Milestones!

Red Spring hit two milestones this morning. It passed the 1,000 reads mark and entered the top 20 of the Wattpdad sci-fi charts! Yay! #19 is cool!

...and in other news, I managed to work out how to convert the text into .mobi format for Kindle... It was cool to flip through some of my own pages on my phone...

Chapter Thirteen

I posted chapter thirteen on Wattpad today - one more to go...

Chapter Twelve

I posted the first draft of chapter twelve last night. It was actually a fairly difficult chapter to work on since I now need to get into a different rhythm as the book draws to a close. Having had the luxury to take it slowly and develop characters it's a real change of pace to be working on action again...

I've got some ideas in my head for how to blend the two style a bit in chapter thirteen, and I may come back to chapter twelve (will come back to chapter twelve) with some major editing, since I can see its weaknesses...

Can't say much more than that on the blog - spoilers...

I'm pretty sure there are just two more chapters to go now - plus a prologue. The big remaining question for me is how chapter fourteen will end. I know what needs to happen but the closing paragraph will be crucial...

New Cover

I reworked the cover for the book yesterday, using a photograph of a rose from my back garden and a stock shot of Mars with Valles Marinaris and Tharsis in full view. I produced it in high def and made sure it would fit with the Lulu template... Here it is:

Chapter Eleven

I began to work on chapter eleven at the weekend. This is the last of the chapters that will focus on one individual and cover roughly the same time with overlapping event. In a sense, this is the moment when the book moves forward towards the conclusion. I've enjoyed writing it so far, since it's been nice to spend some time in Alpha Base/City. It's been such a crucial element of the story but none of the narration has taken place there. I'm going to do some more today... My aim is to get the chapter up on Wattpad some time this week, keeping me to my chapter a week plan...

A format for Lulu

I've been researching the best format to use when the book is printed on Lulu. I've used Lulu before for other projects and I think it's a great system. This will be my first novel using their service though, so I wanted to do some thinking about how I can make the most of what they can provide.

Having looked through the options for paper type and size, I have come to the conclusion that the 'digest' form is going to be the best one to go for. This will enable me to produce something close to a 'pocket book' size but also keep the price down. As far as I can see, it would cost almost double for me to go for the smaller size which seems daft, although I'm sure there are some sensible economics behind this...

I've therefore shifted my files into the new template. This won't affect the draft as it appears on Wattpad, but I will be able to see what I'm working towards...

Of course, once I'm there, it won't be too difficult to produce a hardback (which will look nice on my shelf even if no-one else buys it) and I could make a 'pocket book' version available too, although it will probably cost two or three pounds more, so I don't think it will be a viable product. Never mind, this is all part of the fun of self-publishing...

Chapter Ten

I did finish chapter ten. As expected it came in nearly two thousand words short of the intended length. I think it worked in terms of action and did what was needed for the overall plot. I still think it needs something else though, so I will come back to it when it come to editing.

The gap, I think, is somewhere in the relationship between Eloise and Hillier - or possibly between Hillier and his past... these are quite important issues since they may help with the emotional build-up of the chapter. It may be easier to work this in when I look at the book as a whole though, so I'm not overly worried. It's just something I will need to look at again...

Turning Point

I'm working on chapter 10 at the moment. It's a tricky one because it's a big turning point in the plot, a definite action sequence, and it needs to mean something emotionally. I'm also having to pick up a number of threads and references from previous chapters...

I'm coming to the conclussion that I will probably post a shorter version of the chapter this week, and then do some major editing later...

45,000

I've just finished chapter nine. After the explosions and desert walks of the previous chapters, this one takes us back indoors before we return to the action... I wanted a slower beat before things get too exciting so a more political chapter seemed appropriate...

This chapter also makes Red Spring the largest document I have ever produced as I pass the 45,000 word mark... 

I am now well over half way and hopefully should be able to press on to the conclusion. I have the next two chapters mapped out in my head, but the ending is still a little vague. I will need to think about it...

June 8th

June 4th

I haven't posted much on my writing blog page recently, largely beacause I've been concentrating on writing chapters(!) I've managed to do slightly better than one chapter a week, so the book has npw reached 40,000 words over eight chapters. I've started on chapter nine which will focus on Maria Babin and the politics of Free Mars. I've got a plan to take me through to chapter 11 and then I'll need to review things before I push on to the end...

Red Spring has done OK, having passed 400 reads, but my main hope here is just to get it finished, because it would be nice to say - I did that!

In the meantime, I've finished off a short story, the Ouroboros Incident, and pit up an opening chapter for the Pirate Maze, which i wrote last year, and done some more work on my non-fiction project...

