Good morning everyone,
Happy Saturday! I wanted to keep you all informed of some changes going on behind the scenes. Two big projects are in the works, and one has hit a major roadblock that I can use help with.
This is a bit of a longer post so here’s a bullet point summary below.
TLDR:
- My audiobook has hit an impasse that might cripple the project for the foreseeable future.
- My current book is still taking shape, but it feels good.
- The comic book is almost ready,
- And lastly, don’t be afraid to pursue your dreams, guys. I wish you the best 🙂
The Bad News.👎
Unfortunately, I have yet to hear anything else back from the narrator from the audiobook, despite reaching out via email multiple times in the past months. It’s very disheartening and I’ve been very upset to see this wonderful opportunity crumble.
I don’t think it was anything malicious on the narrator’s part for not responding. I’ve heard rumors of technological things going awry on their part, so while I don’t blame them for not responding, it is still discouraging to see. However, I wish we could have pursued this further. Sadly, I don’t have any other way to contact them.
The silver lining is that he seemed really excited about the book and really liked it, and hearing anyone else say they liked my book means the world.
Where does this leave us?
I believe this means, unless you know, out of the blue, I hear something after a few months of radio silence, the audiobook can only go a couple different directions.
- I find another narrator, which I’ve been particular about since Maxy’s voice and personality are very important to me.
- I narrate the book myself, which would strip me away from writing or slow my progress elsewhere.
- I put the project on hold until either of the two above options become feasible.
I hope this news isn’t as disappointing for you as it was for me to stomach. Thankfully, no money was exchanged, so nothing was lost but time and some sleep after getting my hopes up, perhaps too high.
More posts and samples of what could’ve been exist on my website if anyone is curious.
If anyone knows a great place to find/audition audiobook narrators, please let me know. It would be incredibly helpful. I had considered the company, Findaway Voices, before all the scummy Spotify changes surfaced that seem to dick over authors.
The Good News.👍
This month’s good news comes in pairs.
Firstly, the comic book is very close to nearing the end of the illustration process. Only two or three pages and a cover to go and then, then comes researching how to publish, print and market the thing, lol. The speed this comic came together snuck up on me. I wasn’t expecting it, but one page at a time, it took shape and here we are. 🙂
At the advice of other authors, I will seek to discuss the next steps with a gentleman who’s an expert in this field and our appointment is on the 22nd. Wish me luck.
The Works in Progress😎📚
I currently have two works in progress (WIP) but only one that I am actively pursuing. Lately, work on the story has consisted of heavy plotting, writing drafts, polishing said drafts, and then realizing the structures can be tweaked, until Eureka! It clicks. Then I’d revise the story to fit better around these plot points and the best way to tell it.
I’ve probably written/edited the opening eighteen chapters twenty times already, but oddly enough, it feels good once the pieces click. Normally, it can feel like the wheels are spinning and I’m barely treading water. Then I fall into the comparison game again or discouragement, (and there was some of that,) but for now those little victories are my successes. Those little aha-moments, where we figure it out that this is the best way the story can pan out, they are my small hits of dopamine to keep me chugging onward.
I wish I can share what these are, but then I’d spoil the plot 😉
Well, I suppose I can share some.
While working with my developmental editor, we noticed a problem that we had a lot of worldbuilding to accomplish in two chapters. Also, the inciting incident seems to hit the protagonist too fast that the weight of the friendships and consequences lack the depth I want in the moment.
The solution? We were overthinking it. Start the protagonist within their element. Show their normal life and where they exceed in and struggle to get what they want.
And it was like, that’s it! That’s what we’ve been missing because, sure enough, everything I’d been stressing fell into place. This allowed exposition to remain interesting and we get to know and feel for the characters easier. But for me it was like this click, mind-blowing thing that, this thing, that’s what we’ve been missing. Which would spark another rewrite because all the pieces now will take greater shape.
The Ups and Downs
That’s not to say I haven’t had good and bad days in the writing process. One hang-up for me until this past Thursday pinning what’s the through-line between two plot threads. It seemed like, once we got to a certain portion of the book, the plot changes. My editor felt it too.
So, we mapped out all the key important moments of the protagonist’s life and chose to rethink again the best place to start this story and what its key ideas are. Then I noticed something. One moment where the protagonist’s life changes feels so drastic that it makes a midpoint in the story’s structure. This is the moment where the character’s life is so uprooted that they have to make a change or a realization if they want any hope of winning.
