Writing Log August 1st, 2016

3:07 - I woke up a bit earlier than I expected. I'm still a bit drowsy. I need to make some coffee and take another thirty minutes to relax into waking up. I've only got one more scene before the climax arch. Given the speed of the story at this point, and how excited I am to write it, I'm confident I'll finish the novel today. Writing goal is finish the novel by 15:00.

6:18 - Word count, 3,148. Eight more scenes left. My adrenaline is pumping at over drive. I'm going to finish this novel today. I can feel it. I'm so fucking close!

6:52 - Word count, 3,919. Six more scenes!

7:58 - Word count, 5,056. Five more scenes! My head hurts from writing so much. It's been a whirl wind of a story. I'm averaging about 1,100 words an hour. However, I've been taking breaks between each scene, so I'm cool with my WPH. Total word count is up to 68,288. I'll probably end up around 73,000 when it's all done.

And of course I didn't finish the novel. I left the room to eat and never got back to the computer. I've got to learn how to survive without food, or get my ass back in the chair. There's always tomorrow.

N. A. K. Baldron Newsletter

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Writing Log July 29th, 2019

6:25 - Woke up, and now it's time to write. I need 4,000 words today.

6:42 - Word count, 0. Cut more scenes. I'm up to eleven scenes cut. I might have just shaved enough of the subplot to get the novel back down to the original goal of 70,000 words!

8:08 - Word count. 1,752. Not bad for just over an hour. I did take a few breaks during the scene. Now that I'm looking at the word count, I think the scene might be a bit long. However, it might be the most important scene of the story. So, I'll let me editor tell me if it needs to be trimmed down. Now I'm going to take a twenty minute break and get back to it by 8:30.

10:58 - Word count, 3,042. My twenty minute break turned into nearly two hours. I didn't get back on the computer until right after ten o'clock. I'm down to 13 more scenes! Total word count is up to 62,640! I've got a lot of momentum here, and there is a crazy chance that I might finish this novel today. I've got two more scenes before the major climax, which will happen over seven scenes. Then there scenes for aftermath, and two final scenes for resolution and setup of book two. However, this novel will not end on a cliff hanger. At least don't intend to do that.

12:40 - Word count, 3,664. I took another hour break and then wrote for about 30 minutes. I've got to watch the little one for about an hour, and then I'll be able to get back to writing. I've got 11.5 scenes to go. I think I've got less than 10,000 words to go. If I finish the novel today, I'll be ecstatic.

17:45 - I didn't get back to the novel. I had lunch with the family and hang up for the rest of the day.

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Writing Log July 26th, 2016

6:11 - Word count, 0. Just woke up about 10 minutes ago. No coffee yet. I'm going to try writing without it and see what happens.

6:37 - Word count,  371. The power went out on the block. It's pitch black in the house aside from the glow of my laptop screen. I'll have to come back to writing after the power comes back on.

9:38 - Word count, 1,454. The power came back on about an hour ago. I'm down to 20 scenes left to write. Total word count is at 57,766. I'm thinking I'll come in under 75,000 word, but over the initial thought of 70,000. It's time for some food. I'm not going to do anything but write today, until 17:00. If I stay focused I'll hit scene 60 before I'm done. I have no idea about a word count. I just want to get down to 10 scenes. If I get that close I'll be able to finish up tomorrow with the momentum. I can't wait to plot out my next novel and start writing it, while my editor has this one.

11:44 - Word count, 3,286. Writing is going well today. Only down side, is I keep adding more scenes as subplots become larger than I originally planned for. The novel will turn out better for it, but it's a bit annoying. I did cut a scene or two, that no longer needed to be there. However, despite the words I'm still about twenty scenes away from the end.

Aether Walker: Game Changer - Edits

Release Date Set, November 1st, 2016

I finalized the contract with my editor on Wednesday. We've got a game plan for how the edit rounds will go, and he even agreed to my next novel. Based on what we've discussed the official release date for Aether Walker: Game Changer will be November 1st, 2016!

I just bought my domain name, and will be setting up the website over the next week. I'll also be setting up a news letter for everyone who wants to stay appraised on my novels.

I'll make more posts with updates as they happen. Until then, it's back to writing.

Writing Log July 23rd, 2016

5:13 - Woke up about an hour ago. I've showered and made my coffee. Now it's time to write. I'm going to write until 9, and I'm aiming for 5,000 words.

6:09 - Word count, 1,091. I'm having to dig deep to finish this novel. I already knew every detail of these final chapters. There are no surprises so I'm having to force myself to put the words on paper. Plotting helps my productivity, but it kills part of the excitement I get from discovery writing. Major bonus though, my editing is going to be a breeze compared to my novels in the past!

7:01 - Word count, 2,220. I'm almost half way there, both in time and word count. If the words keep flowing like this, I might put in an extra long writing day and see just how many words I can get on the page. The little one will be up soon, so I might have to take a break. I'm hungry, but I keep putting it off. I think it's Stephen King, who said he doesn't have breakfast until he has hit his word count. I can see that being a good motivator.

8:10 - Word count, 3,491. I seem to be plugging along at about the same speed. 1,200 words an hour isn't bad. I keep taking short breaks between scenes. When I factor that in, I'm probably at about 2,000 words an hour. I just had to stop and do some research for this scene on cars. Hopefully I got it right. I'll have to get someone who knows cars to read the scene, and see if I did it right.

Final word count, 3,649. The child woke up, so I spent the rest of the day with her.

Writing Log July 19th, 2016

1:38 - Word count, 0. The hotel server is down. Internet keeps going in and out, and there is a leak in the roof over the front desk. On the plus side I'm by myself tonight. I had to train the new guy last night, which was interesting since he is a reader. However, it meant I was only able to write 386 words. Better than nothing, but a far cry from what I want. Goal tonight is 3,750, and six scenes.

2:11 - Word count, 1,026. First scene done. Time for more coffee, check on the server, and then back to the story. I can't wait to hear back from readers. I hope they love it as much as I have writing it.
Checked the server again, but it's still down. Still can't check people in, or run night audit, so the hotel is at a stand still. The GM isn't returning my texts or phone calls. I've done what I can, so I'm setting it aside, and getting back to writing.

