Late Wednesday night, really very early Thursday morning

and here I am. I was supposed to report yesterday evening, but was far too tired to get back online.

It's 2AM and I've done 3896 words in the last two days. These were all in The Cabin. Some tough spots in these last few chapters. These were where my main character, Josh, had to start finding his way back. I found that he wanted to change the story again, but that's fine.

I'm debating whether or not romance is going to make it into this book for real or whether it will be an unrequited crush. I am tending toward the requited, if I do it at all, since this book is actually reflecting the journey I wish I had made myself take growing up. Hey, I might as well have it all if I'm writing the story, right?

Anyway, I've got probably ten to fifteen thousand more words left in this book. That puts it at about 60,000 words. With rewriting, since I've seen some things I need to add but knowing that there is always some deadwood and a darling or two that needs killing, I figure it will end up at 55,000 words.

That's okay, right?

I must to bed.

I will be a bestselling author.

carpe somnium

My Tuesday goals

Okay. So I will get at least 1000 new words written today in The Cabin. However, I have finally finished prepping the materials I will submit to an agent/editor, so I need to start the process of getting all that together and sent out. I have to dig up my list of agents that Dave Wolverton sent me.

Anyhoo, that's it for now. I'll be back to report.

Oh, I might be on the channel 2 news on Friday morning. More details on that later.

Final Friday report

Okay. Finally. I did some more work on those first three chapters to make them into two and tighter. I feel good about it.

I also wrote an 850 word chapter to transition from when Mal leaves to when he dies. I also added some other stuff here and there, so I am going to call it 1000 words. I am looking forward to continuing the story next week, or tomorrow if I have time.

Off to bed.

Reporting so far...

Okay. As I mentioned I was going to do in my previous post for today, I forwent my sales calls in order to work on The Cabin. I was able to make some global changes as well as condensing the first three chapters into two to make it tighter and more impactful. I think the opening scene is stronger now. I need somebody to help me see if it is strong enough yet.

I intend to do some more work on this tonight. Shooting for 1000 new words. I'll report later.

Trading dreams?

I feel bad (no, I don't feel an adverb, so I am not going to write 'badly' there; I feel an adjective, so 'bad' is the correct word) that I haven't been paying as much attention to this blog as my new one. I am finding that http://gruntandsweat.blogspot.com/ is turning into a real joy to maintain. I'm posting literature, videos, poetry, and even recipes there. So today I shared an excerpt from John Adams, a book I have just begun reading. I long for a real statesman (or woman) to step up and seek the presidency.

But then I remember what I heard in The Dark Knight. It seems that in Rome, when the place was in dire need or under attack, they suspended the rule of law and appointed a single person to get them out of their mess. Sure, as Rachel Dawes said, they had some real bad apples there, but it seems an interesting concept.

The other issue being, of course, that if a person seeks power, that automatically should, in most cases, disqualify them from the office they seek.

Anyway, I am going to forgo my sales calls this afternoon and work on The Cabin. So I'm not trading dreams. Sure, my work with ChartedCourse will likely be what enables us to get into an appropriately-sized house, but I am a writer. I have to remember that.

Gotta remind myself: carpe somnium

Oh, I wanted to sell a little soul for hits, so here goes:

Scarlett Johannsen, Scarlett Johanssen, Scarlett Johannsen, Scarlett Johanssen, Scarlett Johannsen, Scarlett Johanssen, Scarlett Johannsen, Scarlett Johanssen, Scarlett Johannsen, Scarlett Johanssen, Scarlett Johannsen, Scarlett Johanssen, Scarlett Johannsen, Scarlett Johanssen, Scarlett Johannsen, Scarlett Johanssen, Scarlett Johannsen, Scarlett Johanssen,

Writing, writing and writing...

I didn't get my goal last night. I was out watching The Dark Knight with some family and didn't get back until after midnight. No excuse, but it is my reason.

Today I am going to write two articles for http://www.helium.com/, rate for a half hour, and then work on The Cabin. Check out my other blog at http://gruntandsweat.blogspot.com/

I'll be back.

