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800 words, and other new things

My right hand can’t hold a pen.

Seriously, I drop them all the time. I drop a lot of things. I have to use two hands to hold a mug or cup. It’s diabetic neuropathy. I can type better than I can write. So my hand-written journal will have more personal things.

I’m going to go back to 800 Words, mostly as my journal/diary. Nobody will read it anyway.

Medium is my newest place that I go for writing advice and news. Bookbub gives me new Kindle books every day. Twitter is a dumpster fire that I enjoy watching.

I already voted. So the next nine days are just noise.

Reading more than writing

I have found I can read an average of one book a week. I’m spending my free time reading, forcing myself to finish books. I’ve read a cozy mystery, a fantasy set on a different planet, a non-fiction book about castaways who return to England, and a novel of Chinese women. Also a well-written, detailed dark fantasy.

I did some writing, more for me than for publication. I guess I need to practice writing, and need to update my 800 words blog with whatever garbage I spill out every day to make myself accountable. I need to try writing every day. Planning is not the same. I’m trying to plan out my MC, and I have a couple of other characters in mind. I don’t have a plot. Just a character.

I need to “fill the well” with story ideas. That’s why I’m reading so much.

I need a new keyboard. I keep overreaching so I keep missing letters. I’m doing a lot of backspacing!

50: Blueforce

Sentinel
Dual Pistols/Super Reflexes
Vigilante

An ex-cop who bought his own armor and decided to become a vigilante.

This is a really good build. Damage is mediocre against 54’s, but he stays alive.

Top Ten of 2022, end of 4

Number One!

https://waterdragonpublishing.com/product/grey-mother-mountain/

An elder protagonist. An ancient dragon. Similar to Seeker last year, I’m getting into people my age being protagonists. We’re wise and experienced We see the young people doing stupid things and we scream at them not to. Maybe I’ve outgrown Urban Fantasy, YA, New Adult. I entirely skipped middle age; I’m into the Crone phase.

Maybe next is “Murder She Wrote” cozies.

Top Ten of 2022, part 3 of 4

Number 4:

Kindle

This book started me on the six-month Medieval phase. I read two more books by Dan Jones (The Crusaders and Summer of Blood). This guy is really good.

Number 3:

Kindle

I bought Plottr, which is a really excellent plotting device, with assorted templates. This was one of them, and when I picked up the book, I realized that it was more than just how to write a romance. It’s how to write a story in general. Definitely worth the Kindle price.

Number 2:

Kindle

Although this came out a while ago, I read it in advance of an interview I did with her at the beginning of the year. This was surprisingly good. (Surprise because I was also reading slush.) Vanessa takes the alien point of view and changes it a little, but still makes it applicable to our time. She also wrote “The Smugglers” and another favorite of mine, “Coke Machine.” Go here for more.

The Muse tempts, but speeds off in her Ferrari

I have a vision of my Muse (Calliope) as Christie Brinkley in National Lampoon’s Vacation. She drives by saying, “You should write, honey!” I pull out a fresh notebook and write maybe two pages of introduction, and then…she’s gone. I tried using the computer, too, and that didn’t work–I got a scene out before she took off.

I tried editing my huge epic fantasy opus that I wrote in college (or was it right after college at my first receptionist job?) but got disgusted with how much work I was going to have to do to fix the wreck that it was. After three months, I finally put it aside this week and decided to try new things.

See paragraph above.

NanoWrimo went to hell after I got in the hospital on the first day of November, and was in for five days. Then Rhode Island Comic Con the weekend after I got out of the hospital, where I sold a few copies of my book, but I was concentrating on selling everyone else’s. I did a good job with that. I met John Barrowman! At the autograph table, I had a script prepared to tell him all about Grimaulkin. What did we talk about?

Pain meds.

See, he had thrown out his back and I had just gotten out of the hospital after going in with chest pain. So I knew about pain meds–all hail MORPHINE. He said that he had “hospital grade” meds but they made him loopy. His handler suggested he use them for the panel or the cosplay photo op he had coming up. I did have him sign the picture I brought (Torchwood) and he called me “lovely.” I blushed a million shades and said I’d see him tomorrow for a photo op.

My son, John Barrowman, and me.

After the ComicCon, I tried to write. Again, Calliope took off after tossing me a bone or two. I tried a Tamerlane story and got as far as Tamerlane meeting his next patron, and but no reason for her to meet him.

I looked up stuff in Submission Grinder, just to see if there was anything I could contribute to. I saw an entry for “Lost Atlantis” by Flame Tree Press. They were looking for stories of lost civilizations. I had read Four Lost Cities and Forgotten Civilizations of the Ancient World this year. Heck, Brothers of the Zodiac is set in Mesopotamia.

I started a new Word doc, thinking that might force the story out. Nope. I got an introductory scene with the main character out and that was it.

I need to stop reading non-fiction and watching murder mystery shows (Longmire, Columbo) because that’s all I’ve got in mind. Reading fiction is harder work. I have to hold the story in my head after I put it down for the night. If I put it down for the night. I can hold three, maybe four, storylines in my head at once.

I have decided that on December 1 I’m going to try and coerce, bribe, or beg Calliope to give me more than bones. I will prepare a place for her to come by and visit, and tell me a story.

Busy

I have no excuse for February, other than putting together the podcast “Small Publishing in a Big Universe”.

March, though, I helped out my publisher who put out a submissions call for the Dragon Gems program of short stories. So many people replied (175 or so) that he needed help weeding out the good stuff from the chaff.

