Had an optimistic week: positive response from a literary agent, hit all my marks at work, made a cool author connection, read a great book, and edited well past the halfway mark in WotT2. I would really like to finish the second draft this week if possible (though it might not happen because of my workload: I’m at camp with a bunch of youth through Saturday this week.) I’ll have this book wrapped up and ready for beta readers within a couple weeks, though, and then onto the final draft of TKR3! (right after I finish an official query to a literary agent who seems like a good fit–what she enjoys reading seems a perfect match for what I write).
State of Writing
I decree that it’s Choose Your Own Adventure Week on Inside the Inkwell. This should be fun. In the meanwhile, a quick update on my progress last week. I actually wrote a new, early chapter last week in Wolves of the Tesseract: Through the Darque Gates of Koth and mostly finalized the cover art. I had a lot of supplemental, minor things I intended to insert in earlier chapters, but based on some of the structure I decided to write a new scene/chapter in order to put them in since they didn’t really fit as smaller, aside snippets to the action already happening. About eight of thirty-two chapters are edited now for the second draft. Hope to finish up over the next month or so and then let it simmer before my next revision when my eyes will be fresher (should also be able to get it out to my beta readers around that time. I sent a few new queries to agents as well, and did some business side of things. Forecast looks good, and I’m probably on track for my 2017 writing goals.
State of Writing
Crazy week. Like always, I guess. It was actually my weekend that nearly killed me. Here’s what it looked like:
Fri-up before 7am to volunteer in weight room with teens… work till 5pm, fix stuff around the house till late, try to go to sleep early (to no avail) leave for Twin Cities around midnight
Sat-get to Park N Fly around 3am. and catch plane to chicago, grab an Uber, setup table for Printer’s Row Festival in the AM and find a Starbucks… talk to people all day and battle the wind-tunnel that is downtown Chicago. 7pm, Uber back to the airport and try to nap for 90 min before flight–no success. coffee instead. Flight back to MPLS… three quick catnaps, but I kept waking up myself with snores (and disturbing hte other passengers.)
Sun-midnight, back in MN. get to my car for drive home… oh, now my body says it can sleep? Crawl into bed about 2:30am… can’t even see straight
I was a little tired. I think this week slows down for me… but lots of busyness and a few work meetings will keep me productive. Since I finished WotT2 recently, I’m in general editing before I let it sit and simmer for a while so that I’ll have fresh eyes on it. Hoping to have that first edit done over the next two weeks. I’m mulling over a large scene to add to Fear in a Land Without Shadows (like, 7 months after the final draft… this is why we let this rest for a while) that will really help color in a relationship between two friends in the book and reinforce why everyone is so scared of the dark.
Tuesday book reviews should be up again beginning next week.
State of Writing
I know I was shooting for four chapters last week and had to apologize to my wife for seeing very little of her–I pulled down about seven and finished the dang book using up most of my nonwork time. Wolves of the Tesseract: Through the Darque Gates of Koth weighs in around 100k words and will grow only slightly in the second draft (took lots of notes during writing about foreshadowing and development points I needed to make but didn’t slow down in the middle of it all).
Back to some blogging and cover art work this week and then off to Chicago for Printer’s Row Lit Fest this weekend. Come see me if you’re around. I’ll be at the Black Rose Writing booth all day Saturday.
State of Writing
So I got my chapter done for the week (pretty busy with work latley, finally picking up a lot of the things that I’ve been letting slide while kids are in during the school year, paperwork, grant requests, etc) but I’d hoped for two. I’d like to write four over the next week (maybe the holiday weekend will help with that?) I’ll be satisfied with two, though. I srealized that my outline for the final battle wasn’t as clear as I needed it to be–and it was pretty pivotal to go back and reketch the final moments. It’s not just a “seat of the pants” straight-laced battle that I can easily power my way through: there aremany different sides playing different angles, working alliances, and playing off their spies’ intel. lots of little threads that need resolving and attention during the final showdown–waaaay more than the first book… so I spent some time fleshing that out so I could get writing again.
