I’m extremely happy right now, I just broke 42k words. This basically marks the 3/5 point of the novel. It’s probably just over half way, but not quite three quarters, that’s why I went with that slightly odd fraction of three fifths. All I can say is that it feels great, a true achievement. I got through the two most complex and integral chapters of the book, five and six. It’s taken me a month but I maintained and dominated those tricky bastards.

Those two chapters basically bring the lead protagonist to the fore front of every ones minds, they reveal completely the sort of person he is and set him on a path, on his mission. The reveling process was hard, very hard. I’ve talked about this part before, the exploring of personal beliefs, but this the last 10k words have been a complete and thorough penetration of my entire belief system. I’ve never explored myself in such a deep fashion before and it’s been thrilling, I just hope it makes sense, if anyone ever reads the bastard.

Here’s a small excerpt, of that mission of self discovery.

“”I want fate! I want pre-ordained! I want to know that it was for a purpose! I want to know it wasn’t me! I want the actions of these hands not to be that of my own, but of a greater force that has meaning and point, a purposeful ending! Removing me of responsibility!” He continued to laugh in between breaths, not entirely sure what to do with himself, and then he remembered the trap door. “Now I stand here at this trap door.” Swinging his arm, open palmed, as if to motion to someone that it actually existed. “Maybe it’s a trapdoor for the very reason that I receive no answer on the other side, the whole thing is a trap, to send my mind, this mind, wondering, maybe this is the final test. He who may stand before me may not be benevolent enough to tell me the answer, to say that he gave me permission and the ability to be decide my own fate, or that I was part of his plan. He may not be there at all. I have to go through. I have no other choice. Whatever is there, it better have answers.”

Any feedback, welcome as always.

The aspirers mark for this post goes to Belinda Webb of her eponymous blog belindawebb. I’ve not really had time to read through her blog, I’m rushing off to meet some people again, but I caught it from an interesting Guardian article about breakthrough novelists. She commented that she, after many many years, has just had her first book published, and is currently looking for an agent and reviews.

So I would recommend getting over to her blog and getting involved. Many congratulations on the recent success Belinda!

Last time I quickly looked at painting a person, creating a being, with words. I thought for this post I may as well look quickly at actually creating an environment, surroundings, a landscape in which to place that person. A setting they can and have to react to, a place with it’s own time, distinct objects, feelings, smells, colours and objects, all that the character will have maneuver, embrace, utilize, behave accordingly to, in order to paint the most vivid picture possible in the readers imagination.

This is another aspect of my writing I’ve really enjoyed in all honesty, but at the same time has proved slightly difficult. Working with a science fiction piece like I am, I can pretty much place my characters anywhere I want, in almost any time period I want, and given the breadth of the story I’m trying to tell, in any plane of reality I want. Whilst I’ve loved doing this, and no doubt will continue to, some times the scale of the structures I’m trying to describe can, I think, become a bit muddled, given my lack of any background in architecture and engineering.

However, I persevere and just go with the flow. Here’s a couple of paragraphs, as an example, of a particularly large structure I try to bring to reality:

“He looked to his left and right again as they approached the Giga Studio, expanding out into the dessert for miles either side the structure was epic in scale. He grabbed at quick thoughts on how it stood, gargantuan like, in the desert, dominating nature, and his breath escaped from his chest into the cold air. He could just make out the sloping sides of the building and he stopped walking to look up, learning back on his heals to get the whole of the building in, carefully balancing himself, he remembered how he’d once seen one from a distance, during a brief period the Hovertrain had broken down and his cell walls had gone translucent. Almost beyond the breadth of his imagination it was difficult to understand how it could have been built, like a fresh-eyed innocent millennia ago being brought in front of the Great Pyramids of Giza for the first time, awe and fear both took their grip.

It stood with two monolithic trapezoid structures, at their base miles from side-to-side, about a mile thick and raising up thousands of feet into the air, as they came to a point, but falling short and leveling off, an epic and solid black cylindrical tube separated them by a few miles and penetrated both, protruding out the other side, the side at which Germany was now walking towards. It was motionless now but he knew how in a matter of hours the vast cylinder would be spinning slowly, and what would take place inside.”

Please let me know if that makes any sense at all, what I’d really love is for you to quickly draw a picture of what you think it looks like and email it to me, ricgalbraith at gmail dot com, or upload it to Flickr or something and link to it in the comments section. That’d be ace. I think I’ll definitely touch on this subject again in the future.