At first, I concentrated on the “art” of the story. Did the author tell a good story? Eventually, though, I got irritated by all the different version of “formatting” that people did. Not Comic Sans, but some were pretty dang close (single-spaced, 10 point, .rtf default). We put on our website exactly what submission guidelines were. Oh, and by the way, Scrivener can automatically do that for you in Compile. So with the second batch and from then on, the author got a letter grade taken off for bad formatting.

Some people’s writing was truly atrocious. I finally understood the whole “you tell, not show” error in a manuscript. Then I read some stuff that blew my mind and I wanted to pass it along right away to the judges with a screaming neon post-it saying “THIS ONE!”

That took me all the way through March, between reading and replying to people. Just over 50 of the 175 are in the judging phase. They went past me because either they’re great, or I was on the fence on it. Like horror and hard sci-fi ain’t my thing, but as long as the author didn’t mess up the formatting, the spelling and word choices were good, and the story kept my attention without me scrolling through, then it moved onto judging. Some of them brought a different dimension to magic that made me stop and think.

Basically, I loved being a gatekeeper (ahem, “curator”). I’d do it again in a second.

Meanwhile, what else is going on, you might wonder? Have I written anything? Not in the last two months. I attended a webinar that was “write to market” and found out that the hottest sellers are in the Romance category. Romance-anything. So I was thinking of pulling Max out of retirement and do another Brothers of the Zodiac series–this time, much longer, taking place during world history instead of American history, and explore the world a little more. Bring in the Sumerian gods? Explain what it means to be immortal in Ishtar’s service? Explore the sign itself a little more. What really happens to the immortal if he falls in love with someone?

For a fleeting fifteen seconds, I thought of a typical heterosexual romance. Then I decided I can’t do that. I know the heroines are supposed to be kickass these days, but I still like the difficulties (challenges – drink!) that M/M romance has with it.

Brothers of the Zodiac, the Next Generation. I’m starting with Aries. I’m giving myself until June 1 to get it done.

Epic Fail

I started off with good intentions. Then, on November 7, I went into the hospital with a heart attack.

Three days in the hospital’s Cardiac Care Unit and three days of recovery afterward destroyed the possibility of me catching up to NaNoWriMo. I had to get the Small Publishing, Big Universe podcast done, listen to my audiobook to get it done by December 11. Found myself distracted by news of the day and trying to read books to finish my Goodreads challenge.

So I got the “winner’s” t-shirt, without winning. Sad on my part.

Waiting

I’m waiting for the gunshot on October 31 at midnight so I can start writing. I have the characters ready to go: the casting is done, the playlist exists…now everyone’s milling around waiting for the settings, the scenes, to speak the dialogue and do the actions.

I have the beginning and the end, but the middle, not so much.

In December, on Small Publishing In a Big Universe, I am going to be interviewed for my new book Carnival Farm. Well, it’s been recorded and it just needs to be edited. Also Carnival Farm’s audio book might be out in December. And also on December 11, I will be at the author expo in Pawtuxet/Cranston, RI. It’s a dialysis day, so I’m probably going to be a wreck. I have to find a dress I can wear.

Speaking of dresses, I went through my clothes and donated the ones that don’t fit anymore, or that I’ve had for “work” and haven’t worn for the last three years. I discovered some clothes that were my favorites, but I was ruthless and tossed them in the bag to go to the Goodwill. I brought them down before I could change my mind.

I will have a special NaNoWriMo website set up which will have my work. I could, if I wanted to, submit this to The Storyteller’s Vault which allows fan-fiction of Vampire, Werewolf, and any of the other RPG’s. You need to pay for the license to get paid, though.

I’ll stick to offering it for free, raw and unedited, all 50,000 words or so. Trust me, it’ll be bad.

CBD, medical issues, and Afghanistan

Three top things in my life right now. I have arthritis in my left thumb. It hurts when I move the thumb toward the palm, or I extend it to pick up something wide (oh, like Tarot cards????). A friend of mine suggested I try CBD. She’s an Earth Mother type of person, totally organic, wears Crocs, and recycles EVERYTHING. So yeah, marijuana is good for you! It’s natural.

I went with her to the local CBD store. No, I don’t smoke or vape it. I bought a balm to rub on my thumb and the muscles of the thumb. Nothing. Nada.

At the same time, I ordered a CBD cream for joint pain. Tried that. Nothing. Nada.

Then I used both at the same time. That works, for a short time. I think I’ll go back to Tylenol.

My dry weight (that is, my weight when I leave dialysis) has increased because I’m back to eating 3 relatively small meals a day. After a year of the shakes, it was just too much. I couldn’t stand them. I have a case of them left. Maybe after a few months of eating food, I’ll go back to them.

Afghanistan. I wrote about Afghanistan in my first published book, and in my hopefully eventually to be released Director’s Cut of War Mage. I knew the Taliban were going to take over. They have a culture that wants them to die. It’s a holy thing if they die. Like the Norse and Greeks, warriors go right to heaven. The Afghan National Army didn’t have that culture. That’s why they gave up and ran.

Presently, it’s an odd way to think, to have such deep faith. The ANA (aka, the West) forgot faith. The West needs a faith, something that will bring us together and make us fight. We had a reason to fight until we got our revenge for 9/11, and then we tried “Nation Building” with a culture that’s full of tribes and ancient tradition. Soldiers are not social workers. They’re warriors. Whole different skill set.

In War Mage, Brent is turned into a social worker, and the book is about how he spectacularly….fails? Succeeds? You decide.