Raev Gray's Blog

This summer has been killer. I've written 40,000 words of On a Twisted Tree so far, but my progress has been either crazy or nothing at all. I try to schedule time every day to write, but some days it just isn't possible–too much work to do. My online classes started on the 6th, so if it's possible, I'm even busier now than I was when I was in school. I'm packing, etc. etc. etc. excuses. I also haven't co-written in a couple of months, which is just killing me, but I'm/we're both busy as...

I'd been wanting to write one particular scene in On a Twisted Tree for a while. It's a really tough, really raw scene, so I put it off for a while as it developed in my mind. I finally sat down to write part of it last night and ended up doing the whole thing. It involves Lindsay coming across his brother, Cary, after he's been paralyzed in a hunting accident. (No spoilers there, really.) It's really gelled his character for me, and gelled their relationship.

Yikes. That was tough. The...

This new WIP, which I've tentatively titled On a Twisted Tree, is a first for me in a lot of ways. It marks the first time I've written about a place I'm intimately familiar with (I grew up in the area) and references places I pass by every day–in fact, part of the story takes place in my apartment. It's also the first time I've written a protagonist with a disability, and the first time I've really dealt with the kind of people I grew up with, who are, in a word, unapologetic rednecks...

I make no secret that I'm largely a pantser when it comes to a lot of aspects of writing. When it comes to world building, though, I'm definitely a planner. I've done the top-down method (creating a whole world and then narrowing it down to a more specific setting to start with) and the bottom-up method (starting with a certain culture/setting/group and building outward), and the sideways-and-upside-down method. I've also tried pantsing and building the world as I go along and figure out...

I crossed the 10k threshold with New WIP just now. Pacing-wise, it's actually going pretty well already, not fraught with pacing issues from the beginning the way some (a lot) of my stories are. I'm having fun dropping little Southern jokes about Miracle Whip and iced tea.

People have been giving me some really excellent ideas for the story left and right.  It's awesome to have friends who are not only creative, but are knowledgeable in my areas of concern.  As I write, I'm getting good...

I expect the FBI to come knocking down my door any day now. Periodically I build what is doubtlessly a bizarre FBI file by researching things like sniper rifles and BDSM, or assault rifle modifications and paraplegic sex on the same day. Sometimes in different tabs of the same window.

If my three years of grad school were useful for anything, it was learning how to research effectively. I can now tell you what junk food was available in 1970, what downtown Cleveland next to the river looked...

For the new UF WIP, which will be a serial novel, I'm writing something that's significantly more mythology-and-magic based than I've ever done before. Most of my UF happens to be about magical people–magic will play a bigger and more fantastic role in this story. Necessarily, I think. It needs to be very plotty and have clear episodes without losing the overarching story, so I'm thinking bigger in scope. I've also kind always wanted to challenge myself a "save the world" plot (I don't do...

Today I made substantial progress on Touched. I'm kind of amazed–a couple thousand words added in as transition, and I was able to put several thousand more back in from the original manuscript. I'm now almost at 50k. There's more heavy rewriting ahead, but I'm confident now that I can do it. I'm taking a break for a day or so to consider my next move, which is how two characters will react to each other when being reunited after a very long time.

Aleks and I haven't gotten much else done. We ...

Congratulations to deb830! Send me your snail mail address at raev . gray at gmail, and I'll get your copy in the mail. I also owe a copy to Amora from Amora's Place, which I'll get out tomorrow (sorry for the delay, hon!).

It's been crazy around here. On Tuesday the 11th, I got news that I'll be moving to Minnesota to take a job teaching at a community college, and on Thursday, I got a job teaching ESL (English as a Second Language) students here for the summer. On Friday, I graduated with...

Book news

We've been getting some truly awesome reviews on Goodreads for "Test of Faith." Not saying this to brag–by awesome I mean, I'm in awe at how much people like it. I really couldn't have asked for a better first publication. I'm damn proud of it.

One more awesome thing to look forward to: the release of Blood Run Cold on Monday! I imagine it will be released via Smashwords a little early, so stay posted for links. This is the first work Aleks and I worked on together, so it's been a...