Sub-Conflicts

I have managed to turn out over fifty pages this week, which is great. I feel like, okay, I can do this! I am now on page 118 and have a good chunk of the main plot introduced, all though I haven't really gotten to the meat and potatoes of the book yet, which is, of course, the journey to the oracle. I'm feeling okay about that, though, because I can't treat this story like it exists in a vacuum. I have elements from the first book that have to be incorporated and expanded upon, and I have to think about the four books that will follow this one. SO, while the Oracle is the main point of this book, it is only a part of the overall story, so it's okay if I spend some time on other things. Really what I see before me right now are three sub-conflicts: One that is internal for Darcy, one that she and Tellius will tackle together, and one between the Six and Colin Mackaby that they will hash out together with Rubidius. And all of these have to play court to the overall conflict of getting rid of Tselloch and closing the gateways to his world. I need to acknowledge, too, that there will probably be further sub-conflicts that will emerge as the story goes on. SO much to keep straight! It's fun, though, it really is, and every time I have a eureka moment about how to piece things together, I feel really good about myself. (That sounds rather self-absorbed, doesn't it? Oh well). I'm going to do my best to keep my momentum up, and I think I can really get this thing done by early August. My husband is going to read through the first couple chapters tomorrow and give me some much-needed feedback. Looking forward to that!

Getting Back on Track

Okay, so I've had a few delays this summer with my writing schedule. My boys were sick the first week of June, and then we took a family road trip the third week and I, unfortunately, did not get any real work done on The Oracle while we were visiting family in MN. (We did have a lot of fun, though). Driving 17 hours, and through the night nonetheless, does give one plenty of time to ponder plot, however, so I did get quite a bit of brainstorming done. I think it was sometime mid-Missouri in the middle of the night while all my boys (husband included) were sleeping that I figured out some pretty juicy details. My brain has always worked well late at night (or early in the morning, however you want to look at it), I often have a hard time falling asleep because my brain is so active after dark, so it was actually a pretty productive time for me. I also had the presence of mind to write down everything I came up with once we arrived at our friends' house. Aside from that, however, work on my book on the trip was nil. Okay, so taking stock of everything, I had about fifty pages completed when we left. In the five days that we've been home I have really put my nose to the grindstone to get back on track and I managed to write 28 pages. Unfortunately, that's not enough, so I have to pick up the pace. I figured out the math that if I am shooting for another 375 page novel, I need to write roughly 10 pages a day to finish by August 2nd when my teacher in-service begins. I could push the deadline back to finishing by the time school starts, though, which still puts me at about 7 pages a day. So let's just average things out to 7-10 pages a day. That's a little daunting, but I'll get it done. I'm through the most difficult portion of the writing, I think. My main characters are back in Alitheia and almost everything that needed to be re-introduced has been. I've also introduced a couple new characters that I'm pretty excited about and everything seems to be falling into place nicely for me to build to the real conflict of the story. I wrote a description of Tellius today, as he is at age 12, and, well, let's just say that adolescence is not always friendly. I should know, as I teach adolescents, and I get to observe their physical transformations. Some of them breeze through it, but it is really rough on others. I do have to say, though, sometimes the kids that look the most awkward through their adolescent years turn out to be the most attractive people in the end. *wink*

Rolling, rolling, rolling...

I really feel like the ball is rolling on The Oracle now. I have written 42 pages and, for the most part, have a clear idea of where the story is going. It's funny because I had diverged quite a bit from my outline and was just questioning the validity of even having an outline when I hit a little snag in the story and had to refer back to it to pull me back on track. The chapter I just finished (chapter 5: The Tail) is the longest chapter so far and I am on the cusp of sending the six main characters back to Alitheia. I'm excited to begin writing that stage of the book as it will be something quite different from anything I've written in the Chronicles so far. I have to now begin formulating in my mind how I am going to set up reintroducing Alitheia to my readers. The second book in any series is always difficult in this way: how does the author describe something in such a way as to be different from how it was described in the first book, but complete enough to introduce a potential new reader to the story? I don't want to describe everything the same way over and over again (there will be six books, after all). I just hope that I can provide my readers with sufficient diversity!

