Wrapping 2013 on a high note

The end of Elevated is close enough that I feel it approaching every time I sit down to write. I've already started thinking about the rewrite and about what comes next.

Chapter 18 is done in a rough cut, waiting for analysis by my First Reader and my proofreader/editor. If I didn't have to go back to work Thursday, I'd probably have it done by the end of the week, but as it is, it will probably take a bit longer.

It's been a great return to writing and publishing erotic fiction. I'm looking forward to an even better 2014.

Mission accomplished

My goal for this writing vacation was to go back to work on Thursday with enough chapters of Elevated ready that I would have a three-week cushion of publishable work as a bulwark against missing a Friday. I've mentioned before how much longer each chapter is taking to write than I originally set aside for writing each week. Eventually, that will either catch up with me or I'll finish the book.

It's looking much more like the latter. I wrote chapters 14-17 during this vacation and published 14 on Friday. That means I have chapters in the can to publish on January 3, 10, & 17, during which I will hopefully be wrapping up chapters 18-21, which conclude Elevated (although they leave plenty of open questions for subsequent books.)

There are still some challenges left in writing the remaining four chapters and a chance that they might have to be split differently than I'm currently planning, but if they behave, the final chapter of Elevated could be published on February 14, 2014, Valentine's Day.

I'm hoping to return to the story of Corvus Gallicus in July or August of 2014 and already feeling out what I'll write and publish in the interim. There are a number of possibilities, which I'll probably discuss here soon. Also, once the entirety of Elevated has been published and the whole story has had a few weeks to settle in my mind, I'll be going back to fix typos, add a bit of polish, and fix inconsistencies (like my mixed-up map of Rio and Clover's blonde hair in the first couple of chapters.)

RetCon notes

Writing the opening scene for chapter 18 of Elevated, I realized that my twenty-five year old memory of how Rio de Janeiro  is laid out was a little fuzzy and as a result, the way I laid out Rio, the capital of New Rome, doesn't actually fit the geography.

This will teach me not to rely on memory when maps are available.

When I do the clean-up of Elevated, I'm going to have to move some things around. The most notable change is that there's actually no place that has the views described from Gaius's estate. Where I'd meant to put it, there's actually no ocean view at all. Also, the Imperial Coast Highway should be running northwest out of the capital, through what is actually Sao Conrado.

None of this requires story changes, but it may be a little jarring to anyone that knows the map of Rio when we get to chapter 18 because I need to make a continuity break, which I will go back and fix later.

This is one of the hazards of posting as you write, I imagine.

Chapter 17 refuses to remain Chapter 17

I started on chapter 17 of Elevated last night before bed and am just taking a break now to get outside before the sun goes down. There is an extremely minor spoiler below. So, if you like to avoid such things and haven't read that far yet (no one has as I write this. Even Boy is only on chapter 16.)

Last chance. Gone yet? Or are you still peeking?

Good. Anyway, chapter 17 is supposed to be the elevation of Corvus and Lucretia, the wedding of Lucretia and Gaius, and the wedding reception (the spoiler being that they do go forwards as everyone has been led to expect.) I just got to the end of the wedding and the current draft is already 27 pages. The reception is promising to be nearly as long. So, I'm breaking Draft 5 Chapter 17 into Draft 6 Chapters 17 and 18. There's no way around it other than posting a 60-page chapter.

Chapter 17 should be published on January 17 and chapter 18 on January 24, Even if I've finished the novel by then, I expect to stick to this schedule for two reasons: (1) the two chapters together will probably take 30-35 hours to write and, while I have the time now, I won't in mid-January and part of the point of this writing vacation is to have something to publish every week in 2014 and (2) the last time I split a chapter and posted both parts, roughly 1,200 missed that fact and only read the second chapter posted. It's taken over a month for those numbers to smooth out.

On the other hand, I promise that neither of these chapters is lacking in action, excitement, sexiness, or fun. I think you'll enjoy them very much and, in the end, it means one more chapter of Elevated before it's wrapped up.

One last time in 2013: Elevated Chapter 14 is submitted to SOL!

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It's a Christmas Miracle! (sort of.)

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20-December: Catch-up

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22-November: Elevated, Chapter 9 is up.

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A Rose, Unexpected

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A short story of sorts...

Looking through my notes on Rose from Elevated yesterday, I realized I had an awesome story that hadn't really gotten told in the main text of the Elevated. I spent some time drawing the notes together, adding bits and pieces, and structuring it all into a narrative and the end result is a new piece called A Rose from the Garden, which parallels and interlaces with the events from chapters 4-6 of the main piece.

I'll start revising it today. If it's not ready by this Friday, it will probably go out next week.

Grooming - it's kind of my thing.

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Stepping back in order to charge forward

Some time in the middle of the past week, it became very easy to write Elevated. I posted chapter 7 and put the finishing touches on 8 & 9. Ten is theoretically done except for the last scene, but I'm pretty sure I want to rewrite the penultimate scene to support what comes next.

