4 Books in 1 Year - A Writer's Challenge

...and the Rejection Letters start trickling in.

2010-08-19T14:59:00.004-06:00

Good day loyal readers,

So far I have sent out a total of 9 query letters: 5 for Son of Ogres and 4 for Nanuq.

Son of Ogres: 2 form rejection letters.

For those of you who are not in the know, there are two types of rejection letters you get from agents.

The first is a personalized letter that mentions your book by name and perhaps the agent mentions some specifics about the book/characters/plot that they liked, but they just felt they were not the right fit.

The second is the form letter that agents send out to writers without making any changes to the text first. It is the digital version of a big rubber stamp. I personally have nothing against form letters. It is quick to use and allows the agent to get back to what they need to do: sift through their email inbox looking for that next elusive treasure. But there are some sensitive wannabe writers who find form reject letters at the very least unhelpful and at worst a slap in the face. If their book idea was rejected, they want to know why. Was it too long? Too short? Was it the plot or the characters or the setting or ??? Was the query letter itself poorly written? How can I fix it? What changes can I make that you won’t reject it a second time? Some amateur would be writers will send a reply email demanding to know why the agent did not accept their book and telling them that they will be sorry they passed up on the next Stephen King/JK Rowling/Tom Clancy.

But I digress…

The long and the short of it is that agents only get paid when their clients get paid. If they spent all their time telling writers they rejected what was wrong with the queries or their books or whatever, then they would be broke. So in my books a form rejection letter is okay by me.

So for your edification, I am posting the two form rejection letters I got from agents this week. I am not including their names or agencies because I wouldn’t want to embarrass them for turning down the next Stephen King/JK Rowling/Tom Clancy… (:

Letter #1

Thank you very much for reaching out to me and Folio Jr. for representation. I very much appreciate hearing from you. Due to the large volume of submissions that I receive, it is impossible for me to answer every query individually, however I assure you that your material was carefully evaluated. After consideration, I regret to say that your project is not right for my list at this time. As you know, this is a subjective business and another reader may feel differently. I truly wish you all the best in finding a wonderful representative to champion your work and much success in your journey toward publication.

Letter #2

Thank you for telling me about your book, but I wouldn't be the right agent for it.

Please know that another agent is likely to feel differently and will know exactly where to send your work. I wish you the best in placing the manuscript elsewhere.

And there you have it!

Chapter Ten of RUST has been posted

2010-08-19T12:20:00.001-06:00

Hi All,

Just a note to let you know that I have posted Chapter Ten of RUST to DosStoc.com. Below is the link:

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/51110866/RUST---Chapter-Ten

Enjoy!

Gave myself a heart attack this morning...

2010-08-11T20:09:00.011-06:00

I had finished writing Chapter Ten of RUST this morning, and of course I went back to reread what I wrote in order to "brush it up" with a few minor edits. So I get to the section where Rifter is about to show the clan elder the Talisman...and I find it missing! I find a gap almost a page long has been deleted from my chapter. So I'm panicking, wondering if I accidently highlighted it and deleted because my palm brushed the touch pad on my laptop.

Umm...on a side note, before I continue on with my story: those touch pads are a pain in the hiney! When I am writing on the bus, and I forget to turn it off, my curser cursor jumps all over the page whenever my hand brushes the pad. I will be typing away merrily and all of as sudden my letters will no longer be appearing…and then I realize the curser cursor has jumped higher up the page and I am writing in the middle of a word of near perfect prose…sigh.

Okay, back to our regularly scheduled post.

So I thought I had accidently deleted a page worth of story by way of the old Touch Pad of Doom! So I find myself faced with a dilemma that I am sure all writers dread: having to rewrite from memory something that you already wrote, but lost somehow. As the saying goes that lightning never strikes in the same place twice, it is hard to recreate the original prose in the same way.

I remembered some of the key phrases, but as I was writing it again I was sure I was missing some special nuances of the original text. I stared at my monitor and cursed my carelessness.

Then I remembered the blog post I wrote yesterday…

I had thought I had copied-and-pasted the text from my story into the blog post…but instead I CUT-and-pasted! My work was saved, all 340 glorious words of it. Thanking my lucky stars, I reinserted the missing prose and then saved it in IN THREE PLACES!!!

Nearly finished Chapter Ten of Rush

2010-08-10T07:57:00.003-06:00

So I was writing on the bus this morning and I am nearly finished Chapter Ten. I would like to offer some more insight into the mind of writer…or at least into the mind of this particular writer. As I have mentioned before I write a chapter-by-chapter outline before I start writing the actual book. But this process only takes you so far. Here is an example.

This selection comes from Chapter Ten of RUST. Our hero Rifter has arrived at the town of Clan Hearth, which has roughly ten times the population of his clan, Deep Fathom. His clan was attacked by the Quickening Spear Clan, and his clan elder, Red, was mortally wounded in the attack. Red gave Rifter an amulet which he calls the Talisman, which glows blue when touched by human skin. It is believed to be a key that leads to paradise, which supposedly resides in the highest level of the world of RUST.

In this chapter Rifter has just met elder of Clan Hearth, Lorkin, and his apprentice, Sammel. Rifter was introduced to them by Meah, a girl whom he met in the tunnels leading to Clan Hearth:

Meah told Lorkin how she met Rifter and what had happened to his clan. The older man shook his head sadly as he listened to her tale. She also told him about Red’s Talisman.

“May I see it?” Lorkin asked in almost a whisper.

Rifter lifted the amulet out from under his shirt, holding it by its leather thong.

“And it glows if you touch it?”

Rifter demonstrated by touching it with one finger. Sammel jumped back as the Talisman bathed them all in a soft blue light.

“It must surely be a sacred gift from the Old Ones.” Lorkin said breathlessly. He lifted a trembling hand up, but seemed fearful of actually touching the amulet.

“Red said it wasn’t made by the Ance—Old Ones.” Rifter glanced down at it with reverence. “He said it was beyond their ability to construct, that it must have been made by others.”

“Blasphemy!” Sammel cried out, his face reddening.

Rifter was startled by the apprentice’s outburst. The word was meaningless to him.

“Now, now, Sammel.” Lorkin put a restraining hand upon the younger man’s shoulder. “Do not be so harsh. His ways are not our ways.”

“But clearly this Talisman was created by the Old Ones. It should belong to the Temple and not be in the careless hands of an ignorant savage.” The apprentice glared at Rifter like he had just stolen his food.

Sammel suddenly lunged for the amulet, but Rifter easily dodged his clumsy grasp. Meah let out a little shriek and Mekah nearly fell off her shoulder.

“Sammel! Stop!” The Elder roared as he grabbed the apprentice by the arms, showing an amazing strength that Rifter did not expect.

“I think I’ve seen enough, Meah.” Rifter dropped the Talisman back under his shirt and turned to leave.

At this point I had no idea what to write next. Does Rifter walk right out of the Temple, with Meah trailing behind him? Does Lorkin stop him somehow? If he does, what would make Rifter stop? These were all the thoughts that were going through my head as a sat on the bus, staring at the laptop screen, my hands poised over the keyboard. Below is the decision I came to:

“Please wait.” Lorkin cried.

Rifter paused, torn between showing respect to a clan elder and his desire to get away from the angry apprentice.
“Sammel, please leave now.”

The younger man hesitated, gave Rifter a hard stare, and left the Temple.

So there ya go--a glimpse under the hood of my writing process.

Cheers!

Dove back into RUST this morning

2010-08-06T09:10:00.002-06:00

After being away for awhile, I am now back in the world of RUST. I was worried that I had lost a whole chapter of that book when I misplaced my flash drive, but I found Chapter Ten whole and unscathed. :: whew! :: It took a bit of rereading to get my mind back into the flow of that world and its main character: Rifter. I think that is the same process for both readers and writers when they have stepped away from a story too long. I imagine that guys are getting a bit concerned that I will not be able to meet my goal. I still have two books to finish and I only have five months left in order to accomplish that task.

Let’s see…I am ten chapters into RUST, and I have it outlined to be twenty-three chapters (including the epilogue), so I have roughly thirteen chapters to go there. As for FLAME, I am nine chapters into it, and I have it outlined to thirty-nine chapters, so thirty to go there.

So 30 + 13 = 43…and there is a 147 days left in the year…147/43 = 3.41…or roughly one completed chapter every three and half days…

:: Faints ::

Lost my flash drive :(

2010-07-28T12:52:00.003-06:00

I suffered every teckie's nightmare--I lost my flash drive. Thank goodness I keep copies in other locations--like my laptop--but I lost the most recent draft of my novel Son of Ogres. So I find myself having to redo that edit again. It will only take a couple of days, but nobody likes having to redo what they thought was already done.

Sigh...

PS: No word on the submitted query letter yet...I will keep you posted.

Sent out my first query letter of the year!

2010-07-16T16:34:00.002-06:00

So I just sent out my first query letter of the year for Son of Ogres. Wish me luck!!!

Finale (hopefully) version of my query letter for Son of Ogres

2010-07-13T12:25:00.003-06:00

This is my hopefully final stab at this query letter template. It's short, sweet and I think it has a hook for the reader.

Dear Agent,

Brue and Mark are twin brothers, unaware of each other’s existence, because they were raised in different dimensions. Their great-grandmother was an ogre, but only Brue inherited her tremendous size and strength. Brue lives on Pharll, a world of magic and chaos, while Mark was found as an orphan on Earth. Brue leads a small band of loyal followers in a struggle to end slavery on Pharll. Eighteen-year-old Private Mark Sampson has been recruited for a top-secret assignment: to journey to another dimension.

Brue and his band are meeting with little success. The slavers are too many, plus they have dark wizards and evil monstrosities on their side. Mark prepares to journey to another dimension, with no choice in the matter and no idea what he will find on the other side. Little does he know that the general who recruited him has his own secret agenda, an agenda that could get Mark killed.

My young adult fantasy, Son of Ogres, book I of The Sentinels of Pharll series, is complete at 80,000 words. I am a member of YALITCHAT and Gather.com where I participate in writer support groups.

Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,

James Baron
http://james-baron.blogspot.com/

Trying out for Wipeout Canada

2010-07-10T18:46:00.002-06:00

There is a TV show in the States called Wipeout, where contestants run a large obstacle course built over water. As you run the course, there are certain obstacles that interfere with you...like boxing gloves on sticks, or swinging booms on pendulums...or the big balls!!! The big balls are these 4 red giant foam stuffed balls that the contestants have to run across to get the other side. They are very bouncy. As you try running across you tend to bounce...a lot...and rarely to people make it across. Usually they just—you guessed it—wipe out! It is a hilarious show and I recommend that you all see it sometime.

Now why am I devoting a post to this TV show you might ask? Wellll...they are creating a Canadian version of the show and took applicants for it online...and I applied:

http://www.tvtropolis.com/wipeout/index.html

So right now they are calling people back for face-to-face interviews, and I am hoping that my wonderful, entertaining personality shown through enough that they will want to take a second look at me. If I do make it, they will be filming the show in October in Argentina. Yes, that’s right, I said—er—typed Argentina. I have to have a valid passport—which I do—and they will pay all travel expenses.

So of course I will let you know if I get picked—or not.

