Writing In 2015: Updates and Such

It's been a few weeks since I posted anything about how the writing is going. Well, basically, I lost a few weeks to recurrent illness that took me down more than once and also affected the household. Thankfully, we're all pretty much past it.

Your friendly, neighborhood writer is just trying to get back on the writing horse. I've been reviewing works that are complete but unpublished. I also realized that I wasn't finished with a novella I though was done. (It will probably be a full-fledged novel.) I've completed four short stories in what has become an unofficial challenge. I haven't announced it here, because I didn't hit my goal last year. You could say I took off the pressure of reporting here for whomever might be reading my posts.

That said, I think I will share what I've been up to this year so far.

SHORT STORIES

1. Holy Orders - 6, 556 words

2. The Earthly Spirit - 5, 498 words

3. The Last Sacrifice - 3, 012 words

4. Duty and Devotion - 7, 411 words

One thing I'd add just because I find it pretty cool is that these four stories bring my current count of finished short stories to 45. Yep, that's a lot of short fiction. I've had some of them combined in a collection called Other Realms: Volume One and I'll soon have enough of them to have a Volume Two. You should stay tuned for that bit of news.

THE NOVELLA TURNED NOVEL

The other thing I did was write a novella I tentatively titled The Souleaters. I wrote it and found what I thought was the ending and moved on to thinking about other projects. Lately, I came back to re-read the thing and realized I hadn't truly finished it at all. In all honestly, I botched it up and figured out that I'd only written about a third or maybe half of a full novel.

I added more words to the final section I'd written. Now called A Theft of Souls, I plan to write the rest over the next few weeks or so. I may or may not update you on this work in progress (WIP). 

OTHER WORK

While I will try to focus on the complete of the novel, I know my mind will wander to other things too, so I have to be prepared for that tendency. Thus, having WIPs at various stages might allow me to drift around some but also stay focused enough to wrap up A Theft of Souls. (I could be full of it too, but I haven't let that stop me yet.)

What is on the other burners, so to speak? Well, there are about a dozen short stories brewing and at least three other novel starts that've been begging for attention. Currently, I have a mind to finish them all while simmering the sequel to another of my books, A Kingdom of Shadows.

Yep, I'm scheming here. Scheming about more fiction. Much more fiction. That sounds pretty fun to me. 

Writing In 2015: February and Writing

A new month offers its own challenges. So far, February has been about me getting on a writing streak and sticking with it. I've not missed a day. There is this aspect that is me trying to form the habit again and making the fun part about me just keeping at it, making time for the writing in sometimes very busy days.

There is discipline involved. There is the hope that I can keep things fun while practicing my craft at intervals that might make a real difference on the quality of my work. Right now, I'm working on a longer piece--one that might turn out as a novella or a novel depending on how it comes to me.

I've been been intrigued by the novella again. I've not made much of an effort to acquaint myself with the novella in awhile. I've written two--both of which will be showing up in paperback this year.  The length is appealing as well as the leanness and focus of the structure. There is the possibility that I'll do a few novellas.

Along with the novella, there is the--yes, I can say it--the need to write more short stories. All of the stories I've written thus far are in the process of being published as ebook singles. So far I've written around forty of them and have a notion of writing forty more. If it proves true, I'll likely be submitting them to the markets upon completion, letting them run the reject slip gamut before they end up published as ebook singles too.

There is much I could speak on in more detail, but I've chosen broader brush strokes to this update post. I'm not sure who's reading these posts. Maybe that doesn't matter. The point is that I like using this mode of expression. I'll use it some more. Stay tuned folks because I'll be revealing releases on a couple of novels very soon.

Yes, this is going to be a very big year of publications and reaching new heights with my writing.

Later.

Writing In 2015: End of Month One

Well, January is basically over. I'm getting in the mode to review things a bit. Though I've made progress over all with staying in focus and getting work done, there is still room from improvement. My publishing company won the war of time this month. All told, we got five products out to readers and have every intention of getting five more out in February. I'm being very proactive as a publisher.

Writing, the focus above all else on this blog and in my writing life, went okay, but there were still several gaps in the flow where I just didn't get new words down. I have to work on that part going into February. I will do better. Just have to remember the maxim about having fun with it and not stressing out over what I can't control.

This whole year is about finding more balance in my life and making sure that writing and publishing get a share of the pie. I'll be exploring that process, as I said before, and that'll sure been fun all in itself.

One of my big focuses in the writing going forward is developing my skills with short fiction. That being said, I'm currently working on what I believe is a novel so there has to be room for some play concerning the project workload.

Short stories are intriguing to me. I've written several--some of which are available electronically--and I enjoy putting them together. It's a challenge for me. Short of announcing a formal challenge with a number I need to hit by year's end, I'll say that I do plan to do a lot of short fiction writing.

