Shades of Night

Hello everyone, it's been a little while. Like I said before, I am scaling back to post about once a week instead of multiple times a week. I am using this extra time to write more on the different projects I have going on, both in my "day" job and my "night" work. Really, my day job work has spilled over into night more than usual, but that's a discussion for another time.

The next creative project that will be available for all of you to read is my new Shades of Night story. If you haven't read the other Shades of Night stories, I think you should check them out. I may be a little biased but that's just me. The stories are only $0.99 on Amazon. I know, you are saying you don't have a Kindle. Well, you don't need a Kindle to read the Shades of Night stories. I have the Kindle Reader software on my phone and computer and can download and read the stories that way.

Shades of Night stories are short and more experimental than my other work. The stories give me a way to produce finished-product works that explore different subjects and use different characters. I love to hear back from readers about the stories, even if they hated them, because it helps me become a better writer.

 I am hoping the next Shades of Night will be out sometime in December, but this is a crazy month so it may not be until January. This new story is worth the wait, though, since it introduces who I personally think is my most interesting character to date.

Projects Update

Hello everyone, I'm back and hoping you all had a great Thanksgiving. In case you have not noticed, I have started to scale back how often I am posting on the blog here, transitioning from posting every two to three days to now posting once a week. The reason for the change is simple: it gives me more time to work on my projects.

In case you don't remember, I am working on three major projects right now. I was supposedly going to be partcipating in NaNoWriMo this month and finally finishing the manuscript for The Devil's Nightmare, but some shifts in my day work has derailed that. As of right now, I am not sure when I will finish The Devil's Nightmare, but I hope it will not be in the too distant future.

The second project is my new Shades of Night story, which will be titled Perfect Village. I have been able to post some progress on the manuscript, and am hopeful I will have a finished product sometime in December or January. So far, I am very pleased with how the story is fleshing out, and I am sure you all will appreciate it as well. Rather than go on and on about the story right now, I will be taking more time to finish it.

The third project is an undisclosed young adult novel. As of right now, I have a pretty good partial rough draft and am hoping in the near future to be picking that back up so I can finish it by spring. Of course, life is full of surprises and at this point I am basically counting on things to change. I have learned, though, that if I don't make goals and deadlines, my work does not flow as quickly.

On another note, I will have some bigger non-fiction pieces being featured in some fairly large web and perhaps even print publications. Since details are still being finalized, I will let you know about them once everything is set.

That's all I have right now since I am staying busy with the projects.

Still Around

I just realized that I have not posted on the blog for longer than I normally go between posts, so here is a quick post to let you all know I have not fallen off the face of the planet. I am busily developing new writing opportunities that hopefully will give me more time to work on my creative writing endeavors. Nothing is really cemented right now, but I am working on multiple projects right now that I am hopeful will lead into some good avenues. I will try to write some longer and more interesting blog posts in the near future, but for now this is sadly about all I have time for. To be blunt, I am dedicating much of my energy into other forms of writing at the moment to bring my day job writing to a higher level. All of this has meant that NaNoWriMo has been a bust for me, but that is alright. Maybe I will do my own write-a-novel-in-a-month party in February or something like that.

Until next time...

Paranormal Old Pueblo

I'm back writing about the paranormal in the world, doing so at a website called Paranormal Old Pueblo. I don't have too much to say about the whole thing, other than to tell you that you can read my first post by clicking here. In it, I talk about how anyone is to know if an event was paranormal or the product of something else. Check the site and this blog, since I will be writing more for Paranormal Old Pueblo in the future.

Juggling Too Much

I am starting to realize that I often commit myself to too many activities. I could blame this fault on several factors. For one, I have broad interests and am talented in a number of things, including art, the outdoors and repairing both mechanical and electronic devices. Another factor I think feeds into this taking on way too much is an internal drive to be my very best, coupled with an external environment that glorifies near perfection. I am starting to realize that this all just leads to my coming up short on too many things.

This realization is coming to me in grades, and so I am making adjustments as I go. A classic example of me not learning my lesson: NaNoWriMo (that's National Novel Writing Month). I have a lot on my plate this November: holidays are coming up, my day job is getting very intense with shakeups in the content writing world and I am launching into more article writing opportunities. Have I gotten myself in over my head with NaNoWriMo? Probably so, and I know my wife thought I was crazy (because I am).

So what do I do? Well, first I need to constantly tell myself I do not need to be perfect, producing sick amounts of work or obtaining proficiency in difficult subjects basically overnight. Deep breath, let it out. Yes, I am still a good person even if I am not flying high in 8 different areas at once.

Don't worry, I am still going to be writing in this blog. I need this space to air out what is going on with my career, and it also is helping me develop new business. What am I going to do about NaNoWriMo? I'm not going to worry about it. If I happen to have some time to work on it, then I'll work on it. If I don't, then that is okay because I have some very pressing issues that must take priority.

This doesn't mean that now I have an excuse to be a slacker. My internal drive is still strong, but I am not going to practically kill myself as I try to do too much. Doing that hurts some of my efforts, and so I sabotage myself. It's a complicated dynamic in my life, one that I am learning to manage, and one that I know holds many people back from success.

As far as on the fiction writing front, I am starting to realize I just don't have the luxury of time to promote my work that I really need. This means I need a publisher, at least while I am young and still establishing myself, who can help with my promotional efforts. That, and I wouldn't mind even a small up-front from a publisher, I have to admit. There, I said it. I have denied it for quite some time, but I am at a point in my life where I know I need to write fiction to make money, not just to have fun. I want to be writing fiction full-time, and that means I need to be making a full-time salary doing it.

So there you have a little peak into my psyche as I lay on the couch for this blog post. I will continue to share with you on this journey to find a publisher, as well as what ultimately happens with my participation in NaNoWriMo. I'll warn you right now, my experience with finding an agent and a publisher has taught me it can be a difficult and arduous process. Hopefully my experience can help educate the rest of you, maybe inspire you or at the very least amuse and distract you from your everyday cares.

Writing a Book in a Month

For the month of November I will for the first time be participating in NaNoWriMo or the National Novel Writing Month. This means for the month of November I will be writing an entire rough draft for a novel. Actually, I will be completing my The Devil's Nightmare rough draft, since the book has been elusive to me and I just need to get the rough draft hammered out. I already have a head start on the book, with about 23,000 words already logged. Still, completing the rough draft is going to take considerable effort and focus, considering I still have my day job and other responsibilities to keep up with.

Participating in NaNoWriMo is more than just about finishing my rough draft quickly. The month is also about raising funds for a good cause. You can make donations linked to my writing effort by clicking here. Your donation may be tax deductible, plus you know the money is going to a good cause.

Look for more posts during the month of November letting you know how my rough draft is progressing.