#12NovelsIn12Months Update: That Happens This Time of Year

Well, I'm about a month behind on my project to write 12 novels in 12 months. As the title says, that sort of thing happens this time of year. Revising and editing Chrysopteron took quite a bit more of my time than I anticipated, plus I was out of commission for about a week at the end of November due to a nasty cold.

But I'm not too worried. I have one more novel to revise and edit in the next few weeks (Sullivan's Wrath, the sequel to Sullivan's War) then I can devote my time solely to writing for a couple of months. I plan on doubling down in March, and will attempt to write two books during that month.

On the positive side of things, I am very pleased with how Chrysopteron has turned out. All my advance readers loved it and have used phrases like "A masterpiece" and a "...gem of a novel..." in their reviews of the book. I also got it released a few days ahead of schedule, so if you hurry, you can read it before the end of the world.

I've also come up with an idea for a horror/paranormal trilogy which has filled in the rest of my #12NovelsIn12Months calendar. So I now know exactly what I'll be working on over the next ten months. That's a reassuring feeling, knowing I'll never reach the point during this project at which I'm sitting in front of a blank screen, not knowing what to do.

One final note: I am running a Christmas sale! My novel Sullivan's War and my collection Short Stories are just 99 cents apiece until the end of the month (or your country's equivalent). Sullivan's Wrath is coming soon, so it's a good opportunity to pick of Sullivan's War and get caught up on the story. Click below to be taken directly to the product pages on Amazon:

Sullivan's War, just 99 cents - Amazon US, Amazon UK

Short Stories, just 99 cents- Amazon US, Amazon UK

Chrysopteron, $4.99- Amazon US, Amazon UK, Barnes & Noble

All the Best!

Michael K. Rose

#12NovelsIn12Months Update: I Might Fail

As I write this, I my head and throat are aching and I'm sitting upright in bed. There's a cup of peppermint tea and several cough drop wrappers on my nightstand. Yes, I'm sick. I began feeling it on Wednesday. Thursday morning it was worse, but I forced myself to write 3,000 words on Darkridge Hall. Friday it was about the same, but Saturday I woke up feeling absolutely miserable. Today I am a little better, but my energy is sapped and the creative juices are flowing like molasses.

So, I must face a fact: I might fail in reaching 60,000 words this month and completing Darkridge Hall. My original goal was to write a novel a month for twelve months, but I notice that the hashtag I chose for it, #12NovelsIn12Months, does not make that distinction. I can cheat and say I'll write those twelve anytime during the twelve months. Sure, it's semantic justification, but if it keeps me from feeling like a failure, so be it. Anyway, if I finish Darkridge Hall sometime in early December, what difference will a few days have made in the long run? It means I'll have to be diligent to keep up a good pace for my December book, but I will not abandon the entire project because I fell behind one month. I will write these twelve novels. Yes, the title of this post should be "I Won't Fail."

There is still a chance I'll be able to rally and finish Darkridge Hall in the next few days. I'm going to try to write today, but I don't know how far I'll get. The time might be better served editing one of my completed projects. Either way, wish me luck!

What Scares You?

As mentioned in a previous post, I am now writing a horror novel called Darkridge Hall as part of my #12NovelsIn12Months project. This is a new experience for me. Now, years and years ago, long before I was any type of "serious" writer, I had begun and rather quickly abandoned a few horror stories, and a couple of the short stories available in my collection are horror, but this is my first serious effort at a full-length horror novel.

My biggest concern in writing it is this: can I make it scary? Sure, I can have "scary" things happen to my characters, but will they necessarily scare the reader? I don't know yet. However, I did creep myself out a bit while writing the other day. I suppose my main concern for now should just be to tell the story. If the element of horror is not strong enough after the first draft, I can always go back and try to punch it up.

