Now Playing: COME ON EILEEN by Dexys Midnight Runners
Just Read: THE BLACK ECHO by Michael Connelly--Definitely a cool mystery, with some intriguing characters. I've never read a Harry Bosch story before, and it struck me how vulnerable and imperfect he was.
Reading Now: THE BREACH by Patrick Lee
Moderation is good--sometimes I think it's the most important thing there is--but I have noticed that binge-working is so productive and satisfying.
I know I'm a writer because finishing a story leaves me with such a rewarding feeling of accomplishment. For this reason, the more productive I am, the more momentum I seem to get. The more I write, the more I want to write. And often, the opposite is true, too--the more I'm away from writing, the harder it is to get back into it.
Is there a happy medium somewhere, where I can write a satisfying and rewarding number of words per day while still performing at my day job and balancing my home life? It's a question I see lots of people talking about on #WritingCommunity on Twitter. Until writing is the primary source of income, I think a lot of writers struggle to parse out time of their day for it--getting paid is an objective validation of your writing ambition, and if you aren't getting paid, why are you doing it? For me, it's for that reward. The money will come in the future--I hope!--but I really just enjoy telling stories.
So, I'm working for that elusive moderation. It's a kind of bullseye, and my darts are sticking all around the perimeter. But that's okay. I really believe that I can find a routine that will maximize my writing quality and quantity without sacrificing the other parts of my life. Every year--every writing session, really--I get a little closer to it.
Wednesday, June 3, 2020
Friday, May 15, 2020
Revising the Times
Now Playing: ANNA MOLLY by Incubus
Just Read: SLEEPING BEAUTIES by Stephen King and Owen King--Turned out to be a big world, slow pace/high build sort of novel. Not terrible by any means, but there were a few times where I was a bit checked out. Overall, enjoyed it.
Reading Now: THE BLACK ECHO by Michael Connelly
Well, the pandemic hit. So far, we're staying healthy here and getting ready for a new baby to arrive. We both work in hospitals, but the testing for COVID-19 has increased, and we're able to keep ourselves pretty safe.
In the meantime, quarantine has meant lots of writing time. I always aim to produce at least one new story per month. It's May, and I've finished six and have started on a seventh so far in 2020, so I'm a little ahead of my goal, which is always great.
Most of my efforts lately, though, have been on revision. I took an editing class online in the hopes of improving those skills, as editing my own work has always been my greatest challenge as a writer. I also took two writing classes through Great Courses, and I think the focus on actively getting better as a student of the craft has paid off. I guess we'll find out when I start sending out these stories or having friends give me some feedback.
I finished a novel manuscript in the fall, and after completing those courses, I've spent a lot of time editing it. My goal is to finish a solid second draft by the end of this weekend, and maybe see if some friends are interested in giving me their feedback. I've also been reading a lot of writing advice (using my quarantine time to study!) and have written a few drafts of query letters that might go out sometime this summer.
Lots to look forward to, despite the times. Writing is a kind of constant, something that doesn't change in all the madness in the world. It's more important to have fiction as an escape than ever--reading is a balm for my mental health, and writing is an outlet for a hundred different reasons. All I can do is keep getting better as a writer at whatever pace I can and in whatever ways help the most.
Stay healthy out there! Wash your hands, don't touch your face!
Just Read: SLEEPING BEAUTIES by Stephen King and Owen King--Turned out to be a big world, slow pace/high build sort of novel. Not terrible by any means, but there were a few times where I was a bit checked out. Overall, enjoyed it.
Reading Now: THE BLACK ECHO by Michael Connelly
Well, the pandemic hit. So far, we're staying healthy here and getting ready for a new baby to arrive. We both work in hospitals, but the testing for COVID-19 has increased, and we're able to keep ourselves pretty safe.
In the meantime, quarantine has meant lots of writing time. I always aim to produce at least one new story per month. It's May, and I've finished six and have started on a seventh so far in 2020, so I'm a little ahead of my goal, which is always great.
Most of my efforts lately, though, have been on revision. I took an editing class online in the hopes of improving those skills, as editing my own work has always been my greatest challenge as a writer. I also took two writing classes through Great Courses, and I think the focus on actively getting better as a student of the craft has paid off. I guess we'll find out when I start sending out these stories or having friends give me some feedback.
I finished a novel manuscript in the fall, and after completing those courses, I've spent a lot of time editing it. My goal is to finish a solid second draft by the end of this weekend, and maybe see if some friends are interested in giving me their feedback. I've also been reading a lot of writing advice (using my quarantine time to study!) and have written a few drafts of query letters that might go out sometime this summer.
