Monday, September 30, 2013

To Which I Celebrate


*Passes around cookies and cupcakes*

What am I celebrating exactly? FREEDOM!!!!!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Okay, sort of but not exactly.

In truth, I’m celebrating the end of EDITING. Yes, editing. I’ve mentioned my endeavor of the terrifying world of editing here for the past few months I believe. And, at last, I am DONE. Which makes me feel free.

Secrets of Camelot CoverSecrets of Camelot is the book I’ve been editing. And I say editing but, honestly, there was probably a good deal more rewriting than editing during the process. *shudders* This book is the first in a series called Legends, Thieves, and Dragons which is about, you guessed it, legends, thieves, and *le gasp* dragons! I have yet to start the second book. . .one thing at a time, yes? We’ll see what next year brings. For now I’m just beyond relieved to have Secrets of Camelot at least a little readable, enough for my beta readers anyway.

This book came into being in March of 2011 and the first draft made it to “The End” by August of that year if I remember right. I think deep down I always knew someday I’d write an Arthurian Legend story. The legend has always fascinated this medieval lover. Who isn’t in wonder at the tales of the Knights of the Round Table or the Holy Grail or the Once and Future King? I get excited just thinking about it! Being a writer, my own rendition of the stories was bound to pop up eventually. And so Secrets of Camelot was born.

After it was written I left it alone for a while, but I loved the story so much I knew I’d come back to it. When this year rolled around I decided it was time to return. The problem was. . .the story needed WORK. Lots of it. It seems I’ve advanced as a writer a good deal since the day that book was written. Oh, all the flaws! Makes me shudder just thinking about it. But I couldn’t give it up. I want this story to be told. It feels as though it’s wrapped around my heart, there to stay. So, with a deep breath, I delved into the world of editing/rewriting, something I’ve feared for a very long time.

I’d love to say it went smoothly but. . .well. . .it was a challenge. BUT being one who has cowered at even the mention of rewrites for far too many years to count, I was pleasantly surprised to find I could actually do it. Challenging though it was, it wasn’t impossible. I feel like I’ve stepped into a new phase of my writing. Because, let’s face it, if one is to be a writer one must learn to edit and rewrite. And now I’ve proven to myself I am capable of it, as much as I dislike it. Heh.

For the majority of the year I’ve steadily worked on editing Secrets of Camelot, and last Saturday night (Sep. 28th) I put the last few finishing touches on it. And then I did a little leap for joy. I was FINISHED. For a while it felt like I would never be done. But now I am and it feels liberating!Thief

Now, honestly, I’m not sure how great the book is. I fear the pacing is off, it’s too slow, and perhaps not as exciting as it should be. It’s hard for me to judge though. I’ve just spent too much time with it. For now I’m just going to step back from it for a while. If later I feel the need to do another rewrite (meep) then so be it. But I’ve done what I can for the time being and I’m just happy with that.

So what’s next? NANOWRIMO!!!!!!! Now that I’m finally done with Secrets of Camelot, I am free to start plotting for NaNo. And boy am I excited. When fall starts rolling around it always gets me wired up for NaNo in November. October is my NaNo prepping month and I’m already swelling up with anticipation to start outlining and getting ready. Be prepared for a lot of NaNo talk for the next couple of months. Hope you guys don’t mind! *grins*

But for today before delving into new things I’m celebrating the completeness of old ones.