3:28 - Word count, 1,464. Second scene done. New podcast episode is out for Science Fiction & Fantasy Marketing. So… I'll be watching that for an hour before I get back to writing. This is one of their better episodes. It has John L. Monk, he has great advice for authors just getting started or authors who are struggling to build their platform.

5:45 - Word count, 1,464. Breakfast is made. Finished the podcast. The night audit still isn't done, so it's creating problems with checking guests out, and until it's fixed no new guests can be checked in. Spoke with my GM. I did everything I was suppose to, everything else is out of my hands. I've written down everything that happened in our daily binder, and I'll explain it all to whomever relieves me. Until then I'm going to watch the podcast again and take notes. This episode is one of the best they've ever done.

8:59 - Word count, 1,496. I'm home. Had to stay late to finish work. Plus side, internet is back. I've got a phone call with my editor in about an hour. I'm excited and terrified. I'm not sure how this is going to go, but I'm being optimistic.

Writing Log July 16th, 2016

1:55 - Word Count, 0. Talked beer and whisky with an old friend via Facebook, and how excited we both are for the new Scott Lynch novel. (Scott if you're reading this I'm dying over here.) It was fun, but now it's time to put words on the screen. I'm technically 6,142 words behind schedule this week, due to the setback of fixing the sub plot. While I'd love to hit that and set a new personal best, I'm going to go with a more manageable goal of 3,700, which will put me over the 10,000 word mark for the week.

4:14 - Word count, 0. I'm hitting the conclusion to the novel (Act III kind of), so I needed to look at what I had plotted and work accordingly. So far the novel has followed all the major points I thought would be there, but most of the minor scenes have changed substantially. I had to cut two more scenes, and in eight.  I had this weird 24 day gap in my timeline. It still makes sense to the plot, but I decided I needed a couple scenes to explain the gap and keep up the tension, without there being this giant time gap. A week is one thing, but nearly a month I think would be a bit jarring. The majority of the scenes from here on out will be short compared to the ones in the middle of the novel. I'm hoping that will help keep my own personal writing momentum going.

5:58 - Word count, 1,413. Broke the 50K word mark. I wrote what I think is my shortest scene ever at 302 words. When I got done I looked at it, think I had to have left something out, but upon rereading I think adding any more would be a waste. I knew the scenes moving forward might be shorter, but 302. I'm not quite half way to my goal, but I started writing much later than I had intended. I've got to start turning my WiFi off when I'm ready to write. Social media is the death of productivity!

8:19 - Word count, 1,413. Going to call it. I got side tracked with plotting. I'll be at the hotel tonight, so I should be able to get a good 3,500 words.

Writing Log July 14th, 2016

2:24 - Word count, 0. I'm about to start my night of writing. Tonight's goal is 3,500 words. If all goes well I'll hit that before 6 am. I'm at home tonight rather than at work, so this will be different. I've got myself setup in a comfortable spot. I've got my headphones on and will listen to classical music. I find that it helps me focus a little more. The only down side to writing at home, is everyone else is trying to sleep, so I have to be extra quite and keep the lighting low. I've had my pot of coffee and have plenty of water. I find that writing these blog entries help to clear my mind and focus me on the task of writing. It's almost like free writing to get my mind in the 'writer' mode.

3:09 - Word count, 1,303. Not bad for about 30 minutes. I need some more water and a cigarette. I think I'll put some tea on too. These scenes are just flying by now. I'm so glad I found the issue that was holding back my writing. If you ever feel stuck, I highly recommend looking at what you're writing and evaluating if it's what needs to be written. Maybe you're subconscious is trying to let you know that you're writing the wrong scene. Listen to yourself, and it might save you hours of grief. Or in my case, it could have saved me two weeks of lost productivity, and several thousand words.

4:09 - Word count, 2,606. I just finished another scene of exactly 1,303 words, and stopped exactly an hour after I had stopped the last time. It all feels a little like deja vu. Except I'm 75% of the way to my daily word goal. I don't even feel the slightest bit burnt out. I think I'll raise my goal to 4,500 words and see what happens. I didn't realize how hot it was. I'm going to take a shower, while I think about the next scene.

5:42 - Word count, 4,176. I just wrote a high sexual-tension scene. (Maybe I should have held off on the shower.) I'm so close to the 4,500 word goal, and it's not even six yet. The house should be quite until around seven or eight, so I'm going to raise the goal to 6,000. If I hit it, that will be the most words I've ever written in one day. My heart is racing. It's surreal when your dreams start to manifest themselves as reality. I hope my readers love this novel as much as I have writing it.

I also wrote a short 150 word blurb that summarizes the novel well, I think. I've got my editor looking it over. She's a far better judge at those sort of things. If she signs off on it, I'll get it uploaded. Once that's done, I'll be able to open up presales for the novel. I'll also setup an order form on the blog for paperback preorders. I'll be offering signed copies to anyone that preorders. However, once the book comes out, I'll not offer a paperback edition.

6:17 - Word count, 4,676. Just realized that I had left out a scene that closed up a subplot. Good thing too, because that would have been annoying to fix after the first round of edits.

8:11 - Word count, 4,676. I'm not going to hit the 6,000 words today. There's always tomorrow for crazy double stretch goals. Time to adult, by which I mean - put on cloths and go to the bank.

Night Audit July 12th, 2016

3:14 - Word count, 3,129. I didn't write last night, but I did watch Science Fiction & Fantasy Marketing Podcast about marketing and writing. Zach Bohannon was asked how he manged to work full time and also produce multiple novels a year. He explained that he set himself word count goals and scheduled writing time slots. When Joseph asked him if he ever ran into writers block, Zach Bohannon said he didn't believe in writers block. He admitted there were a few days here and there where he didn't write because he was burnt out, so he'd read or watch some TV. He claimed since he loved writing what he wrote, he was never blocked. He suggested that if someone is blocked to where they couldn't write for several days, that person either didn't truly want to be a writer, or they were writing the wrong thing.

The idea of writing the wrong thing really stuck with me. I figured since my cover art just came in I would be so hyped up that the words would just flow out. But, what I found was I couldn't get more than a couple sentences in,  and then I'd stop. So this idea of writing the wrong thing came back to me. I read through what I'd written the past few weeks and looked at where my plot was, and needed to go. What I found was I'd created this odd side plot that was offering false promises. Since I wasn't wanted to deliver on it I kept finding it hard to write the scenes. Long story short I cut out a subplot, and reworked another subplot by moving some major scenes around and rewriting to make them work chronologically.

