What are you working on right now?

[ChristChild]

I thought it may encourage people to write more, if there was a thread where they could post an update on their latest project. Just a progress thread -- no specifics like excerpts or anything, just where you are in your current project. Maybe a word count or similar. I'll start by saying that I am presently writing my third Christian Science Fiction/Fantasy novel. As of July 6, 2004, I am into chapter seven at 38,940 words. My novels usually run double the average size, so I am only about a fifth of the way through, but I'm making steady progress. I think I wrote over 2700 words today.

What are you all writing and where are you at in the project?

Feel free to repost when you make progress.

Shane :cool:

[wgjones3]

Right now I'm working on a proposal for my first novel. So far, I've logged 6 1/2 hours friday, 12 1/2 hours yesterday, and 11 hours today--but that also includes proofing my manuscript. The proposal is 60 pages long, but the majority of that is sample chapters. Lots of research going into it. I'd done a proposal and a marketing plan before, but I'd say I hadn't spent more than 3 hours on either of them. I bet I wrote and rewrote the synopsis six or seven times trying to get it right.

Once I get this done, it's back to my murder mystery novel. I'm at a little over 50,000 words, 21 chapters in. I've also got a non-fiction book in the works. Four chapters in out of a planned 57. :eek:

[Mr. Otis]

I had about 15,000 words written on Boneman, which was originally a story about organ trafficking for profit. After doing some research and discovering how widespread (and underreported) it is, the focus is going to shift.

It's still going to be about organ trafficking, but I'm considering the supernatural implications. Blood sacrifice? Ritual magic?

So it's still at about 15,000 words.

I also have to finish writing a study guide for our Halloween anthology. It's a collection of thirteen short stories, all with a supernatural element. The study guide is to encourage readers to consider the supernatural--ghosts, witches, vampires, et. al.--from a scriptural perspective.

The supernatural exists. But too many people today get their theology from The DaVinci Code or Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

[wgjones3]

Mr. Otis, look around the net and I'm sure you'll find instances (such as DynCorp) of human trafficking by the "elite". Some of those sites will also undoubtedly have ritual sacrifices listed as a reason for at least some of this trafficking.

[Mr. Otis]

I'll have to check the DynCorp thing. They've been in trouble for other things.

There are reports that the government of China routinely cuts up condemned prisoners and sells off their parts for profit. In Africa, reports of children being abducted and dissected were brought to light by nuns at an orphanage this spring (sound familiar? Boneman prologue). One of the nuns was found murdered in her home a few weeks after the report hit the news, and the government there still denies that anything happened.

Someone is skinning people in Tanzania and Kenya, presumably for ritual use, and the Russian mob apparently operates a ring that brings poor people to New York from Moldova, the armpit of Europe, and pays them to convert their organs into cash.

In Brazil, a former Israeli army officer is on trial for trafficking, and he claims the practice is sanctioned and supported by the government of Israel!

The practice of "organlegging" was predicted by SF author Larry Niven 30+ years ago in a series of SF/detective stories featuring Gil 'the Arm' Hamilton, a cop with a psychic arm. (Long story.) I want to figure out a demonic motive for engaging in the practice. Blood sacrifice seems too simple; they could raise up another Hitler or Saddam for that. (Or get a country to legalize abortion...)

What purpose, though, to abducting and cutting up victims beyond the obvious one of turning a profit? Experiments? Implanting something into the organs that are then transplanted into a unknowing recipient?

[wgjones3]

There are tons of conspiracy theorists out there who have looked into the occult and see connections to everything from big business to government. One book you might want to check out is Larson's Book of Spiritual Warfare by Bob Larson. He goes into detail about occult practices in modern society and the effects of demonic possession on people. One ritual he talked about was the ingestion of pig intestine--yuck. As for the conspiracy theories, just look for stuff about The Illuminati, the Masons, the Mystical Rosicrucians, Wicca, the Tai Chi, Mystical Islam, Hinuism (pay particular attention to the cult of Kali), Cabala (starting with the Essenes), Skull and Bones Society (which should be in the news more since both major presidential candidates belong to S&B), Bohemian Grove (the Grove played a bizzare but pivital role in the Larry King scandel), The Beast (a giant computer in Brussels)--I'm sure there's more but I'm running out of ideas. All that looks so disassociated that I'm sure you think I'm crazy, but if you look beneath the surface, you'll find a common undercurrent of occult ideology--including ritualistic human sacrifice. It's widely reported that the gathering at Bohemian Grove stages a mock human sacrifice each year.

