Handling Rejection

Getting any kind of writing work, be it fiction or freelance-journalism, is an uphill battle. Editors already have long lists of outstanding, skilled, and experienced writers. Most of the editors I've met will honestly say that they are always looking for new writers. But the reality I've found is not quite so simple. 

I got my first writing gig with a website and accompanying magazine a little over a year ago. I pitched to an associate editor and never heard back. After about a month, I followed up, pitching a different angle. We finally connected, though it was my first pitch that he preferred. It took another 6 months before I received an assignment and started writing and getting paid. 

Recently, I've been working with a new editor at a website, we worked through my pitch, and I got a draft submitted. Then came the email every writer fears-- "not what I had in mind". It's that moment of rejection that struck me like a fist in the gut. Part of me just wanted to toss the whole thing away-- after all the hours I spent on the draft that was in the wrong direction-- maybe I'm not cut out for this writing thing anyway. And it wasn't like I had tons of alternate angles to pitch in rebuttal.

Except, I did. I just didn't know it. 

So, here's my formula for surviving rejection-- and I know I'm going to have plenty of it. It's simple really: DO NOTHING. For at least an hour, find something else to do. Do not respond, do not think, do not ponder. Go immediately to something else. For me, it was dinner. I talked it out some with my wife, and afterward we had a lovely meal together. Then, I got back to the drawing board and sure enough, more than a dozen alternatives came out. I picked the best and pitched anew.

You see, my thinking is that in the moment, feeling rejected and crushed, I'm not thinking clearly. Anything I write, whether a response to the editor or a rewrite to the article, it will all be emotionally charged. Sure, it may not be completely visible, but it will be there. Much better to take a beat. Besides, no editor is going to expect an immediate fix to anything they send back.

I know my rejection isn't so bad. This editor and I are still going to work together. But these mini-rejections are the perfect place to practice taking time for myself before I respond. That way, I'll already know what to do when bigger rejections come my way.

How about you? How do you come with rejection?

Rewriting

If you're anything like me, there's a particular part of the writing process that you love and another that you would just love to chuck out the window. I think any writer of even minor experience understands the importance of each part of the process. For me, I didn't realize the value of revising until I received my first professional assignment. It was a freelance article that I'd pitched to a magazine. We decided to take a bit of a dry run on their website first and I was surprised my editor offered to pick up my pitch for the magazine afterward-- I do not think I did well at all, and my editor basically rewrote most of the article before it went up. You see, I hadn't spent any time in revision-- I'd never really had to before because all my teachers and professors accepted what I turned in, telling me how good it was. 

I'm grateful to my first editor and the second chance he gave me. We had a bit more time, so when I sent him a draft, he sent it back with extensive notes on what to change. I made those changes, and got more notes back. Over and over. I think it was the 4th or 5th round when I threw out everything I'd written, internalized his notes and started again. And it was wonderful. Sure, I still had to go through a few rounds with that, but I'd learned the value of the rewrite, rather than just the edit. 

My writing life has been much better ever since. With my current assignment, I went through three full rewrites before I submitted it for feedback, each far superior to the one prior. I anticipate a lot of feedback still, but that's how I grow as a writer. 

Of course, time contains me from doing very many rewrites for this blog. So, you get what is basically a first draft. I'd love to get to the point where I have more time to rewrite here, but for now, this will just have to do. Between my full time day job, the 10 semester credits I'm taking for a certification, my freelance writing work, not to mention home and family-- there's not much time left for this blog. At least not yet. 

Predictability

This weekend, I finally got around to watching The Hunger Games. I've only gotten a few chapters into the book before I put it down. I know it's an extremely popular book lately and I have every intention of going back to it, but I just wasn't able to get into it when I first tried. It doesn't help that I've got an enormous and ever-growing backlog of books that keep vying for my attention. Anyway, I thought the movie was okay-- well acted and decently written, but I couldn't help but see through it. And that's what's got me posting today.

You see, I'm an over-thinker, as anyone who followed my liveblogging of Mistborn will know. I've experienced a great deal of stories through books, movies, video games, and I know specific story-beats when I see them. Take when the dog-beast jumps out of the woods--I'm trying to avoid spoilers, just in case--there is so much that telegraphs it before it happens: music (or lack thereof), dialogue, camera angle, body posture, and so on. It was only my wife sitting next to me that kept me from saying "now" just as the hidden beast lunged-- she hates it when I do that.

And here is where I'm torn. When I write, I want my story and its pacing to be unique, unpredictable. I want to write the kind of story I love to read, where events are clear and connected, with subtle clues laid along, but never telegraphed to the reader. But I also understand that story-beats occur the way they do because they are successful. My wife jumped, letting out a little scream, when the beast leaped out of the forest. That pacing worked for her, and for countless others-- just not for me.

When I first started writing, I wanted to go against every story-template I know. I didn't want to write a hero's journey. Happily-ever-after isn't my kind of tale. Yet, if I broke with the tried-and-true entirely, I ran the risk of never finding a sizable audience. Now, I've reconsidered. It's not about making a new mold, it's about choosing to break just the right parts of an existing mold. There are countless authors already doing this to great effect. I loved Ender's Game for the twist and melancholy ending and The Giver for the ambiguity it offers about the fate of the main character. Or in a slightly different vein, The Walking Dead adventure game by Telltale reinvigorates the zombie-story with small changes in gameplay. Chopping into a zombie's head one swing at a time really drives the experience home, giving you a moment to reflect between swings. It's what each of these does differently that sticks with me. How about you? Do you enjoy traditional stories or ones that change it up?