Wish me luck!!!
-James

Query letter for Son of Ogres - Version 2

2010-07-05T13:56:00.002-06:00

Hi all,

I got some really good feedback on my first attempt at writing a query, and I am hoping that this second version is an improvement. I am stepping away from the synopsis route and trying to give my two main characters a voice. I also hope it will entice an agent to want more. I humbly await your comments...

Dear Agent,

Brue and Mark are twin brothers, but they are unaware of each other’s existence, because they were raised on different worlds. Brue Overhill lives on Pharll, a world of magic and chaos, whereas Mark Sampson was found as an orphan on Earth. Their great-grandmother was an ogre, but only Brue inherited her tremendous size and strength. The people of his village call him Son of Ogres, and strangers speak of him in hushed tones.

After avoiding capture by slavers, Brue devotes his life to trying to end slavery on Pharll. He has a small band of loyal followers, but they are meeting with little success. The slavers are too many, plus they have dark wizards and evil monstrosities on their side. Even Pharll’s evil goddess is frustrating Brue’s efforts. The young giant also struggles with being a leader when he is just eighteen. Perhaps his quest is doomed to failure and he should quit before they all die in vain.

While Brue fights slavery on Pharll, his brother Mark has his own problems. Private Mark Sampson is taken to an underground base to participate in a secret project: to explore another dimension. It seems his former mentor, Dr. Zonov (who mysteriously disappeared three years before), invented a device that can open a portal between dimensions. Mark is nervous of the prospect of journeying to another dimension (who wouldn’t be?), but he doesn’t have much choice in the matter. And it seems the general who brought him in has his own secret agenda. Mark wonders what will happen when the portal is finally opened…and what could come out of it.

My young adult fantasy novel, Son of Ogres, book I of The Sentinels of Pharll series, is complete at 80,000 words. I am a member of YALITCHAT and Gather.com where I participate in writer support groups. I am seeking your representation to sell my novel to a publisher. I am also working on 3 other novels you might be interested in: Nanuq, a children’s book; Rust, a Sci-Fi novel; and Flame, a thriller.

Thank you in advance for your consideration and I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,

James Baron
http://james-baron.blogspot.com/

Son of Ogres Synopsis v.2

2010-06-29T09:23:00.003-06:00

So here is my second draft of my Son of Ogres Synopsis. This one has more heart and soul, plus it goes to 2 pages. Hopefully this one reads better.

Son of Ogres Synopsis v.2
by James Baron

Brue and Mark are twin brothers, but they are unaware of each other’s existence, because they were raised on different worlds. Brue Overhill lives on Pharll, a world of magic and chaos, whereas Mark Sampson was found as an orphan on Earth. Their great-grandmother was an ogre, but only Brue inherited her tremendous size and strength. The people of his village call him Son of Ogres, and strangers speak of him in hushed tones.

On the day Brue turns fifteen he is trying to work up the nerve to talk to Shaleana, but she’s afraid he’ll step on her. Despite his formidable appearance, he is not a warrior. He just wants to be a farmer like his father, get married and have children. If only Shaleana could see past his hulking exterior and into his heart, then his dreams might be fulfilled. Unfortunately for Brue, Shaleana fearing him is the least of his worries when a slaver in disguise comes to Deervale. Rankmar has heard rumors of a giant living there and has come to investigate. He spots Brue at the Harvest Night Festival and decides to capture him for a hefty commission.

Rankmar waits until Brue is alone on the farm and attacks with four of his men. Brue is terrified and confused. Why are they after me? Then he discovers they are slavers and he fights desperately for his freedom. Brue has never held a sword before, much less used one in a fight, but he picks one up and with his great strength subdues the slavers. Later, Captain Stroggins of the town guard tells Brue to flee and never return, for the slavers will come back in greater numbers. The young giant leaves Deervale, but returns days later; he desperately needs to see his parents one last time. He arrives home and finds his mother and father dead, killed by the slavers in retribution for his escape. Brue buries them and vows he will end slavery on Pharll.

Three years pass and Brue has been joined by a small band of loyal companions, who aid him in trying to stop the slavers. In a world where the different races mistrust others at best, and try to kill each other at worst, Brue’s group is unique. His greatest friendship is with Bordel of the pix, a small race known for their fearlessness and agility. The exiled elven brothers Highborn and Skykey wield magic to aid in Brue’s cause. Gedin hates humans as all dwarves do, so why he helps Brue on his quest is a mystery.

As Brue struggles with being a leader when he is only eighteen, his brother Mark has his own problems. On Earth Private Mark Sampson has been unexpectedly called back from the Persian Gulf. He is taken to a secret underground base where he meets General Taylor Murphy, who tells him he is needed to join a team for a special assignment. Mark is surprised to learn that his mentor, Dr. Zonov (who mysteriously disappeared three years ago), had invented a device called the Dimensional Rifter. The general tells an incredulous Mark that this machine can open a portal between dimensions. Murphy hopes that Mark’s friendship with the missing scientist will aid the mission when they explore another dimension. Mark is nervous of the prospect of journeying to another dimension (who wouldn’t be?), but he doesn’t have much choice in the matter.

On Pharll Brue small band is having little success in their fight with the Slavers Guild, and when Highborn is killed in a raid, Brue considers giving up on his quest. He had hoped that others would be inspired to take up the cause, but they have been fighting this battle alone. The slavers are too many, plus they have dark wizards and evil monstrosities on their side. Brue fears all his friends could die and their deaths will be in vain. But later that night he is visited by the Guardian, who tells Brue that he is a Sentinel of Pharll. The Guardian provides him with a key to could destroy the Slavers Guild.

While Brue is dealing with a wondrous revelation, Mark has stumbled upon one more sinister. Mark and his friend Captain Andy Pritchard have discovered that the government is unaware of General Murphy’s secret project. The general has been working with a multi-millionaire scientist who has been using his money to finance their own private scheme. But Mark learns this too late, for the base is on lockdown and the final portal generation test is about to begin.

As Mark is trying to warn the government, Brue and his friends have finally reached the slaver stronghold. Using a combination of stealth, magic and brute force, they managed to infiltrate the fortress and access its lowest levels. At the bottom is a great cavern supported by a single pillar of stone. Skykey uses his magic to turn stone to sand and the column collapses. The elf was then supposed to teleport them to safety, but his wand was destroyed in the fight and the companions are forced to flee down an unknown tunnel. Unbeknownst to them, the fortress is saved from destruction by Pharll’s evil goddess—The Adversary. She makes a deal with Rankmar, who sends his slavers, dark wizards and their monsters after Brue.

The companions reach the end of the tunnel and discover a vertical pool of multicolored light. Skykey senses that it is magical in nature and that it could be a gateway leading to safety. Taking a leap of faith, they jump through, with enemy hot on their heels. On Earth a scientist activates the Dimensional Rifter and a portal appears in the lab, which Brue and his friends leap out of.
Will Brue and his brother Mark be reunited? Find out in the next book.

Synopsis review from Leatrice McKinney on YALITCHAT

2010-06-28T09:11:00.003-06:00

Here is the critique I got on my synopsis from Leatrice McKinney on YALITCHAT. Very helpful. I will be posting my revised version soon.

Hi! Good morning. It's rather early for me and already I'm throwing typos all over the place, so please bear with me in my earthly endeavors.

After reading this over once just to get a feel of it, the first thing that leaps out at me is the transition from past to present, or rather Pharll to Earth, are a bit jarring. It doesn't mesh, even at the end when Brue and company, and bad guys, come to to Earth through the portal. It reads like two completely different stories that have no connection, and though that's essentially what they are until the end you have to find some sort of flow that will bind the synopsis together.

Example: Paragraph 2 going into paragraph 3, there could be some sort of set up to cushion the drop from this fantastical realm into 90's American. Try and incorporate it into the hooks, something along the lines of "Brue isn't the only one faced with troubles". Something more grabbing than that, but that's the idea. "Back on Pharll" is okay. "Switching back to Earth" give it a sort of mechanical feel. Maybe something like "while Brue and his friends manage to escape the evil goddess, on the Earthen realm Mark his friend". Show a bit of a connection between these words as we get closer to the point where they collide.

One other thing that jumped off the page was this sort of rigid take on the story, via the words chosen to express the critical points of the characters' journeys. For instance, in paragraph one we are given the tried and true teenage complication of getting the girl. Brue's goal is made all the more harder to attain by the part that he's a giant. The word challenge just doesn't seem to do the situation justice. It's too sterile. You challenge your friends to a game of mortal kombat, for Brue this is rocking his young world in all the wrong ways. It's more than a challenge, it's a disaster and whoever is reading this should get a taste of how he views it. Another example is the phrase fast-forward three years. It reads very technical. Not technology technical, but step-by-step. Like a recipe. Add 2 cups Ogre and 3 cups slaver, bake on high for 30 minutes. Sorry for the poor attempt at humor, just in a good mood today. The synopsis, as a summary of the story that dives into this wonderful world, should guide a reader through it as opposed to give directions. Maybe that's my personal edge on things shining through, I'm not sure, just giving it as how it comes across to me which is all I can do really.

Next is paragraph by paragraph. Paragraph 1: We go from reading about complications right into this issue with the slaver that has arrived in town. It's really abrupt and there's no explanation of how one situation effects the other, and with the word unfortunately beginning the transition, it hints something is troubling the waters, only here the waters are somewhere else. Maybe try "Unfortunately for Brue, Shaleana fearing him is the least of his worries". Kinda cliche but its just to make a point.

Paragraph 2: Who are these companions? Do they have names? How did they join Brue? Are they Ogres too or Elves or dwarves? Are these the same slavers from his town/village/place of residence or is this a reference to all slavers in general. Are the slavers the biggest complication on this world or are they a stepping stone in Brue's destiny as a sentinel. We get a lot of nice bits about the story but they could be a little juicer, breathe some life into it. It sounds like it is a phenomenal tale, let the synopsis reflect that.

Paragraph 3: Already addressed the transitions. This might be tapping into the manuscript and not the synopsis but being someone's next-door neighbor comes across as awkward when described as a personal connection. Are Mark and the doctor friends? If so, say they are friends and not neighbors. If they are just neighbors, and Mark is the last person to have any sort of lengthy contact with the man, then something else other than "personal" should be used to describe it. Personal gives a feeling of intimacy.

Paragraph 4: This tidbit of information about what Brue is up to is important but I think it's oddly placed. Looking over things again, I think the flow would be strengthened if the information in paragraph 4 was included in the final paragraph. The break in what is going on with Mark and the General is unnecessary unless something huge is going on. So, continued talking about mark, then come back to how Brue breaks into to the lair, big fight, they have to book and then they spot the light. That way, the tension with the face off with the Adversary isn't broken by a "meanwhile on planet earth" moment.

Paragraph 5: All's well for the most part. The only thing that nudges at me is the embezzling of billions of dollars. That just seems a bit outrageous, like no one is going to notice that much money just up and disappearing. They catch people who do much less. It just seems too fantastical and comes across as a "really? come on" moment instead of the punch I'm sure was the goal.

Paragraph 6: The light at the end of the tunnel is a huge cliche. Beware cliches. A dead end doesn't have to be in a tunnel. It could be at the edge of a cliff or getting trapped in a canyon. Also, this is the first time we've heard anything about any dark wizards and monsters. Try and introduce them somewhere else early on cause it seems like, if all of that AND a goddess was in the castle, then the guardian and his key to destroying the slavers didn't do much but land them in trouble.

