I haven’t posted anything here for a couple of months, and the last one went really long. Anxiousness drove me to dump everything on my mind into a long screed full of good information that basically no one read.
I’m not doing that this time. In fact, I promise not to talk about politics for at least another three or four posts… unless something monumental happens. My next few planned entries here will be book reviews.
For the last couple of months, I’ve stayed too busy to blog. My schedule consisted of getting up, going to work, coming home or going to a coffee shop to edit, then repeat the next day. I made my life boring in order to make it as productive as I dared.
I finished the second draft of Spin City. 100,000 words edited twice in a little more than 6 weeks.
That level of productivity left little time for anything else. I didn’t practice my sax. I didn’t play any games. I spent a few nights goofing off in order to maintain my sanity, but otherwise, I kept my head down and pushed forward.
This weekend, I wrote a query letter and enlisted help from some of my writing friends. A few provided insight into how I could tighten the query up and be more specific about the stakes and plot. Some simply offered emotional support. I needed all of it. Even though I hate writing query letters, I think this is a good one.
We’ve reached September and the summer is winding down. Here is what I wish to accomplish over the next several months:
- Enjoy the 2019 Writing Excuses Cruise, starting in just a couple of weeks!
- Finish the first draft of Synthetic Dreams, my post-apocalyptic SciFi about artificial intelligences as the last children of mankind
- Write a short story for a Crisis at the Border anthology, a book intended to raise funds for charities helping the separated kids at our southern border
- Write a handful of book reviews (hopefully to be posted this week)
- Blog-tober 2019
- For Nanowrimo, I’m going to try and write A Clean Slate, the fantasy novel I failed to complete the first time I attempted Nanowrimo.
- Possibly go to World Fantasy, since it’s geographically close this year
- Finish reading and studying M. Todd Gallowglass’s Dead Weight series
- Write a novelette within the Dead Weight I.P., to be published by Heads and Tails publishing
- Determine my convention schedule for 2020
Soon, The Goldilocks Zone from Flying Ketchup Press should be out, which includes my short story “Unclaimed Goods.” To say that I’m excited to see it is an understatement. My story will have an illustration! My story will be in PRINT! I’ve been holding onto an expensive bottle of Scotch for when I receive incredible publishing news. If this doesn’t qualify, it comes very close.
I’ve made sacrifices to advance my writing career, and I’m starting to see results. I just have to keep pushing!