Getting some Traction

So, it's taken me more than a week to come back. In fact, looking at the notes I left myself, it's been quite a while. At the time I was reading a book about organization that talked about getting your most awful-but-important task done first-- right at the beginning of the day. The book used a Mark Twain quote about eating a frog first thing in the morning, that way you know that nothing worse can happen that day. It was some really great stuff and I was planning to really dive in here, but then my daytime job hit full swing with a new position and it's taking a lot more of my time and energy than I anticipated. It'd be nice if I could say I got a substantial raise with all the extra responsibility, but such is not the case. The extra $100 or so a month is nice, but nothing when compared with the sheer weight of my new position.

But this post is about getting some traction with my writing. My wheels have been spinning a long time now, and so I've fallen back into what got me going the last time around. I've sent some pitches around for some freelance writing work for websites and magazines. One's pretty promising, if a bit slow in the processing. It's not my novel, sadly, but it's writing. And it was this kind of writing that made me fall in love with words again and brought me back to the blank page. It was this kind of writing that propelled me 20k words into my novel before my inner editor and the overly complicated logistics of an online writing group drained my reservoir. I loved that group; my writing just wasn't ready for it. That, and we never really got to know each other on a personal level, and that made critiquing and receiving critiques more difficult-- I never quite knew the tone of the person behind the feedback. Plus, our group kept growing randomly and when we hit eight or nine, I think most of us basically gave up. Four or five is the perfect size, I think. But if any of them read this, I did learn a ton and I am grateful for what the group did. And I wish each of you well with your books. I'd love to see us all on the shelf one day. And if not, keep writing.

I wish I could say my traction is firm and I'm making headway. I'm not there yet, but I think about my writing everyday. And I long to get back to it in full force again. I hope to soon. I really do. What about you? How do you keep your traction going?

Spinning Wheels

I've been thinking a lot lately about the methods I use to measure myself. Whether it's in my writing, my day job, or my relationships, I have an unwritten rubric against which I measure myself. Did I meet my word-goal for the day? Did I finish my to-do list? Did I accomplish everything asked of me at work? Did I spend enough time with my wife? Lately, it seems, the answer to most of these is no. I've been feeling like a car on an icy road-- the pedal is down and the motor is revving, but the wheels are just spinning against the slick. Any driver who lives in the snow knows that spinning out never helps the tires regain traction, in fact, it just makes the situation worse by solidifying the layer of ice between the car and the road. The best solution is to slow the tires and let the weight of the car bear down on the tires to give them what friction they can, then to use a rocking motion to get the car out from the icy rut.

So, what's this got to do with anything? Well, for me, it means I've got to slow myself down and get some friction between me and the things that are most important to me. I could spend endless days doing meaningless things-- there's always plenty of them-- or I could bear down on the few that actually matter.

Sounds good, right? But how to do it? That's what I want to focus on for next week. See you then.

What it takes

Wow, I'm coming off the tail end of a couple of really hard weeks. It's likely no one noticed this time around, but I hadn't realized I'd missed last week until I was already half way into the week. Yeah, I'm not thrilled to have missed one so soon after making my plans. Whenever I think of my favorite writing-blogs and how they manage to keep to their schedule, I have to realize that most of them write full-time (not that I'm suggesting that's easier, but it certainly is more focused). It's the aspiring writers who are in a difficult pinch, at least if like me, you're holding down a steady job, trying to write and blog as well, not to mention family. Yeah, it's a lot harder than I thought it would be going in. More than anything, I wish I could write full-time. That's the dream, after all. But I think it takes a set of particular somethings to get there.

It takes discipline and honing of one's life. It takes writing skill. It takes something worth saying. It takes days and days. It takes frustration. It takes a soul wrenching desire, such that it twists and ties up your innards to propel you forward. It takes practice. It takes time. Lots and lots of time. 

When I was younger, I wanted to be in professional sports. It was a young child's dream and didn't last long-- particularly when I learned what it would take to get there. I don't think writing professionally is any different. It takes just as much talent, skill, practice, and sheer determination to make it. 

I'm not so sure I've got all that yet, but I'm working at it. How about you?

Jameson

Scheduling and Priorities

So, I've been reading Stephen R. Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People this week. Actually, I've been listening to it on audiobook. It's read by the author in a nice, presentation-style flow and tone. As some of you may already know, I've been having a really hard time with some of my priority-management-- particularly in my writing. I figured this book may help.

I've just started reading the section on the importance/urgency priority matrix. If that's new for you, let me break it down: There's a box with 4 squares inside. The top two boxes (Quadrants I and II) represent things that are important (the most urgent in the left box and the not-urgent in the right). The bottom two boxes (Q III and IV) are for unimportant things (again, urgent in the left and not-urgent in the right). Most of the time, Covey says, our lives can become dominated by the left side of the matrix, by the things that are urgent, regardless of importance. Then, items that were important/not urgent suddenly become urgent and you never quite catch up. Covey's assertion, at least as far as I've read, is to spend more time in the top boxes by (at least initially) saying 'no' to things in the bottom boxes.