Now the novel feels tighter and I think the character arcs will be highlighted better. Only down side is I lost some words in the novel. (About 4,500 I think it's hard to be sure.) With the great word count that I'm at, I'm only about 1,500 words away from making up the holes. I think I just saved myself a lot of work come editing time though. Ever since my first novel, (Which will probably always stay in the trunk), where I would write a chapter - edit the chapter and write a new chapter; then edit two chapters and write a third, etc. etc. I've been a strong advocate of never edit as I write. However, I think this instance will prove to be the exception to the rule.
At this moment the novel is at 43,087 words. Since I only log the word progress in the spread sheet, I might have to put my first negative number.

4:58 - Word count, 4,734. Total WC is 44,692. I'm back! I was able to make up the words I lost and then some. This is by far the most I've ever written. Count the fact that I manged to fix a major issue in my novel too, and any way you slice it tonight was a fucking great night! I feel high as a kite right now. With this momentum I'm sure I'll be able to write more when I get home. But for now, it's time to go make breakfast for 60+ people.


Daily Word Count, #DailyWC - 5,294
Novel - DWC: 4,734 TWC: 44,692
Blog - DWC: 560, one blog post.

Æther Walker: Game Changer Cover

My hands are shaking from a mixture of Death Wish coffee, and the amazing cover I just got in for my novel, Aether Walker: Game Changer. Domi, over at Inspired Cover Designs, did a fantastic job and was extremely helpful throughout the process.

If you've been following the blog, you know I've been a small rut; not putting out the words per day I wanted. The cover art is just the motivation I needed to get my ass in gear. My heart is racing, and it finally feels real. I've been in this weird place for a couple months where I'm becoming an author, but not feeling like one. With the cover in, where I can see my name and the title, I feel like an author. I'll have to get some cards made, so when people ask the annoying proverbial question, "what do you do?" I can answer, "I'm an author," and hand them a card.

The day job (or in my case night job) isn't going to get to me any more. Now that my novel is coming together, and I know it will be out later this year, the job seems unimportant.

Back From Break

Sorry for the laps in posts. As of right now, I'm at the 60% mark for the novel, with just over 43,000 words. I'm back at work after a four day weekend. I took the time to read and relax. I feel fully revitalized. I've learned that I can't put off reading while I'm writing. I was avoiding it so another author's voice wouldn't affect my own, but upon review I think that was a silly worry. Reading helps keep my mind sharp. I need other stories to help me see new ways of developing plot, character growth, etc. etc. I also got a new hair-cut for the summer. With it being well over 100 here I had to take a few inches off to cut down on the heat on my head.

I'm happy to be back, and excited to tear into the novel. I'm going to set myself a daily goal of 3,500 words while at work, and on weekends a time of one hour. I decided on the 3,500 words based around my average words per hour. I suspect that with the usual four hour I have of down time, I'll be able to hit the 3,500 words. Assuming I don't get side tracked and waste time. I think the hour on my days off will keep the story fresh in my mind and keep my momentum up. I've noticed that after breaks I find it harder to start up again. The cover for the novel is almost done. I'll be uploading it later this week! If all goes according to plan.

1:24 - Word count, 553. Started a bit late, but that shouldn't be an issue. Sunday nights are usually dead after midnight. I should have a good three or four hours ahead of me before I have to start breakfast and guest start coming in. Fun side note, I've started making sun tea and drinking it instead of coffee for the past three or four days. I've noticed that I'm sleeping better. Though I miss the taste of Death Wish coffee.

Well, I fell way short of goal. I missed it by about 3,000 words. My hours have been cut at work, so now I have to dig deep into savings and find a new job. Worst part, my GM won't talk to me. I've never meet a person in management so anti-confrontational. It's frustrating.

On the plus side, I came home and biked for a solid thirty minutes. There are some massive hills out here. My legs are killing me. I had to peel my cloths off. The sweat! However, 100% worth it. Took nearly an hour to recover but I feel better. Shower helped.

9:07 - Time for a beer, TV, a little more reading and then bed. 

Step Six: Make Your Job Work For You

First, I'll give credit where credit is due. My life-partner had recommended I do this for some time. However, it wasn't until I heard Brandon Sanderson discuss working night audit, that I considered it seriously. So babe, I'm very sorry I didn't listen to you sooner, and thank you for showing me the door.

After loosing my job with Uber, I started looking for new options. After about a week, My life-partner suggested a night audit position again. We had both worked in hotels before while we were in college. However, she had been a General Manger and I work for a property management company handling their debt collection. By far one of the most entertaining jobs I've ever had.

I had already made major life changes, but was still looking for an even better way to make writing my first priority. In comes a Night Audit position. We found it in the paper under the classified section. This should give a great idea of how small of a town we moved to. I considered it a done deal.

Now, being a Night Auditor at a massive hotel in downtown Austin or any other large city is a very important job, and comes with a serious level of responsibility. However, in a small town, or even a hotel that's not down town in the city, being a Night Auditor is more of a glorified baby sitter. My number one responsibility is to insure the hotel doesn't burn down. After that comes closing out the business day and filing paper work. Paper work take maybe an hour, spread out over the course of the night.

Therefore, I get paid for eight hours of having to be at work, but only have to work for between one and two hours a night. This is where making your job work for you comes in! I'm getting paid to be at the hotel, and if a guest comes to the front desk I stop everything and help them. However, for a good four or five hours a night, I get paid to write my novel. It feels like getting an advance slowly, that's paid out every two weeks. What's really great is hotels are always looking for a night auditor. So I can keep doing this for years. If my hotel were to shut down, or they wanted to move me into a different position, I can always find a new job.

You can find the previous post here, Step Five: Shit Happens, and be sure to start from the beginning if you've missed out, Step One: Readdress Priorities.

Night Audit June 16th, 2016

3:23 - Word count, 2,527. I didn't start writing until after night audit. So that's an hour, maybe a tad over. Regardless, that's a new record not only for words written in an hour, but also words written at once without stopping. Feels great. I guess my mind knew it needed to make up for the past two weeks. I'm still about 6,500 words behind my goal, but that's ok. Goals are just that. A place I want to be. I want to reach the point that I'm constantly writing 12,500 words a week. It will take time, focus, and dedication. Until then I'll just take solace in the fact that I just broke the 37,000 word count for the novel. Besides, I'm sure once I hit the point that I write 12,500 words a week, I'll want to raise my goal and aim for 15,000 or more. Goals are just a way to motivate productivity out of me. I'm going to try and not let it get in my way and bring me down.

