Hitting the Books

Fantasy can be a dangerous genre for writers. It is incredibly easy to get so involved in world-building that you never get to the actual writing. I find this especially hard, since I love worldbuilding. I’m working on a fantasy trilogy right now and found myself sucked back into the storyline earlier this week, despite the fact that I’m neck-deep in researching the Revolutionary War/War of 1812. Plus numerous bunny trails (for a fascinating read, try Pox Americana, by Elizabeth Fenn, about the smallpox epidemic of 1775-82. Lots of great plot fodder there. But I digress…)

Yes, worldbuilding is an addiction for me. J.R.R. Tolkien once said something to the effect that we are driven to create because we are made in the image of a Creator. I can so understand that feeling.
So far I’ve:

–Made maps –Created a language, grammar, and an alphabet –Charted the phases of the moons (yes, there are actually sources on the Internet for figuring out the effect of two moons on a planet) –Sweated over a non-seven day week (it really wreaks havoc with moon phases and seasons) –Redrawn constellations, and made up myths to go with them –Created 12+ different cultures (including humans, dryads/naiads/oreads etc., elves, and numerous animals) –Gotten lost in trying to work out all the ins and outs of Dreaming and Singing (two forms of magic in this world)

Um…anything else? Oh yes… Written poetry, songs, prophecies, and a creation story, and drawn floor plans of castles and temples.

That doesn’t even count the usual tasks of timelines and pictures of characters and locations.

And I’m shocked that I’ve only managed to get 40,000 words scattered between the three stories? Gee, I wonder why.

Sigh.

Yup, research in general is dangerous for me. There is an article in the March issue of Romance Writers’ Report on how to “tame the research beast.” My problem is that I don’t always want to tame the beast (especially when I really like the subject, like the American Civil War, or Australia, or cool names from the 17th century, or my own little fantasy world).

Does anyone else have that problem, that they get so enthralled by their research and/or worldbuilding that they have to force themselves to write the story instead of backstory?

Well, sorta. As one of my favorite songs says,

Well, the day has just begun and I’m already running late With too many irons in the fire and too much on my plate I’d be pulling out my hair if I could just get one hand free And I’d stop this world if I could find the key.*

This is the first time I’ve been online in days–I am going through severe blog withdrawl. It’s going to take me a week just to catch up on Miss Snark alone. And I’m not allowing myself to start reading even now.

I finally got the Romance Through the Ages contest materials all ready to send out. I got smart and sent in the entry form and fee on Saturday (it’s due this Friday), and saved the actual book and synopsis for an e-submission. Gave me an extra 3 or 4 days to work on polishing and tightening up the first 30 pages. I was just happy I managed to fit everything into a 2-page synopsis.

Now the big thing is our silk-screening venture. Between design work, burning the screens, and the actual printing, I’ve not had much time to myself. Especially since the only time I can work in the garage is during Punkin’s nap time (when I’d much rather be napping myself) or late at night (when I’d much rather be sleeping). Hopefully we’ll have some of the designs up on the Internet soon, over at American Punkin, and we’ll find out if I’ve been wasting my time or not.

Oh yes, and the DH was sick as a dog this past weekend. If life continues going at this breakneck speed, I’ll be as bald as my father pretty soon.

Anyhoo, I’m off to whittle one more thing off my to-do list, or fall asleep trying. I promise I’ll get a real post up before Saturday.

*King of the Jungle by Steven Curtis Chapman on Heaven in the Real World

Please pardon my dearth of posts in the coming week (not that I’m a prolific poster anyway)–I’m attempting to get my 10 page long synopsis down into a 1-2 page synopsis. All before Saturday morning, when I’ve got to mail it out.

I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again…the silly synopsis is harder than the book itself!

Oh yeah, and my husband and I are smack dab in the middle of starting a silk-screening business in our garage, so that’s taking huge chunks of time too.

Gotta run–my lunch is getting cold, then I’ve got to get back to work before the Punkin awaketh from her beauty sleep.

Okay Bernita, so your comment got me thinking…and that’s not always a bad thing.

It would make perfect sense for Caleb to be feeling out British sympathizers and then passing their info up to Halifax (ooo! I needed to get him to Halifax somehow, to harass the hero, so that might be a good enough reason). Caleb was born near his mother’s hometown of Newport, RI, but his father was one of the occupying British soldiers. His father was killed during the Revolutionary War (or the War of the American Rebellion, if you prefer). Caleb’s mother instilled in him a deep hatred for the “rebels”, but he hides it extremely well.

As for nothing happening in Newport during the war, that too could be useful. Andrea is from Virginia, but moves to Newport when she marries a wealthy shipping merchant. He disappears at sea during the war. So poor Andie is all alone in a “foreign” land, with almost no friends. Since Newport is a dying seaport, she struggles to keep her husband’s business–and herself–from falling apart. She would be especially vulnerable to Caleb’s charms.

Hmmm, this has possiblities, at least for a first draft of the storyline. Who knows where the story will eventually end up.

It’s a start. Thanks Bernita! May the Goddess of Great Plots smile graciously upon you.

Now that I’ve gotten that cry of frustration out of my system…here I am in Newport, Rhode Island. I thought this was going to be the perfect location for two of my books, but I’m running into issues again. Namely, that nothing happened here during the War of 1812, at least, not anything important. And I have to have a reason for a British officer to hang around town during that war. I can make the Revolutionary War section of the books fit (sorta–not as nice a fit as I would like. Not like I got the 4th Pennsylvania Cavalry to fit in my other book), but not the other end. does this mean I need to go to Salem or Boston after all?
It’s just an extremely disheartening day–half the places I needed to go were closed for the season, and I’m sick, and feeling guilty for dragging my poor wee Punkin all the way up here (12 hours in a carseat has got to be miserable when you’re too young to really do anything back there) Sigh. Double sigh.
Well, back I go to the drawing board.