The Writer’s Journey
(A Twittorial History of the Climax & Conclusion of ARISEN)
"I seen a million writers with talent. It means nothing. It's work, you gotta work, do the f*&^ing work." - @SPressfield, THE KNOWLEDGE
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) December 7, 2016
"Finish your book! Stop f'ing around! And don't tell me you can't do it without your cat. Write the sonofabitch!" @SPressfield THE KNOWLEDGE
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) December 8, 2016
"We can do this the hard way
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) December 14, 2016
Paint blood on the floor
It's too late, you can't stop the swarm."#Arisen13https://t.co/WzRtAMHl37
"Am I brave enough?
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) January 5, 2017
Am I strong enough?
To push away my fear
To stand where I'm afraid"#Arisen13https://t.co/seF2rVtAmv
"…Act 3, you get 'em down again. Or not. It's okay if they die in the tree. As long as they die trying." - Aaron Sorkin
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) January 11, 2017
"Even when you hit a home run, you are obligated to round the bases and touch home plate. You are obligated to finish.” - Aaron Sorkin
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) January 12, 2017
After 12 days flat on ass w/Plague, I'm back, baby!! I freaking love hex-bar deadlifts. And story design!https://t.co/z6gJXRV0GF#Arisen13
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) January 16, 2017
Starting to sound like series theme song:
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) January 17, 2017
"Shine your light
Push the enemy back
When you're under attack…"https://t.co/Prjy3ElMTE#Arisen13
“For he does his work alone and if he is a good enough writer he must face eternity, or the lack of it, each day.” - Hemingway
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) January 19, 2017
“We will face the odds against us
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) January 19, 2017
And run into the fear we run from
It has begun.”#Arisen13https://t.co/Onx7WCmcHN
"When you turn pro, your life gets very simple. Externals became superfluous. In the end [Musashi] didn’t even need a sword." - @SPressfield
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) January 22, 2017
Each character action must be motivated & every event causal - BUT, also have to meet Puppetmaster's (my) needs. Story design in a nutshell.
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) January 23, 2017
If only! But, actually, everything - all story elements - coming together AMAZINGLY well for endgame of the series. Just - wow!!! #Arisen13 pic.twitter.com/mHwE0KwUHa
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) January 26, 2017
“Our stories have the power to heal, to make the world new again, to give people metaphors [to] understand their own lives.” - C. Vogler
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) January 27, 2017
“Shamans, like many writers, are prepared for their work by enduring terrible ordeals. They're chewed by a lion or mauled by a bear.” Vogler
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) January 29, 2017
Pure, intensive story design is so cognitively crushing, the urge to procrastinate is 500x vs. just writing. Antisocial kicks in now, yo… pic.twitter.com/KPbd62vCMU
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) January 30, 2017
“Great storytellers have sought the limits of human experience. The depths and breadths of human nature know no limits.” - Robert McKee
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) January 30, 2017
“Theme. Theme is everything.” - Steven Pressfield (@SPressfield)
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) February 3, 2017
https://t.co/8ZyEiMdO3n
Feeling pretty good. Know what I’m doing now. Complex and ambitious as hell. But all this just might work…#Arisen13https://t.co/7ee11qApP3
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) February 3, 2017
Now Dr. Park instructs me: supporting two shore missions, completing vaccine to save world, shotgun wound - and I'm daunted by my tasks! Ha!
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) February 6, 2017
“Why is so much of our life spent inside stories? We seek an answer to the ageless question: How should a human being lead his life?” -McKee
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) February 11, 2017
“Story isn't a flight from reality but a search for reality, our best effort to make sense out of the anarchy of existence.” - Robert McKee
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) February 12, 2017
“First requisite for success is ability to apply your physical & mental energies to one problem incessantly without growing weary.” - Edison
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) February 12, 2017
“A great work is a living metaphor that says, Life is like THIS… making clear the problems all generations must solve to be human.” - McKee
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) February 13, 2017
“75% or more of a writer's labor goes into designing story.” - McKee
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) February 13, 2017
Yeah and it freaking SUCKS, dude! Hate it! Too hard! No choice. DAMMIT.
“Resistance is the enemy. The battle is inside our own heads.” - @SPressfield
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) February 13, 2017
“Pure story talent is rare. The material of literary talent is words; the material of story talent is LIFE ITSELF.” - Robert McKee
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) February 14, 2017
I take it back: writing a novel is like trying to solve a puzzle, while cutting the pieces, and painting picture on front - in a tornado…
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) February 14, 2017
“For of all the reasons for wanting to write, the only one that nurtures us through time is love of the work itself.” - Robert McKee
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) February 16, 2017
2017 makes it clear: distraction is ABSOLUTELY LETHAL. Everything systematized - ideally not one non-story decision from waking until sleep.