All in all it's a bit stale, please don't hate me, and lacking any sense of feeling from the character. I don't feel Brue's frustration in dealing with Shaleana, nor his fear for his parents. I don't feel his drive for wanting to stop the slavers. I don't feel the peril when he goes into the castle and has to leap through this strange glowing door or face certain doom. And with Mark, I don't feel the mystery behind what he's been called to be a part of. All of the pieces of the story are here, they just have to be woven together and given a good helping of soul.

RUST - Chapter Nine now Online...hey, that rhymes!

2010-06-25T12:29:00.003-06:00

The lastest chapter in the RUST Saga...yes, I am calling it a saga...is now posted. Enjoy.

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/44978782/RUST---Chapter-Nine

Son of Ogres - 1-page Synopsis

2010-06-24T07:59:00.002-06:00

Here is my 1-page synopsis for Son of Ogres. All feedback is welcome.

Son of Ogres Synopsis
by James Baron

On the world of Pharll, Brue Overhill is just turning fifteen and is worried about getting the girl he likes to like him back. His challenge: he’s over seven feet tall and stilling growing, because he is part-ogre. Shaleana always seems frightened whenever he comes near her, as though she thinks he’ll step on her. Unfortunately for Brue, a slaver in disguise arrives in town and is determined to capture the young giant for a hefty commission. Brue manages to escape, but his family suffers the slaver’s deadly retribution.

Fast-forward three years and Brue has been joined by a small band of loyal companions, who are aiding him in trying to stop the slavers. They meet with little success, and when one of his friends is killed in a raid, Brue gives up on his quest. That night he is visited by the Guardian, who tells Brue that he is a Sentinel of Pharll. The young giant has a special destiny and the Guardian gives him a key to destroying the slavers.

On Earth it is 1990 and eighteen-year-old PFC Mark Sampson has been unexpectedly called back from the Persian Gulf. He is taken to a secret underground base where he meets General Taylor Murphy, who tells him he is needed to join a team for a special assignment. Mark’s next-door neighbour, Dr. Zonov (who mysteriously disappeared three years ago), had invented a machine that can open a portal between dimensions. The general hopes that Mark’s personal connection to the missing scientist will aid the mission to explore another dimension. But General Murphy has a secret that could jeopardize the mission and perhaps all their lives as well.

Back on Pharll, Brue and his friends have traveled for many days and have finally reached the slaver stronghold. Using a combination of stealth, magic and brute force, they managed to infiltrate the fortress and access its lowest levels. But their plan to destroy the stronghold is thwarted by Pharll’s evil goddess—The Adversary.

Switching back to Earth, Mark and his friend Captain Andy Pritchard have discovered that the government is unaware of General Murphy’s secret project. The general has used billions of embezzled dollars to finance his own private scheme. But this knowledge comes too late, for during a routine test, a large dimensional portal is created.

Brue and his companions are chased down a tunnel by the slavers, dark wizards and their monsters, only to arrive at a dead end. Before them is glowing circle of light. Taking a leap of faith, they jump through...and find themselves on Earth, with the enemy hot on their heels.

Query Letter for Son of Ogres - First Draft

2010-06-23T13:27:00.003-06:00

Hi all!

Here is a query letter template I am trying out for my Young Adult fantasy novel: Son of Ogres. I have based the format on a query letter that was posted on http://queryshark.blogspot.com/ that got a rave review from Janet Reid. I am hoping this format works for my story as well.

So I am requesting feedback--good and bad--on this letter. Does it grab you? Would you be interested in seeing more if you were an agent for YA lit? Please let me know!

Dear Agent,

On the world of Pharll, Brue Overhill is just turning fifteen and is worried about getting the girl he likes to like him back. His challenge: he’s over seven feet tall and stilling growing, because he is part-ogre. Shaleana always seems frightened whenever he comes near her, as though she thinks he’ll step on her. Unfortunately for Brue, a slaver in disguise arrives in town and is determined to capture the young giant for a hefty commission. Brue manages to escape, but his family suffers the slaver’s deadly retribution.

Fast-forward three years and Brue has been joined by a small band of loyal companions, who are aiding him in trying to stop the slavers. They meet with little success, and when one of his friends is killed in a raid, Brue gives up on his quest. Then that night he is visited by the Guardian, who tells Brue that he is a Sentinel of Pharll. The young giant has a special destiny and the Guardian gives him a key to destroying the slavers. But will it be enough?

On Earth it is 1990 and eighteen-year-old PFC Mark Sampson has been unexpectedly called back from the Persian Gulf. He is taken to a secret underground base where he meets General Taylor Murphy, who tells him he is needed to join a team for a special assignment. Mark’s next-door neighbour, Dr. Zonov (who mysteriously disappeared three years ago), had invented a machine that can open a portal between dimensions. The general hopes that Mark’s personal connection to the missing scientist will aid the mission to explore another dimension. But General Murphy has a secret that could jeopardize the mission and perhaps all their lives as well.

A young adult fantasy novel, Son of Ogres, first book of the Sentinels of Pharll series, is complete at 80,000 words.

Thank you for your time.
James Baron

Finished my third draft of Son of Ogres

2010-06-23T12:13:00.003-06:00

This morning on the bus I finished my third draft of Son of Ogres based on the editing done by Tom from YALitChat--thanks Tom!!!

Next step is to work on the Query Letter template and a one page Synopsis. Both have been written before when this novel was in a different format, so they will have to been rewritten--or written from scratch, depending on how it looks from my first pass.

I'm going to tackle the Query Letter first since it is shorter, and quite frankly I'm more pumped to write it.

Once I am finished and satisfied with the letter, I will post it to YALitChat and Gather to get some feedback, plus I will post it here for you guys. I will do the same for the Synopsis afterwards. When I am satisfied that both are polished like fine silver, I will start looking for agents to send them to.

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

PS: A shout out to Jamila for joining my list of followers. I hope you find this blog interesting and entertaining.

Ditching the Book Title - Week # - Day # format

2010-06-18T10:53:00.004-06:00

So I figure at this stage of the game I'm not going to bother keeping track of what day or week I am working on a particular book. As titles go, I find in retrospect they are pretty boring and don't say a lot about the content of the post.

So this morning I wrote about our young hero Rifter arriving at cavern that is home to Clan Hearth. He is stunned and amazed by the sight. Clan Hearth has a population of over a hundred people! Rifter's clan of Deep Fathom numbered less than twenty. The most strangers that he has ever seen at one time is six. He is also surprised how old some of the people are, and yet they do not seem to suffer from Tunnel Rot, which is a disease that affects all of Rifter's people as they get older. Clan Deep Fathom's elder Red was thirty-six cycles old, and he looked really, REALLY old. But the warrior Tor from Clan Hearth is thirty-eight cycles, yet he looks fifteen cycles younger in Rifter's eyes.

So that is a brief recap of what I have been writing about lately. Please check out the links in the left hand side panel listing my books if you want to read the chapters written so far.

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

I'm baaaaaacccckkkk!!!!

2010-06-17T08:31:00.003-06:00

I'm baaaaaacccckkkk!!!!

I finally got back to writing today after what appears to be a 22 day gap. I finished off Chapter Eight of RUST on the bus this morning, so that really felt good. I am planning to do so more editing of Son of Ogres at lunch time, thanks to editing/proof reading that was done by my friend Tom I met on on YALitChat.com. We traded books, so I critiqued his YA book Eden's Rat, while did Son of Ogres. He did a really good job of it too! Asked some questions and made some comments I hadn't considered, so I really look forward to making those changes to my manuscript.

I think I am ready to start my agent hunt now for that book. I will keep you all filled in on the process in the days and weeks ahead.

It's good to be back!

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/38592185/RUST---Chapter-Six

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/38717545/RUST---Chapter-Seven

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/43888283/RUST---Chapter-Eight

Continuing on my write of passage,

James Baron

May is a bad month for blogging

2010-05-26T12:44:00.003-06:00

Hi folks,

As you may have noticed I haven't had much to say this month. I am still writing, but its been at a slower pace these past few due to other commitments. I think I can still hit my target, but this week I will not be adding to much to my word count--if you know what I mean.

One of those commitments resulted from becoming a member of a website devoted to people who write--and read--Young Adult books:

http://yalitchat.ning.com/

So I am getting feedback both on Son of Ogres and Rust. I decided to introduce Rust as a YA book since two of the main characters are teenagers. This doesn't necessarily mean this is how I will market my book to agents, but at least it is a possibility.

I am getting some very useful feedback and I hope I am giving some in return. I haven't doing as much on Gather.com lately... :: Bad James :: ...but there are only so many hours in a day, eh?

Well, I will post more when I have more to say.

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

It’s my 20th Wedding Anniversary today! w00t!

2010-05-19T11:47:00.002-06:00

So 20 years ago today my wife and I got hitched. No big plans tonight since she is taking a night class tonight, but there is a 4-day long weekend coming up…

Has it really been 20 years!?!? I have known her longer than I have not known her. On one hand it doesn’t seem that long, and on the other it seems like she has always been in my life. I guess that is one of the paradoxes of true love, eh?

Sigh… :-)

New RUST Chapter Uploaded - Chpt 7

2010-05-14T14:43:00.000-06:00

I just posted a new RUST chapter to DocStoc:

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/38717545/RUST---Chapter-Seven

That is all...

New RUST Chapter Uploaded - Chpt 6

2010-05-13T10:30:00.001-06:00

I just posted a new RUST chapter to DocStoc:

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/38592185/RUST---Chapter-Six

That is all...

You can now DOWNLOAD my chapters

2010-05-12T08:14:00.003-06:00

Dear faithful readers,

It has come to my attention that nobody has been able to download my chapters for the DocStoc website. I had set the copyright setting to "Traditional" and this means you cannot download it...which I didn't know until my buddy informed me his son was going to read NANUQ but he couldn't print it out!

So I have changed the copyright setting to "Attribution-Non-Commercial-NoDerivs"...which in short means you can now download or print my chapters.

Here is the location to go to access all the chapters I have posted so far:

http://www.docstoc.com/profile/jamesbaron

Enjoy!

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

New RUST Chapter Uploaded - Chpt 5

2010-05-06T09:57:00.002-06:00

I just posted a new RUST chapter to DocStoc:

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/37627076/RUST---Chapter-Five

That is all...

RUST - Week Six - Day One

2010-05-04T12:46:00.003-06:00

Got back into the world of RUST this morning on the bus. Yesterday I was working on completing my 2nd draft of SON OF OGRES--which I did--and then I emailed it to my proof reader last night. When he gets the time he will take another stab at it. I am practically shivering with excitement about sending this puppy out to agents.

So I working on Chapter Five and managed to get onto page two while on the bus. I am really looking forward to writing the interesting part of the chapter and see if it grabs the reader like it hope it does. I want to convey a sense of awe and wonder in my young hero Rifter, and to have the reader feel that as well.

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

Proof reading Son of Ogres - Part II

2010-05-03T12:26:00.004-06:00

So my proof reader and I were going over my YA/Teen novel, SON OF OGRES, last week. So he spotted some interesting errors, problems that I had missed. Here are a few of them for your reading entertainment:

"Beside him sat a large box of broken pottery. Jagged pottery shards were covered with drying blood. A single tooth lay by the box, broken off at the root."