Writing is a Quadrant II task for me. It's important-- vitally important to me-- but it's not urgent. And I've been letting it slide, replaced by unimportant things. So, taking Covey's idea, I've started to consider devoting some time each day for Quadrant II items. I'd like it to be at least an hour, but with school starting up for me, I may have to juggle that--

Wait a second... school just needs to be put in it's place just like everything else. Doing Quadrant II items before they become urgent is important to me, and it'll make school better as well. Plus, anything that brings writing to the forefront is valuable to me.

So, that's my goal-- an hour of Q II tasks each day, of which writing will be one. What about you? How do you make sure to get your writing done?

What you read while you write

What you read while you write...

Everything I've ever read or heard about being a writer has told me two fundamental truths: To be a writer you must write and to be a writer you must read. A lot. I wholeheartedly agree with those statements. There is no substitute.

This week, I've been reading Robert's Rules of Writing by Robert Masello. His approach to 101 writing rules seems to be a bit off the traditionally beaten path. I'd like to focus on one of his rules: #14 "Stop Reading". Now, before you take that thought too far, let me explain what he means by that statement. It's not a call to cease all reading, but a warning of how other writers' words and ideas can fill your mind and hijack your story. It's about avoiding works similar to your own while you work on it, to leave your mind free from any accidental influence.

I've seen it in my own work. Even while reading Mistborn recently, I found myself thinking that a specific plot device or character type could go well in my work in progress. It wasn't so much that Brandon Sanderson was taking over my story as I was handing it to him and saying: Please, make it better for me. It does not work that way, nor should it. My story is mine to craft.

Masello does make a suggestion (it's not like writers could easily cut themselves off, nor should we. Reading is what motivates and inspires many writers). He suggests selecting works far different from that which you are writing. Non-fiction presents a great opportunity for me, or perhaps some thriller fiction or literary. Just stay away from Fantasy while I'm writing one.

So, in that spirit, I've picked up 7 Habits of Highly Effective People as well as a book on Ancient Rome. Not to worry, I'm not planning a chapter by chapter dissection of either. What I am planning, however, is to figure out how I'm supposed to survive without reading my favorite genre while I work on my book. Maybe it'll help me work harder on my book and get it done sooner.

What about you? Do you limit what you read while you write?

Jameson

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Epilogue

I've been thinking a long time about what I'm going to do after I finish with Mistborn. I've already begun reading a book about plot structure. I began it a while ago, and I've been starting to dive in since finishing Mistborn.

Now, I've really enjoyed this analysis of Mistborn. It's been hard to stick to at times, but now that I'm at the end, I'm glad I did. Sure, I missed some of the beauty of the story, but I've gained a lot more understanding for my own projects. I don't think I'll be doing another in-depth analysis right away, but I do plan to do another one at some point. I'm thinking I may go with a  book I've already read-- particularly if I decide to do it chapter by chapter again. If I do a new book, though, I think I'll stick with less frequent entries and not limit how much I can read on any given day.

For now, my plan is to take a week off and then return on Mondays, starting August 20. I think I'll have a short portion on what I've been reading as well as my inexperienced analysis of story writing. This is really all just beginning for me.

On to the Spoilers:

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Chapter 38

I think climaxes are the second most important part of a book. I'd put the story-opener as the most important because I know how many people only give a book a small chance to grab them before they try something else. And I may be inclined to agree with them because there are so many books now, and with self-published e-books, there are tons and tons more. So, the opening is absolutely vital.

But the climax, that's what stays with the reader more than anything-- the ending that sounds in their mental ears whenever they think back or discuss the book with others. It's not that an explosive climax can overcome a horribly dull story, but it certainly can turn a mediocre tale into a memorable one. And part of the reason to write is to be memorable.

Let's get on to the Spoilers:

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Chapter 37

Payoff is a pretty tall order for any writer, and now that I'm practically at the end of Mistborn, I've started to consider the challenge. Even with an extensive beta-readership, I think it must be one of the most difficult parts of a novel. I imagine Brandon likely spent a great deal of time considering and working his ending to provide the best possible payoff. But even with some feedback, there's no way to ensure the payoff is sufficient for every future reader.

I think the better measure of whether there is sufficient payoff is not in how each thread is wrapped up, but the percentage of threads that are wrapped up. I'm not referring to things that are preserved for a sequel-- I'm referring to just the things that tie into the plot and arc of the story.

Take the game Mass Effect 3, for example. There were a lot of people who were completely dissatisfied with the ending of that game because they disagreed with how it ended. Personally, I liked the way it ended because of how many threads were actually tied in and wrapped up. Certainly, it was not a perfect story, but I measured more by the sheer number of payoffs and not the quality of the final scene. For me, the payoffs in a story begin as the final climax starts it's climb. I think for those who disliked ME3, they looked only at the final scenes, not the final climax as a whole.

That's the view I'm taking with Mistborn-- it's not just the final chapter, payoffs can happen, even just in part, right now.

So let's move on to Mistborn spoilers:

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Chapter 36

It's all spoilers today. This close to the end, it's hard for it to be otherwise. Enjoy

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Chapter 35

Welcome back. It's my final week with Mistborn. I've decided that after this week, I'm going to take a break from such frequent posts, after daily for nearly eight weeks, I'm a bit worn, and I need to devote more time to my work in progress. This has been a good experience for me, and I'll likely do it again for another book in the future. Of course, I'll probably change the way I approach it next time, perhaps less-frequent posts that focus on larger chunks of text, or something along those lines. But for now, let's just dive into the beginning of the end of this book.

