Busy

I have been crazy busy the past week. Updating, installing, and fixing the computers at my school eats up a lot of time. As do my children. Hope to write on here more consistently when things calm down. Hope it is soon because I have not even had time to work on my novel since last Wednesday. Grumpy.

Finished Chapter Thirteen

Well, I finished chapter thirteen today. Hooray! Yes, I am very excited at how well the first book to Yahnolite Histories is progressing. I am also excited because, by the end, this chapter took a direction I was not expecting. So amazing when the story uses me to bring it to life. It also blows my mind how smooth the writing process was for this chapter considering I had no plans/outlines for it at all. When I go in blind, it typically takes me an hour or so of typing, deleting, typing, pacing, thinking, and deleting again before I get a feel for it. Not to mention, I had planned on writing something else for chapter 13 (the original plans for 13 will now appear in chapter 14), but then a moment of realization/inspiration hit me and I couldn’t walk away from it. Good thing I didn’t either—the chapter will play a pivotal role later on in the story. It also brought more depth to two of the characters. So, tomorrow morning I will begin chapter 14, bringing me ever so closer to completing this beast. After six years of procrastination, several rewrites, a brief stint with a gambling addiction, and working on other projects, I finally feel good about the daily time slot I have allotted myself to work on this story and that alone.

Until next time

Digital Publishing Confusion

Yesterday, as I looked over my KDP account with Amazon, as I try to do a few times a week, I noticed that three of my short stories were no longer enrolled with KDP select.  Great, I thought, now I can publish on Google Play and iTunes, reach a new audience.  I figured with how easy it is to publish on Amazon, this would be cake.  A day later and I am still unsure about the process.  Took me about two hours just to submit two short stories to the play store (still not sure I uploaded all the right info because there is no option to preview the cover or story before completing the submission).  It is still in the “processing” mode, and I hope before it goes live, I have a chance to look it over and make sure everything is square—fingers crossed. As for iTunes, their directions didn’t prove any simpler.  So, I may wait a bit before attempting that route. 

Back to writing Yahnolite Histories…

New Blogspot

Decided to create a new blog spot. Why, you may wonder?  Well, my old one, which hasn't seen any active (from myself) in a year, was really dedicated to my novel series The Yahnolite Histories.  This one, well, I want to use for just about anything that comes to mind, predominately writing and the grueling, yet enjoyable (at least for me) process it entails.  This is mainly for myself to splatter my thoughts--clear them either before working on one of my projects or dump out what's left over when my mind has become too sluggish.  Nothing worse, for me at least, than to work on a short story or novel, when exhausted or overwork, just to read over it the next day and see it is absolute rubbish.  This can also help ground me, bring me back to my world.  Sometimes I find myself getting a bit lost in these other worlds, not to mention the main character.

Unlike Monday and Tuesday, which were truly great days of writing, this one writhed painfully.  I had read a review of The Spiral Effect and, well let's just say I didn't take it too well.  I know, every author receives a bad review.  I'm fine with it. I accept it.  But it bothered me because it was the only review.  I've had over a hundred downloads of this baby,around forty in other countries, and all I can garner is one review?  To make it worse, I found out that Amazon has been screening reviews.  Which explains why some of my friends (really probably just one) reviews never showed.  Which lead me to wondering how many of my friends (forget family--besides my wife of course) actually read it.  I can't blame them too much.  How many hacks and wannabes vomit pure crap in the form of videos, music, or poetry?  I think some of us (dare I say most?) are afraid of even watching, reading, or listening to a friend's work out of fear it will suck. Because then how do we respond? I know I have. Which forced me to break that cycle and start watching and listening, which, to my wonderful surprise, wasn't bad. Actually pretty good.

Things have gotten better.  I am not bummed out anymore.  The review doesn't bother me now.  I realized one of the main beef's this reader had with the story was actually something I did on purpose. I will not apologize for that. I want the Spiral Effect to be an episodic piece.  It was originally meant to be a hundred to hundred and twenty issue comic book series, but since I cannot find an artist willing to do that much work for minor profit from independent sales (which wouldn't be much, especially for a shit load of work he or she would have to do) I am publishing these stories differently.  Yes, it may piss readers off at first, but it is a risk I am willing to take. For me, the story takes precedence over the reader because the tale is alive.  If they don't understand this, then there is nothing more I can do.  I have to be honest with myself, with God, and these strange tales that, for some reason, have decided to personally talk with me.

Before I go, glad to see I wrote 1005 words today.  In ebook terms that's probably 3-4 pages.  So not bad, especially since it was done in about two hours, with my four year old daughter tugging at my ear with her delightful questions every ten to fifteen minutes.

Until tomorrow.