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) February 16, 2017
“I don't care where the enemies are
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) February 16, 2017
Can't be stopped, all I know: go hard
Won't forget how I got this far”https://t.co/Bsitpv6Ur3#Arisen13
“Life is about the ultimate questions of finding love and self-worth, of bringing serenity to inner chaos, of time running out.” - R. McKee
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) February 17, 2017
Finally, just a regular day: wrote & run. All I ask, or need. Privilege I won't take for granted. Uncoincidentally, story coming together. 😎
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) February 17, 2017
“We’re already in the perfect place: a moment filled with beauty and wonder, a life filled with untapped love and compassion.” - Leo Babauta
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) February 18, 2017
“The physics of effective storytelling are always waiting either to lift you up or carry your manuscript out on a stretcher.” - Larry Brooks
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) February 20, 2017
“As writers & artists, we wake up with [Resistance/self-sabotage] every morning. It never goes away. It never gets any easier.” @SPressfield
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) February 20, 2017
“Everything around me… DIIIEEESSS!!!”
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) February 21, 2017
(Little connection to ARISEN but that one line - but, oh, the line!)https://t.co/T95hM3tg8m#Arisen13
I don't have to feel like it - I just have to do it.#running #writing#Arisen13https://t.co/lvSza0Zp1Z
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) February 22, 2017
“I’m gonna get it right this time”
“First learn to be a craftsman; it won't keep you from being a genius.” - Delacroix pic.twitter.com/N4FsuUZUdV
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) February 27, 2017
The BLANK PAGE is warm sand in your toes & cool breezes in hair. Try facing the BLANK BEAT SHEET on Monday morning… !#storydesign#Arisen13
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) February 28, 2017
“Nothing is easy. The temptation to take the easy road is always there. But discipline is paramount to ultimate success.” - @jockowillink
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) March 1, 2017
How I Tackle Story Design, on Dispatch from the Razor's Edge https://t.co/Q5xjPvZH7S pic.twitter.com/cVyaI4aqP7
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) March 4, 2017
Today not so much struggle as battle - bloody, but victorious.
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) March 6, 2017
“Pressure is building
The struggle begins…”https://t.co/oLnXZJP3Do#Arisen13
Tough day, but great material in the end.
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) March 6, 2017
(Two words: Juice's armed autonomous robot army…)#Arisen13
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) March 8, 2017
“I navigate the endless rise and fall
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) March 8, 2017
You push my back against the wall
When I attack I'm taking all”https://t.co/7oTy9Y1Vt8 #Arisen13
Pred & Juice's last mission together now destiny. Only one thing certain - both are going home, or neither are… The Brotherhood. #Arisen13
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) March 8, 2017
I've been waiting over six months to hear RC Bray @audbks read the chapter title, "Holy F%^*ing Sh^#". Today's the day. Didn't disappoint. 😂
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) March 13, 2017
“Humans don't mind hardship, in fact they thrive on it; what they mind is not feeling necessary.” - @SebastianJunger, TRIBE
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) March 13, 2017
Well, folks, it's official: Books 13&14 MORE COMPLEX than 11&12. 100 storylines, and a cast of thousands, all converging and resolving. Ah!!
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) March 14, 2017
#truth from @michaelstephenf posted to the team info board. @theZuluAlpha #arisenseries pic.twitter.com/lul2AytazO
— David Wilson (@davidwilson001) March 14, 2017
5 years/16 books later, designing climactic battle sequence of whole series, finally learn how to use #Scrivener properly… Dammit. #Arisen13
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) March 17, 2017
Pretty much the secret to life, from former SEAL Task Unit commander in Ramadi. https://t.co/sCxk3iDo4W
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) March 19, 2017
Luckily, me and my characters - Alpha, Fick, Jameson, Wesley - share the same problem: Do we have the strength to see it through to the end?
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) March 21, 2017
“If knocked down, I will get back up, every time… I am never out of the fight.” - from the Navy SEAL Ethos
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) March 22, 2017
RSI back? Good. It means I'm typing a lot; plus I look like a badass in this thing. thx @jockowillink (oh - spoilers on screen! don't look) pic.twitter.com/vVvuaRnXTN
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) March 27, 2017
“The zombies come out at night…
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) March 31, 2017
Full of love, full of light, full of fight
'Cause I'm back from the dead tonight”https://t.co/as2NcbHuBH
On days like today, when real-time research turns up priceless & hilarious stuff like this, I do like my job. :) Thanks (again!), @globesec. pic.twitter.com/2P5uzYGv55
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) March 31, 2017
“The years have taught me one skill: how to be miserable. I know how to shut up and keep humping.” - Steven Pressfield
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) April 3, 2017
“Don’t quit. Never quit no matter what. Keep going until someone tells you to sit down. Keep going as long as you’re able to move.” EL Haney
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) April 5, 2017
“Resistance ratchets itself to fever pitch as we approach the finish of any project. Only one response is possible. Dig deep.” @SPressfield
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) April 6, 2017
“You’re not alone. Everybody faces massive Resistance toward the end. That moment of horror always rears its ugly head.” - @SPressfield
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) April 6, 2017
I got to the end: it's a draft treatment, and needs work… but I've broken the story, all the way to the end. The end of the whole series.
