Tag Archives: spiral

Getting back into the swing of things.

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Posted by Craig on May 2, 2010 – 2:03 pm
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I haven’t blogged in a while, but to be honest, I don’t think anyone noticed. I don’t get that many visitors :p

Anyway the reasons for not blogging are long and boring, so I won’t bore anyone with that. Let’s just say that things are getting back to normal, so I’m getting back into the swing of things.

I just printed out my book, getting ready to send it in to a literary agent. Well, I have a cover letter, 2 page synopsis, and chapters 1, 2 and 5. The synopsis was hard to write, as it is a very plot-heavy book and so many things are integral to the main storyline. Hopefully I have captured the heart of the book in these two pages.

Finally sending my book out is a little scary. On one hand, I’m preparing myself for the inevitable rejection. It always happens, writers have to send their book out to lots of places before finally getting accepted. But the trouble is, there aren’t that many places in Australia that will accept:

  1. A manuscript from an unpublished author
  2. A manuscript from an unrepresented author
  3. A science fiction/ fantasy manuscript

At the moment I only found two places that I could possibly send to. What next? Can I send to international publishers/ agents? I’m not sure how that works. I guess I’ll have to investigate.

Due to my previously mentioned boring personal stuff, I haven’t really been writing later, so I’ve got to get back into that. I have most of the second book mapped out, but there are still a few small details to work out before I set off to write the first draft. I’m looking forward to it, it’s going to be a good book.

Meanwhile the thing I have been doing is Papercrafting. It’s addictive, and become a hobby I do every day. I have always seen random posts on different places about cool paper models people have made, but never got around to exploring it until now. It’s great to have something to do while watching shows, or grinding skills in Haven and Hearth. Plus, they look great when finished. It’s like making your own action figures. Currently I’m working on Zora Armour Link, and Mario’s Head. I’ll post more about them when I’m closer to finishing. I was also planning to do Young Link from Ocarina of Time, but I stuffed up when I was attaching the hat to his face, so I’ll have to redo that one.

Anyway, my blog should be much more active from now on. I hope it’s interesting to you all :)

To publish or not? That is the question!

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Posted by Craig on April 13, 2010 – 8:39 pm
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I’m at the point where I don’t think there’s anything else I can do with The Spiral Dilemma. It’s completed, and it’s a great book even if I do say so myself. I love it.

So now I’m at the point where I need to start looking for publishers/ agents. The trouble is, in Australia there are very few of them that will accept fantasy from a new author. Not only that, but I’ve been reading about everything that else that happens even after you get a publisher, and its really depressing me.

The reason why I write is that it’s fun. But part of the writing process is having people read it. Now I realise that technically I don’t need to be published to have people read my book, but sure would help.

The other thing I’ve been worried about relates to the fact that currently I’ve been taking care of my Dad. Now at the moment that’s fine, it gives me a lot of free time to write and I get Carer’s Allowance. But one day the time will come when Dad is no longer around (hopefully a LONG time from now), and at when that time comes I will need a way to make money. If I have some books published by them, I may not need to find a regular job. That’s the plan anyway.

I really don’t think I’m cut out to work in an office. It was fine at first but gradually it was sending me quite insane. If I have to go back to work in an office again, I don’t know if I’d cope. Plus working full time cuts into my writing time dramatically.

So I should get published! The trouble with that is I’ve been writing about all the hoops you have to jump through, and that even after you get published, most authors won’t be very successful anyway  and will never make enough money to live off. It almost doesn’t seem worth it.

I just want a lot of people to read my book and enjoy it! That’s not too much to ask is it?

I realise I could just put it up here on my website for free, but then that dramatically cuts down on the number of people that will actually see it, plus I’d make no money so I’d have to eventually get a job at some point.

I know I sound like I really don’t want to work – but it’s not working in itself that I’m dreading, it’s the type of work. The only real skills I have are for boring office work that I absolutely hate, and even then I’m not convinced that I was any good at it to begin with. Writing is what I’m passionate about, but can I make money from it?

I suppose time will tell.

The Spiral Dilemma – Preview

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Posted by Craig on January 23, 2010 – 6:37 pm
Filed under Stories
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The Spiral Dilemma is a traditional fantasy novel, but without the stereotypical humans/elves/dwarves, etc. In fact, if you find a fantasy stereotype in my book, you have my permission to slap me. I’ve tried to be as original as I can, while still sticking to the roots of the Fantasy genre.

It’s the story of a young woman’s adventures as her life is turned upside-down. Dilemma is a Sorceress in Training when her home is attacked by Daemons. These Daemons lead her on an adventure in which she discovers secrets she will wish stayed buried.

I hope that makes it sound interesting. One thing I’m still made at is writing short summaries of my books.

Originally, I wrote this book several years ago, at that time it was called ‘Dilemma of the Hour’. This new version has a different ending, and I removed one character who really didn’t need to be there. It’s better than ever, and I can’t wait to finish it.

Click here to download: The Spiral Dilemma (Preview) (61)

Please leave a comment after you’ve read it. I’d love to know what you think.

Finished my First Draft!

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Posted by Craig on January 7, 2010 – 3:23 pm
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Well, after about four-five months of solid writing, I finished the first draft. Of course, this was a rewrite of the last book I wrote (and discarded), so I guess you could say this is the third draft.
The first version was called ‘Dilemma of the Hour’ and I discarded it because it didn’t really end. The new version is called ‘The Spiral Dilemma’ and is much much better. I took out a character I didn’t really need, moved her to the second book. I also added a bunch of scenes after the original ending, to give it a proper full blown finale. I love it, it’s actually the best thing I’ve ever written.
Now, the next step is to edit, and come up with a second draft. I know there are few scenes which I rushed, and I’ll have to add more detail to those parts. Other bits just didn’t feel right, but that’s what editing is for.
It’s all down hill from here.
Now, where did I leave my fine-toothed come?