I picked up a pretty good book called The New Age Secret Plan for World Conquest by Salem Kirban for $1 back when I started writing my first novel in '99. I had intended to use a lot of those occultic nuances in the story but the plot got in the way. :D By the way, if you can find that book, it's a good read, but it only scratches the surface.

[Mr. Otis]

All of the stuff you mentioned is essentially what my wife and I are trying to weave into this "Mytharc". Paul had it right: "We wrestle not against flesh and blood..."

We have a great time on weekends, spending hours on our laptops piecing theories together, reading great websites like Alex Jones' "Prison Planet", "Conspiracy Matrix", "Steve Quayle's Q-Files", Jeff Rense, the "Emerging Diseases Discussion Group", www.bilderberg.org, and so on. We'll never run out of ideas!

The men in these secret organizations may think they're pulling the strings, but they're actually the puppets. We who know the Truth have been made free.

[Turtle]

Hello,


I'm on the last of the third installment of the fairytale series I'm working on. The total number of words are over 40,000. I going to go over it again after I complete the final chapter.

[wgjones3]

Alex Jones. Funny you should mention him. I've got a folder full of his documentaries on my old harddrive. I use to listen to his radio show quite often back in college, then again right around 9/11. The guy is such a jerk to his callers that I wonder why he even takes phone calls. Infowars is a great site, though.

Well, I finally got that proposal done. I figured it up today. 34 hours I spent writing and researching it and proofing my manuscript. At least the hard part is done, right? Tomorrow is my birthday, so I'm not going to write a lick, and maybe Friday I'll start back on my current manuscript. Which reminds me, I need to look over Boneman and post chapter two of mine tonight. At least I'm good and hopped up on caffene. :D

[wgjones3]

Well, I finished the proposal. YAY! Now off to work on my other novel...

[Merry]

Yae!!!! :D

Merry

[Allie Webster]

I've really enjoyed reading what all of you are working on. Thanks for sharing. ;)

I'm currently working on query letters for my Earth Chronicles series and also waiting on my middle grade novel back from the professional edit. It is about the Dragon legends of the South Pacific.

[Merry]

FireFeet and I have just started ( mind you, that's just started) talking about giving Zylphia and Danny Doc DIlly their own novel. No, I don't think Mr. Otis can come. :D

[Gumpngreen]

My original outline was for one huge novel called The Genesis Illusion and I wasn't really planning on splitting it up. Right now I have planned 1. The Genesis 2. The Genesis Journey 3. The Genesis Illusion 4. The Genesis Nemesis 5. The Genesis Truth. #3 and #4 I might merge into one book (named The Genesis Nemesis) while I'm definitely keeping #5 separate.

Anyways, I haven't done much work during the last 5 months on writing except for a query letter, some editing, and the beginning of book 2 and some other scenes. This is primarily due to the pending deadline for Two Guy Software and also because I've developed carpal tunnel. Lately I've stopped programming and writing completely because the pain from carpal tunnel has reached the point where I MUST rest. Fortunately, when it comes to programming for TGS, I was in limbo anyways since I'm waiting on the arrival of some PC hardware so I can do my job.

[Merry]

Gump,

I suspected the carpal tunnel was becoming a problem.

Anyone else reading this please keep Gump in your prayers for healing. Not only does he make his living at the keyboard, he has an excellent novel in the works and a number of other projects that will work to the glory of God. He doesn't need his wrists to give out on him like this.

Hang in there, buddy.

Merry ;)

[Mr. Otis]

Gump,

Two things: Try the Microsoft ergonomic keyboard. It's 35 of the best dollars I ever spent. I type a lot at the office, and my left hand was goind numb by the end of every day. Turns out I have Tennis Elbow, and I haven't played in 20 years.

Also, I saw Two Guys Software mentioned in an article in a newspaper in Albany, NY. Picked it up on the news aggregator I use. Well done!

[writegirl1949]

Well, I joined ChristianWriters yesterday and spent a little time looking around and decided that I might as well jump in and get my feet wet.