This posts Aspirers Mark goes to Kelly Rigby, the brain child behind the She-Power site. Although there’s so much more to this site than just the fiction side of things, in an effort to keep on track I’ll just mention that there’s a load of excellent short stories on there and that Kelly’s main goal in 2008, in her own words, is to, ‘write consistently and hopefully sell a short story or novel.’

She said that fear has held her back in the past, but hopefully that won’t hold her back any longer. Best of luck to her with getting something published in 2008!

Those characters, the basic building blocks of the entire novel, creating them, painting a picture of them with words, making them your own and putting them in the heads of the readers, it’s all important. Without the brilliant description the character is lifeless, dormant, there’s little point in them being there at all without creating a vivid picture of who they are in the readers mind.

I’ve been doing my damndest, there’s actually been very few to draw in the first five chapters, and the way the book is written and the way things are going, I’ll probably only have to do another ten or so in the closing six. We’ll see though, as always, things can get out of hand and may need reigning in. One of my favourites so far is a uturistic vision of a great man, powerful and old, he is absolutely pivotal to the entire plot of the book. So with that in mind, he needed to stand out, really grab you.

This is one of a few paragraphs that helps draw him in your mind.

“Only his head and hands were visible and veins ridged both of them adding hints of purple and lilac to his temple area and the back of his palms. Keen and upright on his shoulders his neck was thinning but strong, holding his head straight, firm and without fault. His hands were steady, almost scaled with age they were leathery, hard to puncture or split yet soft to the touch. Gripping the podium strongly he had neither weakened nor lost any of his intensity with age. Eyes fired like burning furnaces in Dante’s deepest level of hell combined with pulsating forearms hidden by his robe and baron of hair through age, veins erupting from his skin’s surface and adding to his majestic distinction. He stood proudly, almost shouting at the small yet mesmerized crowd, in the vast hall that echoed with valor, he continued his speech.”

As always let me know what you think, let me know of any tips you have for creating a human with words, extremely interested in this one.

Todays Aspiriers Mark goes to Kay Sexton of Writing Neuroses, I’m not entirely sure if she has previously been published, I’ve just come across her blog, but after some scanning it seems she is going through last revisions to her current novel (I’m in a rush tonight). Also there’s an interesting selection of tips and other writing related reading so definitely worth a click. Best of luck to her with her revisions.

When I’m writing dozens and dozens of scenarios go through my head as to what character can do what, where and when, how it will connect with previous chapters, ideas and theories. There’s always the possibility of getting one little line in here and there that puts a twist on something that was a single sentence 10 paragraphs ago and only the most observant reader will pick up on. I enjoy doing that.

What’s really great though is getting down that ‘perfect idea’ the one that you think will make the novel a ‘cut above’. The,. ‘there are many like it, but this one is mine,’ idea that you think is completely unique, however foreign a concept that might be. I believe I’ve got a few here and there throughout the writing I’ve got, and possibly a few more to come, one idea that is really a running and central theme to the book is that of how the obsession with celebrity in today’s western society will perhaps have an uncontrollable impact on the world as we know it in the future.

Here’s an excerpt:

“Outstanding young man, and you see the evolution of that, how this concept, borne so true throughout the decades and centuries there after, has brought about the terrible pit of human waste that exists across the globe now. How these infectious ideals eroded a lust for all that is life and all that it is to achieve, to learn and to love, and turned it into a hunched half-breed of perpetual nothingness with a lust for something that doesn’t actually exist outside of concept tanks lead by transhumant Fasters. Granted, relative peace has been achieved between East and West, the unprecedented collapse of the major religions saw to that, and as faith was swapped for selfish lust, for undeserved notoriety, our lives changed, the world changed. Ultimately becoming something weaker, disemboweled and lifeless, and that is the reason why we moved to Micronesia, why this last outpost of sanity in a world rampant with self-obsessed madness, with this idea of Celebrity, is now our home.”

I’d be interested in hearing how people think up of their ideas, what they use as inspiration, how they close their mind off to the world and wonder around it’s innards as I tend to do.

Aspiriers Mark – Today’s goes to Thomas Stough, of (Worst) Writer. I enjoy his ‘something of a motto’ that simply states: Trying to fail better. Very cool. I personally enjoy the saying, ‘fail fast, fail often,’ which Thomas’ replicates, and sounds better as far as I’m concerned.

