Writing Partner: Plans for a New Year

January 12, 2022January 12, 2022 ~ Jacob Marsh ~ Leave a comment

Hello all,

Happy New Year!

Planning a full year of work might seem like a bit of a fool’s errand. After all, something is bound to happen which will blow up my plans. We live in what feels like a truly destabilized time, and last year was one of my worst in recent memory. But with all that in mind, the only thing we have control over is ourselves. I really want this year to be better, and for me, feeling better has always involved storytelling.

With that in mind, I have planned to maximize content output and limit distractions this year. To illustrate this plan, here are some minis that work as a metaphor. You know the drill!

Those are two good little squigs from the Warhammer Underworlds line. I think they are both lovely in their own right.

Warhammer Underworlds Red Squig — I’m really bad at focusing on these tiny minis. 😦

The first is a pretty standard red squig.

He’s nice but not exactly inspired. The latter is where I experimented.

I used some undercoating and glazing techniques on him to really bring out subtle hues in his skin. I didn’t know it would work, but I think he looks great.

More importantly, he ended up being a proof of concept for something bigger.

Look at this monster!

This is the Dagon mini for CMON’s Death May Die board game. I used the same techniques as the squig and I think this is some of my best work (painting-wise). It kind of proved to me that this scheme and the techniques involved have legs. Now for the metaphor part, this is also how I will approach my writing this year.

The test ground will be bite-sized chunks that outline the world and themes of the longer works. In the last couple of years, I realized that I really enjoy podcasting, so that is a great start. I’ve also worked out the template for both short fiction and long fiction. Now I just need to apply it.

I’ll explain more later but for now, just know that I’m busy and happily working. This is going to be a good year damn it!

Writing Partner: A Tunneling Terror

December 9, 2021 ~ Jacob Marsh ~ Leave a comment

Hello all,

As we’re quickly approaching the holiday season, I’m doing my best to have the second draft of my new novel finished before I go on hiatus. I have some people out there who would like to read it, and I’m trying to make it an early present.

I’ve had to dig deep and stay on task to accomplish this goal. Long shifts in the old editing mines are harsh, though. It’s dangerous down there in the dark. So it’s best to go in with a partner.

This, my friends, is the chthonian for the Death May Die set. Seasoned Lovecraft fans have probably noticed it doesn’t look like a worm with tentacles for a face so much as a pile of intestines spilling out of a tube. It’s a weird one for sure, but it was a lot of fun to paint.

I’ve mentioned this a few times, but this is an excellent set for speed painting. There are lots of edges to catch dry brushing, and the weird designs make mistakes seem almost intentional. If you’re considering mini painting as a hobby, the board games CMON produces are great places to start. Even if you don’t end up enjoying it, at least you’ll have a solid board game!

I hope my next update will tell you this draft is finished. Mainly because I’m fast approaching yet another self-inflicted deadline, but also because I’m starting to dabble in some new side projects I’d like to discuss. I know, more side projects. My new year’s resolution should focus on the ideas I already have!

Laters!

Writing Partner: A Froggy Friend

September 4, 2021 ~ Jacob Marsh ~ Leave a comment

Ok, I can admit when I’m wrong. I was wrong about this guy.

He’s great, isn’t he? Turns out the banderhobb miniature paints up well! I didn’t do anything with the base, though. I’ve got a long-term basing plan for all of my freshwater monsters, so he’ll be clipped off that one and put on something custom in time. But for now, I think he’s more than good enough to play with.

I like to imagine that him floating at the surface of a pong or small lake. Just blending in, like lily pads in grimy water. Waiting until something gets close enough to gulp up.

More importantly, he made for a great writing partner. I’ve finished both of my outlines. That means it’s time to start a new project.

My next book will be a horror novel built out of multiple short stories and novelettes about the same character. Most chapters will stand alone, but together they tell a complete story and showcase the character’s arc.

It’s a very different book than my last one, but I plan on taking it in bite-sized chunks. This means we’re going to need a lot of varied writing partners. And I already have the first one in mind.

Stay tuned!

Writing Partner: Working on a Character

August 25, 2021 ~ Jacob Marsh ~ Leave a comment

After a couple of weeks off, I’m back to work. This time, on a pair of outlines. I have one for the book I want to write for NaNoWriMo and another for the one I’m working on in the meantime. Beyond basic plotting I also have to wrap my mind around a bunch of new characters. For a job like this, I’ll need the help of someone who is a real character themselves. And with that in mind… look at this abomination!

I mean, why did I even buy this? In D&D it’s called a banderhobb, but I think of him as the gross little frogman I bought on a whim for 5 bucks. There had to be a reason. I think it’s that face: dumb, greasy, and bulbous. If I didn’t inexplicably love him, I’d hate him.

But somewhere in those wideset eyes is meaning. Why is he like this? What niche does he fill in his environment? I know he’s a swamp predator, but why? What force of nature, or act of fate, molded him?

Similarly, I know the purpose I need my characters to fill in my narrative. But what got them there? What made them the people they are now and, more importantly, faced with what I’m about to put them through, what will they do next?

