This is the part of the political dance that I hate.  The sparring, where good people are forced to tear each other apart like gladiators.

If you haven’t been following the recent news, Hillary Clinton was asked if she thought Bernie Sanders was qualified to be President.  The interviewer asked several times, interrupting her and leading her on.  She didn’t actually say that Sanders isn’t qualified.  Instead, she hemmed and hawed over it, leaving it open for interpretation.

Apparently, Bernie Sanders got some memo that said, “Hillary says you’re not qualified!” And so he responded, citing the same points that he’s cited before about her connections to the banks, and how a candidate that is in someone else’s pocket is not qualified.

I’ve lost a little bit of respect for both candidates from this exchange.

First, let’s start with what it takes to be qualified to be President.  Taken from PresidentsUSA.Net and the Constitution:

No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a resident within the United States.

So, there you go.  Both Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are qualified.  They meet the age and citizenship requirements.

I also meet these requirements.  Sadly, so does Trump.  The only one running for President right now that doesn’t meet these requirements is Ted Cruz, since he was born in Canada.

So, both Bernie and Hillary are qualified.

When Hillary was being interviewed, she shouldn’t have played coy.  She should have just said, “Of course he’s qualified.  The real question is if he’s the better candidate or not.  I don’t believe he is, and I also believe the voters will side with me.”

That would have put an end to the question, and it would have shown respect for her adversary while at the same time projecting confidence.

But let’s say that, put on the spot, she chose to dance around while thinking of a proper answer.  Fine.

What Bernie should have done was check the facts first.  I’m sure one of his staffers came to him with the news, probably out of breath from running.  The staffer panted out, “Did you hear?  She says you’re not qualified!”

Instead of flying off the handle like he did, he should have checked for himself.  When you get news that is just a little bit ridiculous, exercise incredulity.  That way, you don’t set yourself up, the way Bernie set himself up.

Both candidates screwed up.  I want Hillary to be more direct when answering questions, and quit constantly playing the politician game.  And I want Bernie to take a breath and be more thoughtful instead of reacting on second hand information.  If either of these two are going to be President, they’re going to have to learn these lessons in order to be effective.

A week ago, I went to the movies and saw one of the first showings of Batman v Superman : Dawn of Justice.  I’ve had a week to think about it.  I’ve read other people’s reviews and opinions.  Now I’d like to share mine.

This post will be full of spoilers.  If you do not want the movie spoiled, stop reading here and come back after you’ve seen the movie.

First off, I think the reviews have been a little harsh.  The movie is not that bad.  It’s not amazing, which is probably why it’s being panned so hard.  We wanted a live action meeting of Batman and Superman on the silver screen that would knock our socks off.  This movie didn’t do that.

Zack Snyder reached far, his ambition greater than what he could deliver.  He wanted to give us something akin to what we’ve been getting from Marvel.  He tried to tap into the dark and gritty tone of both Nolan’s Batman and Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns.  He crammed the story with characters and scenes in order to hint at a larger, epic story.  He tried to do all this in one movie, and in his efforts, lost track of making a single, enjoyable standalone movie.

So far, I haven’t said anything that hasn’t already been said on the internet about this movie.  Other things you may have already read… Ben Affleck filled role perfectly.  Wonder Woman looked perfect, and though her role in this movie was small, she’ll probably be amazing in her standalone movie.  Eisenberg did a terrible job as Lex Luthor.  Doomsday didn’t look very good, sometimes.  The death of Superman could have been handled better.

Those things are easy to point out.  Many critics and reviews are saying that Batman v Superman is not a good movie.  I think that might not be specific enough.  The real problem is that Batman v Superman is not a good Superman movie.

What if we didn’t think of Henry Cavill’s character as Superman?  If we disassociated his character from Superman, would BvS be a better movie?

Maybe.  Let’s compare Superman with Cavill’s character.  To keep them straight, I will rename Henry Cavill’s character something more inline with what he portrayed: Ironheart.

Superman is more than just the costume and the powers.  He is the ultimate Boy Scout, honest to a fault, and moral.  He does what is right, because it is right.  Life throws him curve balls, but he rises above it.  He stands for hope.  Though he comes from a different planet, Earth is his home, and he has friends and family here.

Ironheart is weighed down by the darkness around him.  He is on Earth, but he is separate.  A powerful stranger.  He wants to do what is right most of the time, but he’s haunted by the ghost of his father, telling him that no good deed goes unpunished.  Ironheart has two tethers keeping him grounded: Lois Lane, and his mother.  The S on his chest stands for hope, but he doesn’t have any of his own, and he doesn’t know how to inspire it.