Anyway, he has a number of chapters of previous novels on the blog, I’m not sure if he’s been published before, but it’s and interesting site and he likes a rant, so best of luck with future writing Thom!

The second chapter of the book is basically one gigantic speech. Four thousand words of power, moving forward with speed, explaining the past, present and what a special group of people are due to achieve in the future. The only previous experience I’ve had with speech writing was when I was 14. I wrote for a spoken word competition, and put together a speech I called, ‘The downfall of Great Britain due to Vegetarianism: A critical look a potential laws’. When I read it out in front of my school and a hundred or so parents and teachers, it certainly caused a reaction. Which is what I was looking for with chapter two.

This was one of the most exciting parts of the book I’ve written so far. I loved reading through great speeches by figure heads of power from General Patton to Winston Churchill back to Abraham Lincoln. I took the emotion that they invoked, the raw energy they exhumed and the words they utilized and went about putting my own together.

Step by step like an essay, it came together with a beginning middle and end, and I’m really happy with the results. Here’s a little snippet:

“Fellow Negotiators, I want now to talk on our history, as humans, in a vain effort to finally justify what we are about to do, for where we are about to go, how we got to were we are and ultimately; why we had to take this decision. We are at the foot of frontier, a toe away from the limit, but like the most gracious of explorers we step into the unknown for the good of humanity. Not for glory or distinction, least of all for profit, but to create out of the human spirit something that has never had chance to exist before, through technology and planning we can bring together all of mans greatest achievements and minds, then step forth with pride in knowing we have created perfection. No human being could fail to be deeply moved by such a privilege as this, I know how moved you, my brethren, are and how frustrated you must be at the idea of having to wait so long before we get to see the fruits of our work, but trust me as you trust your hand, time bares little consequence on our minds, you should know this, now believe it.”

As always, any comments, thoughts, and tips on speech writing more than welcome

The Aspirers Mark – For today’s post I’ve found Anna Jarzarb from her eponymous blog, she’s a 24 year old novelist in New York, and whilst she doesn’t give much away about her book, it would seem she’s just got an agent and is working on getting it published, so congrats to her.

An interesting post on whether or not writers need to write every day definitely gives off the impression of an interesting Blogger and novelist. Best of luck to her with the future.

I was on twitter earlier on today and Folknology stated he’d recently updated his book shelf, and asked to see others, being at work I couldn’t get in front of the shelf, but I did have some of my latest purchases in my other laptop bag.

The old adage that ‘writers read,’ bares so much truth I find. Whilst I’m reading my writing is a lot more fruitful and productive, the books above have been helping me out a lot recently with all the ideas of chapter five; death, fate, free will, sci-fi in general.

Just a quick snippet tonight as I’ve not actually written any more words today, just gone over and over what I wrote for chapter five last night, still trying to make sense of it and where it’s going.

I’ve never written a serious combat scene before, of someone getting truely fucked up, but I had to give it a go in chapter four at a very pivotal point. This is the opening paragraph to that scene.

“The Faster couldn’t quite understand why his speech was slowing down until it was too late, and he heard this one coming. A wind-rush of compacted air pushed forward by a flat and accelerating surface, a fist, and then a second mighty crash into the temple opposite to where the first one had landed, impacting with his head before the kinetic wave of energy from the previous blow had fully escaped. The terminal force shooting a rebound shockwave of strength back in the opposite direction through his skull. Not quite knowing what to do and ravaged by instantaneous brute force his cranium seemed to collapse, spine compressing, his feet and legs shot clean out in front of him sending him to the ground at speed and squeezing his brain, compressing his eye socket and making its contents shoot clear out of his skull.”

Comments, ideas, suggestions welcomed as always.

Today’s Aspirer’s Mark - This one might be a bit like teaching your grandmother how to suck eggs, but he’s said he is writing less fiction than ever and in 2008 wants to remedy that, so with that in mind, we have Mike Atherton aka Sizemore from his blog, Sizemore.

As a professional writer and already published author I wouldn’t say he’s so much an aspiring novelist, but his blog is pretty ace and if he’s planning on posting more about his fiction in the future I’m sure it’ll be beneficial to those that read it. Hope he gets the urge to do so…You can also follow him on Twitter.

