So… TODAY was epic…

By Holly Lisle

Still working from my line-for-scene outline, today the scene i started yesterday just took off.

I now have 9245 words done on the first draft. I got 1432 words today, AND discovered the thing I needed to see, and it was completely different than I’d been imagining… but I love it so much.

Some days writing fiction can take a lot out of you.

Some days, though — like today — it gives you energy, and excitement, and surprises — and on days like this, you just fly.

I love this job.


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Good writing day. Not epic, but…

By Holly Lisle

Not every day CAN be epic.

I had to do something hard thinking, and some outlining, and some worldbuilding, and none of that stuff counts as words.

But it’s all essential.

However, the part I got, I love.

So now I have to go out into the world and DO STUFF.


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‘Twas a fine day in writing land… with vengeance…

By Holly Lisle

You know how you have heroes who you watch take a beating from the world, and get trampled by minions who’ve taken over something they’ve created? And you watch the over-throwing bastards who trample them ruin all the good stuff they made, and make a complete mess of this wonderful thing they put into the world that you loved?

No?

Well… for me, that’s a thing. And today I told a bit of that kind of story in Chapter 2 of Ohio 4 — and while I got angry all over again that stupid arrogance of that sort is endemic in businesses, and that anyone who dares to take a company public and put it into the hands of a board of directors is ASKING for disaster, and begging to see whatever he or she made wonderful turned into absolute crap…

It does happen.

And I figure the world has a place for cautionary tales, too, doesn’t it?

So while today’s little episode is just a tiny, minor, couple-of-scenes side story in the novel, I was very happy to write it.

And I am very happy to give this secondary character guy of mine a second chance, fueled by the knowledge that the people who didn’t build the company (those boards of directors) couldn’t give a shit about the company they were put in charge of. And he loves what he did, and will love it again.

To this fictional board of directors, that company is just stock options, and cutting costs, and raking in their own profits at the expense of employees and customers.

Meanwhile, my secondary-character guy has love, and passion, and crazy-wide knowledge, and brilliant skills, and drive.

And now, he has a good friend in LOW places. (Little in joke. It will make senses when the books come out.)


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A very good Ohio Wednesday… and a disturbing twist

By Holly Lisle

I got 1319 words today, nicely over my 1200-word objective. And I like what I got.

Yesterday’s stuff was funny, but today’s words got serious as my main character and a friend of hers started investigating a project they want to take on — and my MC pointed out that there are some significant dangers involved in this project BEYOND the ones her friend has considered.

So as soon as I post this, I’m going to write out my to-do list for tomorrow, and then call it a day.


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Done outlining Ohio 4 — Progress and Planned Evil

By Holly Lisle

Oh… BOY!

I knew going in today that I was going to have to beat the crap out of my main character in the plotting.

I did NOT know quite how badly, or how I was going to do that WHILE preventing myself from ending Ohio 4 on a cliffhanger.

(Because we do not end novels on cliffhangers, we do not end novels on cliffhangers, we do not… You get the drift.)

But… I GOT IT DONE!!!

I now have all of my story Sentences written, and I managed to bring the thing to a VERY good conclusion (in outline form, of course), and I LOVE the ending, and at the same time, my MC is going to have a whole helluva lot of work to do in Book Five…

Because while WE (the good guys) know better, right at the moment, the whole planet thinks the BAD GUYS just won game, set, and match.

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The Other Shoe Dropped — Ohio 4 and the Friday “Say WHAT?!”

By Holly Lisle

In the first version of these novels, I had one main character who I was having do a lot of chasing around because my main character was being stubbornly stupid about an activity that was bad for her — except she refused to see it.

I made her smarter.

And because she stopped doing stubbornly stupid things in Book 2, my VERY important character disappeared from the Book 2.

And then, because she stayed smarter, from Book 3.

He’s still massively important to the story.

And this morning, I was outlining him into the next scene, and realized it had been a while since I’d written him…

So I searched back through the first three novels.

And. Yeah. He was well-represented in one. Then gone completely in two and three.