As a writer, I like Ironheart.  I like the story potential in a character like that.  I like Superman, too, but I think I’d have an easier time writing a character like Ironheart.  The character Cavill portrayed is vulnerable in ways that Superman is not, and I think that is interesting.

The movie has other problems, no doubt about it.  It is a beautiful, joyless affair, with major plot holes and a villain that is also miscast or misnamed, or both.  But the movie’s greatest sin is trying to take a character like Ironheart and calling him Superman.  The two are not interchangeable.

Hopefully, Zack Snyder learns from this.  He’s good at making pretty movies.    Maybe he just needs to work with someone else that can keep him grounded and focused.

Maybe I’m a little late to this topic, but I just don’t understand what is going on in North Carolina.  I don’t understand the arguments.

In summary, North Carolina is requiring people use bathrooms that match the gender on their birth certificate, rather than the gender they identify with.

Here’s a quote from the Washington Post article I just linked:

“Supporters say the new law protects all people from having to share bathrooms with people who make them feel unsafe.”

Do you know what a transgender person feels when they’re going to a public restroom?  A little bit of stress, and an insatiable need to pee.

I just don’t get the big deal.

“But Brian!” cried the Strawman. “Laws enabling transgender people the use of bathrooms they identify with will allow predatory male rapists to go into women’s restrooms.  Don’t you fear for the safety of your wife and daughter?”

If I thought the fear reasonable, then yes, I’d be concerned.  But as far as I can tell, a predatory rapist isn’t concerned with entering a women’s restroom legally.  A law preventing transgender men and women from entering a restroom isn’t going to stop a rapist.

The people in favor of laws like what North Carolina passed refer to the safety of women.  These people don’t voice any concern over the safety of men.  Not only because the whole attitude behind the notion is one of coddling and misogyny, but also, no one is really concerned with gay men raping men in the bathroom.  We’re not concerned with it, because it isn’t a reasonable fear, because public bathroom are not where most of these attacks are taking place.

Here’s another link listing statistics on rape and attempted rape.  It’s full of sad statistics, but there are silver linings.  Rape, like other criminal activities in the U.S., is on the decline.  And, when rape is occurring, it’s not being done by strangers, away from home.  Which means the predatory rapist stalking bathrooms is infrequent enough to almost be mythological.

Yes, I’m sure it happens, and that is sad.  But it is not happening enough to pass laws that discriminate against people that are already having a rough time.

Seriously, we should stop worrying for the sake of worrying, and just let people answer Nature’s Call wherever they feel most comfortable.  I hope North Carolina, and other legislators emboldened or inspired by North Carolina’s efforts, come to their senses.

I’ve just finished another chapter.  I’m feeling really good about my work so far, so I’ve decided to take a break and talk about the relationship between authors and would-be tyrants.

An author needs readers.  That’s a simple truth, easy to conceptualize.  Without readers, a book has no value.  It may as well be fuel for a fire.  Until a writer’s work is read, it essentially doesn’t exist.

As a writer that is early in his career, I think about this problem all the time.  What will happen when I finish my book, and I’m unable to get people to read it?  Will it all be for nothing?  Do I have the personal strength to move on to the next book?

If you want to hurt a writer, refuse to read their work.  Don’t talk about them.  Ignore their stories, and the writer will wither like a plant denied water and light.  Writer’s need readers to spread the word, so that others will become interested and check out their work.

Not all word of mouth has to be about the quality of the work.  It can be about the content.  When people first started talking about Fifty Shades of Grey, they weren’t talking about the quality of the writing.  They were talking about the content of the book.  It was naughty.  The taboo of the material piqued people’s interest, and the books sold.

If you like Fifty Shades, great.  I’m not going to tell you that you’re wrong.  But I’ve looked at some of the writing, and in my opinion, it’s hideous.  And, honestly, it’s not all that raunchy.

Spectacle is what made Fifty Shades taken off.  Without the spectacle, there would have been no curiosity.  Without the curiosity, there would have been no audience.  Without the audience, the book would have faded into obscurity just like so many other stories published independently.

A politician shares this characteristic with writers.  Without an audience, they can scream and shout all the vitriol they can think of, and it won’t make a difference.  A politician needs to be heard in order to be a politician.

