Writing

I'm definitely not the first writer to debate the - to blog or not to blog - issue and I won't be the last. On one hand, blogging is writing, but on the other, these words don't get me any closer to 'the end' on my current work-in-progress. To justify the time I spend here, and not on my current writing project (or with my family) I feel the need to use this blog (in part) as a motivational tool. By declaring my writing goals here for any and all to see, I hope to be reminded in the months and years to come of them, and to push myself onward to achieve these goals.

In the past four years or so, I have finished two and a half novels. I have also written a handful of poems, and at least a half-dozen short stories. Prior to 2004, I began many novels but rarely finished any of them because 1) life intruded on my writing time, 2) I hadn't done any plotting up front and I didn't know how to finish the novel, or 3) I'd lose interest in the story and start up something new only to repeat that cycle midway through the next project.

In regards to those numbered issues:
1) As of 2004, I promised myself that I wouldn't accept that excuse any more and for the most part I've kept that promise. Certainly, there have been events in my life that have been difficult and I have taken brief periods of time away from writing, but I've always returned and have pushed ever onward toward 'the end'. I have realized that if I wanted to be taken seriously as a writer, I first had to take writing seriously. To that end, I feel like I have succeeded (and hope to continue to succeed in the years to come).

2) Some writers write without plots. For now, I'm not one of them. At least, not yet. Perhaps never. I like having an idea where I'm going. I don't need a detailed plot written in stone, but I at least need to have an end destination in mind. I look at it like taking a driving trip across the country. The map is spread out before me and I have a handful of pushpins. I know where I'm starting. I figure out roughly where I'd like to go and then I start picking out places along the way I'd like to visit. I may not know the EXACT road I'll follow to get from one location to the next, that's all part of the fun of discovery, but at least I don't get stuck heading in the wrong direction. So far, it's worked for me.

3) I try to work on only one project at a time--or at least one novel at a time. I might occasionally dabble with a short story, poem or even lately a picture book idea while working on a novel, but I simply cannot write two different novels at the same time. I can edit one novel while writing another, but as of right now, I'll refrain from attempting the crazy stunt of composing two (or more) novels simultaneously.

My goals:

1) To finish the first draft of my third novel (a still untitled future fantasy) by the end of the year. Currently, I have 45k words done with a final goal of 90k in mind.

2) To continue submitting my second novel - The Legend and the Dark (a stand-alone fantasy novel about a man seeking revenge and redemption) to agents. I'll talk about this book and the submitting process for it in later blog entries.

3) To read/revise my first novel - The Rush of Betrayal (the first book of a planned trilogy about a man framed for regicide and his fight to regain everything he's lost). I'll talk about this book in later blog entries too.

4) To continue submitting my short stories (all primarily fantasy shorts ranging from 1500-5000 words) to magazines.

5) To explore an idea for a picture book further and to finish that manuscript by the end of the year.

My children beckon-I must go. :)

Take care all -