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Topics - fireflyz

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1
Books / ARC The Alloy of Law
« on: July 13, 2011, 12:13:43 PM »
Hey Peter,
  I was just wondering if book sellers could request ARC for The Alloy for Law?  I'm good friends with mylocal bookstore owner.  I know she was able to get an ARC for Way of Kings and after reading it she ordered copies for her store.  Full disclosure, I was able to read it too :-)  I also bought a hardcover copy from her.  I do that for authors I really like as it supports small bookstores, the author, and the fantasy genre in general.  Besides with Way of Kings you HAVE to buy the hardcover.  The artwork that goes with the story is simply amazing.  Thanks in advance for the information.

2
Books / Wise Man's Fear--Your Take?
« on: March 06, 2011, 02:19:18 PM »
Hey all,

  My friends haven't finished the book yet, but I finished it on wednesday so I'm dying to hear what others think.  I won't post any spoilers, but I'll briefly give my impression. 

  First off, his prose was beautiful, as always.  He really has a gift for that.  It was well written and intriguing.  Having said that, I expected there to be more progress made plot wise.  I like books that have strong characters and intriguing plots.  His first book set up a very intriguing and historical plot that had me hooked.  This one I'm conflicted about.  I enjoyed reading it, thought it was a very good book.  But there were so few sections that I felt advanced the actual plot and that lessened my enthusiasm somewhat.  I enjoyed the section where he does something (and Kvothe says this in the story) that puts him on the level of a true hero, rather than something was still amazing, but then the stories make it more than it was.  HIs romantic life is killing me as well, haha.  I don't have any complaints with that, Mr. Rothfuss is doing the appropriate amount of tugging on the heart strings.

  I feel like this book packed all the dynamite up and set the fuses.  I'm really hoping the third book actuallys lights the fuse and the plot picks up.  There's so much left to cover (IMO) that I'm wondering how it's going to be sewn up in one more volume.  I certainly wouldn't mind him taking the series to a fourth or fifth book.

  Anyway, that's my take.  Well written, beautiful prose with a story that moved slower than I was hoping for.  What do you all think?

3
Reading Excuses / ReadingExcuses-0227-fireflyz-WrittenInBlood-CH11-VLS
« on: February 28, 2011, 02:52:36 AM »
Previous Summaries:

Prologue:  In Media Res
  The prologue introduces us to Mathieu Bragadin, the protagonist.  As the title suggests, the reader is thrown into the midst of the conflict.


CH1:  What Does a Man Do?
  Mathieu is finally returning home with the army.  His entire life has been spent serving in the armies of the Doge.  The Doge's daughter (Doga) has recently made peace and is calling the army home to be mustered out.  As his comrades celebrate, Mathieu finds himself questioning his future in this new era of peace.


CH2:  Two Mistresses. 

Mathieu reacquaints himself with Servenza.  He seeks out his best friend, a prostitute named Cassandra. 


CH3:  The Flower of Battle

Despite misgivings, Mathieu begins his new life as a civilian, training young nobles in the art of dueling.


CH4:  The Making of an Enemy

Mathieu begins his work as a garzon of the rapier, but soon faces complications.


CH5:  A Color of Many Shades

Mathieu tells Cassandra of Carrera.  Cass urges him to be careful, but Mathieu can't get the past out of his mind.


CH6:  To Wear a Mask

Mathieu and Eduardo head out for a night of celebration. 


CH7:A Matter of Satisfaction

Mathieu recieves word of his investment and lets his emotions get the better of him...to what cost?

CH8:  When the Tongue Cuts Like the Sword

Mathieu and Carrera come to a resolution.


CH9:Dancing to the Piper's Tune

Mathieu recuperates at the Bent Man.  He is just beginning to realize the consequences of his actions.



CH10:  Walking the Knife's Edge

Mathieu finds himself an unwitting player in a very dangerous game.




Current Summary:



CH11:  A Little Something Extra



Mathieu begins to regret ignoring the physiker's orders.

4
Reading Excuses / ReadingExcuses-0221-fireflyz-WrittenInBlood-CH10-VLS
« on: February 20, 2011, 08:25:24 PM »
Previous Summaries:

Prologue:  In Media Res
  The prologue introduces us to Mathieu Bragadin, the protagonist.  As the title suggests, the reader is thrown into the midst of the conflict.


