Looking for Fresh Eyes

On March 28th, I finished the rough draft of my manuscript. Since then, I’ve taken everyone’s advice and have been editing like a mad (wo)man. I’ve chopped, hacked, written, and rewritten. Now that I can recite all 50,000 words in my sleep, I think I’m ready for another set of eyes.

Have any of you heard of LadiesWhoCritique.com? It’s a website with the goal of matching writers with critique partners/beta readers. I recently became aware of its existence and created a profile. Have any of you found success through Ladies Who Critique? If not, how do you go about finding fresh eyes to view your work? Do you have another website you prefer? Do you ask friends and family? Writing groups? Random strangers? I’d like to know your methods.

And P.S., if any of you have profiles on Ladies Who Critique, let me know. We should be friends.

Rough Draft: COMPLETE!

That’s right. You heard me. 100% COMPLETE.

Back on February 7th, I wrote a short entry to congratulate myself on completing my outline. Last summer, I asked my readers how they felt about the pre-writing process. Some of them said they couldn’t write without structure; others couldn’t write with it. For me, the pre-writing process is a struggle. When I sit down to hack out an outline, I suddenly feel the need to recheck my email or surf Amazon for toys I can’t have. I’ve even cleaned the oven to avoid writing. You’d think I’d be more disciplined, having just graduated college and all.

My next goal was to have the entire rough draft written by my birthday, and I did so with less than 48 hours to spare. Having finished, I can say this: the outline helped a lot. With few exceptions, I never got stuck in my story. Even if the writing wasn’t sparkling, I could always refer to my outline and plow through the ruts. I have never finished a rough draft so quickly.

Now, it’s time for the dreaded editing process. So, here’s my question to my readers: how do you feel about editing? Do you enjoy it? Do you like it less than, as much, or more than writing the actual story? Do you give yourself a break before plunging in for the kill? I’d like to hear your thoughts.

 

Work in Progress

I just realized that in all the time I’ve been blogging that I’ve never posted a step-by-step guide to my artwork. Recently, I’ve been working on a commission for a young adult novel cover. Although I have many different methods of creating artwork, I still thought it might be of interest to show the creative process at work.

Step One: Line Work

Once I’ve gone through the process of perfecting my design through small thumbnail sketches, I draw my final line work. I almost always do this by hand with a non-photo blue pencil. After I’ve hashed out my blue lines, I refine them with a regular #2 mechanical pencil. The whole image is uploaded into Photoshop, and the blue lines are removed digitally.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step Two: Flat Values

In Photoshop, I then block in my flat values. During this step, I’m not really concerned about lighting. Basically, I’m just insuring that my focal point stands out. In this image, the middle boy is the main character, and therefore, my focal point. His overall value is much lighter than the value on the two girls beside him. This contrast should draw the eye of the viewer. Also, I used the foliage and the large dog as framing devices. I allowed them to be dark so they would frame the characters in the middle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step Three: Rendering

Now it’s time to worry about lighting. During this step, I select a light source and shade everything accordingly. Again, in order to draw attention to the middle boy, I placed a bright spotlight near his head. It’s during this stage that I can have fun with textures. You’ll notice that the leftmost girl’s hair went from being a flat mass to a curly monster. This step is the most tedious and time-consuming.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step Four: Adding Color

Once the image is rendered, adding color is relatively simple. Since I’ve already established my lights and shadows, I can use Photoshop to lay colors over the black and white values. In this image, I applied yellow-green lighting and blueish shadows to enhance the woodsy atmosphere. I also added more foliage as per the publisher’s request. Although I could also add typography at this stage, the publisher had a separate designer that opted to take care of it instead.

Here We Go Again

I obviously didn’t have enough fun at the third Writers’ Platform-Building Campaign, because I’m back again for the fourth! The Writers’ Platform-Building Campaign is hosted by Rach Writes. It’s an event designed to link writers together to build platforms and make connections. There’s always fun contests and great prizes to keep the energy going for the entirety of the campaign. I’m excited to participate in it again!

In other news, now that I’m out of school, I’ve been able to treat writing as my full-time job for the first time in my life. I tackled a huge chunk of my book, and I’ve even sent it to some interested family members for a sneak preview. Lately, you may have noticed that I haven’t been as regular about blogging as I normally am. My excuse is that I’ve been working on the project that inspired this blog in the first place. I’m so happy to be able to report my progress to my readers! Thanks everyone!