Stay tune. With the help of this grotesque frogman, I’m going to figure it out.

Writing Partner: Letting Go

July 30, 2021July 30, 2021 ~ Jacob Marsh ~ 2 Comments

I’m going to try and make this update as brief as possible. To linger would be sending a mixed message. I’m nearly done with my book. Still working on the title, but I digress. If I focus and keep at it, I will be sending it out to my first round of beta readers this weekend. This means, with any luck, I’ll be working on something new next week.

None of that is news, I said as much in my last update, but I found myself doing something strange this week. I picked up a different writing partner for the final leg of work.

He’s not great, as you can see. It’s a cygor from the Warhammer Age of Sigmar line and was meant to lead a small group of Tzeentch worshiping beastmen. The minotaur turned out well, but I’ve never been happy with the cygor.

Because of his size, he has lived prominently on a shelf in my office. His one eye staring me down. Judging me. And there he sat, staring a hole into me for over two years, until this week.

This week, in the final stretch, he caught my eye. My thought was I would fix him while I finished this book. Both have sat unfinished for years. Both could be projects worth refining. But, looking at the cygor I suddenly wondered if I could really finish my book this week. Then a thought crossed my mind, maybe my book could use one more edit too? Was I rushing this?

I started by giving it a brown wash to darken the skin tone and make it more natural. Then I sent a picture of it to a friend of mine to see what he thought should be the next step. He told me that he’s doesn’t usually pick old projects back up again. Instead, his suggestion was to paint something new.

Looking back, I think this has been a problem for me. I have, at multiple times, sunk years into projects I should have just let go of. Do I have a hard time letting projects go? Even with this book, have I held on to it for too long?

So I put the cygor in a drawer and closed it. Likewise, I need to finish this book and move on. No more rewrites, no more fiddling. It’s going to beta readers this weekend. Is that technical done, no, but it’s the first step to genuinely letting it go. I’m not going to grow unless I write new content, so it’s time to start.

Writing Partner: A Milestone

July 11, 2021 ~ Jacob Marsh ~ Leave a comment

It’s going to be a short blog today. I’ve just spent the last nine hours writing, so I’d like to look away from a screen soon. However, I’m thrilled with my progress and wanted to share.

I just finished (hopefully) the last bit of net new content for my novel. So now all I have left is another line edit, and it’s ready for beta-readers!

I know it’s been a long time coming, but it still feels good. If I keep to this pace, I might even finish this month! That would give me three months before NaNoWriMo. That might even be enough to finish up some of my other backburner work.

The army cheering me on is progressing as well. Here is a sneak peek at where I am with the base colors.

Is it pretty, eh? I need to finish this stage for the rest of them now before I start applying washes. Let’s hope it doesn’t dull that pretty pink.

Stay tuned!

Writing Through a Heatwave

June 28, 2021 ~ Jacob Marsh ~ Leave a comment

I’m not sure how many of you are in my general geographical area, but I’m currently toughing through a bit of a heatwave. I’m not very good at dealing with the heat. I prefer to live at about 18 degrees Celsius, when things approach 40 I’m having a very bad time. It has been challenging to focus, and my writing progress has slowed down considerably. Even still, progress is being made.

I’ve almost finished the last of my net-new content, which will leave my book finished… in a manner. We all know nothing is very truly finished, and I’m still not ready to call this thing done. I want to give it one more full read-through. My focus for this edit will be buffing descriptions and removing filler words. The length is now perfectly respectable, so I won’t be adding anything that doesn’t in some way enhance the scene or reveal something about the characters.

After I’m done with that final polish, I’ll be ready to send it to beta readers. Then once I have worked through their notes, I’ll need to have it professionally edited. While this all sounds like a lot of work, it’s light on me, and I’ll be free to start something new!

To celebrate this next stage and give me some support through the process, I’ve picked a truly impressive writing partner: an entire army.

I know it doesn’t look like much right now, but that’s a whole army of wood-elves and sylvaneth (tree spirits). That should be enough minis to get me through this final push. The army will follow the same color scheme as the last dragon I painted as if the whole group comes from a cherry blossom forest.

With all that laid out, all that is left is the work, so I better get to it. I’ll leave you today with my proof of concept mini. I hope you like it.

Stay tuned.

Writing Partner: Dragging this out – Part 3

May 28, 2021May 28, 2021 ~ Jacob Marsh ~ Leave a comment

Click the links below for the previous posts in this series:

Writing Partner: Dragging this out

Writing Partner: Dragging this out – Part 2

Welcome back,

She’s finished. Here is the new centerpiece for my wife’s Age of Sigmar Army:

Warhammer Age of Sigmar Dragon Miniature Painted

I’m still working on the rider (I made two of the spines detachable, so it works either way), but this dragon will be the main attraction for Daeva’s mixed Wanderers (wood-elves) and Sylvaneth (tree-folk) army. I’m pretty pleased with it, and it pulls together the cherry blossom themes of the army nicely.