CH1:  What Does a Man Do?
  Mathieu is finally returning home with the army.  His entire life has been spent serving in the armies of the Doge.  The Doge's daughter (Doga) has recently made peace and is calling the army home to be mustered out.  As his comrades celebrate, Mathieu finds himself questioning his future in this new era of peace.


CH2:  Two Mistresses. 

Mathieu reacquaints himself with Servenza.  He seeks out his best friend, a prostitute named Cassandra. 


CH3:  The Flower of Battle

Despite misgivings, Mathieu begins his new life as a civilian, training young nobles in the art of dueling.


CH4:  The Making of an Enemy

Mathieu begins his work as a garzon of the rapier, but soon faces complications.


CH5:  A Color of Many Shades

Mathieu tells Cassandra of Carrera.  Cass urges him to be careful, but Mathieu can't get the past out of his mind.


CH6:  To Wear a Mask

Mathieu and Eduardo head out for a night of celebration. 


CH7:A Matter of Satisfaction

Mathieu recieves word of his investment and lets his emotions get the better of him...to what cost?

CH8:  When the Tongue Cuts Like the Sword

Mathieu and Carrera come to a resolution.


CH9:Dancing to the Piper's Tune

Mathieu recuperates at the Bent Man.  He is just beginning to realize the consequences of his actions.


Current Summary



CH10:  Walking the Knife's Edge



Mathieu finds himself an unwitting player in a very dangerous game.

5
Reading Excuses / ReadingExcuses-0214-fireflyz-WrittenInBlood-CH9-VLS
« on: February 13, 2011, 03:31:28 PM »
Previous Summaries:

Prologue:  In Media Res
  The prologue introduces us to Mathieu Bragadin, the protagonist.  As the title suggests, the reader is thrown into the midst of the conflict.


CH1:  What Does a Man Do?
  Mathieu is finally returning home with the army.  His entire life has been spent serving in the armies of the Doge.  The Doge's daughter (Doga) has recently made peace and is calling the army home to be mustered out.  As his comrades celebrate, Mathieu finds himself questioning his future in this new era of peace.


CH2:  Two Mistresses. 

Mathieu reacquaints himself with Servenza.  He seeks out his best friend, a prostitute named Cassandra. 


CH3:  The Flower of Battle

Despite misgivings, Mathieu begins his new life as a civilian, training young nobles in the art of dueling.


CH4:  The Making of an Enemy

Mathieu begins his work as a garzon of the rapier, but soon faces complications.


CH5:  A Color of Many Shades

Mathieu tells Cassandra of Carrera.  Cass urges him to be careful, but Mathieu can't get the past out of his mind.


CH6:  To Wear a Mask

Mathieu and Eduardo head out for a night of celebration. 


CH7:A Matter of Satisfaction

Mathieu recieves word of his investment and lets his emotions get the better of him...to what cost?

CH8:  When the Tongue Cuts Like the Sword



Mathieu and Carrera come to a resolution.




Current Summary:



CH9:Dancing to the Piper's Tune


Mathieu recuperates at the Bent Man.  He is just beginning to realize the consequences of his actions.

6
Reading Excuses / ReadingExcuses-0207-fireflyz-WrittenInBlood-CH8-VLS
« on: February 06, 2011, 02:33:51 PM »
Previous Summaries:

Prologue:  In Media Res
  The prologue introduces us to Mathieu Bragadin, the protagonist.  As the title suggests, the reader is thrown into the midst of the conflict.


CH1:  What Does a Man Do?
  Mathieu is finally returning home with the army.  His entire life has been spent serving in the armies of the Doge.  The Doge's daughter (Doga) has recently made peace and is calling the army home to be mustered out.  As his comrades celebrate, Mathieu finds himself questioning his future in this new era of peace.


CH2:  Two Mistresses. 

Mathieu reacquaints himself with Servenza.  He seeks out his best friend, a prostitute named Cassandra. 


CH3:  The Flower of Battle

Despite misgivings, Mathieu begins his new life as a civilian, training young nobles in the art of dueling.


CH4:  The Making of an Enemy

Mathieu begins his work as a garzon of the rapier, but soon faces complications.


CH5:  A Color of Many Shades

Mathieu tells Cassandra of Carrera.  Cass urges him to be careful, but Mathieu can't get the past out of his mind.


CH6:  To Wear a Mask

Mathieu and Eduardo head out for a night of celebration. 