If you want to end a politician’s career, don’t show up for his rallies.  Don’t protest him.  Don’t write blog posts about him.  Don’t vote for him.  Ignore him, and encourage your friends and family to do the same.

Remember… the opposite of love isn’t hate.  It’s apathy.  Love and hate are both extremes of passion.  Love and hate inspire people to do things they may not normally do.  From an outsider’s perspective, without context, the actions of love and the actions of hate can look the same.  So don’t give a would-be tyrant your love, or your hate.  Give him nothing.

We currently have someone running for President that is inspiring hate.  People are showing up for his rallies, some to support, some to protest.  And this candidate is inciting violence, with his words and with his attitude.

He’s generating stories.  He’s in the news.  Every outrageous thing he says is picked up and talked about.  With that kind of interest, it doesn’t matter what he does.  In his own words, he could kill someone on the street, and it wouldn’t change the course of his campaign.

You may notice that I haven’t mentioned his name.  I don’t need to, and I’m not going to.  You already know who I’m talking about.  And you probably already know how dangerous his campaign is for our country.

If you want to end his campaign, and end the violence at his rallies, stop talking about him.  Stop adding fuel to his fire.  As long as the spotlight is on him, he’s in control of the show.  The stories he’s generating are too rich for the media networks to pass up.  So he gets to set the tone, and dictate the message, and we already know that his message is about divisiveness, intolerance, and hate.

You already know what he’s going to say, so quit clicking on the stories that feature him.  When stories about him stop generating views, there will no longer be financial incentive to keep making more stories about him.  His star will fade.  And he will go back to obscurity.

Focus on other candidates.  If you need a little hate and divisiveness, go read about Ted Cruz.  He’s a pretty terrible candidate, too, but he’s not actively trying to get people to beat each other up at his events.

Honestly, it would be better to focus on the positive.  Find the qualities about your favorite candidate that you like, and talk to other people about that.

Just quit giving the would-be tyrant air time.

I recently finished Zero World by Jason M. Hough.  This book has 4 stars with 98 reviews on Amazon, and came highly recommended to me.

Before I get too much into the subject of this post, let me say this: read this book!  You will most likely enjoy it.  This post is about my shortcomings as a reader, and not Mr. Hough’s shortcomings as a writer.  In fact, nothing I’m about to say is a critique of Zero World or Jason Hough.  I’m mentioning the book because it’s the most recent story I’ve listened to, and I want to encourage other people to read it, too.

In case that wasn’t clear: this post is not a criticism of Zero World, by Jason M. Hough.

Okay.  Let’s begin.

I didn’t enjoy Zero World as much as I wanted to.  It is the latest in a growing list of books that I’ve listened to that didn’t leave me satisfied.  I found the story clever, and Gideon Emery did a fine job reading it.  I didn’t hear any inconsistencies, and the descriptions were strong.  Jason Hough did a great job of bringing to life the scenes, and he handled action well.

So why didn’t I enjoy it?

It’s me.  This sounds like a humble-brag, but as I’ve grown as a writer, I’ve become more difficult to surprise.  I recognize when details are included for future plot devices, and I accurately predict how those plots will evolve.  I’m no longer surprised.  In fact, I haven’t enjoyed the thrill of discovery in a story in a long while.

I can appreciate the cleverness of the plot, the dialog, and the word choices.  But it’s like all of my Christmas presents have been wrapped in cellophane instead of paper.  I can see what’s coming.

This happened with the latest Mistborn books by Brandon Sanderson.  This happened with the first book of the Iron Druid series by Kevin Hearne.  The list goes on and on.

I have to think that all writers go through this.  I don’t think I’m special in this regard, or have developed some unique superpower/curse.  It must be some natural part of the journey of a writer.  Developing the skills necessary to craft a good story, we learn how to see beyond the curtain, and know the mortality of the wizard putting on the grand show.

If all writers go through this, and all writers are typically voracious readers, then it adds a layer of proof to the idea that writers are masochists.

I don’t think it’s quite as simple an idea as developing a craft makes it more difficult to appreciate the work of others in that craft.  For example, as I’ve grown as a musician, my appreciation for all music has also grown.  I can hear nuance that I never heard before, and know the difficulty involved in making the instruments sound they way they do.  My development as a programmer hasn’t diminished my ability to appreciate someone else’s code.  As I learned more about baseball as assistant coach for my kids’ Little League, I grew to enjoy a game I previously didn’t care for at all.

