Author Archives: Frank Morin

About Frank Morin

Frank Morin loves good stories in every form. When not writing or trying to keep up with his active family, he's often found hiking, camping, Scuba diving, or enjoying other outdoor activities. For updates on his sci-fi time travel Facetaker novels, his popular YA fantasy novel, Set in Stone, or other upcoming book releases, check his website: www.frankmorin.org

View all posts by Frank Morin →

A Faster Book, or a Better Book?

January 15, 2018

Frank Morin

When I first started indie-publishing my books, I set the goal to release eight books in eight months.

Crazy.

Especially since I write huge books. I did have several of them completed, but revisions, covers, and lots of other things weren’t done. Plus, I like releasing physical copies (both paperback and hardcover). So that goal was simply, physically impossible.

It was motivating, though, and it helped me stay focused. But one sad truth about my writing is that first drafts are far from finished drafts. Some authors can pump out a first draft that’s a single polish away from release. Not me. My revisions are more like full rewrites most of the time.

Hence the growing conflict for me. Do I stick to my new, but still aggressive publishing schedule, or do I allow the planned release dates to slide to make sure each book can be the best possible?

The importance of that question became clear when I was speaking with another author at the amazing Superstars of Writing Seminar. I was explaining my goal of releasing books as fast as possible, along with my plans for how many books I’d release each year. He simply said, “I don’t hear you talking much about how you want every book to be better than the last.”

Oops.

Of course I wanted that, but he was right – it wasn’t in my goals. Time to re-think and re-commit to something I really believe in my heart. Readers deserve the very best I can give. Sure, they might clamor for the next book as fast as possible, but they’re willing to wait a little longer for the book to be done right.

Last year, I did not meet my publishing goals. I planned to release a book in the springtime, but edits turned into a full rewrite. Then I had to set that mostly-finished new draft aside to write Affinity for War – book four of the Petralist. I had set the goal to release that one by Christmas, but again rewrites took longer than planned. The book is nearly done, and it’ll be released in March, but for a while I was really stressed about the fact that I might missed my planned date.

I had to remember that the book has to be ready and it’s worth the time to get it right. So it’ll be right, and it’ll be amazing, and fans will love it.

And in 2018, one of my goals is to figure out how to make my first drafts better so I don’t need such heavy re-writes in revisions. That will help everyone.

About the Author: Frank Morin

Frank Morin loves good stories in every form. When not writing or trying to keep up with his active family, he’s often found hiking, camping, Scuba diving, or enjoying other outdoor activities. For updates on upcoming releases of his popular Petralist YA fantasy novels, or his fast-paced Facetakers Urban Fantasy/Historical thrillers, check his website: www.frankmorin.org

Not Enough Time in the Day

December 7, 2017

Frank Morin

Balancing Acts Frank Morin Goals No Comments

2017 is almost over. This year went by way too fast. I wish each month had a couple more weeks in it.

I love setting goals. Goals motivate me to work harder and stay focused. This year I set a lot of writing goals, and there’s a chance I over-estimated how much I could accomplish. Or maybe I underestimated how long each project would take.

Or both.

I achieved some goals, for sure. I worked hard, and hopefully built momentum that I can capitalize on through the next year. Did I Hit all of them, though? Not quite.

The BIG goal for the year was to release two major novels this year. Did not happen. Several factors contributed, including a much heavier day-job schedule than anticipated that cut into writing time, as well as enormous first drafts of both of those novels that weren’t as on-target as I expected them to be. That required heavy rewriting, which takes a lot of time.

I write big books. Both of the novels I worked on this year were pushing 200,000 words at times. One of the challenges is to cut them down to about 160k or so for release, but first I need to get all the major framework and plumbing working properly, then I can worry about trim and finish work. One book was the final chapter in my Facetakers urban fantasy series, but that novel had to be almost entirely rewritten. I had hoped to release it in May, but ran out of time. I had deadlines that I couldn’t miss for my fourth Petralist YA fantasy book, so the mostly-completed 2nd draft has been on the shelf for a few months. Not enough time in the day.

That Petralist book – Affinity for War is nearly done though! First draft ran long (big surprise). Joshua Essoe, my editor, told me it took the title as the #1 longest book he’s ever edited. The #2 slot was Rune Warrior, also mine, released last year. Edits are going very well, but again taking longer than expected. I had hoped the book would be released this month for Christmas, but it’s going to bleed over into early next year. I chose to make it the best possible book I can, even though that means missing my target release date by a couple of months, but that’s better than sacrificing quality to hit the target.

The year wasn’t just misses, though. I served as president of the Fictorians, which has been an honor. I attended a couple different conventions, and even shared a vendor table with the amazing Gama Martinez (his books are awesome) at SLC comicon. I began learning about marketing, with much more learning still needed, and I took a trip to Italy to research my last Facetakers book! Check out this photo of San Marino. It’s a tiny little nation entirely embedded within Italy. Who knew?

This year I also wrote another novella in the Petralist world. When Torcs Fly should be released by the end of this month (official announcement coming soon!). It’s the hilarious tale of how Tomas and Cameron, two comic supporting characters in the series, first joined the elite special-forces company and had their first misadventure together. It will be super fun.

