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Post by Admin on Mar 29, 2020 18:25:31 GMT
If weather is kind to us I plan on moving in two weeks. I'm pushing for that even if all we can get done is bedrooms. Hank starts radiation and chemo this week. He's very weak and fatigued so I don't know how he's going to handle things. I'm doing my best to get him out of the nursing home and back with us. He's not happy and the nursing home was because I wasn't handling things. I've had time to rest up and get my head on straight. I can't live with the idea of being an emotional coward. My fears should not keep him from being where he wants to be and that is not in the nursing home. He wants with us and I can give him that. I'm no longer worrying about sadness. When we lose loved ones, its supposed to hurt. If it doesn't then we aren't living right in the first place.
I'm beginning to feel the urge to write again. Right now, I'm leaning toward articles and Medium. But I also have a fun historical/western type story that I've had on the back burner of my mind for several years. I would write it as a serial. Just need to figure out if I want to put in on the website, or as a podcast. I'd still like to resurrect Roth Writers and have regular meetings at our new house. I really would like to explore radio from the 30's and 40's when they had shows like The Shadow Knows. Our family is so talented. I'd love to use everybody as voices and sound effects. It would be so much fun.
I'm seeing a light at the end of the tunnel and know that I can survive anything. I'm hoping Hank will have more time but only God knows how much. I walk in faith and even though I stumble now and then, I keep moving forward. I don't know what the future holds. Just know that the important part is to live every day as if its our last. I'm not going to waste my time but live fully and completely. I'll accept the pain along with the joy and just be grateful.
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Post by bill on Mar 30, 2020 0:11:39 GMT
That's good news that you might move in in a couple of weeks! I so hope so! I know it will take time to settle in and for it to feel like home, but you desperately need to be able to begin the process. And maybe that' what Hank needs, to have somewhere that's his own to rest and be with you and Josh. Living in a hotel room can stretch the strongest person thin. You guys have been there and then some.
This quarantine thing has given me even more time to write, since there's nowhere to go other than work. I'm doing my best to take advantage of it.
When the Time is Right - I wrote a couple of new scenes and made a handful of little changes. I'm not satisfied with the manuscript. I sent a query letter last week to the Zebulon judge who expressed interest in it. My goal next weekend is to start sending out more query letters, starting with judges/editors/agents involved with Zebulon and/or PPWC. First, I'll do a little research and see if this is a good time to be querying. I don't know if agents aren't responding or are more responsive because of COVID-19. I don't want to send out a bunch of queries if no one is bothering to look at them.
The Most Important Thing - I read through my notes from the Zebulon contest and plan to start revision this week. I'll start with rewriting my synopsis then working on the beginning. I want to have this complete by the end of April.
PPW Anthology - I have at least three short stories I want to submit. One is ready to go. My goal is to polish one story a week so it's ready for submission.
When the Time is Right 2 - Right now I'm thinking about writing book 2 in May-June. I want to spend some time in April planning it out, or at least getting the planning process started. I want to get a rough draft done and work up a synopsis and strong beginning to enter into Zebulon later this year. Only two stories placed this year (there could have been more entered but didn't rate well enough to advance to the final round), and I want to take advantage of the opportunity to either win/place again or gain some valuable feedback.
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Post by Admin on Apr 3, 2020 0:27:10 GMT
I'm feeling an urge to write. As always, that first sentence is my catalyst. If I can write the first sentence words flow. If I can't figure out how to start, I spin. I'm not even sure what I want to write. I may just do free flow and see what emerges. Hank will get out of the hospital tomorrow, I think. Maybe getting him back in the room with us will ease my anxiety and I can start to think again instead of just respond.
We're so close to getting into the house. I walked through it today and it makes me so happy. I just want in our own home and surrounded by our own stuff. I'm a little stressed about the flooring and appliances. the shelter in place may cause us a delay and I'm not willing to be delayed. I'll have to figure out how to get around that.
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Post by Admin on Apr 3, 2020 15:46:27 GMT
My muse finally handed me something relevant to a WIP. I need to get Knock Knock out. and it will be my first project when I get into the new house. But the original series is planned for 4 books. I've been trying to figure out what each book, and each book will feature one of the four main characters, will deal with.
I knew what book 1 was and I know what book 4 will entail but I was trying to figure out what 2 and 3 would aim at. The original premise of the plot involves the idea of body and soul being two separate identities. The body is a shell. The soul is immortal. The invading species doesn't understand this. They don't understand that pushing a, for want of a better word, identity out of its existing body and taking over the body means they literally took the shell the soul inhabited away from it. The soul essentially finishes its evolution before its allotted time.
