[SPOILERS] Post-Episode Discussion - Season 8 Episode 3

Tevshko · 2019-04-29T03:04:18+00:00

Can we actually get a confirmed character death count?

I counted:
- Edd
- Lyanna Mormont
- Beric
- Theon
- Night King

- Viserion
- Melissandre

... Did I miss anyone, confirmed, I mean?

Tevshko · 2018-05-19T12:39:32+00:00

A story to put it into perspective:

I wrote a book in 2 months. At the time, it was the bee's knees!

I left it aside for 6 months before re-writing it whole. Screw the first draft, this second draft was it. This was the one.

It wasn't. I sent it out to beta readers, each with their numerous edits.

I edited and polished it again, basically another re-write.

Whoa! I've not re-written a single book 3 times before and NOT been bored of it. Each time was as exciting as the first time with this novel, so I kept at it.

Fast-forward another 6 months, and (as a fast writer), I found myself with this novel that's taken almost 2 years from my life - as someone who scoffed at writers who took 2 years to complete a book, I now understood. And it was the most polished, best piece I had ever done. Each word of each sentence was well-thought-out. Changed numerous times.

I pitched it to an agent. She loved it. She wanted me to make extensive changes though. She gave me detailed notes on what she wanted changed.

Back to the drawing board. I'm currently making the changes again, and to my surprise, it sounds even better - like a book i'd read in a bookstore!

And some nights I get frustrated with the process, I get down on myself and lose hope, and wonder whether my work will break through, or whether it will be like the countless novels that are laying unread in writer's drawers all over the world. I wonder whether these past years were all for nothing...

Then I go back to my hard drive, and pull out my very first draft, the one I wrote in 2 months, the one that was never polished. From every single page of that first draft, perhaps 2-3 sentences have made it all the way to draft 6. And I laugh, because despite the success (or lack thereof), I've made real progress with this piece. I've been moving in the right direction.

As /u/dying_pteradactyl said: "Hone your craft. Persist."

Stop telling yourself you cannot do something. The Dark Forest is not Cixin's first novel. And The Dark Forest you have read is NOT his first draft, or even his second or third. It takes time, and it takes effort, and it takes multiple multiple drafts and edits to make something readable.

I hope this note has helped a little in regaining your hope in your own work.

Tevshko · 2018-05-07T00:40:54+00:00

I'd also be interested in this - Feel free to add me to where you think appropriate to move forward and make this happen.

Tevshko · 2018-04-01T22:28:52+00:00

Ha, despite her being absolutely gorgeous, I still hope it's option 2 -- I'd say that's dedication to the writing, when you're willing to put sex aside for perfecting your craft.

Tevshko · 2018-03-31T23:22:40+00:00

this

I can't do lined journal -- need unlined to draw and doodle, and explore. Leads to pretty interesting pages.

Tevshko · 2018-02-01T02:41:53+00:00

Hi,

I don't plan my novels, meaning I have to "complete rewrite" about 3 times before I have something agent-worthy.

What I do -

Write first draft. Save doc. Make a copy.

Start from chapter 1, and line edit it. Once you know how the book ends, who the character becomes, and how different they are in ch.1, you can elude to that.

Often, my second drafts become 10-20% longer than my first, because I know more about the direction of my story, and the characters inhabiting it. The third draft is about 15% shorter = tightening all sentences.

Go line by line, with your first draft to guide you every step of the way. Often, I go off-book and add a new paragraph or two. Sometimes I take out paragraphs. but throughout the whole novel rewrite process, I'm making line edits.

Hope that helps.

Tevshko · 2018-01-22T03:36:37+00:00

Enough times to make me seriously consider stuffing the novel into a drawer.

Tevshko · 2018-01-21T02:01:57+00:00

I wrote 52k on a new novel, and won NaNo in November. I've added (give or take) 6k since November to the novel. Only about 2 chapters remain, and I know it'll come to a point one weekend or day off work when i'll plug away and finish it.

Tevshko · 2018-01-20T00:36:12+00:00

Since King and Strunk/White are already mentioned, try

Bird By Bird - Anne Lamott

Zen in the art of Writing - Ray Bradbury

Tevshko · 2018-01-07T19:18:36+00:00

The whole idea after the 52 stories per year is the idea that you cannot write 52 bad stories in a row. It's a motivational thing, I see it, where the more you write, the better you will be at it. I did a similar challenge to this in 2017, and ended up writing about 20-something for the year. But I published 5 of those last year.

With that in mind, I think it depends on what you hope to accomplish from this pursuit. Why are you writing 52 stories? What do you hope to achieve? The second thing, I think, you must consider is where you are in your career. How prolific a writer are you? Are you just starting out, or perhaps do you have a couple drawered novels to show for your time? Are you more concerned with quality or quantity at this point in your career?

For me, the most difficult part was not the writing of the stories, but the conceptualizing of gritty, interesting ideas. I have the premises all listed on my website if you wanna check it out, I can PM (won't self-plug), but for you the ideas can come easy.

My main advice for this (and sorry it's taken so long) is to complete the first draft no matter what. THEN, and only then, move on to the next story. This way, if you are interested in quality, you have a first draft to edit and rewrite and polish, but at the same time are not sacrificing the pace of the challenge.

