Epilogue in the Garden

 Hi All. I'm still working on the Epilogue while I enjoy a single malt in the garden.

It's forecast to rain with thunderstorms from tomorrow, so no more outside writing moments for a while.

I was watching a youtube video the other day by a writer named Jerry B. Jenkins, where he supposedly has 13 rules to becoming a writer. One of these is to have a dedicated space. Well on this count I fail completely. I write anywhere I want: in the garden, on the beach, in the lounge, in the study, in coffee shops, and even in bed. I have the main laptop I'm using now, and also a small chrome book which I can take anywhere - For the record, I use Google Docs rather than Microsoft Word as (a) it's free, (b) the storage is free and (c) it's not by Microsoft :-)

See how you get on with this. I didn't:

That's all for now,

John Howes.

Proof - Still Writing

I swear this isn't just posed. Writing the Epilogue in the garden at night. Yes, that is a banana tree in the background!

Forgive me, father, for I have sinned. It's been two years since my last blog post.

So after teasing us with a new book, what the heck have you been up to John?

I suppose I'm too old for the dog ate my homework, so I'll just need to fess up.

I'm still working on my fantasy opus.

• It's finished!
• Well actually not quite.
• There's the editing - I've just finished the third read through, and now I'm using some tools to check the grammar and punctuation etc.
• After much internal debate, I decided to add an epilogue. It's a section of story I was going to add to the next volume, but I decided it fitted better in this one.

Other things have also solidified:

• After much flip-flopping, I've decided on a cover artist. It's one of the leading names in the business. A lot more expensive, but the quality is excellent. I'll be sharing some more details in a future post.
• Every good Fantasy story needs a map. I currently have a hand-drawn map which I was going to digitize using photoshop. I've discovered a specific map-making tool which I will be using instead. I'll be having a go soon, and I'll share my experiments with you.

I still don't know how many parts the first book will be split into. I haven't started the formatting yet.

Whatever happens, I promise to blog at least once a week from now on.

You can also catch my random ramblings on Twitter and Instagram. I'm very new to Instagram, so please be gentle.

That's all for now.

Cheers,

John H.

Fantasy Opus 320K

So I've finally cracked 320,000 words, which is more than A Game of Thrones and about the same as the first two books in the Lord of the Rings. Yet I'm still not finished. There's quite a way to go yet, and our hero's have more trials to withstand before the end.

I'm often asked several questions when I tell anyone I'm an author, and that I'm self published:

Q: How many books have you sold?

A: I don't know exactly, but it's true to say that while my first novel, Zero Magenta, may have been a critical success, I'm not going to be quitting my day job. The number is very small, but the point of my first novel was to prove to myself that I could do it, and that people might enjoy reading something I'd written.


Q: Why are you writing under your own name?

A: I was born with this name and I have no problem with it, although absolutely nobody is named John anymore. I decided to use my own name for both science fiction and fantasy, although i'll use a pseudonym if i write in any other genres.


Q: How many pages have you written?

A: In the world of electronic books, page counts are irrelevant as you can view the text how you wish. The number of pages will vary depending on whether you read on a phone, tablet or in print.


Q: When will you finish your next novel?

A: The $64,000 question! Frankly I don't know. I have many competing interests in my life, but be assured that I'm still writing. Even after I've finished the first draft, there will be a lot of editing, formatting and I need to get the cover art designed. I'm hoping for the end of this year, but I'm not rushing it to meet some artificial deadline. I'm currently in the book's final act, and probably three to four chapters from the end. I find it easiest to write while I'm on holiday, as the distractions are fewer. I've just written about a thousand words today, and I'm writing this blog, sat in the garden. Britain is having an epic heatwave.


Q: What is the new book about?

A: It's an epic fantasy in the tradition of the Lord of the Rings. I've been inspired by the works of Tolkien and Stephen Donaldson in particular. Although some elements of the story may feel familiar, I've put my own contemporary twist on the narrative. As much as I loved the Lord of the Rings, there were always a number of areas which I didn't understand, like the severe lack of female characters, and the fact that orcs are just evil, without any explanation why. I've always preferred stories which have shades of grey, rather than black and white.


Q: Is it like Game of Thrones?

A: The Game of Thrones TV show is fantastic, but I could never write anything with so much gratuitous sex and violence. While my novel will be adult, its not a horror.


Q: Will I like it?

A: If you enjoy epic Fantasy, then I really hope you enjoy my book (Title TBD), but if you don't, then it's unlikely. I'll certainly be interested to hear your thoughts either way.


That's all for now.

Cheers,

John Howes.