It occurred to me today that the invading species isn't evil. It's got a problem and it is trying to solve that problem the way it always did. They are an entity that doesn't have a body of their own. They are parasitic in that they invade a host body. They see nothing wrong with this because the host they are used to invading doesn't have a separate soul. They don't realize that a body can have a soul. So when, in book one, the invading species invades the father of the main character, it is an unforgivable act.
In book #2, it occurred to me that the problem the invading species has is a real problem. It needs a solution. In book one, the body it was given was the main characters sister. she had been on life support and had been brain dead for a significant amount of time. She communicates with her twin sister using automatic writing. The reader clearly knows the body does not have a soul.
So I took it one step further. What if, in book two, since brain dead bodies aren't very common, although the potential to keep bodies on life support might be a viable solution, I also thought about death row criminals. What if, when a wrong doer is condemned to death, instead of using an electric chair, or death by lethal injection, the body is given to one of the aliens. The 'soul' of the person condemned to death is pushed out and the alien takes possession of the body. This raises all kinds of ethical questions in me. Ones that I would find interesting to explore.
What if, one of the aliens makes a bargain with the criminal and instead of pushing it out, decides to share? Book three could involve the main characters hunting down the 'criminal' who is now not one criminal but two using the same body. I think this would give me enough meat to fill the series without running out of scenes.
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Post by bill on Apr 6, 2020 0:21:32 GMT
This sounds like a fascinating idea! I had all kinds of questions pop into my mind reading about it so I would think you would have plenty to conflict opportunity with it. And the two souls sharing one body - if you wanted any humor included with in the story (it may not be the kind at all), that seems like a prime opportunity. It also opens up opportunities for tension, betrayal, twists/deceptions - all kinds of possibilities. I don't think you will have a problem filling four books.
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Post by bill on Apr 6, 2020 0:34:19 GMT
The Most Important Thing - I revised my synopsis using feedback I received from Zebulon. This week I want to work on the beginning of the story.
Mystery 2 - This week I watched a few episodes of the show Psych and took some notes on the structure of the mystery. I also did some reading online about writing a mystery. This week I want to develop a rough draft of an outline for the sequel to When the Time is Right.
Church blog - I've occasionally written a blog for our church website. One of the things I've done is documented my journey with developing habits (my 2020 word) this year. I wrote and posted my March-ending blog this week.
COVID-19 - Cat is putting together an anthology to offer for free of humor covid-19 stories. I wrote the rough draft for a story this week and need to revise and polish this week. It's due by April 10.
PPW Anthology - I took one of my stories and had to add a few words to it to make the submission length for the PPW anthology. I now have two stories to submit. I plan to rewrite another story this week so that it is long enough for submission. I want to submit several to give myself a better chance of getting one accepted.
TMTs - I reached day 96 today - 96 straight days of at least one ten minute timer. I'm at 387 for the year. It's really helped me do a lot of new writing, which is good because I still have plans to write three more rough drafts (Myster 2, Christmas story, and Vetrix 5) this year.
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Post by Admin on Apr 6, 2020 0:45:47 GMT
I actually am writing a synopsis for a new story. Its one I've had on the back burner for years.
The Title: A Proper Lady Genre: a humorous western but definitely not a traditional western but the setting puts it in a western category. I have no idea when this will get written but I'm getting all the ideas down while the story is presenting itself.
The four book series definitely has humor overtones I don't seem to be able to write without inserting humor. The audience I'm aiming at would be the New Young Adult. Older than traditional YA but no graphic sex. It's not remotely romantic but there is love in the story.
When I get done with the synopsis of A Proper Lady I'll turn my attention to writing out a synopsis of the 3rd book of the Cosmic Chronicles. I'm tentatively calling it Cosmic Chase or perhaps Cosmic Justice. I'm leaning toward Cosmic Justice because book three finishes the arc of catching the renegades that caused the dimensional rip that turned Earth from a mechanized world to part of the magic realms.
I don't think I'm all the way back to where I was but I do think my creative juices are stirring again. I'm not sure what I'll do with them but I'll follow where it leads.
I read a bit of the Publisher's Weekly and saw that in my absence Indie publishing has expanded. the article I read was on the top ten Indie Publishers and how they are succeeding. I need to take a look at them because I got the feeling they might be a compromise that might work for me. I don't have the time, experience, or freedom, let alone the budget, to promote my work like it needs. The royalty cut on these Indie Publishers look like some of them are a 50/50 split. That's not a bad deal if they have a marketing plan that works. At some point I need to check this aspect of publishing out more.
