Dia de los Muertes is an interesting Mexican Tradition. Kids decorate candy skulls with frosting and eat them. Or just leave them out to look at. My Favorite Daughter is taking a Spanish class at school and got to take home a sugar skull mold. I let her find the recipe and prepare the sugar. Yeah, not the best idea.

What she wound up with was pretty much a sticky mess even after a couple of days of letting it sit in the mold. SO off we went to the store to get a sugar skull she could decorate. I did a google search on sugar skull san diego. Google is awesome like that. I called a place. They had sugar skulls available in different sizes. We loaded up into the Tahoe and off we went.

We wound up at Back from Tomboctou (not Timbukto, but close enough). I didn’t think anything of the name and off we went. I love living in the future because my phone told me exactly how to get there and like magic, we got there and parked right in front. I had thought it was a candy store (who else would sell sugar skulls?) but this was a store dedicated to folk art. If we hadn’t been in a hurry I would have loved to stay and look around. There was so much cool stuff in there. We only had time to get the sugar skull, look around for about 2 minutes, paid and were back out the door. I really do need to go back. That place was amazing! If you need anything for the Day of the Dead and you’re in the San Diego Area, check them out.

NaNoWriMo. Yeah, that’s going on, isn’t it? I knocked out just over 1700 words (or just shy of 1800). V&A Shipping was a little more difficult to get into as I’m having to think that this is a sequel and I need to make some minor references back to the first book in the first chapter so the reader won’t be lost. I’ve accomplished that. I’d introduced the new ship’s computer (she doesn’t like Victor very much and Vic hates being called Victor).  They’ve already lost the planet they were towing (in the first sentence of the story) so action right off the bat.

I’m excited to keep this one going. It’s already a fun story and the character banter is so easy to write. If you want to buddy up for this year’s NaNoWriMo I’m at jrmurdock (yeah, I’m tricky when I name things) .If I see you, I’ll add you back. The race to 50,000 words is on. If I’m lucky, I’ll break that this year.

V&A Shipping was right around 90,000 words so I’ve set that as the goal for V&A Shipping II. I’m also courting cover artists and editors for book 1. Could both of these see print next year? It’s highly likely. I also want to write Astel II and Of Gnomes and Dwarves II in short order so I’ll have a full plate if I can keep the pace up. Let’s keep our fingers crossed. Next year might be a big publishing year. At some point I need to make up a 10 year plan and plan out these publications.

I need more books under my belt first so I’d better get the day job out of the way first so I can get on that!

Until Tomorrow!

WOO WOO!

P.S. For those that read this, I’m writing these early in the morning and scheduling them for noon. Not sure why, just seems like a good time to schedule a post. If this works for you, let me know. I know RSS readers don’t really care what time something comes in, just that it comes in.

*Note: Before I get into the meat and potatoes of this post, let me say that my faith in humanity has been restored as my sunglasses were discovered and returned to me! Today is a good day!

Today begins NaNoWriMo. National Novel Writing Month. V&A Shipping is halfway plotted and I will begin the writing sometime after the day job is over. I will knock out words fast and furious. I’ve reread good portions of V&A Shipping and I even have parts set up for B.T. Justice and Junior (Bring me a Hamburger!) I’m excited. I mean having difficulty concentrating excited.

This is a sequel. The first was a complete story. This will also be a complete story. It won’t start where the last one left off and that will help fill in the back story as to how they got to where they are. This will give me more words to play with as I fill in the blanks, clue the reader in to new crew members, now job roles, changes in the dynamic of the crew.

There’s also another thing this will help with and that’s tie-in short stories to fill in those blanks for the reader. But that’s a discussion for another time.

I will attempt to write 50,000 words this month. What will this do to my annual goal? It will put me around 449,000 words if I only write those 50,000 words. I think I’ll pass that before the end of this month. This means December will be all gravy. I’ll have hit and surpassed that 450,000 word goal. It means I’ve already set up my spreadsheet for next year to hit 500,000 words. I’m excited. I’m anxious. I’m happy.