I also started the process of getting Set in Stone produced as an audiobook! I’ve wanted to do this for over a year, but there was not enough time in the day. I finally just started the process, even though I didn’t have time. I’m glad I did. Joshua Story is the narrator, and he’s amazing. I will begin reviewing chapters this week, and we should have the audiobook out very soon (again – official announcement coming soon!).

So I accomplished a lot, had a blast writing some amazing stories that will be released soon, and learned some lessons on time management and estimating my work. I’ve got big goals for 2018, so hopefully I’ll do a better job planning it out.

Every day, I plan to write as much as I can, but not forget that balance is important. Time with family, my day job, service in my church youth group, and Sleep! are all necessary too. It may feel like there’s not enough time in the day, but I still try to enjoy the journey.

About the Author: Frank Morin

Don’t Forget to Breathe

November 27, 2017

Frank Morin

The Writing Life No Comments

I love Thanksgiving. There is much to be thankful for, and spending time with family is always time well spent.

The holiday does tend to interrupt the flow of writing time, but as we roll into this work week right after the holiday, it’s a great time to take a deep breath and reflect on where we’re at.

NaNo is nearly over. At this point, we’ve either hit the goal and won (Yay!), are on track to finish this week (well done!), or realize we won’t make it (the effort is not wasted!). But the day after NaNo is the first day of December, and that’s a writing day too. We can build on the momentum started in November and figure out what to do next.

Did we finish a story? Awesome. No matter how many stories I finish, that moment when I type END carries a sense of accomplishment unmatched by many other things. Of course, after standing and raising hands in the air in victory, the next step is to get back to work. A finished story needs to be edited, shared with beta readers, and a plan for publication finalized. Enjoy the milestone, and keep working it. The worst thing to do is to set the story aside and never do anything with it.

Did we make a lot of progress in a larger story that’s still not done? Excellent. Keep plugging away at it. After a concentrated writing effort, it’s often worth reviewing the plan for the story and making sure we’re still on track. Tweaking that plan may be necessary, and our writing schedule into the next month will probably have to change, but that doesn’t change the goal to get the story done. Keep writing.

Did we fail? If so, why? Did we have too many unexpected interruptions? Health issues? Did the story lose momentum? Did we realize that we didn’t have a clear enough plan, or that the story we thought we were telling wasn’t really the story that needs to be told?

Any of those reasons could derail a NaNo effort, but not the eventual success of the story. Every failure is an opportunity to learn and grow. If we can identify what went wrong, we can fix it so next time it doesn’t go wrong. So don’t get depressed, get determined.

And no matter where you are, don’t forget to breathe.

And keep writing!

Writing Stories – One Layer at a Time

November 16, 2017

Frank Morin

Frank Morin Ideas & Plotting The Writing Process No Comments

I love in Shrek when he tells Donkey that ogres are like onions. They have layers. Even though Donkey suggests layered cake would be a better image, the onion analogy really works.

Books can be like ogres, onions, or cake, depending on the day and how your current scene is going. They’ve got lots of layers, and sometimes discovering a new layer can dramatically affect how we approach a work in progress.

Diving deep into a new novel during a focused writing burst like Nano can really help the story come alive in ways impossible to do when we’re outlining or planning or just writing a chapter a week. When we get deep into the zone, we can see things about the story we might have never imagined. We peel back the outer layers of plot, setting, and outer conflict to some of the deeper layers of motivation, inner struggle, and world view of our characters that shape their decisions and how they react to the world.

Those moments of discovery are awesome for both pantsers and plotters, and they’re key to ensuring that a story is deepened as well as broadened. We need to feel the heart of a story and make sure all of those layers align. Until we know those layers and make sure they build upon each other in a solid, optimized way, there’s at least one more draft that still needs to be done.

I’ve learned the hard way that even when I thoroughly outline a story, I don’t really know that story until I’ve worked through all those layers. I might write a huge 200,000 word draft that only touches on the outer layers. It’s not until I begin working edits and diving deeper that the true story emerges. Sometimes that requires some pretty substantial rewrites, but that’s a necessary price to pay for producing a professional quality story. If we quit before that, we’ve cheated the story and ourselves.

Here are a few things to ask yourself about your story to check your progress and make sure you haven’t missed any important layers:

Is your plot finished? Do you have a solid arc, including your plot points? Do you know the ending?
Is your setting well defined? Are the locations where scenes take place fleshed out with sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch? Is your blocking clear and easy for readers to follow?
Is your main protagonist’s challenge clearly defined, with a clear antagonistic force in place, with rising stakes.
Do you know what motivates your protagonist? Your antagonist? Other main characters? Why do they see the world the way they do, and are they open to changing that world view, learning, and growing, or are they fixed, closed-minded, and set in their ways?
What is your protagonist’s inner struggle?
What do other characters struggle with? How do they handle stress? How do they handle change?

If you can answer all of those questions with confidence, you’re well on your way. Keep charging ahead to the end. If you’re not sure, take a few minutes to think about these layers and consider how answering them might add depth and meaning to your story.

About the Author: Frank Morin