Thursday, May 22, 2014

Getting close

Only 3 chapters left to edit. I have to add 3 or 6 chapters as well.

This weekend my wife is taking a trip so I will be able to focus.

I am such an optimist.

I will be going to see Godzilla with my brother and I am also having some friends over for beer, burgers, bourbon, cigars and firepit.

--The light at the end of the tunnel might be a firepit!

Monday, May 19, 2014

Writers Group

I joined a new writers and attended my first meeting yesterday.

This one meets at a local library once a month. There was about 20 people there and it is organized on Meetup.com.

It was a two hour meeting, but went longer because no one was scheduled to use that conference room after them. 1:30pm is a good time to meet.

There were several self published authors there. I even purchased the Kindle book of a gentleman I met there.

--I like it. I will be back!

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Quotes of the Week

“Books are a uniquely portable magic.”
― Stephen King

“The scariest moment is always just before you start.”
― Stephen King

“The road to hell is paved with adverbs.”
― Stephen King

“you can, you should, and if you’re brave enough to start, you will.”
― Stephen King

“Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader’s.”
― Stephen King

“Writing isn't about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid, or making friends. In the end, it's about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching your own life, as well. It's about getting up, getting well, and getting over. Getting happy, okay? Getting happy.”
― Stephen King

“Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.”
― Stephen King

“Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open.”
― Stephen King

“In many cases when a reader puts a story aside because it 'got boring,' the boredom arose because the writer grew enchanted with his powers of description and lost sight of his priority, which is to keep the ball rolling.”
― Stephen King

“If you expect to succeed as a writer, rudeness should be the second-to-least of your concerns. The least of all should be polite society and what it expects. If you intend to write as truthfully as you can, your days as a member of polite society are numbered, anyway.”
― Stephen King

“Just remember that Dumbo didn't need the feather; the magic was in him. ”
― Stephen King

“Writing is not life, but I think that sometimes it can be a way back to life.”
― Stephen King

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

New Rules

I have a self imposed deadline approaching.

Until further notice there will be no more Facebook or TiVo in the evenings until I have spent time editing at least one chapter.

If I keep to this discipline I will finish the second draft by months end.

--It is getting fun as the story ramps up!

Monday, May 12, 2014

Writing this Weekend

My wife and I went camping this weekend with some friends. We have a 16 foot camper trailer that we took on it's first shakedown cruise since we bought it.


The camper we had just before this one was nice and helped us figure out what we really wanted in a camper trailer.
  • No leaks if it rains
  • A bigger double bed
  • A booth in addition to that bed
  • The ability for my wife to sleep in even if I can't
  • Coffee
These were hard and fast requirements so I could quietly slide out of bed, make coffee, and sit at the booth with my laptop. The trailer passed with flying colors.

I would wake at 6am, drink coffee, eat Strawberry Frosted Poptarts and work on my book! There was no Internet there and barely a cell signal. I spent the whole weekend off-line.

I got through six chapters this weekend! It was very productive. More fun and less like work too. I can meet my self imposed deadline if I manage just one chapter a day going forward.

--Maybe it was the Poptarts! Who knew!

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Quotes of theWeek

“I have never listened to anyone who criticized my taste in space travel, sideshows or gorillas. When this occurs, I pack up my dinosaurs and leave the room.”
― Ray Bradbury

“Would it save you a lot of time if I just gave up and went mad now?”
― Douglas Adams

“Because today we live in a society in which spurious realities are manufactured by the media, by governments, by big corporations, by religious groups, political groups... So I ask, in my writing, What is real? Because unceasingly we are bombarded with pseudo-realities manufactured by very sophisticated people using very sophisticated electronic mechanisms. I do not distrust their motives; I distrust their power. They have a lot of it. And it is an astonishing power: that of creating whole universes, universes of the mind. I ought to know. I do the same thing.”
― Philip K. Dick

“We all know interspecies romance is weird.”
― Tim Burton

“Sometimes I think I must have a Guardian Idiot. A little invisible spirit just behind my shoulder, looking out for me...only he's an imbecile.”
― Spider Robinson

“I guess I always felt even if the world came to an end, McDonald's would still be open.”
― Susan Beth Pfeffer

“How inappropriate to call this planet "Earth," when it is clearly "Ocean.”
― Arthur C. Clarke

Monday, May 5, 2014

More Cutting

More characters fit the cutting room floor this weekend.

The book was bloating back up to 140,000 words so another seconday plot made it's way to the next book.

The slow slog of the second draft continues. I think I am still on target for the June 31 deadline.

This part is work. I need to tough it out. Make a habit of working it for a couple hours a day.

This part is also very important. All the people I know say that the editing shows the difference between amateurs and professional writers.

Spelling and grammar won't make your story better, but it makes a big difference in the Book.  Spelling and grammar can only make your effort worse.

--It will never make a crappy story better.

Saturday, May 3, 2014

BOOKS: A pile of them...

I have been so busy lately that posting has been light.

I have been reading a lot though. All of them are post-apocalypse stories. Zombies!

The Shade of the Moon was the exception to the Zombies. Maybe Zombies would have made it better! It was the weakest of these books. A bit too whiny for me. The main character was a total woose.



--I am reading the classic Neuromancer by William Gibson again. Good stuff!