The Terry Pratchett Prize, Round Two...

[michelanCello]

Trying to keep my spirits up here - had got into a bit of a fallow patch but have just finished a couple of sections off and gone to 200 words shy of 126,000 and a few pages short of finishing the penultimate chapter.

I'm kind of defining the 'alternative Earth' elements now, but I'm back to dithering on whether it's enough of a difference as it's really more fictional messing about with political history and not falling too far outside of the norm? I have invented a new country and stood some tribal culture on it's head, so I guess it's enough but maybe I'll just let the final word count decide. If I get the remaining half chapter done without breaking the 150,000 limit (which seems pretty attainable atm) then I'll probably go for it depending on editorial comment and review

Who's the editor? otherwise I'd be glad to assist...

Edit: at least at the reading part

[Jan Van Quirm]

Well I may take you up on the reviewing side of it mC. I've got a v.g. editor who's been letting me have feedback as I've been writing so they only have two chapters to see too, but I have been getting several other people look at it for review purposes so I get commentary from people with different reading preferences and I haven't got anyone who has English as a second language so to speak - so yeah, if you're volunteering!

This is the African story I was telling you about in August BTW

[michelanCello]

Really? I didn't realize then it was in a different world! Then I'd absolutely love to read it!

[Jan Van Quirm]

No - it's simply a slightly different Earth to this one, which is why I'm not so sure that I should put this in for the competition.

We will be looking for books set at any time, perhaps today, perhaps in the Rome of today but in a world where 2000 years ago the crowd shouted for Jesus Christ to be spared, or where in 1962, John F Kennedy’s game of chicken with the Russians went horribly wrong. It might be one day in the life of an ordinary person. It could be a love story, an old story, a war story, a story set in a world where Leonardo da Vinci turned out to be a lot better at Aeronautics. But it won’t be a story about being in an alternate Earth because the people in an alternate Earth don’t know that they are; after all, you don’t.

I think it does just about scrape it as it's going in a different direction after one of the recent African conflicts

[Quatermass]

I can't do anything as pedestrian as a straightforward alternate history novel. I needed something fantastical driving the story, and yet the rules state that it has to follow the laws of physics. Never mind that they used time travel and parallel universe hopping in Half-Sick of Shadows without explaining it. Which was annoying once I got that book and read it. But what can you do?

God, my brain's so [EFF!]ing fuzzy, I can't write at the moment. Which is [EFF!]ing frustrating. I have two novels I want to rewrite, not to mention the new epilogue to my entry for the TP Prize. Argh!

[michelanCello]

No - it's simply a slightly different Earth to this one, which is why I'm not so sure that I should put this in for the competition.

We will be looking for books set at any time, perhaps today, perhaps in the Rome of today but in a world where 2000 years ago the crowd shouted for Jesus Christ to be spared, or where in 1962, John F Kennedy’s game of chicken with the Russians went horribly wrong. It might be one day in the life of an ordinary person. It could be a love story, an old story, a war story, a story set in a world where Leonardo da Vinci turned out to be a lot better at Aeronautics. But it won’t be a story about being in an alternate Earth because the people in an alternate Earth don’t know that they are; after all, you don’t.

I think it does just about scrape it as it's going in a different direction after one of the recent African conflicts

I see... but I don't think they'll be so strict about it, surely...

[Quatermass]

AARRRGGGGHHHH!!!

I HAVE [EFF]ING WRITER'S BLOCK!

[Jan Van Quirm]

Don't stress Q - still 46/7 days to go for the compy deadline and with your editorial feeback you'll likely be able to kickstart your main project OK (the Epilogue may well change too once you've done with the edits).

In the meantime, for the other stories you're working on - leave them and go do something else unrelated to those projects for a couple of days, and then come back to them with a rested mind. Such a thing as over-thinking writing and it does help to leave it alone, rather than constantly poking it with a metaphorical stick if the ideas/momentum have dried temporarily...

[Quatermass]

Don't stress Q - still 46/7 days to go for the compy deadline and with your editorial feeback you'll likely be able to kickstart your main project OK (the Epilogue may well change too once you've done with the edits).

In the meantime, for the other stories you're working on - leave them and go do something else unrelated to those projects for a couple of days, and then come back to them with a rested mind. Such a thing as over-thinking writing and it does help to leave it alone, rather than constantly poking it with a metaphorical stick if the ideas/momentum have dried temporarily...

I cannae help it (ye Gods, I'm turning Scottish. Could be worse...much worse...I could be turning into a Chav! ), JVQ. I'm literally addicted to writing, and I get withdrawal symptoms (extreme irritability, frustration, minor insanity) whenever I am denied a creative output. Sometimes, the only solution is to (metaphorically) bash your head against the brick wall and hope it breaks before your head.

There is some light on the horizon. Apparently my target audience/critiquer has read it almost to the finish and, critiques aside, not only enjoys it, but considers it better than the last book I had her read. I personally think it's the other way around, but this work for the TP Prize is certainly more accessible than that work (which remains unpublished, along with all my other stories). So maybe I actually have a decent chance to win this competition.

[Jan Van Quirm]

Then it really doesn't matter whether your completed draft is in with a chance or not - you've proved you can finish a story and your editor has not only enjoyed it but thinks it has a lot of appeal for a broader reader base. THIS IS WHAT TRANSWORLD ARE LOOKING FOR! Something that will sell!!!!

As for having to write - yes I totally understand that. Perhaps I should have said go and write about something, anything different to what you're stuck on/stressing presently and then go back when you've got the knots out of your head. I come onto this or other forums and write long convoluted posts as my method of getting the moths out of my head - or do something semi-practical like write a synopsis or submission letter about the project whilst not actually adding anything new and find that can sometimes give me space by holding it away from me in some way and perhaps get a new perspective on it all? Being blocked doesn't mean you can't write at all necessarily - you can still get to choose to write something different. All writing is valid in other words - even complete garbage so long as you're keeping your hand in in some manner.

In other news - 127,000 words now. Reckon another 1000 for this chapter and then another half chapter to do and I'm there

[Quatermass]

Good, keep going, JVQ!

As for writing something different, part of the problem is that I can become so monomaniacally focused on a single project that no others matter. Still, there may be a way out. I've just realised that for one of my books, a bit of research is required to get the atmos down, so some books are required from my local library.

[Jan Van Quirm]

Yup - working around it in an organised/practical way it a good track to follow up. Kick start those juices and come in at a different angle

[Quatermass]

Well, my critiquer has come back. Many of her suggestions (which are almost always word complaints rather than story-based) I'm taking on board. Others, I'll have to dismiss.

So, time to start editing...

[Jan Van Quirm]

Penultimate chapter going off for editing as I write this - up to 128,700 words so far.

Hoping that 5,000 - 10,000 more will be enough to polish off what I already have for the final chapter which I think I'll definitely be able to finish by early December as it's not going to be as difficult as this last lot of writing I've done.

[Quatermass]

Penultimate chapter going off for editing as I write this - up to 128,700 words so far.

Hoping that 5,000 - 10,000 more will be enough to polish off what I already have for the final chapter which I think I'll definitely be able to finish by early December as it's not going to be as difficult as this last lot of writing I've done.

Oh my, that's a lot. Better get a move on regardless, JVQ. You've got just over a month left.

I'm beginning the editing process today, firstly taking on board some of the recommendations of my 'target audience', and then adding some flavour which I feel is sorely lacking from the novel. Not to mention changing the ending. But my target audience enjoyed the novel, regardless of the nitpicks, so I'm feeling rather heartened.

I've also chosen a pseudonym.