So let me ask my readers for advice: What do you find scary in a horror novel? What makes your skin crawl, your spine tingle, your short and curlys stand on end? What gives you goosebumps, the willies, the heeby-jeebies, the creeps? I don't mean particular things you find scary, but what literary elements make a scene scary? Let me know and I'll keep your suggestions in mind as I continue writing Darkridge Hall!

All the Best,

Michael K. Rose

#12NovelsIn12Months Update: Sullivan's Wrath is Finished!

The first month of my #12NovelsIn12Months project has been a success! I completed Sullivan's Wrath, and it is over 60,000 words in length. This is, of course, a first draft, and I expect to add a bit to it as I flesh out some scenes during revision.

Some of you have asked when I'll have time to do said revisions and edits. Well, if I can keep on track this month as I write Darkridge Hall, a paranormal thriller, I will have a few days left over at the end of the month which I will use to work on a second draft of Sullivan's Wrath. The plan right now is to release it at the end of January.

The third book in the Sullivan Saga, Sullivan's Watch, will be written during the month of December. Then, as I'm doing in November, I'll write something else in January to take a break from the series and finish it off with the fourth Sullivan book in February.

I had written before that the trilogy of Sullivan books would be bookended by two others, one taking place before Sullivan's War and one taking place after the main story line of the series. However, I have decided to combine those into one book and actually increase Sullivan's involvement; I had originally planned for him to be a secondary character. This way, the Sullivan Saga, as I'm calling it, will be all about Sullivan, but the scope of the final book will be much larger than any of the first three books.

On a final note, this is November, and I imagine lots of you will be participating in NaNoWriMo. I am as well, by default, but I won't be participating in the communal aspect of it, posting daily word counts and all that. However, I do wish those of you participating the best of luck! I've just written a book in a month, so I know that while it is a challenge, it is not as difficult as you might imagine. You can do it!

I'll post another #12NovelsIn12Months update when I have something to report. Until then, don't forget that signed print copies of my books are currently on sale. Details can be found here. I'd also like to add that Nov. 1 & 2, Sergeant Riley's Account, the prologue to Sullivan's War, is free at Amazon. Click here for links.

Best,

Michael K. Rose

#12NovelsIn12Months Update: One (Almost) Down. What's Next?

October is quickly winding to a close. The evenings are finally pleasant here in Arizona and I am so close to finishing Sullivan's Wrath, so close I can smell it. What does it smell like, you ask? Well, NaNoWriMo is coming up, so you can have a chance to smell it for yourself!

By writing a book a month, I am participating in NaNo by default but I won't be participating in all the discussion surrounding it. I'm just going to hunker down and peck away at the keyboard. And what will I be pecking in November? I had initially planned on writing the third installment of the Sullivan series, but I feel like I want to write something else in November so I can have a little break from Rick Sullivan and his universe. That way I can come back to it in December with a fresh perspective.

So what should I write? Maybe you can help me decide. Here are three of the book ideas for my #12NovelsIn12Months writing project:

1. Darkridge Hall - A reclusive shipping tycoon dies childless and leaves his inheritance to a prep school along with instructions that the money be used to construct a building on the campus. However, he also left behind blueprints for the design of the building. Exactly one hundred years after his death, strange things begin to happen at Darkridge Hall. 

2. Pray For Mars - Two hundred years from now, we have established a permanent colony on Mars. When the charismatic leader of a cult declares that it is against God's will for humans to leave the planet Earth, he sets in motion a series events that could lead to the destruction of the Mars colony. Can the colony's security forces uncover the plot in time?

3. Disreputable - A modern retelling of Henry James's The Aspern Papers with a twist. When a literary scholar discovers that the granddaughter of a writer he idolizes is still alive and, in fact, may have the manuscript of the author's last, unfinished novel, he determines that he will do whatever it takes to get his hands on it, even if that means pretending to be gay so he can seduce the author's great grandnephew, who is now living with his ailing aunt.

So there we have it: something a little occult/paranormal, something a little sci-fi and something a little literary and character-driven. The plan is for whichever one I write to be published after Sullivan's Wrath. Which would you like to read?

