I traveled to my old stomping grounds in New York City this past weekend for an epic engagement party. Yes, I’m still recovering.

My Quest to Draw (Day 8): The topic is “Cool Koalas.” There’s something fishy about that guy in the foreground.

Ice Storm: Nearing the Final Stretch!

I took off Saturday and Sunday for the engagement party. But now I’m back on track with my “open novel” experiment for Ice Storm, aka my “Development Hell” book. I edited 3,000 words yesterday, bringing my redraft to a word count of 57,000. I’m guessing this will end up to be about 90,000 words, so that means I’m near the two-thirds point.

It’s been a difficult couple of days. The trip to NYC threw off my rhythm. And only editing 72 pages a week is taking its toll. Unfortunately, it’s unavoidable. Ice Storm needs special care right now in order to bring it back to life. A lot of little problems will remain after this draft is done. But the larger story is finally starting to come together in a cohesive fashion.

Hopefully, I can finish this redraft in the next two weeks. Then I’m going to edit it again, shooting for 120 pages a week. The goal will be to smooth out inconsistencies and add in any final creative chunks. Then I’d like to do a few read throughs in a more concentrated time period so I can see how the story flows. The more I work on Ice Storm, the more I see the problems with my old writing habits. Specifically, my tendency to rewrite early and often. For my next book, I’m going to spend more time upfront developing characters and the story. But when I start writing it, I’m not going to stop until it’s done.

Road Trip to New York City

Julie and I drove to New York City on Saturday morning. I lived in Manhattan from 2004 to 2008. So, I always have mixed feelings about going back. On one hand, there’s a part of me that misses it. New York has a way of getting under one’s skin. On the other hand, I wasn’t particularly happy there back in the day. I worked too many hours at a job I didn’t like. And I can’t help but think I’d do it all over again if we moved back.

Anyway we were there for a party celebrating the engagement of our friends Mahbubul and Kelly. I’ve known Mahbubul for more than 15 years (we were fraternity brothers) and Kelly for a little more than 15 days. So, it’s been a lot of fun getting to know them as a couple. We went to a bar and met up with a bunch of their friends, including a few more of our brothers. I don’t get together with these guys very often so we pretty much ended up talking all night. Good times.

We stayed until maybe 2 or 3 in the morning. Then we went back to Mahbubul’s and Kelly’s apartment. We drank some more and watched a spattering of television until finally hitting the sack somewhere around 5am. Julie and I woke up a few hours later. We got some bagel sandwiches and coffee before hitting the road. All together, it was a good trip. Exhausting, yes. But definitely worthwhile.

Drawing: Day 8 – Cool Koalas

I finished my 8th lesson from You Can Draw in 30 Days by Mark Kistler last night. The topic was Cool Koalas. This was an interesting change of pace and my first attempt at drawing a living, breathing creature. It came out okay but I put way too much effort into the fur. Looking at Kistler’s sketches again, it’s apparent he makes the most of his lines. Overall, this was the the easiest lesson yet which I appreciated since I’m still recovering from Saturday night.

Other Stuff

The Chaos paperback is now 10% off at Amazon ($12.56)! I see a few of you have taken advantage of the sale already. For the rest of you, act now before it goes back to list price. Other than that, I’m still thinking about making adjustments to my sidebar (that one on the right with Chaos in it). I might expand it to include international bookstores. And yes, the link to buy Chaos at Diesel (see sidebar) is STILL broken. Diesel has a revised version of Chaos but doesn’t seem to have posted it yet. I emailed Smashwords so hopefully I’ll have an answer for the delay later today.

So, I didn’t get a chance to write a blog yesterday. Instead, I was shaking off the effects of a massive food coma. Ahh!!!

My Quest to Draw (Day 7): The topic is “Advanced-Level Cubes.” The bottom right drawing looks almost livable.
Almost.

Ice Storm: Days 14 & 15

The last two days constituted Days 14 and 15 of my “open novel” experiment for Ice Storm, aka my “Development Hell” book. I edited 6,000 words in total, bringing my redraft to 45,000 words. That means I’ve reached the halfway point.

I wish I could say I felt the wind at my back. Unfortunately, it’s the exact opposite. The last two days haven’t been particularly good ones. The words are coming slowly and I’m having trouble focusing on my story. I find myself doing a lot of wandering (yes, literal wandering!) and daydreaming and I keep getting distracted by non-Cy Reed short story ideas.

