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I need to focus.

Current projects:

  • The Lone Wolf.  I’m hoping that after this latest round of edits (halfway through) I’ll be able to start sending out queries.  However, I realized that the beginning of the first chapter needs to be rewritten, again.  And chapter 15 should be two chapters, which means I need to write another Andrew chapter (fortunately his teenage sister thought she might be pregnant, requiring him to do some soul-searching with respect to his childless relationships and all the small people passing through his life).  Nine months to write the book, and apparently a lifetime to edit it.
  • A Handful of Wishes.  I’ve been thinking about this one a lot lately, especially Paribanu’s character and Zeke’s relationship with her.  If I weren’t so stubborn, I’d focus all my energy on this one and come back to The Lone Wolf when I’m a better writer because that one is more nuanced, I think. Oh well.
  • Various short stories and flash pieces.  The nice thing about flash is that if I have an idea, I can usually hash out a story in a day or two.  Then off to my critiquers, and out to the shark tank of the publication world within a week.  It’s a nice break from novels.

Upcoming projects:

  • Aida, the daughter in The Lone Wolf, is demanding a sequel.  She grew up to be just like her father, unfortunately.  This’ll possibly a future NaNoWriMo.
  • But not this year.  I have an idea for that already, and today I realized that it’s going to be half steampunk.  I’ve never written steampunk.  I’ve never even read it (someone said that 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea could be considered it).  My closest experience with it was Will Smith in Wild Wild West a dozen years ago.  So looks like my free nonwriting time will involve devouring everything I can on the genre.  And I know what you’re thinking – why not just write a non-steampunk novel?  Oh, Dear Reader, if only it were that easy.
  • I have a list of about a dozen journals I’d like to submit to, only no stories to send in.  So, hopefully working on finding pieces for homes, in addition to homes for pieces already written. On that note, I’ve been reading a lot of short stories recently, trying to see what’s out there.  Maybe with the school year starting soon, I’ll get some inspiration from my students.

What’s on your to-do list, either writing or reading?

4 Comments

  1. Ha! We were just talking about Wild Wild West yesterday, after coming out of Cowboys & Aliens. We thought C&A would be more campy, like WWW, but it wasn’t at all (it was a solid, serious Western, with aliens). That got us on the subject of Steampunk Westerns, like WWW and the later episodes of Brisco County. And have you ever checked out Deadlands? It’s Steampunk Western Horror Fantasy. Very interesting.

    My to-do list today consists solely of getting my scenes summarized by midnight. Thankfully, with the breakthrough last night, that’s now in reach. I’m not reading any fiction at the moment, other than short Cthulhu stories in the “throne room.” I’m reading through Conflict, Action, and Suspense from the Elements of Writing Fiction series while on the exercise bike.

  2. Oy. You know the sound a lawnmower makes when it won’t quite start? That’s me. I’ve written first pages for about six new stories, and none of them have stuck. It’s like I’m afraid to sink into them for some reason. Old projects? About nine unfinished novels. A bunch of nearly finished short stories/flash stories and … yeah, I have a little problem. *dials therapist*

    You’re making progress, those gears are turning and stories coming together. Excellent! I think using Will Smith for prep worked pretty well for you. :)

  3. Sounds like me and all my little WiPs and NiPs. As you noticed though (Thanks for the luck btw), I’m going to focus on my Steampunk Horror right now.

    I laughed at your comment about 9 months to write/lifetime to edit. It made the comparison of a book to a child in my head. 9 months to carry the child so that it’s complete and a lifetime to guide it and mold it.

  4. Acceptable Schizophrenic – I sure hope it doesn’t take me a lifetime to guide and mold my novel!

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