CH7:A Matter of Satisfaction

Mathieu recieves word of his investment and lets his emotions get the better of him...to what cost?

Current Summary:



CH8:  When the Tongue Cuts Like the Sword



Mathieu and Carrera come to a resolution.

7
Reading Excuses / ReadingExcuses-0131-fireflyz-WrittenInBlood-CH7-VLS
« on: January 31, 2011, 02:34:04 AM »
Previous Summaries:

Prologue:  In Media Res
  The prologue introduces us to Mathieu Bragadin, the protagonist.  As the title suggests, the reader is thrown into the midst of the conflict.


CH1:  What Does a Man Do?
  Mathieu is finally returning home with the army.  His entire life has been spent serving in the armies of the Doge.  The Doge's daughter (Doga) has recently made peace and is calling the army home to be mustered out.  As his comrades celebrate, Mathieu finds himself questioning his future in this new era of peace.


CH2:  Two Mistresses. 

Mathieu reacquaints himself with Servenza.  He seeks out his best friend, a prostitute named Cassandra. 


CH3:  The Flower of Battle

Despite misgivings, Mathieu begins his new life as a civilian, training young nobles in the art of dueling.


CH4:  The Making of an Enemy

Mathieu begins his work as a garzon of the rapier, but soon faces complications.


CH5:  A Color of Many Shades

Mathieu tells Cassandra of Carrera.  Cass urges him to be careful, but Mathieu can't get the past out of his mind.


CH6:  To Wear a Mask

Mathieu and Eduardo head out for a night of celebration. 



Current Summary:




CH7:A Matter of Satisfaction

Mathieu recieves word of his investment and lets his emotions get the better of him...to what cost?

8
Reading Excuses / ReadingExcuses-0124-fireflyz-WrittenInBlood-CH5CH6-VLS
« on: January 24, 2011, 02:40:28 AM »
Previous Summaries:

Prologue:  In Media Res
  The prologue introduces us to Mathieu Bragadin, the protagonist.  As the title suggests, the reader is thrown into the midst of the conflict.


CH1:  What Does a Man Do?
  Mathieu is finally returning home with the army.  His entire life has been spent serving in the armies of the Doge.  The Doge's daughter (Doga) has recently made peace and is calling the army home to be mustered out.  As his comrades celebrate, Mathieu finds himself questioning his future in this new era of peace.


CH2:  Two Mistresses. 

Mathieu reacquaints himself with Servenza.  He seeks out his best friend, a prostitute named Cassandra. 


CH3:  The Flower of Battle

Despite misgivings, Mathieu begins his new life as a civilian, training young nobles in the art of dueling.


CH4:  The Making of an Enemy

Mathieu begins his work as a garzon of the rapier, but soon faces complications.





Current Summary:



CH5:  A Color of Many Shades



Mathieu tells Cassandra of Carrera.  Cass urges him to be careful, but Mathieu can't get the past out of his mind.



CH6:  To Wear a Mask



Mathieu and Eduardo head out for a night of celebration. 



-I decided to include two chapters because CH5 is barely over 1k words and the two combined are 4800.  Enjoy!

9
Reading Excuses / ReadingExcuses-0117-fireflyz-WrittenInBlood-CH4-VLS
« on: January 17, 2011, 12:26:53 AM »
Previous Summaries:

Prologue:  In Media Res
  The prologue introduces us to Mathieu Bragadin, the protagonist.  As the title suggests, the reader is thrown into the midst of the conflict.



CH1:  What Does a Man Do?
  Mathieu is finally returning home with the army.  His entire life has been spent serving in the armies of the Doge.  The Doge's daughter (Doga) has recently made peace and is calling the army home to be mustered out.  As his comrades celebrate, Mathieu finds himself questioning his future in this new era of peace.


CH2:  Two Mistresses. 

Mathieu reacquaints himself with Servenza.  He seeks out his best friend, a prostitute named Cassandra. 



CH3:  The Flower of Battle

Despite misgivings, Mathieu begins his new life as a civilian, training young nobles in the art of dueling.




Current Summary:



CH4:  The Making of an Enemy

Mathieu begins his work as a garzon of the rapier, but soon faces complications.