That being said, this isn’t unusual for me. I usually reel off 100 to 150 pages without any problems. Then I get antsy and start ripping apart my draft. Endless rewrites ensue. So, I’m determined to see this through.

Festival Freakout: Recovering from a Food Coma

I didn’t get a chance to post an update yesterday. Truthfully, I was still “hung over” with a food coma. Julie and I had met up with some friends at a local food festival. Basically, the area restaurants set up shop in the retail shops and hand out samples. Local musicians hang out on the sidewalks and everyone walks around town trying out the different items. Some of the food is pretty fancy and a few of the restaurants manage to outdo themselves every year. Anyway I ate way too much and got that dreamy, logy feeling Julie likes to call a food coma. By the time I got home, the food coma had taken complete control and it really didn’t pass until well after I woke up.

Drawing: Day 7 – Advanced-Level Cubes

I completed my 7th lesson from You Can Draw in 30 Days by Mark Kistler last night. The topic was advanced-level cubes. Basically, the lesson built on the previous ones by adding arches and ramps to box-shaped structures. I worked a little more loosely than usual and for the most part, enjoyed myself. My perfectionism still seeps in from time to time though and I sometimes spend several minutes drawing and erasing just to get the right lines.

Other Stuff

No news to report here. Just the same old stuff. Namely, I’m still thinking about making adjustments to my sidebar (that one on the right with Chaos in it). I might expand it to include international bookstores. And yes, the link to buy Chaos at Diesel (see sidebar) is STILL broken. Diesel has a revised version of Chaos but doesn’t seem to have posted it yet. I may have to double check with Smashwords to make sure there isn’t another problem. Finally, the Chaos paperback continues to be on sale for $13.25 at Amazon. Get it and review it!

I like to weave little slices of dark history into my novels. Unfortunately, that usually means one thing…the dreaded information dump!

My Quest to Draw (Day 4): The topic is “The Cube.” The bottom right drawing turned out to be a bit of a mess!

Ice Storm: 11 Days, 33,000 Words!

So, here we are…Day 11 of my “open novel” experiment for Ice Storm, aka my “Development Hell” book. I edited 1,500 words yesterday, bringing my redraft to a grand total of 33,000 words. By my estimate, I’ve got 57,000 words left to finish. The work required a lot of research and I found it quite interesting. Of course, research is usually far more interesting to the writer than it is to the reader. And that brings me to today’s topic…the dreaded “information dump.”

The Dreaded Information Dump!

Here’s the deal. The primary goal of the Cy Reed series is to provide entertainment. But I also hope to shed some light on the secret events and ideas that have influenced our world.

I love history, especially the dark stuff that normally gets ignored in the history books. That’s why so many of my Guerrilla Explorer posts are along the lines of “Thomas Edison…Kills an Elephant?“. Another type of history I enjoy involves the struggle over ideas such as The Debate that Rocked the World? (also known as the Socialist Economic Calculation Debate). Many of these debates are little known. And yet, they’ve completely changed out world.

Well, I needed to write about one such debate today. And it’s a particularly dark debate, one that took place decades ago and whose ramifications are still felt in modern society. I loved researching it. But writing it was difficult. Truth be told, it’s hard to relay factual information in an interesting way. Most writers just dump the information into a chapter, creating an information dump. Then they wash their hands and move on to the next scene.

Information dumps are often essential. And yet, I think most readers skim over them, eager to get back to the main story. So, I try to spice up my information dumps by pitting characters against each other. In yesterday’s work, Cy Reed squared off with a guy by the name of Aaron Jenner. Jenner believes something…unusual. Cy is shocked and even infuriated by Jenner’s opinions. And yet, Jenner is able to defend his position. Neither side wants to give into the other one and thus an information dump is transformed into a battle of wills.

By the way, if you haven’t already done so, head on over to Thriller Central to check out my article, Writer’s Guilt. Thriller Central is a terrific site, devoted to thriller and adventure fiction. There aren’t a lot of sites like this one so make sure to bookmark it.

Drawing: Day 4 – The Cube

I completed my 4th lesson from You Can Draw in 30 Days by Mark Kistler last night. It was about the cube and you can see the resulting page from my sketch book. This one wasn’t too bad but I kind of lost it at the end when I tried to sketch a box on end. I tried to widen the angles, to fit the visual imagery we normally expect from three-dimensional boxes. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out so well. This was a good lesson, especially since I was getting a little cocky after my success on Day 3. Now, I’m sufficiently humbled again.