This is all very vague because I'm trying to avoid spoilers. But ultimately, Elevated is about the evolution of Corvus Gallicus. It has a definite plot through-line (which will be more visible in hindsight,) but it's mostly character-driven. Chapters 9-10 are a major pivot point in Corvus's personality and the last scene is a huge capper. If it doesn't work, the whole story is weaker.

I put it aside at about 1:30 this morning to get some sleep and left it aside this morning to percolate. Going through my current hopper, I realized I don't have a lot on the back burners right now either. I want to do some character-building for A Faint Scent of Roses, which is the first actual story in the fertility crisis story discussed in Mules, Men, and Honeybees. And I still need a stronger through-line for Topher and Allegra, but I'll probably end up free-writing today.

I still find myself abysmally bad at writing properly short short stories - 20-30 pages with a full story arc, good characterization, and no loose ends. Maybe I'll try one of those today.

8-November-2013: Elevated Chapter 7 & Kitty Likes to Watch

I'm posting chapter 7 of Elevated and the next installment of the tomcat diaries, Kitty Likes to Watch early this morning because I need to be in the office during the day tomorrow and they don't know I'm Tom Frost. ;)

I'm most of the way through chapter 8 of Elevated already and picking up steam on a story set at the beginning of the New Roman empire helping to explain how it all came about. More on that later. Right now, I need some sleep.

1-November-2013: A Tomcat and a Gentleman & Elevated Chapters 5-6 are up.

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A bit of evisceration (among friends.)

I just got the final draft of Elevated chapter 5 in shape. After the post about the story overflowing its outline, I went back and looked at what I've added. A lot of it was exposition. It was good exposition and it belongs in the story. It just doesn't belong this early in the novel as the action is starting to pick up.

So, I gutted both big chunks of exposition, tightened them, and moved most of what was in them to later chapters. Then, I pulled in a bunch of stuff I'd had to push into chapter six. As it stands, chapter 5 is now a whopping 22 pages long, but it's much more coherent than the old, fifteen-page version was.

It will be hitting StoriesOnline.net on Friday.

Elevated Chapter 4 is out.

Chapter 4 of Elevated is in the submission queue for StoriesOnline.net. It's where the actual story really starts to diverge from the original outline and I'm glad it turned out as well as it did. This is the first time we really start to see that being a rich patrician in New Rome may not be all smoking blunts and sexing up the slaves.

I wrapped up the first draft of the second installment of Secret Diary of a Tomcat entitled A Tomcat and a Gentleman. I think it's about 2/3 ready, but in my desire to provide my readers with only the finest smut, I want to give it a little spit and polish before it goes out. Hopefully, it will be out next Friday when I release Chapter 5 of Elevated.

Elevated (and Expanded!)

When I started Elevated, it was meant to be a novella and my goal was to fit it into twelve chapters of 10-12 pages each.

I just started chapter nine of the second draft and the story keeps getting bigger. I'm still following the outline I set out with, but little details have a way of becoming significant story points and I am apparently really bad at judging the difference between a scene and a chapter.

At the current rate of expansion, Elevated will be sixteen-chapter novel with the average chapter running to 15-16 pages. But I already expect that the second derivative (acceleration of expansion) is going to be more significant to the final size of the story than the first (current rate of expansion.) There are already little things in the outline that I know are actually much bigger. The elevation ceremony and wedding each get one sentence. I suspect they'll actually take a full chapter or two.

This could end up being 300+ pages when it's done. On the plus side, I've been writing it almost non-stop since Friday, so the delivery schedule shouldn't change.

Three weeks' grace

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Friday, 18-Oct: "Elevated Chapter 3" and "A Girl Named Boy"

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Please allow me to introduce myself...

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Side Trips

As sometimes happens, a random comment (this time from another writer) reminded me of a story in my hopper and inspired me to push forward on it. A story I started probably ten years ago called Cred - about a corporate-groomed pop singer who slips the record company's leash and goes looking for her real music and the credibility that comes with it. Reading over the six pages I wrote back in 2003, it needed surprisingly little touch up and is now a complete 22-page first draft called Folded Too Long.

I've also been gathering notes and sketching out scenes for Made for Him and Until Morale Improves, the second and third stories about Topher and Allegra.

I haven't touched chapter 5 of Elevated yet. It's supposed to be my first priority each week, but sometimes a specific mood hits and I have to capture it regardless of whether or not it matches the story I'm supposed to be working on.

If I follow my road map, Until Morale Improves will revolve significantly Allegra's SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder.) As we get to the point where we can't deny that another summer is gone and winter is on its way, it's a lot on my mind.

I'm still kicking around when I want to start an epic - something 300 pages or more, the format that Stories Online readers seem to respond best to (and which epic to commit to.)

We're #1 (with a big, foam hand.)

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Friday is posting day

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Something a bit more esoteric

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October

With chapter two of Elevated edited and in the can, I decided to spend a bit of time trying to write something appropriately creepy for Halloween. I got through most of the first draft of a piece I'm calling The Thin Girl before I needed to get some sleep. Hopefully, I'll have it ready in time for the holiday.

Finishing

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Earning the "author" in authortomfrost

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