1. A.L.Mitchell

    A.L.Mitchell Active Member

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    I have been working on my crime story for a long time

    Discussion in 'Setting Development' started by A.L.Mitchell, Oct 19, 2013.

    Hello Everyone, I have been on this crime story, "The Death Penalty" for 3 and a half years. I am finally on the final draft, after all the hard work I've been putting in.

    And I am adding things that needed to be in, as in terms of the pace.

    How long did it take the rest of you to write a long story?
     
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  2. Thomas Kitchen

    Thomas Kitchen Proofreader in the Making Contributor

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    I'm Welsh - and proud!
    My first ever novel, a YA sci-fi, was sent out to the first batch of agents a month ago. From the time I wrote the first word until I finished the third and final draft, it took me two years. I'm hoping, however, that the work I put into shows through.

    And congratulations! It's not easy writing a novel, and I'm sure crime novels are even harder than what I write in a sense, as there are more twists, turns, and other such things to make it oh so good. Well done. :)
     
  3. Darrell Standing

    Darrell Standing New Member

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    A friend of my wrote a 10,000 word novella in one week, final draft as well. It's a good read and he's hoping to get it published.
     
  4. DeathandGrim

    DeathandGrim Senior Member

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    I wrote a novella in about a month
     
  5. Komposten

    Komposten Insanitary pile of rotten fruit Contributor

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    I write a short story in about a month... :p
     
  6. Caesari

    Caesari New Member

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    In my 3rd year of writing a novel, and I am halfway through the 1st draft. It's sad, really, but I do not have much time to write as I am a high school student who plays 3 sports and does other things. However, all the time has helped the story morph into a more polished and well written piece, one that I would not have been capable of writing 3 years ago. If I had written it back then, I wouldn't have been able to adequately portray the depth of my characters or write a plot with layers. It would've been fairly flat and uninteresting.
     
  7. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

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    Two years, hope to be done with book one by three.
     
  8. ChaosReigns

    ChaosReigns Ov The Left Hand Path Contributor

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    ive yet to finish a story... the first one i scrapped halfway through because it made no sense at all, and i couldnt unpick it for the life of me... plus i took a couple of year break for my studies... been writing one for a year, and still havent finished the first draft, and have another one ive just started and one in the beginning stages...

    im doing NaNoWriMo with the one ive just started, had wrote a couple of hundered words and got the feel for it
     
  9. Flocka

    Flocka New Member

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    :D I have yet to finish a book. Its on of the reason why I joined this site (LOL) but congratulations on your book!
     
  10. Keitsumah

    Keitsumah The Dream-Walker Contributor

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    still working on finishing the first draft of my High Fantasy Novel, "The Starshade's legacy: Last of the Imirri" and have been working on it for four years (and its up to around 144,000 words currently!!!).

    Victim of over-editing and plot changes to make it simpler... try having nine different people in one person's head, and each with their own past and personality while the person DEALING with those voices has to fulfill a prophecy and is the last of her kind, so if she fails, the world is doomed. Then add in twists, the villain, and all the other stuff that she has to deal with.

    Sometimes i just look at the folders and think: WTF have i gotten myself into?

    buuut im too stubborn to give up lol -that and the chars would kill me in my sleep if i trashed them.

    (Daxiim: what? trash me??? I'm the most well-mannered character you created!)
    (Xepheroth: HA! if she trashed you all that means I win!)
    (Daxiim: If she trashed all of us then you lose, Xephy...)
    (Dragos: No complaints here -then i can finally get that bastard out of my head!)
    (Xepheroth: ...)

    those are just three out of.... *counting*... um... 13 male chars? (ik its a lot but it all makes sense in the book) AND that doesn't count the females lol

    too much story and too many epic secondary chars...
     
  11. ChaosReigns

    ChaosReigns Ov The Left Hand Path Contributor

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    @Keitsumah that is the exact reason my first novel got scrapped, except they were fighting in my head and it was getting irritating! so i scrapped the lot, pulling one of the characters, changing him slightly and putting him in another of my stories...
     
  12. Keitsumah

    Keitsumah The Dream-Walker Contributor

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    lol, yeah well Batos and Keit are the ones who are usually in my head, and they are a lot easier to deal with.

    well... unless one of them is going to be hurt soon...:D
     
  13. Burlbird

    Burlbird Contributor Contributor

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    what's a "long" story? a long short story? :D

    It took me five days to finish the first short story I've published. The last I published needed 6 months to come out of the printer. And I'm currently freakin' out over a 10,000 words story I've been writing for 6 months now... Well, not exactly "writing" - it's been more like sitting for half hour every third day in front of the monitor re-reading the last two sentences... Call it "a writer's block" or "I've been busy over the summer holidays doing nothing at all" :D

    So, I guess it comes down to a)discipline, b)feedback, c)inspiration, and d)lack of to much freedo :)
     
  14. Alesia

    Alesia Pen names: AJ Connor, Carey Connolly Contributor

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    Draft one of (Title TBD) which is starting out with book three in a four part series has been ongoing for almost 10 months now. I don't even know what the word count is at this point, and now I've decided to change the entire damn setting which means I will be starting over almost from scratch while having to heavily edit other scenes and chapters.
     