I know there is a specific mini for the woodelf forest dragon (I have it), but this mini in this color scheme spoke to me. The other mini looks good in green, so I’ll tackle that someday as a stand-alone project.

On the writing side, I have completed a rough pass for act 3. By that, I mean I have finished the most egregious grammar and spelling mistakes. That was roughly 1000 edits on its own. A solid week of work, but I’m not done yet.

This act needs a net-new chapter and then a chapter-by-chapter fresh coat of paint. I think that will take most of June. Then it’s on to a final chapter-by-chapter polish, and then I’ll be done. So my novel will probably be finished sometime in August, maybe September at the latest. It’s a lot of work, but I’m on track for my goals this year.

That means I will need more to paint. It’s a good thing I have a dragon who needs an army to run. This is going to be a rather large project, so stay tuned!

Writing Partner: Dragging this out – part 2

May 16, 2021May 16, 2021 ~ Jacob Marsh ~ Leave a comment

For part 1 click here.

When we last spoke, I was working away on my editing and painting baby dragons. I only mentioned one, but I wanted to test out two paint schemes for the mother dragon. I wanted pink to be the contrasting color, but I wasn’t sure if the primary color should be black or white.

Here are the results of my testing:

Baby Dragons Front — Considering these were done quickly as tests, I think they turned out well.

Baby Dragons from above — These minis had a lot of imperfections (they only cost 6 dollars a piece) so I couldn’t have asked for much more.

While I like the white scheme better, I’m happy I painted the black one too. I think it is a fun miniature, and having both has gotten the wheels in my head turning. I now have an excellent premise for a multipart RPG session, but I’ll get into that more when I finish their mother.

In the meantime, I have more editing to do. That October deadline is fast approaching, and I have only just gotten into act 3. To get another draft finished in the next 5 months will be hard, but it looks to be doable. But after that, I’m done, and we can start talking about a new book!

Something I am noticing about my editing is I am adding in sensory descriptions naturally now. This is something I had to really work at. As a recap to any new readers, I spent about 5 years writing scripts before starting this blog. I’m a dialogue guy, and learning to write proper narration on the first draft was like pulling teeth. This process has made me a better writer and, fingers crossed, a faster one.

Today alone, I added 3 pages of new content while editing. This draft has added 25 pages so far, and I still have 10 chapters to edit. I’ve gone from having a short novel to having a pretty respectable one since Christmas. I’m pretty pleased with that.

Here’s hoping this newfound ease for narration carries into the next novel. If I can get a first draft done in November, it won’t take long before I have a second novel finished and ready for readers if it’s at my current standard. My short story collection is nearing 100 pages, and I have a half-finished book on the back burner as well. I could have a decent selection available to read relatively soon.

Fingers crossed, I stay on track. I could also get distracted by a new project!

Writing Partner: Dragging this out

April 28, 2021 ~ Jacob Marsh ~ 2 Comments

Hello all,

As promised, I have finished constructing my new writing partner, and I must say, it is a majestic piece.

This miniature is Warhammer’s Prince Imrik, The Dragon Lord. Mind you, I think the dragon itself is the real showstopper.

I’ve neglected to glue Imrik down so that I can try to use it as a stand-alone dragon miniature as well. You might have noticed this in my other builds, but I like having options.

I have also grabbed one of wizkidz baby dragon minis to paint as well. This little welp will be used as a proof of concept for its much larger and much more expensive mother. I have a pretty neat paint scheme in mind, but I want to test it out first.

Those are the minis that just leaves the short story I mentioned. Well, that’s where this story takes a turn. The tale I was writing was inspired by a video essay I watched on haunted houses. You can find the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mexs39y0Imw&t=964s. The idea of the house itself as the antagonist, that it is not haunted by something but has intent of its own, is really appealing to me. It has a similar bend to some of my previous work, and I’ve already thought of some exciting directions to take it.

I was working on this story last Saturday and had one of my best writing sessions in months. I hit flow state, and the prose just poured out of me. I honestly thought I was going to finish the first draft in one sitting. But then a scene popped into my head. It was grim and visceral in a way the rest of the story was not. This scene grew to eclipse the rest of the story, and beyond being horrifying, it was surprisingly moving. That was when I decided to stop writing.

You see, this new scene threw the whole project into flux. It was a complex character moment that needed at least 3000 words to itself. This meant I was no longer writing a short story; I was writing a new novel.

This leads to my final realization and also a reveal of sorts. You see, I had always intended on participating in NaNoWriMo this year. NaNoWriMo stands for the national novel writing month, and it takes place every November. You can find out more about it here: https://nanowrimo.org/about-nano. I have wanted to participate for years now, so I’m biting the bullet and jumping into a new work in November. That’s part of why I have been working so hard to get my current novel off my plate. I want to work on a new one soon! When I realized my ghost story was actually a novel and that I was excited to dive in, it seemed apparent that this would be my NaNoWriMo project for this year.

So there you go, that evening of writing established my goals for the rest of the year. First, finish my current novel by October. Then write a new fist draft in November, and have the second book written and edited before the new year. In short, I have a lot to do… so I guess I should get back to work.