4:14 - Word count, 3,253. I'm about to write a dream scene, but I don't know how to go about it. I know the main points I want in it, but since it's a dream I don't want it to read the same way as the rest of the novel. I'm debating between skipping it, or just waiting for my subconscious to help work it out. I think I'll take a break. Eat, maybe drink some more coffee. Come back to it right before breakfast at 5:15. It should be a very short scene. I can probably write it in about fifteen minutes, once I know how to go about it.

4:26 - I was outside smoking. I watched as the moon was above a power line and then moved bellow it and slipped behind a tree in the distance. It's the first time in my life, that I've been able to fully grasp just how fast the earth is rooting and the moon is rotation around us. It's an exhilarating experience. I'm even able to understand the special nature of our horizon and how despite the power line looking to be taller than the tree, it's actually the arc of the earth creating an optical illusion. It took two points of reference and the moon being in the lowest part of the horizon, but I finally think I can fathom the spherical nature of our earth against the backdrop of the orbiting moon. It seems like such a small thing as I write this, but feels momentous. Maybe it's odd that I'm so excited about watching the moon set, but I can extrapolate the sun's arch across our sky. I think I can even envision the earth moon relation within the larger orbit around the sun. I wonder if this is how astrophysicist feel when they're observing new orbital bodies within our solar system.

Daily Word Count, #DailyWC - 3,765
Novel - DWC: 3,253 TWC: 38,059
Blog - DWC: 512, one blog post.
Weekly Word Count - 8,255

Previous blog Night Audit June 14th, 2016

Night Audit June 14th, 2016

0:44 - Word count, 419. Not bad given that I've only been writing for thirty minutes. The hotel is insane. It took nearly an hour for the person working before me to wrap up and leave. I didn't write a single word yesterday. I'll need to make that up over the next few days. I need to find a place I can write at home. I keep the same schedule when I'm home. Waking up at 22:00 and going to bed around 15:00. However, I don't have a good place to write at night when I'm home. 

1:57 - Word count, 867. Night audit is messed up to the point that I can't run the reports. My GM won't return my calls. I'm now stuck and have no idea how to resolve this issue. I've officially crossed my limit. When I get home, I'll shower, put on some nice cloths, print out my resume, and go find a new hotel that needs a night auditor. With all the hotels in this city I'm confident I'll find one that will want me and be willing to pay well. 

2:51 - Word count, 867. I'm eating lunch while I read the Austin American-Statesman. I've been reading the paper daily for almost a month now. It's the first time I've read a physical paper consistently. I'm able to recognize the writing of some of the staffers, and can even envision some of the editorial decisions, based on how some of the sentences are structured. They seem to take the idea of remaining politically neutral serious. I think that's an admirable goal. Especially since some of the writers come across strong right, and others strong left. (If you don't read a daily paper, I would highly recommend subscribing to one.) I've always liked news, but reading a paper is different than online articles. I find it has a more conversational tone. As if I'm actively engaged with the writer of the article. 

Daily Word Count, #DailyWC - 2,724

Novel - DWC: 867 TWC: 33,392

Blog - DWC: 352, one blog post. 
Weekly Word Count - 3,943

Previous post, Night Audit June 12th, 2016

Writing Software Review: Q10

I was digging through the old blog and found this post from early 2013. Everything seems to still be true. Every blog post you read here was written using this software. Even with my novel, I use this in conjunction with Scrivener. 

I've been using my handy dandy notepad for years now. It's much easier for me to write without lines and spell check distracting me from the ideas. However, I've found something better to use called Q10. This self contained simple piece of software comes in at less than 1mb, and can be ran from a jump drive. All of the files can be exported as .txt files which means they can be used on any system. The only drawback is the program is meant to run on Windows. However, I've been able to use it with Linux through Wine. You can find the software here, http://www.baara.com/q10/.

List of awesome Features:

Full Screen mode - The software runs the same as a shell would to block out all of the distractions. One of my biggest issues has always been having the internet at my fingertips and being connected to social media while trying to write. Somehow I always start off writing well, then four hours have passed I have 500 words and have read 30 news articles and watched 10 videos.

This is an example of what my entire computer screen looks like when I have the application running. I can switch easily between this screen and my desktop if I need to. However, this does prevent any notifications from popping up while I'm working. If you look in the bottom left you'll see full count for: words, pages, lines, paragraphs, and characters. In the bottom right is a clock.

Goal Setting - You can setup a specific goal within the program, called a global target. This goal can be based upon words, pages, lines, paragraphs, characters, and non-space characters. If you're trying to write a blog post with a specific word count in mind this helps you keep track and meet your goal while not going over at the same time. I use this mostly to set limits for breaks. I will write X words and then if it's not flowing I can get up, walk around, and consider why I don't shoot myself or worse get a 9-5 desk job.

Spell Check - The software does come in two version, one with and one without spell check. The spell check is a post writing edit, where you go through word for word and check. The built in dictionary is okay, and works well for typos. However, you can upload new dictionary versions to the software and add words to the dictionary to build and customize it to your liking. The software comes with a US and UK English dictionary standard, so you can use which ever flavor/flavour you prefer.

Auto Saving & Space Saving - You customize how often the program auto saves for you, I do 20 words. I still remember power outages from 1998 and never want to loose my documents again. However, I still find myself pressing ctl+S every few minutes regardless. The other great aspect of this is you can close the program ctl+Q (took a little while to quit pressing esc for me) and when you come back to the program it will launch the document you were last in. Great time saver for myself.

Typing Sound Effects - Now this can be annoying for some, and the feature can be turned down or completely off. However, I find the constant sound of a typewriter to be useful in keeping my mind in the zone. I've always had access to a computer since I learned to write, and from an early age preferred typing opposed to hand writing (my penmanship reflects accordingly); yet there is something about a typewriter that has an allure. Perhaps, it's the romantic in my slipping out, but I've spent time and money to collect typewriters and have been known to use them to break writers block, but that's another post.

