My Writing Website

Tags

blazing-crusade, connect, dancing-with-limitation, LiteratureLessons, novel

It’s officially launch day.

I have my own writing website, where I’ll be posting updates on my journey from an idea to a finished piece, being shared with the world.

“K. R. Green is a flash fiction author, novelist and published poet. In November 2009, she discovered the narratives waiting to be written and shifted her talents from poems to stories. She mostly writes literary and fantasy tales, and always has more than three writing projects on the go. When she isn’t painting pictures with words, she is a Family Support Worker in Sussex.“

Welcome to K. R. Green’s Writing Website.

In Motion

Tags

novel

I’m nearly finished creating a website purely for my writing updates.

It’ll contain a list of my submissions, rejections, acceptances and various posts about my progress. I even have sections for each novel – with a brief synopsis and wordcount.

I’m hoping it’ll be ready by the end of April, and that I can transfer some of these posts across.

 

Things are moving forward, I just need to keep up the momentum. I’ll post here when it’s all up and running.

Work in Progress: TMOS

Tags

connect, Insights, LiteratureLessons, metaphor, nanowrimo, novel, WorkingOnStuff

This morning, I had another lull at work. No one else was in the office, and I had two hours to kill.

I opened up Wings of Skell to edit it, but before I’d even found my place again, I was opening a new document, and typing out the details of an idea that I’d had Monday night.

I was originally tagged by Cheyenne in one of these “Work in Progress” Blog Hops and having done one for my other pieces, here’s one on this new project.

This is my final set of answers for now – focusing on the novel I began in 2010, and am working on into 2013 (mainly to stop me editing the previous two). It’s not as detailed as the previous two, but as it’s actually my work in progress, I thought I should post about it.

 

1) What is the working title of your book?

It’s currently called The Mists of Shade.

2) Where did the idea come from for the book?

Watching Pocahontas on Monday night reminded me of an idea I’d had a few months or years again. It wasn’t new, but this new idea then blossomed over the last three days as I tried to write it down and then ignore it.

3) What genre does your book fall under?

I’ve only written one chapter, but I’d say fantasy as a loose category for now.

4) Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I only have two characters so far, and one of them’s an animal.

5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Kayla is a social worker in the county of Sussex, and looks from the outside as normal as anyone. But she has a gift that she cannot ignore. When she begins working on a case at work that stumps her colleagues, she discovers the war that’s going on under every person’s feet.

6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

At this point, neither. Both are possible though.

7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

I began this morning… It’s less than 3,000 words so far.

8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I’ll let you know when I know what this one’s about.

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?

One scene of Pocahontas, loosely.

10) What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

I already know what I want the cover to look like, and it’s EPIC.

Once again, I tag anyone who writes  Leave a link in the comments so I can read about your work and connect with you.

In Light,
Rose

The Written Word: A Love Affair

Tags

blazing-crusade, connect, LiteratureLessons, novel, potential, reflection

This morning, I got my first official rejection. This led to me buying a kindle and a load of new books to read, as well as increasing my motivation to edit my novels.

 

~

 

I grew up with books.
In a way, I grew up inside books.

And most of my core beliefs now stem from some of the books I read as a child.

Having beliefs that your parents disagree with, and don’t understand, was always a real problem in my house – but when I look back on those series, I realise the true importance of the written word on who I am today.

The first set of books that taught me about life were by Kenneth Oppel: Silverwing, Sunwing and Firewing. This was the first set of books I’d read where a creature died, and it’s spirit was free to continue flying through the trees (it was a bat), and I began to question the aspects of life and death as experiences.

Next, I discovered the strong female figures – Lyra from His Dark Materials Trilogy, Myrina from Troy and the Warrior Women Series, Magda in the Forestwife Series, Sabriel in the Old Kingdom Trilogy and Renn in the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness.

Then, the ideas of family and honour arose as I read The Sight and Fell by David Clement-Davies.

 

Moving Forward

Today, I bought a second-hand Kindle on eBay. I place all blame on my sister of the written word, and her bad influence. She too, is an avid reader and writer, though our favoured genres are often very different.

This led to me spending a lot of time in the Kindle online store today, and, unfortunately, to buying a lot of paperbacks.