On to the spoilers:

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Chapter 34

I think I made the right choice to keep reading. I don't think this chapter would have had much meaning without the carryover from the previous chapter. And with it being the end of a section, it's a nice place to take a weekend. Next week will be my last week with Mistborn. There are four more chapters left, and I think I'll do a wrap-up post on Friday. Then, who knows. I'm still not quite sure what I'm going to do. Probably take a bit of a break.

Anyway, this is basically all spoilers (pretty big ones, so click through at your own risk):

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Chapter 33

Well, this chapter has decided it for me: I'm going to go ahead and read more than a chapter each day, though I will keep to my schedule for posting. I won't go into the details until the spoiler section, but I think this is for the best, both for my enjoyment of the story and for allowing the story's pace to better dictate my reading (which will hopefully overcome the issue I've had up until this point). If I do this kind of an analysis again, I don't know how I'll approach it, but I think doing it this way for the last week will help me know if it's a better way to approach it.

On to the spoilers:

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Chapter 32

Getting closer and closer to the end of the story, I find it difficult to not just sit down and finish the book. Normally, as I near the end of a book, I'll devote an evening or two to finishing it. I think that's a pretty common occurrence among readers, and it really helps build the momentum toward the final climax. I'm a bit concerned that the ending won't be very big for me because of my reading schedule. I'm considering reading and scheduling chapter posts for one each day, but letting myself continue to read. That way, I'll keep to my posting schedule, but still be able to maintain cohesion for the ending. I'll see how it goes for the next few chapters.

On to the spoilers

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Chapter 31

Brandon Sanderson has said that most of the time, the limitations of a magic system are far more interesting than what it can do. I wholeheartedly agree with that, particularly with the system he's created for Mistborn. I don't want to delve into spoiler territory, but Allomancy is one of the most structured and systematic bits of magic I've ever encountered. And it just gets better the further into the story I read. I don't know how much time he spend developing and refining this system, but I suspect it was a long time. And the best part about setting up specific limitations for magic, is when there is a character who is able to bend those limitations, even just a little, to get an edge. Whether it's through pure strength in the magic, or through cunning and intellect, bent (though not broken) limitation can be equally fascinating.

On to the spoilers:

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Chapter 30

I previously discussed the ramifications of choosing character points of view. But I've realized another that I wish to bring up. Points of view show that the events happening are vital to the story. It sets up an expectation that there will be a pay off regarding what occurs during that time, whether actual events or simply the thoughts portrayed by the character. Not every setup/pay off needs to occur immediately, but I think the larger the set up or the more severe the character shift, the sooner or larger the pay off needs to be. It's like taking a loan-- the longer you hold on to the money, the more you'll have to pay back at the end; likewise, the more money you borrow, the more you pay back in interest.

So, when considering additional points of view, I think its vital to realize that it increases the expected pay off when it does come.

On to the spoilers:

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Chapter 29

According to my kindle, I'm about three-fourths through the book, and I'm just finishing up my sixth week. There are 38 chapters, so I'm really coming down to the end of the story, and the end of this journaling process. I'm not sure what I'll do next, but I've got a little under two weeks to figure that out. It's Friday, so I'm going to keep this entry a bit short. Go enjoy the weekend!

Onto the spoilers:

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Chapter 28

Point of view is a vital part of any story. It fuels the emotion of the scene and can add insights to help the reader. The trouble with point of view is that it needs to be honest-- to have a character lie to the reader from their own view is tantamount to having the character lie to themselves. Now, there are times when this may be valuable-- if the character has a mental issue, for example-- but most of the time, I think the character who's holding the viewpoint needs to be honest with the reader.

When a story has only a couple of points of view (or less), this doesn't present much of an issue for keeping secrets from the reader-- you just have to make sure the few characters whose views are in play do not know it. As soon as you start expanding the list of viewpoint characters, it becomes a more difficult matter. Of course, this can also serve to dispel suspicion of a character, by showing their viewpoint the readers will stop thinking of them as hiding something with respect to the scene.

On to the spoilers:

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Chapter 27

In the most recent Writing Excuses episode, there is mention of the scene-sequel format for maintaining tension while giving the readers a moment of respite between events. While I've referred to something similar, this format actually holds a different purpose, I believe, than the simple peaks and valleys. The scene-sequel format is more about giving the readers and the character time to reflect on the tension that just occurred and get set for the next wave. Yes, this equates to a valley, but the scene-sequel implies a greater connection between the scenes.

Of further interest from the same Writing Excuses episode, Brandon mentions that taking some of his most highly charged scenes and separating them from the build-up would make them melodramatic. This is something similar to what I've been experiencing with my restrictions on a chapter each day. Much of the emotional power is lost in the walls of time between the chapters. This is probably the thing I've repeated most through this experience, but I found it interesting to hear Brandon mention it himself.

On to the spoilers:

It's very clear that this is a bit of a scene-sequel chapter. Yeah, we get to some new and interesting stuff by the end, but it certainly opens on the characters' reflections on the killings from the previous chapter. Then Vin and Kelsier go to meet Marsh. I don't know how important that meeting was. Sure, the information about the Soothing stations was vital to their eventual progress, and it was good to be in touch with Marsh, as he tends to fall off the grid of the storyline.

What interested me most was Vin learning the use of gold in Allomancy. I'm not sure if it will come into play in any significant way, but I hope it does. I don't really know how it could, but the idea of seeing the different possible pasts is one I enjoy. I hope to see it come into play in some way, other than to just round out the Allomantic balance.