Lots to look forward to, despite the times. Writing is a kind of constant, something that doesn't change in all the madness in the world. It's more important to have fiction as an escape than ever--reading is a balm for my mental health, and writing is an outlet for a hundred different reasons. All I can do is keep getting better as a writer at whatever pace I can and in whatever ways help the most.
Stay healthy out there! Wash your hands, don't touch your face!
Monday, March 2, 2020
Early Progress Report
Now Playing: STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS by Michael Giacchino
Just Read: THE LAST WISH by Andrej Sapkowski--Greatly enjoyed all of these stories! I'm looking forward to reading the next installment. And the show was awesome, too!
Reading Now: SLEEPING BEAUTIES by Stephen King and Owen King
Not doing too badly on my 2020 goals so far. I'm almost finished with my fourth new story of the year, have submitted stories nine times so far since January (and plan on submitting another today), and I am about to finish reading my eighth book. So all in all, I've stayed pretty close to my goals. I still have a ways to go, and maybe a little bit of ground to make up, but I can't beat myself up too badly.
It's March, and that means a few deadlines are approaching. The Writers of the Future Contest quarter ends at the end of this month, and I've got a story I'd like to edit and submit. Also, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly is open to submissions this month, and I have another story I'd like to edit for them. Their word count limit is 10,000 words, which means I'll have to find about 1000 words to cut out of the story I have in mind, but that should be doable.
Also, I started looking into local writing opportunities around me here in North Carolina. I really want to go to a writers conference sometime this year, but the one close to me is on the same day as a wedding I'm going to, so that's out. Instead, I met up with a local writer's group this past week and found out about some open mic nights to attend, and some book signings at stores in the area. Maybe a helpful critique group could come out of it. We'll see. Until then, more writing!
Just Read: THE LAST WISH by Andrej Sapkowski--Greatly enjoyed all of these stories! I'm looking forward to reading the next installment. And the show was awesome, too!
Reading Now: SLEEPING BEAUTIES by Stephen King and Owen King
Not doing too badly on my 2020 goals so far. I'm almost finished with my fourth new story of the year, have submitted stories nine times so far since January (and plan on submitting another today), and I am about to finish reading my eighth book. So all in all, I've stayed pretty close to my goals. I still have a ways to go, and maybe a little bit of ground to make up, but I can't beat myself up too badly.
It's March, and that means a few deadlines are approaching. The Writers of the Future Contest quarter ends at the end of this month, and I've got a story I'd like to edit and submit. Also, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly is open to submissions this month, and I have another story I'd like to edit for them. Their word count limit is 10,000 words, which means I'll have to find about 1000 words to cut out of the story I have in mind, but that should be doable.
Also, I started looking into local writing opportunities around me here in North Carolina. I really want to go to a writers conference sometime this year, but the one close to me is on the same day as a wedding I'm going to, so that's out. Instead, I met up with a local writer's group this past week and found out about some open mic nights to attend, and some book signings at stores in the area. Maybe a helpful critique group could come out of it. We'll see. Until then, more writing!
Monday, January 13, 2020
2020 Goals
Now Playing: DAY ONE by Hans Zimmer
Just Read: END OF WATCH--Interesting how this series ended up with a supernatural twist. Didn't expect that, considering the first two books were simpler private investigator mysteries. Good stories, though.
Reading Now: THE LAST WISH by Andrzej Sapkowski
So, about my 2020 writing goals . . . .
The gist of it is to keep it up. I would like to read 50 books this year (I reached 48 in 2019), write 5000 new words of fiction per week, and dedicate 5 hours per week to studying writing. I added this last goal because I feel like I've stagnated a bit over the past few years. I've published about 25 short stories, all in semi-pro or token magazines, with one publication in Daily Science Fiction. I have won 12 Honorable Mentions in the Writers of the Future Contest, which people say is like a letter saying I am "almost there." In 2020, I'd like to get "there."
So, to that end, I have a few books on the style and craft of writing that I'm going to work through and see if their bits of advice can help me elevate my game. I might even look into a Master Class. I've already been listening to more podcasts on writing, and I would like to read more short stories, too. I'm also going to try to submit more stories--so far, I've submitted four--and work on writing stories that are shorter. For the past two years or so, most of my stories have been around 10,000 words. Those are harder to sell. In 2020, I'm going to shoot for stories under 7500 words.
That's really it! I want 2020 to be a year of hard work and, hopefully, reap the benefits of that hard work. Let's get to it! Happy New Year everyone, and good luck achieving your own goals!
