DOING THE WORK!

Alexander rides Bucephalus eastward to his conquests

It's done!  After literally years of work writing, workshopping,rewriting,editing, compiling my historical fiction novel Shadow of the Lion is finally on its journey into the big wide world of publishing. First step, I sent it to my historical fiction author friend in the States who is going to read it and forward it to his agent/publisher. Then we'll see what comes next. I feel a great sense of relief (especially after a heart-stopping moment yesterday when I went to finalize the script only to find my entire document file of Shadow notes, versions, etc had disappeared.) I freaked out! But once I calmed down and searched, I found it in the trash box.  Don't ask me how it got there. But for sure now I will get everything on the external hard drive and a zip file. (I had other versions on zips but as I had just finished the editing and was adding things like acknowledgements and authors' notes I was waiting til later that day to save it somewhere else.)  At any rate, it's safe and now in the hands of my friend. 

I have a lot of people to thank for helping me, encouraging me and sticking with me during this long, long adventure which took about as long (if not longer) than Alexander's trek across Asia. But I know in the end it is a great story, a piece of literary fiction not just fluff. And paying out a lot of money to a pro editor was worth the investment in the end. What I sent off was as polished as I could get it. Of course, it was a lot of work. But if you want to succeed as a writer, especially a novelist, you have to be prepared to DO THE WORK!  Author Steven Pressfield has written several blogs on this subject, stressing that it is important to dedicate your time to your writing.  If all you do is poke away at it once a week or randomly, it will never get finished. Determination. Dedication. Discipline. These are key words for a writer.

Of course, in the early years of writing and researching Shadow I was also working full time or at least part time so I had to schedule my writing times. At first it was usually one week night and weekends and I jotted down notes in between. During the '90's when I was seriously working on the novel I had the good fortune to live in Greece six months of the year for several years running and this allowed me time for research and writing. Even when I was there I had to discipline myself though, and always wrote from 11 am to 4 pm before I allowed myself to venture out and hang out at the tavernas or beach. These past years since I retired from daycare work I have devoted all of my time to writing, including instructing writing classes in order to top up my pension.

To make sure I'm not wasting time I keep a daily time sheet and this includes actual writing/editing time as well as attending writer's groups, events, research etc. That way I can see if I am shirking (and it is also in case I ever get audited as a self-employed writer I can prove I am not just putting in time as a hobby).  And yes, some days I am working (writing) longer hours than I would in an office.

Now that Shadow of the Lion is finished, I still have a pile of projects to attend to. First, I want to finish the half-written Celtic novel Dragons in the Sky which I had begun long ago and set aside in order to write Shadow. And then I want to start browsing through old journal notes to compile my memoirs Life Below the Acropolis. In addition to this, I must get more travel articles written.  And I promise I'll try to be more diligent at posting here on my blog.

START, STOP & START AGAIN: How to Keep Going With Your Novel

Alexander on his horse Bucephalus, riding East to his conquest of Persia

When Alexander mounted his horse Bucephalus, and rode east to drive the Persians out of Greek territories in Asia Minor, did he imagine how long his journey would take, or how far he would travel?

Alexander's journey took ten years with many battles and several stop-overs, ending with his death in Babylon in 323 BC.  His legacy lived on for fourteen more years until the murder of his family members ended his dynasty.

The royal city of Pella, in Macedonia (northern Greece) where Alexander was born.

My journey with Alexander as I wrote "Shadow of the Lion" took just as long, involving much research (which included the first of several visits to Pella as well as other Alexander sites in Greece and Turkey).  At the time, I had been working on a Celtic novel, which also happens to have an Alexander connection, but it had become bogged down, so I changed my focus.  After a year of research I started writing the story about Alexander's little-known legal heir, Alexander IV (who uses his Persian name, Iskander, in my novel.)  "Shadow of the Lion" was intended to be a juvenile historical but after a year of writing, I realized it was too political a story to be told as a 'juvenile' and it was suggested by a published kid's book writer that I begin again and tell it the way it would work best.