See you tomorrow. Happy reading.

Jameson

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Chapter 26

There's a lot that I've read and heard about making sure to include a variety of senses in your writing. We experience life through all the senses available to us, and the more that are included in a scene, the more drawn in the reader can become. I agree with that point. But I think there's also something to be said for truly powerful visuals. When I think of some of my favorite stories, I think of the vision I had as I read it. Only rarely do I think of the sounds or scents that were portrayed in the story. Most of the time it's about the visuals. Certainly, the visual aspects of a scene should not be so encompassing as to overtake the other senses-- they should be there, too, as long as they build the scene and do not hamper its effect.

While the smell of rotting flesh or the sounds of vultures on a battlefield may be an important aspect when surveying the scene afterward, in the heat of the fighting, a brief whiff of death or the crack of a skull may actually detract from the scene. Of course, those things could also enhance the scene-- it all depends on what the purpose of the scene is. It seems having a point to each scene is pretty important to help weed out or add in other senses as needed.

On to the spoilers:

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Chapter 25

This chapter ends the third of five parts to the story. I'm getting so deep that unless there's a clear literary or authorial point that I can find, there's not much I can discuss spoiler-free. And I'm trying to be careful about the points I draw because I don't want to even hint at things that could lead to spoilers. So, I've got to be careful.

Today, I'm going to stick to a review of my little project here. I'm now five weeks in and over halfway. I didn't realize how much effort this was going to take, but I'm glad I'm doing it. First off, I have a really hard time with consistency, but this has helped me with that. True, sometimes I write an entry a bit early, but I've made sure to have an entry every weekday, just as I planned. More than once, I've thought that it would be okay to just let a day slip, but I remind myself that I made this a goal and it's out there for anyone to find, whether I succeed or whether I fail. And that keeps me going. It's not about readership, it's about meeting my goal for myself. And so far, it's going pretty well. My next goal is to apply this kind of consistency to my current work in progress.

Onto some spoilers:

Well, at first glance it appears that my thoughts from the previous chapter are incorrect. After Kelsier and Vin run to the battle, which turned out to be a long distance away, not just at the other end of the city, they found most of the army dead-- including Yeden. They go to find any left in the caves and there Kelsier meets the same old man from the prologue, Mennis. I was really happy to find him tied back into the story. I don't really care if this is the only time we see him again, I just liked the tie-in.

This is certainly building into an actual setback for the plan, and the fact that the end of the chapter was in Kelsier's view and he didn't mention his other plan leads me to believe that it wasn't part of his plan. There's still a skeptical part of me that wants to believe that Brandon is trying to just cover it up somehow, but I can't really see how right now.

So far in the story, there have been a few setbacks to the plan-- Vin's injury is probably the most prominent so far, plus the low recruitment numbers, and now the majority of the army is wiped out. And with Yeden gone, the question arises about what will happen after Luthadel is captured (I'm still sure that they'll capture the city one way or another). The plan was for Yeden to be in charge of setting up the new government, but with him gone, the question of who will take his place becomes fairly big in my mind. I don't expect that question to be addressed very soon-- I bet their minds will be on what to do without an army-- but I hope they get to it soon.

More tomorrow. Happy reading.

Jameson

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Chapter 24

Here's the trouble with overthinking a story: you could spoil all the fun. I'm not saying that I've spoiled much of Mistborn for myself-- yet. But I think I'm in the process of doing so.

I used to be a huge fan of M. Night Shyamalan. I loved Sixth Sense, and was one of the few to really enjoy Unbreakable. Signs was amazing, and I was really looking forward to The Village. I watched every trailer and spent time thinking of what the surprise ending could be. I considered dozens of possibilities, drawing from other stories I knew. In Lois Lowry's Gathering Blue, there is talk about monsters outside the town that ends up much the same as in the movie. And the big twist regarding where the Village actually resided was something I'd considered as well. And when I finally saw the movie, I was disappointed that I'd out-thought the story twists.

Sometimes it's better to just suspend your disbelief and go along for the ride. Just because you can figure something out, doesn't mean you should. I'm probably ruining my experience with the story of Mistborn with this blog, but I'm learning a ton about the craft of writing. So there's my trade off.

On to the Spoilers:

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Chapter 23

I'm sorry, today it's all spoilers:

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Chapter 22

There's an element of storytelling that I do enjoy, but find I really enjoy when it is broken. Stories are filled with heroes who reach their goal, overcoming ever-worsening odds, but in the end they are victorious. It's a great part of stories. But it's done so often, the rare moments of utter failure or great sacrifice become that much more precious to me as a reader.

Take Harry Potter. I expected him to die at the end, sacrificing himself to defeat Voldemort. I did not like the 'not-really-dead' sequence. It felt like JK Rowling was trying for a twist ending that wasn't really one-- trying to force emotional reactions that were not really there. Had Harry actually died and stayed dead-- the emotion would have been real. Certainly, not everyone would have been happy with that ending, but I saw it as a lost attempt to show the world that less-than-ideal endings can still be great.

How does this all relate to Mistborn? Spoilers below...

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Chapter 21

Whenever I read a book and begin to visualize the scenes, I find that I become rather fond of those images-- in fact, the reason I dislike many movie adaptations is that they do not reflect my experience. Nor should they, but it does create a bias in my mind. Often when a story suddenly reveals something that thwarts my original image, I feel annoyed.

