Small Victories

Last night, I met up with my friend Michael.  We brought our laptops, and the goal was for each of us to get some writing done.  Michael’s struggle with writing lately has been external, in the form of his less-than-a-year old daughter.  My struggles have been purely internal, and I’ve already talked about them at length.

I was able to add at least a thousand words to my book last night.  It wasn’t exactly easy, but it was easier than it has been.  Like having a work out buddy, it really helped to have a writing buddy.  Hopefully, Michael and I will be able to keep to some sort of schedule like that.  I think it helped him, too.  He’s closing in on the end of his next book, and we were both excited about what we’d accomplished last night.

In other news, I’ve reached out to Rebecca Partridge to try and join her speculative writing group.  I got to meet her after one of her panels at Westercon, and I’m excited to see how joining a group like hers might help me improve my craft.  I’m sure that my work has flaws, and a writing group might be just the way for me to get the kind of feedback I’ll need to correct those flaws.  I’m also aware that writing groups aren’t always perfect, and some of the feedback might not necessarily be exactly what I need.  I’m optimistic about this, though.

So, in summary, I’m writing more, I’ve got something of a writing schedule starting to form, and I’m trying to join a writer’s group.  It’s starting to look more and more like I’m taking this hobby seriously.

Oh!  And one more thing.  My oldest friend Tim, who will forever be brother in spirit if not in blood, is an artist.  He’s been an artist as long as I’ve known him, and he’s amazing.  I’ve reached out to him, too, to see if he’s interested in doing a book cover for me.  It’s still way, way early for me to get a book cover, since I don’t actually have the book finished yet… but it still pleases me to no end to think of doing this with my best friend.  It’s the pursuit of a dream for both of us.  How awesome would it be if we achieved our dreams together?