Writers?

[Ryan K]

wow, Ryan sounds like a great idea! Don't get caught up in the build of the world or the novel. Get the first series outlined and go for it. It's always easier to edit something to your liking after you get the words down. (Though I shouldn't be the one to mention editing, I have a dozen novels that need editing and i'm horrible at it.)

I'm actually finding the worldbuilding immensely fulfilling, especially in terms of getting down to character bios and things like that. It stops me before leaping in to ask questions about how the streets smell, what does the cooper down the road look like (or his daughters for that matter), who lives with, near and around the protagonist, who are his friends and what do they do... yes, in terms of writing the story, the world-building is certainly getting in the way of that. But some of the best ideas and aspects for the stories are popping up while I am moving mountains in Fractal Terrains, or conditional formatting in Excel.

For instance, when I stopped and asked myself "what are their units of measurement?" I began researching the 'Roman Mile', and after doing up some nifty distance calculation/conversion formulas in Excel, I found out that an Emissar is expected to be able to march xx amount of miles in a day, and this distance predetermined the definition of a 'league' by their reckoning. Yes, details, details, who cares for such details? Me, and I am finding it immensely fulfilling.

Do you belong to any writing groups? I would have never finished my first novel if i hadn't found fmwriters.com and the people that popluate the chat room there.

Ehh.. way back when myspace was more popular than Facebook, I joined a writer's group there, and it was dominated by a few unhelpful condescending 'authors' and a slightly larger body of pandering nit-pickers. It has largely deterred me from those sort of faceless interfaces. I prefer friends and family who have given the brief on 'what happens in the study stays in the study'. I have also swapped notes with a few honest co-writers, who aren't afraid to call a spade a spade, and continue to do so when I am actually committing finger to keyboard.

My large 6 book series is based around five friends who are all heading into a differnet part of their live, each taking a differnet path, some staying in the city they were born in and some leaving to find what their world has to offer. (i really need a better blurb!) I have books 1 - 4 written. Five and six are outlined. Only a few chapters of book 1 are edited.

That's a good blurb. I have a strong fascination with fantasy stories where the protagonist isn't always an adventurer, but a common man (or woman) with real problems. Give me a potter trying to survive the local criminal elements beating protection money out of people any day over the adventures of the brave, young farm boy seeking adventures on the back of dragons or on the belly of elvish women. I think that is where the drama is. I think your story sounds like it will pay it's due to the common folk.

I've taken a break from that set of books to work on another fantasy novel. Hopefully the break won't do me harm when i head back to the large serise.

It might just be what you need. A bit of fresh air in another world can keen your mind when you return to the old one.