The PIrate Maze did surprisingly well, staying in the forties and fifties, before disappearing off the chart. It may be worth expanding this project since it clearly has some attraction...

I'm quite pleased with my first full month of Wattpadding and am looking forward to doing more...

June 4th 2012

Wordle

Population Figures

It might sound a bit nerdy, but I was keen to add a note of realism to the story by calculating some projected population figures. I did this by taking into account the technology referred to in the back story, and then factoring in birth and death rates, plus potential immigration levels given the political changes.

I estimated a population of around 12,000 by 2116 given the various factors, and produced a chart:



Believe it or not, I now have a spreadsheet with population figures for all the planets in the solar system up to 2132... More than I need for this story, but might be helpful for the next one...

Editing

I think I've finished the edit. It wasn't as thorough or creative as I might have liked, but I think I've tidied up the names, so it should make sense to newer readers... I hope the Wattpad system works better for those who've already downloaded parts....

From Zachery to Ares...

I've started a major edit. This has included a new beginning to Chapter One, and a huge number of minor chages for grammar, spelling or style.

The biggest change is that Zachery Foscolos is gradually becoming Ares Kokinos. I never really liked the original name and have increasingly been thinking that he had to go! I've still gone for a greek name but looked for something more punchy and also meaningful. Ares is the Greek name for Mars and Kokinos means 'red'. I think it's an improvement....

So far I've changed the Prologue and Chapter One, but Zachery is still lurking in later chapters. It might take a while to remove him completely, so many apologies to readers...

Chapter Five

Managed to get chapter five out. It needed a bit of reworking before publishing and I went back over it to add some more back story which I realised needed to come in here rather than later, or various character or behaviour statements would not quite work.

Since publishing chapter 5 the story has passed the 200 reads point and went back into the charts at #72. I know these things are all relative, but they do give you a bit of encouragement. This is much more fun than other writing projects where you don't get any feedback until you've finished...

Working on Chapter Five

I've been working on chapter 5. I've been finding it tricky because I've got a lot of exposition and character back story to work in. I also need to get this character into the right place for the conclussion... I think I'm nearly there and will hopefully publish the chapter later...

At the same time, I've been re-reading earlier chapters and think that some serious editing is needed. I'm still not happy with names and Zack needs to go! Not sure who he needs to become though....

I'm also not happy with the writing of chapter one. It was a, let's just start writing moment, and I need to go back and start again - with more of a sense of how the whole book is taking shape.

Just at the moment, my plan is to finish chapter five - which will take me to roughly the mid-point of a ten chapter project, and then do some serious editing before ploughing on. I may also take a break and do some more work on my short story Ouroboros...

All my stories have now dropped off the hotness charts. The algoriythm is against me! - or I haven't been publishing... 

Chapter Four

Just finished the last part of chapter four. I then combined all three into one. I'm not sure about releasing chapers in parts. I may go back to putting the out in one go... It's quite nice to feel you're making progress though... Chaper four was a tricky one since I really wanted a sense of time passing, but needed a few vigniettes to give it pace. Hope it worked.

Red Spring at #68 for 'hotness' which is nice...

Chapter Four Part 1

I've just posted the first draft of chapter 4 (part 1). This chapter is designed to bridge the action between the oppening section of the book and the middle part where the main action will take place. The first three chapters happen within a 24 hour time frame, but this chapter will span a period of several weeks. This makes it a bit different, but I need a link like this if I'm going to get a sense of passing time...

I've also decided to break down the chapters into smaller chunks. I've noticed that other Wattpadders have done this and I can see the advantages. In particular, it keeps the time gap between posts down and means that you have more chances of engaging with readers... It would be interesting to see if this works. I don't think it will make much difference to the reading experience, and I can edit the whole thing in my own way later...

I've also decided to add something about writting status in the title. Again, I've seen other people do this and I wonder if it helps readers? I may try something similar next time I post....

Chapter Three

A first draft of chapter three has now been posted. I've changed a few details which will need to be written back into the earlier chapters - nothing major but some of the names weren't working for me.

The main purpose of this chapter was to introduce the key threat in the story and an important character. I also wanted to do this in such a way that we leave some of our main characters in peril - for just a bit longer...

Prologue

I've just added a prologue, because I realised that the opening chapter throws us into the action far too quickly and also draws the focus onto the military side of the story. I'm hoping that the new opening gives a better sense of the main themes. I'd be interested to know what you think?

Welcome

Welcome to the 'Red Spring' web site.

My name's Tim Norwood and this site has been created to support my science fiction novel 'Red Spring' which I am writing on Wattpad. It will contain maps, time-lines, and other background information about the story.

I will also be keeping a blog of my writing as I reflect on the process - as much for my use as anyone else's.

When the book is complete, I will post links here.