Anyone else out there using OneNote as a writing tool? Normally, I’m a big fan of OpenOffice, but this is one tool that OO doesn’t have and it’s really, really nice.

The original story had characters I liked. Some, I really liked. And those are back for the new story and this time, they have a real honest-to-goodness adventure to be had. Murder, mayhem, explosions, damsels in distress, and a dragon. If it sounds cliche, don’t worry, it’s part of the charm of the story. The characters are aware of just how predictable this seems and their complacence will get them in the end. Or will it?

Thanks to the gang over at community.podiobooks.com for the boost in enthusiasm. I wasn’t really down on myself or the story, just getting honest with the fact that I went in half-cocked and now I’m paying the price. I’m reminded of the many starts and restarts Patrick E. McClean had for his “How to Succeed in Evil” story. I loved every incarnation, but the final product was awesome.

So a lesson learned is a good thing, right? In the end, fear not dear readers, a story is coming and (knock on wood) 2010 sees the publication of my first novel.

So let it be written…

1. First person perspective – It’s just sloppy. I’m putting myself in place of the main character and he needs to be his own man…so to speak.
2. No outline. I had one in my head, but as the book moves along, I’m losing track of it and now the whole thing just stalled. I’d it stalled in Act II, but it just seems like it’s still in Act I and going nowhere. An outline would have helped. A lot.
3. Too many characters. I wanted to make it an ensemble thing (which is where mistake #1 is really biting me in the butt), but it’s just too much. I need to make this more personal, focus on the main character.
4. The world is epic and cool…but I leave it all behind for a sea adventure in the first two chapters. That was just stupid. This is a steampunk/spellpunk world and we don’t get to see any of it while the ship is on the run. Again, I’m dumping the ship and the crew and focusing on one character. That isn’t to say they won’t come back, but that’ll be where the outline comes in handy.

Well, that’s that. Back to the drawing board. Hope everyone had a great holiday and has a fantastic new year.

Check out the AUDIO VERSION of Chapter One of Embarkation. That’s right boys and girls, a first pass at an audio version of the book.

There’s hope for this bad boy yet!

Click here for Chapter One

There’s also a standalone page for the book series. Click the “Crystal Tech” tab up top. Enjoy!

Anyone out there have any good tips to get yourself focused? Music? Environment? Anything?

On the upside, I have an improv perfomance this weekend. Always good to be in front of an audiance.

I like this idea. I like it a lot. The story’s really shaping up now with some great characters and some fantastic action.

Keep up to date and follow me on Twitter.

1. I can’t seem to find a definitive word count for novels. They seem to range from 50,000 to 80,000. Some sites say at least 70,000 for first-time authors to submit for publication, so I’m going with that.
2. I’ve got a fair amount of rewriting and “detailing” to go back and do. Once I do that, it will most likely add at another 10K (or more) to the whole book, based solely on what I’ve got in mind for Chapter One.

I know a book is “as long as it takes to tell the story” but I have a lot of story in my head and I don’t see Crystal Tech as your conventional fantasy/sci-fi novel trilogy, more like a series (a la Dresden Files) with recurring characters.

And speaking of Chapter One, I’m going to take another pass at it soon. Probably when I finish the current chapter (#5) to “finish it off.” I want something for people to preview (that’s closer to the finished product) and I want something I can start recording that people can listen to and allows me to practice recording and editing audio.