Proof Reader: Umm...why is there a box of broken pottery in the barn? Isn't that a strange thing to have just lying around?

"Stroggins led him out into the cool night air. Only Mother was out tonight; her light cast a soft glow to the surroundings."

PR: You might want to mention Mother is the name of the moon first...

"The companions stopped at the last town before Nialicburg where they purchased a wagon to hitch to their pair of pack mules. "

PR: Where did the pack mules come from? You never mentioned them until now.

"I am going to be in big trouble if that old dwarf finds out what Tal’rai really means in pix, Bordel thought as he drew nearer to the chamber."

PR: We are near the end of the book and you've only mentioned this express Tal'rai once before in the previous page...you might want to mention early if you want this comment to have any impact on the reader...

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

Proof Reading Son Of Ogres

2010-04-29T20:01:00.003-06:00

Hey All,

I was using Google Voice Chat to talk to my proof reader over making changes to SON OF OGRES. It's pretty darn good for talking to someone who is very far away and doesn't cost you a dime in long distance calls. Plus I could just plug in my headphones into my laptop, which left my hands free for typing.

So we finished the book, so now I have to go over the stuff I said I would change, then I will send him the new draft and we start the cycle all over again. He made some darn good catches, and I am grateful for that. If he hadn't, then my first agent might think I was suffering from brain damage when I sent him/her my manuscript...

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

FLAME - Week Four - Day Two

2010-04-27T12:58:00.002-06:00

So I am back to riding the FLAME train this week. I finished Chapter Eight and now I am onto Chapter Nine. Chapter Eight needs some cleaning up before I can post it, like replacing "A cabin on Lake Blah Blah" with the name of an actual lake near Miami, FL. I also need to look up the addresses of Japanese Steak Houses in the area. That kind of stuff to give the story a more authentic feel...if ya know what I mean, Vern?

New RUST Chapter Uploaded

2010-04-27T12:35:00.004-06:00

Hello faithful readers...

Yes, that sounds pretty conceded, but there ya go. Anyhoo here is another RUST chapter for your reading pleasure:

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/36095234/RUST---Chapter-Four

And please.....don't be shy in telling me what you think whether you comment here or send me an email. I can handle the criticism...or the praise. ;-)

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo - The Aftermath

2010-04-24T20:08:00.006-06:00

Just got back from the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo, and I am exhausted! I posed for a lot of pictures and handed out a couple dozen cards promoting this blog and my challenge. It was a lot of fun. The Wolverine claws looked great and didn't get them confiscated-whew! I entered the costume contest--didn't win--and there were lots of excellent costumes to see.

Below is a Predator costume that took the guy almost a year to make. Great Details.

Below is a group shot of Marvel characters. From left to right: Dead Pool, Blue Girl, Dark Phoenix, Wolverine, Beast and below is Mystique.

And here is one of me with Yoda! Do or do not! There is no try!

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

Want to make your own metal Wolverine claws?

2010-04-22T15:35:00.002-06:00

Glad you asked! My cousin's husband Vic saw that some people wanted to know how we made the claws so he put up a Instructable @ http://bit.ly/c68wnc

Check it out to see the process we went through to make those great claws!

RUST - Chapter Three now up

2010-04-22T12:28:00.002-06:00

As promised, Chapter Three of RUST is now up on DocStoc. Enjoy:

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/35385661/RUST---Chapter-Three

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

RUST - Week Five - Day Three

2010-04-22T07:52:00.003-06:00

Finished Chapter Three on the bus this morning and now I onto Chapter Four. I will give it another pass and hopefully post it to DocStoc at lunch. I think this story has great potential...now let's see if I can live up to it.

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

PS: Dyed my beard black to get read for Calgary Comic Expo on Saturday. Arrrrr!!!

NANUQ - The whole book

2010-04-20T20:46:00.003-06:00

Here is a link to NANUQ, the whole book as one document...'nuf said.

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/35147319/NANUQ---A-Childrens-Book

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

Homemade metal Wolverine Claws

2010-04-20T12:32:00.003-06:00

Here are some more pictures of the metal Wolverine claws that I made with Vic. This is the first set. The second set should be finished this week.

http://twitpic.com/1h1wz0

http://twitpic.com/1h1wtq

http://twitpic.com/1h1vbt

Pretty wicked, eh?

First completed set of metal Wolverine claws

2010-04-20T08:39:00.002-06:00

Here are my promised pictures.

http://twitpic.com/1h1wz0

http://twitpic.com/1h1wtq

http://twitpic.com/1h1vbt

Pretty darn cool, eh?

NANUQ - Week Eight - Day One

2010-04-19T09:14:00.003-06:00

Still working on my 2nd draft of NANUQ...

I've been busy with other stuff...what can I say? I am going to the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo next Saturday, April 24th.

CalgaryExpo.com

I will be dressing up as Wolverine and entering the costume contest. My cousin's husband Vic and I wielded together a set of Wolverine claws out of metal. We finished the claws for one hand, so we just have to find time to finish the other set. They look pretty wicked! I will post some pics later.

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

NANUQ - Week Seven - Day Three

2010-04-14T07:44:00.003-06:00

I finished writing the first draft of my second book this year: NANUQ. I am quite please with my progress so far on my challenge. Here is a link to the final chapter:

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/34114708/NANUQ---Chapter-Thirteen-–-The-Conclusion

I have just merged all the documents together into a single manuscript. It came out to 14 chapters, 16,000 words. I will give the whole document a second pass, then I will send a copy to my Mom, my Dad and my proofreader/editor to look over to see if it can be improved.

Very exciting!

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

NANUQ - Week Seven - Day One

2010-04-12T12:53:00.002-06:00

Here are the next three chapters of NANUQ. I am still working on the last chapter. When it is finished, I will post it as well.

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/33804063/NANUQ---Chapter-Ten

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/33819491/NANUQ---Chapter-11

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/33819686/NANUQ---Chapter-Twelve

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

I just joined Twitter - @JamesBaronBlog

2010-04-11T17:56:00.004-06:00

So I just joined Twitter:

@JamesBaronBlog http://twitter.com/JamesBaronBlog

One of my relatives, Vic Hlushak has been tweeting for three months now and has 1700 followers:

@drvicdotca http://twitter.com/drvicdotca

He and my current boss have both suggested I sign up on Twitter so I can tweet about my blog updates and about my experiences writing four novels in one year. I will probably tweet about other stuff too.

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

NANUQ - Week Six - Day Four

2010-04-08T10:12:00.003-06:00

I effectively took a week off from writing for Spring Break. I started up writing again today and I am now working on the last chapter of the book. I was looking at my docstoc stats for my chapters (I have 20 posted now) and I have had 480 views, 42 of them for NANUQ - Chapter Nine. It is possible that a lot of those hits are from search engine spiders...but who knows. It appears my chapters are being read...I just don't know by how many people.

Anyhoo, just thought I'd share.

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

NANUQ - Week Five - Day Three

2010-03-31T12:05:00.003-06:00

Wellll...I have been doing some rewriting of the past NANUQ chapters based upon information I got from my dad regarding Churchill. I thought I would do some cleanup before I do the final push to finish the book. I am also driving to work this week since Yvonne has spring break off, so no writing on the bus. So not much progress on the writing front this week, or most of next week either...but sometimes LIFE takes precedence.

But when I do get back on it, I will be writing with a vengeance to get the my 2nd book finished and off to proof reader.

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

Story Time - “I’m finally dead. Now what?”

2010-03-28T09:50:00.000-06:00

“I’m finally dead. Now what?” Mark Twain grumbled as his soul pulled itself loose from the cooling corpse that lay on its deathbed. As he predicted, he had died the day after Halley’s appearance in the skies above Redding, Connecticut. He remembered writing last year these words: “I came in with Halley's Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year, and I expect to go out with it. It will be the greatest disappointment of my life if I don't go out with Halley's Comet. The Almighty has said, no doubt: 'Now here are these two unaccountable freaks; they came in together, they must go out together.'” And go out he did.

As he felt his spirit tugged upwards, he glanced down at his empty husk. “Damn I sure look ugly. I would suggest they have a closed casket at the service if anybody could hear me.”

Picking up speed, he passed quickly through the ceiling of his bedroom (this was a somewhat dizzying experience as his vision was momentarily obstructed by wood grain and a rather busy termite) and popped up into the attic. At this point he seemed to take a right angle and sailed through an old wardrobe (his scarlet and grey gown from Oxford was in sore need of cleaning from all the lint) and burst out into the open air. The sun was shinning and the sky was such a deep expanse of blue that it would have made his heart ache if he still had one.

As he zipped along over the tall oak trees of his neighborhood, Mark Twain began to wonder if someone should be with him to usher him into the next phase of his existence. “I guess somebody—or something—is moving me along, so I guess I shouldn’t worry about it. Though it would be nice to see Ol’ Henry so I can thank him for all that money he lent before he passed on.”

Up, up, up he went, soaring high above the Connecticut countryside. The blue of the sky became deeper and deeper, and soon he could see stars twinkling overhead. “It’s strange to see the stars in the middle of the afternoon. At least it looks I heading the right direction…though I am sure Hades would have been interesting, too.” He chuckled.

Into the blackness of space he flew, with the Earth spread out below him like a massive multicolored quilt. He was positively giddy with delight. “If I had known being dead was so marvelous, I would have left sooner!”

The Earth began to recede, becoming a ball of blue and brown and swirling white. Mark felt a pang of loss as he continued to pull away. Then he noticed a light above him.

It was Halley’s Comet, its long tail stretched out like the wake of the fastest schooner in the universe. Crystals of ice glitter in the sunlight like a million billion diamonds in trail it left behind.

Faster, faster, faster he raced through the darkness, his target clearly the comet head. “I wonder if I will need a key to get inside or will I have to knock and wait patiently for someone to let me in?”

Now he was above the tail, flying over it like an undulating snowscape. “Can’t be too much longer now...” And in a flash of light he was in.

Mark felt his spirit surrounded by an infinity of facets reflecting the light of the sun ahead. It was like skiing down a slope a brakeneck speed on a mountain without end. The rush was exhilarating.

“Samuel,” Came a voice from nowhere and everywhere.

“Eh? Nobody calls me Samuel anymore. It’s Mark Twain thank you very much.”

“Okay…Mark then. I have a proposition for you.”

“Which is?…”

“You have two choices. You may return to Earth to be born as a child with no memory of your past life…”

“Or?...” Mark prompted impatiently.

“Or you may continue riding the comet on its journey out of the solar system and into the hidden mysteries of space.”

“Hmmm…” Twain pondered. “How soon do I have decided?”

“After the comet swings around the sun, it will pass by the Earth on its way out. You must decide by then, Mark.”

“Well…alright then…this will take some considerable musing on my part, whoever you are. Both choices have there pros and cons, I am sure…but for now just let me enjoy the ride.”

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

Story Time - Don't pay the ferryman...

2010-03-27T17:19:00.002-06:00

Talal fed and watered the horses before he joined his companions around the campfire. His manservant, Sigmund the Elder, was slowly turning the spit on their evening’s meal, his lean frame wrapped in a wool robe. On the spit was a small octubruin, skinned and gutted, that had wandered too far from its pack. Just one of its eight legs would make a full meal for the three men. The rest would be dried and salted for the journey ahead.

