To Say “The End”

My novel is finished.

No, I’m serious this time!

After crying wolf at least three times, I am now completely done with my novel, and plan to start sending it out to agents next week. With a little (okay, a lot!) of luck, maybe I’ll land something soon, and Dawnbringer will be on its way.

I’m constantly at war with myself between having no self-esteem at all in regards to my writing, and being a complete narcissist at the same time. I want to believe that it is good enough after each draft, yet something inside tells me to do one last round of edits. These always end up being drawn-out affairs as I add or change existing characters, and each time my narcissist side cries a little as I rip apart the beauty it created.

This time, though, the book is as good as it can be. I have confidence in my work, and while I could spend the rest of my life trimming here and adding there, I know that it will stand on its own two feet.

So wish me luck, for I’m off to the races! Prepare for a steady stream of motivational speeches about how to respond to rejection, all while secretly drying my eyes on a spare sheet of paper!

Camp NaNoWriMo - Final Thoughts

Camp NaNoWriMo has finally come to an end, and I rolled in at 50,000 words near midnight on April 30^th. I’ve continued to pluck away with the book in the week since, though at a slightly reduced pace of 1,000 words per night.

If you’re a writer and you’ve never attempted the NaNoWriMo experience, you owe it to yourself to give it a shot at least once. The pace can be somewhat frenetic if you aren’t used to it, but it will teach you a lot about holding yourself to heavy deadlines. It will also just get you in the trench each day to write, which is the best thing of all.

This nudge has finished my final rewrite, and this time, I MEAN IT! I have one last proofreading edit to do for the chapters I wrote in April, and then I am going to begin querying agents. I’d say I have about a week or so of work before I’m ready to throw down this next gauntlet in the challenge.

Wish me luck! Soon my posts will turn to the travails of finding an agent.

Progress Report – Camp NaNo Comes to an End

April has been a busy writing month for me, with hobby projects and YouTube work competing with my writing time. However, I’ve found the pace I need to finish in this last stretch of days before the competition ends.

I’m currently sitting at 37,000 words, meaning I have about 4,000 to write each day to be finished on time. That said, I have a clear outline and plan as to what comes next, and the words are flying onto the page much faster than usual. Barring some blow-up elsewhere in life between now and then, I’m almost certain that I will make the word total.

As this winds down, though, I’m also coming to the realization that I’m reaching the point in the publishing quest that is most difficult for me personally. After one quick round of edits to this new writing, which will take a day or two at most, I’m going to be moving on to an agent search. So many people have difficulties at this stage, and their manuscript remains just that because they’re unable to find their niche in selling the book.

I’m confident in my writing; I’ve put hundreds and hundreds of hours into completing this thing, along with several revisions and some difficult cutting processes. All that remains is to polish my query letter until it shines, and then I will be on my way. I expect that process to begin in the second week of May.

Time will tell!

Poem – One Chance

I have another “Randall Madden Original” for everyone this week. I’ve been reminded this week that things can end at any point, and that chasing after the financial to the exclusion of all else leaves us as little more than slaves.

As well as my words will allow, here is a poem on the subject.

One Chance

This world is not a circle

One day, it too, will end

Sun’s fire, or God’s Judgment

It’s fate simply won’t bend

And yet we scurry onward

Seek progress for its own sake

While love is growing colder

And real is becoming fake

Arts are pushed aside

No time for them, you see

We’ve got to make more money

Golden chains, no longer free

Yet willingly, necks are offered

Into financial stocks

They rage and pull to free themselves

But down have slammed the locks

So there they stand in courtyard

All our people, village fools

They call for one to free them

Yet those free all know the rules

For those who dance are poorer

Yet have the heart to leap

For their necks aren’t overburdened

And their time’s their own to keep

So the rich-robed, in chains, languish

While the ragged remnant dance

So choose gold bonds, or happy rags

For you only get one chance.

Randall Madden

April 17, 2015

Poem – On the plains of Picardy

I’ve been reading The Somme: Heroism and Horror in the First World War this week. It is a book penned by Martin Gilbert, and discusses the appalling loss of human life during the Somme campaign of World War I. Throughout, Mr. Gilbert discusses the effect it had on the troops, and showcases some of the excellent poetry that was written throughout.

One of the most human elements of this war for me came in the form of the poetry that was written. If you’ve never looked at it, you’re truly missing out on some thought-provoking pieces on the state of man, and how much harm we’re capable of doing to one another. The piece I selected to share with you today was written by Captain Hugh Stewart Smith, and was found in his pocket after he was slain in the fighting.

On the plains of Picardy

Lay a soldier, dying

Gallantly, with soul still free

Spite the rough world’s trying.

Came the Angel who keeps guard

When the fight has drifted,

‘What would you for your reward

When the clouds have lifted?’

Then the soldier through the mist

Heard the voice and rested

As a man who sees his home

When the hill is breasted –

This his answer and I vow

Nothing could be fitter –

Give me peace, a dog, a friend

And a glass of bitter!

Captain Hugh Stewart Smith

1916

Poem – Between the Silence

Sometimes, things don’t go as planned in life. We lose those we love, and we’re left only with the memories. Though they might be a place of comfort, they are often imperfect, and they tragically fade with time.

This poem was built around the idea of those memories. It isn’t necessarily a happy piece, but it is one of the truest pieces I’ve ever made, and I relate to it in a way that I cannot explain. I hope you all enjoy it, and get half as much of an experience as I had writing it.

Between the Silence

You lived here once before

When there was so much time to kill

Now you dwell between the silence

And I know you are there still

When things become too loud

You’re impossible to see

Then the silence comes once more

And you’re waiting there for me

The quiet blinds my senses

And leaves me lost within

The tranquil, sighing hollows

Where I see your face again

With time the space there narrows

How I wish that it could last!

But the roar becomes a mutter

And too soon, the space has passed

With practice, could I find it?

Is it mind, or strength, or will?

You remain there in the silence

And I know you are there still.

Randall Madden

April 4, 2015

Camp NaNoWriMo 2015

Tomorrow begins Camp NaNoWriMo, a second month full of writing for those of us who can’t get enough punishment in November! The goal is once again to push through 50,000 words over the course of the month, getting each writer who participates that much closer to finishing their work.

I’m excited to get started on Dawnbringer 2 once again. I’ve been so lost in getting Dawnbringer ready for the publisher, I really haven’t messed with the work on D2 since last November. I will probably give it a quick reread tonight before midnight to get myself reacquainted. The plan is to knock out my first two thousand words right out of the gate, while my energy is high!

To any aspiring writers who have never given NaNoWriMo a try, I couldn’t recommend it more. If you’re willing to hold your own feet to the fire and be self-motivated, it is an excellent way to move your story forward. The focus is not on editing; just write, write, write!

For those of you who are already a part of the crazy train that is Camp NaNo, I will see you all in a few hours; the fate of Cestre hangs in the balance!

www.campnanowrimo.org