Writers: How many of you are working on novels?

Cafe Society
21

I’m not a REAL writer…I just write because I like too. I’m currently working on a military SciFi novel that could be several books. I don’t intend to publish, just give copies to friends who like to read what I write.

How far along are you?

I have about 6 chapters done (no edits yet…and I need a lot as my command of english from a writing perspective is not so good :)). I have about 10 more chapters in various stages of completions, and notes for the rest.

How long have you been working on it?

On and off about 6 months. I write when I feel overwhelmingly compelled to do so…usually after several sleepless nights where the story is pounding through my head. I have a day job though, and running my own business doesn’t give me loads of spare time…not when I have movies to watch and games to play with what little spare time I do have. :slight_smile:

How often do you work on it?

Variable. Sometimes I’ll work on it for several hours a few times a week…sometimes a couple of times a month. I’ve only actually managed to finish a few books in all my years. Its a chancy proposition that I’ll ever finish THIS story though as its pretty big.

Do you have a publisher?

No, nor do I intend to publish. I write because I like too…and also because sometimes the stories literally won’t leave me be unless I put at least some of it down on paper.

What is the genre (and gist of story, if you’re so inclined)?

Fantasy and SciFi are what I usually write. As I said, my current book is a military SciFi story along the lines of John Ringo’s Poslen stories about alien invasion. It revolves around a human developed technology that allows humanity, through nano-technology, to basically disassemble to the atomic level and then transmit starships (and other things) through micro-wormholes in the quantum foam to any location in the galaxy where a portal can be opened, and then have them reassembled. The aliens use highly advanced technology, but that is wildly inaccurate and slow firing, so essentially use disiplined ‘ranks’…sort of like high tech Napoleanic warfare in space. Space battles are like old age of sail fleet actions (I wanted to do a Horatio Hornblower in space thing, sort of like the whole Honor Harrington story but closer to the old style fighting).

-XT

22

Let’s see…I’ve just reached the halfway point of my first draft and am currently searching that for continuity errors, diction in need of sharpening, verbiage in need of cutting, texture in need of addtion.

I had had the basic idea about twenty years ago, but I filed it away withut working on it. the first sentence popped into my head about two years ago, but I had to spend some time figuring out what it meant and designing the world in which the story occurs. I started seriously working on the manuscript (as opposed to background information, of which I have about 150 pages of notes) June. So pick one.

I work on it every day for at least four hours, after I’m done with paying work of course.

No, no publisher yet.

The genre is mixed. The first half of the story is an urban fantasy with two early-teens protagonists, set in the mid-80s. The latter half will be a high fantasy, same two protagonists, set in a magical realm. I originally conceived of it as a children’s novel, but I’m not sure how marketable it is that way.