The idea of paying more for a Kindle book than a new paperback, let alone a second hand paperback, doesn’t sit well with my beliefs, nor my wallet.

But I bought some books.

 

The Importance of Reading

As far as my reading habit goes, this is a brilliant step forward. I’ve not been reading much over the past couple of years, nor even in the past two months, even without a TV in my flat. Finding new authors and series to trial has re-sparked that love of reading and I’m already back on track to reaching this year’s goal of completing 26 books minimum, and ideally aiming for 35-40.

Through university, my reading list considered a lot of books on quantum physics, spiritual exploration and psychology or writer non-fictions…

As a writer now editing my books, I feel that now is the time to keep myself immersed in good writing – now I’m less afraid of accidentally stealing ideas as the plot is already laid out – so I can focus on making sure my tone and style really expresses the places and people I’ve created.

So, as a fan of books, who loves hearing about other books, here are the purchases I’ve made this weekend:

“Fire” – Cashore, Kristin
“Graceling” – Cashore, Kristin
“Geist (Book of the Order)” – Philippa Ballantine
“2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love”  - Rachel Aaron [Kindle Edition]
“Runemarks” – Harris, Joanne
“Gardens of the Moon (Book 1 of The Malazan Book of the Fallen)” – Erikson, Steven
“The Spirit Thief (Legend of Eli Monpress)” – Aaron, Rachel;
“The Agency: Volume 2″ – Dianne Sylvan [Kindle Edition]

I will of course be rating these on my reading list.

 

Writing

Also, March is my month of novel-editing, and here is the latest update:

Day: 3
Pages Edited: 17/314 and 0/310
Scenes Edited: 3/71 and 0/80

Don’t forget to find out more about my books from the my writing page.

Story Editing ~ March 2013

Tags

blazing-crusade, nanowrimo, novel, processing

Each November, I take part in NaNoWriMo.

This year, I wrote a sequel to a book I finished 2 weeks before hand.

Throughout February, I’ve dipped in and out of reading, re-writing and whining over the first instalment. But today, it’s March, and I feel like I’ve made no progress.

I was whining about it last night, when Ellie Di commented on my frustrations.

“Sounds to me like you might actually have one book spread across two. Have you thought about what you can cut and combine?”

Oh Shit.
I hadn’t even considered that my two books might actually be one.

80,000 words is an okay novel-length. 92,000 is almost perfect.

Combining them will surely involve a lot of cutting, and I’m not sure how to re-write the information I still need to include.

I asked my friend Sorcha, who read my first book, and she seemed unsure.

“I suppose you could, but you’d have to be really careful because there’s a lot of important backstory on the antagonists etc… and the assassins that you need to keep in otherwise people might get confused.”

So this month of March, I’m editing: be that re-writing, cutting, merging or beginning bits again.

I’ll be updating my progress here: http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/novel-draft-aftercare/threads/107884 and measuring it according to pages:

Current Score: 
Day: 1
Pages Edited: 5/314 and 0/310
Scenes Edited: 1/71 and 0/80

Are you editing a piece of work? How do you measure the process?

- Rose -

2012 in Review

Tags

13/4, breaking habits&labels, connect, dancing-with-limitation, Insights, plans, processing, reflection, seasons, WorkingOnStuff

This year, my word was CONNECTION. As I love planning and list-making, I ended up with four categories of connection, and one sub-category per lunar month:

Connecting to Space:

-          Streamline & minimise

-          Set up a proper altar I can use for my pagan practise

-          Connect with the land every fortnight

-          Cut down on the processed foods; and get a good exercise routine going, and to keep my sleep and brain as healthy and effective as possible

Connecting to Legacy:

-          Understand my family tree and the heritage this land; and in exploring Celtic spirituality, reach out to the Germanic and Saxon paths which have influenced it

-          Explore and redefine my labels

-          Read 26 books this year

Connecting to Emotion:

-          Explore my feelings of non-violence and compassion toward others

-          Explore why I feel the need to express everything, spend more time in quiet and see where this fear of really stems from

Connecting to Practise:

-          Reconnect with spiritual energy (Reiki, meditation)

-          Practise redefinition by default, practising what I preach

-          Practise Paganism more often – prayer, meditation, ritual and OBOD study

-          Discover why I’ve chosen Druidry, and what I want to pass on to my children

As you may be able to tell from the lack of posts about this challenge, I didn’t do as well as I’d have hoped…

The Breakdown

Connecting to Space ~ I did make a lot of minimalism progress, moving into a flat and removing extraneous items. However, this needs to continue.

