The EPIC WIN Thread 3: SON OF EPIC

Officer_Charon

Officer_Charon

Just watched Range 15 in a theater crammed full of veterans and active-duty service folks. Fantastic time.

I've been training a rookie who is pretty locked-on from day 1 (hence my absence from here).

I have a glass full of Canadian whiskey, on the rocks.

I start vacation in a little less than 24 hours.

If I didn't have court in the morning, you could cap this off as a damned near perfect evening.
 
GasBandit

GasBandit

Staff member
Dei said:
Terrik went to the movies, I was working on cosplay, Gas was... doing things in space?
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Actually not long after you left, the server I am playing Empyrion crashed and didn't come back up >_< so I produced another overwatch video instead.
 
fade

fade

Staff member
Now see that's what I consider good comic art. I like the new stuff (before someone says I hate it), but I have a special place for that style. Maybe because that's very 70s/80s post Kirby pre photoshop.
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

ThatNickGuy said:
Assuming I finish it at my ideal 60,000 words, I'm two-thirds of the way done my first Young Adult novel.
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Why, eh?

..I mean, why only your "first?"
EDIT: Do you feel like your first two books are inappropriate for the "YA" crowd?

--Patrick
 
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Sparhawk

Sparhawk

ThatNickGuy said:
Another 2,300 words in the can. I'm just a hair short of 40,000 words total. Assuming I finish it at my ideal 60,000 words, I'm two-thirds of the way done my first Young Adult novel.
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Great job, but I do have a question. Why do you feel that 60k is the ideal spot? Why not just let the story go where it needs to on the first draft, and pare down from there to a possibly more concise story? One thing I have read and heard consistently from successful authors is that they write until they think they're finished, then look and see how they may need to edit to better reading.
 
ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

Sparhawk said:
Great job, but I do have a question. Why do you feel that 60k is the ideal spot? Why not just let the story go where it needs to on the first draft, and pare down from there to a possibly more concise story? One thing I have read and heard consistently from successful authors is that they write until they think they're finished, then look and see how they may need to edit to better reading.
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Maybe ideal wasn't the right word to use (Oh, nice one, Nick! Using the wrong word. This is why you're not the next Stephen King, you bonehead!).

See, when I started thinking of how this book would play out, I also imagined its length. This is roughly according to what moments or scenes I had in mind, the approximate average length of a YA book on the market, how my writing usually flows from chapter to chapter, and how my last two books flowed similarly. The Dame was a Tad Polish, for example, was almost exactly 60k on the dot. Didn't plan it that way, but it worked out well. The City of Smoke & Mirrors was 80k. Looking back, I think 60k is good length for a Dill book and it's now the rough bar I'll set for any future Dill hijinx.

It's not that I'll panic if I don't make or break the 60k mark. It's just how it feels it'll be at this rate. As of now, many of the latest scenes have shit going DOWN, son. It's quite exciting and I find I'm pumping out the words more naturally than I have in months. And despite that, knowing what else I want to write for this particular book, I should hit the 60k mark.

One thing I want to do is expand the first half of the book by about 5,000 words. Maybe add a scene or two. Maybe a full chapter or two. I want to do this because I want Part 2 to fall as close to exactly halfway in the book as possible. It's hard to explain why without spoiling the first half of the book, but trust me, it makes sense.

EDIT: Also, I'm tired and hitting the bed soon, so I don't know if the above rant makes a lick of sense.
 
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Sparhawk

Sparhawk

Makes sense, and I don't think you used the wrong words either. It really was a question into your goal that you seemed to have set.

Guess that the main gist that I was trying to get to you, is that 60k figure is actually a little short on the length of most YA books that I've read over the years. Seems most of the more popular (and throwing out Harry P books because they were massive) clock in around 300 pages and 90k on words. I'm also not saying that you need to increase the word count just to match this, if you've told your story, you've told your story. So please don't take what I'm trying to say in a personal manner, I'm not trying to attack or tear down what you are doing. And yeah, I went and looked at the page count on many that are in my personal collection, because I wanted to make sure I was remembering what I thought I was remembering.
 
ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

Sparhawk said:
Makes sense, and I don't think you used the wrong words either. It really was a question into your goal that you seemed to have set.

Guess that the main gist that I was trying to get to you, is that 60k figure is actually a little short on the length of most YA books that I've read over the years. Seems most of the more popular (and throwing out Harry P books because they were massive) clock in around 300 pages and 90k on words. I'm also not saying that you need to increase the word count just to match this, if you've told your story, you've told your story. So please don't take what I'm trying to say in a personal manner, I'm not trying to attack or tear down what you are doing. And yeah, I went and looked at the page count on many that are in my personal collection, because I wanted to make sure I was remembering what I thought I was remembering.
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Oh no, don't worry, I didn't take that way. I get where you're coming from. Word count is a really fickle thing. And it seems the appropriate, acceptable average word count varies from book to book and person to person. This article on Writer's Digest, for example, says the average YA length is between 55,000 - 69,999, and ideally no higher than 80k. This site says the same (no higher than 80k). This one says 55k-70k. Going by those three examples, mine should be right in the sweet spot.

From what I've researched, Twilight and Harry Potter seem to be the exceptions, not the norm.