This was the key. We couldn’t pursue the next piece of the puzzle or finish the next chapters, since this change is so drastic that it demands its own space. It’s too big. The midpoint came too early, which is a bad sign.
It also meshed again with another problem. The villain. He’s this ghost from the protagonist’s past and I’ve found it so difficult to give him that gut punch I want of seeing him again in Psyche’s life.
Lastly, we had one more obstacle: the main character’s past. I didn’t want to explore a character’s past in depth so as to keep the story in the moment, but in doing so the stakes can’t be set deeper.
Where did it land?
The solution didn’t come easy but makes sense now seeing the wheels spin: Tell the story to give it the best emotional weight possible. The scenes I had been writing won’t be wasted but enhanced in a “book two.”
Let me explain. This is dipping into spoiler territory, but I’ll try my best to keep them contained.
Consider a zipper. Both ends have teeth and seam together in a straight line. I will be joining the past and present of the character’s life likewise, telling them both sequentially, but not chronologically, to carry that weight for this story.
This lets the villain be developed for here and later. This allows the protagonist to form deeper connections, and you see her grow and fail in real time and see how the past informs the present. So many thresholds were crossed in a single solution.
But there’s a catch. (There’s always a catch.) Next, we want to toy with the narrator. That’s the next puzzle to crack so this can make elements richer and juicer, and I don’t want to spoil all my plans, but that should be enough to chew on for now.
So, the good news is here is that after a bit of turmoil and the endless racing to get off the ground, writing feels good this week. And that’s always good, right?
What have I been reading? 📖😊
If you know me, I love stories but find it hard to discover some I enjoy. This week I finished Little Thieves by Margaret Owens, and while there were some things that irked me, (especially the opening and climax, don’t get me started,) I THROUGHLY enjoyed it, nonetheless.
It’s been a long time since I couldn’t put a book down and this was one of those, so be forewarned. I feel it’s best to go into it and form your own opinions. So, I could regale you about all my feelings about it, but I’d probably spoil the whole thing for lack of self-control.
It’s a retelling of a fairy tale with a girl who’s the god daughter of Fortune and Death personified and finds herself into some trouble when stealing. “Some trouble” is probably the understatement of the century, but if these kinds of stories are your thing, it might be worth taking a look.
What’s popping in my personal life? 🎲🐲🎮
I’m still running some tabletop games in my spare time, and we’re arriving on a five-year anniversary for one of my groups. It’s great to see that.
My local church is going through changes as the pastor is looking to retire and spend more time with his family and grandchildren. Also, his replacement shall be coming from South Africa. They’re really sweet and I think God will do great things through them.
Lastly, I had thoughts of returning to something of my youth. When I was a kid, I wanted to do two things when I grew up. First, I wanted to be an artist. Second, I wanted to make video games. Eventually, I combined the two in middle school to become a “video game designer.” I loved their stories and excitement and how they made me feel.
One of my parents dissuaded me from this, but I wonder, what if I had gone down this road? When I had Covid, I binge-watched tutorials on platformers, feeling too sick to move or change the video. After I got better, I made one, and it wasn’t half-bad. The level design was the tricky thing.
It’s something I likely won’t have time for, but it’s comforting, in a strange way though, now as an adult I can. Nothing’s stopping you from pursuing something, and it feels good to dream.
What I learned/relearned this month🏫🗓️
So, I’ll leave you guys with this. Dream big.
If there’s something you want to pursue, look into the steps to see if it’s something you can manage rather than discounting it. Too often than not, I find myself saying I’ll never be that good or able to do that.
Instead, what’s more helpful is analyzing what’s needed or important, and then putting small goals to get there. That’s what I’ve had to relearn this month.
I got discouraged comparing my draft to another and I’ve had to rethink some things analytically, and also learn it’s okay to feel certain ways. Sometimes that’s not easy to hear, but don’t stay there. Don’t stay in these emotions you have or let them detract from you.
Make small goals. Then, before you know it, you’re there. It’s small steps to climb, not a bar to reach.
The means planning and doing homework, so it’s work—but work worth doing.
And if I’ve learned anything from publishing a book, anything is possible. That’s something I would’ve never thought in a million years I could do. I hope that helps someone else that may be struggling.
Here’s a video that sums up my thoughts better.
Anyway, thanks for reading!
Until next time,
Keep Writing!
-Antonio