#12NovelsIn12Months Update: The First 20,000 Words

It is Sunday night as I write this, and my word count for Sullivan's Wrath, the first book of my #12NovelsIn12Months writing project, sits at 20,063. I know that writing 3K a day means I should be at 21,000, but I was having dizzy spells for a couple of days (yes, I am in a Tennessee Williams play) and my writing output on those days was only around 2K. Fortunately, I had written over 6K on Monday so I was ahead of the game.

Now that I have a full week under my belt, I think I will shoot for 20K a week from now on. This will give me a little flexibility with my daily word count and, to quote Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke, it's a "nice round number."

Quite a bit of time this week was spent in plotting out Sullivan's Wrath. I had a very basic twenty-scene outline, but that has now been expanded to fifty-five scenes. I also created and introduced a character who in this book will help drive the tension as the readers begin to wonder what he's up to and make for an effective antagonist for the third Sullivan novel. This novel is turning out quite a bit darker than Sullivan's War. In addition, elements that I introduced in the first novel are now playing a much larger role. Elements from this novel will play a large role in the last book of the trilogy.

I mentioned briefly that there will be two more novels to bookend the Sullivan Trilogy. With that in mind, I am trying to be very careful to craft this book in such a way that I do not contradict anything that I want to happen in those books. Very soon I plan on writing brief outlines for the third Sullivan book as well as those two bookends, just so I stay on the same page with myself. I also finalized the overall motivation for the things that are happening throughout the series. Readers will see that nothing that happened in Sullivan's War and nothing that will happen in this novel or the next is on accident. Every time I sit down to write, it seems that more and more events in the series become linked to one another. Some of this is intentional, and some of it is happening quite on accident.

An example: In Sullivan's War, the hyperspace entities began simply as an excuse for why Benjamin Alexander's new technology would not be extensively used. However, they have become linked to everything that is happening throughout. I am myself quite excited to see all this unfolding and I hope readers of the series will feel that same excitement.

Wish me luck as I enter my next week of the project. As I mentioned before, if you'd like to support me in this endeavor, financial considerations will end up being my biggest obstacle in preventing me from writing full time. If you'd like to purchase any of my books, it would be greatly appreciated. If you are new to my work, I have several short stories and novellas for sale individually, but you can get everything I've published so far in just two books: my collection Short Stories and Sullivan's War. If you get those two, you can enjoy my entire output to date.

Thanks again to my readers for all the support you have shown me this past year. I will do my best not to disappoint in the year to come.

Best,

Michael K. Rose

#12NovelsIn12Months Update: Apparently I Am Insane

I've had more that one person mention that my #12NovelsIn12Months project is crazy. People have wondered where I'll get the time for edits and revisions or anything else. I tried to indicate in my original post that no, I am not insane, but I suppose it needs some clarification.

To achieve my goal, I have committed to writing 3,000 words per day. That's 21,000 words per week. Contrast this with, say Edmund Hillary summiting Mount Everest or Magellan setting off to circumnavigate the globe, and I hardly think my comparatively meager goal is anything remarkable. Will it take a lot of work? Yes. But not more work than anyone working 40 hours a week at any given job. Less, actually.

And I think that is the best way to approach this, the best way to keep myself on track: by putting it in perspective. I will spend 3-4 hours a day writing. If I write for 6 hours one day, I might be able to spend a little less time the next day, but I expect 3 or 4 to be the average. Suppose I sleep for 8 hours a day. That leaves me with a full 12 hours to do everything else. As mentioned before, right now I am able to focus on writing full-time. I realize that this project would be much more difficult if I were working full-time as well. And honestly, if I were working full-time, I probably wouldn't be doing this.

But it's not crazy, I won't be doing nothing but writing in my waking hours and I know that at the end of it I will have accomplished in a year what other writers may do in a decade. I can well afford 3-4 hours a day to see this done. The reason I am making this project public is because I now have an incentive to complete it. I now have other people encouraging me. If I fail I will not just let myself down, but I feel as though I will have let them down as well.

