Million Word Dues

I have been busy. Really busy with college papers, work, kids, family...well, life. It happens to the worst of us, I am afraid. It's ok though. I really don't mind. Sure I have less time to write, but it is getting sorted. I am learning how to make the little time I have to do this count. My word counts are increasing and I am making pretty good progress on the WIP. What I am doing is something that I have read about from countless bloggers and writers whose advice I look up whenever I am standing in line somewhere doing something other than writing. I am learning how to turn something that I am just learning how to do in to an obsession. I do not yet live, breathe, eat and sleep plot twists and scenery descriptions, but I am learning how. It is hard. See, a while back I thought it would be a great idea to write a book. Then I realized, oh shit, I don't know how. Oh, and while we are at it, let's try to make a career out of it. In the meantime, I am learning how to tu...

Ok, I am back writing a little bit more. This story that I am currently working on is an affirmation of the fact that I have been negligent in my duties to writing. My character comes after me to find out WTF has been going on with me. I think it is going to work pretty good. I am just not sure where to go from here. One thing that I haven't been doing is going back and editing stories that I have already written to make them better. I posted one on scribophile (wonderful site, BTW, with great people who are really helpful and caring.) and I received some wonderful critiques on it. But I haven't acted on any of them. I have to fix that. So coffee breaks over, back on my head.

Write a lot, read a lot. That is the advice that I have heard and read as I devour every scrap of information I can in learning to become a writer, or at least a better writer. I have proudly read a lot and written a little. That is not to say that I have written little because the small word count that I have achieved has come as a result of serious struggle. Fighting for words, as I do for everything else, it seems, will be my lot. I will accept it. It is either that or be content reading other's stories and have no voice for my own. That is unacceptable. That being said, I am currently reading "A Game of Thrones" by George R. R. Martin. This is a brilliant work. I started it and was a little dismayed how he shifted the perspective from character to character. After the second chapter, I was ready to put it down and move on to something else. I am so glad that I didn't. Please note that I am a novice. I am learning the craft. I know what I know and think soundly ...

I have joined a website that I hope very much will help me. I have no doubt, actually, that it can. I hope only that I will take the things to heart that I read there and not just give up. The website in question is Scribophile . It is designed to get peer review and editing of author's works. It is amazing! One of the things, however, that I have come to realize is that I have so very much to learn. I was reading a couple of chapters to do a critique of a fellow writer's novel, or 'work in progress' (WIP). I was really into it. There were some things that I would have done differently, but I really liked where they went with it, and the plot has amazing potential and endless possibilities. When I finished the two chapters, I came to the conclusion that I am WAY out of my league here. But, what the hell, I will offer a critique and correct some grammar and maybe offer a small amount of advice regarding a couple of word choices that I wasn't sure fit properly....

/Begin Rant/ I have been trying to start a short story. The idea behind this particular effort was to get something done in order to practice some craft techniques that I really need to work on. Those particular points are the subject of another post, perhaps, but not important now. My problem here is that I don't have an original idea for a premise. i.e. The main character is a 'insert whatever the hell I am missing here'  that 'does stuff' and uses 'whatever' to help him accomplish his lofty goals along with friends 'so-and-so' and "this-and-such.' Damnit. It seems that every time I finally think of something it sounds like a great idea at first, until I start fleshing it out and I suddenly realize that it has been done before. Ok.../End Rant/ coffee break is over.....back on my head.

I am frustrated. I need to write, I need to read, and I am angry that I can't cannot do both simultaneously. I need to learn more, I need to learn faster. I am very patient with some things, but this is a struggle for me. My problem is that that I take forever to come up with a course of action. I want to do the right thing. I evaluate and re-evaluate, weigh the pros and cons and then choose. Right, wrong, or indifferent once the choice is made, I have to run with it. I have the course, there is no reason not to get it done. I have so much to learn. I read some of the writers forums and really like the majority. I was reading one this evening about the copy edit process and the hostilities that some writers feel when dealing with a copy editor. I SO wish I had that problem. That would mean that I was getting published. I'll take it. Problems like that do not seem so bad to me, but it is a matter of perspective. I cannot imagine the difference in perspective from working...

I have been woefully neglectful in my writing, and my reading; which, from what I can gather is, if not the same thing then at a minimum, first cousins. I read that sentence after I wrote it and thought to myself, jeez, that sentence sucks! I should break that up better or make it two sentences...maybe I can use a semicolon or something... I then realized that I was writing in stream of consciousness. Hmm. I don't recall ever doing that. I am tired, but damn. Wow! I was writing in "stream of consciousness" and I didn't realize it till I re-read that sentence and realized a couple of things. The first thing I realized is that I absolutely HATE semicolons. I read a headline and the first few lines if an article once (that I intended to go back and finish and still do) that suggested that semicolons were useless and certainly not something that one would want to use. The line that intrigued me was "Why would you want to semi-do anything?" I liked that, a...