Other Stuff

I’m up to 104 Facebook followers. Not that this is a huge deal, but it’s still fun to see that number grow. Also, I’m still thinking about making adjustments to my sidebar (that one on the right with Chaos in it). I might expand it to include international bookstores. And yes, that stupid link to buy Chaos at Diesel (see sidebar) is still broken. Diesel has a revised version of Chaos but doesn’t seem to have posted it yet. Finally, the Chaos paperback continues to be on sale for $13.25 at Amazon. Get it and review it!

Who are your favorite authors? I’ve got a bunch of them. Today, I wanted to write a little about a man named E.W. Hildick. Read on to find out more!

Day 3: My Quest to Draw. The topic is Advanced-Level Spheres. I felt pretty stiff so this lesson took me a long time to finish. But I thought it came out pretty good…

Ice Storm: 10 Days, 31,500 Words!

Today is Day 10 of my “open novel” experiment for Ice Storm, aka my “Development Hell” book. I do half days on the weekend, so I only edited 1,500 words yesterday, raising my grand total to 31,500. That leaves 58,500 words left to edit.

Before I forget, head on over to Thriller Central to check out my article, Writer’s Guilt. Thriller Central is a terrific site, devoted to thriller and adventure fiction. There aren’t a lot of sites like this one so make sure to bookmark it.

My Favorite Authors: The Great E.W. Hildick

My cousin Erik texted me last night. He wanted me to know he’d seen a lady reading Clive Cussler at the pool today. For those of you who don’t know, Clive Cussler was my first foray into the world of grown-up literature. One day, I’m gobbling up Hardy Boys books. The next day, I’m poring over Dragon and Night Probe.

It got me thinking about the other authors who’ve influenced me along the way. There have been a bunch of them. When I was a kid, my favorite author was E.W. Hildick. I read his books over and over again. One of my elementary school teachers once required our entire classroom to send letters to our favorite authors. Naturally, I chose E.W. Hildick. He never responded. I’ve always been a little suspicious that she didn’t actually mail it. Or maybe that’s just me hoping he didn’t throw my letter in the trash!

E.W. Hildick wrote a series about a junior detective agency, It was led by a young redheaded kid named Jack P. McGurk. McGurk was sort of like a young, mischievous Sherlock Holmes (he once held a “clue hunt” in his backyard…the other kids spent hours picking up candy wrappers and other trash before they realized he’d tricked them into doing one of his chores). The cases were a lot of fun. Many of them were adult crimes brought down to the kid level. So, instead of a typical kidnapping case, Hildick would present a case about a kidnapped doll, complete with ransom note. Over time, the cases got more complex but they always maintained a sense of youthful innocence. That made Hildick pretty unique, especially since so many other kid detectives were battling killers and Nazis at the time.

A couple of years ago, I hit E-Bay pretty hard and now I own the entire McGurk collection including The Menaced Midget, which was never released in the United States. If you get a chance, check E.W. Hildick out. You won’t be disappointed!

Drawing: Day 3 – Advanced-Level Spheres

I completed my third lesson from You Can Draw in 30 Days by Mark Kistler last night. It was about advanced-level spheres. Check out the photo to see my work. This one took me several hours to finish. Keep in mind I’m really just going through exercises now and doing a lot of copying of his drawings. Not that this is a bad thing. Copying is a pretty good way to learn how to do something.

Be that as it may, I’m still too stiff, too careful with my work. I erase a lot and do a lot of reshaping of individual spheres. It tends to slow me down big time. Anyway I hope to work that out of my system over the coming weeks. In the meantime, I start work on cubes today. I’m still a long ways from being able to draw out the characters and worlds I see in my mind. But I think I’m on the right track.

Other Stuff

I just gained my 100th Facebook follower (thanks Dena!). Good stuff. Also, I’m still thinking about making adjustments to my sidebar (that one on the right with Chaos in it). I might expand it to include international bookstores. I sell far more E-Books in Amazon’s UK store than at Barnes and Noble. I guess that shows how good Amazon is at targeting a book to the right audience. Unfortunately, the link to buy Chaos at Diesel (see sidebar) is still broken. Diesel has a revised version of Chaos in hand so hopefully, this will be fixed soon. Finally, the Chaos paperback continues to be on sale for $13.25 at Amazon. Get it and review it!