I’m going to continue reading and listening to books.  Don’t get me wrong.  I have no intention of stopping, even if I’m not enjoying books as much as I used to.

But how am I going to give reviews?  I make it a point not to give reviews or rate books unless I can be honest, and say something nice.  An author has to go out of their way to get a poor review from me.  I want to support my fellow writers, but I want to make sure my support is positive and true.

If I’m stingy with reviews, how can I expect other writers to rate my work?

I suppose that’s a problem to unravel later.  I’m nearly finished with the second draft.  Progress is moving along faster than it had before, and I’m really happy with what I’ve written so far.  A third draft will be necessary, but it won’t be nearly as deep or involved.  I’ve edited about 54,000 words so far.  The first draft ran a little over 60,000 words.  That should tell you how far I’ve come.

In conclusion, buy Jason M. Hough’s book.  I met him at Worldcon last year, and he’s a fantastic, knowledgeable writer that is excellent at his craft.  Zero World is a good book, and deserves to be read.

It is March 1st.  My birthday is in a few days, therefore, this is my month.  Every day of March feels special to me.

I have decided, therefore, to make March special.  I’m going to set myself a daily writing goal and really work on my craft.  I want to look back at the end of this month and be shocked and amazed at the progress I’ve made.

I’ve tried setting goals in March before, but with little success.  I have not yet succeeded at duplicating NaNoWriMo in the Spring.  In previous attempts, I’ve focused on word count.  I said that I would write 30,000 words in March, or something like that.  I set goals that seemed reasonable at the time.  Unfortunately, I fell short, and felt discouraged going into April.

This month I’m taking a different approach.  I’m not going to focus on word count as much as time.  Some days, I may produce thousands of words.  Others, I might not produce any.  The goal is spend at least 30 minutes writing or editing every day this month.  Even Mondays and Tuesdays, when my time is most limited.

I may accompany the writing with blog posts, like this one.  I’m not sure yet.  Tonight, it’s too late to get any actual writing or editing done.  I’m going to go to bed soon.  But I can take my manuscript with me and spend some time reading my revisions.  I can prepare.  It won’t increase my word count, but it will keep me involved, and it will make the next time I sit down to write that much more productive.

At least half an hour each day.  I can find a half hour, no problem.

What goal will you set for yourself in March?

Instead of writing a post before editing tonight, I’ve decided to take a break between chapters.  The next chapter is good, but it’s going to take some effort to clean up and bring to the level of my standards.  Now is a good time to sit back and gather my strength for the next bit of work.

So, where am I with my writing?

Literally, I’m at a Starbucks.  Not the one I’d been attending with Michael.  This one is a little bit bigger, and stays open a little bit later.  I used to like to work here back when I wanted to make Stormbreaker Software a thing.  Now, it’s a decent place to work on my fiction when I need to get out of the house and surround myself with productive white noise.

The question isn’t about my physical location.  It’s about my life as a writer.  What am I doing?  Where is this all going?  Have I given up yet, or am I still plugging along?

I’m continuing to edit The Repossessed Ghost.  The more I work on it, the more excited I get about it.  It’s a good story!  It isn’t perfect.  I don’t expect it to be a New York Times best seller.  But it’s good!  I really think anyone that likes Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files will like my book.

The first draft of The Repossessed Ghost came out to be a little over 60,000 words.  Too short to sell through the traditional route.  The first draft had been 24 chapters in length.  In the second draft, I’ve been expanding places and adding story elements that should have been here from the beginning.  I’m currently on chapter 25.  I think there are about 15 chapters left.

What am I going to do with it when its done?  What am I going to do with myself?

I’ll submit it to my writer’s group.  They’ve seen part of it already, and they seemed to enjoy it.  I’ll give it to some other readers, and make sure it is as good as I hope it is.  I’ll do another draft, though I imagine the third draft will not be as deep as the second has been.

Then I’ll need to make some decisions.  I’ll try to get an agent.  If I’m successful, and the book gets picked up, great!  If I’m not, then I’ll need to find an editor.  I’ll need to find an artist.  And then I’ll need to self-publish.

I’ve already written a book that sits in a drawer.  I’m not going to do that with this book.  The Repossessed Ghost deserves a chance to be in front of readers.

That says more about where I am with my writing life than anything.  I have confidence in my work.  I’ve beaten my fears, and my inner editor.

Progress is slower than I want, but I am still progressing.  And when I’m done with The Repossessed Ghost, I’ve got a couple of other books to finish.  And if The Repossessed Ghost really takes off, I’ve got sequels in mind.