“'Tis a cold night, by the Oracle.” Marcus said, pulling up the zipper on his down-filled coat. It was an antique passed down many generations, each patch a badge of honour. There was faded label inside that read in the ancients’ script that it had been manufactured in 1968. The coat was a bit tight on his bulky frame, but Talal’s man-at-arms did not seem to mind.

“Here, have some hot rewberry cider.” Sigmund said as he passed over the dented kettle that had been sitting by the fire. “It has a bite to it, but it will warm thee up but good.”

Marcus grinned and poured a healthy shot of the potent drink into his clay mug.

“Don’t drink too much, dear friend.” Talal warned as he carved off a piece of the octubruin, its rich meat steaming in the cold night air. “We must wake early on the morn if we are to catch the ferry. It’s a full two day’s ride to the Black River and it only runs once a day.”

Sigmund shudder.

“Don’t worry, Sigmund.” Talal chided. “Nothing will go wrong. That ol’knob of a ferryman can’t hurt us as long as I carry the talisman.” Talal held up the golden amulet he wore around his neck, the blood-red gem at its center reflected the firelight like a dying Cyclops’ eye.

“Please I bid thee put it back, sire.” Sigmund said, making the sign of the Oracle on his forehead. “May the sweet Oracle protect us if you ever lose it.”

Talal chuckled, but put the talisman back under his tunic.

“Now eat up so we can get to sleep. I don’t want you falling off your horses tomorrow.”

Talal and his men arrived at the banks of the Black River just as the sun was about to set, its dark waters sluggishly churning past. The Black River was wide; his far shore unseen in the fading light. There were no vessels in sight.

“The ferry is not here.” Sigmund said with undisguised relief. “Perhaps we’ve missed it.”

“It’s coming.” Talal said simply as he got off his horse.

The sun seemed to be yanked below the peaks of the distant Jagged Tooth Mountains, plunging the landscape into twilight.

As if on cue, a creaking noise could now be heard drifting across the water. Sigmund pulled his robes tighter around his thin body.

In a few moments a dark shape materialized out of the dusk: the Black River Ferry. The vessel was ten paces long and five paces wide, large enough to easily transport a dozen men and their mounts. At the back was hooded figure leaning on a long pole, pushing the ferry towards shore.

The horses whinnied in fear, rolling their eyes. The three men had to struggle to keep them calm and under control.

“Hocus-pocus.” Sigmund muttered darkly under his breath as he held his mare’s reigns tightly.

The ferry pushed its flat prow onto the bank, forming a natural ramp. There were no railings to protect one from falling into the dark waters.

“Hail Ferryman.” Talal called out loudly. “My servants and I seek passage across the Black River.”

“Three Imperial Crowns each…paid in advance.” Issued a gravelly voice from the blackness of the hood. A skeletal hand reached out, palm up.

Sigmund whimpered and Marcus took half a step back.

“We shall pay thee when thou get’s us to the other side.” Talal said smugly as he pulled out the talisman from his tunic.

The hooded figure cringed as though repulsed by the amulet. They could all hear an angry hiss.

Tightly gripping his horses reigns, Talal led it onto the ferry.

Once they were all on, the ferryman used his pole push away from the bank. The shore quickly vanished into the darkness—the ferry carried no light. The only sounds were the horses’ frighten breathing and the water brushing against the shallow hull.

Feeling bold, Talal strode towards the bow where the ferryman stood. “Tell me, good Ferryman. Will the voyage be long?” Talal took delight as the figure leaned back from him.

“We shall arrive in two candles’ time, my lord.”

“Ahhh…good.” Talal resisted the urge to pat the ferryman on the back. No sense pushing his luck.

He walked to his two men who were comforting the horses.

“See, I told you no harm could befall us as long as I had the talisman.” Talal said proudly as he held up the talisman on its golden chain.

He saw Sigmund’s eyes grow suddenly wide, a gasp escaping his thin lips.

Talal laughed. “Stop worryi—“

Talal felt himself yanked to the side as long, waterlogged pole was thrust through the gap between the amulet and his body. There was a sharp jerk and the chain snapped, the talisman spinning off into the air and vanishing it then night.

Marcus pulled out his sword, while Sigmund fainted dead away. Clutching his neck in pain, Talal turned around and found himself face to skinless-face with the ferryman, its hollow sockets glowing with unholy fire.

“I think it is time we renegotiated the terms of our agreement, my lord…”

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

NANUQ - Week Four - Day Four

2010-03-26T08:28:00.003-06:00

I was working on Chapter Twelve this morning. I only have one more chapter after this, since I will be ending it on Chapter Thirteen...I think...we'll see...

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

NANUQ - Week Four - Day Two

2010-03-24T21:14:00.003-06:00

Yep, after I finishing my first book, Son of Ogres, I decided to quickly wrap up my second: NANUQ. I am now writing Chapter Eleven, and figure I only have at most three more chapters to write and I am done.

I am on a roll!!!

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

SON OF OGRES - Week Three - Day One

2010-03-22T19:27:00.003-06:00

I finished it!!! :: does a happy dance ::

I finished writing my first book of the challenge: the young adult novel: Son of Ogres. I have emailed it off to my proofreader/editor to have at it and hopefully I will have something publishable when it is all said and done. This is all very exciting because it means I have more time to devote to my other three books now.

I must might pull this off...

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

RUST - Week Three - Day Six

2010-03-20T20:46:00.003-06:00

Well here is Chapter Two of RUST. Enjoy!

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/30470328/Rust---Chapter-Two

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

RUST - Week Three - Day Four

2010-03-18T20:44:00.003-06:00

I am about halfway through Chapter Two and I just introduced the main antagonist. He is one bad ass. It will also be the first action scene, which I just started writing before too many people got on the bus for me to write. By the by, have any of you tried typing on a laptop when you can't have your arms at your sides because there is a person squeezed in beside you? It's a total pain.

Sooo....ahhh...I got an email from the website that hosts my chapters, and it indicate each of my NANUQ chapters has be read 21 times....and I only have 8 followers! Who is all out there who is reading my stuff? Let me know. Do you like it? Does it suck? Leave a comment or send me an email at wave.yesreply@gmail.com so I am not writing here in a complete vacuum.

Glad I got that off my chest...

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

RUST - Week Three - Day Two

2010-03-16T11:56:00.012-06:00

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

RUST - Week Three - Day One

2010-03-15T22:28:00.003-06:00

So I finally finished Chapter One!!! Yippee!!!

I told you it takes a lot of work to get that first chapter done for a book. I will give it another look over to make sure it looks good and then I will post it here for you to read.

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

4 More NANUQ Chapters

2010-03-15T22:24:00.002-06:00

Here are four more NANUQ Chapters!!!

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/29525577/NANUQ---Chapter-Six

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/29528102/NANUQ---Chapter-Seven

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/29528171/NANUQ---Chapter-Eight

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/29534436/NANUQ---Chapter-Nine

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

I'm overcome with emotion...

2010-03-11T18:32:00.003-07:00

So I am working on Chapter Nine of NANUQ and I am writing this really hard scene, and by hard I mean it is very emotional. It wasn't hard to write because the words just flowed out of me and into the laptop. It was hard because I was literally getting choked up as I wrote. I swear I came this close (holds his fingers about an inch apart) to crying. And I haven't finished it yet cause my bus ride had reached the end.

So here is the amazing part, I think: It is one thing to be reading a story, get caught up in the characters and what they are going through, and find your emotions being pulled this way and that.

But to be the writer...to be the one who is fabricating the story...creating the characters...giving them their words...describing their actions...and still get so caught up in what he is writing that he has a lump in his throat as he is typing furiously away on the bus...it just amazes me.

Even now, as I write this blog entry an hour afterwards, I still feel my sorrow tugging at me. I really don't know how to adequately describe this. I'm a writer (or at least I think I am!) but it's hard to find the words to do justice to what I am feeling right now.

I think this really speaks to the power of the written word. That words can not only move the people who read them, but the also the person that writes them. It would be one thing if I was writing about real people...and about real events that had actually happened to them. But these characters only exist in my head! They can only express themselves when I write their words on paper (figuratively speaking, of course). Events and actions can only occur if commit them to my laptop's memory.

Now sure, this stuff could just exist in my head. I could think about it and dream about and never write a single word of it and it would be mine, all mine, Muuuhhhaahhhaa etc. etc. And these thoughts, these musing could affect me emotionally, just as your thoughts and musing can affect you. But I think its different when you take all those thoughts and feelings and put them down on paper. They have to be more congruent...more linear. Grammar and spelling imposes itself, and you can't just pour out images and scenes onto the page...you have to write them! You have to describe what is going on...determine how much detail you should go into...and how much to hold back.

Writing is a solitary process in one sense, but also a very public one in another. When I am writing, I am alone. It doesn't matter if I am riding on a bus with fifty other people--they are not participating with me in the process. I. AM. ALONE.

But in another way I know that these words that I am typing right now will be read by others...by you! I am laying bare my soul as it were. My words, my characters, my stories will either move you or they will not. It is my duty, my obligation to make sure that words I am writing do move you. I need to make you see what I see...hear what I hear...to eavesdrop on the thoughts of a young boy whose father might be dead or lost or...?

Will I succeed? I sincerely hope so. I am doing my darnist to transport you along with me on this ride. There are plenty of seats, and the cost of admission will be the price of a fairly thin paperback. (That's if it gets published, of course.)

Anyways, enough of my ramblings. Thank you for listening...er...reading.

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

3 MORE FLAME CHAPTERS!!!

2010-03-11T13:29:00.003-07:00

I said I would add my latest FLAME chapters to site, and here are the links. Enjoy!

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/28803995/FLAME---Chapter-Five

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/28804508/FLAME---Chapter-Six

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/28804690/FLAME---Chapter-Seven

I have also added chapter links to the side menu which lists the books. If you click on "Chapters" on the side, you will be taken to a blog post that lists all the existing chapters for a particular book. I will be updating NANUQ later this week the same way.

NANUQ - Week Three - Day Four

2010-03-11T05:54:00.003-07:00

Where have you been, James!??

Ummm....doing stuff. I have been writing, so no worries there. I am just about finished Chapter Seven of NANUQ, so I am guessing I will have the first draft finished by the end of Week Five, which is near the middle of May. Once it is done I will be sending a copy of the word document to my volunteer proof reader to go over it, then I will do the required clean up. After that, I will start shopping it around to agents.

So where are we at in the story? Well, once I finish Chapter Seven, I will post it and Chapter Six on the document hosting site, with links on this blog.

I personally think this is a really good story. It will probably need some work in the editing department, but the story itself I think passes the sniff test.

Anyways I have got to get ready to go to work. Later, gators.

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

FLAME - Week Three - Day Four

2010-03-04T07:51:00.003-07:00

Is it Thursday already? I have been writing, but I haven't had much time to blog about it. I had game night on Tuesday and then yesterday I went to a high school play that my nephew was performing in: Kiss Me Kate. Great show by the way.

I have been working on my first two Buka chapters. Buka is a tribal medicine man who is the descendant of Perais, who was the apprentice who escaped the destruction of Atlantis. Buka will be made aware of the alien god's return and will try to stop him. I will be posting more FLAME chapters this week so you can read 'em.

By the by, please feel free to comment on the chapters in this blog if you so desire...