My intention is to keep upping that goal until it gets too high. That’s when I’ll know where my ‘sweet spot’ is. How many words can I produce in a year. Could I have 12 NaNoWriMos in me? If I can (doing this part time) then I should be able to get some stories out there and into the wild. Get books out there. Get them as ebooks and print editions. Start making a small income from my writing. This is a dream I’ve had for far too long and it’s time I took the reigns and put myself out there far more than I ever have.

Yes, it’s scary. I know there will be difficulties. There will be problems. I will have to put money into edits, cover art, layout. I might have to put my secret projects to the side so I can write more. Why work on those when I have such a huge back catalog of work just sitting and waiting to see the light of day?

I did a mental inventory the other day. Including Astel (which I intend to re-edit and update) I have 4 books just waiting to get out there. V&A Shipping, Of Gnomes and Dwarves, Paradise Palms, Billy Barbarian. That’s 5 books that all can lead to a series.

On the burner I now have V&A Shipping II, I’m going to finally write the sequel for Astel, To Fall From the Sky is over 1/2 way done, Almost-Super Heroes is 1/3 of the way done, Life of Lists is 20,000 words in. I need to finish all of there and then start writing the second books in each of these (well, maybe not Life of Lists). But the point is I’ve already set myself up with a large number of works.

Have I been looking for a publisher or agent? Yes

I sent some of my work off to a publisher. It’s been almost a year and I haven’t heard back. This is publishing. These things happen. I understand. It’s not a fast process. Publishing will always be a slow moving vessel.

That doesn’t mean I need to stand still and wait. V&A Shipping already has an audience and an audience that’s asked for a sequel. I would love to have that one traditional published, and I’ll still give it a chance. I’m patient, but I need to be realistic. I’m about to write the sequel. I need to get book 1 out there for readers so once book 2 is ready, I can also release it. And a tie-in short story…or two. Maybe a tie-in Novella. Who knows.

There’s so much I can do with V&A Shipping that I waiting is hurting me.

I can do the same with Of Gnomes and Dwarves. Both of these universes are fun to write in. I can write the books quickly. I think they are strong stories that readers will enjoy. That’s my goal: write stories that people enjoy.

I’ve said this many times over the years. I don’t write deep philosophical works. I write to entertain. If you get something more from one of my books, awesome! If you read a story and had fun, BAM! That’s what I wanted. If you read something and just didn’t enjoy it or get it, then my writing isn’t for you (more than likely). That’s ok. I know what I write isn’t for everyone. I just need to find my audience.

I’m rambling. I’m excited and I ramble when I’m excited. Just like the new crew member of the S.S. Acid Rat will be. B.O.B. will be a BLAST to write. I can just tell from my plotting. As will the new ship’s computer, Muffin. Oh, the crew is in for a bumpy ride.

I will let you know where I’m at…

Until Tomorrow!

WOO WOO!

Let me start by thanking renaissanceninja for his comment yesterday. I’m still giving serious consideration for going the self-published route with Of Gnomes and Dwarves and V&A Shipping just because of the fact I’d love to be able to write anything I want in these adventures be they novels, novellas, tie in short stories. I’ve got so many ideas for those worlds that having a contract under a major publisher might limit my ability to do what I want with my characters.

Other books, like Paradise Palms, To Fall From the Sky, and Life of Lists, as far as I’m concerned are one off books and I don’t have any intention of revisiting those worlds. So I may still seek an agent and/or publisher for those novels. I just need to get my butt working harder on completing, editing, and getting those works available. I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me, I just need to get it moving in the right direction.

That being said, I wrote a little yesterday morning. Not nearly as much as I had the previous few days as I finished up Of Gnomes and Dwarves. I did a little writing in Golden West as I want to write the December Episode so I don’t have to worry about that during November. I should be able to finish that off today so I’ll have a fresh start tomorrow on V&A Shipping II.

Speaking of V&A Shipping II. I spent a good amount of time going through book 1. I pulled out all the people, places, ships, races, etc. This will give me a good base to start with for book II as I need to know all that went on before. I noticed something kind of funny. Joey has a last name. Vic and June do not. This oversight will need to be corrected when I prepare V&A Shipping for print. Can’t have characters running around with just a first name.