And for fun, here’s a little snippet from Secrets of Camelot for you since I’ve been rambling about it so much.

~~~~~~~~

With a lunge to the side, Arthur avoided his opponent's blade by inches. He swiftly turned around and thrust his own sword. His rival blocked, making their weapons strike with a clang. The blades scraped loudly together as they pulled apart. The challenger sent a slash at Arthur's abdomen, who managed to jump backwards in time before it sliced.

For a moment the contenders halted, studying one another through the slits in their helmets, weighing their options. Arthur nearly lost his footing when his opponent charged unexpectedly. He managed to regain himself though and meet him halfway; they clashed blades once more.

His rival slashed ruthlessly, keeping him on the defensive. Arthur began backing slowly, holding up his sword to block the oncoming blows. As one came striking towards his neck, he ducked and rolled on the ground. He jumped up behind the competitor and slashed. Unfortunately, the combatant turned around in time to block. He pushed Arthur back and took the offensive role once more.

Arthur breathed heavily as the adversary slashed mercilessly, pressing him farther and farther back. When he thought he finally had an opening, he slashed his blade towards his opponent's ankles. It was a mistake. The challenger leaped up, causing Arthur's blade to slide across empty air, unbalancing him. His opponent took advantage of this, giving Arthur a hefty push against the chest wish his boot. Arthur's balance failed him completely and he crumpled to the ground on his back. Before he could even move, the tip of the enemy's blade was pointed at his neck.

"Match!" Both duelers turned their heads to find a knight holding up his hands. "Lancelot is the victor," he called.

The rival pulled away his blade and instead held out a hand towards the Prince. Arthur grabbed it and let the person haul him back to his feet.

Knight and SwordArthur's opponent chuckled goodheartedly as he pulled off his helmet revealing a head of dark hair, short and mussed. The tall male's large blue eyes glanced over at Arthur with mischief. "I thought you almost had me for a minute there."

Arthur slipped off his own helmet, sweat dripping off the ends of his hair. He shrugged. "You're a tough opponent to beat."

"I wouldn't be so sure. Don't forget you bested me yesterday."

"Those are very rare occasions."

"You are improving, Arthur," a new voice interrupted as a strong hand clasped Arthur's shoulder.

Arthur looked up beside him to see Sir Ector, one of the greatest knights in Camelot and Arthur's trainer since he could hold up a blade. "I'm trying, sir. But I doubt I'll ever be able to match Lancelot's skill."

Sir Ector gave his shoulder a tight squeeze. "You must remember Lancelot has two years of training above yours. Your skill still surpasses any I've seen for someone of only fifteen. I daresay you'll have outdone Lancelot in only a matter of a few years."

"Always glad to see your full confidence in my potential, Sir Ector," Lancelot said dryly.

Sir Ector snatched at the young man and locked his head under his arm, mussing Lancelot's hair with his other hand. Lancelot cried out and flailed his arms in attempt to get free. Laughing heartily, Sir Ector let him loose. He smiled at both the boys as he settled. "You both have a talent I have not seen in a long time and it is my honor to be your instructor."

Arthur smiled softly while Lancelot let out a wide, gleaming grin.

"Now then," the knight clasped his hands together. "I believe that is plenty of training today, boys. We'll resume same time in the morrow. Lancelot, get those swords put away if you will. And your armor looks like it could use a good polishing."

"Yes, sir." As Sir Ector walked away, Lancelot gave Arthur an amused grin. "He always has something for me to do."

"I heard that!" the knight shouted over his shoulder.

16 comments:

  1. What? Editing?! Finishing?!?! SECRETS OF CAMELOT? Where did this come from?? Must. Know. More. What are your thoughts as far as publishing? And when?? When do we get to read this??


    SNIPPETS!!!!! *sigh* Marvelous! Why is anything concerning Arthur and knights and swords and dragons and castles and round tables so... epic?

    ReplyDelete
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    1. *falls over* Wow, I'm honored by the enthusiasm! Thank you!

      I...well...actually edited this in hopes of pursuing publishing. Meep. Scary thought, but it's my dream so I should try to work towards it sometime, right? I personal would like to try traditional publishing instead of self-publishing. I've got a long ways to go though.

      So I'm not the only King Arthur enthusiast! :D Isn't it all wonderful. Ah, I just love the legends so much! Epic would definitely be the right word.

      Kiri, would you....would you want to be a beta reader for Secrets of Camelot? I really need some readers for it. If you're interested I'd be thrilled! When I finished it and was thinking of who could critique it for me your name popped in my head immediately. I completely understand if you don't want to though. I know that's asking a lot. I'll warn you, this is a 110k book, kinda lengthy. :-/ Also I'm just not sure if it's that great of a book. I like the idea, I'm just not sure I've gotten this first book flowing right. But, anyways, if you are interested I'd be delighted and forever grateful! And I'd LOVE in return to critic CoaL for you. You were looking for readers for that one, weren't you?

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    2. *fans self dramatically*