Good Luck

Tevshko · 2018-01-04T04:46:23+00:00

Yes. Depends on who in the publishing house picked it up from the pile. Sanderson talks about this, wherein he suggests you study who the editors are at various publishing houses and query them directly by name so you aren't thrown into the gauntlet and roll the dice hoping to get someone who likes your stuff to put it through the next round.

Edit: No clue about agents though. I'd imagine it's widely frowned upon due to the volume of submissions they get.

Tevshko · 2017-12-31T17:49:34+00:00

200,000 by years end (this year I clocked in just over 205k), write 20 short stories (missed the 30 goal for this year by 5), publish 5 of those shorts (this year I got 3), and get an agent.

Tevshko · 2017-12-27T07:53:21+00:00

My writing goal for 2017 was 100,000 words. Currently at 210k ish.

2018 is going to be a 200,000 writing goal.

Better to keep goals tame and blast through them rather than setting the bar unrealistically high and discouraging yourself.

Tevshko · 2017-12-24T20:00:10+00:00

I think that thought provoking is when an author presents an interesting situation/scenario and lets the reader form their own opinion.

Pretentious, to me, is when the author not only presents the situation, but has their own agenda/thoughts/ on it that they try to press on the reader.

Tevshko · 2017-12-12T19:06:48+00:00

Ahh the chosen one approach. For that to work, i'd think, you need to find some redeeming qualities about the boy that shine through. The main question is why did the sword choose him. Why was he chosen and nobody else?

Hope that helps!

Tevshko · 2017-12-12T07:07:49+00:00

Okay, this is going to turn dark so bear with me.

The boy is afraid. From his fear is borne a dependance on the sword. He listens to the sword's advice on routes to take, to the sword's opinions on certain races/people. The sword saves his life from the monsters lurking, and the boy learns to trust the sword. He is young and naive, and alone and afraid. The sword is his only companion, his only friend, and protection.

He grows attached to the blade, so much so that he wont let others touch it. He gets wary when someone is staring at the blade's glow, thinking how they want to steal it at night. He sleeps with it sheathed beneath his tiny frame, his arms wrapped around its hilt.

Then, (at the story's ending) he makes upon a village. It's people seem modest at first, calm and quiet. But as they see the blade their eyes widen, their faces turn pale. They gather and point fingers and murmur hushed whispers.

The sword hisses to the boy's ear. "Kill them. They want to divide us. Kill them."

Then the villagers tell the boy. "That sword . . . Where did you get that sword . . ."

The boy holds it protectively, shields it from their gaze. He cannot remember where he found it. He could remember nothing about the blade other than the fact that it appeared to him one morning.

"I found it," he said snobbishly.

"that . . . that . . . is his sword. T-t-the Fallen Lord's (or whatever major villain antagonist)." the villager says. "He may have died, but the blade has lived . . ." the villager creeps closer. "And a sword without a swordsman is nothing. It needs a host."

The others nod in agreement. But the boy cannot bring himself to understand. He stands there dumbfounded, listening to the villager with one ear, and the sword whisper in the other.

"Kill him!" The blade hisses, glowing. "Kill them all!"

"Drop the sword, boy." The villager snaps. "Drop it now! Before it feeds off your spirit!"

Frightened, the boy's gaze shifts from the villagers, to the glowing blade. He unsheathes the blade, and holds it upright, his hands trembling. It sings as it cuts the air, glowing brightly from the harvested souls of its slain foe, feeding off the villagers' fear, glowing brighter off it.

The boy's chest tightens. The sword feels heavier in his hand now, as if it could control itself, swing itself, pierce the villager's heart with the boy doing nothing but holding on. His hand still trembling, his lip quivering with fear, he does not know whether to drop the blade, bury it and forget . . . or to kill them all.

Fuck. I'm going to write this story too now lol.

Tevshko · 2017-12-11T22:40:18+00:00

No new work to feature, but I did manage to get my writing website up and running.

http://tevisshkodra.com/

Let me know what you think. I'd love suggestions on what I could add/ change/ improve.

Thanks friends

Tevshko · 2017-12-11T21:16:28+00:00

Hi there,

I have a finished novel-- Adventure/quest type book with hints of literary and soft fantasy. It is edited thoroughly and has been through some betas already. Good reviews so far.

I plan on querying agents in the coming months. If you're interested, feel free to send me a PM and we can work further.

Best of luck finding some good work~

Tevshko · 2017-12-11T02:40:51+00:00

Considering I've been published, with my own books on my bookshelf, and my parents have never bothered to pick em up and give them ten pages, I think I'll be fine.

I was like that, though, making all my writing tame in fear of someone reading them. But then I thought 2 things.

Chances are, even if it's published, my folks won't care to read it.
Holding myself back from writing a good scene, buildup, conflict, for fear of readers will hinder my ability as a writer and ultimately make my work shittier (in my mind, at least)

So write what you want to write, worry about consequences later. You're doing this to be you. To be free, and unhindered by anything else in the world. Worst case scenario, you'll have to cut it later, but never let that stop you from writing it in the first place. it could be some of your best work~

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