My characters just arrived in Exos, the port city on the eastern coast of Mhortan.

And I have no idea what Exos looks like yet...

::coughs::



10274 words in, at least 90000 left to go.

Make it the opposite of the west coast of Mhortan.


actually, just make it the opposite of the city they came from looks like. Thats fairly common.

Well, they don't come from a city - they come from the highlands of Mhardin, which only have villages, such as Dharon and the now-destroyed Rheldar.

Yes, I'm over-using h's. I'm going to change that later .

AHA! so it allready is the opposite!

Highlands makes me think scottland, h's make me think dark, so....

Golden walls, Domed roofs, tall spires, and the occasional street urchin.

If the villages share the same geographical location and perhaps an ethnic or political background, then why change them?

Is Exos rich? Does the port trade thrive or is it more a black-market illegal trade route?

The highlands of Mhardin are somewhat small compared to the rest of the world. Think Scotland as opposed to Europe.

Exos is -very- well off, but has -very- limited organization (namely, anyone who claims to own the leadership mantle is shortly assassinated ). Thinking - guild-run.

There is also a certain wizard who makes his home there. I like that guy

Your story is unoriginal, uninteresting, uninsprired, dry, and trite.

Dharon? Rheldar? Exos?

You're just churning out another overdone, exhausted piece of fantasy.

*Jumps off a bridge to save himself from being flamed*

Hehe, probably This is my first novel - it's bound to suck

You don't have to reinvent the wheel with every turn.

Oh, I do like my story, my plot, my characters, my setting. But I'm still learning how to write

That is part of the process. Atleast you have the committment. I've been planning to write for years and I still have not started.

I almost recieved a writing scholarship when I was about 8, but was rejected because I was too young. Oh well.

250 words a day (I write that in less than 10 minutes).

Two weeks later, 500 words a day.

Two weeks later, 1000 words a day.

I've maxed at 2000 words a day for several consecutive days, but I've skimped lately due to this Tor job I'm applying for.

Heh. I know how you feel. Use to do writing until I released that wasn't my calling. Are you going for full novel length or mini-series? I have to admit, a mini-series is a breeze compared to the other, since you just pick out a major plot line, and feed the audience one piece at a time. More forgiving too... *eyes all the Jordan haters* I bet you people read Animorphs when you were younger..

Novel length, 100k-120k words.

It would very easily lead into a sequel, a trilogy, or more, but it's designed as a standalone.

*whistles* Well, that would be around 5-7 major plot lengths and nearly 50-60 scenes eh? Get all your ideas on paper first, leave it alone for a few days while you write, then come back to it and look at all the stupid stuff you thought up, get rid of what doesn't work, think up some more, and repeat.

I'm actually just going to run my way through from beginning to end (I have major plot points plotted, everything in between I'm winging). When I finish, I'll set it aside a full month while I start work on its sequel, then go back for a -full- edit.

I have many poor scenes, and several good ones. I'll be doing a lot of editing/rewriting, but again, I don't intend to get this published. It's merely a learning experience for me.

My best scene is actually the first one - the battle between Dharon and Rheldar forces (the battle starts midway through page 5, and concludes at the end of page 8).

Fitting a battle into 3 pages is a remarkable achievement. Most authors drag it out for at least a chapter or two. You do your own editing? Shame on you. Let the proof reader edit to. (that was a joke by the way. editing it yourself is perfectly good, as you might see something with the scene that doesn't come out like you want it to, while an outsider might not. And you catch the stuff that makes you look stupid.) Heh. I even find for those big fight scenes a visual aid helps, so I go grap one of my old Joes (Orginal. Nayh!) from my closet and try to figure out exactly what sort of motions the human body is capable of without breaking reality. Do you normally write novels for learning experiences?

This is my first novel . I have no dreams of stardom, etc., and my first three novels will be learning experiences (however, once I have them how I want them, I -will- send them to agents, but if I get all rejections, oh well, that was that.

Novel four will be the one I want to make it with If I hit 6 novels with no sales, I'll probably say it isn't for me.

But no, I'll be doing all editing by myself, although my g/f volunteered to be a test reader/critiquer.