Keep in mind, too, that this book is also intended to be BOOK ONE of a 2-part series. I've known from the beginning what the exact last sentence of BOOK ONE will be. I know most series deal in trilogies, but again, like the two-part manner that I'm playing with in this first book, the dual nature plays a big role both in the story and the book presentation. I'm doing something VERY different from Dill.

I'm also planning on shopping this one around to other publishers. In fact, I may even look for an agent on this one.[DOUBLEPOST=1466311790,1466311455][/DOUBLEPOST]
PatrThom said:
Why, eh?

..I mean, why only your "first?"
EDIT: Do you feel like your first two books are inappropriate for the "YA" crowd?

--Patrick
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I'm...honestly not sure. I think that's part of why it's been hard to sell and promote Dill. He's such a weird, niche product. He doesn't really fall under any categories for Young Adult fiction, even though his best audience would probably be teen and young adult. The first book, though, has a LOT of innuendo that I'd hate to see a parent have to explain to their young reader. There's a line about a pearl necklace, for example. My niece read that line when she was 12. I told her she'd understand when she was older. Then she went and GOOGLED what it meant, came back and smacked me, saying, "That's so gross! Why would you write that?"

This new one is most assuredly aimed at a teen/young adult market.

Interestingly enough, many people have told me they felt my overall writing style would be best suited in Young Adult fiction.
 
Krisken

Krisken

Ok, so this is a lot of minor wins to add up to an epic win. Kind of cheating, but so what, right?

First, my Crokinole board is being shipped tomorrow, got the confirmation and it should arrive on Thursday-



This morning my wife and I went to Cafe Bavaria, a lovely brunch spot in Milwaukee, and enjoyed a large glass of beer and a ham and sausage skillet with spinach and a bed of spaetzle. Excellent way to start the day!

And tomorrow is Erin and my 10 year anniversary. I am so lucky to have her and can't imagine my life without her. She has supported me through my layoff at the factory, through schooling, through crappy job after crappy job, and it finally feels like we are putting together the life we both deserve. I couldn't be happier and I look forward to many years being spent with this lovely lady.
 
Dave

Dave

Staff member
July is going to be a month of big sighs. I get paid on the first, I get my bonus on the first, my WIFE gets paid on the first...and she also gets paid twice more before the end of July.

Paying off all our outstanding bills, getting the upgraded parts for my computer (motherboard, power supply, upgraded CPU, and GTX 1080 - as long as I can see some upgraded spec sheets, otherwise it'll probably be a 980Ti), and putting aside the money for my son's plane ticket in December.

It's going to be good to be able to relax for a bit.
 
Dave

Dave

Staff member
PatrThom said:
FYI even the 1070 is still 6-7% better than a 980Ti, and it's only $30 or so more than the price of a 980Ti even after the 9xx prices all cratered due to the 10xxx cards coming out.

--Patrick
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Yeah. Trouble is, the 1070 is sold out everywhere I looked. May not be the case in two weeks, but there it is. Oh, and if my bonus is what I think it's going to be, I'm also buying a Vive.
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

Dave said:
if my bonus is what I think it's going to be, I'm also buying a Vive.
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I thought you were going to get a Sodastream, instead?
EDIT: ...because a Sodastream is something else I would consider a "cool to have yet frivolous" purchase.

--Patrick
 
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Dave

Dave

Staff member
PatrThom said:
I thought you were going to get a Sodastream, instead?
EDIT: ...because a Sodastream is something else I would consider a "cool to have yet frivolous" purchase.

--Patrick
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Ah. We had one of those when I was a kid when my mom tried to cut down on money yet still let us have frosty beverages. It sucked. Costs way more than just buying soda, even over time.
 
Ravenpoe

Ravenpoe

Dave said:
Ah. We had one of those when I was a kid when my mom tried to cut down on money yet still let us have frosty beverages. It sucked. Costs way more than just buying soda, even over time.
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Let me know how the vive is! I'm thinking of an oculus myself, but A) They're out of stock everywhere, B) They're starting to be pretty douchey in trying to lock their marketplace and stamp out competition, and C) There's a plethora of headsets coming on the horizon that's bound to push competition and drive prices down. If the Vive drops in price, I'll definitely consider it.
 
AshburnerX

AshburnerX

Dave said:
Ah. We had one of those when I was a kid when my mom tried to cut down on money yet still let us have frosty beverages. It sucked. Costs way more than just buying soda, even over time.
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We did this as a kid too. We just ended up buying those freezy mugs and making lots of slushies with cheep kool-aid and juice. It was fine, but these days Soda is cheaper than water OR juice so...
 
Krisken

Krisken

I picked up 4 REM cd's, Soul Coughing's El Oso, and NOFX So Long and Thanks for All The Shoes for $6. Bargain CD shopping- something I should have done years ago.
 
Gruebeard

Gruebeard

Krisken said:
I picked up 4 REM cd's, Soul Coughing's El Oso, and NOFX So Long and Thanks for All The Shoes for $6. Bargain CD shopping- something I should have done years ago.
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I've gone bargain CD shopping plenty of times, picking up about 50 each time. Lots of what I grabbed I grabbed simply because of the title of the art.
 
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