I don’t need to make a ton of money with my writing.  I don’t need to be famous.  But I would like this to be my career, and I really want people to enjoy my stories.

So I’ll keep going, and see what the future holds.  Who knows?  Maybe I’m doing exactly what I need to do to make my dreams come true.

Let’s begin by addressing sexism.  I want a woman to be President.  Just not Hillary Clinton.  If Elizabeth Warren were running for President, I would choose her over Clinton and Sanders.  She is smart, addresses many of the same issues Sanders does, and everything I’ve seen of her has impressed me.

I need to start here because gender is part of this campaign, whether we want it to be or not.  Some of Sanders’ devout have been downright nasty on this point.  Bill Clinton has rightfully blasted “Bernie Bro” supporters, and Sanders himself has said that he doesn’t want that kind of support.  On Clinton’s side, the topic of gender hasn’t been much better.  Steinem and Albright both missed the mark when Steinem said women supporting Sanders are doing it to find men, and Albright told women that there is a special place in hell for women if they did not support Hillary Clinton, because Hillary Clinton is a woman.

Any feminist should be embarrassed by Steinem’s and Albright’s remarks.  Votes should be earned, regardless of race, gender, sexual preference, or lineage.

Gender should not be an issue.  It will be in this election, because we have a lot of unenlightened people.  Some will want Sanders to win over Clinton because Clinton is a woman.  And some will want Clinton to win over Sanders, for the exact same reason.  Hopefully those people will cancel each other out.

For the rest of us, we should be making our decisions based on what they say, and what their record shows.  From what I’ve seen, Sanders has been consistent, and I agree with him in principle on issues he’s taken a stand on.  I like the grassroots approach Sanders has taken in his pursuit of the Presidency.  He flies coach, shows genuine humanity… I believe him.  Do I think he’ll accomplish everything that he says he wants to do?  No.  But I believe he will try, and that’s what I want my President to do.

Clinton, on the other hand, is a political machine.  She’s every bit as slick as her husband, shifting and adapting as the situation demands.  For example, her recent efforts have been to tie herself to Obama, and associate Obama’s successes with her Presidential aspirations.  This is a sharp contrast to her tune in 2008.

In fact, let’s take a look back in time at her 2008 bid.  She made wins during that run, but they were ugly.  When she won Nevada, articles referred to allegations that Clinton tried to manipulate the vote.  There is language in those articles about “push polls,” the same language I’ve seen recently about Clinton’s campaign this year.

Clinton is a fierce competitor.  She will do and say whatever it takes to get the Presidency, I have no doubt.  And because of this, I don’t trust her.  I didn’t trust her in 2008.  I don’t trust her now.

Unfortunately, the race between Clinton and Sanders for the Democratic bid may not be decided by the public.  Sanders secured a landslide victory in New Hampshire, but it doesn’t matter.  Clinton gained more delegates than Sanders, even though she lost.

Clinton has received way more attention in the media than Sanders.  Trump has received more attention than both Clinton and Sanders combined, but Trump is a circus act.  He’s entertainment, driving up ratings because his campaign is an intriguing story.  In a similar fashion, Clinton has received favorable treatment in the media.  The “first woman President” makes for a great story, so why wouldn’t there be a media bias?  It’s much more exciting than the “first Jewish President.”

Those are my thoughts in regards to why I prefer Sanders over Clinton.  The bottom line is that I do not trust her.  It is not because she’s a woman.  It’s because she is a politician, playing the game.

Let me end with this: If it comes down to a choice between Clinton and Trump or Cruz, I will choose Clinton.  Both Trump and Cruz represent the worst of America.  With the way the Democratic race is playing out, it looks like I will have to choose Clinton.  I’m not going to avoid voting, just because my first choice isn’t on the ballot.  No one in the Republican running deserves to be President, based on their words and their record.

I’ve been thinking about the world I remember before the internet, and the world I know now.  We are a people forever changed by a world made so much smaller.  We are connected, with the vastness of human experience and knowledge at our fingertips.  Interconnected humanity is like a new creature, huge and powerful.  And like any living thing, interconnected humanity must have a life cycle: birth, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and death.

Think about the mid 90s, and what The Internet looked like.  The Internet struggled to find a common language.  Static websites dotted the surface of the landscape, experimental and naive.  Like an infant learning to lift its head, we toyed around with different browsers.  We could see the potential of The Internet, but we needed more infrastructure and more language before that potential could be realized.

