The Good, The Ugly, well I am posting agin, right?
Been busy with real life so here's a few thoughts at random:
31March2016
On My Mind's Eye
The toughest challenge anyone ever gets is change. Not just the normal day to day shifting of priorities or family life, but the things that make you stop and think. For example: Taxes, utilities, costs of living, the expense of a hot water heater blowing up. Yeah, that stuff. Maybe you bend over to scoop the 3.5 pounds of converted cat food out of the local collection container and realize you aren't so flexible anymore. That maybe you have put on more than a few pounds and wish you had time to work it off or run or diet or what have you. It sucks! Lately I have noticed that my interests in writing have changed. My reading changed too. It is more for learning how this author or that writer or who did what to make this scene or that plot flow together. I admit I consider myself a bald amateur in any sense of the word when it comes to the greats like Tolkien, Heinlein, Drake, Weber, Ringo, Ahern, Corriea, Kupari, Williamson, Mackey, Freer, Hoyt, Sanderson and so many others. I think my stuff stinks. That it is 3rd rate, lard grade, gopher gut grease. Personal paranoia aside, I have had several people tell me that I need to publish a story. Not just any story or trivial notation, but my offhand story written a while back as a joke. A play on words. So push these friends did and I started writing. I even asked for some redshirt volunteers and got so many I will never run out in the story. And if I promised to kill you off in gory manner via the story and didn't do so, I apologize ahead of time. Just remind me and you'll be slaughtered in due course in a future work. But back to the story. So I have this burgeoning behemoth now starting to knock over water glasses with its tail and wanting to go out into the world. Well, I have been busy with the story I wrote for the Baen Fantasy Award entry, which I feel is totally inadequate personally, mostly due to paring it down and condensing the story to fit the 8,000 word limit. Well I fit it, but barely. Wish me luck cause I am going to continue to write on that story for a future book series. The current work, 'Bird In Hand' (The name may change depending on my editor's recommendations.) which many of you have read on my WIX page here, has been rearranged and expanded since I last posted a snippet. I am going back to work on it and will let you all know how it goes as it progresses. But the snippets will cease for now as I do corrections and expand that universe a bit. I am aiming for around 80 to 100K for a Novel/Novella story. I also plan on having a second book for that series almost complete soon after. Yes, even a third if there is any interest. Like I said, I consider myself a childish amateur as far as writing goes. Yes I went to high school and college. Yes I know what punctuation is and how to place it. Grammer isn't unknown to me. Yes I am also learning how much I have yet to learn or relearn. Simon and Schuster's writing books are on my personal library shelf and will be referenced often, at least I hope so. Wish me luck or favor from whatever powers be that you atune to and maybe I'll finish this out proudly. Good or bad it will be my first real,officially published, honest to goodness, ISBN numbered work. I am aiming for June, I hope.
Later,
The Ermine