10
Reading Excuses / Reading Excuses-0110-fireflyz-WrittenInBlood-CH3-VLS
« on: January 10, 2011, 01:48:41 PM »
A small sidenote...I've enclosed the prologue and first two chapters for any that might not have read them yet.  I've made some minor content changes, taken out some things and left others.  The wordcount is 5700.  If you want to comment, you can under the original posts.  The third chapter is new to the group, although I tried to include some of the info the original flashback chapter had.  Finally, I've changed the title from To Fulfill a Promise to Written in Blood.

 

 

 

Previous Summaries:

Prologue:  In Media Res
  The prologue introduces us to Mathieu Bragadin, the protagonist.  As the title suggests, the reader is thrown into the midst of the conflict.



CH1:  What Does a Man Do?
  Mathieu is finally returning home with the army.  His entire life has been spent serving in the armies of the Doge.  The Doge's daughter (Doga) has recently made peace and is calling the army home to be mustered out.  As his comrades celebrate, Mathieu finds himself questioning his future in this new era of peace.


CH2:  Two Mistresses. 

Mathieu reacquaints himself with Servenza.  He seeks out his best friend, a prostitute named Cassandra. 



CH3:  The Flower of Battle

 Despite misgivings, Mathieu begins his new life as a civilian, training young nobles in the art of dueling.

11
Reading Excuses / What We've Learned in 2010
« on: December 30, 2010, 02:43:29 PM »
Since it's the end of the year, I wanted to start a thread concerning what we've learned in 2010.  This could be anything from writing mechanics, to ideas, to querying, etc.  Pretty much anything writing related.  There's a lot of good information out there on agents blogs and the like, but sometimes it's nice to hear from those of us in the trenches.  Here's my list.

1.  Passive voice is insidious.  It might take several read throughs before it is completely eliminated.

2.  Attending conventions is a must.  From what I've experienced speaking face to face with an agent changes the rules.  Instead of just being one more query on the towering slush pile, suddenly you are an in individual.  I've only attended one convention, but from what I saw you might be competing with only a dozen or so other aspiring authors.  Much better than 200 other queries in one week.

3.  Research agents.  I've been guilty of querying any agent that says they will accept fantasy.  Fantasy/sci-fi have grown so diverse now that there are many subgenres.  I used to subscribe to the shotgun effect, picking 5 or 6 dream agents, 5 or 6 agents I've heard of, and 5 or 6 I don't know well and querying two from each list at a time.  More and more I'm convinced this is a mistake.  In the future I'm going to tailor my queries to agents who represent authors who I think are in the same vein as my writing.

4.  Shorter sentences, and in general, shorter chapters equals better writing.

5.  Rough outlining of character arcs and plot arcs works the best for me.  I still like to discovery write, but within the confines of an outline.

6.  Read more!  I've been a voracious reader since I was 4, alternating between Reader's Digest and the Bible (I know right?).  The past year I've still read a lot, but there have been weeks where I haven't cracked the cover of a book.  Now that I'm back into constantly reading, I'm realizing what a mistake that was.  Stephen King is right, the two rules for good writing are:  read constantly and write constantly.

7.  Do not query unless you're 100% sure that your manuscript is ready to go.  If an agent responds back immediately asking for more and you're not convinced its ready, it's going to put a lot of stress on you. 

8.  Set a schedule and stick to it.  I know some people that only write on the weekends for several hours at a time.  I can't do that.  I have to write something every day.  When I first started out I would shoot for a word count like 2k words.  Now I write the entire scene for the day.  It could be 1500 words or it could be 4500 words.  I don't stop until it's done. 

9.  If you have the means, pick up an mp3 player and listen to writing excuses, audiobooks, etc. in the car on the way to work.  Immersing yourself in writing during any spare time you have sets you up for success.

10.  Everyone's different, find what works for you and run with it. 

11.Don't be afraid to experiment with your work.  It's not finished until it's in print.


What have you learned in the past year?

12
Reading Excuses / Feedback from the Gatekeepers
« on: December 29, 2010, 02:45:37 PM »
Hey all,
  I have been quiet the past two weeks.  Between work, the holidays, and the fiance having a terrible cold, I've been pretty busy.  But I think my schedule is settling back down, so I thought I'd get back to posting.  I have an update from the agents that requested partials and fulls from me and I'm interested in what you all think.

