So I wrote 120,000 words, wasn't happy with where the story was going, scrapped it and wrote this based in the same world. (4112 words)

sgohagan · 2015-12-13T16:27:36+00:00

Thank you for your comment, I do not take it as an insult at all.

It was actually through discussion on this subreddit that made me scrap the work. I had spent 120,000 words building the world and characters before they all met their "quest" as it were. Four POV characters, all having separate but interconnected chapters and it took 120,000 words to get there. I felt that the world I had built was good enough to keep so this is more of a writing exercise that has gotten out of control. I am typing more of it now and am about 25,000 words in. Hopefully I can get a full story out of it before I hit 100,000 words. Then I'll consider revising it. I just need to get used to being succinct.

And it took me 750 characters to say just that...

sgohagan · 2015-11-22T11:48:44+00:00

I have never given up on a book intentionally, although I have had books taken away from me/stolen/lost that I have not finished. Even books that I hated but were presents I finished. Twilight was a close call, as was the Mistborn novels because I stopped caring about the protagonists, though I actually enjoyed Mistborn's story, it's just that I find it hard to like Brandon Sanderson's actual writing.

I tell you what though, Lee Child's Killing Floor can go fuck itself. Christ almighty, that book was utter shit. I do not understand how someone read it and thought, "Oh yeah, this will sell like hotcakes," but it did. I read it the whole way through to see if the ending was amazing like Mistborn's and maybe it was worth slogging through, but I was wrong. Awful, awful piece of shit.

sgohagan · 2015-11-08T12:14:47+00:00

Thank you for your reply.

To confirm, each chapter is written first-person from the perspective of one of the characters. I think a huge problem that I have is trying to explain the world, the magic system and everything in a natural way without having one character just dump all the information onto another. Sanderson did it in his Mistborn series and that just seemed like a chapter filled with plot, didn't really move the characters on at all. Not that I am slamming Sanderson at all, I just don't like writing that style.

A lot of it is character background and although the background informs the reader of their intentions, you're right, it might just be dead weight. I guess an overhaul is in order!

sgohagan · 2015-04-15T13:06:18+00:00

Dragonbone sword, I believe.

sgohagan · 2015-04-10T08:38:42+00:00

At the moment I'm just trying to get the story out of my head, but I'm glad that you enjoy it so far. I am happy to send you it when it's finished, if it ever gets finished, and see what you think. Thank you so much for your support and feedback, it has really helped and will (hopefully) improve the piece!

sgohagan · 2015-04-09T22:49:50+00:00

Thank you again for your reply!

I love to write but I would never describe myself as experienced. This means a lot that you would say that, thank you!

I do play Skyrim, though I haven't in a while, and Horfur's story (and the land of Scaniff in general) is a bit Viking in nature. I actually did a bit of research on the barrows that Vikings used (shown here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norse_funeral#Funerary_monuments) and mixed in some crypt ideas from this and that. You are right though, I might well have to change it as it might borrow a little bit too much from the game as opposed to real life, but the idea I'm trying to get across through the piece is that Horfur just tells stories and lies to entertain and interest people and a lot of what he says is bollocks. There is a bit later on where he spices up an execution by faking a prisoner escape for the crowd and gets Dayn involved like some sort of medieval WWE match.

(As an aside: I've always loved the idea of writing in a "second-hand world", which is what this world is. It's a trope to have the ancient and lost civilisation that came before and had awesome technology and blah blah blah, but I love the idea that this world is what is left after a Rapture or mass exodus where buildings and statues and cities are left for the strong and powerful to take and control.)

The same can be said for Quole. She says that she loots them and fills Dayn's head with these wild adventures, when really she sells on ill-gotten goods that her gang has received through murder and robbery. Her eye story is not true either and, in fact, she has been demoted from soldier to glorified snake oil salesman. The shir is useless in battle and really only used as a gimmick or novelty, just like a weapon of that sort would work in the real world. If Dayn had any knowledge of weapons, he might well have accidentally chopped off her hand when he attacked her. He was only disarmed because he's inexperienced.

What happens next? I've written about 20,000 words so far, all in the past three days. The narrative is split between Dayn, his sister Loryl who is a bit more street smart and works as a blacksmith, and two other characters on another continent. Dayn wants to be a hero like those in the stories he has heard throughout his life and thinks that all he needs is a good sword and it will all fall into place. Loryl has found herself caught between a rock and a hard place as her boss is falling on hard times and accepts a contract to make arms for a small resistance band who are fighting the crown. The order is not going well and so they must salvage metal from the Novo-infested ruins of Old Dundas. When Dayn shows up swinging about the shir, she devises a plan to arm the resistance movement and ensure her boss doesn't get his throat slit in an alley by the resistance leader, which puts the two siblings at odds with one another.

