Kenn Ghannon: Blog

I've spent 52+ years on this earth, reading and writing English through most of them. In all this time, I've NEVER been able to use homonyms 100% correctly. I've a paper from an 11th grade creative writing course which is liberally sprinkled with red marks for using the wrong homonyms - so now you know that beyond being homonymically challenged, I'm also a bit of a pack rat.

It's so bad, I'm considering giving up English for Lent - or forever - if I can find a language where there are no stinking homonyms for me to trip over.

In other news, I have finally broken the log-jam which assaulted me on Chapter 23 and re-sketched my plan for the conclusion of this part of the story. It resulted in me changing some things and adding a new chapter or 2 that I didn't really want but needed. It also made me re-think a few minor plot details - but I think it's going to work better this way.

I've used a weird but effective method for writing this story. I always outline the plot beforehand, so I know roughly where I'm at and where I'm trying to go. Much like a battleplan in a war, the outline never truly survives contact with the written page - but it keeps me honest. Usually, I try to write every niggling detail in one pass, then modify it as time goes on to fit in new key points and so on.

I didn't do that this time. I wrote the outline, of course, but then I just put 'the bare bones' on the page - no overt color, no overt 'pretty' stuff...just the facts, ma'am; which is to say, I didn't consciously avoid description, I just didn't make it a priority. I then firmed up the plot lines, introducing things as I needed for future arcs and so on. Finally, on my last draft pass, I put in the 'color' stuff - such as how a person looks, sounds, views, etc. It worked surprisingly well in keeping me on my toes.

Now, when I prepare a chapter for posting, I read through it (hopefully catching any glaring errors). I find there are sentences, paragraphs and whole sections I have to re-write sometimes - but it actually helps to keep me honest. For example, Arlade's hair was short in one part of the tale but I'd made it longer in another. I probably won't catch every discrepancy (and I haven't; a reader pointed out I had the princess eating in her carriage at one point then magically out of her carriage a little later so I had to clean that mess up) but it seems to help me make more sense of the story while keeping everyone true to their nature.

I know I missed posting Chapter 09 yesterday. Unfortunately, I was ill. I've been ill for a few days, actually, but it was pretty bad yesterday.

Anyway, I've posted chapters 09 and 10 this morning. Chapter 10 is kind of a bonus, though not because the story is late. Chapter 10 is pretty short so it didn't really make sense to post it on its own. I reserve the right, however, to post any future 'short chapters' on its own day (though, honestly, I can't think of any short chapters through the end of this part of the story).

I honestly did try to change the 'Worded' titles for numeric titles (moving from 'One' to 'Chapter 01', 'Two' to 'Chapter 02' and so on). However, it looks like - since I started this story with worded titles - they're going to continue. I hope I'm not causing issues with whoever is reviewing the posts...

I'm still stuck on Chapter 23 - but it's because I didn't even try to write yesterday. Problems with my diet (cravings...oi). I ended up just sitting and re-reading Jay Cantrell's 'Unending Night' - a true masterpiece. I'm following it with the sequel - but the name eludes me.

Reading is another escape of mine. I love to read. I actually like it more than television or movies (but please don't tell anyone). As a matter of fact, reading often leads to writing - for some reason, when I read I tend to get ideas for new stories even when I'm reading things which are more 'mainstream'.

I'm re-thinking moving on after finishing up 'Runesward: Hasp'; there is just so much more story to tell and it's grabbed me in a very weird way. I'm stuck, though. On the one hand, I'll get tired of the story eventually and move on before part 2 is completed. I know me. On the other, I've several other stories I want to finish and share. On the other hand, I sometimes have a problem getting back into the characters when leaving them for a significant period of time. That's three hands - far too many.

I apologize for this rambling, self-serving, pointless blog. It's what happens when you give me a forum to purge thoughts from my head. You pays your money, you takes your chances.

A reader pointed out my use of 'Word' chapter headers ("One", "Two", etc.) was causing issues with downloading the story. I want to sincerely apologize; I never meant for it to be a problem and I've changed it accordingly.

The reason I prefer to use worded chapter headers is because, to be honest, I don't really believe I should call any of my stories 'books' and I don't really think I should call the parts of any of these stories as 'chapters'. Using those terms implies, at least to me, I am an 'author'. I'm not. I'm a storyteller. An author is someone who is good enough to make a living telling stories (whether they actually do it or not). A storyteller is someone who tries - and tries hard - to spin a compelling yarn.

There are a few people on SOL I consider 'authors' because I think they are good enough to actually sell their work (and some of them do, I think). These are the likes of Jay Cantrell, G. Younger and so on. I'm certainly not there yet, though I aspire to such lofty goals some day.

Finally, I've received some e-mails which have been critical of some or all of Runesward. As always, THANK YOU. Criticism hurts but is necessary to be a better storyteller (if not author). Some of the criticisms, I absolutely agree with - and I'd change things, if I could figure out a better way of presenting them; hopefully, I can find a way to avoid my pitfalls in future works.

The thing is - every e-mail I receive (even those that tell me my work is shit) are RIGHT. It's a perspective thing - this is how they see my story/stories so, to them, it is absolutely accurate. It's like the old axiom 'the customer is always right' - the customer IS always right because what they say to you is what they see and feel, no matter if you see things or feel things differently. Its only through the feedback or conversation that we can become better.

I can be a bit of an attention whore. When I post stories, I like receiving the feedback (good and bad, actually). I often peek here every few hours (if not more often) to see if I have any mail or anyone has commented on the story. It's a failing and one I'm not proud of.

So, this weekend was a bit of an experiment. In the past, I've always preferred to post on a weekly basis; this is my first time trying it on a (more-or-less) daily schedule. I grew a bit addicted to it - but I decided to try breaking a bit this weekend.

I liked it. So, for now, I'm going to continue posting daily (with caveats - I might have to take a break now and again) on weekdays and breaking on weekends. I hope this isn't inconvenient for anyone.