Monthly Archives: March 2019

Love and Hate

I love Grim, don’t get me wrong. I love playing him, and writing him.

But to do it for two weeks straight? That he’s all I think about for two weeks (now three). I have two stories left for the anthology, and getting them written is like pulling teeth. The idea is there, the few pivotal scenes are there, but there’s no thread combining them.

I usually write in a chronological order. I have tried writing a scene here and there, then putting the thread between them. It never works for me, because it bothers me that I’ve put something on paper, and it is in stone, unchangeable–and I have to mold the rest of the story around those few pivotal scenes. If they’re in my head, they’re changeable.

I have one week to write two stories. It’s not fun anymore. After this anthology, it’s time to put Grim to bed and keep him alive only on Champions Online. Sorry, but I don’t want to end up hating the guy, and writing book number 14 in the series, pissing off fans and milking the character.

Release

I started writing again. I had to rewrite one of the stories in Grimaulkin Collected, and when I did it, the creative stuff started to flow again.

However, there’s one story in Grimaulkin Collected that I have to get rid of, because I can’t seem to write a happy ending. Instead of three stories, I need to come up with two. I think I can whip them out pretty quickly given the chance and non-distraction.

The plan is to have Grimaulkin Collected out in June. I want to do something with Yellowtree, but the state that it’s in right now is horrible. After tearing it apart, I noticed my issues, and I can’t seem to see beyond them to change the story. I love the title “Yellowtree” and the concept of using fey this time around. But after that…I have no idea what to do with it. I’m trying to let go of the wreck I wrote, but I can’t seem to think outside of the box.

I’ve been reading non-fiction these past few months, mostly about chaos magic and esoteric studies. I read a couple of male erotica stories while in the hospital and found they filled the well for Maxwell. I tried to read a few other urban fantasy stories, picking up boxed sets, but they were garbage and disappointing.

I’m tempted to write another novel with Mike and his apprentice Ash. I just need to come up with a reason.

Hard work

On Kill Zone, a blog I read, someone wrote the seven rules of writing. One of them is what I’ve been working on this whole week.

Writing is a solitary and thoughtful process.

Let me explain what I’ve been doing. I’ve been trying to edit. Word on my Windows computer seems to be corrupted, but on my iMac it works fine. I edited a whole bunch of stories for Grimaulkin Collected before trying it on the Mac, and the formatting has come out all screwy.

I have three stories left to write in Grimaulkin Collected (yes, still the same three as last week), and I have one story to edit on the iMac. The thing is the editor has suggested that I engage the characters more in this story.

So in between fighting off exhaustion, being still sick, and decluttering my house, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. The problem with thinking is that I feel that I haven’t been producing. There’s no words on the page. I’ve been trying to think of Ash and his interaction with Mike–because in the story right now, Ash is a paper character.

With all the other stuff going on, it’s very hard for me to concentrate on getting this/these stories done. I suspect that as soon as some of these stressors ease up, I’ll be able to concentrate on getting back into writing again. Hopefully by the end of this week.

In other news, Air’s audiobook should be coming out very soon. I listened to “Libra” this morning and wondered who the hell wrote this–it’s really good. I love when that happens.

Editing

I will admit, I did some writing when I was in the hospital. When I got home, I typed it up and sent it to my editor.

Not my best work.

The stories that I had done before the hospital were pretty good. And one of the stories I wrote in the hospital, I thought, was going to be a hit. Not quite.

I totally missed characterization of one of the main characters, having him be a cardboard cut out, and I didn’t realize it. This is what happens when you’re on drugs in the hospital. (lol)

I’m so glad I have an editor who is honest enough to tell me where I went wrong and what I need to do to improve the story. Because that’s what the point of an editor is: to tell you what’s good and what might need improvement. Line editing is something almost anyone can do. But editing both the story and silly things like punctuation and the overuse of words (mine is “just”) takes a special kind of person.

Over the past couple of days I’ve been editing. I have to rewrite my last story that I sent him, and I have three stories to go for Grimaulkin Collected. For some reason, though, these three stories seem to be the hardest to generate. I have them at top of mind, but I can’t seem to get started. I don’t understand why.

The other thing is what am I going to write next? I’ve been writing shorts for about a year now that I’ve almost forgotten how to write novels. I tried with Yellowtree, and it came out like crap. That is causing a writer’s block: What next? There has to be a What Next…

I’m so jealous of people who can writer 100K novels, when I have to struggle to write 30K books. I used to be able to write 50-60K without breaking a sweat. I feel like I need to get something out there, something fast. I also write like a journalist, not a novelist, so description is extra-far down the list of things I need to write.

I have three stories to get done by the end of the month. Provided I don’t get sick again.

Home again

So while at the hospital, I thought I could get some writing done.

Nope.

I was so sick. So I know better now. Going into the hospital is not a vacation.

I’ve finished about 2/3 of the stories for the Grimaulkin Collected anthology. I have submitted for Corporate Catharsis. I’m not submitting for the ARIA anthology this year, though–mostly because I can’t think of anything to write.

Max’s next novel was sent to the editor for a quick read-through. He approved, so I’m planning on working on that next.

I’m trying to think up a new work, and I’m tempted to go back to my first novel that I wrote when I was fifteen, pulling out that character and rewriting that story.