There’s probably no other more difficult subject for writing than that of your own personal beliefs. That is at least my own opinion. Some people of the more dogmatic persuasion may think otherwise, but me, well I gave up the whole dogmatic thing many years ago, and now I have a personal set of ideas, ideals and beliefs that really fuck with my head.

Chapter five I’m talking about here, the concept of free will, of fate, of having the ability to make your own decisions and be responsible for them vs being on a set path, your decisions being a product of anything other than yourself, and in turn having no responsibility for your actions.

This is a pretty black and white look at the whole ‘free will’ situation, but it’s a fucking complex debate, that complex in fact that it’s commonly held that the whole debate is nullified by the fact that it’s basically a paradox, and has throughout the ages, twisted a lot of other brains, much more capable than mine, into basically giving up.

I guess where I’m going hopes to, in an entirely fictional way, explain away a few things, and help me make my mind up about a few things, but we’ll just have to see where it all goes.

So far, 3k words in and a very difficult chapter, but very very exciting, we’ll have to see where it goes, I have the feeling I’m going to have to split this chapter into two for it to make sense, we’ll see.

Here’s a an extended paragraph.

“Did I complete my life? My fate? Where will this door take me? Moreover, where should it take me? Am I now about to stand before my Master? My Maker? The Omnipotent higher being that had set out my path? Am I to be accepted in some sort of infinite bosom of benevolence and pleasure for my time in completing my only one inevitable path. Or am I to finally disappear into my personal singularity; my time, behaviour, being, soul, existence, entity, mind, thoughts, actions, movements, sights, philosophies, my entirety, my complete manifestation, I. Will it become everything and nothing at the same time? Will I get my answer? What monsters lay behind this trapdoor? What never ending confusion and pain, what suffering could exist that was beyond what I had endured when I was elsewhere, and if that is all I am to be greeted by, what sort of monster can possibly justify it?”

Comments and criticism welcome as always.

And now for the Aspirers Mark – In this post given to Thomma Lyn of Tennessee Text Wrestling. A nice little blog focusing on, as she herself says; ‘An East Tennessee gal’s thoughts on being a novelist, a reader, a cat wrangler, a biker chick, a pianist, a hiker in the mountains, and a nerd’.

She had a bit of bad news with her current novel in the making, Heart’s Chalice, realising she’d have to do a re-write, having completed 240 pages. Bit of a nightmare, but it looks like from her latest post she can salvage at least some of the writing, hope she gets the words she wants down this time.

What we have here is an examination of my attempt at writing a novel. The books primary purpose from the beginning was an exercise in self-exploration, no real want or need to get it published. Just to look at my own personal beliefs, how they affect me and ultimately others around me, and as a personal challenge as well.

Though, after completing the first four chapters, reaching about 30k words and letting a few friends read through them, they came back to me with some extremely positive feedback. So, because of this, coupled with having no time to run any other blogs whilst I’m writing the book and work, and the taking some inspiration from Hugh Macleod and his seeming absolute belief in the power of the social media to gain attention, create conversation and promote creativity in oneself, I’ve decided to go ahead and blog about the experience, and help self-promote the book a little.

In short the book seeks to tackle the question: Given you had the choice, would you opt for freedom from responsibility or freedom of will? Would you go with a fate, causal determinism of sorts that allows you to be guilt free and give meaning to your decisions, or would you battle for freedom of will, freedom of choice, that you were in fact responsible for your actions, however unintelligible and random, but at least you were free, on at least some level, to choose? It revolves around this question in a sci-fi epic sort of nature, spanning time and space, characters and concepts, hopefully you’ll get a bit more of the gist as more posts are published, or read the About section for more info.

I hope you enjoy, I hope you can help, and I look forward to hearing feedback on snippets I’ll be putting up and conversation around ideas and concepts I have.

One other idea I’ve had, in an effort to become part of the community of aspiring novelists in the blogging world, is link to and write a sentence on one each time I post, this is called ‘The Aspirer’s Mark,’ I’ll also add the blog to my blogroll.

The first Aspirer’s Mark goes to Eliza from ‘tales of a fantasy scribbler’. 26 thousand words into her current project about; ‘a woman held as a political hostage in an underground, dystopian fantasy city,’ called Blue Crystal, I have to say the 13 word synopsis sounds pretty interesting to me, best of luck to her, I’ll be trying to keep up with the progress.