Then came the more complicated part as I decided to write it in a multiple point of view. Lots more research required.  Several more trips to Greece (living there six months at a time while I researched and wrote.  note: when I first began the original manuscript I was working full time in daycare.  In 1993 I quit my full-time work so I could concentrate on my novel and during the '90's spent a lot of time living part-time in Greece, researching and traveling to Alexander sites.)  My novel begins in Babylon, at the time of Alexander's death.  It ends in Alexandria, Egypt.  I have as yet not visited Egypt and, of course, could not visit the site of ancient Babylon in Iraq, so this was part of my research.  The Persians play an important role in my novel so I also did extensive research about their culture and history.

Ancient Babylon



Alexander made several stops along his route where he established colonies.  He got as far as the Hydaspes River in India and would have pressed farther east had his men not insisted on going back.  My novel got stalled a couple of times along the way,  once when I took two years off to revise and rewrite a play that was later successfully produced ("The Street: A Modern Tragedy", 2000).  I also took breaks to do travel writing and started another play based on the life of the lyric poet Sappho which I later shelved to focus entirely on the novel. 

How did Alexander keep focused on his goal, to conquer the world and bring Hellenism to Asia?  He was possessed by his desire to keep going east and he achieved his goal by determination and skill which was undermined in the end by his manic behavior and excesses.  In writing a novel you have to be possessed by determination and a will to achieve your goal. At times (to your unwriterly friends) it might seem a bit 'manic' as you become consumed with your characters and story.   They will possess your life;  you live with them, consult with them, write about them every day, sometimes (like me) for years.  You need the tenacity of a dog with a bone to be able to not let go until you achieve your goal.  Sure, sometimes you need to take a break, step back, look at things through fresh eyes.  And sometimes doubt and resistance will definitely stand in your way.  But you have to believe in what you are doing and keep your eye on that vision. 



One thing a lot of novice novel writer's do is to work on too many different projects at one time.  Often they don't have a clear idea of where they are going with the novel before they begin, so they get easily lost along the way.  I found that once I established the 'theme' for my novel and mapped out the route (I was writing from a historical plot so knew which way I was going)it was easier to get started and stay on track. 

When I found myself being too distracted, I set aside other work I was doing (the Sappho play, for one) and decided I must focus totally on "Shadow of the Lion" if I ever wanted to get it finished.  As I am a travel journalist and also write weekly for an on-line travel magazine as well as editing and publishing my own, that meant I had to organize my time. Although I am now a full-time writer, I spend a certain number of hours a week instructing writing classes.  And there is always the on-going distractions that we are confronted with:  our day-to-day lives, social and work commitments, and at home those big distractions like the TV, telephone and Internet!

 So I asked myself what was the most important thing?  Well, my novel came first.  Any travel stories I haven't had time to write, I knew I could do once I finished Shadow.  Finishing my novel was the most important thing I wanted to do so I set the goal (for at least the tenth time) to finish it by the end of 2010.  And I did!

Now comes the editing and cutting, which is not the writer's job, but the editor's.  So I can resume my 'writer's' role and now catch up on those travel stories, blogs, and the last act of the play that I have neglected.  And once I am caught up with that I intend to resume writing the other work-in-progress novel that I set aside way back when I thought I could write the juvenile historical about Alexander's son and have it finished in a year! 

There are many challenges ahead on the road to publication, but I can begin 2011 with a great sense of achievement.  The story of the fall of Alexander's dynasty has been told.  Now it must be made available for others to read.





WRITING IS WORK!

Don't kid yourself. Writing is work. And it can be very difficult work that requires a lot of concentration and skill. Some people think it's 'glamorous' to be a writer, believing that somehow novels are produced by osmosis or some kind of magical abrecadabra system. It's not true. Writing IS work.

