Time Isn't Always On My Side

Seriously.  Like never.

I have so many stories I want to tell.  I also have a 60+ hour a week job.  I am married to a wonderful lady who deserves every ounce of my attention.  I have a house to maintain.

As Book Two (Requiter?) plods to its publish date, I have begun Book Three. 

The artwork is near completion for Book Two.  The edits continue to filter in.  Soon, I will publish the book and move into marketing it (bleh).

I have been writing Book Three.  I have to write it while the story is still fresh in my head.  There is so much I want to get down before I forget it.  I really like how it is shaping up.

There is a short story sitting on my desk that needs the first few hundred words rewritten.  I wanted to publish this story months ago, but I received comments on it that I can't ignore.  The beginning of the story is just not on the same pace as the rest of it.  In my experience, it only takes a few sentences added, changed, or removed, to fix these problems, but since my brain has been tied up with the Drums of Rallinwar series, it has been difficult to address.

On top of that, there are two short stories that need to be written.  I have the notes for them, and there are just a couple of minor tweaks to make before they get written.

I have another short story that is almost complete.  I need to complete it and publish it.

And already, I have been considering the next book.  I have a story that I began a couple of years ago that will get written, but I have also been brewing a "fantastic" type story.  One of those with over the top fantasy elements.

I could lock myself away in my office for a week and not finish all the stories on my list.  I honestly get excited just thinking about what is next.  And the excitement only increases when I am told the manuscript for Book Two is in much better shape than Blood of Two was when i passed it off to the editors.  I mean, I feel as though I have improved, and it has been validated by those I work with.

I only hope you see it the same way when it gets published.

Time isn't on my side, but this is an exciting time for me.

Just Effing Smile

Most parents know how difficult it can be to raise children, and most of us have a list of things that would fall onto a list of parenting mistakes.  We all make them, regardless of whether you want to admit it.  Come on.  You can't go 18+ years and not make some sort of boneheaded mistake that you later (often the moment after it happens) regret.

I have three adult children, and I can tell you that most of those stupid mistakes are harmless in the end.  Yes, I know, there are some lopsided adults out there that want to blame their personal issues on a mistake their parents made.  After all, we are a nation of finger-pointers.

My children listed their favorite vacation memories during a Facebook conversation.  It included several memories that made me smile.  I am thankful, as a parent, that I could be a part of making those memories possible.  Somewhere in that top ten favorite memories list was a memory that makes a top ten list of my own; the top ten mistakes I made as a parent.

The kids were very young at the time and we had taken the tent and spent a few days in Missouri.  As with all of our trips, we had a blast.  It was on the way home, somewhere on a back highway in southern Missouri we came upon this old concrete bridge that had been closed.  It was an awesome looking structure, so we pulled over to explore a bit.

The kids were tired, which is most often accompanied by cranky in children that age.  Before we returned to the car, we decided the stop warranted a photo.  As mentioned, the kids were cranky, which in turn made mom cranky, which, as we all know, gets dear old dad cranky.  We were all cranky.

Of course, it is difficult to smile when you are cranky, and who wants a photo of cranky kids.  After what felt like hours of trying to coerce the cranky kiddies into a smile, and the cranky meter pegging out for all five people involved, it happened.

"Just Effing Smile!"

Yep, I said it.  I said it to little kids.  My little kids.  That memory has haunted me since.  Every time I think about it, I cringe.  What a horrible father!  I cussed at my kids!  To this day, I hate that memory.  Nothing I can do about it now, but it still bothers me, and always will.

Imagine my surprise when I saw this memory float back onto a Facebook page, and the kids were laughing about it.  One of their favorite vacation memories?

Wow!  My kids are messed up!  All I can do is effing smile.

Progress on the book:

I was hoping to publish book two today, but regretfully, this won't happen.  The delay is my fault, but now I wait for other parties before I can publish.  There is just a couple of days of editing to complete, once I get the notes back, and there is the book cover and the map.  I am waiting on others, but only because they had to wait on me.

At this point, all I can say is "soon".

I haven't been idle while waiting, I am already deep into book three.  Hopefully that one will happen according to plan.

Growth of a Writer

There is a writer that I am a big fan of. He began his career with a game company and has written many novels based in that game world. He is well known for his ability to write vivid battle scenes, and really, I just admire his imagination and the writing that results.

I picked up one of his earlier works, written some fifteen or so years ago, and, while it is a good story, I found the writing borderline amateurish. Do not misunderstand my critique, I still enjoyed the story, and the book was written good enough for publication. Mechanically, this book just had several flaws that I don't see in his recent writings. And quite honestly, it may just be that he used a passive voice that falls beneath the list of pet peeves.

If the action is worth recording on paper (or screen), give it the power that it deserves. Just one of many guidelines I try to adhere to. (notice I said try)

Through this writers works, one can see a simple truth illustrated: The more you write, the better you can become.

Of course, this assumes that a writer's goal is to pen something that is better than what he or she has penned prior.