I had this wonderful idea when I started this blog to post videos talking about my journey with Sacred Knight. I thought I'd be able to share my experiences with writing, especially writing the epic saga (I have mentioned that I've been working on this story for 17 years, right? That's a huge chunk of my life.).
With the weather being so cold and usually starting to snow or rain when I had a moment to record, not to mention my own failures at being on camera, it wasn't coming together. I knew I had to loosen up and do what was authentically me. Of course, that's going to end up weird! But once I got going and started laughing at myself, well, the ball began to roll.
Welcome to the Creator's Journal. Please, go check out the video. Let me know if you love it or hate it.
I do really want to do more vlogs, but I'm such a writer not a performer that it terrifies me to look at the camera. I'm use to being on the other end. However, I do enjoy the process of putting the video's together -- must be the storyteller in me. I've found another mode -- a more visual, intimate, and immediate mode of storytelling.
After the first book gets released, I hope to release more videos talking about the writing and editing of the second book. It'll be more of a progression with the story. I really hope it helps other writers out there, let's them know that they aren't alone in plugging away endlessly at their manuscript with stars in their eyes. It's this mission that made me really want to do the Creator's Journal no matter what. Even if I ended up with stupid videos where I just laugh at myself.
"Imperfect action is better than perfect inaction." ~ Harry Truman
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
Progress on Second Book
I have to admit that I thought writing the second book would actually be easier than the first. It's not like this is my first "cake walk." I've got several manuscripts under my bed, so to speak. I have been writing since I was four, after all.
I knew that most of the second book would be a total rewrite from what I already have, but I also knew I'd be threading in a lot of the material from my earliest drafts of this story. So what's happened?
I'm on chapter 8 of scripting this out. I realize I have a lot of talking heads. If nothing else, thinking about how I'm going to put this into a graphic novel eventually has made me more aware of character interactions and settings. Pick up any comic or manga and you'll see intense action on nearly every page. It is harder to maintain that level in a book. I also realize this is my very first draft of this and there will be much rewriting to be done so I'm not even real worried about pace right now. There's something more bothering me.
I wish I could put my finger on it. Maybe I'm anxious because the first book is so close to coming out. Maybe it's because I don't feel ready to put a deadline on the second book.
I use to never understand authors who had writer's block. I never believed in it. Until I faced my own.
Am I scared of getting into this and facing another block? Am I afraid that I'll have a failure to launch with the first book and no one will even care about the second book?
It really is times like these when my main character, Steigan, gives me strength. I can hear him telling me to circle round my fear instead of letting it circle around me. To do the latter means that fear takes my strength, but in the former strength is gained from the energy of fear. It forces you to be your best, to think things through, to stay sharp. Yes, he would say, there is a mind-shift that occurs when one turns the tables on fear. Even now, I can feel it like a seed within me.
My first draft doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to be material to start with. Yes, I know what's going to happen in the story -- I should after all the time I've spent on it.
Good, strong characters come from the core of the author. Steigan is my core. When I feel like I'm going to shoot off in a million directions or fall to pieces, he steps in and reminds me to be who I am. He is my balance, my center. As long as I've listened to his noble advise, he's never led me astray. I'm glad to be telling his story.
I knew that most of the second book would be a total rewrite from what I already have, but I also knew I'd be threading in a lot of the material from my earliest drafts of this story. So what's happened?
I'm on chapter 8 of scripting this out. I realize I have a lot of talking heads. If nothing else, thinking about how I'm going to put this into a graphic novel eventually has made me more aware of character interactions and settings. Pick up any comic or manga and you'll see intense action on nearly every page. It is harder to maintain that level in a book. I also realize this is my very first draft of this and there will be much rewriting to be done so I'm not even real worried about pace right now. There's something more bothering me.
I wish I could put my finger on it. Maybe I'm anxious because the first book is so close to coming out. Maybe it's because I don't feel ready to put a deadline on the second book.
I use to never understand authors who had writer's block. I never believed in it. Until I faced my own.
Am I scared of getting into this and facing another block? Am I afraid that I'll have a failure to launch with the first book and no one will even care about the second book?
It really is times like these when my main character, Steigan, gives me strength. I can hear him telling me to circle round my fear instead of letting it circle around me. To do the latter means that fear takes my strength, but in the former strength is gained from the energy of fear. It forces you to be your best, to think things through, to stay sharp. Yes, he would say, there is a mind-shift that occurs when one turns the tables on fear. Even now, I can feel it like a seed within me.
My first draft doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to be material to start with. Yes, I know what's going to happen in the story -- I should after all the time I've spent on it.
Good, strong characters come from the core of the author. Steigan is my core. When I feel like I'm going to shoot off in a million directions or fall to pieces, he steps in and reminds me to be who I am. He is my balance, my center. As long as I've listened to his noble advise, he's never led me astray. I'm glad to be telling his story.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
New Video for First Book Posted
I've posted a new video for the first book of the Sacred Knight series. In the video is the cover of the book, which has changed since the last post. Why don't you go watch it now, then I'll have a story.
So, after I announced my book cover to the world, I started asking some more people about the book cover. I really had an issue with the flare on the cover. To me, it made the light source look all wrong. Everyone I asked for an opinion said pretty much the same thing.