I'm a freelance journalist and soon-to-be published author. I just finished my manuscript, a suspense fiction novel and am trying to decide just what to do next. I know I'll be working with an editor at some point but until then, I'd like to keep to the schedule I (at least partially) that I kept when writing and editing.

I seem more productive if I begin writing early in the morning after my husband leaves to go to work, which is about 6:30 in the morning. I'm more productive then than at any other time of the day. While working on the book, I usually put in a solid 8 hours. Now, I'd like to get into a routine of 4 hours in the morning.

I'm really looking forward to becoming more familiar with the site and members here.

Blessings, Writegirl

[DrRita]

I have been working on several things. I just finished a couple of articles I sent off and am waiting for answers. Also submitted a devotional for young Christians on Psalms to my agent. I am learning how to write screenplays and working on a non-fiction book on the effects of the Vietnam war on the families of the veterans. :cool:

writegirl1949
I too have just joined this forum and have been looking around to see how to jump in. I noticed you are in Arizona. Me too. Where in AZ? I live east of Mesa. God Bless your project.

[writegirl1949]

Hi Dr. Rita:

I am from Sierra Vista but consider all of Cochise County my home. I love the history and hope to develop some children's non-fiction stories that tell about the diverse culture of the area. My novel, "Death in the Desert," deals with the issue of illegal immigrants in the county and addresses both the fears of residents and the moral issues of immigrants dying while crossing into the United States. It's a bit controversial -- but there seems to be a moral dilemma as to how this issue is addressed and resolved. The novel itself deals with one woman's issues of fear and how this is resolved. I don't believe in "happy ever after" endings because, for the most part, that isn't realistic. The book shows that our peace comes from God. The novel really isn't classified as a Christian novel ... but within the dynamics of other characters, it points to God as the source for peace rather than anything external.

That's probably more than you wanted to know :) but I love this area so much and I can't help but talk about something so close to my heart.

I was interested in your devotional for young Christians on Psalms. If there is one book in the Bible that clearly shows us how to find peace from all the turmoil in this world, it's Psalms. I think it's great that you've chosen that. I didn't become a Christian till I was 30 and oh, how I wished I would've known the Truth found in that one book. Good luck.

[DrRita]

Writegirl1949
Arizona is a wonderful place. I originally moved here from Montana when I was 10 and finished high school here. Shortly after, I moved to Calif and then Oregon then Washington. I've recently relocated back to Arizona (2001) with my husband to relocate our small University here in Apache Junction. Anyway, it's good to be here again.

I think you've chosen a great subject for a novel. Good that it's controversial. Aren't Christians controversial anyway--might as well not disappoint anyone. I think a Christian should write for everyone, unless it's for the academic Christian community (or in some cases for Christians in ministry). We should be Christians who are writers, not writers who write "Christian." I belong to a couple of secular writing forums and I post my stuff there for critique occasionally. If one is a Chrsitian, Christ leaks out whether you want Him to or not because he is our life! Well, there I go preaching again :cool: Sorry!

Keep up the good work! I will be anxious to see it in print. :D

[Merry]

I just came for air for a minute...I'm finishing up my Y/J novel called The Monsters of Golden Cove, 52203 words so far. And then the re-write begins...YAY! And Yay sea monsters! :D

[FireFeet]

FireFeet cowers in the corner feeling quite overwhelmed in the company of such accomplished and hard working writers! She munches on a blueberry muffin and contemplates spending the evening catching up on five weeks of neglected homework in the writing course she is taking.

(And, Merry, I can't believe you TOLD...now it's like, REAL or something. lol)

[Merry]

Ha-ha-ha....Merry, files her writing quill to razor sharpens, pelts FireFeet with marshmallows and grins..."Aw, the real version is too good to go unsaid...The Legend of Zylphia totally rocks...! :D Now, c'mon because way before we get serious about writing, we need a major pie fight. Justones going down first, then I figure we re-load and we can get Bill, Mr. Otis, Doc Rita and heh-heh....anyone crazy enough to look at this thread.....or maybe we'll hunt them down! :D :p " And laughingly crazily FireFeet and Merry scurry off to the kitchen. :D

[wgjones3]

