Going to Bedlam

After another long lapse, I’m back again.

The second draft of Teratogenesis is finished and I know how much writing and rebuilding I want to do on the third draft.  The short answer is: a lot.  I’m essentially allowing a year per draft at this point, considerably more than the 4 months of editing I first thought, but you keep going until it’s right and time is no longer a factor on this project.

But it is on Bedlam.

I’ve decided to try my hand at Script Frenzy this year.  Essentially, it’s NaNoWriMo but for 100 page scripts.  I’m aiming to get around 5 pages of script written per night, which is immensely optimistic, but this is aimed around only writing on “school nights.”  I can see there being huge weekend writing binges…

It’s actually going to be the script for a graphic novel (which, as a term, provokes a whole different debate) or web comic.  This end of things won’t even start until I’ve got a finished script, though, and may never will (if I can’t find the right artist at the right price).

Bedlam is the story of a knightly order sent to re-establish the Bishopric of Bethlehem in the wake of the Sixth Crusade.  History fans will note that they were not entirely successful.  It’s set in the same continuity as my other writing and will serve as something of a prequel to Teratogenesis and the Madison short stories.  There is a whole cosmology at work behind these which I hardly ever get to use, so Bedlam is an excuse to showcase some of this.

If you want to follow me on Script Frenzy, my profile is here.  Expect a few more blog updates as I suddenly become eager to distract myself.

Finally...

It has taken three hundred and seventy-eight days, but I've just completed the second draft of Teratogenesis.

This means I've now got to fill in the missing sections and write the framing story...

Inch By Bloody Inch…

Progress is being made on the second draft of Teratogenesis.  Slow progress but progress, nonetheless.
I’ll be honest, the short story a week is dead in the water.  I’ve simply had more on my plate with other things than to churn out four thousand words every week.  Or month.
There will be more being posted on Scribd, but there is a fair amount up in the air at the minute.
I’m not even going to put a date on when Teratogenesis will be done.  I’ll do my second draft, then I’ll ask for volunteers and try the same “distributed proof-reading” they do on Project Gutenberg.  Then I might see about getting an expert in to look at the final draft.
Even with the supplementary material I’ve got planned, I think it would be too slim a text to merit a print run.  Although, fewer pages means fewer plates, which means cheaper book….  Instead, I’ll format the final draft into an e-book.  And spare the trees.

Tempus Fugit

“…One a week for a year.  I’ll tell you now: it won’t happen…”

Well, that became a self-fulfilling prophecy.
But I’ve got my excuses ready:

• I had the actual flu for the first two weeks of this year.
• I’ve started three short stories to make up for it.  But not actually finished any of them…

So it’s the usual case of feast and famine.  The whole point of this short story exercise is to take the more structured approach from Teratogenesis and push it further.  When the focus is undone, it all falls down.
It’s also the end of the “cooling off” I’ve imposed on Teratogenesis, so that means assembling the final manuscript.  And getting it edited.  And designing the cover….
So the first short story should be up in (Chinese) New Year and we’ll see about getting back on track.

del.icio.us Tags: Short Story,TeratogenesisUK,Prophecy,Influenza,Feast,Famine.