I have four novel started and am piecing on them when I can and hope to finish them all this year too.

I'm going to keep myself busy and do my best to get a lot good stories out to my readers.

Writing In 2015: Week Two

I'm writing this post for the second full week of writing in 2015. I'm not sure if I'll be writing weekly updates for the duration of the year, but I might give it a shot. It could be good to keep a closer eye on progress and share here. When it comes to the writing life, there are things I definitely want to do differently this year. I've mentioned them in previous posts. At the top of the list, is simply this: I WANT TO WRITE MORE.

Yes, very simple, and I am writing more frequently than I was during most of 2014. That frequency needs to increase though. Like any skill, with more you practice writing the better you become. Practice means spend a lot more time putting down new words in fiction, completing more stories and novels, and, yes, I could include writing here more frequently than I have in the past.

What do I mean by writing more? Well, I mean just devoting more time to it. I also mean writing everyday, if possible. I've thought about carrying on a writing streak to see how long I could keep it up. It sounds like a challenge. I think I need to challenge myself this year. The trick is knowing what is reasonable for me and also where I can stretch myself to grow as a writer too. It's tough to figure sometimes, but I might give it a shot too.

I've thought about keeping an open door on my writing process like Dean Wesley Smith does. But that way is  hard path since Dean's done so to dispel some really nasty myths that afflict writers, especially beginning writers. I'm not interesting in taking the sort of flak associated with that sort of myth-busting. I don't intent to set myself up as an expert in anything. I am just trying to be a career write--and one that makes money telling stories and selling them to readers. Those are the logistics here.

I suppose I'll need to clarify from time to time if I intend to write blogs more often. It's easy to fall into certain poor habits. I'll try to avoid some of those familiar pitfalls as the year moves along.

Writing In 2015: Five Days In

A new week's started, the first full one of the year, and I'm anxious to fill it with writing. The trick will be to keep things realistic with myself as I slowly build up my writing practice. I have a tendency to go overboard in my thinking or what I think I can do, or worse I get caught up in counterproductive and critical views of my writing and the business of writing which zap whatever creative impulses that may be quietly gestating.

This approach to a new year, if it has a chance at all, must be based on some accountability. Ideally, I'd love to have somebody, a fellow writer maybe, to be accountable to help me stay on target. Sadly, though I'd love to help another scribe out with beta reading and proofreading and vice versa, I haven't found a partner yet.

Thus, I must be accountable to myself. I need to think really hard about the sort of goals I want to have as I move deeper into 2015. I'm already musing on how many books I'd like to write over the course of the year. I'm trying to aim for a reasonable starting point for my daily word counts. A quota remains a good basic practice as I learn more about various aspects of craft.

As I go, I'll be refining and making various adjustments to what it is that I want.

I can say that I'm writing again and trying very hard to make it a low-stress occupation. I've also been submitting stories to magazines again--a practice I will be expanding on quite a bit in the coming weeks as I complete more stories. (I'm determined to try harder to get short fiction published--then make that another aspect of my business.)

So this is kind of an update.  Not sure, but it could be a series.

Off The Rails

The novel's at a crawl right now. My concentration is shredded. Not a good place during the second half of NaNoWriMo 2014. Not at all. The book is very far behind where it should be at this point in the month. I've been here before when trying to do this. It's discouraging and frustrating.

I like this idea of writing a book in month. I keep coming back to it, giving myself the pep talk, and making announcements about participation in National Novel Writing Month and proceed to make the same mistakes as last year, and the year before that. I can say I got a little over half done last year. Even ended up with a finished book. That's something I guess.

I feel like I'm trapped in a ball of nervous energy that writhes inside and makes concentration pretty impossible. I procrastinate too. The only solace is knowing other writers have been where I'm at right now.

There are others things going on that I've not mentioned that might help explain why things are going poorly with my writing endeavors, but I don't mean them as excuses for not taking the time to write each day since November 1st. It was so manageable, wasn't it? I mean what's really so hard about six or seven pages? Double-spaced ones, no less? But that's all in the past. Things have gotten out of hand in this process.

I'm off the rails. Yep, this writer is off the rails and going through a gamut of feelings just to get to some sense of equilibrium so he can continue the storytelling. That's where it, ultimately, needs to lead. I need to get back to it, but this little rant is like letting off steam. Hopefully, it'll help me get back on track. (Yes, I noticed the train references. Nice right?)

And Write, And Write, And Write...

