now i’ve done it

I’ve launched a manuscript evaluation service called Sanity Check on my main website, www.catesbury.com.  See, this is what happens when Stephen King tells you to take a break from working on your novel.  See, Stephen King?  You see what happens?  That’s fine, I only want to work on one client MS per month, and other than my own site, I haven’t done any ads yet.  Unless you count this?

Taking a break from the web (crimson web, that is..)

Stephen King is telling me to take a 6 week break from working on my manuscript revision.  That’s a long time!  But being the best selling author of all time, I’m going to try and heed his advice. 

Meantime, as he also recommends, I’m going to find other writing to work on in the interim.  So maybe that Slaves to the Vein project (link above) will get a little attention now.  I think it deserves it.

Just a word on my alma mater, National University– I’m set to graduate from their Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program in January.  All my courses are completed; just waiting for the degree conferral.  It’s not a bad MFA program, though I have nothing to compare it to since it’s the only one I’ve done.  Not perfect, but the online format and no residency makes it perfect for out-of-state students or people who move around a lot or need a lot of flexibility.  So there’s my plug for NU, located in sunny southern California.  Thanks to my thesis advisor, Professor Colin Dickey!  Hope to be able to send you a printed copy of my novel by end of 2009! 

www.nu.edu

http://www.nu.edu/OurPrograms/CollegeOfLettersAndSciences/ArtsAndHumanities/Programs/715-505.html

agent warnings

I know there are 8 trillion sites for writer’s advice out there, but wanted to share this one, which is full of tips for those in the editing process, for those looking for agents, etc.  I especially like the agent warnings they’ve put up. 

Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers – http://www.sfwa.org

Going thru changes

My lofty 90K word goal has been revised; I’m at 81K and I’ve printed it out and begun editing. 90K was an abitrary number. Chances are, I’ll add and subtract a lot along the editing way. Speaking of which, after much thought, I’ve decided to put more effort into the revision than I’d previously wanted. I’d been contemplating hiring a professional editor, as found in the back of Writer’s Digest, etc… and although the prospect is still up in the air, two things have made me put on the brakes. One is the cost–those guys charge thousands! But also, I feel I need to learn how to do it myself. Thus, in addition to Stephen King’s On Writing, which I already had, I went ahead and bought Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style, which I should’ve done long ago. Also picked up Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, by Browne & King. Good stuff so far…

okay, now’s i’ve broken the 76,000 barrier

i can see my whole page

For the longest time I could not figure out why I had to scroll to see my entire page on my monitor. It was, of course, the resolution settings, which can be found and changed under Control Panel, Appearance and Themes, Display, then Settings tab, under Screen Resolution. For my 17″ I switched to 1024 X 768 pixels.

Working so far!

The plot, in the shell of a nut

Preston Redmark is paralyzed vet who loves telling stories and he wants to tell one now.  His story.  The problem is, it’s hard to tell how much of it is true; even he’s not sure.  He had a dream once, a semi-lucid memory dream that almost killed him, an acid-trip nightmare brought on by an overdose of experimental meds prescribed to encourage memory recovery.  The pills worked, helping him remember his forgotten loved ones… but the dream may’ve been compromised. 

The memories dredged up take him back to his days stationed in England, where he suffered traumatic brain injury after a car wreck, back to his marriage to a suspicious but gorgeous woman, Wendy Scarsdale, and to his deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Returning Eagle, from which he returned with post traumatic stress disorder.  The dream also forces him to relive the tragic events which caused him to lose the very loved ones his mind had suppressed.  

To add to his dilemma, a frightening mental visitor is knocked loose, an gruesome alter ego bent on poisoning Preston’s mind, a conspiracy spouting doppelganger named Fast Eddie.  And once Preston is released from the dream’s hold, he finds himself still under the influence of both the monster-making drug and the scheming monster’s voice in his head. 

Off he goes, to wreck havoc and settle to score with the people he believes wronged him.  Or so the story goes; it could all be a figment of his imagination.  So pull up a cozy chair and listen as the feisty old Sergeant Redmark, retired, struggles to set the record straight after years of paralysis and insanity, to finally come to terms with his own demons, both real and imagined, and to perhaps realize the only answers left for him may lie not in redemption but revenge. 

New Tag Line

Reality depends on how many pills you took

Crimson Web, the screenplay

If I hadn’t mentioned it elsewhere, The Crimson Web of War novel started as The Crimson Web, a screenplay, written during a MFA course at National University (and taught by the ass-kicking Professor Skye K. Dent!).  After the draft I wrote for the class, I cleaned it up a bit and entered it into four script contests.  It made the quarter finals at the 2008 PAGE International contest and, though it didn’t place at Red Ink, Larry Myles threw the script a few props:

 

“I most definitely give you full marks for creating a gritty and entertaining story.

“Your basic premise is very appealing. I am impressed with your ability to expand a solid premise into a viable and entertaining story… the story is entertaining, as well as complete.

“I appreciate how you have found success in making the combination of story and characters matter.  Amplifying a base idea into a solid premise takes patience and thought. Being able to translate premise into an entertaining story takes even more work. So with that in mind, I would like to take a moment to congratulate you on your story-creation ability…and reinforce the importance of generating an engaging premise.

“It is obvious the premise supporting THE CRIMSON WEB holds genuine value – evidenced by an abundance of energy and vitality found in both story and actions of the characters.  

“A further positive note regarding the characters is also in order. The writer has drawn strong characters, and populated the story with a strong supporting cast. The cast performs well, adding to the story, while assisting in exposing both the attributes and frailties of the main characters.  

“Also present is dialogue that comes at us as it should – ‘reel dialogue’ rather than ‘real dialogue’.

“I am not a fan of minimalist main character introductions – especially in strong-story, character-driven screenplays. And THE CRIMSON WEB is no exception. Preston drives this story. Through motivations, obstacles and goals – this is his story.”

 

Much thanks to Larry at Red Ink for the kind words.  Since I decided to novelize the script instead of pursue Hollywood fame (and besides, if Hollywood likes the book, I’ll get paid twice!), I’ve not entered any further contests.  But for more info on the contests I did enter, please visit my main site, www.catesbury.com, and look under Resources and Bio. 

 

Thanks,
Mc