My total for the first three days: 10,296 words. I'm about 1,300 words ahead of schedule, which frees up a little time later in the month if I need it. I'm off to write my 3,000 words for today. The next update will probably be Monday to give you my total word count after the first full week.

Best,

Michael

The #12NovelsIn12Months Writing Project

Old Typewriter by Petr Kratochvil

I am about to embark on a highly ambitious project: for the next twelve months (October of 2012-September of 2013) I am going to write a full novel every month. I'll give you a moment to clean off your screen and stop laughing. Good? Ok. In anticipation of the questions I'm sure will be asked, I have prepared this Q & A.

Q. Are you insane?

A. No, not particularly. I am not making this decision because I have any severe mental disorders. I have made this decision because I have a dream: to make a living as a writer. As of this November, I will have been at it for a year. The response from readers has been overwhelmingly positive and sales have been encouraging, so I feel I'm doing something right. And while I am very pleased with what I have accomplished in that year, I know that I can do more. I also know that my current situation will not allow me to write full-time forever, so while I can, I am going to take full advantage of the time that I have.

Q. How long is a "novel?"

A. For this project, I will aim for at least 60,000 words per novel. Of course, I fully expect most of the novels to be longer than that. So why 60,000? What constitutes a novel varies widely depending on whom you ask. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America sets the threshold at just 40,000 words. I've seen some estimates as high as 80,000 or 90,000, even over 100,000. But 60,000 feels like a good compromise between those two extremes.

Q. How many words will you write a day?

A. Well, if I write 2,000 words a day, I'll reach 60,000 in a month. But like I said, I expect many of my novels to be longer than that, so my daily minimum will be 3,000 words. For me, this is 3-4 hours of uninterrupted work a day. That will be 90,000 in a month, which means that I may even end up with a few days left over at the end of the month if the novel ends up nearer the 60,000 minimum.

Q. Do you have all the novels already planned out?

A. I have five or so that I have given enough thought to to begin writing immediately. I have very basic ideas for the others but they will need to be fleshed out before I begin writing them.

Q. What are you going to write first?

A. This month (October), I will write Sullivan's Wrath, the sequel to Sullivan's War. In November I will write Sullivan's Warning, the last of the Sullivan Trilogy proper. But the story will not end there. Two of the books I will write over the next year will be, essentially, bookends to the Sullivan Trilogy. One will take place before the events in the trilogy and the other afterward, but they will all tie together. I have several other projects in the works that I will write in the coming year. Most of them will be science fiction, but I also have ideas for some paranormal/horror stories, a historical fantasy and a couple of literary novels.

Q. How are you going to find the time to do this?

A. I can write about 1,000 words an hour. As mentioned, my current circumstances will allow me to write full-time. Writing for a minimum of three hours a day will hardly be a strain. However, I intend to try to write more than that and stay ahead of schedule so I will not fall behind if something comes up. This will allow me to take a day or two off if needed.

Q. How many of these book are you going to release in the next year?

A. I will, of course, have to spend time editing and revising the novels. It is my goal to have at least four of them released by the end of 2013.

Q. Why are you starting now and not in January?
A. Because I can start now. I can write full-time right now. The longer I wait, the less certain my situation becomes. Plus, this month of October begins on a Monday, which made it feel like a natural starting point.

I will keep you all updated on my progress. I'll be using the hashtag #12NovelsIn12Months on Twitter if you want to follow along. I know that I can do this, and I'm hoping that it will be the kick-start that I need to fulfill my dream of being able to live off the proceeds from my writing. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below. If you'd like to help me accomplish this goal, the best way to do that is to consider buying my books (just click on the book covers in the sidebar for links) so I can stay solvent while I write. :o) Wish me luck!

Best,

Michael K. Rose