Beginning (Update #1)

Well, I have chapter 1.01 (Big Apple Bound) for all of you today! I hope you like it. It is a little slow but its necessary to get things started.

And I just finished writing chapter 1.02 (Columbia University) to keep ahead a little and I'm getting excited about it. I can't wait for you all to read it and let me know what you think.

PS: And just for fun, I added some "joke" names for future chapters (3-5). While they do have something to do with what's coming up, I definetly will not be using the titles and had a little chuckle at them.

The First Step

"Every journey begins with a single step."

That's the saying and I definetly feel like I'm on the brink of a grand adventure. And I hope all of you do as well! There are 8 parts to this saga and this is just the first chapter. This chapter doesn't just set up Seven Days but also sets up the entire saga (in a way). Are you ready to begin this jounrey with me?

So, without further ado, here is Seven Days chapter 1.00 (see Chapter References). Further updates can be checked using the link in the right column.