Okay, I get it. I'm taking this writing thing too seriously. I know I didn't start out that way. I remember writing short little stories when I was kid on my Dad's electric typewriter. I was swimming in sci-fi and fantasy visions even then. I can still remember the hum of the machine, the heavy striking of the keys that sent hammers out to cover the page of paper with letters, and inevitable use of the whiteout function. My dad brought home scrap paper that I used to tap out the little stories when I wasn't filling them with scribbles and pictures.

There was no thought for plans or hashing out details of career building. I  mean, I was a little kid. I was having fun playing with the typewriter. I was using my fertile imagination to create. I rekindled that  fun years later when I started messing with comic book writing. I wrote a short story in school. It was the only one I wrote and finished. Nothing more came of this thing called writing until I had consumed a fair amount of fantasy fiction. I am talking Tad Williams, David Eddings, and, yes, Robert Jordan. Epic stuff.

I started a novel and, a long time later, I did finish it. I've told that story enough. I've done tons of freelance writing, including articles and ebooks. I've written lots of short stories. I've written nonfiction and fiction books. The point is…I have been writing. I keep writing posts about how I'm having so much trouble writing, but I have produced a body of work. Am I meeting some self-imposed expectations? No. No, I'm not. And you know what? That is really okay. Or at least it should be.

I keep setting these goals and laying out expectations that I consistently fail to meet. Why do this? I reason that I need some level of organization if I am going to be consistent producing work and then finding paths to publication for the work. That's the more sophisticated thinking that I've picked up listening to other pro writers and since I became publisher.

But, I've misplaced the fun parts. I've got to recover the fun parts. So, I will keep writing.

Back On The Horse…Or Yep, I'm Writing Again

Seems like these points where I end up spending much longer away from writing fiction are coming pretty regularly. Maybe they're part of my process. The honest point to make is that it probably has a lot to do with procrastination. (I know, shocker right?) Anyway, I'm back on this blog writing something of an update.

First off, I don't have any new stories finished so I can add those to the list. However, I am working on a book. In fact, I could say that I'm working on two books. I've even put tracking meters up to show the rate of my progress on these two novel projects. Does this mean I'm not writing shorts or I've given up the challenge? Short answer: Nope. Not quitting. I'll get those stories done.

I'm just trying to get firing on some new work and thought it would be nice to have the meters up here for some form of accountability. Or just for fun maybe. I definitely don't want to do if it isn't fun.

I'm working on books. I might even have  nonfiction gig ramping up soon. I'll have to see what the client says when I present estimates. I like doing the co-authored work. It's fun to stretch myself as a writer. Part of that stretching surely happens when delving once again into the kind of nonfiction subjects I've written about before but I'd also add that I plan stretching in fiction as well. Particularly genres. But, that's all further down the pipeline.

Well, that's the update, folks. I'll catch you later. My collection of short stories Other Realms: Volume One  will be out very soon so I'll put something up about that in the next week or so.

NaNoWriMo 2013 Update #3

Hit some roadblocks to writing lately. I've lost days with other business and in taking care of my son. Even the best plans are subject to the demands of reality. I only have about 10 days left in this month and that means 10 days to reach 50,000 words on this novel. The task has grown more difficult because the number of words I need a day keeps growing and the time I have available has been shrinking.

Does this mean I'm giving up again? No. Not yet. I don't like the idea of failing to finish NaNoWriMo another year. If I can reclaim time and if I can work around my other obligations more effectively then yes, it can work out and I can cross the finish line.

Right now Killer Of Dragons is at 13,663 words. Yeah, I know, I have to go a long ways to recover from this. Wish me luck.

A Day In The Life Of A Pro Writer

Recently, author Dean Wesley Smith began a series of daily posts where he documents his days while writing a 70,000 word ghostwritten novel in 7 to 10 days.  The process is illuminating and there are many great comments below each post. I've learned a lot and I know other writers (and would-be writers) have too.

As Smith has said many times in past, there are a great many myths believed by writers and perpetuated by the publishing industry and academia. Most new writers swallow them hook, line, and sinker. I know I did for a while. I credit both him and his wife, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, for their willingness to break down those myths and give writers a different perspective on all of it--the view of the long-term professional, working writer. I've thanked them profusely in private and on this blog in the past.

They have certainly paid it forward hundreds of times over for me over the last couple of years. This series of Smith's is a great refresher and the perfect illustration of the methods and the perspective he has mentioned in numerous posts. I know I didn't believe that a novel could be written within a week, but Smith has stopped telling us and now offers to show us what it takes. I know I'm thankful for that.

If you want to read Smith's daily entries so far, here are DAY ONE, DAY TWO, DAY THREE, DAY FOUR, DAY FIVE, DAY SIX, DAY SEVEN, DAY EIGHT, DAY NINE, AND DAY TEN.  Read THE DAY AFTER too. (Remember to read the comments too. Lots of value information there too.)