A Community of Writers Who Use The Marshall Plan®
A new member's introduction
I've been a member of this site for a few days but haven't had time to formally introduce myself and describe my current project. Time to take advantage of a self-imposed break at the office.
About Me:
I'm 23 years old and live in a suburb of Baton Rouge, Louisiana with my wife (married in July 2008 after six years). In May 2008, I earned a B.A. in English at Louisiana State University and took a job as a proposal writer for a Homeland Security/Emergency Management/IT contracting firm. I've dabbled in writing since elementary school, but I wasn’t proactive about improving my skills until college.
I bought The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing when I was a freshman in high school. In typical ADD fashion, I read about 20 pages of the book, absorbed only the concept of making an outline, and jumped into writing a Sci-Fi novel using a 40-section outline consisting of a few sentences of description per section. I quickly abandoned the project (and many subsequent projects) and put the book in a drawer. Nearly 10 years later, here I am, giving it another try. I'm better equipped having read the entire book this time, plus The Marshall Plan for Getting Your Novel Published and -- after yesterday's trip to the library -- Missing Marlene.
Publishing Credits:
- I've worked for a local weekly entertainment/news publication for the past four years. The editorial content is mostly produced and managed by college students and 20-somethings, but the nuts and bolts are held in by a publisher who also owns two other magazines, an accountant, and a staff of graphic design specialists, marketing interns, and ad salespeople. I was the editor-in-chief for a couple of years before stepping aside for my new job as a proposal writer. I've written news and entertainment features, a weekly technology column where I reviewed gadgets and Web sites, and a relationship advice column.
- I have a book about college relationships. It was a short-lived endeavor that was published using a print-on-demand service and marketed locally through the publication as a supplement to my column.
- I worked for a small subscription-based weekly electronic publication for two years as a reporter/reviewer and an assistant editor (or "assistant to the editor"). The publication covers the digital media industry (online video, music, networking, broadband, portable media players, social networking, etc.) and is read by company executives rather than consumers. Steve Jobs is one of the subscribers.
- I've had a few articles published in two other local monthlies that are now defunct (R.I.P., print media).
For a 23-year-old, I feel like I have a good resume of tangible writing experience; unfortunately, none of it is in fiction. The jobs and projects listed above were done alongside a full-time school schedule, so that didn't leave much time for fiction writing, let alone publishable fiction writing.
My Project:
I’m working on a sci-fi novel with elements of humor, set in a somewhat dystopic not-so-distant future. A world-renowned technology journalist and product reviewer inadvertently causes a global crisis when he starts taking corporate bribes to pay off a blackmailer who threatens to go public about a past extramarital affair.
To be more specific, Adam, the lead, reviews robots that are built to perform specific consumer-focused services (maid, nanny, friendship, etc). Just as companies today compete in the laptop and MP3-player markets, corporations and small businesses alike are competing in the hardware and software sides of consumer robotics. The crisis begins when Adam learns that a woman he had an affair with just gave birth to his child, and the mother is expecting quite a hefty payoff. To protect his career and his family, Adam resorts to taking bribes from an underdog robot company in exchange for more coverage and positive reviews. This starts a chain of events that lead to a physical war between humans and the many competing brands of robots.
I do feel concerned that the man-versus-robots subgenre is no longer perceived as original and therefore not marketable unless it's a sequel/prequel to an existing story. My goal is to offer something unique with my story: multiple companies, a robot war controlled by man rather than errant, self-aware robots, and a human focus rather than a science- or military-centric story. But I wonder if that’s even unique.
Of course, with my lead being a technology writer, I plan to incorporate some of my experiences with commercial-related "journalism" and dealing with companies' PR reps, advertising conflicts, the tyrannical ad sales department, and publishers with an agenda.
I'm still in the plotting process. All my section sheets are filled out, but I'm still having problems with a few things, mainly what I posted about in the forum on this site a couple of days ago. I'm also struggling with deciding what to reveal to the reader and what to keep to myself until later -- and with all these VP characters having their own secret agendas, how am I supposed to withhold some of that information from the reader?
If you actually read all of this post, I commend and thank you. I plan to use this blog to document my progress as I write this novel and FINISH it. Wish me luck.
