Wordsmiths of Melton

Great afternoon with the Wordsmiths of Melton. It was good to receive everyone's critiques, and share critiquing their stories too.

Thanks guys.

When I work out how to link this blog with theirs I will put up the links.

Terry L Probert

Les Gillespies Gold

Les Gillespies Gold


This is the title of my new work and is the second in a trillogy that started with Kundela.


Thanks to help from the Wordsmiths of Melton, and our Novel writing sessions by Merlene Fawdry, I have started building the frame work for this next book.


The planing elements are built around a rough draft of the plot, coupled with an outline. For this work, I have decided to use character charts to keep the players consistant, and not have to search the work to remember how I have described them previously. This will speed up the writing of the manuscript. I am also using a storyboard technique and aligning this with a time line to keep the flow of the story consistant..


I will post a Synopsis in the next couple of weeks, the first manuscript is taking some time to rewrite and edit at the moment and a new work seems to salve the creative urges at present.


Thanks to all for their encouragement.


Terry L Probert

The End

The final two words of the manuscript took 347 pages and over 112600 words to acheive but I'm finally there.

A big rewrite is in order, but not right away. I want some fresh air first.

Characters can be so anoying.

Merlene's comment below has prompted me to slap everyone of the characters, and put them back in their place. It's a tough love situation we are in here, I told them. They can appear in the second and third books of the Gillespie family's trillogy, but for now the important thing is to sit quietly, while I finish the first book.

I need to be strong during the rewrite and cut their influence back a bit, and not allow them to take over the novel, by edging others into the background. Following a guideline was the ony way I could keep the story moving forward and stay aligned with the plot.

For those who have helped with comments and critiques thank you. I hope that you will reconise your recomendations when the work is finished.

This little distraction I am on now is really me just pumping up my own tyres, therefore I had better get stuck in, and finish it.

Terry L Probert

Nearing the end now

It is One fourty Five in the afternoon, and I am nearing the last of the novel. It will take two short chapters to resolve and I have to resist the temptation to expand the story further. While it feels good to be at the end there is some sadness that the characters I have grown to know will cease evolving.

Maybe they contain within them, the beginings of a trilogy.

Time for lunch and then get back into it.

Updated Info

Today I have changed the title of this page to make it easier for readers to find.

Progress on my novel Kundela is strong and I have gained a lot of writing assistance by attending the Wordsmiths of Melton. Another initiative of this group is a Novel Writing Workshop, which is presented by Merlene Fawdry. Merlene has enhanced a sense of accomplishment in each member of our group through her encouragement and willingness to pass on knowledge.

I recommend any emerging writer to take a look at her website and access her well of knowledge and ideas.

Click here for Merlene's website: 

http://merlenefawdry.blogspot.com.au/

Today marks the 100,000 word milestone in my novel Kundela. this means that I am nearing completion and while my characters are fighting for space in the story, I have to remain focused and work to the outline.


I expect that I will be ready to take my manuscript into first draft after the week end. so my goal for this week is to complete the last two chapters.


I have included a brief synopsis below:


KUNDELA                    Ancient bone of revenge

Synopsis

Kundela is a murder mystery set in the Finders ranges of South Australia. The year is 2009, it is late spring and the country is wilting from a seven-year drought. Our main characters the Gillespie family have lived on Warooka’s Well for three generations. The time line of events is short and the novel’s plot evolves over less than a six-month period.

Joe Gillespie finds a dead steer, it’s been clay-panned, (butchered on its skin) the animal was a favourite and in prime condition. It is not the first time that Joe has found remains of similar cattle thefts this year. However this event triggers a chain of events that introduce a few ghosts from the past, causing the Gillespies to re-evaluate their farming business and their lives.

The mystery unfolds as Joe and his wife Laura arrive home from a weekend in town to find their home and outbuildings supposedly trashed by a bikie gang.

They agree to search for the gang’s location before reporting the incident to police. Joe and Laura find their camp at Corroboree Bend in the Horseshoe, a geographical phenomena with only one entry point. From the safety of their lookout above the camp, they spy a young woman. She is naked, tied to a big Harley motorcycle, and about to be raped by a gang member, Joe and Laura are obliged to take action and rescue her.

At Police Headquarters in Adelaide, Joe learns someone other than the bikies have ruined his property. Their interview turns nasty as the abduction case against the bikies falls apart when the young woman dies. The police turn on them, and charge the couple with causing criminal damage.

Knowing his family is in danger, Joe breaks the Official Secrets Act by revealing his past to police.

 
Returning home, Joe finds his prized mob of cattle poisoned; they litter the creek and low scrub of the well paddock. He is puzzled. This is the place where he had found the clay-panned beast a week earlier. Angry, he races to the homestead only to find more poisoned animals, and even more devastation. Joe notices a flash of reflected light from a ridge above the homestead, and realises that he has driven into a trap. The story continues as he tries to out run his pursuers

The police suspect him of murdering his pursuers, and grill Joe again. He teams up with a Senior Constable from the Stock Squad and they set about capturing the fourth member of group targeting him. While discovering why this evil has visited their family, the Gillespies uncover uncomfortable secrets from their past.

 

Two stories of love wind though the text, the Love shared by Joe and Laura, along with some intimate moments shared by the other characters, and love of the land on where they live, and loyalty linking the people in Joe and Laura’s life together.

The story has a complex group of main characters and although a complete fiction has a sense of probability.