Now, what I found funny was that the males I asked like the flare and the females didn't. Doesn't that pretty much equate to men liking the bling and the women not liking the bling? Yeah, yeah, who said only girls like sparkly sparkles? Anyway, the flare is gone. I'm feeling much better about the cover.
At least I feel better for this moment in time. I still have another month to change it. Hmm....
If you like the videos, please "like" them and share them with your friends. Let's get the word out. Thank you!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Book Cover
It's done! The cover for Sacred Knight: The Three Books. I painted it myself. I really like being a Do-It-Yourself girl. Let me know what you think.
If you want to see the painting in progress as I built it up, check out my Facebook art fan page.
Time is growing close. April 28th is coming. Things are coming together. I'm so ready!
If you want to see the painting in progress as I built it up, check out my Facebook art fan page.
Time is growing close. April 28th is coming. Things are coming together. I'm so ready!
Thursday, March 17, 2011
What about the graphic novel?
If you've been following along on my other blog, or on my Sacred Knight facebook page, or have been one of my friends on this long path of developing the story, you might now be wondering what's happening to the graphic novel.
If you're new to the Sacred Knight world, then here's a bit of backstory. I had a long battle with myself about whether to do continue writing the novel or not when I changed it to a graphic novel. I finally decided to do both. Of course, that meant time. It does take awhile to write and to draw a comic (especially one that's an undertaking of this magnitude). I also didn't feel my art skills were where I wanted them to be to draw this story how I want to. In order to do my passion justice, I needed time to learn more and gain confidence.
I did release the first chapter as a segment, but after some distance from the story, I realized it wasn't as good as I wanted it to be. I still needed more time.
So, I decided to work on the book. Even though I had it all scripted out for the graphic novel, I knew it might change when I wrote the book. So, again, another battle with myself. Did I just need to write the book first when I so badly wanted to do it as a graphic novel?
At long last, I decided to just write it. I had the dialogue and basic actions. I knew where I was going with the story. Really all that was left was to add some narrative and setting to it.
Well, that's all fine and dandy. It worked well until I started editing the manuscript. Then I realized dialogue needed changed for clarity. So I've been going back and forth between my manuscript and the script making sure that the dialogue is the same between the two.
Even the dialogue in chapter 1 changed. This means that the first issued segment will need redone (not that I'm shocked, surprised, or even disappointed by this). In fact, I'm rather glad. I'd already decided to use the first part as a storyboard and redo it. With Manga Studios 4, I'll be able to color the graphic novel (which has been another thing to learn).
What does this mean overall? Well, I have a few physical copies of my first chapter of Sacred Knight left. If you want a copy of the original black and white with the hopes that it becomes a collector's issue, head on over to Morning Sky Studios to purchase a copy. I believe I only printed 50 copies. Imagine if you could go back and get a first edition Harry Potter Year 1, or a rough draft of Twilight! This might be your last chance.
You can also check it out on webcomicsnation. Starting this weekend, I'll be uploading the remaining pages to the first chapter.
So, I'll keep writing the books for now and working on the graphic novel revamp. I hope you'll go out and share this story with your friends. Together, we can make this grow together.
If you're new to the Sacred Knight world, then here's a bit of backstory. I had a long battle with myself about whether to do continue writing the novel or not when I changed it to a graphic novel. I finally decided to do both. Of course, that meant time. It does take awhile to write and to draw a comic (especially one that's an undertaking of this magnitude). I also didn't feel my art skills were where I wanted them to be to draw this story how I want to. In order to do my passion justice, I needed time to learn more and gain confidence.
I did release the first chapter as a segment, but after some distance from the story, I realized it wasn't as good as I wanted it to be. I still needed more time.
So, I decided to work on the book. Even though I had it all scripted out for the graphic novel, I knew it might change when I wrote the book. So, again, another battle with myself. Did I just need to write the book first when I so badly wanted to do it as a graphic novel?
At long last, I decided to just write it. I had the dialogue and basic actions. I knew where I was going with the story. Really all that was left was to add some narrative and setting to it.
Well, that's all fine and dandy. It worked well until I started editing the manuscript. Then I realized dialogue needed changed for clarity. So I've been going back and forth between my manuscript and the script making sure that the dialogue is the same between the two.
Even the dialogue in chapter 1 changed. This means that the first issued segment will need redone (not that I'm shocked, surprised, or even disappointed by this). In fact, I'm rather glad. I'd already decided to use the first part as a storyboard and redo it. With Manga Studios 4, I'll be able to color the graphic novel (which has been another thing to learn).
What does this mean overall? Well, I have a few physical copies of my first chapter of Sacred Knight left. If you want a copy of the original black and white with the hopes that it becomes a collector's issue, head on over to Morning Sky Studios to purchase a copy. I believe I only printed 50 copies. Imagine if you could go back and get a first edition Harry Potter Year 1, or a rough draft of Twilight! This might be your last chance.
You can also check it out on webcomicsnation. Starting this weekend, I'll be uploading the remaining pages to the first chapter.
So, I'll keep writing the books for now and working on the graphic novel revamp. I hope you'll go out and share this story with your friends. Together, we can make this grow together.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Sacred Knight - story overview trailer
Welcome to the Sacred Knight blog.
How about a quick overview of what the story is all about.
Watch for more videos the the release of the first book in the series (The Three Books) coming April 28th!
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