But not this time.

It's a small thing that was revealed, and I doubt it carries much weight with other readers, but it does for me. It's got some spoilers, so you'll have to click past to see them.

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Chapter 20

Today's post is going to be short. I've been thinking about character foils recently, and I've been trying to identify them in this book. At first, I thought Dockson was Kelsier's foil, but I'm not so sure any more. I think there's a better foil in a different character. Vin's got her brother's voice as a foil, but I'm starting to wonder if there's some part of her and Kelsier that are foils of each other. I've not found it yet-- Kelsier having a far more direct and powerful foil-- but I'd really like to see it.

On to some spoilers:

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Chapter 19

While I don't know how I feel about the pacing lately, I realize it may be a product of reading the story one chapter at a time. I've discussed this earlier, but I definitely feel the effects of my stuttering pace through this book. It seems the more I stop to think about the book, the less fluid the story feels.

Normal readers don't force or limit their reading arbitrarily like I am. Normal readers continue out of interest, concern, curiosity or sheer will. Normal readers stop with they run out of time, fall asleep or hit a mini-resolution and can put a book down-- unless they stop out of boredom or disinterest. Normal readers do not limit themselves to a chapter-a-day, so they don't suffer this kind of stuttering effect.

So, I'll give Mistborn the benefit of that knowledge. Onto some spoilers:

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Chapter 18

I'm having a bit of trouble picking a writing element from this chapter, but I have begun to think about something tangential. This week will end my fourth week of doing this Mistborn reading journal. There have been days I've been eager to get to it and days I felt I'd rather let it slide by. There are days I posted a bit early and days I've come close to letting the clock run out. But I'm still here.

That's more than I can say for my current work in progress. I've hit a pretty heavy wall and I'm spending more time analyzing how to scale it than actually putting my hand to the wall and lifting my body upward. There's a commitment to writing that I can't say I fully have yet. It's coming. But it's still fragile.

Like this blog, though, I just have to do it. Every day.

Mistborn spoilers below:

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Chapter 17

Today's chapter has got me thinking on the idea of character growth in a story. I would venture to think that the best stories include an aspect of character growth through the challenges and conflicts of the story. After all, if a character is static and unchanging through an entire novel, the challenges and conflicts would lose some of their impact. No one goes through life completely unchanged, and traumatic or difficult events are always influencing us, so that should certainly be reflected in the characters.

I'll save the details of character growth in Mistborn for the spoiler section, but I want to look at a few well-known characters. Take Star Wars, for example. Han Solo is likely one of the more loved characters in the original series and I think it's because the extent to which we see him grow. Sure, Luke grows as well, but his growth is along a predictable path-- to learn the Force and fight the Empire. Han follows a less plot-driven path from watching out for only himself and his ship to caring for those around him. He's the hardened shell that we get to see chip away as he falls for Leia.

Compare that with the prequel movies. Sure, we already know the path that Anakin will take, much like we know Luke's, so looking at some of the side characters, instead... and we don't see the same kinds of growth. Obi Wan doesn't change much during any of the movies. His overall arc has a bit of change, but he's so fastened to his promise to train Anakin that he can't see the obvious. Where's his growth? Even Padme, who's emotionally closest to Anakin's downfall in the second and third movies, she is pretty static. Certainly those aren't the only downfalls of the prequels, but it likely helps explain why they flopped so badly compared to the original. I'm not saying anything new here, I'm sure-- it's just to illustrate the importance of character growth.

Okay, onto the Mistborn spoilers:

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Chapter 16

I've been thinking recently about urgency in stories. It goes along the same lines as the risk of danger, but it's the sense of a ticking clock, like at the end of '24'. It's an important element to make a story interesting-- the idea that if things take too long, all is lost anyway. Urgency creates a separate condition for the heroes of the story to lose the battle. Sure, we know they could all die or they could not perform well and their plans would fail. Those are good reasons, but the idea of urgency puts an additional pressure to make sure things get done quickly.

On to the more specifics (spoilers):

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Chapter 15

As I continue reading Mistborn, I'm led to think about the importance of the risk of peril to the story. In Mistborn, there is plenty of physical peril, which is great. But I'm starting to think about other kinds of peril. There are relationships, friendships and bonds that could be in peril of being stretched beyond the breaking point. There are internal struggles that suggest a peril of confidence in oneself. There's the peril of failure for society as a whole. And I'm sure there are others as well.

Each form of risk and danger serves a different purpose, and I'd love to see a greater balance between them. Right now, the physical and societal perils seem to be the most emphasized, but we're also being introduced to a psychological peril of a character and I'd love to see that explored more. I won't get into more details here, so let's move into some spoilers:

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Chapter 14

As it inevitably does and rightly should, the valley of the last chapter gave way to the crest and peak of this chapter. There is more action and intensity than any chapter to this point. In fact, this chapter was the first with any real sense of peril for me. I'm pretty glad for that, considering how much planning and such has filled the book to this point. I think it's high time for some action.

With this being the end of another week, I'm left to reflect some on my progress with this so far. It's getting easier than I thought it would, and I'm really enjoying it. Sure, there's not many readers at this point, but that's fine with me. I'm focusing on learning what I can to assist my own craft. True, it's becoming less of a liveblog and more of a readers journal, but I think that's okay with me. Having begun this, I'm not sure how feasible it would be to actually liveblog a book, but this format so far works for me.