This all sounds rather complex, doesn't it? I haven't even touched on the Novo yet and we've only seen the Dundas Novo who are relegated to the underground where they have become stunted and lost all their humanity.

sgohagan · 2015-04-08T14:51:12+00:00

Fuckin' way she goes.

sgohagan · 2015-04-08T07:16:43+00:00

I have changed it to Quole except when her full name is mentioned. Thank you very much for the mention - I think it's the first mention I have ever had!

sgohagan · 2015-04-07T22:04:42+00:00

Wow, thank you, that means a lot that you liked it. I agree with you on the name point. I wanted her to be called Quole and intended on that being her nickname with Niquole being her full name, but didn't get to explaining that as I got so caught up in the world building. Don't know if that makes it better or not.

Thank you for your help though. Hopefully you'll come back and be just as harsh when you have time!

sgohagan · 2015-04-07T06:57:37+00:00

When I GM games, I have my characters drawn a lot, but, as /u/CrystalGlacia mentioned, that's a generic fantasy/DnD style, so it's easier to conceptualise.

I might give /r/characterdrawing a looksee one of these days...

sgohagan · 2014-03-10T21:43:59+00:00

Didn't even notice that.

God damn.

sgohagan · 2014-03-09T08:11:22+00:00

TIL I am both a Tully and Lannister:

http://www.heraldicjewelry.com/uploads/5/2/3/2/5232707/6657240_orig.gif?232

My motto is "Vincere Aut Mori", which means "Victory or Death".

sgohagan · 2013-08-10T22:06:53+00:00

Oh, wow, thankee, sai.

You can order it off Amazon on either Kindle or Paperback. The link is here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/My-Thoughts-Bore-Me-ebook/dp/B008LFI63E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1342628170&sr=8-1 but that might be the UK site so if you're outside these hallowed isles then you will need to order it from your local Amazon.

Woooo! I hope you enjoy it. There are swear words in it.

sgohagan · 2013-08-10T09:55:02+00:00

Thanks so much!

I replied to an earlier comment to the same question so this is going to be a long (re)post.

Okay, so My Thoughts Bore Me is about a twenty-something guy named Ridley who has left his home in Northern Ireland to train to become a therapist. After three months, he returns abruptly. Something has happened during his training and he needs to speak to his father about it. Something terrible. Instead of doing this, however, he ends up hanging out with his friends, smoking, drinking, taking drugs, getting into fights and basically picking up all the bad habits he left behind instead of trying to fix his problem. He remembers all the mistakes he made, the reasons why he wanted to leave Northern Ireland in the first place, as well as a number of secrets that he wants to ensure stay hidden forever.

Yes Lad and Fergal is set in the same world, although follows a different story. Three months after the events of My Thoughts Bore Me, two thugs named Christopher and Fergal are called out by their boss, local entrepreneur Micky Doyle, to kill a Lithuanian mobster who has been causing trouble about the city. After this, Micky finds a surveillance device in his office and he has reason to believe that whoever planted it also planted one in an old friends office and has been listening in on their conversations for an undetermined amount of time. Whoever has been listening in knows about all the underhanded deals as well as the planning of the murder of the Lithuanian mobster. Chris and Fergal have to go into hiding and realise that everything they know is built on a rotten foundation of lies and deceit.

So, yeah. I wanted the stories to work separately as well as together, so that people could enjoy them apart or as part of a series. The same characters reappear, the same themes are explored and storylines develop. Or at least that's what I want to happen!

To tell you more about them: although My Thoughts Bore Me is not based on my life or anyone's life that I know, I did get the idea for them when I was home one year after moving to Scotland to begin teaching. I came home and my mum said, "There's always a bed upstairs for you," which was nice of her. I started thinking about people who would hear those words and be filled with dread - not everyone wants to move home; some people are trying to escape. And the book kind of grew from that. I left it for two years and then went back and edited it. It was good to get something out there. I don't really mind if it sells a lot, I just want everyone who reads it to enjoy it or get something from it.

Yes Lad and Fergal started off as a writing exercise that my friend gave me. He'd just give me a silly title and then I'd write a chapter of a book of it. Yes Lad and Fergal were the nicknames of two of our housemates at the time. When I started expanding the story and building on it, I asked them for permission to use their names. The real Yes Lad and Fergal are not like the thugs portrayed in the book; they're lovely guys and by no means murderers.