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) April 6, 2017
I honestly have no idea how I ever did this. (Wrote a book.) Doesn't really seem possible, at least at this level of complexity…
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) April 11, 2017
“There's a fire in the sky
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) April 11, 2017
Put down your guns, nowhere to run
We're all gonna die…
Nobody gets out alive”#Arisen13https://t.co/6QlUrJG7CS
Act Two a complete disaster zone. But, hey, Act Two's always the sockmucker. Just the terrain. Climax/Final Battle might work. #Arisen13
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) April 12, 2017
“The writer, poor fellow, must be allowed to finish up somehow, he has his living to get like anyone else.” EM Forster, Aspects of the Novel
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) April 12, 2017
“There are far more failures in the world due to a collapse of will than there ever will be from conclusive external events.” - @RyanHoliday
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) April 14, 2017
IT GOT EASY! (Starting beat cards from fleshed-out step outline.) I can look at it! It works, it flows! Didn't see that coming… #storydesign
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) April 14, 2017
Back in my very favorite workspace. Weirdly, proving hyper-productive (despite 1st-night distractions of tapas, mojitos, & great friends. 😊) pic.twitter.com/R19PaKPjZa
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) April 18, 2017
“The pro looks & sees difficulty, hardship, tribulation. She accepts it. She is an artist. She is a lion” Pressfield https://t.co/VafRih2nyT
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) April 18, 2017
Story design 'done' - 266 individual beats. I might just survive this after all (despite wanting to cry every day). Only way out is through… pic.twitter.com/3JHv1zXvmg
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) April 26, 2017
It's so thoroughly kicked my ass, it's been hard to see. But now, I think, maybe: some AMAZING story here. Last ARISEN could be best ARISEN.
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) April 27, 2017
Man, wish I could share all of Fick's lines from end of series. Don't want to ruin it. Suffice to say MGySgt Fick fans are in for a treat. 😂
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) April 27, 2017
“The opposite of ‘kill your darlings’ is ‘know which hill to die on’.” - Chuck Wendig (https://t.co/aDu0FHbF0y)
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) April 28, 2017
Glad it's not just me. pic.twitter.com/yYsgDbHwxO
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 2, 2017
“It's hard. And it's beautiful. And it's hard. And it's lovely. And it's breathtaking. And it's hard. And we love it.” - Blake Snyder
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 3, 2017
“We tell stories because we must… because they let us know that when we get up every morning life is worth it. And it is.” - Blake Snyder
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 3, 2017
“The Demon: knowledge of your own terrible limitations, your hopeless inadequacy, the impossibility of ever getting it right.” -Bill Goldman
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 4, 2017
“Easy money at the brick factory.” - legendary 2x Oscar-winning screenwriter (and novelist) William Goldman, on when s*&^ gets hard writing
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 4, 2017
Last story-beat analyses (value alternation/protagonist activism/dilemma/thematic/etc) a slog - but story getting A LOT stronger. Mojo back.
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 8, 2017
And if you're worried that I haven't started writing yet - that's the EASY part! Getting the story right is everything, and half the job.
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 8, 2017
Caffeine Holiday over! - just in time to start writing - because I need the full effect! "We have to be apart - because I love you so much."
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 8, 2017
Ali commands everyone left alive while Fick runs the final defense of CentCom. Those two *definitely* haven’t spent enough time together. 💥
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 9, 2017
https://t.co/OWDnTCE5Hh#Arisen13
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 11, 2017
That’s it. This story is designed - I can’t make it any stronger. 100s of notes into beat cards @w/e. Then start writing Monday. This is it…
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 11, 2017
With about 20 key characters, they have 190 relationships among them [Nx(N-1)/2]. That's a lot of interpersonal drama. I keep missing tricks
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 12, 2017
And while I'm doing math: 80 3,000-word writing days gets me to 240,000. A mere 16 weeks. Assuming only that nothing goes wrong… 😬 #Arisen13
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 13, 2017
“The thought of doing it is always worse than doing it.” - akb
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 17, 2017
Who knew - I can still write. And, actually, this f&^%ing ROCKS.#Arisen13
First best song, new writing playlist:
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 17, 2017
“I won't stop
I won't say I've had enough
Tonight I start the fire”#Arisen13https://t.co/ikSjdVwKn8
What things actually look like:
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 17, 2017
On the left - the scariest thing in the world, the blank page.