Spoilers:

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Chapter 13

Here we have a chapter that is easily a valley in the peaks and valleys of storytelling. Some chapters or scenes are peaks with lots of characterization or action or plot, and others are valleys that simply connect peaks together. Both are necessary for the sake of story pacing and for the reader. Here again is a time where if I were just reading the story for enjoyment, I would basically finish the chapter and move on without stopping to consider it. There just isn't much happening here.

But since I am reading at a pace that includes stopping and digesting each chapter as its read, I'm left with a sense of wondering what I should say about a chapter such as this-- other than it's an important connector piece, like a layover, and the story would not be complete without it.

One thing I did like is how Brandon mitigated the valley with some key information-- like a sudden pillar in the valley to keep readers interested. As I read and saw this happening, I realized that it was working for me, making the chapter seem more interesting than a simple connector. This is something I'm going to have to keep an eye on in further valley chapters. More in the spoilers:

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Chapter 12

I'm finding Brandon's writing and I are getting along much better lately. I don't know if it's the progression of the characters or the fact that I've gotten use to his style, but I found this chapter far more easily readable than some of the previous. Couple that with the good ending from the previous chapter and I think things are on a nice roll. Here, there was more of a sense of flow. And I finally got a good balance of Vin's view coloring the world in this chapter. I think Kelsier's absence during the bulk of the chapter helped quite a bit.

It seems Brandon really lets Kelsier take control of a scene when he's there, regardless of whose view is currently in play. It may be a purposeful evolution of Vin's character to show her growth through subtleties in how much of herself is put in her view.

On to some spoilers...

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Chapter 11

I was really quite surprised when I turned the page and saw the end of this chapter. I don't know if it's because it was shorter than I anticipated (again) or if I was so deep into the last scene such that I didn't see the ending coming up. Either way, it left me wanting more, which is always a good sign-- particularly in the middle of the story like this. I won't go into specifics until the Spoiler break, but it's not really the events of the chapter, per se, that left me with this feeling. And it wasn't really the descriptions, nor was there much action.

I think I'm wanting more because the scene ended earlier than I thought it should. There's something I've heard from writers about joining a scene late and exiting early-- and I think that's exactly what happened at the end of this scene. A character had joined the scene and it ended just a few pages later. It really felt like a new scene started when the character joined and then it was just over.

Spoilers

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Chapter 10

This particular chapter felt pretty short to me. I didn't pay attention to actual page counts, but the events really focused on two events, though there were a few things to learn in the process. More on those in the spoiler section. However, I was wondering if Brandon would bring the idea of specialization where the Mistings were concerned. The idea of someone who has a singular power means that he should become quite proficient in that power-- more so than someone with several different powers. I was considering it while I read, and not more than a few pages later, Vin had similar thoughts. To me, that's a mark of a good writer, or at least a good beta-test group-- to add readers thoughts into the mix and draw them in with an echo of thought. Makes me wonder if this particular echo was Brandon's own or suggested by an early reader....

Spoilers:

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Chapter 9

I've come to the end of my second week. My Kindle shows about 30% finished (184 pages). It's a slow pace, sure, but one I can keep without too much trouble. I've endeavored to do recurring things before, but it's always been overly ambitious and something unsustainable. But this, while needing commitment, is proving far closer to what I can reasonably do.

On to the Spoilers:

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Chapter 8

In this chapter, I discovered a creature that was reminiscent of something I'd seen in a video game. And it led me to wonder about the newest generation of writers (including Brandon Sanderson) and how the video game space influences their writing (or at least their creative engines). I go into spoecifics in the spoiler section, but here I'm just musing about external influence on writing.

I imagine every new medium has a strong influence on those writers who grow up alongside it. The advent of movies, television, video games, etc. all likely play a role in shaping the writer. And I think a good writer knows how to use those influences to draw in a different audience. There are certainly the social commentary stories like those of Orwell that show clear influences of technology (1984) and politics (Animal Farm), but those are pretty textbook examples, and I'm not as broadly read as I eventually would like to be, so am not certain of others. But it makes me think of my own writing and what may be influencing my work in progress. Other than the things I've already recognized, that is.

On to the spoilers:

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Chapter 7

It's getting to the point that I want to read a bit more of this book each day. But, I'm keeping myself to a chapter each day for this blog, though. It's a very different experience to read through a chapter and then think through it before going onto the next chapter. I'm considering and noticing things that I don't think I would have otherwise-- things like a foil character (more on that below).

In fact, I think doing this blog is actually transforming the book for me. It's not just about being entertained, it's about peering deeper. It's like one of those images that are actually made up of hundreds of tiny still frame pictures. Reading a book is like admiring the image as you walk past, but it feels like stopping and considering each chapter is like looking at each still frame picture instead.

Some may argue that it means I'm missing the real point of the story-- and there's validity to that argument, particularly since I've never read this story before, so I don't really know the bigger picture. But on the flip side, I am seeing writing construction and story pacing in a depth I never would have otherwise. Which is better? Perhaps some of both would be ideal.

Onto the spoilers:

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Chapter 6

I've had a few thoughts about what the point of all of this is for me. I mean, for someone who's already read Mistborn, it may not be very interesting to read someone discuss the book chapter by chapter in this manner. And for someone who's not read the book, the bulk of what I've written has had spoilers, so there's not much point for them to be here.