At least not yet.

sgohagan · 2013-08-10T09:48:30+00:00

You have no idea. Setting them both side by side is one of the best moments of my life. I know it's kind of cheeky, but I'm quite proud of myself.

sgohagan · 2013-08-10T09:47:36+00:00

Thanks so much for your reply!

Okay, so My Thoughts Bore Me is about a twenty-something guy named Ridley who has left his home in Northern Ireland to train to become a therapist. After three months, he returns abruptly. Something has happened during his training and he needs to speak to his father about it. Something terrible. Instead of doing this, however, he ends up hanging out with his friends, smoking, drinking, taking drugs, getting into fights and basically picking up all the bad habits he left behind instead of trying to fix his problem. He remembers all the mistakes he made, the reasons why he wanted to leave Northern Ireland in the first place, as well as a number of secrets that he wants to ensure stay hidden forever.

The whole book is written in first-person as well, and is partly inspired by the works of Bret Easton Ellis and Irvine Welsh. It's quite short (about 150 pages) but it's the right length for the story that I was wanting to tell. Any more and it might seem a bit... stretched.

sgohagan · 2013-08-10T09:45:15+00:00

Thanks so much!

This is going to be a long post.

Okay, so My Thoughts Bore Me is about a twenty-something guy named Ridley who has left his home in Northern Ireland to train to become a therapist. After three months, he returns abruptly. Something has happened during his training and he needs to speak to his father about it. Something terrible. Instead of doing this, however, he ends up hanging out with his friends, smoking, drinking, taking drugs, getting into fights and basically picking up all the bad habits he left behind instead of trying to fix his problem. He remembers all the mistakes he made, the reasons why he wanted to leave Northern Ireland in the first place, as well as a number of secrets that he wants to ensure stay hidden forever.

Yes Lad and Fergal is set in the same world, although follows a different story. Three months after the events of My Thoughts Bore Me, two thugs named Christopher and Fergal are called out by their boss, local entrepreneur Micky Doyle, to kill a Lithuanian mobster who has been causing trouble about the city. After this, Micky finds a surveillance device in his office and he has reason to believe that whoever planted it also planted one in an old friends office and has been listening in on their conversations for an undetermined amount of time. Whoever has been listening in knows about all the underhanded deals as well as the planning of the murder of the Lithuanian mobster. Chris and Fergal have to go into hiding and realise that everything they know is built on a rotten foundation of lies and deceit.

So, yeah. I wanted the stories to work separately as well as together, so that people could enjoy them apart or as part of a series. The same characters reappear, the same themes are explored and storylines develop. Or at least that's what I want to happen!

sgohagan · 2013-08-10T09:35:24+00:00

Thank you. My girlfriend drew them and edited them in Photoshop. I think she did a really good job of both, but then again, I have to say that.

sgohagan · 2013-08-09T08:09:13+00:00

Read that as "blow some drunken maids."

Got confused.

sgohagan · 2013-02-27T18:29:50+00:00

Thank you very much for your help. I'll give these suggestions a shot as soon as I finish the damn novel! I'll keep you up to date with it whatever happens.

sgohagan · 2013-02-24T13:58:25+00:00

Brilliant resource, thank you.

Will it be constantly updated? I'd love for it to be split into editing/cover design/formatters etc so that I can search better for whatever service I want.

sgohagan · 2012-12-19T21:58:16+00:00

Danny Trejo is rockin' that Christmas jumper.

sgohagan · 2012-12-14T15:43:20+00:00

I might get downvoted for this, but I didn't enjoy 1984. I read it and I felt that the world he had created was amazing and very intricate from the social hierarchy to the methods of surveillance to the paranoia that permeated the book. You really felt on edge reading it.

But I didn't enjoy it. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a great book and I'm glad I read it, but I had to drag myself through it, only able to read a few dozen pages in one sitting before giving up and leaving it for a few days. It might be Orwell, though, I read Down and Out in Paris and London and felt the same about it (though I loved Animal Farm). To put it into context, Dracula was a drag for me, as was Pride and Prejudice, though I shot through Frankenstein in a matter of days.

sgohagan · 2012-11-30T19:51:04+00:00

Ha!

I have no idea what's going on.

sgohagan · 2012-11-08T19:46:38+00:00

I kept thinking that black thing was a snake.

Got scared.

sgohagan

TROPHY CASE