Well, I'm still working on my other novel. I dropped the ball on my non-fiction book and it's stalled at chapter 4. :( Of course, the car is stalled too--I've worked on it a total of 9 1/2 hours in the last two weeks. :eek: I did find me a nice picture of a finished one just like mine is going to look someday. I edited it in Paint Shop Pro and made it look all nice and pretty, slapped it on my desktop, and now I find I get less work done on the car and on my book because I'm staring at that silly picture thinking about how cool it's going to be to have that car finished. :cool: :rolleyes:

Alas, I'm going to be out of town for four days *counts off on fingers, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday--yep, that's four* and I won't get to write at all. :( :( :( I hope I'll remember where I'm at when I do get back on Teusday. :eek:

[waterfallbooks]

I have sent off 9 of the 16 book reviews I have due this month, and the next is nearly done. With this overload, I've barely had time to even look at my novel. I'm approaching the climax and quite anxious to get it done - and start implementing all of the editing tips Lynnette's been giving me!

[Zanzibar]

Writing? Do we all belong to this forum because we are supposed to be writing?

Ok, ok I confess. I have been slacking. But since we just moved into our new house (moving with 4 kids and a dog is a lot harder than when its just you and your husband moving from apartment to apartment trying to get the best price on rent! :D ) last month I guess I'll give myself a little slack.

I am currently in the middle of (dare I admit?) at least 4 novels. That is how I like to write. I get tired of one for awhile and so I go and write on another one etc until I - WHAM! :D - get this awsome scene for one of my other novels that just can't be supressed and it just flows onto the paper WITHOUT EVER HAVING TO BE EDIDTED AGAIN!... (Oops, I guess I got a little carried away there at the end. :rolleyes: )

Let's see, I have:

Rocky Mountain Oasis. (Complete and currently getting up the nerve to face another round of Editors.) 100,000 words.

As Yet Untitled. Not quite half way finished. Katie is reading and critiqing it. Currently at about 30,000? I don't remember for sure.

High Desert Assurance. A sequel to RMO. About 1/2 complete. Currently at 55,000 words.

AND

Friends at Heart. Also currently about 1/2 complete. Its at about 30,000 words too I think.

Call me crazy but I also have a couple of others that I've started that are just in the beginning couple of chapters and still being researched and planned out.

So that's my life right now, oh yeah along with 1. raising 4 kids, 2. making sure the dog doesn't starve, 3. being a pastor's wife and 4. preparing for homeschooling, 5. running several ebay auctions each week (to help pay for the homeshcooling curriculum) and 6. selling used books on Amazon.com (to help buy dog food so I can follow through on # 2 above.) :D

You know what? I LOVE my life. Really I do. God is so good to me!

Gotta go squeeze in some sleep.

Lynnette

[ChristChild]

At the moment, I am 42,925 words into the third book of The Orianus Creation Series. I have stalled on writing lately, though. :(

My brother is working hard on the second book in his Tayan Chronicles. He was around 88,000 words last time I checked, and he thinks it'll end up being a little over 100,000. He is trying to finish the basic manuscript before he has to return to teaching in early August.

A friend of mine, Randall Thorn, is having his Christian Fantasy novel published at the moment. It is titled Through the Valley of Bones. He has been working on it for several years, so I will be glad to see it finally in print. :)

My other friend, Bruce Ragas, has little time to write on his Christian Fantasy novel, The Diamond Shard. It has been stalled for awhile now. I pray that time opportunities will open up for him.

Well, that's all that is happening lately within our writing group. I've read the whole thread, and it is good to see what is going on with everyone's writing projects. :)

Shane

[His4ever]

FireFeet cowers in the corner feeling quite overwhelmed in the company of such accomplished and hard working writers! She munches on a blueberry muffin and contemplates spending the evening catching up on five weeks of neglected homework in the writing course she is taking.

ditto! :rolleyes: The only writing thats gonna be submitted anywhere is a college paper on vietnam... (btw if you're interested in the Vietnam war at all, "The Things They Carried" provides an excellent soldier's perspective and is well written)

In the meantime as far as "real" writing goes, (i don't consider homework writing - i consider it homework :p ) I'm currently attempting to compile my finished poems together so i can get a better idea of where i need work. I'm also working on a few articles for my church newsletter (thats about the closest i'm gonna get to publication but that's ok cuz i'm writing for God not me and He will have His way in all things)

[wgjones3]

You know, this is homework, but I find it facinating that it's taking so blasted long to do so I'll throw it up here anyway. I'm creating a tri-fold phamplet on the history of the Chevrolet Motor Company for class tomorrow night. It's supposed to be a marketing assignment, part of a mock presentation to convince potential dealerships to start selling Chevrolets. I have spent 3 days on it and still have one whole flap blank and 1/4 of another one blank out of 5 flaps (the 6th is an illustrated cover).