So, what is the purpose, I ask myself. And I think I've come to an answer. You see, I'm an unpublished writer myself. I took over a decade off of writing to explore more "traditional" employment. I currently work as a public school teacher. Anyway, my decade away coincided with a decade of less reading. Now that I'm back into both, I need a bit of extra spurring and commitment to make myself devote the time to reading and writing-- otherwise the rest of life just gets in the way.

So, for me, that's the point. Now, onto the Mistborn Spoilers:

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Chapter 5

Welcome back to a new week. Five chapters in, roughly a hundred pages and I finally get to see Brandon Sanderson work a fight scene, plus see some major Allomancy at work. This chapter is easily my favorite so far, but before I dive into it, there's something I've been neglecting.

At the beginning of each chapter, there's a bit of text from the view of some hero. I didn't think much of it at first, but now that a second story is starting to take shape, I have a few thoughts on it.

Bur first, the requisite warning. Spoilers:

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Chapter 4

Ah, plans. They always seem so simple when you talk about them, yet so complex in pulling them off. My plan was to blog a chapter of this book a day, and after only a week, I'm just realizing the kind of commitment I've made to time and punctuality. Yeah, I'm hoping my plan comes off better than Kelsier's plan is likely to-- just knowing how heist stories work.

I'm taking Saturday and Sunday off, so I"ll be back with Chapter 5 next Monday.

Spoilers:

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Chapter 3

It's getting a bit harder to think about writing this section of the liveblog without spoilers. I imagine the deeper in I get, the less there will be that's spoiler-free. Let's just say that I'm starting to see some Star Wars imagery; I'm just hoping the eqivalent of midichlorians don't show up-- or if they do, it'll be a bit better than how Lucas did it.

Spoilers:

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Chapter 2

I'm glad to see the story has picked up. Brandon's descriptions of the city are excellent. He notes just enough detail to build a picture but leaves a lot of the periphery to the reader. My favorite was how he referred to the ash stains on the sides of buildings as dripping paint on a canvas. So few words, yet so vivid a picture.

The story is starting to grow on me now-- there's been some tense moments and some witty banter between friends. Plus the world is filling out nicely. Also, I'm glad to see that Kelsier is back. Yay!

On to the spoilers...

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Mistborn Chapter 1

I'm settling on a schedule of one chapter each day, Monday through Friday for my liveblogging. That will give anyone following along plenty of time, and will complete the book in just about a month and a half. Not to mention that I'm not trying to push this through in a sprint, though that could be fun for another time.

This first Chapter did not really grab me so far. I know it's a lot of setting up characters and backgrounds, and the prologue did give me enough of interest to keep me going. It's just that I'm not too sure how much I like the characters so far, and there's been like six new ones-- Vin, Camon, Reen, Ulef, Theron and Laird. Phew.

I found myself reminding me that I didn't get into The Eye of the World until page 68, so I can wade through some world building and scenario setup before I get hooked-- no biggie. I am kinda sad, though, that the story didn't keep up with the skaa from the Prologue or follow Kelsier after his escapade with them. I did sneak a peak on the first line of Chapter 2 and saw that Kelsier is back, so I'm glad for that.

But let's dive in a bit further.

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Mistborn - Porlogue

I know very little about this world right now. It's been a long time since I dove into an epic fantasy. Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time would be the most recent, and I've been working my way through that series for over a decade, it feels like. I've actually never read any of Brandon Sanderson's work before, so this will also be a new style for me.

As I said before, I only know that burning metal is involved in the magic system, but there is one other thing I know, and I seem to recall hearing this from Brandon himself on his podcast or at a writer's conference-- the premise of robbing the Dark Lord.

I think the premise sounds good, though I'm not much of a heist-story reader, so I doubt that alone would have convinced me to read it. A two-hour movie-- sure. But a 600 page book? It was only after multiple recommendations and a recent increase in my available reading time that I decided to give it a go. My sister and her husband spoke very highly of it, giving me their paperback copy. But I decided for the Kindle version instead. Here's hoping it's as good as I've heard, and I decent use of my $8, though my sister's got good taste, so I'm pretty confident there.

Now, on to the story.

Fair warning-- There will be spoilers. I'll try to keep all spoilers after the break, and hopefully I'll be able to label the biggest spoilers as such, when I find them. But be warned, I will discuss the book openly, though I don't know what's coming, so I can't spoil any of the foreshadowing and such.

Live Blogging Mistborn

I am beginning to read Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson for the first time, and I wanted to do a bit more than just read it. I have heard many good things about the book, so I thought I would share my experience. Be warned, I will not shy away from spoilers. I will try to be kind about warning of them before they come-- though with a story as complex as Mistborn promises to be, who knows but what may seem innocent will become a spoiler later on.

As of right now, I only know one thing about the story: burning metals is the magic system. That was told to me by my brother-in-law who recommended it.

I will be reading the Kindle version of the book, for easy portability as well as the highlight and share functionality. You can follow more specific progress, including links to quotes from the book (which may contain spoilers) on my twitter: @jamesonkirtley.

If there is interest, I will post a schedule for any who would like to read along. I'm going to try to keep a steady pace, but also one that others could keep to as well. Happy reading!

Jameson

Witty title here

I've never liked that first post on a blog-- the way it claims the tone for the entire rest of what is written.

My name is Jameson Kirtley. I'm an aspiring writer. I have no idea what you will find here in the months to come, but in the immediate future, I will be live-blogging my progress through Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson.

Details will be posted soon.

Jameson