On the right - breaking through the fear. pic.twitter.com/TVU41rsA2g
1st chapter nailed: 9k words of blistering relentless set-piece battle, a la Saving Private Ryan. Execution better than conception. It's on.
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 18, 2017
Reward for 4.25k words was long run in rain in Royal Park, misty, bursting w/greenery, gorgeous. Hmm… think I also deserve Alien: Covenant…
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 18, 2017
“Move the story forward or die.” - William M. Akers (@ProfAkers) in _Your Screenplay Sucks_
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 22, 2017
“Hey! How are you?”
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 22, 2017
”4,047, thanks.”
“What?"
“4,047. That's how I am today.“
“…” pic.twitter.com/hMNspfOT7x
Ali & Handon’s best and most dramatic scene together - ever. But their last? Either way, gorgeous moment (even if I say so 😀). pic.twitter.com/P60U1YRAtg
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 24, 2017
“Words are what matter. Literature is the operating instructions. The most useful guide to the country we’re visiting, life.” - U.K. Le Guin
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 25, 2017
Only One Troop has the discipline & combat cajones to rally the falling defense. Jameson hurls his body into the gap - of the gap. #Arisen13
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 28, 2017
The s*&^ is (finally) working. And I am belatedly remembering what I am: a mf’ing writer. Advice to self: OWN IT.
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 28, 2017
We have an ARISEN Book 13 writing playlist winner:
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 28, 2017
“Invincible and so alive
Ten feet tall and fucking bulletproof”https://t.co/YMFldAToTG
“Today – this day – will achieve what no tomorrow will fail to speak about. I will lay siege to the gods and shake up the world.” - Seneca
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 28, 2017
“If you think you can cut, cut – get outta there. The audience beat you there, anyway.” - David F&^%ing Mamet
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 28, 2017
“Art is going to cost you something. And it's going to cost you something *you weren't prepared to pay*.” - David Mamet
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 31, 2017
Okay, just a quick calculation… I have written 15 of 312 beats, equaling 42,000 words so far… so real target is *800,000*. I’m f’ing doomed. pic.twitter.com/slP0nEnpHT
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 31, 2017
That also means I don’t have 66 writing days left - but 200. (Sorry, @fozzyami.) Not September - but March. Doomed, I say…
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 31, 2017
Then again: too many beats to execute? GOOD. I can cut the maundering, & focus on pure, powerful, hard-hitting story turns. Problem=solution pic.twitter.com/ZeNxlqr0B4
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 31, 2017
“They all wanted to quit. Every hero, every heroine, wants to quit, to give it up, to say I've had enough, I'm not equal to the task.” Mamet
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 31, 2017
What a ride, man. #Arisen13
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) May 31, 2017
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) June 1, 2017
Word count just went out the window. Focus now is executing story beats - *5 a day*, to hit freaking deadline… Got 6 today. Happy Friday. 😃 pic.twitter.com/NQhmHipp3j
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) June 2, 2017
Nearly 6k words; much more importantly, *6* scenes executed. Also, there's your unbelievably hilarious Fickism for the day. Couldn't resist! pic.twitter.com/itdWrT2UCb
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) June 5, 2017
“What the artist has to fight with is, No, do better – just do better. Because the artist is the hero, as the audience is the hero.” - Mamet
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) June 6, 2017
“Fiction always comes out horrifically defective, so hideous a betrayal of your hopes for it, the perfection of its conception.” -DF Wallace
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) June 6, 2017
Act One in the can. Wish I believed it was 1/4 of the total… No spoilers today - definite shockers there. #Arisen13_14 (who was I kidding?) pic.twitter.com/P6QK5cREDI
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) June 9, 2017
“We turn to stories… to know how to lead our lives – how to treat one another, how to love, how to triumph over obstacles.” - @KarlIglesias
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) June 10, 2017
5,500-word weekend. (Courtesy of Le Salon d'Affaires d'Amour Condamné.) pic.twitter.com/ZM1SoIJR34
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) June 12, 2017
New lifetime daily word-count record. (Plus 12 beats executed.) In flow state, writing over-the-top action, like 1st novel 20 years ago. 🤘 pic.twitter.com/vjPhdswcZ4
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) June 14, 2017
Even more remarkably: yesterday's 8k words are *good*. State/flow-state/writer's-fugue works. Apparently. #Arisen13_14
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) June 15, 2017
Still One Troop's theme song: Canterbury, Dusseldorf, Red Square, now London's most iconic building - all overrun…https://t.co/9KoLZlJosK
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) June 15, 2017
https://t.co/ZtDdLsggjl
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) June 15, 2017
Climax of ARISEN will be: Just Like You Imagined.