~ I did not set up a working altar for the whole year, but I did a lot of work in terms of ritual with others and I’m still working through the Gwers. I also completed Dianne Sylvan’s Spiritual Nomad course, which included work on my altar.

~ I did connect with the land often for the first six months, but by July, that faded. Now I have a car, I’ve noticed it’s even less likely to happen.

~ Processed foods dropped a couple of times in the year, but I need to get serious about this again. I lost motivation for exercising too, so I need to work out what made this ‘not matter’ before I try again.

Connecting to Legacy ~ The Gwers talk a bit about the legacy of this land, and the family tree is in progress.

~ I’ve done a LOT of work on labels and redefinition this year. From starting new placements, completing an MSc and driving to moving out to live alone and starting a new job.

~ I used to be an avid reader, but that slipped. So I planned to read one book per fortnight (26). At this rate, I’ll be at 24 by New Year’s Day. I might even consider that a success, as last year I only managed 12.

Connecting to Emotion ~ I’ve spent a lot of this year coming to terms with the fact I’m not naturally non-violent, but actually do seem to be naturally compassionate. I’ve spent a lot of time feeling “overly-sensitive” since trying to find my innate care for others.

~ The fear of silence is less of a fear now, though I haven’t yet found the stem of it.

Connecting to Practise ~ I reduced my meditation, but did more Reiki this year

~ I’ve been quite good in terms of practising what I preach; even releasing the Alchemy of Redefinition course.

~ The final two items about paganism and how I practise are still in progress. Studying for an MSc meant I didn’t study the Gwers as much as planned, and the travel meant missing group ritual and moots.

So the way I count that, I’d say that’s 7/13 partially done, but only 4 fully completed.

Extras

Despite these failing, I did loads of things that I didn’t expect to!

* I finished a novel and submitted it to a publisher
* I wrote the sequel to that novel, ready in case the publisher was interested
* I watched 68 educational television programmes
* I visited Brighton Buddhist Centre
* I spoke as part of group ritual
* I saw the Dalai Lama speak
* I read 24 books, which is double last year’s number!
* I created an e-course and a couple of freebies in the library
* I connected with two old friends for the first time in years

Two Thousand and Thirteen

So, where to?

This is difficult one. I’ve spent exactly six days in my flat, and just five days at my job. The idea of planning goals when I’m in a state of finding-my-feet feels counter-intuitive.

Also, having made such progress in 2011, I’m disappointed by missing out on so much.

So, I’m keeping it simple.

2.0.1.3

Two Words ~ Seeking Stars  (or Star-Seeking)

Zero Expectations

One Theme ~ Improvement

Three Goals ~

1. Reduce excess: food & ‘stuff’

i.      Cut down on junk food
ii.      Head for minimalism to the point where I’m content

2. Create: relaxation & exercise

i.      Meditate, dance & put systems in place to deal with work
ii.      Get healthy/fit so that I feel happy in my own strength again

3. Bury myself in learning

i.      Read books and watch educational programs
ii.      Continue home-study courses

How was your 2012?

In light,

Rose

The Next Big Thing: WIP

Tags

connect, Insights, LiteratureLessons, metaphor, nanowrimo, novel, WorkingOnStuff

Earlier in the week I wrote about my NaNoWriMo project of 2012: Flight of Skell, as I was tagged by Cheyenne in a Blog Hop called The Next Big Thing.

This is my final set of answers for now – focusing on the novel I began in 2010, and am working on into 2013 (mainly to stop me editing the previous two). It’s not as detailed as the previous two, but as it’s actually my work in progress, I thought I should post about it.

I’m also living in a flat with minimal (if any) internet so if it takes me a while to reply, I apologise, but I will try to catch up with the blog as soon as possible.