The First Hurdle

I can proudly say that I have completed the first two chapters of The Oracle. Obviously it is all a rough draft, but I really feel like I have gotten over the first hurdle. Even better, I really like what I've written so far, and this book has taken on its own identity almost immediately. It's always amazing to me how, once you get rolling, the characters lead you in different directions than you thought you were going to go. Not in very big ways, but significant enough for me to diverge from my outline within the first couple pages (that's what makes it a working outline, I suppose). At any rate, I think my readers will be pleased with how the book is shaping up. It's a little more mature (not in a bad way, in the sense that my main characters are now a year older and should act more mature) and while I think it maintains the spirit of the first book for continuity, it is also something completely new. Darcy is in a much different place at the opening of this book than she was at the opening of the last one, and I think people will be pleased to know that she's not going to be quite so disagreeable, at least, not right away. (She still has to be flawed, you know?) Anyhow, here's the first two chapter titles (liable to change!): Chapter 1: Darcy Has a Dream. Chapter 2: Questions Without Answers.
So long for now!

Almost there!

Goodness! It has been much too long since I have updated my blog! Well, here's my excuse: I'm a full-time school teacher and the school year is winding down. It's crazy right now, but school will be out in 4 short days and I am counting down the time until I can begin actually writing The Oracle. So I guess this is just a short update to anybody out there who cares that I have not disappeared off the face of the planet, and I have a novel in my head that is crying to get out! I hope to have weekly or biweekly updates on The Oracle throughout the summer.
So long for now!

Sneak Peak

Today I sat down and wrote the back cover of The Gateway Chronicles, book 2: The Oracle. Here it is in its entirety:

One year has gone by since Darcy Pennington’s life changed forever. A year ago she’d thought that magic only existed in fairy tales. A year ago the existence of parallel realms would have seemed preposterous to her. A year ago she’d had no real friends. Now all that had changed.

It is the summer before freshman year and a return to Cedar Cove Family Camp also means a return to Alitheia for Darcy and her five friends. The return to Alitheia is bittersweet for Darcy, however, as her elusive purpose and uncertain future in the magical realm continues to evade her. Egged on by the boy she is supposed to someday marry, Darcy sets out on a quest to find the Oracle, a mysterious entity that can answer any question. In the end, however, Darcy may discover that the answer to her question is not worth the cost of asking it.

I am looking for feedback on this, so don't hold back! It's only the first draft and I don't have any problem making changes. I am heading into Spring Break this week and hopefully I can get some work done on the book. We'll see! Either way, The Oracle will be published around Thanksgiving this year.

The Hook

I've put a great deal of thought into The Oracle (book 2 of the Gateway Chronicles) this month, particularly concerning what the hook for the second book should look like. Of course I already know what the story is going to be (I'd be in a great deal of trouble right now if I didn't at least have that figured out), but I think there is a great challenge to be met in drawing the reader into the story right away in the first chapter. Writing a good hook is always a challenge, but I think it's even more difficult when you have a series of stories like mine, in which the principle characters have to get to the other world before the real conflict of the story develops. The Six started off very gradually because it was introducing the entire series, and I want The Oracle to be a distinct break from that. I determined long ago that each book has to start in "our" world, so I took care in The Six to set up elements of conflict that can carry over from Alitheia to "here." And I think that just this morning I figured out exactly what the hook for book 2 should look like. (No, I'm not going to tell you!) Now that I know the beginning, I feel like I can finally start putting together the outline for the book.

Okay, I've been feeding peach puffs across the table to my ten-month-old, but I think he needs something more substantive. Now he's grabbing at the laptop. Time to go!