      Well, to tell you the truth when I saw your reply there, I imagined such a great and wonderful comment that I'd post, full of all the enthusiasm and whatnot that I could muster, and then when I clicked this to actually write the comment, I was struck with a terrible loss for words, and I really don't know what to say other than...
      YES!!!!
      I can't promise to be the best beta reader ever, but I will be honest and I promise to do my best as far as criticism goes... if that's possible. And yes, I was looking for beta readers for CoaL. YOU WILL?? Thankyouthankyou!! My email is liannetaimenlore(at)gmail(dot)com, so feel free to drop me a line and we can talk about this some more! Oh, don't worry about length. CoaL is currently 156K long, so perhaps I should be the one to warn *you*. :)
      Oh, yes, and I really do love King Arthur!
      Okey dokey, this comment officially doesn't make sense.... oh, bother...

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    3. :D :D :D :D

      THANK YOU SO MUCH, KIRI!!!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

      I will ABSOLUTELY do CoaL! I'm thrilled to! Okey dokey, I shall be emailing you shortly. THANK YOU AGAIN.

      Don't be silly, I loved your comment. You're always so funny.

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  2. Wow! I salute you, Lady Lauri! Well done! You have succeeded where I am... procrastinating...
    Love the snippet! Your style reminds me a bit of mine ^__^

    By the way, if you need another reader/critique-er, I would love to help out! =]

    Blessings,
    Sarah

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    Replies
    1. Awww, thank you, Sarah! Oh trust me, there has been a LOT of procrastinating on my part for far too many years...and still plenty. Heh.
      Thank you! What's funny is when I read your stuff on your blog it reminds me of my own writing. XD I declare we were separated at birth.

      :O REALLY? YES YES YES!!! I would be SOOOO grateful if you want to beta read it as well. The more the better! YES. THANK YOU. If you want to contact me you can at Lauriloth@gmail.com or however you want to do it. Thank you so much, girl!

      Man, now I wish this book was better now that I'm actually getting people to read it. Eheheh.

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  3. CONGRATS AGAIN LAURI THAT IS SUCH AN AWESOME ACCOMPLISHMENT!!!! :D
    ...Oh my goodness. I love the snippet so much. O_O *flails*
    I CAN'T WAIT TO READ IT AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!! <3

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    Replies
    1. THANK YOOOOU!! I still can't believe I'm actually DONE with it. For now at least. ;)

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  4. WOW
    LAURI! THIS IS REALLY AWESOME!
    I am very very proud of you! You did an awesome job so far! This is great! Finishing a first edit!
    (Also I feel like I am repeating myself ... but yes!)

    And the excerpt is really really great!

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    1. Thank you, sweet girl! ^_^ I'm quite excited about it myself. I've never managed to fully edit something before so I feel very accomplished.

      Thank you! I'm honored for you to say so.

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  5. I want to read this book. You should publish it soon because I REALLY want to read it. I love the Arthur legends and re-tellings of it are a lot of fun. (I love the cover too.)
    HURRAY for finishing editing. That is one of the best author feelins in the world.

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    Replies
    1. I WISH it could be published soon but publishing is such a huge task. o.o Just the thought makes me cringe. But I sure would like to have it published someday! It just might need yet another rewrite...or two before it's good enough. (Or maybe I'm just too much of a perfectionist...) But thank you! It really is an amazing feeling.

      And the cover....thanks! I tend to be addicted to photoshop and making covers just for the fun of it. Eheh.

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  6. I KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN! Editing is such a pain, with everything! Editing a book takes, FOREVER and editing a vlog also takes...FOREVER! :) Anyway, I would love to read it! I am such a fan of fantasy/middle earth stuff! I wish I was an elf living in middle earth! But enough of imagining, I am also writing a story about an Elf, and being a lover of elves and such I was so glad to find your blog! I love those kinds of stories, and I find them all over your blog! Love to find another elf fan! Keep writing!

    -Belle

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    1. It really is! So much work! But I guess being a writer is a lot of work in general. It's nice work though, yeah? ;)

      Me too, girl! I'm sooooo obsessed with Middle Earth and elves and all that (but I guess that's pretty obvious). I practically live and breathe fantasy. I love it so much! Yay for elf fans! *high-fives* Thank you! You keep writing, too. It's such a wonderful and rewarding occupation. Hey, are you on/doing NaNoWriMo by any chance? I'd love to friend you over there if you are.

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  7. I want to read this!!! It looks great. Also, I'm writing a take on the Arthurian legends myself, though it's an ongoing project... -_- Your writing is awesome! Any chance I could find this on Amazon? ;-)

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    1. Thank you! ^_^ Oh fun! I love Arthurian Legend because there is just so much you can do with it. I love seeing everyone's different takes on it.

      Goodness, thank you! I wish you could find it on Amazon! But that's probably a long way away.

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