The studio is quiet, which is as it should be since the Governor has placed a stay-at-home restriction due to the overcrowding at hospitals. Thank you COVID-19. Will this nightmare ever end?
I'm concentrating on two objectives during this pandemic: painting/drawing and writing my first fantasy novel. Admittedly, I'm spending seventy-percent of my working day on the novel. I'm moving into a larger studio space January 1, therefore I've decided to delay any serious painting until the first of the year. The next few weeks I'll be concentrating more on my writing, though I draw every day. Drawing and painting, like most artisan endeavors, requires constant practice.
My recent blog entries here are pieces of writing for my fantasy novel. They are first drafts, so keep that in mind. Any feedback you have would be appreciated. Once the novel is complete, I'll ask a group of readers I trust to dive into it and give me feedback. Some of these passages will never make it into the final manuscript. The passages that survive will be revised numerous times as I go along. I'm writing an epic novel, which I consider to be 150,000 to 200,000 words and up. It will take time.
Supposedly there are two types of novel writers: Architects and Gardners. While many authors are a hybrid of the two, most of them will lean one way or the other. The Architect writes out a full outline of the plot and the novel is basically written in outline form before they begin writing the prose. The Gardner, in contrast, just begins to write. They have a basic idea or character, maybe a cool situation with a weird character, and begin to write without a detailed outline. They allow the story to develop and unfold as they go. Stephen King is a Gardner. He places a character in a situation, provides a setting, and then begins to write. He doesn't want to know how the story ends.
On the other hand, writing an epic novel with a multitude of characters, an outline would be a great way to approach it and seem indispensable. I suspect Stephen King has an outline at some point, probably in his head. However, I find myself doing both. I have a written outline of my story, and know how it will end. I have the last two or three chapters in my head. Having said that, though, I enjoy writing "from the hip" with no idea of how things will develop. I like having the freedom to discover new things each day as I write. I have found that as I write various scenes, my outline begins to take shape. I make changes to my written outline when appropriate. I 'm not going to be a slave to an outline. I begin with a character, in a setting, with an idea, and begin to write. Then as I think about the story while away from the desk, an outline begins to emerge. Therefore, I feel like I lean toward being a Gardner, and will don the Architect's "hat" when necessary.
Stay tuned for more updates. I'll continue to post sample writings from the novel. Let me know what you think.
M