Just Read: END OF WATCH--Interesting how this series ended up with a supernatural twist. Didn't expect that, considering the first two books were simpler private investigator mysteries. Good stories, though.
Reading Now: THE LAST WISH by Andrzej Sapkowski
So, about my 2020 writing goals . . . .
The gist of it is to keep it up. I would like to read 50 books this year (I reached 48 in 2019), write 5000 new words of fiction per week, and dedicate 5 hours per week to studying writing. I added this last goal because I feel like I've stagnated a bit over the past few years. I've published about 25 short stories, all in semi-pro or token magazines, with one publication in Daily Science Fiction. I have won 12 Honorable Mentions in the Writers of the Future Contest, which people say is like a letter saying I am "almost there." In 2020, I'd like to get "there."
So, to that end, I have a few books on the style and craft of writing that I'm going to work through and see if their bits of advice can help me elevate my game. I might even look into a Master Class. I've already been listening to more podcasts on writing, and I would like to read more short stories, too. I'm also going to try to submit more stories--so far, I've submitted four--and work on writing stories that are shorter. For the past two years or so, most of my stories have been around 10,000 words. Those are harder to sell. In 2020, I'm going to shoot for stories under 7500 words.
That's really it! I want 2020 to be a year of hard work and, hopefully, reap the benefits of that hard work. Let's get to it! Happy New Year everyone, and good luck achieving your own goals!
Friday, December 6, 2019
NaNoWriMo From the Sidelines
Now Playing: SCAR TISSUE by Red Hot Chili Peppers
Just Read: TRIPWIRE by Lee Child--LOVED the twist to this one, and thought the idea behind this story had endless potential. Very exciting book!
Reading Now: END OF WATCH by Stephen King
November was a busy month, even without doing NaNoWriMo!
I won NaNo last year, though the novel I wrote, called Star Struck, still isn't finished. I bet I still have another 20-25K words to go. I put it down to write a different novel, called Active Shooter, which I started in mid-July. I had been steady progressing on Active Shooter for months, but really kicked it into high gear in November.
Despite not starting a new project, just being surrounded by the NaNo community inspired me to write as much as possible. In November alone, I wrote about 20K words, and finished the first draft of Active Shooter at 85K words. Now, I'll let it sit for a while and take a step away from it to work on other projects, such as editing a story for Writer's of the Future submission this month, and maybe even trudging toward the completion of Star Struck, if I can find the energy.
And it's time to start thinking about what my 2020 goals are, too. The most productive year I've ever had was doing Write1Sub1, where I wrote and submitted one story per week for a year. I don't know if I have it in me to do that, but maybe two stories per month is manageable.
Lots to mull over! And definitely a lot of fun on the horizon.
Just Read: TRIPWIRE by Lee Child--LOVED the twist to this one, and thought the idea behind this story had endless potential. Very exciting book!
Reading Now: END OF WATCH by Stephen King
November was a busy month, even without doing NaNoWriMo!
I won NaNo last year, though the novel I wrote, called Star Struck, still isn't finished. I bet I still have another 20-25K words to go. I put it down to write a different novel, called Active Shooter, which I started in mid-July. I had been steady progressing on Active Shooter for months, but really kicked it into high gear in November.
Despite not starting a new project, just being surrounded by the NaNo community inspired me to write as much as possible. In November alone, I wrote about 20K words, and finished the first draft of Active Shooter at 85K words. Now, I'll let it sit for a while and take a step away from it to work on other projects, such as editing a story for Writer's of the Future submission this month, and maybe even trudging toward the completion of Star Struck, if I can find the energy.
And it's time to start thinking about what my 2020 goals are, too. The most productive year I've ever had was doing Write1Sub1, where I wrote and submitted one story per week for a year. I don't know if I have it in me to do that, but maybe two stories per month is manageable.
Lots to mull over! And definitely a lot of fun on the horizon.
Monday, September 30, 2019
Looking Forward to Fall
Now Playing: FAMINE WOLF by Between the Buried and Me
Just Read: LETHAL WHITE by Robert Galbraith--Probably my favorite in this series so far. Easier to follow than the last one, but still a complicated, intricate mystery. Really great book!
Reading Now: TRIPWIRE by Lee Child
It's Fall, y'all!
It's been a good September, with some pretty productive writing sessions. I'm working on a thriller novel and am about 50,000 words into it. That's the goal for a novel during NaNoWriMo, which I've won twice, but this has taken me since mid-July to accomplish. But it hasn't been my only project; I've written 5,000 words of a story I'm planning on finishing and submitting soon, and also edited an old story into something I could submit to the Writers of the Future Contest.
