Gone on way too long

Here's a question: Am I doing something wrong?

I've been writing for almost twenty years now. I'm still trying to get the hang of it, which means I subscribe to a lot of blogs and newsletters giving hints and tips for aspiring writers. One of the things you see coming up over and over again is the question of how to trim down a story or script that is far too long. People have issues with their 300,000 word novels and their 165 page screenpages. My question is... how are you producing anything of that length in the first place?

To date, I think the longest thing I've ever written was about 130,000 words, and that was years ago, before I learned how to edit. On average, my novel-length stories tend to come in somewhere between 50 to 90,000 words. The few screenplays I've tackled struggle to break 100 pages. This isn't boasting, it just seems to be what I'm comfortable with. Like the stories find their own natural length, if that's not too pretentious a way of putting it, and anything I do to drag them out makes them, well, dragged out.

So where do people find the fortitude to keep a story going for two or three times as many words? And why exactly can't I do the same?

Offhand, I suspect one of the problems is my attention span. I've always favoured short, concise books over lengthy tomes (notwithstanding the fact that Gormenghast is my favourite book in the world). I've got little or no patience for movies that go on for more than ninety minutes. (Oddly enough, I also have difficulties reading short stories, but that's probably a separate problem for a separate post.) So basically, I just don't have the mental energy to keep going with a story once it passes a certain length. Eventually I'll reach a point where I just go, "and then they went home, the end".

But you have to wonder whether there's something else that I'm fundamentally lacking in my writing. Are my plots too lightweight? Are the characters too flimsy? Is my inability to keep track of subplots and hence my dislike of including them holding me back? Realistically speaking, there have been a bunch of times when I could have used a story turning in at 10 or 20,000 words more than it did, simply so there was some leeway when it came to editing. Trimming out the suggested 10% from a first draft would mean the second draft ending up far shorter than anticipated... which means I have a disincentive to tighten up my flabby prose. And don't get me started on screenplays. Apparently my ideal length for a screenplay is about 80 pages, which is no use to anyone - far too long for a short film, too short for a feature.

So yes, in essence I'm somewhat jealous of people who can and do write these huge bloated epics, who have the ability to follow and expand a story into a trilogy or beyond. Or if not jealous then at least bemused by how they manage it.

resolutions

as always, it's that time of year for vague promises and rubbish excuses, at both of which I am an expert. Wait, that was a terrible sentence.

Anyway. Last year I pretty much had a year off, putting the writing on hold so I could concentrate on our lovely new arrival, Elliott. So now I suppose I should really get back to the awfully difficult work of, y'know, work.

I'm kinda worried at the moment that I'm losing my touch somewhat when it comes to writing - while I think I must be a better writer than I was five years ago, it just seems so much more difficult than it used to be. So my resolution this year is to get the fun back, and to finish the year as a better and more confident writer.

here's hoping. :)

list o acheivements

Last week I finished a new novel, which I reckon is cause for celebration. 86,000 words in total for the first draft, hopefully equating to about 80,000 for the second (once I've cut most of the crap out).

By my calculations, this would be my fifteenth completed novel (disregarding the ones that have been abandoned, lost, buried or disowned)... although I could be miscounting somewhere. This I think is my full list:

