Category: writing

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Draft blurb – When All’s Said and Done

Not sure exactly how happy I am with it, but here’s the draft of the blurb for When All’s Said and Done.

I will probably revise it in the future, but this is what was written over coffee this morning and revised this evening.

The Institute was dead.

Ky Thatcher has spent the last four years of her life trying to forget.  Then one August night, a ghost from her past brings reality slamming home: she has neither forgiven nor forgotten the organization that kidnapped her when she was nine years old.

The Institute was still alive.

For Ky and her allies, it becomes a race against time to stop the Institute before more lives are lost and more innocents can be broken.  Confronting horrifying truths and far-reaching conspiracies, the angels and their newfound protectors bring the fight right to the Institute’s doorstep, knowing the price they may pay could be higher than they can bear.

The Institute has a plan.

The end is coming–they will make it happen, with or without their wayward angels, even as those angels make war on them.  For the Institute, their goals are worth the blood spilled.  Sacrifices must always be made, after all.

When all is said and done, no matter what the cost, the Institute will fall.

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March 2019 writing goals

So February was a little rough for me with writing and goals (as some might have noticed and my sister heard yesterday over drinks while we were hanging out in Chicago).  This semester has been the first in a while when I actually had midterms and actually needed to study for them–and a month of wild weather left me exhausted (and has had me doing rounds with an upper respiratory bug).  This said, March is a new month and I fully intend to do some catching up during said month, and as such some of the goals for the month will be adjusted accordingly.

The Breakdown:

This week:

  • Blurb When All’s Said and Done (original deadline was February 28 and I just did not get it done)
  • Brief write-up for untitled John and Tim UNSETIC yarn (I have locked down narration (third) and determined lead (both) but am not 100% certain on setting so I need to roll that around a little more an do a brief write up)
  • At least one chapter of Lost and Found (making up from the two I missed for February)

By March 15:

  • Storyboard and plot the untitled John and Tim UNSETIC yarn
  • Determine the supporting cast for the John and Tim UNSETIC yarn
  • Complete another chapter of Lost and Found

By March 30:

  • Develop main plot and subplots of the untitled John and Tim UNSETIC yarn
  • Figure out a title for the untitled John and Tim UNSETIC yarn
  • Blurb the untitled John and Tim UNSETIC yarn

By April 1:

  • Finish 5 chapters of Lost and Found during the month of March (this number includes the previous chapters indicated above)
  • Start the first draft of the untitled John and Tim UNSETIC yarn
  • Lock down scope, cast, and length of UNSETIC Files: Pawns
  • Finish outline for Epsilon: Redeemer
  • Blurb Epsilon: Redeemer
  • Remember to wish my mom and dad a happy 41st anniversary

This week I’ve treated myself to a little vacation in Chicago for a few days (thanks to my spring break from GVSU and a much-needed actual day off from work).  Yesterday was spent hanging out with my sister followed by dinner with our brother and my sister’s boyfriend (who is just as awesome as my siblings and sister-in-law, which is pretty damn awesome), so Tuesday was a pretty full day.  I anticipate today being a little more low-key and will be setting my own pace–which will likely involve a lot of coffee, maybe a few drinks, and a whole lot of writing if things go according to the mental plan I’m currently laying out for myself.

As always, thanks for reading and thanks for your support!

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Ask Erin – February 2019 edition

This month, Brandon took advantage of his ability to ask questions about my process.  I’m going to try to answer those questions in tonight’s post, with apologies for the delay! (I’ve been fighting a cold since just about the day he asked me)

The Question: What sort of thought do you put into dialogue and how it reflects on the character?  Like word choice, manner of speaking, and such like that — is it a big deal or just something that kind of develops along the way with a character?

The Short Answer: It’s both.

The Longer Answer:  In a lot of ways, it really depends on the character, but typically their manners of speaking and word choice develop pretty quickly in the process of writing them.  There are some characters where I’ve consciously gone into it thinking about certain types of phraseology that they’d use, certain colloquialisms, accents, and other things like that.  A good example of this is characters like Bryn Knight and Kate Berkshire, both of whom are from the UK, so their manner of speaking and their word choice is a little different from their counterpoints.  Characters like Reverend Stonard from What Angels Fear and Erakiah from Measure of Dreams also had some very deliberate choices made about how they speak which reflects on their character as a person and the image they want to convey to the world.  By the same token, at certain points characters speak in ways that aren’t necessarily totally in their character (Tim at points in Measure of Dreams) and that is also meant to show a shift in the character.

At the end of the day, though, the manner of speaking does tend to develop with the character.  Each of them have their own voices which I hope is more or less distinct and reflective of their characters overall.

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February 2019 writing goals

In an effort to make myself accountable to more than just myself, it’s time to talk about February’s writing goals (woo!).

February is going to be a month heavy on some planning for When All’s Said and Done, which is really the cornerstone work in the Lost Angel Chronicles.  It’s also the month where I start plotting out Epsilon: Redeemer (hopefully for the last time, but we’ll see!) and a new project in the UNSETIC Files universe…but more on that project when I start actually working on it.  I’ll also be writing at least two more chapters of Lost and Found this month (possibly more).

All of this on top of academics–which should be interesting this semester as well.

The breakdown:

By 2/10:

  • Plot the rest of When All’s Said and Done

By 2/15:

  • Determine what needs a rewrite for When All’s Said and Done
  • Determine if i’m keeping first person narration or switching to third person narration (and possibly adding another narrator)

By 2/20:

  • Determine who my narrator (narrators) will be for When All’s Said and Done

By 2/28:

  • Determine if I just need to rewrite some parts of When All’s Said and Done or completely start over
  • Write the blurb for When All’s Said and Done

By 3/1:

  • Write 2 more chapters of Lost and Found
  • Determine setting for the untitled John and Tim bonding project
  • Determine POV (first of third) for the John and Tim bonding project
  • Determine who’s going to be the lead for the John and Tim bonding project (may be both of them)

Ongoing:

  • Outline and plot the current draft of Epsilon: Redeemer

I’m also planning on at least two writestreams this month–if not more!  One of those might be one spent plotting out a project.  Time will tell!

Here’s to another fun month (I hope).