Love this song - not least in 300 trailer: https://t.co/owrcNHVxX1
My goodness, could I possibly be… *enjoying this*??? #Arisen13_14
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) June 16, 2017
Yeah; no. Spoke too soon…
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) June 16, 2017
Tired. (As in "couldn't finish my run yesterday" & "slept *16 hours* last night" tired - and the dreams…)
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) June 17, 2017
Monday always all about survival - grind out a few thousand words and make it to Tuesday alive. (Knew I should have worked Sunday…)
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) June 19, 2017
Rough day.https://t.co/vP8dzyFNx8
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) June 19, 2017
100k. pic.twitter.com/EDMSdk7Dyq
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) June 19, 2017
Correction: 102.5k. Damned day's not over 'til I say it's over… pic.twitter.com/zDFN215fZ3
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) June 19, 2017
“Hey, Hell is what you make
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) June 20, 2017
Rise against your fate
Nothing’s gonna keep you down
Even if it's killing you”https://t.co/7Gl2nox0wQ
Two words: Iced F*&^ing Coffee.
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) June 20, 2017
Argh. The suffocating pressure and difficulty of trying to do my best work for 300,000 words in a row (while feeling depleted body & soul)…
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) June 21, 2017
Screw it. Fought the good fight today; some days you just lose. Back at 'em tomorrow.
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) June 21, 2017
Bobaflex and deadlifts: the Rx for all your literary (and existential, and other) angst… https://t.co/Vhd2GahDBD
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) June 21, 2017
Oh - thanks, guys. You're truly the best. ☺
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) June 21, 2017
Tell NO ONE; but I think that's Book 13 in the can - 110k words in 5 mad weeks. The bad news? 14 will be twice as long (at least). Onward.🌪️ pic.twitter.com/vJ8bZIH7NJ
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) June 22, 2017
Operational pause to read what I've got. Advantages of five months of intensive storywork: almost reads like I know what the hell I'm doing!
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) June 24, 2017
Okay; it’s good. (Reward: another run in the green & gorgeous rain.)
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) June 27, 2017
Now the hard part.
“You want it all right now.”https://t.co/HozXsN40fN
Last biggest push. Diary ruthlessly cleared away for 12 weeks. Actually feel ready, for once. “Let’s do this.”https://t.co/7fWRvrkrcO
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) June 29, 2017
8-scene/6k Saturday. (Weekends are for finished novelists. And coffee's for closers! Definitely reply if you get that one… :) pic.twitter.com/qk0NT0SOZe
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 1, 2017
Jesucristo, how can such hard, crap day follow such good, productive one? Gah!!https://t.co/K8cKy33OwA
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 2, 2017
Major writing playlist standout from this cycle: https://t.co/zNZap63tzg - maybe it's the 90s kid in me, the whole rap/rock crossover thing…
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 2, 2017
Hung in and managed to grind out 4,750 words of remote decentness. But Josie's first word, at very end, made me smile. (Credit: Darby SK.) pic.twitter.com/GKbKETBqGs
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 2, 2017
Speaking of writing playlist rap/rock, this one's awesome, too. (@celldweller is just about my all-time favourite.)https://t.co/S0DxJ4z2rJ
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 3, 2017
Why does it seem like I have to learn to do this all over again every morning? Oh, well, screw it - I’m learning. :) pic.twitter.com/EUjeDP8ewK
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 3, 2017
High-Resistance/low-output day. But sometimes Pred and Juice come up with lines that make it all worthwhile. :) pic.twitter.com/cOd7UqTpLs
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 5, 2017
Speaking of remix/mash-ups: holy s*&^! This dude's amazing - 5 (awesome) artists. My new go-to running/writing tunz.https://t.co/zE8Gc9Guo9
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 5, 2017
Blasting heat, unrelenting sun, zero energy? Don't have to feel like running, just have to do it. Outcome? Badly rolled ankle on tree root.
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 6, 2017
Badly rolled ankle on run? GOOD. Out of heat/back to work sooner, +concrete (v existential) problem to deal with. @jockowillink never fails.