[FireFeet]

When this topic was originally posted, I was in a dark place and writing nothing much but bad poetry. I think I'm back in the light again. :D

I'm looking over all of my neglected homework assignments and feeling very uninspired and very overwhelmed.

And I've resurrected my three book projects:

1. an autobiographical novel with a twist
2. a book about the history of the area where I live...kind of a "spiritual mapping" project...if you know what that is
3. a non-fiction book about...um...err...well...hard to explain at this point

And I'm mulling over the Zylphia project Merry has proposed.

So...yippee!...I'm writing again. :D

[Merry]

Yay! If we never write the legend of Zylphia, I'm just glad you're writing! You're far too witty and creative to hide your light. :D

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Hi!,

I'm new here.
I'm currently doing my third year in a full time Graphic Design course (too much work!!!) so I don't have that much time to write at the moment. And with all the other commitments like friends, family, church (youth leader) and ofcourse the most important is God.
I have other hobbies than writing which take up my time like reading, drawing cartoons and playing computer games.

I've been a bit naughty in that I haven't written my story in ages (since February 2002!) I've been busily writing notes on anything and everything. My notes are so unorganised, they are stored in a shopping sized bag. At the moment I'm sorting through all the millions of ideas that I have scribbled messily on paper and in my head and I'm writing them into a large notebook to organise them better.

My story currently sits at the 16,000 odd words I wrote back in Year 12 for my English Creative Writing assesment. We were only meant to write 800 words so I submitted part of my story and got a good grade (19/20 = A).

I'm adding so much more content to my story. I hope to have it grow to 30,000 words or whatever it takes to tell the story. This will be my first full length story. The longest I have done before this was about 3,000 words if that.

I'm really enjoying creating the universe for my story and drawing up the creatures, people and stuff that inhabit the land.

My main strengths in writing are original ideas and I'm good at descriptions and action scenes. My main writing weaknesses are realistic dialogue, having every sentence flow onto the other, some grammar problems and slower scenes - but I'm working on them.

Please be tolerant of my writing style as I'm dyslexic, but I love to read and draw and believe God has blessed me this way.

The story I'm writing is called: Live by the Sword, Die by the Sword and it will be a Christian story with elements of noir, fantasy, sci-fi, mystery, adventure and thriller. Could be an interesting combo. It combines the technologies of ages past and the modern world with old technologies that are far superior to what we have. I guess you would call it Christian fantasy steampunk (don't know if that genre exists).

When I've finished I'll have a site up for it and the story will be in a secure ebook form (no printing/copying and pasting etc - how do you do that with Macromedia Freehand 10 for Adobe Acrobat Reader 6? I know how to create a pdf but not how to secure it or if it is possible. Anyone?) I hope to have a place there where people can buy the book in physical format if they desire.

Once I've finished (which won't be for many months - possibly February 2005 or a bit later) will I be able to post my website address in my sig or not?

Thankyou to those who took the time to read (or at least skim my post). I'm sorry its so long.
Everyone God Bless you and your projects!


Christian
-Warrior 4 Jesus-

[wgjones3]

Warrior,

First of all, welcome aboard. I'm an amateaur graphic designer--I inherited the job when the guy at church who did all the graphic design work moved on to a start-up church and I was the only one who knew how to keep the songs on the projector screens looking somewhat like they did before.

I'm glad to hear that you're looking to finish your story. You mentioned that you wanted it to be 30,000 words or whatever it took to tell a story. I just wanted to mention that, from my experience, a novel is considered 50,000 words or more, while a novella is considered anything between 10,000 and 50,000 words. I may be off a little on the novella because I've never finished a story that short--I tend to overwrite, I guess. The best advice I can give you, however, is to write your story until it's finished, then rewrite and edit out everything you don't need. Odds are, it'll surprise you at how much you can actually edit out. This process tightens the story and makes it more readable.