Free - Perhaps the best feature, is the software is 100% free.


If you want to find out more about how I write check out the first post in my series 'From Rat Race to Word Count', Step One: Readdress Priorities.

Night Audit June 12th, 2016

1:24 - Word count, 783. I've only been at it for about an hour. The night started off a little crazy, and there have been more calls than usual. However, since about 0:40 it's been quite. Unless night audit is a total mess again, I should be fine. I missed my weekly goal of 12,500 words last week, by 3,354. That would require me to write over 5,000 words tonight to make it up, so I doubt that will happen. However, over the course of the week, I only need 2,266 per day to hit this weeks goal and make up last week. I think that is achievable. I spoke with my GM on Friday about how the job has been. We agreed that I've had to take on more responsibility than anticipated, due to under performance of my coworkers. She has agreed to address that with them, but we also had our pay evaluation. That was scheduled for my 90 day review, but due to my performance exceeding all expectation she had, we basically had my 90 day review Friday. She'll be in, in the morning. So I should have an answer then about what my raise will be, and also a plan of action for addressing the slack of my coworkers. Night Audit is in thirty minutes so I'm going to eat some food before then, rather than get into another scene.

2:31 - Running night audit. There was nearly a 50% mistake rate. I need a cigarette!
2:44 - Night audit took about 50 minutes. Most of which was fixing the fuck ups of my coworkers. I'm at my wits end with this shit. My GM needs to come back with a significant raise and clear plan of action on how to address this. When I started there were zero errors for the first two weeks. It's only been since I've answered my GM's questions about the performance of my co-workers that errors have started. Thus, I'm left to conclude that this is a retaliatory action. Making it illegal under employment laws. Now, I would never sue. I would win, but first I would have to spend a significant amount of time and money to do so. I have no interest in that. I do however, intend to either get paid accordingly, or find new employment. Enough bitching about my job. Time to work. Good thing I'm at a point were there is a lot of anger. Channeling life into my work is always best.

4:45 - Word count, 2,250. I'm on track to hit my goal and make up for last week. It's getting a little hectic here, so it's harder to write now.

Daily Word Count, #DailyWC - 2,724
Novel - DWC: 2,252 TWC: 33,392
Blog - DWC: 472, One blog post.
Weekly Word Count - 2,724

Night Audit June 8th, 2016

0:22 - Shit was crazy when I got to work. I just got done dealing with everything. About to start work on the novel. Goal is 4,000 words. I need to make up for the past two days. I've got plenty of energy, and I've not even had my first cup of coffee! Tonight is will be productive. I can feel it!

1:46 - Word Count, 1,055. Starting a new scene, but I'm going to wait five minutes and start night audit. I don't want to get into a scene and then get pulled out by my alarm. I'm back on track. This job is 100 mph, and then dead stop. I like being able to get my work done in large chunks rather than doing a little bit of work constantly. Creates large chunks of time for writing. I've not been reading much the past few weeks because I don't want other novels to influence mine. However, once I get to the editing stage I'll go back to reading. I figure once I'm in the editing phase the story is done, it's just going to be tightening up the plot and cleaning up my prose. I doubt I'll be writing new scene. I will have to rewrite entire scene though, and maybe throw out a few. Kill your darlings! Time for lunch and night audit.

2:13 - Night audit is a total fucking mess. My GM is coming on at 7:00, so I'll wait until then to talk to her. (Fingers crossed that it's not on me. I doubt it is I've doing the exact same thing every night.) Last thing I want to do is call her at 2 in the morning. It can wait until she gets here. (Maybe one day of training wasn't enough?)

4:05 - Word count, 2,006. Just finished a highly emotional scene. I can't wait to hear the reactions to it. Lunch was amazing. Time has flown by. It's going to be seven in no time at this rate. Didn't even realize it, but I just broke the 30,000 word mark!

9:54 - Word Count, 2,778. Around 4:30 or 5:00, things kept coming up and I wasn't able to sit down and focus on writing.

Daily Word Count, #DailyWC - 3,174
Novel - DWC: 2,778 TWC: 30,891
Blog - DWC: 396, One blog post.
Weekly Word Count - 10,138

Post for yesterday I missed, Night Audit June 7th, 2016

Night Audit June 7th, 2016

0:06 - The owner of the hotel I work for stopped by. That was interesting. I feel ready to write, and no where near as tired as yesterday. I got a solid eight hours of sleep, and now I can hit ground running.

3:38 - Word Count, 1,304. The story is growing with subplots and side stories. It's going to need some major revision. I dicked around for about two hours tonight not writing. However, I'm finally back on track. I've decided it's allergies that are making me feel tired and sort of out of it. I'd take allergy medicine, but that stuff usually makes me feel even worse. It's not even four so I have plenty of time. I'm going to set the goal of 4,000 and see what happens. (I know you can't read this in the past, but wish me luck! I would so use time travel to watch great authors at work.) I no longer have to deal with breakfast in any way, so I'm good to write until 6:45, minus the occasional stop to help a guest.

I didn't write when I got home. I took allergy pills and went straight to bed. Woke up feeling loads better, nearly at 100%.

Daily Word Count, #DailyWC - 1,536
Novel - DWC: 1,307 TWC: 28,113
Blog - DWC: 229, One blog post.
Weekly Word Count - 6,964

If you missed yesterday's post, Night Audit June 6th, 2016, check it out.

Night Audit June 6th, 2016

0:54 - Getting started late. There were several guests checking in late. I had to drink a Monster to wake up tonight. I'm staying up a bit to late during the day, but it's hard to sleep when everyone else is up. Over all I slept well last night. Just would have liked to get more of it.

2:16 - Word Count, 712. Finished with night audit, and ate lunch a bit early. Only on my second cup of coffee. The Monster seemed to have worked. I'm wide awake, but not wired. Restructured the novel, to be more impactful and compelling. It's urban fantasy, but I want it to feel real. Regardless, it should be entertaining, and maybe even insightful. 

4:45 - I've spent the last two an a half hours watching TV. I attempted to focus on the writing, but it was giving me a headache. I feel like I'm back in school. Majorly sleep deprived and needing to focus on an assignment. I'm planing to go to sleep the moment I get home. Tonight has been a disappointment. I'll have to take solace in the 712 words I manged to write. Between those and the great night I had yesterday, I'm still slightly ahead of schedule for the week.