  I'll start with the good news.  The agent that requested the full from me gave me quite a bit of feedback.  She went out of her way to say that she liked my writing style and thought the manuscript well written.  Unfortunately, it went down hill from there.  I only posted the first few chapters here, but one of them was a flashback chapter.  I know some (Asmodean in particular) do not like flashbacks.  Apparently, agents don't either.  She said that she liked the concept behind my story, but felt that the flashbacks pulled her away just when she was getting into the book and that it ended up feeling more like a character study rather than a novel.  She had told me up front that as she has 40+ authors already she would have to love the book to represent it.

  The other agent that requested the partial got back to me with somewhat of a form letter.  There was a little personal note that said he thought it was going to be more literary than the type of fantasy it actually was and it wasn't something he represented. 

  I was pretty bummed about all of this at first, but on the bright side the first agent obviously thought my writing was on par, even if she didn't like my concept.  The first agent had also requested a query before asking for the full.  The agent that said it wasn't his style only heard my pitch at World Fantasy and hadn't seen my query.  So I guess it was a case of me not researching enough to find the right agent and the agent getting the wrong impression from my pitch.  Or it was just terrible, haha.  The bottom line is agents wanted to see my work and that feels pretty good.  One step up the rung.

Anyway, after a lot of thought, I've decided to revise my work again.  I didn't think that flashback chapters were all that unusual (Scott Lynch uses a similar approach, and Pat Rothfuss's approach, while radically different, is almost entirely flashbacks).  The agents seemed to think otherwise.  I'm not so stuck on myself as the artist to not heed their advice.  Out of the 40 some chapters in my novel, about a dozen or so are flashbacks.  I'm going to attempt to pull out the main message I wanted to convey with each flashback and put that in either through dialogue or in very brief bits scatterred throughout the story (like the main character dreaming as he has nightmares and/or thoughts that occurr to him in situations).  I am guessing this will drop the wordcount from 145k to about 130k, tighten up the prose, keep the pace moving, and most importantly, not pull the reader out of the book.

Thoughts, criticism, and advice from those who might have experienced/be experiencing similar situations is very much appreciated.  :-)

13
Reading Excuses / Brandon's Writing Dialogue Exercise
« on: December 19, 2010, 04:56:52 AM »
Anyone try it out?  I just posted my sample a few minutes ago.  I was kind of hoping that there wouldn't be that many people so my chances of actually getting feedback from the WE gang would be better.  It appears that all of Brandon's Twitter/FB followers have shown up.  Ah well, there are some good samples out there among the rest.  Definitely worth a look.

14
Reading Excuses / ReadingExcuses-1018-fireflyz-ToFulfillaPromiseCH3-VLS
« on: October 17, 2010, 06:38:46 PM »
Previous Summaries:

Prologue:  In Media Res
  The prologue introduces us to Mathieu Bragadin, the protagonist.  As the title suggests, the reader is thrown into the midst of the conflict.



CH1:  What Does a Man Do?
  Mathieu is finally returning home with the army.  His entire life has been spent serving in the armies of the Doge.  The Doge's daughter (Doga) has recently made peace and is calling the army home to be mustered out.  As his comrades celebrate, Mathieu finds himself questioning his future in this new era of peace.


CH2:  Two Mistresses. 

Mathieu reacquaints himself with Servenza.  He seeks out his best friend, a prostitute named Cassandra. 


Current Summary:

CH3:  In Memory of Adolescence (Aged 2 Years)

Mathieu's early life as a child living in a brothel.  He begins to discover what makes him so different from all the other children.  His mother adopts a girl named Elle whose own mother was beaten to death by one of the clients.  Mathieu's brief childhood comes to an end when disaster befalls his mother and Elle.

15
Reading Excuses / ReadingExcuses-1011-fireflyz-ToFulfillaPromiseCH2-VLS
« on: October 11, 2010, 12:15:21 AM »
Previous Summaries:

Prologue:  In Media Res
  The prologue introduces us to Mathieu Bragadin, the protagonist.  As the title suggests, the reader is thrown into the midst of the conflict.



CH1:  What Does a Man Do?
  Mathieu is finally returning home with the army.  His entire life has been spent serving in the armies of the Doge.  The Doge's daughter (Doga) has recently made peace and is calling the army home to be mustered out.  As his comrades celebrate, Mathieu finds himself questioning his future in this new era of peace.


Current Summary:

  CH2:  Two Mistresses. 

Mathieu reacquaints himself with Servenza.  He seeks out his best friend, a prostitute named Cassandra. 

Pages: [1] 2