Tag: Morena Baccarin

The Web Aether Acts In Mysterious Ways

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

A lot must be going on with this Website that I can’t see with the Webstat software that I use. I mean, out of nowhere, all these people started to look very specifically at one particular link as if they wanted to know what the novel is about.

My heroine has the vibe of a younger, more freaky Morena Baccarin. But Baccarin’s general vibe and appearance is my heroine in my mind as I write her.

But there was no hint that this might happen.

It’s all very curious.

And the link they went to the one where I mull conspicuously about the “woke cancel culture mob” not liking my novel because I’m a smelly CIS white male writing about a part-time stripper obsessed with owning a community newspaper.

What the what? What is going on there?

If you wanted to be positive about it, you would say, well, obviously people from the infotainment-industrial complex are intrigued by your novel and are seeing what happens next. If you want to be paranoid about it, you say they’re about to write a screenplay off of what I’ve reveled about the novel and I’ll wake up to find out that while I’m querying, an A24 movie with my exact premise is in production.

My heroine sports a sleeve tattoo similar to the one that Megan Fox now has. Even though I thought the idea up first!

It really could go either way, I suppose. I just don’t know. It’s not like anyone is going to tell me. Ugh.

As I wrote, I continue to worry about the reaction on the part of a sizable portion of the audience about my heroine being a part-time stripper. I *try* to be as empathetic to the female experience as possible — I often write from the female POV — but there are going to be some young women who just can’t handle me doing it, periot, as they say.

But if I could make the novel really fun and accessible, then maybe I might have a breakout hit novel on my hands and people won’t care or notice about my status as a smelly CIS white male. Though, if you’re all that curious about me at my worse — read this:

Somehow.docxDownload

So, I just have to keep writing, racing into the future not knowing my fate. This does, however, make me want to start to work on a back up “second track” novel — a scifi novel specifically — just to have something to piviot to in case my worse case fears become a reality.

I Really Need To Do Something With My Backup Scifi Pandemic Concept

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

As I work my way through the third draft of my first novel, it becomes clear that there is a real chance it will not be ~100,000 words, but, rather ~140,000 words. That is just too long for a first novel, no matter how good it might be. But because I work in terms of scenes rather than words, I…just don’t know how many words this thing is going to be.

The heroine of my novel looks like Morena Baccarin.

And there is a real good chance that when I do the secondary run-through to tighten the the third draft of the novel down and get it ready for some sort of editor that…it will get even longer. And it doesn’t help that I’m doing all of this in a vacuum because I’m a freaky weirdo that no one likes and / or wants to have anything to do with me on a professional basis.

It is definitely going to be interesting, regardless, to see the fate of the first novel.

But I do think the second track pandemic scifi novel is really compelling. I just have to figure out how to balance my attention on the first novel with similar attention on the secondary novel.

They Shoot Writers, Don’t They?

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

The issue of finding an editor for my first novel is now beginning to weigh heavily on my mind. I find myself wondering how difficult is going to be to get one.

The heroine of my novel looks like Morena Baccarin.

Three issues are at the forefront of my mind. The first issue is can I get one if they do due diligence on me. I’m afraid, like with manuscript consultants, they they will take one look at me and think I’m too much of a crank for them to want to have any professional relationship with me.

Another issue I’m worried about is, well, am I going to have the funds necessary to pay for an editor in the first place. It’s going to take me months to find enough money to pay for an editor, which will delay things a great deal.

My heroine sports a sleeve tattoo much like the one Megan Fox now has, even though I thought of the idea first!

The third issue is how long it will take the editor, once I get them, to clean up my copy and fix any editorial errors on my part. It’s definitely looking like I could finish the novel by my deadline of July 22 and it will STILL be sometime next year before I can query.

Wish me luck.

I May Have Another Word Count Problem With This Novel

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

The one piece of hope I have about this novel is that it tells a coherent, cogent story. And I’ve fixed a huge issue with the original version of the story — it’s a lot easier to explain –the novel is a about the struggle of a part-time sex worker to own a small town community newspaper.

The heroine of my novel looks like Morena Baccarin.

That’s a story that makes sense.