6:21 - Word Count, 968. Manged to pull out a few more words. I'll address when I get home.

10:15 - I'm going to bed early. I'll get good rest and focus on writing tonight.

Daily Word Count, #DailyWC - 1,238

Novel - DWC: 968 TWC: 26,809

Blog - DWC: 270, One blog post. 

Weekly Word Count - 4,193

Federal Security Bureau: Case Number VI.1432.2.1

Here is an old short story I wrote in 2013. I found it in the archives of an old blog. There was even a photo of me with long hair. Hopefully you find this entertaining. Thank you for reading.

Jack didn't understand how it came to this. He had always been a strong supporter of the party, paid his taxes, went to rallies, and contributed to the campaign funds during national elections. However, there he was sitting in the darkened cell chained to his chair, and all the FSB agent had told him was he would be detained until the incident could be contained. Jack had no idea what they meant by incident.

That morning he had gone to work like normal. Stopped at the Starbucks on his office buildings first floor for his morning coffee and then taken the elevator up to the 20th floor. The moment he stepped of the elevator it was a nightmare. FSB agents were everywhere, all of his co-workers were lined up against the wall with their hands zip-tied behind their backs and black masks covering their faces. The masks were the largest Jack had ever seen, they made the person's head who wore them look twice the normal size. As one of the FSB agents pulled him inside to zip-tie his hands behind his back, he heard his boss Jim ask why they were being detained.

The FSB agent said, "Under the new FSB security act Alpha-Charley-3984.02, you are now charged with a felony for hindering an ongoing investigation and contaminating a crime scene. Anyone else who interferes will be charged with criminal conspiracy to commit terrorism."

Night Audit Sunday June 5th, 2016

Woke up a tad late tonight, but still made it to work on time. I'm so pleased with only having a ten minute commute to work. I've never been able to get where I need to be that fast.

1:03 - Word count, 205. I'm running slow tonight. Still trying to wake up fully. I'm only on my second cup of coffee. I'm getting off social media and focusing!

1:53 - Word count, 1,257. Time for night audit. There are several guest who didn't show up, so it will take longer tonight than normal.

2:11 - Done with night audit. Time for lunch and then back to grind stone. I think 4,000 words is an achievable goal again.

4:50 - Word count, 3,427. Writing is going well. One scene will need major work. I wasn't able to see the setting clearly in my mind. I might need to rewrite the whole scene or even cut it entirely. It could be that I couldn't see it, because my subconscious knows it doesn't belong in the story. I'm not going to worry about it now. I've trained myself to just write. Keep putting words on the screen and don't stop. Once the story is done I'll have plenty of time to edit, and make as close to perfect as I can. I started writing again around 3:00, so that was nearly two hours straight of writing.

5:53 - Word Count, 3,847. Four scenes is a new record for me. I've still got an hour left of work, but I've hit my wall as far as writing. I've just stared chapter six. I think about 3,500 words is going to be my max for novel writing a night. I can live with that. It's double what I had planned around when scheduling. Provided I can edit a chapter a day like I've planned I'll make my deadline with time to spare. My professors would be shocked.

Daily Word Count, #DailyWC - 4,193
Novel - DWC: 3,847 TWC: 25,841
Blog - DWC: 346, One blog post.
Weekly Word Count - 4,193

Night Audit June 4th, 2016

I didn't write yesterday, so I need to hit it hard tonight. I spent the day with my family. We took our daughter to the park and watched the ducks. Apparently it's mating season. There was this one female who was being held down three to four male ducks at a time, while one of the ducks had their way with her. In the hour we were at the park, I saw this happen about four times. She kept trying to run away, but never flew. I couldn't tell if her wing was injured and that's why she only ran. My life-partner and I decided she might have liked it. Needless to say, when it was happening, we would direct our daughter to another part of the park, away from the duck rape.

Our town has a farmers market every weekend, so we stopped by that as well. It was fairly small, but several people show up to check out the vendors wares. There were at least twenty people there looking around. It's also close enough to the river that we could see it while we were shopping. 

2:16 - Finished Night Audit and sold an extra room. Word Count 629. Maybe a bit slow given that I'm here by myself. I shouldn't have skipped a day of writing. I've set my goal at 2,500, but I'm aiming at 4,000 again. Thank you for reading this. Know that there are people out there rooting me on, really helps!

3:15 - Word Count, 1,348. Time to take a break for lunch. Well, tuns out I forgot to add the bread and mustard. I guess I have meat and cheese. I'll have to look at what our snacks we have in our sundries section. Memo to self, pack lunch when I get home for the next day. Luckily, we had power bars. 

4:59 - Word Count, 2,282. Tonight is just rocking along. I didn't wake up until 22:05. I think I'll keep that as my wake up time. It leave me just enough time to get ready for work, but not so much time that I'm sitting around waiting. Plus I can go to bed later in the day and spend most of the morning and early afternoon with my family. The person in charge of breakfast will be here every day that I'm here, so I'll never need to worry about breakfast, which will leave me more time to write. I should have 2 am to about 6:30 uninterrupted every night. Plus what I can get done between 23:30 and 2:00. I've had three cups of coffee already. I'm going to cut myself off since this is basically my noon. Going to bed while everyone is in the middle of their day has been hard. 

5:12 - I just received my first prank call. Who is up at five in the morning and thinks, 'I should prank call a hotel?' Children these days. I'm still sitting here laughing though. I was a child that prank called. Slow internet at work keeps me focused! I'm finding the silver lining you're putting down ISP.

6:36 - Word Count, 3,679. I have to get ready to leave. I'll try and write more when I get home, but no guarantee. I'm going to log it as is, and anything else I write will just give me a head start for tomorrow.

Daily Word Count, #DailyWC - 4,269

Novel - DWC: 3,679 TWC: 21,994

Blog - DWC: 590, One blog post. 

Weekly TWC Blog and Novel: 19,123

Step Five: Shit Happens

The City of Austin decided to regulate ride-share companies at the beginning of 2016. The new regulations that would be implemented on-top of the federal regulations would result in both Uber and Lyft pulling out of Austin. As such, citizens untied and quickly organized to form and petition to stop the implementation of the new regulations. Over 60,000 Austinites signed the petition. As such Prop 1 was formed and placed on the ballot for May 7th.  A vote yes on Prop 1 would force the city to stop all actions to regulate ride-share companies and their drivers. A vote no on Prop 1 would leave the regulations as they stood and they would go into effect as scheduled. Prop 1 didn't pass, with about 55,000 people saying no, and 34,000 people saying yes.