It took me a long time to reach the point where I could say "I'm a full time writer", but that doesn't mean I just laze around home all day, playing at the computer, going on adventures, spinning tales. No. I really have to work at it if I want to make my writing 'pay'. Unfortunately this isn't as easy as a non-writer might think. For one thing, it's a big deal just trying to stay focused on what I'm supposed to be doing. There are countless distractions and I'm an expert at procrastinating or finding something more interesting to occupy my time. How many times a day does one need to check their e-mail or visit Facebook? That's just the beginning of all the numerous ways there are to avoid doing the 'work'.

In spite of teaching classes at which I go over the 'rules' of being a successful writer, I don't necessarily pay attention to them myself. Rome didn't get built in a day. Neither did a best selling novel.

Writing can be very discouraging work as well. If you are working on a novel, it can seem endless. Don't kid yourself into believing that a novel can be whipped up in a few months. It sometimes takes years! And don't think just because you have a good idea for a story that you'll be able to spin that story out in just a draft or two. Writing, rewriting, editing...it's endless!

Just to remind myself of the pitfall of writing, I will write down some of the basic 'rules' here and perhaps in doing so it will stimulate me to start paying attention to the task(s) at hand, because I have to do this in order to make any new headway on the novel (which is still not completely finished) and to also make time for the travel writing that I must do. As the travel writing (for Planet Eye Traveler and freelance markets) is one of my sources of income, this is very important. I also teach writing classes, another source of income that allows me the privilege of being a 'full time writer', but this also takes a lot of preparation. So it is most important to be organized and discipline. Someone recently wrote a statement that 'writing is 5% talent and 95% perseverance' Well, in the first place you need way more than 5% talent to write successfully otherwise it's a waste of your time. But you definitely need a lot of perseverance, maybe even 100%! Writing is not easy and it can be downright discouraging. So be be successful you must persevere.

What does it take to be a writer? Basic ability is not enough. You must observe these 5 D's: DESIRE, the desire to write that novel more than anything else! DRIVE: the drive to get started. DETERMINATION: the will to continue whatever the stumbling blocks and difficulties encountered along the way (there will be lots!); DISCIPLINE; The discipline to writer every day, whatever your mood; DEDICATION - to the project until the very last page is finished. At all costs, avoid this 6th "D" DISTRACTIONS: the enemy of all writers. And then there is the very important "C": COMMITMENT. When you start a project such as a novel, you must be committed if you want to finish the work. Sure, sometimes you need to take a break, do some other kind of writing, or tend to personal affairs, but if you are serious about your work you will come back to it refreshed and with new ideas that will help you COMPLETE your project.
This novel will be with you for a long time, so you better have thought about it beforehand. When it's ready to be written, you'[ll know. It will be with you day and night. You'll even dream about it. So, if you prefer painting, cooking or watching TV, forget it! Now, get busy and start WORKING!






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PROGRESS REPORT #57: TYING UP LOOSE ENDS

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL MY BLOGGER FRIENDS
and
HAPPY AND SUCCESSFUL WRITING IN THE NEW YEAR

As the year draws to a close, it's time to tie up loose ends, the unfinished business of 2009 so there will be a clean slate to begin the New Year, 2010.

I have set a goal to write THE END on my novel by the last day of December, 2009. Of course, because I am working under a deadline it makes the task seem harder than usual. The only way I will achieve my goal is to make sure I write a bit each day, and so far I've managed to do that. However, I'll be away over the Christmas holidays so at the best I'll just make notes. This means that next week (from the 28th) there's going to be a big push on to finally finish it.

It seems more complicated now, although I took time to sit down and carefully map my way, untangle the time-lines with all the plots and sub-plots. Now I'm tying up the loose ends so there won't be any gaps in the story (holes in the tapestry). I realize some things can be left ambiguous, but others need some kind of conclusion.

