Friday, May 28, 2010

Updates! Updates! Get Your Writing Updates!

Remember that one time I started writing this crazy long modern-epic poem thing called The Absurdly Epic Tragedy of Oscambria?  And how week after week I happily put up canto after canto?  The story grew and grew and I was loving every minute of it, absolutely enjoying myself writing the tale.  I created an entire outline so I would know exactly where my narrative was going, and then wrote a couple thousand words for my background information.  Heck, I even created a Wiki for the stuff.

Well, it’s been a month since my last post.  And for anyone that has been reading the thing, I humbly apologize.  See, I could say that I’ve been gone on vacation and that my USB has been lost, so that’s why there haven’t been any more updates.  But that’s not the truth.  No, the truth is that I got a little bored with the story.  It’s the same old thing that happens with all of my writing.  Just like my NaNoWriMo novel last year, I started off strong, and then by 25000 words or so had grown weary of my story.  It happens all the time.  That’s why I think short-fiction, like say flashfic, short stories, or novellas, is more my thing.  At least for now.

But I’ve not given up on Oscambria.  No, I’ve just taken an extended break from it.  It’s still a story I want to finish, and I’ve put a lot of work into it, so I suppose I will.  And when I do, it’ll be back up here on my blog.

In all that, a new idea presented itself to my wandering mind.  I started writing a short story a little while back, and I’m happy to report that I’m almost finished with the first draft of it.  I am pleased to say that I am very proud of it and that I will be rolling out the thing as a new Writing Wednesdays feature over the next few weeks.  In addition to the story, I’m also going to be adding up an audio version (like I did with “The Testimony of Goodwin, P.A.”) with each story piece of the story.

The current working title for the piece is “The Bombing of Morrta,” but that could easily change.  In a nutshell, it’s about a man who has made a cataclysmic decision and learns to live with the consequences of it.  Like I said, I’m very happy with the results and quite eager to share it with the few of you who read my fiction.
I hope you all read it and offer some constructive feedback.  Tell me if something doesn’t make sense or if something is too confusing.  Am I too wordy?  Let me know.  The whole thing should be around 10,000 words, so it shouldn’t take too long to finish.

Have a happy Memorial Day weekend, folks.  Be safe.

9 comments:

Jay Belt said...

I know every writer is different. For me, my completion/abandonment rate is based on whether I end up outlining or discovery writing.

For example, I wrote a piece last fall, and I chugged at that thing, pumping 16k words into it over about a month. But then I just gave up on it. I never created an outline for it. The characters were great and really carried their own story, but I started hating the story they were on.

I sat down and started to outline it, to give it a hard plot. I realized I would end up erasing about 7k words out of it. I've abandoned it(for now).

On the other hand, the novels I've written all had outlines before I'd written much on them. I knew where the story was going, plus I had some defining, exciting scenes scattered in between. It made me excited to get to those scenes and eventually the ending. Then, all I needed was to establish the characters and motivations so they move to the plot without making the plot move them.

A lot of times, the first chapters I write end up getting cut. Those first chapters work wonderfully for establishing the characters in my mind. That's about all they're good for. They end up either telling too much of the characters or not telling enough of the story.

logankstewart said...

@Jay: Yeah, the outline has been helpful for the epic poem, as I usually don't use an outline but make it up as I go along. Still, though, I grew bored, and if I grew bored, surely the reader would if I wrote that way. So I think some tweaking or a break is in order.

Thanks for the comment.

MT said...

yesssss, glad to hear that I get another Logan K. Stewart book on tape soon.

logankstewart said...

@Mattson: Hopefully it turns out better than the last one. I plan to try something a little different.

David Wagner said...

Hey! You stole my method of starting and losing interest, leaving unfinished works in my wake by the scads! That's my idea, give it back! No, my friend, you must be a finisher...

I look forward to The Bombing of Morrta....

Kristopher A. Denby said...

I know exactly how you feel. Good to know, though sorry it's at your expense, that I'm not the only one. I have to get this Playing thing finished so I can move on to the next thing.

I look forward to your future writings, Logan.

logankstewart said...

@Dave: Oh how I wish I could give it back, but no, it must be a shared trait. Hopefully "Morrta" doesn't disappoint...

@Kristopher: Thanks friend, and good luck on finishing "Playing."

Brandon Barr said...

Logan,
You should submit a short story to an online magazine. Digital Dragon, Mindflights, Haruah, etc.

I, like you, find short stories easier...I was pushed into writing novels ;) (I'm not complaining though.)

logankstewart said...

@Brandon: I'll have to check out those emags, Brandon. Thanks for the references. Take care.