Month: January 2020

A little insight into process

I recorded a vlog of my illustrations and writing process last month for a class that I’m teaching. I decided to try to vlog more of this story as a way to reach out to readers. This is an attempt to WordPress this, and see if I get more likes on this particular format.

If you’re an illustrator and looking for work, I’m always open to someone coming in and revamping the illustrations. I do them all myself, but they are not graphic-novel quality. I would like for a pro illustrator to help me with the visualization part of this novel.

I typically work by longhand, because I think that it makes my work more organic. Then, I transcribe what I have written by hand, editing as I go. This allows me to frequently change the plot line when I need to, such that the story is more malleable than it is if I type it out first.

I almost always do an illustration with each post, but this is slowly coming to an end. I have to get at least 100 pages more of the sequel, TEFL. But I find that working for an hour at a time, daily, helps with this whole process. I recently had to throw out most of a notebook because of the ignoring of several plot points.

I also keep an outline of how I think I’m going to weave the story. I call this journal ‘Superplots.’ This has all of the twists and turns in the hero’s journey before they happen in longhand. Then, I edit this at the macro level first, so that I don’t have to throw out large portions later.

If writers are reading this, please comment as to your process. That would be helpful to me, and I promise to respond.

Poxig and Theriot

Once he had conferred with Chris White the sage, he set off for the Ladimore mountains to reach the circle of sages, otherwise known as the Naughright guild. It was a guild of wizards and sages alike, a clandestine force for light magic. It was also these wizards who could confer upon Poxig a sense of credibility as the guardian of the ORB.

While he ambled through the forest, he encountered a halfling with red hair. His pudgy face was round and red. His jerkin was down to his waist over a rustic leather overalls. Poxig never met such a scruffy looking fellow. He was armed with a bow and arrow, and so Poxig was a bit startled.

“Ho there. I thought you were a deer!”

“Yes, well I could see why you would make that distinction.”

“Your green skin blends in so well with the forest! I might have shot you by accident! You have to be more careful!”

“Yes, of course.”

“I am Theriot, my village is just east of here. We are running out of food, and so we are hunting miles from the village.”

“I know the problem of which you speak. I am on a mission to solve the evil of the earth’s rot. It is for this reason that the animals of the forest do not have food, and so they go south to forage.”

“It is not the halfling way to be disputatious. We are a kind that lives close to the land. What will become of my village if we can no longer eat the sweetroot? The saplings are dying.”

“I am the guardian of the ORB. The ORB in the hands of a light magician can solve the calamity of which you speak. But first we must find the cause of this great evil and stop it.”

Theriot’s belief had not caught up with the impending reality of this threat.

“You mean to tell me…”

“You must suspect the worst, my dear friend. Even the friends of the king are at risk.”

“Then, I will accompany you to the farther reaches of the Ladimore mountains. Past there, we will meet the destiny that Releven seeks.”

He had never heard the name of his god amongst the lips of a foreigner. It had surprised him that Releven’s fame had reached this far.