Ready Player One

A Love Letter to geeks everywhere:

My Own copy of Ready Player One

I've just seen Steven Spielberg's take on Ernest Cline's book: Ready Player One, and felt compelled to write a few words while it's still fresh in my mind. I have a very special reason for taking such an interest in this movie - it was the book which inspired me to write, and publish my first book, Zero Magenta, in 2015.

Ernest Cline's book is simply written and easy to follow. I read it while on holiday one year and just couldn't put it down. I didn't get all the 80's or gamer references but there was enough to make me smile. I remember playing Atari's Tempest and loving the graphics, although being frustrated at how hard the game was, and I also remember watching War Games at the local Odeon, with my first ever girlfriend. Neither of these moments from the book make it into the movie but it's easy to understand why. The audience for 80's movie and video game nostalgia is pretty small, so Spielberg has broadened the appeal to include those familiar with Halo, Overwatch, and Jurassic Park. There are some oblique references to John Hughes and Robotron ("Intruder Alert!"), but watching Ready Player One simply to spot the Easter Eggs misses the point. (If you think an Easter Egg is a chocolate confectionery you get at Easter, you're obviously not a gamer).

So is it any good? Most of the reviews I've seen for the movie give it a three out of five, mediocre at best, but I would score it at least a four. Unlike most of the dim witted super hero films, Ready Player One has real heart; It even resonates with the current stories surrounding companies like EA and how they're trying to bleed players dry through micro transactions. While more of a love story than the book, the movie rips along at a good pace and introduces us to a band of instantly likable characters. The story may be thin and the ending never in doubt, but it's great fun and Mark Rylance proves again why he's one of the finest screen actors in the world. In fact given the number of American accents, it's interesting to note that a large proportion of the cast appears to be British, with many scenes of the dystopian city being filmed in Birmingham (tells you everything you need to know about Brum).

If you're a gamer, go see it, if you're a child of the eighties, go see it, and if you're neither of those things, go see it with your kids.

John Howes

Fantasy Opus 280K

Hi All,

I've just topped the 280K words mark, and I'm starting to plan the end of the story in detail. I do know how it ends, but some of the finer points need honing.
I've also bought myself a new Chromebook so I can more easily write on the go. This Blog was written on it:

It's an Asus Flip with a 10" screen. It's pretty good, although I prefer typing on a larger laptop when I can.

So my current plan reads like this:

• Finish the book (Obviously)
• Go through to sharpen the story and remove any inconsistencies and plot holes.
• Edit big time!
• Edit some more!
• Ask my Amazing wife to do an edit and proof read (please 💓)
• Proof read it myself
• Design the map using the sketches I already have
• Engage a cover artist (I have someone in mind)
• Submit the manuscript to some fantasy story reviewers and post it on a few fantasy web sites.
• Publish as an E-book (for kindle)
• Publish in a paperback through Create Space
• Publicise it everywhere.
• Set up a brief ad campaign
• Possibly look at doing my own audio book, if there's enough interest in the print version.
• Wait for the enormous royalties to come rolling in 😂😂
• Sell the story to film director Peter Jackson, and retire on my mountain of cash 😂😂😂😂

Regardless of how well the book does, I've enjoyed writing it, and there will be more. I have a list which includes a possible sequel, a hard science fiction story, a contemporary fantasy, a book of short stories (I have nine ideas for that) and a tongue-in-cheek polemic commentary on the state we're in.

Should keep me off the streets!

More soon.

Cheers.

John Howes.

Fantasy Opus 270K

Ok, it's been three months since my last post, but I'm still here plugging away. So where have I been? Firstly the pace of writing has slowed. There are a number of things I need to work out in the story, and also some more detail I need to add. These things take a lot of planning and a small amount of research.

Secondly, as I've discussed before, I know where the story goes and how it ends, so there;s not so much for me to discover on the way. This makes it less exciting to write, A bit like writing a whodunit when you already know whodunit! (Which is why I could never write a whodunit!)

270,000 words makes it bigger than:

• 2 Hobbits
• The First 3 Harry Potter books
• Ready Player One
• The Order of the Phoenix

I still expect the finished story to be around 300K making it about the same length as Game of Thrones.

Cover art will be professionally created, although I'm going to have a stab at creating my own map, just as the great J.R.R.Tolkien did himself. My wife bought me a Wacom tablet for Christmas, and I've been looking at some very helpful videos posted by Jessica Khoury (a fantasy writer in her own right) which brings me to the familiar subject of accidental plagiarism.

In these litigious days, when people will sue you for anything, a writer needs to be sure they haven't stolen any ideas either deliberately or accidentally. Many of the names in my book are inspired by real words but many are simply made up. Unfortunately one of my made-up names appears to have already been used by another fantasy writer, which means I now need to make up a new one. It's a real shame because I really like the name!