Argue as much as you want with this article,

and you can still be my friend. I almost never actually tell people who I think they should vote for, and I never tell anyone who I'm going to vote for. I haven't even told my wife who I voted for the last few elections.

This article doesn't change that. It is simply an exploration of options for Ron Paul supporters. Yes, I wrote this article.

http://www.helium.com/items/1116110-should-ron-pauls-supporters-still-vote-for-him

Let me know what you think.

On Writing, Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale

Let's start with Christopher Nolan, shall we?

But before I do that, I want to remind you to check out my other, new, blog at http://gruntandsweat.blogspot.com

Anyway, Christopher Nolan is the co-writer and director of both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. These are two of the greatest superhero movies of all time. Sure, Spiderman 2 has a place of honor as the movie that finally really got down to what being a hero really meant, but then number 3 sort of lessened #2's impact.

But these two Batman movies by Nolan are beyond impressive. They deal with the grittiest of superhero themes: the fact that a hero often becomes or is an outcast, the vigilante nature of superheroes, the line that superheroes cannot cross unless they want to become what they are fighting against... all of this is dealt with, particularly in The Dark Knight. This movie pulls zero punches, allowing the Joker (Heath Ledger) to inject chaos, remarkable social experiments, and maniacally clever evildoings into what may be the best movie villain ever.

Ever.

So I applaud Christopher Nolan, his co-writers and his producers who have made a new kind of superhero movie. I think this is the beginning of a new direction. After The Dark Knight I have hope that if they really do a fourth Spiderman, they will get deeper into Spidey's psyche. There's a lot to him that the movies don't get into.

If you have yet to see The Dark Knight, go see it. Now. But before you take off running, remember that you need to listen very closely to the dialogue of the final five minutes. These lines answer the main problem of Batman and most superheroes better than any other movie has ever done.

Christian Bale deserves some acclaim as well, truth be told. He has had a remarkable career arc, with his start coming in Empire of the Sun, and his ensuing movies including Newsies, The Machinist, Hard Times, Swing Kids, Rescue Dawn, The Prestige, Reign of Fire, Equilibrium, Little Women, 3:10 to Yuma and quite a few more. These are all great movies, with the notable exception of Reign of Fire, which was about thirty to forty-five minutes short of being a great movie. Seriously, that movie ended too abruptly.

Anyway, he is a marvelous talent. But now Christian Bale's been arrested in England for abuse of his mother and sister. That bothers me. I hope he hasn't let the adulation go to his head.

By the way, I saw a teaser for the new Terminator. I am excited. Christian Bale's in that too... interestingly enough.

As for writing, I would like to get 1000 new words done in The Cabin today. First, however, I need to rework the first three chapters into 2. Anyone reading this, feel free to e-mail or comment and hold me accountable.

Be back later.

carpe somnium

First writing group meeting last night...

and it was neat-o. Nobody tried to force romance into anybody else's book, everybody gave advice to Mike about fatherhood, the salsa was excellent, as was all the rest of the food, and I think we all gained from the meeting.

I personally benefitted on a global level for The Cabin. Good thoughts about tone, tightness and characterization came my way. We had Liz, Kristi, Mike, Melinda, Kaye and me in attendance. Hopefully more will show up next time. We've decided on the 16th of August at 10 AM for our next meeting. I have promised to bring some zuchinni (spelling?) and some of my garden blender salsa.

So today while Annemarie, Emma (my lovely sister who is visiting) Benjamin (my newly minted lad) and I were out to lunch and such, the main kickstand on my scooter broke. That will complicate the parking of the wicked little beasty some, so that's nice. :-$ (This is me gritting my teeth...)

On the writing front, I will be condensing the first three chapters of The Cabin into two in order to tighten it up some and get the first few scenes more powerful. I plan to have queries out by the end of the month. Also, I haven't yet heard back from the editorial team at the company that bought The Mars Betrayal, so I will continue to focus my fiction efforts on The Cabin.

The people in my writing group are very impressive writers. I am in august company.

I need to get some work done now, so I will sign off.

By the way, tonight I and my sister will be going to see The Dark Knight. That should be fun.