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 6, 2017
Good: executing a scene designed months ago. Priceless: scene improving 400% in execution phase (v original design).https://t.co/YV2G0kxCtn
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 6, 2017
Accidental power of 2 word count today (2^12). I like powers of 2. Oh, man, someone's got to intervene & cut me off from Twitter, seriously… pic.twitter.com/6vZY2zaC8m
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 6, 2017
Twelve years on from 7/7. Not, alas, history. pic.twitter.com/K1S2V7UZkf
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 7, 2017
Eat, sleep, run, WRITE, repeat. I am now a life-support system for the end of a series of books. (I chose this! Wait - I chose this…?! 🤪)
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 7, 2017
“2nd act problem is so insurmountable the dramatist doesn't know how to fix it. 2nd act, you don't even remember why you were born.” - Mamet
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 7, 2017
Execute 5 beats/day & I can finish in 38 writing days. I can do 38 days upside down w/my head in a bucket of shit (to borrow a line: Haney).
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 8, 2017
It never gets any easier to start. But, at least, sometimes, it’s kind of hard to stop. (Plus - ***SPOILER*** - your Fickism for the w/e! 🤩) pic.twitter.com/tnLaovCBNa
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 8, 2017
“Five percent pleasure
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 8, 2017
Fifty percent pain”#ARISENhttps://t.co/IHvTZ91CeO
(Viks Sideburns! - this dude is the truth!)
4.5k words, instead of Sunday BBQ. This is how I woke up in SF after 5 years w/finished 1st novel - and no life… Helluva scene, though. 😀 pic.twitter.com/wrASrNfCru
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 9, 2017
Halfway. ( ***SPOILERS!*** And beautiful little moment w/Jameson and One Troop, if I do say so. 😢 Been looking forward to writing that one.) pic.twitter.com/1VeQ0hAQXk
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 10, 2017
It's actually all kind of hanging together. (The end.) I guess it has been brewing for nearly 6 years. #ARISEN
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 11, 2017
OTOH, I'm utterly exhausted, and don't see how I'm going to keep this pace up. Nice thing about tmrw, though - you see things differently…
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 11, 2017
5 beats before breakfast. (Of course, I don't eat breakfast. Before run. :) Might actually get caught up today… And - SPOILERS - Aliens ref! pic.twitter.com/7q5B9tb8ml
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 14, 2017
Feel like boxer going into 12th round, trying to stay on my feet - cuts closed, eyes open, throwing punches. Got a few combos left in me!
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 15, 2017
“The treasure which the hero fetches from the dark cavern is LIFE: it is himself.” - Carl Jung
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 16, 2017
Took a whole day off to recharge for final campaign, then hit ground sprinting: 6k words; & 7 beats gets me caught up. Great scenes today. 😀 pic.twitter.com/47W9i52Egl
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 17, 2017
“[Not terrible.]” - my most frequently used annotation to story ideas, from transcribed voice notes, from runs
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 17, 2017
The nice thing about art: when it’s got you on the ground, kicking your head in, you don't have time to think about how f’ed your life is. 😂
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 20, 2017
AMAZING running/writing track: Viks Sideburns! Not sure what to think about video except: I should just be gaming…https://t.co/6HHInVkzjB
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 20, 2017
Prior to now: only doing what I couldn't possibly say no to. Now: that s*&^'s out the window. Last push: nothing happens until #ARISEN done. pic.twitter.com/1ayPRgFDIz
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 20, 2017
Into Act 3 now - the end of the end (of the end) - going a million mph. (Now, if I can just figure out how to stop lying awake from 2-6am…) pic.twitter.com/11AwxgT1Fd
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 21, 2017
7 beats, fantastic scene w/Pred + Terminators - and run in cold rain. (Even got to stomp puddles.) Guess this is my idea of fun Saturday… 😁 pic.twitter.com/BCVojoLdTC
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 22, 2017
Oddly, I find I'm still obsessively reviewing highlighting in my story-craft books. Just now not for clues how to write - but how to live… 😕
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 22, 2017
To clarify: story-craft books (good ones) reveal the archetypal forces that shape all stories (good ones) - & stories teach us how to live.
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 23, 2017
HIIT instead of running today, to save 30 mins. Now all the ideas came in the shower, where I can’t even voice record them… 😬
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 23, 2017
This being Act 3, figure I'd better stop including those beat-card titles, which may start to get spoiler-y. (Promise to stop text soon… 🙂) pic.twitter.com/6z2H9bKnpn
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 23, 2017
Day livened up by attempted burglary. Dumbass picked one flat where resident hasn’t left the property in WEEKS - plus owns a Maori war club.
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 24, 2017
Truly crap writing day. Damned burglars. Then again, haven't had one in a while - “if it wasn’t this it would have been something else”… pic.twitter.com/mrh16YX8fe
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 24, 2017
Cried at the end of DUNKIRK. I love my island home.