I still have many ideas for other stories and I aim to buy a new Chromebook soon, to allow me to write more effectively on the go. (My current laptop is too large for travel).

I aim to finish and publish the book this year, so watch this space.

That's all for now,

John Howes.

Fantasy Opus - 250K

Hi All,

The pace of writing has definitely slowed, and I've figured out why.

I'm getting close to the end now and I know exactly what happens in my own story. While there's still scope for discovery when the story is expanded into a narrative, I know where it goes so there's less for me to discover.

I've spoken to other writers who meticulously plan the entire novel from start to end, then often write it in a non-linear way (the way movies are often filmed). I would personally find that exceptionally boring. I have the entire story in my head, but I like it to bend and shape as I write it. Some characters I originally liked, have become less significant, and other's have come to the fore as I've developed their backgrounds.

I also have late ideas that change the story, which can be really fun, but as the end draws near I can see what happens to the characters, and I even know what they're going to say in around 50K words time.

While it's possible there could be a sequel, I have another couple of book ideas before I consider that:

One idea is a humorous polemic on the current state of our world. Not a novel, but something I would like to try. Not published under my real name.

The second would be a book of short stories. I have many sci-fi and fantasy story ideas, but they're not big enough to expand into a novel. Writers such as Philip K Dick and Ray Bradbury wrote many short stories. In fact it was a book by Bradbury which inspired me at school:

I hear that Hollywood is having another try at adapting Fahrenheit 451 for the big screen. A very apt choice in Trump's America. I can only aspire to be as good a writer.

Talking of inspirations: Of course Tolkien was a massive influence, but this is another series of books I read when I was at secondary school by Stephen Donaldson:

Not only did I enjoy The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, but I also loved the cover design.


That's all for now,

John Howes

Fantasy Opus - 240K

It's taken me a long time to get to this point as (a) i needed to plan this phase (b) the sun's been out and (c)  I've been having too much fun cycling, going to festivals and enjoying time with friends.

Today it's raining, so I've written over two thousand words just this morning. It can be hard to motivate myself sometimes, but I'll see the story to its conclusion whenever that may be. This will not be by Christmas as it'll need a lot of proof reading and editing first.

I've changed my mind on a few aspects and clarified a few others.

• The novel will be a single book, but I've had many ideas that could lead to a sequel if the reaction to the first book is good enough.
• The cover artist will probably not be Ravven. Much as I like her work, it tends to be quite YA (young adult), and I'm going for something which is more "adult-adult". I've been looking at the work of Deranged Doctor Design, and I'm finding myself drawn to their style.
• The actual title may have changed. I've had the same title in mind since the start, but it would lend itself better to a sequel, so the new title has come from an idea I had for the first book, when I was going to split it into three.

I've also had an idea for another book which would be more of a polemic and not published under my real name. It came out of something I say to my wife and is influenced by the current state of our world. Watch this space...

That's all for now,

John Howes.

Fantasy Opus - 220K

I'm just coming up to the 220K word mark in my fantasy novel and still wrestling with the format and cover art. Should it be a single novel or a trilogy, and should I design the cover art or engage an artist?

As the book is a single self contained story (although there are sequel possibilities), I'm starting to sway towards a single book. Especially as this makes the cover art and marketing simpler and cheaper.

I'm starting to think of using a cover artist, and my current favorite is Ravven. This is one of her works (From DeviantArt):

Her work is very striking and stands above other similar artists in my opinion.

A few more details about my "Fantasy Opus" (working title):

• The fantasy elements are in the vein of  Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones although it's more adult than the former and less gratuitous than the latter.
• It's definitely not YA (Young Adult) although there are plenty of interesting relationships. The characters are not all gorgeous white teenagers!
• There are fantasy creatures from international folklore and a few of my own creation.
• The story was inspired by (a) the few things I don't like about the Lord of the Rings, such as the lack of female characters and (b) a daydream I had about twenty years ago when I imagined a confrontation between two characters.
• Magic has rules. I don't like stories where all problems are solved by a spell or just waving the sonic screwdriver.
• There are a lot of characters, but that's the way I like it.
• The final word count will be around 300K which makes it a decent sized single fantasy novel, or several short books (about the size of twilight).

I don't know when I'll finish, but I know how the story progresses and how it ends. I intend to add an Epilogue to tie up any loose ends.

Here's a poem (not in the book - probably!) which describes one of the characters.

With eye of red and heart of stone,

he smote their limbs and crushed their bone.

Though cries of terror cut the air,

he ignored their pleas wrought in despair.

"Stop!" They yelled in language unknown,

a force of darkness, so far from home.

But his blade dripped blood, spilled in hate,

as the bodies piled before the gate.

© John Howes 2017

It's not all that dark! 😇

That's all for now,

Cheers

John Howes