And so goes another week
Posted by mcummings
Summer is winding down. In our house, this isn't a bad thing - the kids are looking forward to going back, and we're looking forward to them going back. The only sad part is that it also marks the end of the little one being a baby. OK, so she hasn't been a "baby" in a long while, but this year she starts pre-K, which is kind of a threshold that says "Now she's a school age child with big-little kid issues and activities."
Yeah, I'm man enough to say it makes me sad. But then, so did sitting on the couch this morning watching the last episode of the season for Doctor Who. I'm an emotional wash out when it comes to machismo. I know.
But with the winding down of summer comes the realization that the year is over half done. And yet of my goals for the year (recorded here just so I couldn't forget...or deny it...), not a one has come to pass. #1 - not so much. We've had a long string of ill fortunes this year, nothing that stops us from being a happy family unit with a roof over our heads and a job and such, but at the same time, not what I would refer to as a year filled with good fortunes. Or even passably middling fortunes. I've written, but I think it would be a big old fib to say "a lot." More like "a bit more than naught" if you want to be precise. Which leaves being published. There's where I've gotten closest so far this year, something I can honestly say I've made a good effort at.
Except, in some ways, not so much there either. It is true, I have stuff out there right now. And rumor has it that's the biggest step in getting something published - actually putting your stuff out there. The reason I hesitate to say that its a roaring success (besides not actually being published yet) is that I haven't continued to write and push. I'm still pushing around the same two or three stories that I started the year with.
And yet somehow I manage to keep posting long entries to this blog. Seems to me I might have a problem of priorities there. I've promised "Forgotten Realm" posts each month, and I intend to follow through on that promise, but I think I need to start toning back these nice, long, babbling articles about how this or that writing project is going, and instead focus on actually, you know, writing.
So, see you on the other side of my rewrite of the second Captain story. Wish me luck, have a great weekend, and stay hydrated, its a doozy out there.
A welcome home
Posted by mcummings
After such a long and tiring day at work (this week has just been overwhelming for some reason), discovering a huge crack in my windshield on my way home, I found this (pictured below) - a crown for King Dad, a ring that says love, two handmade cards, and another crown(?) - the perfect reminder for why we do it. Shame they went to bed 2+ hours before I made it home.
I’m full of character!! (Aren’t I?)
Posted by mcummings
Its funny - in a somewhat scary way - to see where the Muse hides out. The major WIP has been sidelined this last week to do some work on the last Captain story, and the Muse has enjoyed the vacation. In the process of working on this story, a few interesting facts came up. First, the frightening realization that it was long enough (in first draft form) to be considered a novellete - that is, over 7 thousand words. Despite my best efforts, I find word counts fascinating still, I guess, since this length was achieved with only a few hours of typing a story that seemed to flow naturally from my fingers. (Oh, why don't they all do that???)
I sent the story off this week to two people who have known me for almost half my life (scary). Both were great sports about being alpha readers, sending me back the honest feedback I needed. From my first reader, I got back in depth detail (line by line) of where the story seemed to rush, or break down, etc. Awesome!
From my second alpha reader, I received comments that were hauntingly similar. They were pretty much the same comments that I'd received from an editor for my other Captain story, namely that the narrator (the Captain) wasn't coming through much, that there was more telling than showing going on. Ouch. I'd get defensive, except this was the second time someone had said that about these stories.
So now, at the back of my mind as I do a retype (printed out the first draft, retyping it from scratch - it helps to catch awkward wording and introduce new bits seamlessly), I'm painfully aware that I might be committing the same foible again. Why don't my characters have character? Why don't they feel like people to other folks? These are the kinds of questions I need to wrestle with. I know the technical answers that the books teach for making your characters seem more real, but applying them is a different thing all together.
And that's where things stand with the writing this week. I'm hoping the week ahead sees a successful second draft of the Captain story, along with a little bit of writing on the larger WIP. Frankly, though, I'd settle for some writing at all. I keep think of Gurney Halleck whenever I have trouble getting in the "mood" for writing - "Not in the mood?! Mood's a thing for cattle and love play..." (Yes, I realize this is the second time this quote has appeared on this blog - what can I say, it comes to mind often).
That's it for this morning's update. Talk to you all subsequently! 
Twitter test is over
Posted by mcummings
Yeah, it was just too much cross pollination, even for me. The folks that read me on twitter aren't 100% the same as those that read this blog, and I'll say things in a 140 char one-off that I wouldn't actually blog about. So except for that small flurry of tweets to blog earlier, there shouldn't be any more of that.
You may now return to your regularly scheduled programming. Which, I hope, includes a little Eureka 