The SECOND story in the series is a murder mystery in the style of a Stieg Larsson novel. That, at least, is the goal.

But there is a problem — if you think on average each scene has 1,000 words, I’m in deep trouble. My novel is going to be about 160,000 words. Which, of course, is exactly where I was when I split the second draft of the novel in two in the first place.

And, yet, because the novel is far more coherent it’s a lot easier to simply edit down the word count if need be. Additionally, as I found out with the second draft, just because I have X number of scenes, doesn’t mean each one of those scenes will actually be 1,000 words.

My heroine sports a sleeve tattoo much like the one Megan Fox now has, even though I thought of the idea first!

I think that’s going just write the novel and then once I’m done with the third draft, it back and assess what options I have. But I also need to work on not just this novel, but the sequel to it as well as a separate scifi pandemic novel that I can potentially pitch for sale before the end of the year.

Or, put another way, I have to, as always, hurry up — the Fourth Turning or the Petite Singularity may arrive and make all of this moot.

Am I Going To Make My July 22 Deadline For This Novel?

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I can only write so fast. And, what’s more, I have to factor in the idea that I don’t want to “overheat” my creative self by writing too fast. So, I find myself just chilling out every once in a while, rather than speeding through the novel.

The heroine of my novel looks like Morena Baccarin.

But having said all that, I still think I’m probably going to make it. I think at some vague point between now and July 22 I’m going to finish the first novel. I have two other novels I’m working on — one is a sequel to the novel I’m working on and a pandemic scifi novel.

It’s going to be interesting to see how things work out. I have to focus on getting this first novel done. Everything is pretty well gamed out at this point, I just have to do the writing without burning myself out.

My heroine sports a sleeve tattoo much like the one Megan Fox now has, even though I thought of the idea first!

Of course, the fact that I no longer thing has put a different spin on things. On one hand, I am a lot more protective than I was during my drunk phase, but on the other….oh boy. It’s a lot more difficult to get anything done.

Once More Unto The Breach! — Things Are Moving Really Fast With The Third Draft Of My First Novel

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I’m on the cusp of gaming out the third draft of my first novel to just about the midpoint any day now. Then, the hard work will be to well, write. The way I develop and write my novels can be so ad hoc, fluid and haphazard that it slows me a down a lot.

The heroine of my novel looks like Morena Baccarin.

In fact, most of the work I’ve been doing since I started developing what is now potentially a seven-novel project — if I don’t croak before it is wrapped up — is just improving my storytelling ability. There is A LOT about nuts-and-blots of structuring a novel-length story with multiple POVs that I know absolutely nothing about.

And now I’m worried that somehow, someway, screenwriters from Hollywood are going to read this blog and cherrypick the best bits of the novel and I’ll wake up to news that a character fitting my heroine is going to be in a movie soon. And, yet, you know, I’m such an extrovert that it’s not like I would be able to be quiet about such things.

I am who I am.

The point is to finish the first novel in the project as quickly as possible. I’m just a broke-ass kook living in the middle of nowhere with a great idea for a novel that I’m willing to put the effort in to finish.

My heroine sports a sleeve tattoo much like the one Megan Fox now has, even though I thought of the idea first!

As of right now, I hope to finish the first novel of this series at some point between now at around July 22, 2024 — the 20th anniversary of my first trek to South Korea.

I also have two other novels that I’m trying to develop. One is the sequel to this first novel, while the other a pandemic themed scifi novel. It’s really, really good. I’ve been fucking around with AI to develop it and it’s made me an “10X” writer….ha!

Yes, I know, in the end, AI will make all writers moot.

I May Have Seven Planned Novels In This Project Now — Maybe

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

There is at least a possibility that I now have six additional novels in this project after I finish this first novel. Maybe. Possibly. I’ve thought out a total of seven novels, that is. But I’m not going to live forever and if I manage to actually write and sell a break out hit novel, I’m going to try to squeeze as much out of what few years I have left in life as possible.

The heroine of my novel looks like Morena Baccarin.

I want to be a regular fucking modern day Tom Wolf.

But even he had time to both be an icon and write novels, so it’s not impossible that I could possibly do both.

