Non-Progress Report

Okay, I give up.

Writing has once more come to a grinding halt due to outside influences.

I'm not one to bang my head against a brick wall. I much prefer to build a support structure and go over the hurdle, but this may take a while. So, I'm not going to flog this dead or dying horse anymore.

It's been a great ride over the past few years and I am thankful for all the friends I made while partaking of this journey. I wish you all the very best in the future, but, for now, I'm out of here.

In parting, here are the first couple of reviews for Dark Pages:

ASIF, and it has had some air time over at ScaryMinds, but my work has blocked that site for some stupid reason. Both are thoughtful reviews and bring up some interesting topics for conversation. Go check them out.

Hopefully, one day, I'll catch you somewhere in the cybersphere...

Progress Report V1.3

I managed zero words over the weekend :c(

Did I have opportunity? A couple but they were for small amounts of time to sit at the keyboard and I don't work well in snippets.

So I spent the weekend, while doing other things, thinking about how to move the story forward and the central question of why this was all happening in the first place. (Check out Alexandra Sokoloff's blog to see what I'm talking about if this makes no sense to you.)

Result: I have the next couple of scenes firmly planted in my head (down to descriptions of some very creepy stuff) and why this is all happening.

The story is coming together, but I now have three days to finish it. I doubt I'll get it done in time for anyone else to read before I submit - if I get it finished in time to submit.

I've decided not to submit my backup piece if I don't make the deadline. A pre-existing story with small tweaks to try and implant some of the requirements stated by the editor does not my best effort make.

I've also not yet subbed to FableCroft yet--maybe sometime this week...

My day job currently blows big time, which isn't helping with my energy levels to do after hours work of any form, including writing. Normal life sucks when it gets in the way...ah well, it's not like I'm stopping world hunger.

Progress Report V1.2

Day two of writing progressed. I've slipped into a new routine where I come home from work and spend an hour or two writing before moving onto other things. Seems to be working so far but the chances of getting something finished and beta read and then revised and submitted within a week are unlikely.

Yesterday my story progressed to where things need to ramp up a notch or three. It currently stands at a smidge under 2000 words and has hints and mystery a plenty. The ghost(s) are just about decided as is the reason for them being there (although this hasn't been revealed yet as it only came to me late last night).

I'm somewhat submerged in this process at the moment so I haven't sent out the submission to FableCroft yet, but I intend to over the weekend. It doesn't need to be there until the end of October so I have plenty of time anyway.

I haven't yet started my research on Greek Myths and which one I shall rewrite. This will commence on September 16th at the latest I imagine - the day after this ghost story needs to be completed and submitted (or I need to give up on this one and submit my backup story.

Progress Report V1.1

Last night I began writing a new short story I've only got vaguely outlined in my head and I'm desperately trying to figure out which way it will go. Normally I'd plot all this before I begin writing but the deadline is just too tight for me to work that way this time round.

So - the currently unnamed story stands at a touch under 1000 words. The main characters have all been introduced and the setting has been firmly woven in. Now if I can just figure out which one (or more) are the ghosts...

Progress Report

I'm intending to take this blog back to its journalistic roots. I began it to keep track of my journey in the craft and slowly went a little off track or ran out of writerly things to report.

So - in the last week, I've received my contributor's copy of Night to Dawn, Issue 18, which contains my story Wamphyri, and The Blackness Within anthology, which contains Dreaming, from Apex has been launched for sale. I have nothing else scheduled for publication and I have no subs out in the market place (other than a couple I've not heard from in ages and have pretty much given up on hearing anything about).

I have also now committed to getting back onto the writing bandwagon and actually putting some words, some new words, down on paper.

To that end, last night I revised two stories, expanding and tweaking each as I saw fit. They will be submitted over the next couple of days. Both have grown by quite a few new words each. I also had the wonderful/terrible experience of not being able to sleep as a new story percolated to the surface. Tonight I will begin writing it. This is the one I need to complete by next week so I'm hoping to finish writing it over the next couple of days so a beta reader can check it out before I need to submit it mid next week.

Things are moving forward a pace...

Things Aren't Working...but I have a plan

To say my efforts at writing have been sporadic so far this year would be the biggest understatement of this decade. Time to try and crack the whip once more!

My plan to fix this isn't very clever or complex, and requires more willpower than I've been able to demonstrate so far, but I've got to keep throwing up opportunities for me to get back on track. Nothing else has worked so I'll give this a go instead.

After the Rain anthology by FableCroft looks interesting and I may already have one story suitable for it so this will require some revision, which should be a good gentle start at getting back into things.

However, the next market to interest me has a deadline of next week! Whitlock Publishing are looking for ghost stories from around the world - specifically stories strong in setting as well as scaring the crap out of people. A deadline of the 15th is extremely tight but I have an idea for it which is strong on Australiana. This may not happen, but I'll give it a shot.

Lastly, Isabelle Rose over at Sonar4 Publications has come up with yet another idea for an anthology based on rewritten Greek Myths. This has a deadline in line with the FableCroft anthology so I'll need to work on revising one while creating (and researching) a completely new one over the next seven or so weeks.

Work on Inner Voice continues in my head. I'm struggling to get to grips with editing longer version works, so I'll return (for the moment) to the shorter form to see if I can find my mojo once more.

I need to rejig my current after work schedule and use of a Father's Day gift my eldest daughter gave me but that shouldn't be too difficult.

Wish me luck.

Gob-Smacked

Good old Google Alerts brought this to my attention:

http://www.apexbookcompany.com/2010/08/apex-publications-releases-the-blackness-within-stories-of-the-pagan-god-moccus/

Super cool that advetising for The Blackness Within has begun, but when I read Dreaming being pointed out in the blurb...

Experience the nightmare of an apostle unable to live up to His teachings in “Dreaming” and, in “Without Mercy,” witness the torment of those who can.

I was totally stoked and completely gob-smacked.