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

Son of Ogres - Week Two - Day Four

2010-02-25T22:36:00.003-07:00

Now up to Chapter Thirty-Eight of my rewrite. If I push I might get it finished this weekend and then I will email it to my volunteer proofreader to look over. Once we are both satisfied with it then I can start shopping it around to agents who specialize in Young Adult fiction. Wish me luck!!!

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

Son of Ogres - Week Two - Day Two

2010-02-23T18:00:00.003-07:00

G'day folks! I am on Chapter 31 of my rewrite of Son of Ogres. I figure I am at the 2/3rds mark for this book. It feels strange to rewrite characters I have been so familiar with for sooo long (twenty years for those of you just tuning in). Making them younger can be challenging especially in terms of dialogue, both spoken and internal. They way they react to the other characters who are now in many cases older than them have to be different. Discussions they once led are now conversations they have to follow.

I have done rewrites of this book before. In one interesting case, one of the characters switched genders. My wife Yvonne suggested the main character should be a woman instead of a man. I really fought her on that one because that was a big change in how I envisioned the protagonist. But she eventually wore me down and I changed the character to be female, and it ended up being the better choice.

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

NANUQ - First Chapters

2010-02-19T12:15:00.005-07:00

FLAME - First chapters

2010-02-18T22:37:00.007-07:00

Book I – Thriller - FLAME

The story is about an alien being that interacts with outside world using fire. It crash landed near Atlantis 14,000 years ago and soon the local population was worshiping it as a god. The alien is a being composed of energy and its matter is contained with a metal sphere. It is able to read the thoughts of those around it and punishes them by burning them if it doesn’t like what they are thinking. After the destruction of Atlantis we fast forward to modern times, where a Canadian archeologically team is searching for Spanish shipwrecks off the coast of Cuba. Only they discover something else...Atlantis.

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/25821676/FLAME---Prologue

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/25906654/FLAME---Chapter-One

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/25907098/FLAME---Chapter-Two

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/26111962/FLAME---Chapter-Three

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/25917306/FLAME---Chapter-Four

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/28803995/FLAME---Chapter-Five

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/28804508/FLAME---Chapter-Six

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/28804690/FLAME---Chapter-Seven

RUST - Week Two - Day Three

2010-02-17T18:30:00.003-07:00

This has been a slow week for writing. I had the Monday off since it was Family Day in Alberta, and then I had game night last night and I ended up reading the rules on the bus so I would be ready to play after work (it was Game of Thrones--very good game!)

So today I continued working on Chapter One of RUST. I am finding the first chapter to be a challenge because I have all these ideas in my head as to how to introduce: a) the main character, and b) the setting. I am trying to bring my readers into a new world with a new culture and environment. Plus I have the main character for them to meet--and hopefully like or at least sympathise with--in the first page.

So I got past page one today, and I consider that an accomplishment. I hope at this point I can pick up some steam and charge through to end of the chapter.

By the by, I am still planning on trying to find a place that I put these chapters so you, my loyal followers, can read them without having to create a new account and password.

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

NANUQ - Week Two - Day Six

2010-02-13T18:37:00.003-07:00

Finished Chapter Five this week. I went back and worked on past chapters as I wrote the current chapter. This is another part of the writing process. I, as a writer, don't generally write a chapter, finish it, put it completely away and then work on the next one. Instead, I am always going back and revising past chapters based on upon things I write in the new one.

In Chapter Six Michael is going to go over to his next door neighbor's place, Mr. Solvisky. Mr. Solvisky is the grandfather Michael never had. His wife passed away a few years ago. He has children and grandchildren, but they do not live in Churchill. He is from Hungary and he fled to Canada to escape oppression. He likes to encourage Michael's artistic side. He is also artistic and likes to paint the tundra landscapes when the weather permits. He loves the North and finds great beauty in it.

As I was about to start to write Chapter Six, I realized I had not included him in the memorial scene in Chapter Three. So I am now going back to add him to the scene. This process will continue until I finish the book. Chapters, scenes and characters are not set in stone as far as this writer is concerned. I am always making revisions if it serves the story.

So there you go, yet another peek below--or behind-- the covers of writing novels.

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

NANUQ - Week Two - Day Two

2010-02-09T17:50:00.003-07:00

Yesterday I reread the previous NANUQ chapters to catch myself up and to do some cleanup of tenses since most of it had been originally written in the first person.

This morning I split chapter two into two chapters, Two and Three. Ended the second chapter after Michael and his mom picked up his grandmother and his aunt at the airport, and the third chapter begins with all of them attending his father's memorial service.

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

FLAME - Week Two - Day Six

2010-02-06T19:02:00.003-07:00

I finished Chapter Six on the bus yesterday, so I am right on schedule. I am really enjoying writing this novel. These characters and scenes practically write themselves. I got to introduce a new character, Homicide Detective Bob Sanders, and he just came to life as I had hoped he would. This is one of the greatest joys of being a writer: bringing characters to life. The live in their dialogue, their mannerisms, their actions. I am by no means claiming to be a great writer, but I am saying that I think I have a knack for creating characters that readers like and what to go on the journey with.

What do you think?

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

FLAME - Week Two - Day Four

2010-02-04T07:39:00.003-07:00

First of all I just want to let you folks know that even though I don't blog everyday, I am writing at leaset every work day (Monday-Friday). I am now up to Chapter Six of FLAME--w00t!--so things are coming along swimmingly. I would like to start posting my completed chapters, but I'm not sure where. I don't think this blog website is the right location, but I will look into where I can post these so you guys can read them without having to create yet another login account on another website.

Stay tuned!

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

FLAME - Week Two - Day Two

2010-02-02T22:48:00.003-07:00

I just about finished about finished Chapter Four today. I had figured that in order to finish FLAME by the end of the year, I would need to write one chapter every two and half days. So currently I am ahead of the curve. I had felt anxious trying to complete Chapter Three yesterday. I generally find with myself that I hit a psychological wall about two or three chapters into a new a book or story. I feel like that I will not know what will be the next sentence, or how to write my way into and out of a particular scene. When that happens I sometimes procrastinate and put off writing to do something else, like watch TV or read somebody else’s book.

But not this time. This time I felt I was been held accountable to see this thing through, to push past the mental block and just write the dang thing. And I did. I finished Chapter Three yesterday, leaving the path wide open for me to blaze through Chapter Four in just a day and half.

Anyhoo, that is part of what I go through with writing. I hope you appreciate hearing about the process.

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

Son of Ogres - Week One - Day Seven

2010-01-31T21:56:00.004-07:00

It is the end of the first month of my experiment. Here is my status thus far with my four books:

FLAME

This month I finished the chapter outline and got as far as the second page of Chapter Three in writing. I will getting back into working on this book tomorrow.

NANUQ

I finished the chapter outline for this book as well, and I am working on Chapter Two, but I already know that I will be splitting off the end of this chapter and making it the beginning of Chapter Three since I want these chapters to be short. I am making pretty good progress on this book.

RUST

This one has been rapid fire in its development. I went from just an image on Monday and by the end of the week I had the chapter outline finished and I had already started on Chapter One. I am very excited about this story.

SON OF OGRES

I am up to Chapter Twenty-Five of my rewrite of this book as a young adult novel. I figure I will be finished the first book in another week of work, which will be about the end of February.

All in all, I am very pleased with my progress and I think I am on track to complete at least the first draft of four books by the end of the year.

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

Son of Ogres - Week One - Day Four

2010-01-28T21:16:00.003-07:00

I am now on chapter Twenty-One of my rewrite of my old book. I am a little more than a third of the way through the first book of my new Young Adult series. I feel I am moving a pretty fair clip with this. Sometimes all it requires is adding a new sentence here or there to make it fit the genre and to remind the reader that these characters are teenagers.

My next challenge after finishing the rewrite is to find myself a really good editor who can give it the once over to make sure my grammar is sound. Once that is done, then I can start sending it out to agents who represent YA fiction.

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

Son of Ogres - Week One - Day Two

2010-01-26T22:52:00.002-07:00

As of last night I am almost a quarter the way through my rewrite of my novel as a YA book. I am changing at least five of the characters to make them teenagers: eighteen or younger. Most of the prose is not age related, but one of my main characters was a major in the United States Army, and now I’ve had to bust him down to a Private First Class. He was the leader, but now he’s just a spear carrier. It might even be more interesting this way, especially if he rises above and beyond the call of duty.

I might be able to get the first draft of this book finished by the end of the week. :: crosses his fingers::

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

Son of Ogres - Week One - Day One

2010-01-25T21:25:00.004-07:00

So I decided this week to rewrite my book--the one I spent twenty years writing--as a young adult novel. The new title of this book will be Son of Ogres, and it will be between 40,000 and 75,000 words. This means I will have to cut the present book in half and still have to trim it. I am also having to rewrite it for the young adult audience. My main characters will have to become teenagers--eighteen, which is right on the brink for this age group, but that's the only way I will get this story to work.

So today I dropped the prologue and got as far as halfway through chapter two in my rewriting. This will be an interesting challenge, since I am having to revision the storyline and cast in a major way. I just hope I can get my head around it and pull it off.

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

RUST - Week One - Day Six

2010-01-23T20:50:00.003-07:00

So I started on Chapter One of RUST. I haven't gotten very far, but it really feels like an accomplishment to go from just and idea at the beginning of the week to get to actually working on the first chapter, especially considering I wanted to have an outline in place before I started writing.

I was planning on working on my Horror novel next week, but my wife convinced e I should rewrite my first novel as a young adult book first and get that out of the way. That way I can start resubmitting for publication while I work on the other novels.

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

RUST - Week One - Day Four

2010-01-21T19:22:00.002-07:00

Wow! I started out with a germ of an idea on Day One, and today I have completed the outline of chapters for RUST. So the outline came out to 13 pages long. The book will be twenty-two chapters plus an epilogue. Now this is all subject to change, of course, as I start writing this book, but I now have a road map to follow. There will be plenty of action and wonder and mysteries and perhaps a little romance...

It's amazing how much you can write when you have two hours to kill riding bus and you have a laptop. It's a little awkward and I am paranoid that somebody will bump and bust my computer, but I am being careful.

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

RUST - Week One - Day Three

2010-01-20T21:28:00.003-07:00

I am now up to chapter thirteen of my outline, 8 pages in. I am really getting a good feel for this story. My process is that I will write a paragraph or two describing the chapter, and then I will put some bullets below for stuff I either want to emphasis, or are alternative ideas to use in that chapter. At this point I still have not come up with names for my characters, so for now I am calling my protagonist Hero to keep it simple.

Below is an excerpt from my notes for two chapters:

Chapter One

Hero wakes up and experiences a tremor and is terrified in the darkness. He experienced one before when he was a young boy, and half his tribe had been killed as the part of their cavern home plunged into depths below. His parents were killed and he became an orphan. But it is only a minor tremor and nobody is hurt. In the morning he grabs a sack and goes on a journey to the chasm, intending to cross the bridge and bring back food. It could be tins, or it could be a rich source of fungi. But when he gets to the tunnel exit, he finds the bridge has collapsed into the depths below. There is no way he can get across. He is forced to return home empty handed and tell them he can’t get to the food.

Hero needs to keep a sharp eye out for animal predators and for any renegade humans who might want to kill him and eat him.

He might be bringing two sacks this time, one for his clan and the other as tribute for the other clan.