1. Obsession No. 1 (about 2002, approx 90,000 words) - a thriller, for some reason. God knows why I keep trying to write thrillers. It's not my preferred genre either for reading or writing. I think a grand total of two people have ever read this, or are ever likely to read it.
2. Coma White (about 2004, approx 120,000 words) - another thriller. Also the longest thing I've written, since I hadn't learned to edit back then. And yeah, the title's from the Marilyn Manson song, which I would apologise for, except I still maintain Mechanical Animals was a perfectly fine album.
3. Animal Bones (about 2005, approx 75,000 words) - homage (i.e. blatant stealing) to Laurell K Hamilton, involving a private detective who works for supernatural clients.
4. Terror Island (2006, published 2007, approx 110,000 words) - wow, was this really the first time I put zombies in a story?
5. Blood Red Sea (2007, approx 80,000 words) - vampire pirates, in a young-adult stylee. The title "Vampirates" was already taken, annoyingly.
6. NighmareLand (2008, approx 80,000 words) - post-apocalyptic zombies. If I had to pick my favourite thing I'd written, this would probably be it.
7. Screenstalker (2008, approx 50,000 words) - my first Nano-novel, about a monster-hunter who lives in the TV and fights movie monsters. And zombies.
8. Home Ground (2009, to be published SOON, dammit, approx 90,000 words) - WWII zombies at an Internment Camp on the Isle of Man.
9. Moths (2009, published 2010, approx 60,000 words) - giant killer moths.
10. Afterglow (2009, approx 60,000 words) - giant killer glow-worms.
11. Lost Souls Maximus (2009, approx 50,000 words) - murder and campanology, my second Nano-novel.
12. Time Alone (2010, approx 95,000 words) - time travel... I'm in two minds whether to include this as completed or not. A first draft was definitely finished, but it's so full of plot-holes and difficulties, I doubt the damn thing can ever be rewritten. :(
13. Blood of the Ancestors (2010, approx 85,000 words) - swords 'n sorcery, without the sorcery and with added zombies. Consensus places this as the best thing I've written so far, which is nice.
14. Return to Terror Island (2011, approx 85,000 words) - my third Nano-novel. You'll notice it went slightly over-budget on the word count. And it wasn't finished until recently. Also I've not told anyone I've written this sequel. I'm looking forward to the reactions. :)
15. The Ravens (2011, approx 80,000 words) - and this is the newly-completed one, written for my lovely husband, with post-apoc zombies and a bike gang. Editing starts next week.

There was also a children's book I wrote in high school, but I'm disregarding that, and also four or five movie scripts. And some short stories. Plus all the stubs of unfinished novels, of which there are several.

I think I'm happy with the list so far. :)

Editing of Nos. 14 and 15 will probably take up the next few weeks, then it's on to world building for Nanowrimo. Huzzah.

who cares what it's about, as long as the kids go?

This week, i decided it would be fun to make some chapbooks of short stories that haven't found a home anywhere else. Package them up with some nice artwork... it sounded like a good plan, but there was a fatal flaw that i hadn't spotted. What i ended up with initially was a pile of my rejects; stories that have been turned down several times by various places, and which most likely don't represent my shiniest work. So i've spent the last two weeks finishing off a bunch of stories-stubs (most of them little more than scribbled ideas and wine stains) and trying to bash them into something readable. And now i'm knackered.

on the plus side, the artwork looks good. Ah, the joys of living with an easily-bribable artist. I'll post some as soon as i get my scanner working again.

shiny artwork

Tch, i posted this on facespace then forgot to add it here as well. Oh blogging, why are you so difficult?

Anyway, this is the beautiful shiny artwork for my upcoming book, "Home Ground", due to be released in the next month or so (fingers crossed, as always). The artwork is by the wonderful and talented Juan Moore, and i don't think i could be happier with the way it's turned out.

here are some things you probably didn't about Juan:

1. His name is pronounced the Manx way: Joo-ann. Which is a shame because it totally ruins all the "Juan Moore time" jokes we could be making.
2. He's officially designated as a National Treasure, as he's currently running an exhibition in the Manx Museum here in Douglas.
3. We very nearly share a birthday - he is one day younger than me. So as well as being a talented bastard, he's also a young whippersnapper. Dammit.

Also, if you ever do happen to meet him, ask to see the photograph he carries in his wallet. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

progress of the slow kind

sent out the back-cover blurb for "Home Ground" to Mr Publisher yesterday - it took ages to do, because i hate writing blurbs. It's probably my least favourite part of the writing process. I'd rather write ten thousand new words than a hundred for a blurb. It also doesn't help that i'm rubbish at it.

Blurgh. Oh well, it's done now.

that space-cadet glow

Y'all may have gathered that i'm not the most tech-savvy person in the world, which is why it's taken me this long to figure out how to create an author page on Facespace:

Rakie Keig - now likeable on Facebook

So if you're "logged on" to the local "interweb", please "like" me. If you do, i promise to stop using bunny ears to highlight my technological failings. Also, facebook sends me lovely emails telling me "so-and-so likes you", which makes me feel about ten years old again.