And, yet, you know, I really — REALLY — need to start to manage my expectations. Even if I get what I want — success – I won’t get what I want, which is to be successful, cute and young.

I’m going to be old, no matter what. And it will just be creepy if I swoop in and try to be cool with 24 year olds at this point in my life.

It’s all very disheartening.

A Bit Of Hope

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Now that I’m careening towards the querying my first novel, the issue of potentially finding an editor is at the forefront of my mind. It is *possible* that I *may* have found an affordable one that I can use once I finish the novel.

The heroine of my novel looks like Morena Baccarin in my mind as I write her.

I showed the person the first scene of the novel and I was impressed with how well they did. Their input is exactly what I need to take this novel to the next level. Before I actually used them as my editor, however, I would like to have a Zoom call with them to establish the lay of the land.

My heroine sports a sleeve tattoo much like the one Megan Fox now has, even though I thought of the idea first!

But, in general, just the fact that it’s possible I may be able to afford an editor before I begin to query makes me very, very happy. Of course, the fact that it could be the spring 2025 querying season before I start to query — just as the Fourth Turning happens or AI makes all human-generated art moot — has not escaped my attention.

But you have to have hope.

Should I Be Worried?

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Someone from Sweden is interested in my novel — I see them in my Webstats. Now, only because I’m delusional, I automatically fear it’s someone from the estate of Stieg Larsson checking up on me. As far as I know, even though my novel is definitely an obvious homage to Larsson’s work there’s no reason for either one of us to be worried about it.

The heroine of my novel looks like Morena Baccarin.

There are some obvious, clear cut influences between my novel and The Girl Who Played With Fire, but most, if not all, of it is an issue of Form Follows Function and the fact that I used TGWPWF as my “textbook.”

I just am worried that people connected to the late Larsson see me as some sort of threat — but why? — and they’re keeping an eye on me.

My heroine sports a sleeve tattoo similar to that now worn by Megan Fox — even though I thought of the idea first!

Anyway, my novel is on a micro basis is very, very, very different than anything Larsson wrote. And the first novel isn’t even a mystery thriller, but rather about a power struggle over a community newspaper. So, lulz?

But I am VERY PLEASED with what I’ve managed to come up with for my first novel. Things are flowing really well now that I understand what the novel is about. It’s not a traditional murder-mystery, but, rather a character-driven novel that sets up a universe that I hope readers will want to hang out in for a number of novels — as many as seven.

I’m At A Loss As To What I’m Going To Do About Querying My First Novel

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I’m well on my way to finishing the third draft of my first novel. The novel will tell a coherent, cohesive story. It’s not the story I thought I was going to tell when I started this process a few years ago — but it tells a story. And, what’s more, it ques up a number of successor novels in the same universe that will be really compelling.

The heroine of my novel looks like Morena Baccarin.

At least, that’s what I believe.

I am soon going to wrap up the “actively delusional” part of this journey and enter the world of reality where I have to convince liberal white women who make up the majority of literary agents that I can tell a good story about a part-time sex worker who is trying to buy a community newspaper.

At least I can explain the story a lot easier than before. It used to be that the story was a lot more muddled and difficult to explain. Now, I understand what the story is about.

But there are A LOT of problems.

Like, what novel do I “comp” this novel to? What genre is this novel, since the murder doesn’t happen until well into the second half of the story. I just don’t know. And, when you add how bitter people seem to become whenever they enter into the land of querying, well, lulz, oh boy.

My heroine sports a sleeve tattoo similar to the one that Megan Fox now has, even though I came up with the idea first.

I’m going to have to shift gears bigtime once I finish the novel and start to query seriously. So much so, that I don’t even know if I can continue to write, even though I know I have to. Querying is a job and struggle unto itself, it seems.

But I do have a number of other stories I want to work on while I query the first novel. And I hope to have the second novel in the series I’m working on — one that is a traditional murder-mystery-thriller done pretty soon as well. It will have most of all of the same characters as the first novel and a few new ones.

It will definitely be interesting to see how things work out. I’m sure I’m going to make many, many, many, many mistakes and probably have already made a lot by just being me.