J.T. Evans - Author's Web Site

NaNoWriMo 2011 :: I’m In!

J.T. — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 23:02:10 +0000

It’s already nearing the end of the work day here in Colorado, and I’ve just now decided that I’m going to jump in and do NaNoWriMo this year. I’ve been pondering this for about week, and I’ve decided that the almost twenty thousand words of Warmistress just aren’t shaping up to be what I want them to be. I don’t like the direction the story is taking, nor how I’m getting there. I’m scrapping all the words. (Yes, with backups, just in case.)

I’m starting fresh with a blank page (okay, okay, LibreOffice ODT file) and heading down the trail to Laurin’s and Gerra’s next set of adventures.

Now to see if I can get to 50,000 words before the end of the month. It’ll be a tight ride since I’ve pretty much already lost a full day and my schedule doesn’t appear to be letting up anytime soon.

Warmistress Under Way!

J.T. — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 05:47:46 +0000

I started writing Warmistress tonight while sitting at a Village Inn, sipping coffee and eating yummy cherry pie. The start of the book was delayed by a few hours as I had a few notes that I had forgotten about that read along the lines of, “Research medieval military ranks/organizations.”

Once the research was done and a mix-mash of various terms was listed for use in a manner that the modern reader can recognize, I started in on the book. It’s been a long time since I’ve written anything from Laurin’s point of view, but it came back to me in an instant. This is a character that I could write about at the drop of a hat, and I love doing so. I can’t wait to get deeper in this book when the “fun stuff” really happens. Now that I think about it, “fun stuff” happens to Laurin almost right away.

Yeah, I know. Hook the reader fast.

Don’t worry. The hook for this book happens halfway through page four of the manuscript. That fast enough?

Warmistress Plotting Done

J.T. — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 23:29:29 +0000

I’ve finished plotting the sequel to Warmaiden, which is entitled Warmistress. I finished the plotting a few weeks ago, but have yet to start writing the book. I’ve had a few other writing projects come up in recent weeks, so I’m very busy with those. Things are settling down nicely, and I hope to jump into the novel with both feet by this time next week.

Warmaiden Revisions Done

J.T. — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 03:48:10 +0000

I’ve finished revising Warmaiden. I gave myself 10 days to do it and it only took a total of 6. I’m quite happy with myself. That gives me hope that once I get it in front of a willing agent/editor, I can do whatever changes they ask of me in record time. Now to run it through the CSFWG and see what changes they ask of me….

Of course, I did another Wordle of the book, and the results were much better than last time. Laurin is still my main word, but the sizing of her name is much smaller in relation to the rest of the words in the image.

Revisions of Warmaiden

J.T. — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 20:40:56 +0000

I’m working my way through the book again doing some touch ups and minor revisions (with some major work in places) to tighten up the prose before sending it through the CSFWG again. I started working on it last Thursday. Every spare moment that I’ve managed to grab has been poured into the revision process. This includes lunch, nap times for the kid, downtime right before bed and every other moment that I can think of. At lunch today, I managed to get within 39 pages of finishing the revisions, and I can’t wait to be done.

Having gone through the book again, I’ve fallen in love with it all over again. Little nuances that I’ve planted in the book leaped from the page at me, and I found myself smiling at the adventures of Laurin, Gerra, Sigri, Raullin and all of the others in their quest to defeat Xanathos and return home safely to Caer Saberi.

I can’t wait to get the book back in front of the CSFWG and see what they have to say on the matter.

Wordle for Warmaiden :: 2011-06-08

J.T. — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:57:41 +0000

There’s a great web site out there for writers called Wordle. You can upload your text, and it’ll output a Java display that you can print or screen shot that will show you the density of the various words that you use. The larger the word in the image, the more times you’ve used it in the text. Here’s my Wordle for Warmaiden as of yesterday:

As you can see, I’ve used “Laurin” a wee bit too much throughout the 108,000 words of Warmaiden. I expected the name to be the largest since she’s my protagonist. I didn’t expect it to be that large, though. Time for some more edits to remove character filtering and “gawking narrator”. Once I’m done with the edits in a week or two, I’ll upload a new image and we can compare the progress and improvements.

Writing Away Retreats

J.T. — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 20:09:12 +0000

A good friend of mine, Cicily Janus, runs a few retreats each year. She has one coming up in Breckenridge, CO that runs from October 13th through the 17th. While I’ve never been to one of her retreats, I can vouch for the quality of her coaching, her drive for excellence and the openness she shows to everyone around her. She helped me knock out the nerves and polish my “elevator pitch” last year, and it worked quite well for me. That was in just a mere five minutes. I can’t imagine what she would do for my writing with a full four days of being around her and the staff she’s built up around the retreat.

Here’s a little bit more about what Cicily has to say about her retreat:

Named as one of the top-ten creative retreats in the world, Writing Away Retreats is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to connect with and receive feedback from the very best in the industry. Every writer gets a 10K word detailed MS consult with each of the staff members (3 editors, 1 agent and 1 NYT bestselling author) during their 5 day/4 night experience in the Rocky Mountains. This unprecedented access allows for an experience that can truly forward your writing career in the right direction. Download the brochure for further information or go to the website: www.writingawayretreats.com for details.

Contact Cicily and let her know how she can help you attend this event. creativelivesworkshop@hotmail.com

Payment plans allowed for exceptional cases.

“These past few days have affected my profoundly. They have grounded me, focused me enormously. Often, I have been moved so beyond words that I thought I might have to give the poor things up….”~K. Sucharski (Colorado)

She also gave me this great PDF that explains more about how to contact her and what to expect: Writing Away Brochure (PDF)

First Rejection of 2011

J.T. — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 03:29:02 +0000

It only took a week from the moment of query to the moment of rejection. *sigh*

While I’m bummed out as I really would love to work with this agent, I’m going to keep on keepin’ on and see what happens next. I think my next stop will be Barnes and Noble where I’ll pick up the 2011 Publishers Marketplace book and start digging through it for leads on agents to query.

Then again, the Pikes Peak Writers Conference registration opens up tomorrow. I’ll definitely check out the list of agents that will be there and see if I can land a pitch appointment or two.

First Query of 2011

J.T. — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 23:39:48 +0000

I just sent out my first query of 2011. The agent’s web site states that there is about a four week delay in hearing back. At least I know I’ll hear back from this one instead of having it “black hole” into nothingness. That’s reassuring. I hope that answer is a “yes” and not a “no,” but we’ll see how things go.

Wish me luck!

Fastest (and Shortest) Rejection Thus Far

J.T. — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 18:36:48 +0000

The query that I sent off on Christmas Day was rejected last night. That’s a four day turn around time. That’s fantastic for an agent where some of them (through no fault of their own due to their ever-increasing workload) are required to make writers wait weeks or months. I’m very happy for the quick response, but the rejection stings a little. They all do. No need for me to pick myself up off the floor, though. I’m ready to move on to other agents and continue querying.

Oh. The text of the rejection? Here it is:

Thank you for your submission. At this time I am not interested.