A few years later, search engines started to appear on the web, making it easier to find each other.  Bandwidth began to grow.  The earliest web applications were born, and more dynamic content started to show us what we might one day do with The Internet.

Just before the year 2000, The Internet entered a period of stunning growth.  New businesses came into being.  The Dot Com Era sprang up, like a toddler taking its first steps.  And like the toddler, we fell a few times while we were learning to walk.

Now, we have greater sophistication.  We have Google and Amazon and other business models that could never have existed before The Internet.  The Internet is like The Force, surrounding us and binding us together.  It’s on our phones.  It’s in the air.  We are all connected, all the time, talking, texting, typing.  Young adults today have never known a time when The Internet didn’t exist.  We, the living, breathing creature that is made up of human beings, with a nervous system constructed out of wire and TCP/IP, must surely be in our adulthood now, right?

I don’t think so.  The Internet is amazing, sure, but we still obsessed with boobs and cat videos.  If I was to place an age on us, I would say we’re in our early teens at the oldest.

Internet porn is not the only evidence.  Look at the way we interact with each other.  Look at the comments on YouTube videos.

“But Brian,” you say, “That’s YouTube.  Of course the comments there are going to be immature.  The target audience of YouTube is a younger crowd.”

Okay, then look at the comments on political news articles.  Or, if you want to retain faith in humanity, DON’T look at those comments.  What you’ll find there is close-minded, bigoted, hateful name calling and vitriol.  That’s from both the right and the left.

Interconnected humanity is not a terrible creature.  We are just young.  We haven’t learned to play well with each other.  Like children, we’re prone to hyperbole and tantrums.  Like children, we reduce complex issues into black and white, right or wrong, binary thinking.  We can be sweet, but we’re often self-absorbed, lacking the maturity required to be consistently considerate.

We are learning.  We are discovering that we have strength, and can change the world when we focus.  We have inclinations towards addressing social issues, though we may not always agree on how to talk about those issues, or how to solve the problems.  Though we still have more work to do, we should be amazed at we’ve managed to do already.  We’re slowly but surely getting better at accepting each other’s differences.

We still have a ways to go, but I’m hopeful.  I look at us and I believe we will get better.  We will mature.  And what amazing things will we do then?

I’m editing as quickly and as thoroughly as I can.  It’s painful, exhilarating, exhausting, and reinvigorating, all at different times.  Tonight, I’ve felt all of those things and more.

While editing, I find myself wondering how I could have ever shown this story to anyone.  The story itself is okay, but the writing?  Why did I use the passive voice so much?  Was I in love with the word “was”?

As hard as I’m working on this, progress is slow.  If I didn’t have a full time job, maybe I could get this finished in a few weeks.  At my current pace, I don’t know when I’ll finish.  This is the greatest source of frustration for me, and I have to work really hard to avoid getting discouraged.

I knew the chapter I was going to work on tonight would be trouble when I got to it, and it has been.  The prose needed a lot of work.  The action needed better pacing.  The whole thing needed tweaking.  The whole chapter was a fetid swamp, and I needed it to be a fresh smelling meadow.

I put my head down and pushed through.  Parts were replaced.  Details were enhanced.  Some sentences became shorter.  I crafted better metaphors, and found stronger verbs.  I banished every “was” that I found.

And now I have a much cleaner chapter that actually fits into story and progresses it the way I intended.

I’ve talked before about the difference between talent and skill.  Talent is like raw strength, while skill is the product of work and practice.  When it comes to playing sax, I have a little bit of talent, and enough skill to make my talent seem like more than it is.  I’ve met and played with people that had more talent, but were less skilled.  And I’ve played with a few people were both more talented AND more skilled.  Stefan, the musician that subs in for us in RC Swing, fits that category.

When it comes to writing, I feel like I have more talent than I have skill.  I have a strong vocabulary, and I can get my ideas across.  But as I’ve discovered while editing this book, I’m clumsy and bullish.  There are moments I can be proud of, but those places are surrounded by amateur efforts that detract from the work as a whole.

Looking back at what I’ve said so far in this post, I can’t tell if I’m bragging or putting myself down.  Maybe a little of both.  What I want to say is that tonight, I’ve seen myself grow as a writer.  I feel like I’m starting to really hone my skills.

I still have a long ways to go, but I’m going to get there.  I’m still moving along, one word at a time.