January 2021

 I have not had a writing blog for a few years now. I got rid of my Facebook author page, left twitter, and stopped trying to do things needed to sell books. A bit nuclear but cathartic. It allowed me to step back and reassess how I wanted to go about this writing thing. My first book, 'A Good Meal,' was still finding the occasional reader. Thank you, Courtney and Quiet City Books, for keeping it on your shelves

I had still been writing but at a much slower pace. I took a few classes, read lots of books, and edited some of the stuff I have written. 

In 2020 I finished a rewrite and an edit of a book I wrote for my daughter. I figured for 2021, it would be good to try to get that published so others can read something I spent so much time on. I can always self-publish, having learned that process with my last book. Still, I figured I would try a more traditional route, deal with a little rejection, and work to establish myself as a writer that an agent and publishing company might find interesting. 

So that's what this is. I'll try to write up a new blog post once a month, some update talking about my process and where I'm at in hunting down an agent. There's a good chance in five or six months I'll end up just publishing something, but until then, I'll be trying to get a little attention.

I recently read that a writer could easily be looked over if they lack a social media presence, which makes sense. In some cases, you could write a book that catches everyone's attention, and people come looking for you, but that seems more like the lottery, and that only works for a few folks. I need to get some social media attention the old fashioned way, by begging and pleading and annoying my friends to follow me, share my posts, encourage their friends to follow me. 

So, where am I right now? I'm have sent out query letters to a couple of agents/agencies. When those come back, I'll send some more. I have submitted a new short story to a magazine, and when that response comes back, I'll have another ready to go. That's how I intend to do this publishing thing this time around. Check back, and you'll find out how it goes. 

So while I do all that, there is also writing and editing to do. A writer writes right. 

The novel I wrote for Honora is with an editor who's taking their first crack at it. At the same time, I've sent it out to a beta reader who I've used before. They provide excellent feedback, and both will have me changing a few things because, at this point, it's no longer about me. It's about getting the best out of this story. 

I just finished a novella I started a couple of years ago before my 'break'. It was a short story idea that crept up when I was participating in Nanowrimo. I wrote a little bit, put it aside, and just finished it. It's in a folder now, waiting for a good month before I open it back up again to read and edit. 

Now I have started the work on a new story. It was going to be a ghost story, and I'll keep the seed of that idea-packed away. It turns out it's going to be a werewolf story because I have never written one, at least not one that I can remember. Thanks to the movie Wolfwalkers for making me think I might want to write this.

Here's my process (Note; it's slightly different every story)

1. I made a decision I might want to write a werewolf story.
2. Realized I have not idea what I might want it to be about
3. Added a couple of ideas to my notebook (both were awful, but at least I had a direction)
4. Began scouring my memory about werewolf lore and took notes. I read a lot of horror novels and watched a lot of horror movies in the '80s and '90s, so I wasn't working from nothing. 
5. Searched the internet to confirm what I was thinking, making notes, capturing links, references, and such. 
6. I opened my notebook and sat in front of my computer for a few hours thinking and making notes as ideas came to me. Every idea was captured; the bad ones and the ones that were worse. Eventually, one was not as bad, and then a couple I could see myself being able to commit to. Then I hit upon the idea I could expand on.
7. Expanded on the idea where I could
8. After a few minutes, I scrapped that idea and went back to coming up with more ideas until I liked another one.
9. Expanded on the new idea
10. I worked through a few scenarios. Set and setting
11. Thought about who might be in this story
12. Continued taking notes
13. When I felt I was at a point that I could continue if I walked away from my desk for a day or so, I drafted up a quick outline because I never trust my ability to pick things up after I walk away. 

That's it; that was my process. It is definitely work and not magic. 

I can start writing, and maybe I should have started today, but I figured I go for a long walk in nature, take a couple of pictures and think about what it might be like to walk around as a werewolf, take in some smells, listen to ice on the river crackling, the dry leaves on the trees scraping up against each other, the sound of snow crunching under my boots. I also figured I would write this blog post instead, while it's still January.