Hero is a hunter, gatherer, scavenger. He might be going to pick fungi instead of 200 year-old cans which is too much of stretch. Whereas most of his tribe wears clothing that has been salvaged from found scraps, Hero’s clothing is made of animal hide. He has tough leather for his feet to protect from cuts. Many tribe members die from getting cuts on the rusty metal.

Chapter Two

We learn that part of the food is supposed to be a bounty that is paid to clan living above them. They are coming to collect the bounty today. The tribe scrounges together what leftovers remain. The tribe arrives and are angry that the bag is so light and that some of the food has become rotten. They are so angry that they attack Hero’s tribe and decided to take their freedom as tribute. Hero is no warrior and flees for his life along with a wounded clan elder. They are chased, but Hero knows these tunnels so well that he is able to escape. They use their monkeys to track them, but Hero triggers a cave-in that prevents them from pursuing.

Perhaps come up with some special words to describe the relationship in lateral terms, that living higher up means being higher in hierarchy. There could be titles for people who live higher and those who live lower. Bowing and stuff, or placing your hands over your head like it was a cover.

The tribe wears ragged clothing, with lots of patches. It is all grey or black or brown. No other colors.

Possible dowry situation. One the clan’s women is being forced to marry a high ranking man in the upper clan, and must pay a dowry of food to boot. Prevent inbreeding is the main key. Woman or girl could be daughter of the clan chief.

Small monkeys could be pets. Bigger monkeys are threats. They can be used to hunt for food, or to track people or other animals like bloodhounds.

It should be obvious that the warriors of the other tribe are better fed, in better health, have better weapons and clothing, etc. Even the way they speak is superior to Hero’s tribe. There is six of them: The groom and five body guards.

Each tribe/clan should have a descriptive, interesting name. Based on North American First Nations culture.

They work with and respect the land around them, even though it is a hell.

The walls and floors of the clan living area are lined with non-rusted materials to make for a safe environment. Keep from getting potentially deadly cuts.

So there you have.

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

RUST - Week One - Day Two

2010-01-19T22:23:00.002-07:00

Game night tonight, so I don't have the energy to blog much today. I started working on my outline for RUST. I added a possible Prologue that happens several hundred years before the main events of the story, and then I outlined up to Chapter Three.

I am also feeling good about this book, story wise. I feel I can connect to the main character and write a darn tooting good yarn.

Good night.

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

RUST - Week One - Day One

2010-01-18T18:32:00.002-07:00

So I started today on my Sci-Fi story that I have tentatively titled: RUST. I wrote over four pages of notes trying to outline my idea of what will happen in the story. I find this to be a very helpful process. It allows me to throw everything at the wall and I see what sticks. There is really no rhyme or reason to how I organize my thoughts, I just put it in bullet form so it is easier to read.

Here are some examples from my notes today:

There are levels of civilization in this world, the deeper you are, the more primitive you are, since you are farther from light and pure, clean water. Our hero is from one of the lowest, primitive levels. There are lone savages living even lower, near the bottom, outcasts, criminals, etc.

Hero is a scavenger for his clan, which numbers roughly twenty individuals of various ages. Older people are rare at this depth. The light is extremely dim and they have to create alternative light sources, perhaps. Glowing fungi. Oldest person in the group is late thirties.

Hero knows of a cache of food tins across a chasm (a gap or break in the rust pile). Every couple of days he goes over there with a sack and brings back food for his clan. Then one day the bridge collapses into the chasm below. Hero needs to find a new food source. The clan has been trading food for other goods from a clan higher up. This other clan has more people and is more civilized.

When the other clan discovers they are out of food, they attack and kill some of them and enslave the survivors. Hero escapes and thus begins our story of his journey up through the layers towards the surface. At each level he learns something new about his world, and he adds other people to his group.

Perhaps a clan elder (late thirties) was wounded and escaped, and he tells Hero to travel upwards to a better life before he dies. Perhaps he tells him to look for something specific, making it a quest. He could give him something, something on a chain around his neck that will become very significant later on. It could be a key or a code that allows humans to escape the pit.

One of the higher civilizations will have the remains of a library. Hero will learn from a librarian about the world above. The librarian could be a hermit who has kept the library a hidden secret and uses his knowledge as barter with other clans. Hero could befriend him in some way.

So there you have, a peek into the process of how I write stories...or at least how I am writing them now. My next step is to take all these loose thoughts and trying to create a linear story-line: A leads to B leads to C. I hope you folks are finding this interesting...

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

NANUQ - Week One - Day Seven

2010-01-17T21:45:00.002-07:00

I have had three people suggest to me that I write NANUQ in the third person. Since that is what I am doing, it looks like I am on the right track. In order to keep my chapters short, I am going to split off part of my Chapter 2 into Chapter 3, which I will title: "Memorial".

I know I have said this before, but I really feel good about this book. I think it has several things going for it:

Polar Bears: These beautiful animals are getting a lot of attention right now due to Climate Change. This story could strike a cord with people.
It takes place back in the 1970's, which I think will give it a literary feel to the book.
It has humour
It will have some action and suspense.

Anyhoo, tomorrow I will be switching writer's caps and working on my sci-fi story: RUST.

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

I joined Gather.com yesterday

2010-01-14T19:41:00.003-07:00

So yesterday I joined Gather.com, a social networking website designed to encourage interaction through various social, political and cultural topics. They have large following devoted to writing, I figured I'd join as another avenue of accomplishing my goal. Members get their own subdomain (URL or website address), where they can publish articles and share comments. Here is my link:

http://jamesbaron.gather.com/

Members can create groups pertaining to their own efforts, or to any other topic.

So I figured I can write articles about writing efforts, plus get feedback on my work from another source. Below are some links to some posts I created

http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977993520

http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977993577

Today I am planning on posting an article about whether I should write my Churchill book in the first person or the third person. I will take the first page of my story and write it in both styles, then post them together in the same article and then see what comments I get:

http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977995312

Today I finished writing Chapter One and got 5 pages into Chapter Two. I am deciding to give each chapter a subheading that describes the content of that chapter. Chapter One is called "The Polar Bear". Chapter Two is called "Grandma and Aunt Sylvie". Since it will be a children's book I will need to keep the chapters short.

So in closing I found today to very productive for writing and I am really feeling good about NANUQ.

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

Yay! - I'm finally getting comments!!!

2010-01-13T11:53:00.005-07:00

I got my first couple of comments this week. Thanks for the feedback! I have this fantasy that six months from now I'll have dozens of comments every day from readers interested in my progress.

In response to the comment about video footage of polar bears fighting...I might load it up to YouTube and then I can post a link to it.

As for the child/parent relationship with the absent parent, I've decided to take the scene of the boy, Michael, and his father building an igloo and make it into a Prologue of sorts. I might title it "Before" instead of the typical chapter heading. The igloo building episode could have taken place the winter before the events of the main body of the book. We shall see.

I finished writing this scene in the 3rd person, and I am considering that when I finish the book, I might rewrite the first couple of chapters in the first person to see how the two compare. There are pros and cons to either style.

I am also considering skipping the details of events of the father going for a snow mobile ride and the subsequent search for him afterwards. This would allow me to get immediately to the boy's reaction of the polar bear in his bedroom the night before the funeral. We'll see how it goes.

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

NANUQ – Week One – Day Two

2010-01-12T23:34:00.002-07:00

I am very excited about writing this story. I gone through the notes and chapters I wrote previously and there lots of great stuff there. My biggest change right now is to change the narrative from first person to third. After rereading the first chapter, the first person voice does not sound right to me. The biggest challenge was writing from the perspective of an eight or nine year old boy, and I don’t think I did a good job of that in 1st person.

By the by, I went back to Churchill in November of last year with my wife, my father and his wife. I hadn’t been there in many years, so was very nostalgic to go back see what had changed and what had remained the same. We also saw polar bears. Nine of them over two days. The best was the first pair: two males mock fighting/playing. They had a great time and we caught it all on video. Great times.

Here are some links about Churchill, Manitoba in case anyone is interested:

http://www.churchill.ca/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churchill_manitoba

http://www.tundrabuggy.com/

Here are some of the thoughts I had four years ago when I first tackled this story:

My biggest concern is can I pull this off? Do I have enough talent, ability, and insight into the human condition to make this story ring true? How long will it take? How long—word count—will this story end up being? Will anyone think it compelling enough to read even if I do a good job? Is this story even worth attempting? Is the payoff—the climax of the story—reward enough for reading the beginning? How many themes can I actually work on in one story? Is examining the relationship of a boy and his father without the father present workable? Will having the boy discuss his father with Nanuq make good reading? How much is too much? Or conversely how much do I need to add to make it right? Is my chapter structure of six days good enough? How many flashbacks can I put in and where do I put them? How do I avoid making my characters seem like clichés or one dimensional, cardboard cutouts? Will this story appeal to the agents, the publishers, the readers? I think I can pull it off, but I could be very wrong. How much dramatic license can I take with this story? How much can I fictionalize to make the town, people, events, weather, environment, etc. in order to make the flow of my story work?

Deep stuff, eh?

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

NANUQ – Week One – Day One

2010-01-11T21:50:00.001-07:00

So today it was time to put FLAME aside and start tackling Book II: NANUQ. This one is a children’s book, and it takes place in my home town of Churchill, Manitoba.

The story takes place in 1976, the year that the Town Centre Complex was built. It’s about an 11-year old boy whose father is believed to have been drowned when his skidoo goes through the ice of Hudson Bay; his body is never recovered. The boy refuses to believe his father is dead. He thinks he is simply lost and will eventually find his way home. Three days after the accident a polar bear appears in his bedroom. The bear can talk and tells the boy his name is Nanuq.

I have eight pages of notes already, and the first three chapters were written back in October of 2006. The actions of the book only cover six days, so it will not be a very long book. This story should take the shortest time to write. Once it is finished, I might even try writing another book set in Churchill. This one would be a murder mystery.

Now, now. I can hear what you are saying: Isn’t writing 4 books enough!?!? I don’t know. We will see what happens. I promise to keep you posted.

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

FLAME – Week One – Day Five

2010-01-08T21:50:00.002-07:00

So who the *$@&* is Alvin?!?

Glad you asked. Tonight I have the energy to blog a little bit more then the last two nights. I also finished Chapter Two and I am now onto the second page of Chapter Three. w00t!

Anyhoo, onto Alvin. Alvin is Alvin (DSV-2) is a 16-ton, manned deep-ocean research submersible owned by the United States Navy and operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Most famously, Alvin was involved in the exploration of the wreckage of RMS Titanic in 1986. Launched from her support ship R/V Atlantis II, she carried Dr. Robert Ballard and two companions to the wreckage of the great liner.

Below are some links for more information about Alvin:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DSV_Alvin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Submergence_Vehicle

http://www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=8422

http://www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=8422&tid=282&cid=5879

http://www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=8422&tid=282&cid=5880

http://www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=10995

So what does Alvin have to do my novel, you ask? Well Alvin is front and center in my second chapter of FLAME. The submersible is used the book’s main characters, Dr. Dawn Knutson-Bailey and her husband Paul, to explore the submerged ruins of Atlantis. I used all the links above to research Alvin so I could try to give the reader an authentic experience of deep-sea diving in a submarine. Hopefully I have succeeded.