It was fun to revisit the book. I didn’t re-read the entire thing, I scanned and read chunks. I looked for names and watched as things scrolled by. I’m pretty sure I caught them all. I can’t wait to jump in.

Tonight, while all the Halloween festivities are going on, I plan on doing some plotting. I at least want to get a one page plot and chapter by chapter blows for the first dozen chapters. I’m not looking to try and plot the entire book. I’ll do that a little at a time as the month goes on so that I stay 5-10 chapters ahead in the plotting so I’ll be ready in case a plot hole appears that I need to write past.

Yesterday I didn’t spend getting any work done for the day job. I spent the first part of my day in a CPR/First Aid class. If you cut yourself, I can help. I’ve taken classes before and it’s interesting to see how it’s changed over the years. I still remember my first CPR course when I was in 7th or 8th grade.

After that I went to do have a physical. Both of these courses are for my work. In the event of a strike, these are requirements. The physical was for the Department of Transportation. My appointment was for 3PM. I got there at 2:30 and signed in. I was finally called at 3 to fill out some paperwork. I was called around 4 to start my physical. After 5 minutes of going from the vision station, to the hearing station, to pee in a cup, to another station, I was put in a room. Around 4:45 a doctor finally saw me and spent about 3 minutes doing the fastest physical I’ve ever had and I was back in the waiting room.

By 5:30 I was finally ready to leave and realized I didn’t have my sunglasses. My good sunglasses. They walked me through the back area and to all the stations I’d gone to. No sunglasses. I left a note at the front in case anyone sees them they can call me. I’m disappointed in myself for misplacing them. I should have left them in Sputtery Truck and not taken them inside. I’m upset that I lost them, but I’m not that upset. I’d had them for nearly 3 years and they had a couple scratches in bothersome places on the lenses. I also have 3 $10 pairs of sunglasses so it’s not an emergency to get a new pair. I’m just upset with myself because I tried to be so careful not to lose them. I may have misplaced them from time to time, but they always turned up. This time I know the location I left them, they just weren’t there. I’m sure they grew legs and walked off.

Ah well. Cest la vi.

There is much to do today, so I’d better get at it.

Until Tomorrow!

WOO WOO!

Two things happened last night. First of my favorite daughter had her last volleyball game of the season. They lost, but they fought hard. Today, no more practice. Tryouts for club aren’t until the middle of November. We’ll be doing things to make sure she stays in shape until club starts up, but for now, she’s got herself a little break.

Secondly I wrote 4000 words last night and finished off Of Gnomes and Dwarves Book 1. I didn’t just finish it off, but I feel really good about how the ending came out. I think it’s a lot stronger than the original version (which was good, but bumpy). As I’d been saying I wrote this book the first time with a lot of passion, and not a lot of talent. This time around I think my writing skills have improved to the point where I wrote the story the way I’d intended to. Only one character didn’t come out the way I wanted and I’ll be fixing that in the rwrites. Overall I’m happy with the effort, but it’s time to let it sit for a month before I jump in and start to edit.

I’ll be editing the next edition of the Action Pack Podcast tonight. Mike and I will have that up and available hopefully tomorrow. Now that I think about this, I think I know what I’ll be doing today and tomorrow. I’ll be writing the December edition of Golden West. This story is also coming up on its climax and the writing on that will go quickly as well.

I also need to do a little plotting on V&A Shipping II. I’m finding I write better and faster when I have at least a little understanding of where my story is going. I’m excited to start this project fro NaNoWriMo. It’s been too long since I’ve been in this universe. Once I have it completed, my favorite daughter wants me to write Astel II (Astel: Chooses). At least that’s the working title. Then I want to write Of Gnomes and Dwarves Book II.

So many words, so little time. In the past 4 days I’ve written 14,500 words. I feel great about that. I’m hoping I can keep this pace up for at least the Month of November. That means I’ll be able to crank out V&A Shipping II during November, and jump right into Astel II. Maybe I’ll even circle back around and finish off To Fall From the Sky and get to work on Life of Lists. I have a lot of works in the air that are partially started and need to be written, rewritten, and finished.