Milestone Achieved

I’ve noticed that the pre-writing process is a lot like going to the gym. First of all, I really dislike the pre-writing process (as I’ve mentioned in other posts), but I put myself through it anyway, because it’s good for me and it produces great results.

That being said, I am happy to announce that the pain and suffering can now end. I can now consume Oreos without shame.

As of yesterday, my entire outline is done.

The plot holes have been filled. The finale has been crafted. Good triumphs over evil.

I should admit, however, that I have been writing the actual story a little as I’ve gone along. The outline alone wasn’t enough to scratch my creative itch. But now when I write, I actually know where I’m headed.

Let the consumption of Oreos commence.

Let the Scoring Begin!

My t-shirt design, Sunset Cove, is officially available for scoring! It only has seven days to get the best votes possible, so if you get a minute, head on over to Threadless to give it a score.

New Territory: T-Shirt Design

Seventh Story Studio is venturing into some new territory: t-shirt design!

I’ve had a ballpoint pen mermaid sketch taking up space on my hard drive for over a year now. I promised myself that I would do something with it eventually.

Well, today, “eventually” came! Inspiration struck, and I decided to turn the mermaid into a t-shirt design.

But here’s the catch: if I want to get it printed (and pocket the cash reward), my design has to score well with the online community. So, if you get a moment, hop on over to Threadless and give Sunset Cove a score (preferably a good one). My design should be available for scoring within a day or two.

Thanks in advance for your help! I hope to pass people wearing mermaid t-shirts in the grocery store in the near future.

Writer’s Groups

Small Montana towns don’t offer much in the way of opportunities. When I was at school, friends and roommates would sometimes ask me what I did for fun growing up.

Good question.

We didn’t have a Chuck E. Cheese’s. We didn’t have a skate park or an arcade. The bowling alley interior was yellow with cigarette smoke. Heck, we didn’t even have a Walmart. As kids, we simply had to make our own fun.

Now that I’m living in the Big City (for a Montana girl, that is), I’m noticing how many opportunities are available. Several of my watchers belong to writer’s groups. I’ve always been curious about writer’s groups, and I’ve recently discovered that there are a few operating in the area.

So, my question to my readers is this: What has been your experience with writer’s groups? What do they do? Are they helpful? What kind of commitment/participation level is expected? Do you recommend joining?

Order or Inspiration?

One of my writing professors once told the class that he rarely writes his books in chronological order. When he sits down to write, he tackles the part of the story that most inspires him at the time and then worries about putting everything in order later. I had never considered writing any other way than starting at the beginning and plowing through until the end. That was the way I had always done things. However, when my professor put the issue to a vote, a large handful of students in the class preferred to write in the same way as my professor.

Since beginning this project, I have found it more difficult to write my scenes in the order that they occur. Although I’m trying to be disciplined and follow my outline, my outline is still missing some crucial material: the middle. Have you ever had “A” and “B” figured out, but can’t seem to draw the line that connects the two? In order to overcome my inability to connect the dots, and have experimented with this new writing technique. I write scenes as they appeal to me.

How do you go about tackling your writing? Do you start at the beginning? In the middle? Do you edit as you go, or save it until you’re finished? Let me in on your secrets.

Wedding Bells Rang!

Indeed they did! And I hope that is all that needs be said to explain my little disappearance.

I just wanted to let everyone know that Seventh Story Studio is still thriving. It has been relocated from Montana to Salt Lake City, and now resides in a bright and sunny apartment next door to Barnes and Noble. I must admit that my new “studio” doesn’t bear much resemblance to one yet, as my tools of mass destruction artistic creation are still in storage. However, I have great visions for the space in front of our balcony window. I see easels and paint tubes. Lots and lots of paint tubes.

I hope to upload photos of the wedding and new apartment soon. In the meantime, know that my husband and I (that has a nice ring to it) are blissfully happy fighting over our only armchair. Out carpet suffocated for days beneath a layer of cardboard boxes, tissue paper, and cellophane wrap, but as a result, our kitchen is now nicely outfitted in red and white appliances and cookware. I never thought I would have a coordinated kitchen.

Also, since I graduated from school, I have spent some time fleshing out my outline and writing some background chapters for my story. I hope to make substantial progress on the written portion of my project now that my evenings are to be a little more free. But more on that later. Wish me luck!