Less is More

One of the hardest things for an author is figuring out how to cut down a manuscript to the right length. When I write a rough draft, I like to put everything in including the kitchen sink. All those lovely ideas I just want so bad to write, I get them all in whether they fit or not. This is the fun part for me as an author. Getting to write all the exciting stuff without worrying about how it fits together or if it is slowing down the plot. But then comes the time of reckoning. Revisions. This is when I have to go through a story and brutally cut out anything that is not important to the main plot of the story. A normal young adult length novel can be anywhere from 50,000 to 80,000 words long. (Only insanely popular authors like J. K. Rowling get to break this rule.) One of the manuscripts I am currently working on at the moment is at 127,000 words long. You can see that some major surgery has to take place before I can submit the manuscript to a publisher. You have no idea how hard it is to choose what gets cut out and what doesn't. So many beautiful, touching, and hilarious little details have to go. Only the very best may stay. It can be a little bit daunting. But in the end, it is always worth it!

Haunted Dolls

 

What you are looking at is a doll in progress. A haunted doll. Sort of. I've been working on a story with haunted dolls in it. And I am attempting to recreate one of the dolls in my story as research.  A friend of mine, who sews, is creating an authentic Victorian wedding suit to go on the doll for when he is complete. It's coming along quite beautifully, don't you think? She did extensive research into Victorian wedding attire to get it just right. Eventually, I will sculpt a face, hands and feet for him out of clay. But for now, he's just got a suit. A very handsome one though. The exciting part is that he's turning out, just as I pictured him in the story. Which is great--unless he  turns out to be haunted, like the doll in my story.  

(o_O) 

Let's pretend I didn't say that.

Illustrating Again!

I currently have four manuscripts in the works. Two of which are pretty close to being ready for submission. One of those is a manuscript with illustrations! It has been so long since I got to do any illustrating--especially for one of my own stories. The worst part is all of these drawings have to be done in different styles--something I have never tried before. Each character draws differently, you see.

It is nowhere as easy as it looks to draw in manga style when you've never done it before, believe me! The sketch of the kid above is one of the characters for this new story. The characters below are from the same story just in different styles of drawing. They are all three drawn by me of course. What can I say? I'm a glutton for punishment.



One of the other manuscripts I'm working on has centaurs in it. I've always wanted to write a centaur book! There just aren't any good ones out there at the moment. Hopefully there soon will be--if my story gets published!



The Trouble with Mermaid Tails

Where the heck is my mermaid tail? Seriously! I, Sheila Nielson, am now the proud owner of a swimable mermaid tail. Or, at least, I should be. I ordered one so we could film some underwater scenes for the Forbidden Sea trailer and it's taking FOREVER to get here. With the amount of time it is taking, you'd think they had to catch and skin a real live mermaid to get me a tail. It's gold, just like Jendayi's tail and I really want it to get here already.

Okay, I'm calm again. Just had to get that out of my system. : )

Chapter Seventeen

Every once in a while an author comes up against a difficult chapter. No matter how many times they rewrite the thing--it never seems to work right. You cut things out, you add things back in, you try to cover all that needs to be covered without bogging the whole story down. But it just won't work. Chapter Seventeen in my ghost story is just such a chapter for me. I'm starting to think one of the ghosts from the story has cursed me so I can't get it right. But which ghost? I'm really holding out hope that it's the warm and friendly ghost and not the icy cold, evil one. I might have to move on to Chapter Eighteen for a while and come back to Seventeen when I have more courage. Or patience. Something I'm a little short on at the moment, my little ghosties--so behave already!

EVPs: More Than I Ever Wanted to Know About Ghostly Voices

I've been learning all about EVPs (Electronic Voice Phenomenon) this week as part of my ghost story research. That's when people record ghostly voices talking on digital recorders. Just for the record--very scary stuff. For those who are brave, I am including a link to one such recording. It's a child's voice saying,  "Mom, I love you." For those who already have trouble sleeping without a light on each night--you might want to skip this one.

Click here to see EVP video.

Click here if you want to laugh and think happy thoughts instead. : )

An Author Never Knows What They Will End Up Dealing With

Today I received an email from one of my writer's group members asking for help in trying to figure out a way to spread a deadly virus that could wipe out humanity. No she is not a mad scientist set on destroying human life--she's working on a distopian novel and got a little stuck trying to figure out logistics. But it was pretty hilarious finding an email like that in my inbox. Someone who didn't know I was a writer might think I was in cahoots to take over the world. Then again--maybe I am. : )