It's like the end of an affair, really. I'm saying goodbye to friends, people I've created or those (historical) who I've breathed life into. And some of them I love very much. So I don't want to leave the reader feeling as if the last chapter of the story was ripped out of the book -- the way some affairs end (at least, one of mine did!). Of course, when I finish, and go back to do the final editing and cutting on this huge manuscript, I will have a clearer picture of how I have woven the tapestry, and if there are mistakes, I can correct them. For now, I want to finish but just like I'm weaving on a loom, I don't want to drop any of the threads and spoil the pattern.

So this is the way I am working: I go through what I've written, see if there is anything missing. Yes? Then I map out a scene to add. Just like I'm filling in pieces of a jig-saw puzzle, I can see where I need to add something. And I make notes. Then I work at the computer. Then I edit. Then I go back and do the same. I'll eventually workshop each of the new scenes and then go back to do more edits/adds/deletes. But at least, if I can write THE END by December 31, I'll feel as though I have accomplished one of the biggest, most important projects of my life so far.

What then? Then I will go back to my Celtic novel, the one that has been sitting in a box waiting for me to complete Shadow of the Lion, and I will try to finish it for next year's project.

PROGRESS REPORT 44: UNCERTAINTY

Elephants and mahouts

I was uncertain about what to title this blog. For myself, in the last weeks of not being able to find time to write, I was uncertain about if I'd finish by the end of the year as I'd hoped. But my classes are over now and my time freed up. So I'm back at work on the novel and in the last two days I've finished another chapter and perhaps today will complete one more that had already been partially written. This means, if I stay on track perhaps I will achieve my goal.

The other uncertainty has been this nagging thought I've had ever since I was at the writer's conference and sat in on several workshops. Most authors emphasized the importance of point of view in your novel. Well, mine is a multiple point of view. It was suggested that I have a singular point of view throughout that is more important than the others, a main protagonist.

Well perhaps Roxana is the one to fit that role, but there are others just as important who were the key players in the fall of Alexander's dynasty. So I've tried to give them equal voices throughout the novel. Will this work? Will an editor turn down my story because there isn't a strong main protagonist? I refer to the work of Mary Renault, in particular her "Funeral Games" which is the same period of history that "Shadow of the Lion" is, with most of the same characters and events. In that novel she has done what I'm doing in Shadow. There is no singular main character -- unless you say it's the spirit of Alexander -- which in Shadow is really the case. Alexander is the 'shadow' throughout the story from page one, and the entire plot hinges around him and his dynasty even though he is dead. So that's my dilemma. And will that work?

I guess I can only wait and see.

And there's uncertainty facing my characters in this part of the story, too. They've been trapped inside the fortress at Pydna for the winter and many of them have died, including the old mahout Sadu. In this chapter segment, little 7-year old Iskander has witnessed the death of his beloved friend and the full horror of what is happening in his world. It was a grim chapter to write and there's more to come, so it's been a slow process to get the right emotion in the text.
This is new writing that hasn't been workshopped yet, but you'll get the gist of it.

As he left the place of death and darkness, the child caught one last glimpse of Old Pearl standing quietly by Sadu’s empty sleeping mat. She lifted her trunk and gave a long, mournful trumpet that sent shivers down his spine.

He straightened his shoulders. Tears shone on his cheeks and a sob escaped from his chest but he lifted his chin bravely. All his life he had been touched by death, stalked by the dark Shades who wait beyond the River. He had witnessed it more times than he could remember -- men fallen in battles, the Chaldean Magus who had been like grandfather to him, the aged Regent Antipater who had called him to his deathbed.. He was haunted always by the Shadow his invincible father, the prowling lion of his dreams, who had died just before his birth. Now, the mahout, Sadu, who taught him how to ride on Old Pearl’s neck, and told him stories about Rajah Porus. And soon, he knew, Old Pearl would die too.

The sun had gone down in the west and there were blood streaks in the sky. He glanced once at the wood pyre where they would burn Sadu’s body and walked away, forcing himself to look stonily ahead. Spitama tried to reassure him but no amount of reassurance could banish the truth. The gods had deserted them. His Mama and Grandmama had lied. The ships would never come, neither would Polyperchon and his army. They were all going to die here.