Speaking of, I just found out that my last submission won an Honorable Mention! I believe this is my eighth. The email said that means I'm in the top 2% of submissions. I'm pretty proud of that benchmark, but the truth is that the winners are probably closer to the top 0.002%. That's a lot of improvement still to go, but it's also good motivation.
I'm looking forward to October. I might--might--be able to finish and submit that story AND finish this thriller novel. But I'm not going to kill myself doing it. I'm having more fun writing lately than I have in a long time, and I think that's important. I want to foster that. Also, I'm going to pick up some Stephen King again and read him during the creepiest month of the year. Maybe I'll read "IT" so I can finally see those movies.
Hope you have a great start to fall! You can find me at my desk, writing fervently!
Just Read: LETHAL WHITE by Robert Galbraith--Probably my favorite in this series so far. Easier to follow than the last one, but still a complicated, intricate mystery. Really great book!
Reading Now: TRIPWIRE by Lee Child
It's Fall, y'all!
It's been a good September, with some pretty productive writing sessions. I'm working on a thriller novel and am about 50,000 words into it. That's the goal for a novel during NaNoWriMo, which I've won twice, but this has taken me since mid-July to accomplish. But it hasn't been my only project; I've written 5,000 words of a story I'm planning on finishing and submitting soon, and also edited an old story into something I could submit to the Writers of the Future Contest.
Speaking of, I just found out that my last submission won an Honorable Mention! I believe this is my eighth. The email said that means I'm in the top 2% of submissions. I'm pretty proud of that benchmark, but the truth is that the winners are probably closer to the top 0.002%. That's a lot of improvement still to go, but it's also good motivation.
I'm looking forward to October. I might--might--be able to finish and submit that story AND finish this thriller novel. But I'm not going to kill myself doing it. I'm having more fun writing lately than I have in a long time, and I think that's important. I want to foster that. Also, I'm going to pick up some Stephen King again and read him during the creepiest month of the year. Maybe I'll read "IT" so I can finally see those movies.
Hope you have a great start to fall! You can find me at my desk, writing fervently!
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
Thirty Years Old!
Now Playing: RISE by Hans Zimmer
Just Read: MISTBORN by Brandon Sanderson--The first of his novels I've read. Very entertaining, from beginning to end! An interesting and unique magic system that he obviously thought through very well. Good stuff!
Reading Now: LETHAL WHITE by Robert Galbraith
I'm thirty years old today!
People have talked to me about their own thirtieth birthdays and the feelings they had about being thirty. Namely, that they hadn't accomplished all they'd wanted to thus far. When it comes to my writing, that's true for me as well--I always thought I'd have a novel published by now.
But, I can't complain. I have done a lot of other things in my 30 years of which I'm very proud, like finding an awesome wife, finishing grad school and working as a nurse anesthetist, and writing multiple novels and countless short stories, even if none of the novels have been published yet. The truth is, the one I think is most publishable, I haven't queried yet because I think it still needs some tidying up. So, maybe after some editing, that dream will come true.
Until then, I'll keep doing what I'm doing--working my day job and writing as frequently as I can find the time and energy to do. I'm becoming a better writer by the day, even if I haven't published a ton of stuff recently. Word by word, I'm getting better.
Here's to the next decade!
Just Read: MISTBORN by Brandon Sanderson--The first of his novels I've read. Very entertaining, from beginning to end! An interesting and unique magic system that he obviously thought through very well. Good stuff!
Reading Now: LETHAL WHITE by Robert Galbraith
I'm thirty years old today!
People have talked to me about their own thirtieth birthdays and the feelings they had about being thirty. Namely, that they hadn't accomplished all they'd wanted to thus far. When it comes to my writing, that's true for me as well--I always thought I'd have a novel published by now.
But, I can't complain. I have done a lot of other things in my 30 years of which I'm very proud, like finding an awesome wife, finishing grad school and working as a nurse anesthetist, and writing multiple novels and countless short stories, even if none of the novels have been published yet. The truth is, the one I think is most publishable, I haven't queried yet because I think it still needs some tidying up. So, maybe after some editing, that dream will come true.
Until then, I'll keep doing what I'm doing--working my day job and writing as frequently as I can find the time and energy to do. I'm becoming a better writer by the day, even if I haven't published a ton of stuff recently. Word by word, I'm getting better.
Here's to the next decade!
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