Tag Archives: literature

Multiple Climaxes Revisited

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I just finished the third draft of my latest novel.  I believe it is quite clean and ready for the eyes of family members and friends.  While reading it this time, I realized that I had organized the book in strange way.  I knew I gave it multiple climaxes.  That was on purpose.  What I didn’t realize was that each one was a different kind of climax.  First comes to the action climax.  Then comes the emotional climax.  Lastly comes to the story’s climax.  Each one has its own purpose.

I am very happy with the progress I have made on this novel–considering I’ve only really been working on it for three months or so.  I can’t wait to have someone else read it.  I’ll focus on something else tomorrow (probably the memory challenge).  After than, I am taking a road trip to see and old friend halfway across Colorado (I’m thinking about taking the long way past Colorado Springs to see how bad the fire is).  Until then!

Much Love,
Richard

Pre-Peace Corp Writing Goals

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A lot is changing in my life.  There’s only one problem.  Many of these changes won’t take place until January.  I need to fill the gap between then and now.  I’ve though of a lot of different ideas–from traveling to working.  In the end, the best idea I can come across is to immerse myself in my writing.  So I created a list of writing goals I want to accomplish over the next 200 days or so.  Here they are:

Writing Goals

  1. Finish Editing my fourth novel
  2. Do final editing on Stitch [Novel Three]
  3. Do final editing on The Saints [Novel Two]
  4. Do final editing on The Fire Saviors [Novel One]
  5. Write a fifth novel
  6. Do final editing on fifth novel
  7. Compile a collection of 50-100 poems
  8. Do final editing on Poem Collection
  9. Compile short Stories/Flash Fiction
  10. Do final editing on Story collection
  11. Join Every Writing Club in Northern Colorado/Go to them
  12. Finish Memory Challenge
  13. Do final editing on memory challenge
  14. If money allows, print one set of books “Before Peace Corp Writing”
    1. The Fire Saviors [Novel One]
    2. The Saints [Novel Two]
    3. Stitch [Novel Three
    4. Novel Four
    5. Novel Five
    6. Poetry Collection
    7. Story Collection
    8. Memory Challenge

Falling Behind

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I haven’t done much in the way of writing over the past two days.  Yesterday entailed little more than helping a roommate move in followed by a party.  Today was the hangover followed by meeting with a friend.  Although I may fall a day or two behind on the memory challenge, I will continue it.

My main worry is that I haven’t been editing as much now that I have a big Elance job.  I have three days to do the second half of.  That is more than enough time.  I think I’m just going to spend the next couple hours working on editing.  I really just want to get this draft done so that I can have others take a look at it.  I’ll upload a new memory sometime in the next 24 hours.

Until then,
Richard.

42

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I had gaming last night.  This is the first time I’ve ever played really played table-top RPG.  That’s not the point though.  The group that I am playing with always used to be the friends of one of my friends.  Slowly, I feel that shifting.  I am getting to know all the guys in this group and loving to hang out with them.  I even held a conversation with one of them until four in the morning…about life, the universe, and human nature.  All I can say to that is…Fuck Yes!

Anyway.  Today will be quite busy.  I have a lot of work to do for Elance.  To be perfectly honest, I kind of want to just do it all today so that tomorrow can be more of a creative day.  I have a lot of free time left today, so I think I may be able to pull it off…so long as I start right now.  Anyway, here is Day Six of the memory challenge.

Day Six: Daddy Problems

Editor Richard Reilly?

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I started work on a big Elance job today.  This one is particularly interesting because the end result will actually carry by name: “Edited by Richard Reilly.”  It’ll be a great way to build my portfolio.  It’s an easy task…it’ll just take some time.  I’m just excited because most of the work I do through Elance is Ghostwriting…meaning my name will never be carried on the finished work.  It’ll be nice for some real recognition (and a good paycheck).

