Karavansara

East of Constantinople, West of Shanghai

Category Archives: Writing


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Writing on spec – the end (?)

And so it’s done.
3500 words, ten scenes.
From open call to final draft in 48 hours.
Not bad at all, if I do say so myself.
I still need a title1 and a final revision (is it possible to turn up the volume a little on the action scenes and make the finale even more dark? Maybe add 100 good words cutting 10 useless ones?)
But I’ll send it along to the editor before midnight anyway.

Will it sell?
Who knows.
It was well worth the try anyway.

rainbow-dwg-4-names

In the meantime, I have learned that the turret in a submarine is called the sail of the sub, and it comes with two sail fins – the structure is also known as conning tower.
And in old subs, the mess was between the crew quarters and the control room – the officers’ rooms being further forward.
Yes, I love doing research for my stories (and improve my English).

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Writing on spec – further developments

checkered-flag-flippedAnd so we got to 3000 words and a total of just ten scenes, nice and compact.
Not bad at all.
Granted, the writing is a little bit drab here and there, and I’ll have to find a way to better characterize two characters… but I have a full day to set it straight.
All in all, it’s been a fun run.
Tomorrow, revision and delivery.

And now, as a prize – I promised myself an ebook!


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Writing on spec – developments

keepcalmToday:
. Viable idea sketched.
. Research done – details checked out.
. Story outlined.
. Scrivener file set up.
. Three scenes (roughly 600 words) written out of the thirteen scenes planned (might become fifteen for structural purposes).
Tomorrow – first draft finished by sundown.
Sunday – revision, proofing and delivery.

I must admit this writing-on-a-tight-schedule thing might become sort of fun, in the long run.
With a little luck, I might be able to deliver the finished story almost one day before the closing of the deadline.
And even should it not work out, it’s great exercise.


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Two voices

flag_ita_engOne thing I’ve mentioned already, I think, is how, writing in both Italian and English, my writing changes.
Clearly, the two languages syntaxes are different, but it’s also my way of building phrases, and the rhythm of the phrases.
The dialogues change, the interplay between characters.
It’s not like I’m two different writers but, well, almost.
It’s clearly two different voices I’m dealing with – voices that go deeper than the tone and language of the individual stories. Continue reading →