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 25, 2017
“Midway upon the journey of our life
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 26, 2017
I found myself within a forest dark,
For the straightforward pathway had been lost.”
- Dante, INFERNO
“Dante in a dark wood. ‘Didn’t we pass that same tree half an hour ago?’” @SPressfield, on reconceiving/reconstructing/rewriting pic.twitter.com/kfUFk6Koyi
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 26, 2017
Day off to delay nervous exhaustion. 😁 Seeing DUNKIRK also reminder I have no problems. Back at it full tilt. (*Major* spoiler dodged here.) pic.twitter.com/KHNiMAanMA
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 27, 2017
Just about out of physical energy for running, but can’t stop - too many damned priceless ideas still coming. Decent problem to have. 😀 pic.twitter.com/rfa0RdvZNZ
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 28, 2017
Re-re-re-re-reviewing just the *very very good stuff* for the endgame now. pic.twitter.com/rKLQRMqky4
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 28, 2017
All #ARISEN dreams now. First wild action scenes, both in them and directing action from TOC. Now actually rewriting chapters overnight.
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 28, 2017
On current targets, I’m only 21 days out. And I can do 21 days - all together now! - #UpsideDownWithMyHeadInABucketOfShit#InsideDeltaForce pic.twitter.com/3D5m2mXliY
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 28, 2017
Rain is fantastic for adding atmosphere. Trouble is remembering to write it into *every chapter, sequence, & scene*. Gotta be everywhere! 😯
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 28, 2017
Hell of it is that end of act/book/series, when most deathly tired, is when everything has to be most perfect - what people will remember.
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 29, 2017
1,737th wind today, thank god.
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 29, 2017
And run in rain alongside misty Thames, swans floating by.
Writing days suck much less when they suck less. 😁 pic.twitter.com/0Fp3bIO23S
Portrait of the Artist as a Drowned Rat.
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 29, 2017
(My idea of good day out - okay good 45mins/10km.)
Plus the wall of military books - but only part! pic.twitter.com/Vstsre9OrL
I got 99 beats left, then the bitch is done. pic.twitter.com/gndRULMDKR
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 30, 2017
Seem to be playing good-day/bad-day. Tired & discouraged again today. But, as always, I don’t have to feel like it - I just have to do it. 🙂 pic.twitter.com/RiX02ErfVh
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 30, 2017
One amusing tip in @tferriss’s #toolsoftitans is playing a single track on repeat, for total focus. YEAH: https://t.co/PFd9FcnOTX - forever!
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 30, 2017
“Day after day we seek an answer to the ageless question Aristotle posed in ETHICS: How should a human being lead his life?” - Robert McKee
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 30, 2017
Went to pub for 30 mins & watched last light & flowers. This writing project, like life, vanishingly short. Stupid not to try to enjoy it. 🌻
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 30, 2017
I’m lucky: even my bad writing days - however, painful, slow, sloggy, miserable - produce good material, I always find the next day. 🙂 pic.twitter.com/Nd4p5b3dvr
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 31, 2017
“The most important quality any piece of writing can have is ‘doneness’.”
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 31, 2017
- Fred Barnes
(88 beats left…)
I’m sorry I tweet so much. You guys are pretty much the only people I talk to right now. 😶
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 31, 2017
“Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout with some painful illness.” - George Orwell
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) July 31, 2017
Shaggy dog lying legs splayed in a big mud puddle in middle of trail, like: “I’m in a mud puddle, bitches! Human’s problem to clean me up.”
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 2, 2017
Yesterday, Pred completed his (entire-series-long) character arc & emotional journey. Today Fick; tomorrow, Ali. AWESOME. Pretty amazing. ⛅️
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 2, 2017
Few last vicious body blows from life, testing my faith there's any point in fighting through last round of this.
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 3, 2017
“Bad day. Fuck it.”
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 3, 2017
- McManus, Chris McQuarrie’s _The Usual Suspects_
Back to work. pic.twitter.com/mGn5uLLE2n
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 4, 2017
Aliyev the Kazakh is *still* more fun to write than any of my other (500-some freaking) characters. Anti-heroes always more fun, I guess. pic.twitter.com/97e5mmHEph
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 5, 2017
You’re a fucking Post-It note. You have ONE job.
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 5, 2017
Skipping few runs means I literally haven’t stepped out door in days. Serving out my sentence in ARISEN prison. Minimum security. Hard time.
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 6, 2017
But it’s working - WELL. Today Handon finishes his series-long journey. Long build-up - amazing pay-off. Great material; great writing day. pic.twitter.com/frv8a2TGZe
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 6, 2017
So, that's something. Not, you know, a lot.