TWO whole books.

So while I’m resting and relaxing over the weekend, I’m also going to be brainstorming how to make him relevant to her my MC’s more intelligent current activities, so I can put him back to work.

He’s crucial for the series. So I need to get this right. His being in those earlier two books HAS TO MATTER, because in this book, he has EPIC work to do.

So this can’t just be folks bumping into him at WalMart, or the equivalent.

I’m so annoyed at myself.

But… it’s FRIDAY. So having discovered my oversight, I’m now heading off to relax for a bit.


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All supporters are thanked by name (withheld by request) in
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To add your support, use the orange Support me button
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And… YEP… Still outlining on Ohio Four

By Holly Lisle

And there’s really not a lot you can say about that. It’s one 30-word sentence per scene that has to encompass the essence of the chapter while moving the whole story forward, and it is a pretty fast, efficient way to give yourself a migraine.

It works. It’s essential to my process of getting books done, and when I don’t do it, bad things happen. So I do it.

It just isn’t fun.

I’ll note, however, that today I discovered in the existing Ohio Four first draft one of the best scenes I’ve ever written, which I re-read today while making myself cry again… and that is DEFINITELY coming with me.

Now, however, on to very very much other stuff that must be done.


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Ohio 4… The outline is now in progress

By Holly Lisle

Not much to say about that — it’s line-for-scene outlining, and the plotting out of the whole book before leaping in to write it is essential to not wrecking the damn thing going around a hard curve.

I got a bit sidetracked — writing 722 words of the intro chapter (just to get my head wrapped around where and when I’m starting) before realizing that I want to have the whole outline done first.

The God of Barbecue showed up, though. ‘Nuff said.

No word count meter yet, so no picture. But I’m happy with what I have so far.


•·.·´`·.·•·.·´`·.·•·.·´`·.·•·.·´`·.·•
My daily words are funded by my Ko-Fi supporters.

All supporters are thanked by name (withheld by request) in
each book’s acknowledgements.
To add your support, use the orange Support me button
on the bottom left corner of this page.
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Ohio 3 is now done in first draft!

By Holly Lisle

57,841 words total. I like the story. I love the ending.

And now the novel gets to sit quietly for a while as I plot the replacement Ohio 4.

In revision, it will probably get a bit longer. Most of my stuff does.

Based on some very good advice, I am, however, now considering doing a slower release, and NOT having all five initial books finished before I begin releasing them.

I think I might have a better time of this if I didn’t try anything rapid-release-ish, but instead simply had a nice little reserve in place, and then released them one every six or so months — about the speed at which I can reasonably write one, and revise it, and be happy with the quality of what I’m creating.

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Technically, I finished Ohio 3 this morning…

By Holly Lisle

I’ll start my read-through, Monday. And I am considering the possibility of a final very short chapter to point the book toward Book 4.

I have the empty file sitting in my template.

But I’m not sure the “summation” chapter is needed, and I won’t know until I’ve finished the read-through.

The book is currently 57,040 words long, and will gain a few thousand words during revision as I find places where I wrote thin. (It always happens in first draft, especially to me.)

Meanwhile, I made myself laugh writing the ending.

ANYWAY… I’m looking forward to outlining Ohio 4 starting on Monday, working off of what I’ve now built into the first three novels, and seeing if there’s anything in the first draft of Ohio 4 that will be worth saving.

I’m not holding my breath on that. But I did find some things worth keeping from the first drafts on 1, 2, and 3. So it could happen.

Have a fantastic weekend!

I’m looking forward to mine.


•·.·´`·.·•·.·´`·.·•·.·´`·.·•·.·´`·.·•
My daily words are funded by my Ko-Fi supporters.

All supporters are thanked by name (withheld by request) in
each book’s acknowledgements.
To add your support, use the orange Support me button
on the bottom left corner of this page.
•·.·´`·.·•·.·´`·.·•·.·´`·.·•·.·´`·.·•


Contents © Holly Lisle. https://hollylisle.com All Rights Reserved