  15. Fatback

    Fatback Banned

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    True happiness is gained through sacrifice.... If your looking for gain for your sacrifice then you have truly missed the point and open the door to self loathing and misery.... This is why I chose a pear orchard as the setting for my romantic comedy... A romantic comedy that contains no romance... No comedy whatsoever... Just pear cider, fresh bagels, gravel rides and getting lost in the cucumber patch. I titled it..... The last gasp of Lady Gaga
     
  16. A.L.Mitchell

    A.L.Mitchell Active Member

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    Thank you for the replies. Yes, it has been a long journey but it's been really fun as well.
     
  17. Tara

    Tara Senior Member

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    I wrote a 11,000 words novella in about 3 weeks, I edited it twice, then I decided it lacked a lot of things and I decided to turn it into an actual novel. Now I'm about 15,000 words into the second draft (if I count the novella as a first draft) I've been working on it for about 8 months. I would work more quickly, because I could easily do 5000 words a day, but I just don't have the time to do so.
     
  18. A.L.Mitchell

    A.L.Mitchell Active Member

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    Good luck with your novel. I hope it does go well as it can be very hard.
     
  19. sasso

    sasso New Member

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    I've been reading up on your novel and it sounds amazing. Although it sounds like a lot of information to just put into one novel. It sounds just astounding. I can't wait to read the finished product. Keep up the good work

    -sasso
     
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  20. Mckk

    Mckk Member Supporter Contributor

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    still working on my first novel and it's been 3 years...
     
  21. Dazen

    Dazen Active Member

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    I've only just started my latest novel ( I started it a week ago ) But it's at 10,000 :)
     
  22. Keitsumah

    Keitsumah The Dream-Walker Contributor

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    aww thanks! and yeah, it is a lot, and that's only just the first book. pretty much each part in it can be devised into simple themes:

    Part 1: keitsumah swears to get revenge on the Shifters
    Part 2: keitsumah learns to trust Batos (prince of the Shifters)
    Part 3: keitsumah leanrs that vengeance isn't everything

    wonder how it goes onto book two..? well not meaning to spoil anything here but some of the "good guys" actually turn bad when keit does not do what they want her to do, (aka: ally with the Shifters) and kidnap her.

    *evil cackle*
     
  23. 123456789

    123456789 Contributor Contributor

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    OK, big tangent here but what exactly is high fantasy? Wikipedia lists Song of Ice and Fire, Lord of the Rings, and Harry potter as all examples of high fantasy. So what isn't high fantasy but still fantasy, then?
     
  24. tupbup

    tupbup Member

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    I think High Fantasy refers to worlds with complicated systems of authority such as monarchies and thrones. I think it also needs to be a complete world different from the one we live in, not existing on the fringes of naivety. I would not consider Harry Potter to be high fantasy. Wikipedia isn't the best source of knowledge as it is very easy to alter the 'facts' for fun or otherwise.

    P.S. I may be wrong in my definition though so don't take me at my word. :)
     
  25. Keitsumah

    Keitsumah The Dream-Walker Contributor

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    High Fantasy (at least the way i imagine it) is when magic is accepted in the world and is a natural part of it. A classic high fantasy includes magic, and is usually set in medieval times, but has also been portrayed in modern times like in Harry Potter.

    Normal Fantasy is when characters discover powers that are not innate, and are not normal in their world. Examples of this are usually termed "paranormal" fantasy, as High fantasy and normal Fantasy usually end up going hand-in hand and by some people are one and the same term. Example: Eragon in the Inheritance cycle. That's considered fantasy, and though i would say it is high fantasy as well as epic when you go into the rest of the series. However, it is termed fantasy (in my mind) because the magic in the land that Eragon grew up in actually had no magic to begin with. Those who had magic traveled there by sea. it's a very loosely tied concept.

    Epic fantasy (though this was not asked about, i will explain it) is fantasy from multiple people's point of views. Usually up to five or more. I am actually reading an epic fantasy right now, and I give pre-warning to those who want to try it: you have to have a severe liking for all other fantasy types before you go for epic, and even them such books can be ardurous. There is just too much information for you to digest, as well as characters to remember otherwise. Epic fantasy is just fantasy with a lot of characters, and a lot of plots tied into one book, but those books are almost always tied in a huge series. (said books i am reading are called the RuneLords)

    Anyway, hope this helps!

    -Keitsumah
     
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