So here are two insights into how I write...at least currently: I try to research stuff that I use in my stories, such as locations, technology, fields of study, people of note, etc. I obviously do this to make my stories more believable and hopefully more interesting. I also write a chapter by chapter outline before I start writing the book. Each chapter description might be brief—one to three paragraphs in length—but it gives me a general idea of what scenes are going to take place when I start writing that chapter.

Another thing I am trying out is creating a character sketch of each main character in the novel. I will describe their physical appearance and some of their background. I might add some future plot points concerning them, if they live or die, stuff like that. This is something I can refer back to and use to keep the character consistent.

That’s it for now. Yak at ya later.

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

FLAME - Week One - Day Four

2010-01-07T22:17:00.002-07:00

I wrote some more today, but its been a long day work wise, so I don't have the energy to blog about it today. Alvin will have to wait another day...

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

FLAME – Week One – Day Three

2010-01-06T22:40:00.003-07:00

Game night tonight...too tired to blog about Alvin. I made some more progress on chapter two...only thirty-four chapters to go...goodnight.

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

FLAME – Week One – Day Two

2010-01-05T21:23:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, one of my co-workers (and loyal follower), Mike, asked me: “How do you write a novel?”

Great question.

You have to start with idea. (Well duhhh!) It can be a character, a climactic scene, a setting, a brilliant first sentence, anything that stirs your imagination. Somebody once told me that a great story idea can should be able to be summarized in one sentence:

THE LOST SYMBOL: Robert Langdon among the Masons.

I, ALEX CROSS: Tracking the murderer of a relative, Alex Cross discovers a wild Washington scene with explosive secrets.

UNDER THE DOME: When a Maine town is trapped by an invisible force field, a sanctimonious and hypocritical politician takes over.

Some writers start with a brief outline and then begin to write, while others write out a detailed chapter by chapter synopsis before starting the first chapter. Some writers start with just a gripping first sentence and plunge on from there, not knowing where they are going but looking forward to the ride none the less. The there is John Irving, who wrote The World According to Garp and the screenplay for The Cider House Rules. He writes a novel from the back to the front; he knows the end of the story before he writes the first sentence. He starts with the last sentence first, even the last several paragraphs.

http://www.bookreporter.com/authors/au-irving-john.asp

Another good piece of advice I got was everything in a novel must serve the plot. You are to think of the story arc as a backbone, and all the elements of the story hang off the backbone like ribs. If the plot of the book is about Bob trying to get back with his girlfriend, and you introduce Bob’s cousin Phil who is have trouble with his insurance company, and you have this elaborate side-story about Phil and his wrangling with All State that is funny and interesting, but does not serve the main plot line—trash it.

Lastly it takes time and devotion. You should write every day, even if it is only for half an hour. Writing a novel is like building a house, you do it brick by brick, word by word. And after all that hard work and dedication, you have a novel. Will anybody want to read it? Well that is a different matter entirely.

Anyhoo, that’s enough about that. Today I completed a rough draft of the chapter by chapter outline for FLAME, and now I have a roadmap of where to go as I write. I rewrote Chapter One just a little and I got started on the first paragraph of Chapter Two. And tomorrow I will introduce you guys to Alvin.

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

FLAME – Week One – Day One

2010-01-04T20:29:00.005-07:00

So today I reread the Prologue, Chapter One and the synopsis for FLAME that I had written over two years ago, then shelved in my digital desk drawer. My inspiration for this story was based upon what appeared to be the discovery of a sunken city of the west coast of Cuba. Below are some links to news articles about the discovery:

http://www.andrewcollins.com/page/articles/lostcity.htm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1697038.stm

In short, Soviet-born Canadian ocean engineer Paulina Zelitsky and Paul Weinzweig from British Columbia-based Advanced Digital Communications were searching for shipwrecks off of Cuba, when they made an amazing discovery. Using sonar equipment they discovered, at a depth of about 2,200 feet, a huge land plateau with clear images of what appears to be urban development partly covered by sand. From above, the shapes resemble pyramids, roads and buildings.

This is an original high resolution sidescan sonar received by the EXPLORAMAR expedition in 2000 directed by Paulina Zelitsky and Paul Weinzweig, Owners, Advanced Digital Communications (ADC) of Victoria, British Columbia and Havana, Cuba. Image © 2000 by ADC. It was released by the Prensa Latina press in Cuba on December 21st in an article entitled, "Geology or Archaeology? Which is it?"

After these articles appeared in 2001 and 2002, nothing more was heard about researching this site. Here are some more recent websites concerning this discovery.

http://alongthemalecon.blogspot.com/2009/02/ancient-lost-city-off-coast-of-cuba.html

http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=2146410578

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

Sooo....is James Baron your real name?

2010-01-04T14:31:00.003-07:00

Nope. James Baron is my pen name, my nom de plume. My real last name is already being used by another author (grumble, grumble) and I wish to avoid confusion. I am also referring to my wife by her middle name, so sorry for any alarm this has caused readers who are already familiar with us. We are still quite married.

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

So what about your first book?

2010-01-03T10:49:00.001-07:00

I’m sure you are wondering if I have totally given up on the novel I have been writing for twenty years. Am I simply going to put it away in a digital desk drawer and forget about it? Nope. My wife, Yvonne, has suggested I retool it and try to sell it as a young adult book since they seem to be a big hit right now. So I figure I can squeeze that in somewhere in my schedule and then keep sending it out to agents while I work on the other four novels. Sound good?

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

4 Books, 4 Genres

2010-01-02T17:06:00.001-07:00

As I said yesterday, I am going to attempt to write four books in one year, working on a different one each week. In today’s post, I will outline what each book will be about, subject to change since one (or more) of my ideas may turn out to be stinkers. The four proposed genres are Thriller, Children’s, Science Fiction and Horror.

Book I – Thriller

The first book in rotation is a thriller tentatively titled FLAME. The story is about an alien being that interacts with outside world using fire. It crash landed near Atlantis 14,000 years ago and soon the local population was worshiping it as a god. The alien is a being composed of energy and its matter is contained with a metal sphere. It is able to read the thoughts of those around it and punishes them by burning them if it doesn’t like what they are thinking. After the destruction of Atlantis we fast forward to modern times, where a Canadian archeologically team is searching for Spanish shipwrecks off the coast of Cuba. Only they discover something else...Atlantis.

I have already written the prologue and the first couple of chapter s of this book. I have also written a chapter by chapter outline up to chapter 36. My first goal is to finish the outline so I know where I am going when I start writing again.

Book II – Children’s and/or young adult

The next book I will be working on is call NANUQ. It is a children’s story concerning a young boy living in the town of Churchill, Manitoba in the sixties. The boy’s father goes out for a snow mobile ride on Hudson’s Bay and never returns. A search party is organized and they find skidoo tracks that lead to a hole in the ice. Everyone believes that boy’s father went through the ice and drowned, but not the boy. That night, the boy is visited in his bedroom by a polar bear that can speak and tells him his name is Nanuq (which is Inuit word for polar bear).

I have also started on this book already by writing the beginning of the first chapter and writing an outline. I will revisit the outline and expand it to a chapter by chapter synopsis so I can use it as roadmap for my writing.

By the by, I was born in Churchill in the sixties, so I know a thing or two about the place.

Book III – Science Fiction

The third book idea has never made it to paper yet. It has just been an idea in my head. The title of this book is RUST (are you sensing a theme here yet?). I envision a world (or at least a setting) composed almost entirely of rusting metal wreckage, stacked layer upon layer upon layer. In this world is a young man, a scavenger, who searches for tins of food to feed his clan. The story begins when the man discovers that the rusted bridge that he needs to cross to get to a food cache has collapsed into the rusted chasm below. The scavenger needs to find a new source of food or his clan will perish from starvation.

I will need to create a rough outline first and find out if there is true, distinctive, compelling story within this idea.

Book IV – Horror

The final novel of this quartet will be a horror story. Currently vampires and zombies are very popular both in literature and Movies/Television. So I figured I could try writing a gripping tale concerning vampires vs zombies vs humans...please stop laughing. Hey, it could work! I’ve got an idea of how to kick it off, so let’s give it the old college try, shall we? As for the title...it will probably be one word...not sure what that word will be...but let’s tackle the outline first.

And there you have it, four books, four genres. Each one will get my full and complete attention (minus work and home life, etc.) for a week before I move onto the next one. If any of these stories feels like it’s not going to pan out, I will drop it like a hot potato and think up a new one. As I said before I will keep you apprised of my progress on hopefully a daily basis and any feedback you give me will be taken into consideration. Thank you very much for your attention in this matter.

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron

Let's get this blog started...

2010-01-01T09:50:00.005-07:00

Up until today I have been working on one (that’s 1) novel for more than twenty years.

Let’s just let that sink in for a moment.

Twenty years: One book.

And it’s never been published.

My book is a fantasy epic of approximately 160,000 words, the first of intended series. That works out to eight thousand words a year, or about twenty-one words a day...doesn’t sound like much of an accomplishment, does it? My friends and family tell me that’s quite an achievement just to have finished a novel...many have started out, but few have completed one. And I think they right. But it’s not enough. I want to be published, dang nab it! The problem is for over twenty years I have put all my eggs in one basket...and nobody wants the basket.

I have sent query letters to over three dozen agents over the years and for the most part I have only gotten back form letters saying thank you for your interest but we feel we are not the right agency for this project and we wish you best of luck in your future endeavours blah blah blah. And I really can’t blame them. They must be looking at storyline and thinking that this plot is sooooo 1990’s...and they would be right, of course. That’s when I really started writing it. But even the Double-Aughts are over and now we are into the One-ders and it’s time I started writing stories for the 21st century. So I am going to write four of them.

Or at least attempt to do so...

So that is what this blog is about. I am going to attempt to write four novels in one year, and chronicle my efforts. I don’t promise to write every single day—I am human after all and stuff happens—but I will try to write something daily, both working on the novels and commenting on it through this blog.

And I am sure this blog will not be just about my writing. I will comment about stuff that happens in my daily life. I will try to make it as interesting and entertaining as possible for you, my future devoted readers, but I don’t know who you are yet, so please bear with me. I also have to keep in mind that nobody will be reading this except my current friends and family, and that’s okay. This will be a way for us to keep in touch often, and I think it will be more interesting than simply creating a Facebook account.

This blog will also give me one hope and one fear. My hope is that by blogging about my progress on the four books, and having people read about it, it will keep me accountable to my goal. My fear, of course, is that I will spend too much time blogging and not enough time actually writing the novels. Hopefully by this time next year I will have completed four novels of different genres to shop around to agents, and one of them will catch their attention. Worse comes to worse, it will be a learning experience for me and I will have to come to grips that I couldn’t write my way out of paper bag if somebody soaked it first, and maybe I’ll take up fly fishing or playing the saxophone as a hobby...only time will tell...

Anyhoo, that’s it for now. On Saturday I will talk about the specifics of the four novels, on Sunday...well...we'll see what happens...and then on Monday I will be taking my trusty laptop on the bus and start working on the first book.

Now I’ve got to think of a clever signoff, some catchphrase I will use at the end of every blog...something witty and original and memorable...hmmm...

:: thinking...pondering...racking brain... ::

How about...

Publish or Perish.

I think that one has already been taken by college professors.

The journey of a thousand stories begins with a single word.

Too cliché sounding.

Don’t just talk about it—write about it!

Close...

I’ve got it!

Continuing on my write of passage,
James Baron