I also did a book signing at a Barnes & Nobles. It was maybe my worst book event in the last couple years… I learned a few things about being specific with expectations. I’m prety sure the store wasn’t happy with my sales numbers, either (pretty low attendence what with the upcoming holiday and all–but more on that in a future blog). I was actually behind the door… like off to the side and in an alcove, so customers entering couldn’t see me unless they turned around in the middle of the store and looked back at the entrance (and by that time they’d already zeroed in on what they were looking for,) or until they had checked out and were leaving. Lesson learned… ask for a spot facing the door to engage customers when they arrive rather than thank them as they depart.
Filmed a television interview for PBS and BBQed almost 150lbs of meat, too. All in all, ready to complete WotT2 over the next couple weeks and begin edits on TKR3! Also excited for some of the new Cons to hit my calendar through the rest of the year!
State of Writing
Last week was the final week of school for my area (and the last week of programs I run for kids until we switch models for the summer.) Amid the normal chaos I found some time to focus and write and pushed out four chapters last week! Even at a slower rate I would hope to be done with WotT2 in two weeks (three at most). I also brought a group of teens to a comiccon in St. Paul which was lots of fun (and I was a guest on a podcast they recorded from the floor,) and I networked with a bunch of others.
Hoping for two more chapters this week!
State of Writing
What a week. I barely got my chapter done in the eleventh hour (and then started the next… just started foreshadowing the denouement and onto the climax! It should come easier now.) I’m only a few chapters from the conclusion of Wolves of the Tesseract: Through the Darque Gates of Koth… I’m also in the midst of a kickstarter campaign to help offset the costs of the prequel comic book coming out this summer and have been featured on a bunch of things like podcasts/tv, etc. for it. Here is a link to the newest podcast/interview which focuses more on the comic book campaign…
Here is a link to that Kickstarter. Check it out and please support it with a few bucks! It updates twice a week and is only active for another month. If I don’t raise my minimum goal I don’t receive anything!
State of Writing
Me and my selfie stick went to Wizard World Minneapolis over the weekend and I sold a bunch of books! (moved about fifty, plus gave away a bunch of books, too–about ten of mine, and a stack of those people have sent me for reviews). I also got a chapter of Darque Gates of Koth (WotT2) written–but my goal last week was two… I’ll try for two again this week. Two chapters plus a 3day convention was a little ambitious.
I’m also still pushing my new Kickstarter campaign and trying to raise money for the comic book I’m producing. I got a page yesterday during the con. It’s gonna be amazing! Would you go check it out and support it with a few bucks?
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2070483758/wolves-of-the-tesseract-taking-of-the-prime-fantas
the campaign is updated twice a week with new character profiles with sample art and with new page reveals!
State of Writing
So this guy named J.R.R. Tolkien said “out of the frying pan and into the fire.” Sounds like my upcoming week. Luckily I’m taking a day off on tuesday (well, mostly taking the day off). that should help me get my weekly chapter written.
I got my chapter done last week–plus I got the final draft of John in the John to the publishers, scored a whole bunch of Robert Jordan books at a library sale, picked up tickets to comicon, designed and ordered a bunch of new promo supplies, setup two future bookstore signings, and maybe bought another house. Plus there was that big fundraiser. This coming week might be busier: book signing/library event on the weekend, TV and podcast interviews later in the week, plus prep for Wizard World comicon the following week.
State of Writing
I hit all my marks—despite a very busy couple of weeks at work. I think I barely hit my goals, though. I’m trying to get another chapter in this week; I was able to complete one last week plus wrote a new entry into my next devo book. I figure that with John in the John coming out soon I ought to be working on Gospels in the John—plus I needed to write an article of a similar nature for a newspaper column I write a few times a year and so I wrote two versions.
Last week saw the release of a new comic book page for the Wolf of the Tesseract prequel—I’m hoping that in 7-10 days I’ll have the last few pieces I want to launch a kickstarter campaign in order to get the comic fully off the ground and into peoples’ hands.