As for dialouge, I've found that it helps to watch TV shows and movies that are of the same style as what you're writing. Pay careful attention to the dialouge, noting the way things are said, how different characters say similar things in totally different ways, etc... It can help if you videotape a show and watch it 3 or 4 times, taking notes. You might also find it helpful to listen to books on tape. A friend of mine has dyslexia and this is the only way he can read. He badgered me into listening to David Baldacci's Last Man Standing on CD and I must admit, I loved the audio book experience. I particularly loved how the dialouge popped from the narration, and each character sounded different (and I don't mean voice-wise). I tend not to notice this as much on paper but it really stood out in audio. There again, you might try and finda book or author who writes in a similar style and note the dialouge carefully. I find when studying dialouge it helps to hear it in your head like you're watching TV. I think most public libraries have books on tape for free.

Anyway, I hope some of that gives you some ideas that will help you improve your confidence--and when it boils down to it, writing is really a confidence game. You win the reader's confidence, he/she will follow you anywhere.

Best of luck as you continue to write.

[wgjones3]

Warrior,

I forgot to mention, but I'm sure there are ways to secure a .pdf. You'd probably need some rather pricey software, though. Seems like most of the good ebook making programs are around $100 or a little over. Be sure to get one that disables printing, cut and paste, and unauthorized distribution. I saw an article about one (which I think was called easy ebook creator) which required each copy of your book to be registered and you could choose to deactivate copies or even allow readers to download your ebook for free but only allow them to access parts of it for a limited time.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

wgjones,

Thankyou very much for the welcome and the helpful advice.
I read using a book, but years ago I listened to the Lost World - A Conan Doyle tape and BBCs version of the Adventures of Tintin on tape. They were quite good, I may try some more from my local library.

Yes, confidence is necessary for an author. I don't have a huge amount of confidence, or even very good self-esteem but God's helping me through that . Strange that I have low confidence and can stand up for what I believe, but its a start and there's no better friend than Jesus.

Regarding the secure pdf software, I'm a student so I don't know if I can afford the 100+ dollar price tag. I was hoping for something free (yes, I know nothing's free - except Grace!) and if not free, something a lot cheaper. I definetly need something to secure the pdf though.

I want to do my site in Flash and I was wondering if you knew of any free web hosting sites that support it and have no banners, popups or ads or very little number. The ebooks with be in the flash website. I went to one Flash website and tried copying and pasting content from the site. It didn't work. That's what I wish to create. Do you know how to do that?


Thanks so much for your help!
God Bless,


Christian
-Warrior 4 Jesus-

[wgjones3]

I'm sure you can find free ebook creation software--I found a site with everything you need a year or so ago, but I've lost the bookmark and can't find it on Google now. The only problem will be security--most freebie programs will make it easy to distribute the files without your permission. Another thing I noticed with most of the cheap/free programs, they require you to format the book in html and then allow the reader to read it through IE / Mozilla / Netscape.

One thing you might try doing is using a program such as winrar ( http://www.rarlabs.com ) to compress the .pdf file, then password protect it, and require users to pay for the password. If you use a long password--something like 20 random characters--it would take a password cracking program years to try every possible combination, meaning it would be hard for someone to crack.

[LouT]

I have been working on several things. I just finished a couple of articles I sent off and am waiting for answers. Also submitted a devotional for young Christians on Psalms to my agent. I am learning how to write screenplays and working on a non-fiction book on the effects of the Vietnam war on the families of the veterans. :cool:

writegirl1949
I too have just joined this forum and have been looking around to see how to jump in. I noticed you are in Arizona. Me too. Where in AZ? I live east of Mesa. God Bless your project.

Links are in the signiture, I devote much time to helping war vets regarding Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, free to use my material, whole or part. Wll find in a ministry secion of my articles in the "Backside of the Desert" area.

Have reached my limit with a testimony as I am the one who was the same as the Biblical "Legion" of Mark 5 and Luke 8, all of which is documented but very hard to write about the twilight zone stuff and obtaining eye witness accounts or first hand interactions with a maniac, some pastors saying that it was a first in all their christian experience. Can email me about this if you wish, website has email address or can use the Adelphia address. glad to help if I can.