So, once again I was unemployed, but this time not by choice. We were shocked. My life-partner and I had thought Prop 1 would pass, and hadn't fully planned for it not to. However, we had learned how to deal with a lack of income, and had been squealing away money ever since we left Austin. When Prop 1 failed we had only been out of Austin for two months. We both agreed that I didn't need a job anytime soon, we would be fine. So I started looking for a local job, but it had to be the right job. This is how I got to Step Six: Make Your Job Work For You

Be sure and read Step Four: Starting a New Lifestyle, or start from the very beginning with Step One: Readdress Priorities.

Step Four: Starting a New Lifestyle

We had been living in Austin, living large and spending lots of money we didn't need to on rent and bills. We decided to majorly downsize and moved to a small town about an hour away from Austin. It was close enough to Austin to do any of the events that come into town, but far enough away to not have Austin pricing. By moving we were able to cut our cost of living in half if not more.

Once we down-sized our living situation, we went back to spending a little more. We ate out again, though nowhere near the level we use too. We also were able to start buying books again! That was the hardest part to give up when we cut shopping completely out. For years we had a tradition of going to two or three book stores and drink coffee as we bought several new books. It's how our collection reached well over 500 books.

The six months of living with zero disposable income left a lasting mark on our relationship and psyche, but for the better. We no longer spend without thinking. We still buy coffee, but we order strong basic coffee and never from Starbucks (goodbye sugar rush).  We buy books, but now we support local sellers who usually have used books. We also are able to discuss money openly and not feel ashamed when we tell people, "No, we're not going to eat there." or "No, we're no going to see that movie. We'll wait for the DVD." and we tell them we don't see the value in spending our money that way.

I was still working for Uber at the time, but I was down to only Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I had more time to write, and spend with my family. I was making less, but we had way more disposable income. That would all change when proposition 1 passed in Austin and I found myself without a job again. However, where that door closed and new and better door opened. But before that came, Step Five: Shit Happens

Check out the series from the beginning with  Step One: Readdress Priorities.

Step Four: Starting a New Lifestyle

We had been living in Austin, living large and spending lots of money we didn't need to on rent and bills. We decided to majorly downsize and moved to a small town about an hour away from Austin. It was close enough to Austin to do any of the events that come into town, but far enough away to not have Austin pricing. By moving we were able to cut our cost of living in half if not more.

Once we down-sized our living situation, we went back to spending a little more. We ate out again, though nowhere near the level we use too. We also were able to start buying books again! That was the hardest part to give up when we cut shopping completely out. For years we had a tradition of going to two or three book stores and drink coffee as we bought several new books. It's how our collection reached well over 500 books.

The six months of living with zero disposable income left a lasting mark on our relationship and psyche, but for the better. We no longer spend without thinking. We still buy coffee, but we order strong basic coffee and never from Starbucks (goodbye sugar rush).  We buy books, but now we support local sellers who usually have used books. We also are able to discuss money openly and not feel ashamed when we tell people, "No, we're not going to eat there." or "No, we're no going to see that movie. We'll wait for the DVD." and we tell them we don't see the value in spending our money that way.

I was still working for Uber at the time, but I was down to only Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I had more time to write, and spend with my family. I was making less, but we had way more disposable income. That would all change when proposition 1 passed in Austin and I found myself without a job again. However, where that door closed and new and better door opened. But before that came, Step Five: Shit Happens

Check out the series from the beginning with  Step One: Readdress Priorities.

Night Audit Wednesday June 1st, 2016

The good news is the internet is working. The bad news is it's very slow. It's just after 0:30. I'll check back in on it after 2:00. I figure everyone in the hotel is online trying to stream Netflix. I'm still on my first cup of coffee and am just now getting started. The shift before me didn't finish all of their duties so I had to wrap that up first. However, I am by myself all night so I should be more productive. If not, I only have myself to blame. I'll shoot for 2,500 words and/or three scenes.

12:42 - It has begun. I'm at 129 words, but I'm out of coffee and could use a cigarette. Time for a break. Then fury typing to hit my goal.

1:15 - 709 words, and I'm out of coffee again. I'm starting to get that coffee buzz. I keep finding my leg bouncing without me noticing. Does anyone else ever get hit with sudden urge to pee when drinking coffee? For me it comes without notice. I think it must be what little kids feel like. When

you see them dancing trying not to pee themselves as they run to rest room. Time for me to run.

1:41 - 921 words, finished the first scene of the night. That puts me at just over 36% of the way to my goal (For anyone else who's a bit of number junky like me). I keep all sorts of spreed sheets. In fact, I find the whole process of making a spread sheet and filling it out calming. It's almost like a meditation. I'm always trying to use numbers to make sense of the world around me. At some point I'll share all my writing spreed sheets and breakdown how I made them etc... if that's something someone is interested in.

4:14 - 3,978 words. Wow. That's the only word I have to describe the past hour and a half. I've never zoned into my writing with such intensity before. My brain feels like an over fried egg. I wrote my normal nightly goal twice over and then some. This must be what it feels like when the muse shows up. I've written four scenes tonight. I still have plenty of time, but I'm not 100% sure if I'll write any more. Regardless, I need a smoke break. 

5:35 - 4,004 words. I wrote two sentences. I'm not able to focus on the novel any longer. However, I know what to write next so tomorrow should be great. It's raining again. With all this rain I feel like I'm back in Seattle. I do miss the smell of the pine trees and all the wild blackberries I could eat. I'm off work tomorrow so I'll be online more. I should be able to get several more blog posts up so keep an eye out for those. 

Daily Word Count, #DailyWC - 4,507

Novel - DWC: 4,004 TWC: 15,503

Blog - DWC: 503, One blog post.