About Me:
I'm 23 years old and live in a suburb of Baton Rouge, Louisiana with my wife (married in July 2008 after six years). In May 2008, I earned a B.A. in English at Louisiana State University and took a job as a proposal writer for a Homeland Security/Emergency Management/IT contracting firm. I've dabbled in writing since elementary school, but I wasn’t proactive about improving my skills until college.
I bought The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing when I was a freshman in high school. In typical ADD fashion, I read about 20 pages of the book, absorbed only the concept of making an outline, and jumped into writing a Sci-Fi novel using a 40-section outline consisting of a few sentences of description per section. I quickly abandoned the project (and many subsequent projects) and put the book in a drawer. Nearly 10 years later, here I am, giving it another try. I'm better equipped having read the entire book this time, plus The Marshall Plan for Getting Your Novel Published and -- after yesterday's trip to the library -- Missing Marlene.
Publishing Credits:
- I've worked for a local weekly entertainment/news publication for the past four years. The editorial content is mostly produced and managed by college students and 20-somethings, but the nuts and bolts are held in by a publisher who also owns two other magazines, an accountant, and a staff of graphic design specialists, marketing interns, and ad salespeople. I was the editor-in-chief for a couple of years before stepping aside for my new job as a proposal writer. I've written news and entertainment features, a weekly technology column where I reviewed gadgets and Web sites, and a relationship advice column.
- I have a book about college relationships. It was a short-lived endeavor that was published using a print-on-demand service and marketed locally through the publication as a supplement to my column.
- I worked for a small subscription-based weekly electronic publication for two years as a reporter/reviewer and an assistant editor (or "assistant to the editor"). The publication covers the digital media industry (online video, music, networking, broadband, portable media players, social networking, etc.) and is read by company executives rather than consumers. Steve Jobs is one of the subscribers.
- I've had a few articles published in two other local monthlies that are now defunct (R.I.P., print media).
For a 23-year-old, I feel like I have a good resume of tangible writing experience; unfortunately, none of it is in fiction. The jobs and projects listed above were done alongside a full-time school schedule, so that didn't leave much time for fiction writing, let alone publishable fiction writing.
My Project:
I’m working on a sci-fi novel with elements of humor, set in a somewhat dystopic not-so-distant future. A world-renowned technology journalist and product reviewer inadvertently causes a global crisis when he starts taking corporate bribes to pay off a blackmailer who threatens to go public about a past extramarital affair.
To be more specific, Adam, the lead, reviews robots that are built to perform specific consumer-focused services (maid, nanny, friendship, etc). Just as companies today compete in the laptop and MP3-player markets, corporations and small businesses alike are competing in the hardware and software sides of consumer robotics. The crisis begins when Adam learns that a woman he had an affair with just gave birth to his child, and the mother is expecting quite a hefty payoff. To protect his career and his family, Adam resorts to taking bribes from an underdog robot company in exchange for more coverage and positive reviews. This starts a chain of events that lead to a physical war between humans and the many competing brands of robots.
I do feel concerned that the man-versus-robots subgenre is no longer perceived as original and therefore not marketable unless it's a sequel/prequel to an existing story. My goal is to offer something unique with my story: multiple companies, a robot war controlled by man rather than errant, self-aware robots, and a human focus rather than a science- or military-centric story. But I wonder if that’s even unique.
Of course, with my lead being a technology writer, I plan to incorporate some of my experiences with commercial-related "journalism" and dealing with companies' PR reps, advertising conflicts, the tyrannical ad sales department, and publishers with an agenda.
I'm still in the plotting process. All my section sheets are filled out, but I'm still having problems with a few things, mainly what I posted about in the forum on this site a couple of days ago. I'm also struggling with deciding what to reveal to the reader and what to keep to myself until later -- and with all these VP characters having their own secret agendas, how am I supposed to withhold some of that information from the reader?
If you actually read all of this post, I commend and thank you. I plan to use this blog to document my progress as I write this novel and FINISH it. Wish me luck.
Comment
Events
© 2010 Created by Evan Marshall
You need to be a member of The Marshall Planet to add comments!
Join this Ning Network