I spent my morning garage saling and watching a fire grow in the mountains west of town. Now I’m spending several hours writing–trading between memories, work, and editing.  Lot and lots of work to do on every front.  My goal is to finish by Elance job early and finish the third draft this week.  It’ll take a lot of work, but it will be worth it.  Until tomorrow, here is day two of The 50 Day Memory Challenge.

Day Two: Kicked Out of a Bar 

A Long Day of Moving and Editing

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I spent four hours of my day helping my mother move out of her office.  After the role I played in getting her fired (or reassigned, as they put it), it was the least I could do.  As I walk away from today, I have a renewed understanding for why I hated working in an office and would prefer never to be a part of one again.  Politics is frustrating enough in a family or set of friends…it’s simply Hell at work.

I’ve started working on the third draft of the novel.  Since there are so few changes necessary, I am breezing through it.  There are 52 chapters in all…and I just spent the past 90 minutes getting through the first five.  A part of me just wants to finish off the draft over the next two days so I can focus on some other projects (like actually starting the Memory Project) while other people look it over.  I’m at least going to continue editing for the next 80 minutes (I hate that the coffee shop in this town closes at six).  Maybe I will continue working at home.

With Love,
Richard

Best Coffee Ever

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My hometown has some of the best drip coffee I have ever tasted.  It’s called The Blue Mug.  For only $2, they give you a mug that you can refill as often as you would like.  That’s why I feel like I can get so much work done here.  I just finished writing one of the extra chapters and loved it.  I was preparing the information for the second chapter when i realized it really wouldn’t add much.  I’m going to scrap the idea.  My novel is going to be short of the planned 70,000 to 80,000 range.  Going into the third draft, it stands at 67,344 words.

I’m going to alternate between Ghostwriting and working on the Third Draft the rest of this week.  I’m house sitting for my parents again–which gives me a lot of free time.  I just got a pretty big ghostwriting job via Elance.  I can’t wait to get started.  I think I will be able to strike a nice balance between writing as a job and writing as a hobby.  Only time will tell on that front.  I have to run.

With Love,
Richard

Ghostwriting Problems

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I don’t want to leave the wrong impression.  I love ghostwriting.  I like getting paid to sit down and write on random projects.  There’s just a problem that goes with it.  It forces all your energy away from your project and into someone else’s project.  I spent the last two days working on a website and real estate rewrites.  It was easy money…but I haven’t touched my novel in 48 hours.

It’s time to get back to work.  I am going to try to finish the first rewrite of my novel within the next 48 hours.  I’m still going to take sporadic ghostwriting jobs because I need the money…but I need to find the right balance.  I am currently dedicating at least three hours to writing a day–whether it is my own writing or ghostwritting.  I may bump that up to four hours.  Getting my own projects done when I have the time is the best way to not fell stressed out when i have a ghostwriting job.

Much Love,
Richard

Writing Various Ages

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As I come close to finishing the second draft of my novel, a certain thought keeps coming to mind: what ages am I capable of writing?  I used to believe it was almost impossible to write beyond your age.  I now know that not to be true.  I am now 23 and the core of my novel center around three characters in their late twenties.  Nowadays, my thoughts revolve around the more extreme ages.  Throughout the novel, I bring in random characters in their forties and fifties…but I worry that I can’t make them as well rounded as the other characters because I haven’t gone through that part of my life.

Then there is youth.  With this novel, I feel like I have done a good job with my youngest character.  She is 14.  When I think about it, however, I am not sure if I could go much younger.  I love reading books with young characters…but I don’t know how to develop such a character.  How do you enter the mind of youth?  I talked at length with one of my friends about this.  She just read “Room.”  It’s a book that centers around a five year old.  I can’t even imagine.  Maybe that’s another boundary of my abilities that I need dismantle through hard work and writing practice.

With Love,
Richard

Fun in the Sun

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I just spent the last hour or so editing.  I want to keep going…but it is so beautiful outside.  I have a season pass to a “beach” up on a reservoir in the mountains.  Even though I know I should keep writing and editing…I can’t bring myself to do it.  I want to lay out in the sand and soak up the sun.  Nothing sounds better right now.

Until next time,
Richard