Monday and Moving Slow

Progress is being made on the second draft. This weekend I was feeling like if I could just take a whole week off and work on it eight hours a day I could knock it out by Friday. Oh well, someone has to bring home some bacon!

 

--Back to work today. Progress will be made tonight.

Quotes of the Week

“I went to college, but I learned to write by reading and writing.”
― Daniel Pinkwater

“Don't worry about meaning. If a story's any good, it can't help but have meaning. Let the PhDs tell you what your story means.”
― William Kittredge

“Art is too often discounted as a secondary priority. The writer is necessary to society.”
― Kayla Rae Whitaker

“Go beyond yourself -- write.”
― Pearle Louise Munn Bishop

“Every novel is an attempt to capture time, to weave something solid out of air. The author knows it is an impossible task - that is why he keeps on trying.”
― David Beaty

Writing. Opening a vein in your wrist with a spoon.”
― Ann-Marie MacDonald

Sex

 Logan's Run

I am working on the second draft and was editing a really hot sex scene in my book. Had to tone it down. Man, that was fun writing it!

I know I am not writing a kids book here, but it is not going to be hard core like some of the books I have read (and enjoyed). Have you read and Laurell Hamilton?

The funny thing is, I found myself actually having to do research into sex practices I was completely clueless about. That was fun! Thanks for the info Criagslist!

--Back to work!

Book: Lines of Departure

I just finished reading Lines of Departure by Marko Kloos (pronounced like "Close"). This is the sequel to Terms of Enlistment.

Both of these are really great military SciFi.

Vicious interstellar conflict with an indestructible alien species. Bloody civil war over the last habitable zones of the cosmos. Political unrest, militaristic police forces, dire threats to the Solar System…

Humanity is on the ropes, and after years of fighting a two-front war with losing odds, so is North American Defense Corps officer Andrew Grayson. He dreams of dropping out of the service one day, alongside his pilot girlfriend, but as warfare consumes entire planets and conditions on Earth deteriorate, he wonders if there will be anywhere left for them to go.

After surviving a disastrous space-borne assault, Grayson is reassigned to a ship bound for a distant colony—and packed with malcontents and troublemakers. His most dangerous battle has just begun.

In this sequel to the bestselling Terms of Enlistment, a weary soldier must fight to prevent the downfall of his species…or bear witness to humanity’s last, fleeting breaths.

--Go read these!!

Harvard discovers three of its library books are bound in human flesh!

"There's something undeniably creepy about big, expansive libraries. The hushed whispers, the almost artificial quiet, and the smell of dusty tomes combine to create a surreal experience. But when it comes to creepy libraries, Harvard University might take the cake... you see, three of its books are bound in human skin."

"A few years ago, three separate books were discovered in Harvard University's library that had particularly strange-looking leather covers. Upon further inspection, it was discovered that the smooth binding was actually human flesh... in one case, skin harvested from a man who was flayed alive. Yep, definitely the creepiest library ever."

--Did any of these people see Army of Darkness!?

Notes While Editing

I take a lot of notes on paper about my novel.

As I edit I am finding these notes are very hand to keep me organized and consistent while I am editing.

All kinds of things are in lists:

• Place names
• People names
• Ship names, makes and models
• Scifi Technology
• Possessions

I also have drawings in my notes:

• Various maps with different scales with distances
• Floor plans of buildings 
• Drawings of places and things

All of these things help my writing and editing remain consistent.

--I really love drawing maps and floor plans. Even if they never get used.

Stay on Target!

Editing resumed last night. It will continue today.

A friend was emailing with me about the book and said I should edit in stead of blogging or reading so much.

Sigh.

It is the reading that will get curtailed. Not completely, and just for a few months until my second draft is done.

He also said, "Write shorter books!"

My next volume will be 90,000 words. Not 190,000.

--Now it 's time to drink coffee. Not giving up coffee.