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Post by Admin on Apr 6, 2020 0:55:31 GMT
I just realized I'm going to have to figure out how to download Scrivener to my new laptop if I want to use it to write. I do like creating on Scrivener and then editing in Word. Scrivener helps me keep the chapters organized. I'll have to work on that and hope my subscription is still active. Its been so long since I used it.
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Post by bill on Apr 6, 2020 3:23:16 GMT
I've never used Scrivener. I can see how it could be helpful, but I guess I'm stuck in my ways and content with using Word.
I called Sydney tonight and we brainstormed ideas for my second mystery. I was struggling to come up with ideas and together we came up with a few that I'm excited about, at least enough to get my outline started.
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Post by Admin on Apr 6, 2020 11:48:27 GMT
I'm so glad that Susan gets to input. How fun.
I think that is what I miss the most since my friend, Marti, got early onset Alzheimer's. I lost my brainstorming partner. We talked every day, several times a day, about the work, the process, the struggles. Talking to somebody else helps push past the blocks, fires up the imagination, and spurs on personal drive. My life, these last three months, I've wanted to curl up in a corner and pull a cover over my head and just beg life to leave me alone. I've had no peace, no space, and more stress than I can sometimes bear. This break-through, even though its the wrong story, is a beginning. Maybe I'll find my way out of the darkness that I've felt surrounded by. And even at my lowest, I always knew I'd be fine as soon as I could get clear. I'm hoping and praying that this time next week, I'm in a real house surrounded by my stuff.
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Post by Admin on Apr 13, 2020 15:17:27 GMT
If all goes as planned we're moving in on Saturday.
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Post by bill on Apr 13, 2020 15:33:38 GMT
Yay! Do you need help?
I posted something last night but I'm not sure what happened to it. I don't see it now.
I didn't post a writing update, just that Chad had emergency open heart surgery early yesterday morning. He's doing fine and they expect a recovery, but it sure was a long night and day around here. I'm at Susan's but will probably go home tomorrow. May be back and forth depending on if they need help.
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Post by Admin on Apr 13, 2020 18:11:13 GMT
I think we're okay. We are just putting beds up and the chairs and then Abbey has class mates lined up with trucks and trailers to move our stuff. They want work and by using them we can work in smaller batches and not get so overwhelmed.
I'm glad Chad is doing well. Its not easy to go through surgery and recovery but so glad they were able to fix it. I'm not getting much work done either. Too tired and too stressed. So looking forward to getting in our house and having access to all my stuff.
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Post by bill on Apr 28, 2020 2:36:47 GMT
Sevitan - I got notes back from my beta reader on Friday so I spent the weekend (literally almost all of it) going over them. I tried to contact my editor and can't reach him. His website is down he isn't returning e-mails. Barbara Lund on Holly's site uses him too and said he talked about getting a day time job. I'm not sure what I'll do! I noticed some large chunks of passive writing so I could go through the manuscript again and clean a lot of it up. I really didn't do that before because I rushed it to my beta.
Mystery 2 - I've spent some time brainstorming, making notes, and plotting out ideas. It's gotten me excited to write, which I had planned to do in May, but I may work on Sevitan first.
PPW Anthology - I submitted four short stories. I really hope one gets selected because I want to add to my list of published works, and I think this one would carry some weight. I don't think I'll know anything until November though.
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Post by bill on May 3, 2020 23:22:23 GMT
Sevitan - I did a little more revising, wrote a prologue, and found an editor on Holly's website. I sent him the manuscript. Hopefully he'll do a good job, we'll see.
Mystery 2 - I did some brainstorming and I think I'm getting close to a motive, at least in part. I plan to start writing this week and want to complete the rough draft in May, though if I get my edit back from Sevitan I could break in order to complete my revision so I can keep it moving toward publication.
Blog Hop - I posted my COVID-19 short story I submitted for Cat's anthology for the blog hop. I like the way my story turned out.
When the Time is Right - I sent out several queries today. My plan is to send out a handful each week (at least most weeks).
Marketing - I sent in my application for the UFO Festival this week. At this point it looks like it will still happen, though I suspect attendance may be down. Still, I want to go see Dad and family anyway, so I'll give it another shot.
I'm sorry to hear about Hank. I realize you haven't had internet so no telling when you'll see this. It has to be a tough journey and if there is anything I can do, please ask. Like I told Susan, a lot of what I'm doing right now I can do from anywhere, since most of our interviews are happening over the phone.
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