The joy of polishing the novel - by Vijaya Schartz

Find this and many other BWL titles from Vijaya Schartz HERE

I just finished the sixth or seventh rewrite of Black Dragon, to be released in June, the first book of a new series. It is set on a space station named Byzantium, featured in the Azura Chronicles series, and set in the same universe. Like all my novels, it has a lot of action, adventure, and romance… a courageous heroine, and a brave hero… as well as a spoiled telepathic cat, a white Angora named Marshmallow.

When I went searching for illustrations of my setting, here is what I found: 

 Polishing is my favorite part of writing a book. It has been read by my critique partners and beta readers, and now that I have the finished product, comes the task of making it shine. 

Polishing is the most important part of a writer’s job. It’s an art. It can turn a mediocre first draft into a decent read, and a great story into a fantastic book. But the lack of polish can also destroy a potentially great novel by washing it out, diluting it in too many words, and leaving it vague, ordinary, or forgettable. 

This is the time to deepen the characters, make sure their motivations are on the page, find the secret links and motivations you may have overlooked or understated, show, rather than tell, and deepen the point of view. Ramp up the emotion, or wax poetic on some descriptions or feelings, make the setting part of the story, etc. 

The process will take me a month, then the book will go to the editor. If you want a taste, here is what it’s all about: 

Czerno Drake, AKA Black Dragon

A gambler is cheating in a den of the Byzantium space station, and Lieutenant Zara Frankel intends to catch him in the act. She always gets her man, but this one could prove more than she can handle. 

Captain Czerno Drake, code name Black Dragon, has come under cover to break his innocent uncle from the most secure penitentiary in the galaxy, the Fortress, on the Byzantium space station. He will stop at nothing to succeed, even enrolling the help of the lovely straight arrow GTA enforcer. When Zara realizes that she’s been duped by a shrewd but seductive Resistance fighter, her reaction surprises everyone, most of all herself.

Zara Frankel, undercover security forces

A previous and much shorter edition several years ago, received this review: 

"I love this one by Vijaya Schartz. As always, her action-packed, well-plotted out prose kept me glued to the pages of Black Dragon from start to finish." TwoLips Reviews 5-kisses review and a RECOMMENDED READ

Vijaya Schartz, author
High Octane Romance with a Kick
http://www.vijayaschartz.com
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A True Story--Tricia McGill

Find links to all my books here on my BWL page.

My latest release, Crying is for Babies, relates the life of one of my sisters. This was the most difficult book to write, as instead of creating my characters as usual all I had to do was use my memory. While going through my past blog posts I found the following that I wrote in November 2016. This was not a good time for my sister or for those who loved her (She passed away the following January). I had forgotten I wrote this post so it was a surprise to me to find it. 

Anyway, this is how it went:

“A few years ago, I encouraged one of my sisters to write her life story. If I live long enough I will edit and finish it for her, as although she tells of her many trials and tribulations in the pages she penned, she in no way told the complete story. Currently this beloved sister is very sick, hence the blockage in my brain. She is not afraid of leaving us, in fact in the last weeks has prayed to go more than a few times rather than spend more days unable to continue in the way she wants to. But, I am afraid of losing my lifelong friend who has been the best sister I could ever wish for. 

I have faced grief many times in my life and perhaps time does heal. I think perhaps this is only half-true as a tiny part of it remains with us forever, but should never be dwelt on, just touched now and then when memories invade the day to day activities. But then again what is life but a serious of memories.

Anyway, to get back to my sister’s story. She has suffered more than any one person should but has always overcome her many health issues stoically. In fact, she has concealed the true extent of her childhood health problems so well that most who know her have no idea of the suffering endured throughout her life.

I re-read her story last week and this is how she ended it (she wrote this in 2009).

“There are a few regrets. I wish my Mother had lived to see me able to drive a car, I think she would have loved to have sat beside me. I also wished she had been able to see what my sister Pat has achieved with her writing. I wish she had heard me play my music, and to have seen my paintings, I think she would have been very proud of us. This has been my life up to now. There have been a lot of tears, but mostly laughter. I have always tried to be nice to people. I have always tried to be kind. Most of all, I always try to smile. I have a beautiful family, and some lovely friends. You can’t ask for more than that.”

And that says it all—if only everyone could live by those words. Just be nice to people, that’s really what it is all about.”

My Web Page

The Art of Art

https://books2read.com/Rough-Business

Painting an image with words is fun. It’s two of my three favourite things. Mmmm, Thai food. I took some time to look at some painting a couple months ago. Sure, it was acrylic latex in and living room and hallway. But it carried my mind to the the idea of creating a work of my own. I mulled over the material I wished to use.

In my early teens I learned to draw with chalk pastels. I really enjoyed it. So, off I went to the art store where I picked up a set of pastels and quality paper.

My first test would be drawing a simple bird in a green area. I could get the shapes, but the difficulty came when I worked on the delicate areas. It was too heavy and  rough for my liking.

Yes, I had a look in mind. I wanted a “watery colour” look without the, well, watery mess. Back to the store I went.

The notion of working with coloured pencils appealed to me. I could easily get the details done and blend the colours a bit to fill the large areas. The finished work had shape and fine-finish. However, it still wasn’t quite what I wanted. The overall look lacked the desired intensity. An artist friend suggested mixing the two medias.

This test was cumbersome and didn’t have the uniformity of depth I was trying to achieve. I simply didn’t want the extreme messiness of acrylic or oil paint.

OK, I wanted the look of a water colour. So, I, uh em, dove right in. Again I put my credit card to work and bought a set of watercolour paints and good brushes. I took some time to get used to working with them. In the end, It was fun, a lot of fun.Two small tests of and achieved the look I wanted.

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