Oh the power of typos

Okay, so I just clicked on the link I posted to my other blog. The site is called 'To Grunt and Sweat,' and I posted the link in the list on the right. However, I typed: gruntandsweat.blogpsot.com

Do you see the typo? Apparently the URL above takes a person to a rather uptight Bible-ist (since it is clear this person's true religion is the Bible) and his website. It is full of fire, brimstone and self-righteous vindictiveness.

So if you clicked on the link to check out my new blog, I beg your forgiveness. I have fixed the problem and it now works as flawlessly as I eat ice cream.

Moving on.

I am still waiting to hear back from the editorial team about The Mars Betrayal. I won't say I'm confident. I keep imagining all kinds of creative ways for them to crush my spirit again, such as simply sending a letter saying, "Well, you suck. We need that advance money back and we would rather you never contacted our company again. Incidentally, you should quit your day job, since you probably suck at that as well."

Or something along those lines. I hope it doesn't happen. I feel like I wrote a better story this time, so we will see.

Of late I have been working on polishing a synopsis of The Cabin so that I can send it out to agents and get the publication process going. I really like this book. This is a nice thing, since I'm darn near puking each time I go to work on The Mars Betrayal.

Please erase that tragic, pitiable image from your minds. Now click on the link to my new blog, titled To Grunt and Sweat and have a great experience. Bonus points if you know where I got that blog's title from.

Oh yeah. I've decided to give my writing my best time. I will be doing it first thing when I begin my work day. I should be able to give it from 1 to 2 hours each morning. Maybe more.

I must to work. But first, a freewrite. Today's topic: paper mache. (Or some other correct spelling.)

Paper mache, papier mache? is one of the greatest art forms on the planet. I mean think about it, you are using so many different materials in this work. You use wood pulp from trees which has been pressed into floppy sheets. Not only that, there is ink on those sheets of paper, particularly if you are using newspaper. What's more, you are using a symbol of what made western civilization so vibrant: the printing press.

You also use glue that has been made from some kind of grain, more than likely, and water, which we cannot live without. If you are making some kind of round shape, you are likely using a balloon, which is rubber, which is a synthetic these days and a fitting sign of the lasting damage mankind's carelessness is doing to our lovely Earth.

Finally, you use your hands and you can smell the glue and even taste it if you want. Hearing the sploshing, sticky noise of the paper in the glue basically means that you are having a fully sense-engaging experience.

Okay, that took three minutes, but there you go.

Been a while... again

I know, I go and I return. Such is life.

I just wanted to stop by, say I'm alive, point out that I'm making goals for my writing, and then head out. I have a lot to do still today, and the day is waning fast.

I'll be back later.

I said I would report

Fatigue struck this evening and I crashed. Didn't get anything done. I am on my way to bed.

I feel bad that I didn't do anything, particularly since I said I would. Tomorrow the synopsis will be perfected and sent off. I will also rewrite the first two chapters and add the third.

That's the plan. Sticking to it.

carpe somnium

Wednesday: Odin's day

While I may not be the rather fractious father of the gods, I certainly acted like I was last night. I spent about three hours re-doing The Mars Betrayal in its entirety. After really getting down how my main character acts and his motivations and flaws, as well as the other characters and antagonists' motivation and flaws, I realized that the plot devices I was using were not springing from the world and characters, but really just from my own desires for coolness.

So now there's no bacteria missile. The ending is happier too. If any of my writing group reads this, please check out the synopsis I uploaded yesterday and let me know if I am completely missing the mark.

Today I have quite a lot of ChartedCourse work to do, but I will be able to get to writing by 4PM, if not a little earlier. I will do some final tweaks on the synopsis and send it on to the editorial team so I can have my self-esteem smashed again. Or not. We'll see.

This morning I did the Y hike again, from my house. Yeah, it's not getting any easier yet. Whew. This is the second time I did the hike, although on Monday I started at the trailhead.

My garden grows well, by the way. I think I have finally succeeded in keeping pests away from my cucumbers to the point that they will make it. My only remaining pumpkin plant is doing well also. I do have a completely unidentifiable patch of something growing between my squashes, so I guess I'd better do some reasearch to figure out what it is.

But now I must work. I'll report later.