At this point I’m not 100% sure what I’ll be doing with them. My hope is I’ll be able to get them written, edited, get some cover art, and I may self-publish some of them, I’d like to podcast some of them, I’d like to make them available in print. I’m getting to the point on this year and coming into next year where I’ll be able to put out work faster than ever before. This means I truly can treat this like a part time job and start getting works out there and available for people to read. In some ways I want to seek out a publisher, in other ways I want to do this on my own. It’s a confusing time for me as a writer right now. I just need to get past this mental block, get more work completed, and then make a choice.

What are you thoughts? Should I seek traditional publishing for some, self-pub others, podcast some? If I keep writing I’ll have work coming out faster than a traditional publishing could handle and even though I’m patient, I don’t want the first books held up while I pump out second books in a series. While I work through NaNoWriMo I’ll have to give this a lot more thought.

First I need to go to a CPR training class, so I’d better get ready and go.

Until Tomorrow!

WOO WOO!

Gearing up for NaNoWriMo isn’t an easy thing. It’s not about being able to write, it’s about knowing what you’re going to write. At least for me it is. Each year when I jumped into NaNoWriMo with no clear idea of what I was going to do, I failed. Even when I knew and had plotted what I was going to write, I failed.

Why?

I’ve been giving this a lot of thought. I don’t want to have a repeat failure this year. I am doing what I can to curb distractions, increase productivity when I write, and stay focused during those writing periods. Here are some of the things I’ve done to get ready for NaNoWriMo thus far.
Researched Names or created names for new characters

Created location names (names really throw me out of writing flow)

Established the series of events and viewpoints

Thought about the overall plot of the story (I still need to actually plot the story)

Informed the Wife and My Favorite Daughter my plan for November.

Worked hard to try and Finish Of Gnomes and Dwarves Book 1 prior to November 1st.

With all that I knew I had to get Of Gnomes and Dwarves Book 1 completed prior to November 1st when NaNoWriMo starts. That to me is the most important at this stage. I want to hit the ground running and build up a good buffer before the month gets underway and I get bombarded by work, the holidays, and other obligations. Because I’ve been working hard to get OGAD done, I’ve written over 10,000 words in the past three days. Oddly, and without intending to, I cut out two of the three major scenes in the end. They didn’t fit, didn’t work, and needed to be cut. Everything fits together much better and there’s no severe drop in the action at the end of the story. I’m happier with the climax of the final battle now.

I’ve got probably three more chapters to write and OGAD Book 1 (first draft) will be completed. I’m excited about this. This was one of my big goals for the year. I’ll be able to let it sit for a month while I get to work on V&A II. I’ll be spending some time plotting so I have a better guide for November and won’t get stuck with what’s happened to be before where I’ll be cruising along and think “Well, what should happen next?”. I need to get all that thinking out of the way so I can just sit and actually write.

So did I spend my entire weekend writing? Heck no! That’s silly. I watched an episode of the World Poker Tour (I love poker). I watched 3 episodes of Mythbusters. The premier of Gold Rush (that show is so addicting). Went and took care of some shopping. Had dinner at Fred’s (I needed a good burger!) Read a good chunk of the Intrepid Girlbot, Dilbert, XKCD, a little Frankenstien, and a couple chapters of Mike Stackpole’s Of Limited Loyalty. Oh, and I solved all the levels of the latest Angry Birds Seasons.

Even though I did all that, I still managed over 10,000 words in the past three days. I’m happy with that number. I need to try and keep up that pace for a few days so I can get a good padding on my NaNo Novel and not get caught with needing to write 30,000 words at the end of the month. I’d rather have 30,000 under my belt quickly and then I can pick nits toward the end of the month. I’ve always been caught with the “I know I can write fast so I’ll do more tomorrow”. If this year has taught me anything, it’s that I need to keep going on a daily basis to achieve my goal.

So yeah, I’ve been pounding on the keyboard and I intend to keep doing just that. First I need to get the day job out of the way.

Until Tomorrow!

WOO WOO!

