Writing and Moving Forward
It's a while since I posted here. More than month's passed since World Fantasy in Columbus. Thankfully, I didn't experience any con crud, and I'll credit the good meals I ate with friends in various restaurants around the convention center, as well as the copious amounts of Blue Moon that I consumed in the hotel bar. I think I've avoided posting because I didn't want to make any promises I couldn't keep. November is rife with tales of novel attempts, and I've traveled that path a time or two in the past.
I believe I need to change things up on this blog, adding in some personal reports to go along with the writing observations-though today's post falls into the latter category-because part of a writer's journey involves the people and experiences that make up their life. There aren't any demons I'm battling, such as the ones exposed by the contestants I watch on The Biggest Loser each season, but my daily schedule will become complicated with the new year when the family purchases a membership at the Washtenaw County recreation center, and I'd like to record how we're doing. I work only a couple of miles away, so making time for exercise amounts to the same as making time for writing.
Plus, I still feel inspired by my time at the convention. Several members of my writing group continue moving forward with their careers, and each bi-weekly submission presented for critique reminds me why I enjoy writing.
I successfully finished and edited my flash fiction piece for the New Scientist contest. I'm fairly certain I didn't win or even place, but I consider the story successful because (a) I finished it and (b) the writing group liked it for the most part. One critter called it a "prose poem" and that pretty much hit the mark for the effect I wanted.
I made several passes at an outline for the new story, which involved research into autism and genetics, as well as attempts at story starts to see whether I had the right tone/voice for the main character. Part of the problem I face is making the character an active protagonist when acting as an observer is his particular "area of expertise" as a savant. Current plan is to work on fleshing the story out in the next few weeks and submit it to the writing group at the next meeting. Then I can go back to the novel outline and tackle Sacrifices / Into Dust Descend once again. With my plans for exercise, working with the volleyball club as it moves into a new facility and youngest daughter plays in her 15s season, and dealing with possible sinus surgery again, I want to outline the book, and finish a good draft before the Fourth of July (which would give me a cause for celebration). That's about 180 days if I only take 4-5 days for the outline.
I believe I need to change things up on this blog, adding in some personal reports to go along with the writing observations-though today's post falls into the latter category-because part of a writer's journey involves the people and experiences that make up their life. There aren't any demons I'm battling, such as the ones exposed by the contestants I watch on The Biggest Loser each season, but my daily schedule will become complicated with the new year when the family purchases a membership at the Washtenaw County recreation center, and I'd like to record how we're doing. I work only a couple of miles away, so making time for exercise amounts to the same as making time for writing.
Plus, I still feel inspired by my time at the convention. Several members of my writing group continue moving forward with their careers, and each bi-weekly submission presented for critique reminds me why I enjoy writing.
I successfully finished and edited my flash fiction piece for the New Scientist contest. I'm fairly certain I didn't win or even place, but I consider the story successful because (a) I finished it and (b) the writing group liked it for the most part. One critter called it a "prose poem" and that pretty much hit the mark for the effect I wanted.
I made several passes at an outline for the new story, which involved research into autism and genetics, as well as attempts at story starts to see whether I had the right tone/voice for the main character. Part of the problem I face is making the character an active protagonist when acting as an observer is his particular "area of expertise" as a savant. Current plan is to work on fleshing the story out in the next few weeks and submit it to the writing group at the next meeting. Then I can go back to the novel outline and tackle Sacrifices / Into Dust Descend once again. With my plans for exercise, working with the volleyball club as it moves into a new facility and youngest daughter plays in her 15s season, and dealing with possible sinus surgery again, I want to outline the book, and finish a good draft before the Fourth of July (which would give me a cause for celebration). That's about 180 days if I only take 4-5 days for the outline.