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.