1) What is the working title of your book?

It’s currently called Resilience.

2) Where did the idea come from for the book?

I don’t remember. The idea is coming up to three years old, but I know it began with the idea of eye colour and the sense of power behind the human gaze.

3) What genre does your book fall under?

Oh I have no clue. It’s only 11k long right now, but it was planned as a literary piece so we’ll have to see. It’s definitely Sci-Fi or Fantasy based though.

4) Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I don’t know. None of the characters are fully formed at this point, and one even shape-shifts so his appearance changes daily.

5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

The laws of the Sanctuary have been in place for fifty years, but when the Order of the Elements orders one of its workers to take in a child with hazel eyes, she has no choice but to break protocol.

6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

At this point, neither. Both are possible though.

7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Heh… three years? We’re still in progress.

8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I’ll let you know when I know what this one’s about.

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?

The colour of human eyes.

10) What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Again, we’ll see.

Once again, I tag anyone who writes Leave a link in the comments so I can read about your work and connect with you.

In Light,
Rose

Work in Progress: FOS

Tags

connect, Insights, LiteratureLessons, metaphor, nanowrimo, novel, WorkingOnStuff

Last week I wrote about my main novel project of 2012: Wings of Skell, as I was tagged by Cheyenne in a Blog Hop called The Next Big Thing.

Much like writing the summary and query letters, despite being the second book in a series, I found it helpful to write about the book – so I’m back with another one.

I’m also living in a flat with minimal (if any) internet so if it takes me a while to reply, I apologise, but I will try to catch up with the blog at the weekend when I’m visiting my parents.

1) What is the working title of your book?

Flight of Skell is the second book in my series, following Wings of Skell. Once more, the titles have changed, but I’m still working out what to call the final one before I settle on the format for the first two.

2) Where did the idea come from for the book?

The first book began with two POVs. In the re-write, I cut out the second main character completely, and the book just felt right to end at a point earlier than I’d intended. So now I’ve second one which includes the second main character and continues the story, typing up a lot of loose ends. It also brings me to the point I intended to end on, and in typing one extra paragraph on the final day, the whole premise of book three has a new underlying theme. It was this little possibility that inspired me to write the second one – to find that thread.

3) What genre does your book fall under?

I believe it’s classed as a Young Adult Fantasy series. I’ve never had to classify it before, but I’m aiming at early twenties.

4) Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I’m not sure I really have an answer for this, but maybe once the series is done and I’m looking at the fully-developed people and how they’ve changed I’ll be able to pair them with actors. As before, Alina could be played by Katie McGrath.

5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Alina made it to the throne, beating the odds and turning the tables on a faction battle. However, the story of her lineage is still a mystery and an old tale of the country’s origin spurs a whole new set of possibilities for her bond with Skell.

6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Not sure yet, but Wings of Skell is in the hands of a publisher. In case they say they’re interested, this series is on hold until February other than revisions. Following any rejection, agents will be next. Failing that, I have no problem self-publishing so the people who want to read it can.

7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

27 days. I know about a major revision though, so once I’ve let it sit for a month or two, I’ll be re-writing a pretty big chunk of it.

8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Not a clue, but the impact of an origin story reminds me of the Noble Warriors trilogy by William Nicholson.

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Knowing that Alina’s main motivation hadn’t been realised, and having a tiny glimpse at the end of the last book that I could access this thread – this tiny seed of an idea that will really make the final book have depth.

10) What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Erm. It’s got falcons, necromancy, magic, and Fae… and a secondary character has an adorable black puppy who is incredibly cute. Seriously.

Once more, I tag anyone who writes Leave a link in the comments so I can read about your work, too!

In Light,
Rose

Work in Progress: WOS

Tags

Insights, LiteratureLessons, nanowrimo, novel, WorkingOnStuff

It’s December. The rush of NaNo is over and my novels are resting. However, that doesn’t mean I’ve stopped being a writer.

I’ve returned to a story I began in 2010, and I remembered that I was tagged in a Blog Hop by another NaNoWriMo participant, Cheyenne. As I spent January-October writing the first book, then November writing the sequel, I’ll begin with the first one.