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 6, 2017
“There's a path we can walk through the loss and the pity
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 6, 2017
She said I wanna go home”https://t.co/0d6grlrudG
“If tonight's our night to go, one thing I know…”
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 7, 2017
- Juice
“…We'll need a coin for the ferryman.”
- Predhttps://t.co/Px2pC9LFuD#ARISEN
THEY'RE FINE! Relax. 🙂 pic.twitter.com/TpGrJ3oncp
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 7, 2017
(Yet) another challenge: can’t let fear of screwing up the ending keep you from finishing. Definitely faced this one before, though. #ARISEN
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 8, 2017
Think I've found the rain/cold break point between hardcore/fun & sucky/miserable. Still, *just* at the threshold! 😃
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 9, 2017
Running is good. Will try to keep it up - finish as I began, crossing the finish line on my feet, rather than crawling on belly.
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 9, 2017
Maybe some day all of this will make some kind of sense. (Or I’ll just realize I’ve made every possible wrong life decision.)
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 9, 2017
Into the FINAL (final, final) BATTLE now.#ARISEN pic.twitter.com/tF3UzNkPz2
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 9, 2017
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 10, 2017
Been saving that one for 282,322 words.
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 12, 2017
I swear sometimes Fick the only thing keeping me going…😀
Last beats fit on 1 screen as of yesterday. pic.twitter.com/cpFViI6eXP
“All that remains now is to perform the unperformable miracle you have to always do at the end." - Hemingway
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 13, 2017
In a 1.6-million-word series I estimate there are 3.2 billion possible things to screw up. Only about 20 million left now.
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 13, 2017
Just one last little problem: the whole ending (of the series) doesn’t work. 290k words and it was all going so eerily well…
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 14, 2017
Funny how you never see it coming.https://t.co/t84J2KXLbJ
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 14, 2017
Moment of truth - for Alpha, humanity… and author.#ARISEN
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 16, 2017
Terrible thing how it’s not just not done until it’s done - but it’s nothing until it’s *completely* done. (https://t.co/sk9tPL2jeu)
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 16, 2017
And if ending doesn’t work, story doesn’t work. So everything still on the line. They literally fight their final battle while I fight mine.
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 16, 2017
GOT IT.
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 17, 2017
Amazing what a run (to banish panic/regain hope), 14hrs sleep, day beating head, another run (to solve it w/40 voice notes) will do…
Can’t say, months past exhaustion, I wanted to get back into weeds of story design. But - all together now - “I don’t have to feel like it…” pic.twitter.com/6JgJeuXh9V
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 17, 2017
Heroes ultimately have to survive and prevail by DECIDING to win - by REFUSING to give up and die. Ever.
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 17, 2017
Author had to do the same.#ARISEN
Two pretty big, hard, scary writing days to execute the redesigned climax.
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 18, 2017
(Very glad to have those behind me… 🙂) pic.twitter.com/gol6ZLMfmi
DONE.
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 21, 2017
Thanks, everyone! 😀 N.B. Done != finished. Still editing, conversion, more editing, copyediting/proofreading, publishing, paperbacks, audio…
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 22, 2017
I just wrote nearly a third of a million words in 100 days. I am stoopid. But we knew that. 😳🥕🍄🦕🧟♂️
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 22, 2017
Yay, I finished before GRRM did.
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) August 22, 2017
(Hell, wrote whole series while Martin working on next one - & ARISEN longer than ASOIAF!)
You’re welcome.😀
ARISEN, Book Thirteen - The Siege
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) September 15, 2017
…launches 15 October 2017
“There’s Nowhere Left To Hide.” pic.twitter.com/WWXLhnbCOi
Conversion time again - aka making the manuscript into a book. Not quite incidentally, this is why we don't need publishing houses anymore.😀 pic.twitter.com/HrB1CN96w7
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) September 16, 2017
The Siege has hit #1 in Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction & #1 in Military Science Fiction on Amazon - and Top 150 overall! Thanks everyone!😃 pic.twitter.com/AkiYGJKb6I
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) October 17, 2017
ARISEN, Book Fourteen - ENDGAME
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) October 19, 2017
…launches 14 November 2017
“This Is It.” pic.twitter.com/XKs7DSRvDJ
Back in my favourite book-editing work space. 😃 pic.twitter.com/dYe0WM3jVU
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) October 19, 2017
42 reviews for The Siege on https://t.co/riGyuXLrNy (+10 on .co.uk), and ALL 5 STARS! A 5.0-star average pretty amazing; thanks very much! 😃 pic.twitter.com/AiKTEeyXTb
— MichaelStephenFuchs (@michaelstephenf) October 23, 2017