Yes, I’m just like anybody else. I can procrastinate with the best of them. Sure I’ve had my share of distractions, but that’s not a reason for not writing anything the past couple of days. Even if I’d written for 10 or fifteen minutes I would have put out something, but I didn’t. I didn’t write one word of fiction. I want to complete Of Gnomes and Dwarves before November 1st. That date is quickly approaching and I still have a big battle scene to write.

I may still be able to get there. All the characters are converging on the location. A couple scenes will be cut out as they’re not as important to the story. I did re-read the end and wow is it terrible and weak. I’m hoping the new ending will be much stronger. That’s my goal anyway. The original was meant to be emotional yet bring the group together in a stronger way. The end I wrote felt forced and didn’t bring much emotion to the table.

It was fast! It was packed with action from page to page. Willie does his thing and the rest of the gang all do their best as well. I just know I can write a better and stronger ending. I think including Semal (the main villain) as a POV character helped bring more insight to the story. This is something the story lacked before.

Another thing I did was to remove the ‘storyteller’. This was a person with a prologue, interlude, and epilogue to the story that showed how events played out far into the future. I doubt I’ll bring that element back in as it didn’t enhance the overall story. I also excluded the viewpoint of two other characters I had intended to give one chapter per book to tell their viewpoint of the story. Instead they’ll only show up in other ways (dreams, mental images, etc). I’m having fun figuring out how to bring them into the fold.

I also told more side character stories in this book. I want to re-use some of these characters later in the book so it’s fun to bring them in. If I decide to self-publish this series, this will also give me a lot of material for short stories set in the same universe with these characters. Obviously Maus, Willie, Slick, and Reeg will all have to be included in short stories of their own.

As for the plotting of V&A Shipping II. Yeah, I’ve kinda put that off as well. I will likely be pantsing part of the book, but I have a general feel of where it’s going. I’m ready to start bashing out words on that one. Oh yeah. I think it’s distracted me a little from getting the end of OGAD completed, but again, that’s an excuse.

I’m also still progressing on my two secret projects. Slowly, but progressing. I’m hoping to start both on Jan 1st. I just need to get some more work done before I start.  So much to do and so little time. I also owe a couple people some audio (and one a video). This is going to be a long weekend (meaning busy) before Halloween gets here. I’d better get at it!

Until Tomorrow!

WOO WOO!

I suffer from what’s known as Low-Pressure Migraines. That means when a low pressure system moves in (usually before it rains) I get these terrible headaches as my sinuses fill up and do their best attempt to crush my brain. Usually I can function normally. Sometimes they hit hard and knock me down. That’s the way I’ve been the past couple of days. I haven’t written because my head hurts. I’ve done my day job, but feels like I’ve been in a fog.

Last night I was in bed by 7:30. I took my heavy meds. I read for a little bit and passed out with a book on my chest. I think I lost my place to, but I’ll figure out where I was. My eyes have hurt, my head has hurt and it’s affected my productivity. On top of that, we did a fun beach day that ended in rain and I had to get up at 5AM Sunday Morning to do some work (testing that a database patch was successfully installed).

Now it’s Tuesday and I’m feeling run through the wringer. When I take my stronger meds it wears me out, wipes me out, and runs me down. I don’t like the medicine-head feeling they give me. I need to yawn a few times, and get this out of my system.

I had wanted to finish Of Gnomes and Dwarves Book 1 before the end of October so I might start V&A II for NaNoWriMo. That may still happen. I’ve knocked out a couple words here and a couple words there. I’m coming up to the big battle scene and those almost write themselves. I’m sure a lot will change from what I’d written before. We’ll see how it goes. I’m hopeful, now that I have my brain back, that I can get back on track and get that done.

I’ve done a little plotting on V&A II. I’ll need to get more done before November hits. I’m liking where the story is going. I hope it’ll be as fun of a ride as the first. Just like with OGAD I can’t wait to revisit these characters. They’re a lot of fun.

My Favorite Daughter played a great volleyball game last night. Unfortunately they lost. :(. They still have two more games to play before the season is out and have a winning record thus far with only 3 losses. So proud at how well the team has done this season. In about a month and a half, club season will start. Only a short break before that begins in December.

There is much to do. So many words, so little time.

Until Tomorrow!

WOO WOO!