1) What is the working title of your book?
Wings of Skell is the first book in my series, though I’ve changed my mind on the title’s format for the whole series; I haven’t yet decided on the replacement for this story.

2) Where did the idea come from for the book?
The image of Alina in a dusty village with a bird of prey just appeared. I had to get to know her; and find out what their story was.

3) What genre does your book fall under?
Young Adult Fantasy

4) Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Not a clue. Let me wait until the drafts are edited and I know which characters are actually appearing in each book. I guess the main character resembles Katie McGrath so that would work.

5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
(I hate this bit; it never feels I can do the book justice… I don’t think the first book’s very good but this makes it sound so much worse =P)
Alina, heir to the throne, flees her village when bandits come for her. Heading for the city, she seeks the faction known for helping those with magic and endeavours to take her rightful place as Queen. But the raptor who helped her flee has a connection to the Otherworld that she may not be able to escape.

6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
Ideally represented by an agent but as it’s currently in the hands of a publisher (no high hopes for the first attempt), who knows. Ideally, some form of official representation would be nice.

7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
Nine months, though of that, only about 2-3 months actual writing time. It spent a lot of time sitting.

8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Not a clue. I’m not sure it’s even a finished story yet – the sequel brought up a lot of shifts I may need to account for.

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?
Skell. I had the image of Alina and him together, and of the kingdom she begins in. I just had to find out what that was all about.

10) What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
Depends what they like to read, but there’s magic, romance, murder, adventure and myth all rolled up, so if that’s your cup of tea, then great.

I quite like the format of this, so I’ll probably do another for the sequel, and possible for my current WIP too. We’ll see.

As for tagging, I tag Sorcha and anyone who reads this and writes Leave a link in the comments so I can read it, too!

In Light,

Rose

NaNoWriMo 2012 ~ Finishing Early

Tags

13/4, dancing-with-limitation, Insights, LiteratureLessons, novel, reflection

I finished my novel last night.

I wrote the ending two scenes and the epilogue about 4 days ago, and then went back to fill in the 10k that was missing. Not the best way of writing, but it did have some positives.

Yesterday I finished the final scene (one about 5 scenes before the end) and though “I barely described anything. And I’ve killed off a villain who I only introduced two scenes ago. Really, he’s not much of a villain.”

So I wrote more – I added background and some actual details about the key places like rooms visited a lot and after finally reaching 79k – matching the 79,200 of the first book in the series, I found the 800 words weren’t too much of a stretch.

I still don’t really have a villain. But I’ve been writing these characters since January. I have written or planned the storyline in this world EVERY DAY since the beginning of September.

I love it, and I’m sick of it.

National Novel Writing Month

This is my forth year of “winning”, but it’s the first year I feel I’ve won fair and square. I didn’t plaugerise another storyline, didn’t have a character sing a song all the way through, including the chorus every time… and I didn’t panic on the final day and paste Finnish poems and their english translations into the “epilogue” (See last year for details).

I finished a storyline, with a few days to go, and on average that meant writing 2,900 a day. True, I’m living at home with no job, but this year I tracked my rough hours, and worked out that I only spent 65 hours writing. That’s an average of 2.4 hours per day, which could be fit into an evening after work, if necessary.

 

NaNoWriMo, for me, was the first step into realising I could create my future. It was my step in to Redefinition Alchemy and the first thing that made me go “if I want to be an author, why don’t I write a book?”

In hindsight, it sounds like a ridiculous comment; but thinking about the labels of “an avid reader” or ” a lover of artwork” – are you actually doing the things you want to be in your future?

I wasn’t.

 

Where To Go From Here

I’m not sure. I have a lot of ideas for the third book – possibly the last in the series; though to be honest, I’ve built up a world that I’d love to explore for many more hundreds of words. But the main characters from book 1 will end at book 3.

And the only way to improve my world-building skills is to practise.

 

Currently, I’m taking at LEAST four days off and then I’ll have a look at Resilience again – probably my favourite idea for a book ever; though I’ve tried to re-write the 20k I have about 15 times. I can’t find the right place to begin the story; so I’m going to try and plot it as if it’s a new book.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

 

In light,
Rose