If you missed yesterday's post check it out, Night Audit Tuesday May 31st, 2016
Also be sure and read the series on how I got to this point, Step One: Readdress Priorities

Step Three: Earning Less While Living Better

I found it amazing that as we cut back our spending to the point that anything over twenty dollars needed to be discussed and justified, we felt less stress and more free. We still had rent on a large house and all the bills that went with it. At that point, there was still six months left on the lease. We discussed breaking the lease, but decided that it would be better to finish it out and then move. The time we had left, allowed us to very slowly and methodically cut down on what we owned. By the end of lease, everything we owned would fit easily in our office. Even our furniture. The office was just a little smaller than the tiny house we moved into, so it was a great test run to play around with floor plan ideas.

I was unemployed for a short period of time. Eventually I decided to drive for Uber. I still had a car payment and I figured if I put the car to work for me, to help justify keeping the car rather than sell it and buying an older used car. While all jobs have their ups and downs, Uber was for the most part a positive move for me. I was making the bare minimum I needed to pay our bills. However, I went from working 60 plus hours a week, to only 30. The catch was I worked every weekend, and graveyard. I usually left the house Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 22:30 and got home as late as 7:00. Each night was different. Monday and Thursday I only worked from 3:00 to 7:00 at most.

I had to go to bed around 13:00, but this meant I spent every morning with my family. On the weekend I didn't get any writing done at all. I was either working or unwinding when I got home. However, during the week since I was up at night and everyone was asleep, I was able to get plenty of writing done. Driving also had another major benefit. I was able to listen to books on my phone between passengers. I would average about 4 or 5 books a week that way. This would last until we got to Step Four: Starting a New Lifestyle.

Check out the previous post, Step Two: Rearranging My Life

And, if you're new to the series check out the first post, Step One: Readdress Priorities

Night Audit Tuesday May 31st, 2016

Tonight is rough! Internet is out. Yeah!!! There is little I can do. The issue isn't with out ISP, but with the internal hardware. I'm confident that I found the issue, but I can't be 100% sure. I also don't get paid to be our tech support so I'm not going to risk breaking anything further.

The rain out here has been crazy the past week. With it being Memorial Day weekend, our guests had been in a bad mood since their weekend was ruined by weather. Now that we're in our regular week, most of our guests are here on business. So now with the rain it's caused tech problems, which means guests aren't able to work online.

I find the whole situation annoying on a personal level, because I'm addicted to the internet. Also I'm unable to get on blogger, and have to wait until I get home. Luckily my phone has data, so I can check twitter. I suppose I should be happy since the lack of internet keeps me focused on writing. As I sit here I'm already two blog posts in and 21% of the way to my daily goal for the novel.

We have this awesome NESCAFÉ machine. The coffee isn't the best I've ever had, but it's better than may other coffee machines I've used. It feels like I have an IV drip of caffeine. By this time of night I'm so wired on coffee that the words fly out of my hands, and I can't even type fast enough to keep up. Come 4:00 in the morning, I'll be typing at about 1,400 words an hour. Most of my writing happens between 3:00 and 5:15.

It's about 5:00 and I'm crashing hard core. All my coffee buzz has gone, and I'm fighting to keep my eyes open. Tonight was not the best when it comes to my writing. As it stands I've got 1,354 words done. It's not nothing, but it's also a far cry from my goal. I'll pound another cup of coffee and hit the grind stone.

Finished strong, but it was tough.

Daily Word Count, #DailyWC - 2,266
Novel - DWC: 1,652 TWC: 11,499
Blog - DWC: 614, Two blog posts.

Previous post, Monday May 30th, 2016.

Night Audit Monday May 30th, 2016

Almost done with the first week at my new job. Not to undersell myself, but a monkey could easily do what I do. My job requires me to babysit the hotel. As the Night Auditor, I'm responsible for closing out the day and running reports. I also have to check in any guests that show up late. I usually see one or two people a night. 

As for running the Night Audit reports. The first night took me almost an hour. Now I'm usually done in about five-teen minutes. Most of that is me taking a smoke break, and the system talking to the offsite server. On days that the breakfast attendant isn't here I also have to make breakfast. That takes about forty-five minutes, and happens at the end of my shift. 

I'm left with a minimum of five hours by myself with nothing to do. Thus, writing time! 

Training was scheduled for a full week. I was done before the end of the first day. I've had someone here with me the whole week, but they sit in the back on their computer and just answer any questions I have. I'll continue to need answers to random things that happen. You can never train for everything. Otherwise I'm good to go. 

Next week will be awesome. I'll be on my regular schedule of working Sunday night through Friday morning. Leaving my weekend wide open to spend with the family. As for my writing. I'll get loads done here at work, and I'll just need to find the discipline to write at home with my free time at night. The only down side to this job, is I have to sleep in the day. Usually from about 12:00 to 19:30 or 20:00.

Daily Word Count, #DailyWC - 3,291

Novel - DWC: 1,640 TWC: 9,847

Blog - DWC: 1651, Five blog posts.

Step Two: Rearranging My Life

When I quit my job life became interesting. All of a sudden my old lifestyle was no longer possible financially. However, my general happiness increased. I was able to spend time with my daughter. My life-partner and I were getting along better. There were serious income issues, but we learned to live a more modest lifestyle.

We both became interested in the idea of a minimalist lifestyle. I was the first to start purging. I had been looking into the tiny house movement for years. The idea of being able to own a small house outright, rather than spend thirty years paying a mortgage appealed to me. However, there was no way I would ever fit everything I owned into a small house. First to go was my clothes. I gave away half my wardrobe. Then I started to cut down on my movie collection, my book collection, and even my technology. This took about two months, but I had lots of time on my hands.

As I got rid of my excess belongings I could feel myself getting better. I kept hearing this quote over and over as I cut out the excess shit,

"The things you own end up owning you. It's only after you lose everything that you're free to do anything." Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk. 

The freedom I got by getting rid of my unneeded belongings was real. That was the easy part for me. The hard part was adjusting to a more modest lifestyle.

We had grown accustomed to eating out several times a week. I loved going to bars and wouldn't think twice about a $20 bar tab. There were simple solutions, but at the time felt very hard to change. I've always been a good cook, and since I had time on my hands I started cooking dinners again. Side-note, my life-partner swears I make the best sandwiches, so we have those for lunch often. With that changed we were saving loads of money and eating better. Both in quality and in the food being better for us. When it came to the beer, I started buying local craft beers. So, once again I was saving money and getting better quality.

This trend of getting more out of life for less money would continue and lead to Step Three: Earning Less While Living Better

Check out the previous post, Step One: Readdressing Priorities if you're new to the series.