My reading "Ghoststory"

Reading, Finally, "Ghoststory" by Jim Butcher.

I say finally because I waited 'till it came out in paperback--actually I think it'sTrade--and it's been sitting on my pile of new books for a couple of months. I decided to read it out of order.
Jim has some good writing in this one...he does know how to turn a phrase.  And he knows how to punish his character, to make him feel unsure and not be a superman. When I go back over my NaNo Novel that is one thing I will be looking for. Even though my hero is hundreds of years old and has abilities above that of mortal man he is not perfect nor should he be. I need to make him doubt more, get more bruises almost get killed more. I did that a couple of times but in other fights he might be just too perfect.   

Without writing any spoilers with this one or the previous book, I just want that there's something in that previous book me and my wife and probably a bunch of Butcher fans, suspect. If what we suspect is true Butcher is being very coy about it as you would expect. Even though right now there was something that, could say it ain't so. But we shall see.


But in either case I am reading the book way too fast. About half way through already. Of course I've been reading it for a week.

Did it update NaNo

This sounds like the last NaNo update for '12 but it may not be. Most probably no more for a while but there still could be one to five of them over the next few months.


Okay, its verified at 51,387 words. 

Writer's Digest has a webinar on how to end a novel. I can say not like I did, even though it's only the last paragraph or so that is really bad.  Some of the last scene needs some work but it's only that last little bit that was rushed too much.... or so I think. 
Oops, that is a free worksheet not webinar Free



  No epilogues yet and they will add estimated 2,000 to 6,000 words plus I need to go back and add a few sentences on two things I added toward the end, all will add words but I'm not sure about getting it to 80,000 plus. For some reason I want this one to be traditionally published. So I may do a revising month if they do one. 

I also need a better Title  "His Other Job" may not cut it even though it might. It's close. 

One more thing I have two more computer things to do, one is to watch a video for the Dean Wesley Smith online workshop that starts next week and to download a free book critters.org is giving one away about writing and reading SF. by Norman Spinner. 

Yo one more mini update

Well, well I did it.


But I mean I got over 50,000 but I still need to quickly finish two scenes before I feed my novel to their computer for a double check.  Well, I guess I don't really have to but a novel does need an ending to be complete and I want both scenes at least done even if I have to go back and add some to really clarify things.

Don't think it will be over 55,000 as I hoped but still over 50.  And hey I thought Thursday was the 30th but the Status page said I had two days, wow when I send it in tomorrow night I will be two days early not one.

Tiny NaNo update

Well, well the status page says I can finish tomorrow but I doubt I will quite get that last 2,666 words. Especially with that number.  :)

Anyway, 2,200 maybe. but it's going to be close because I have to finish it. I can get the words by Wednesday  but not sure about the conclusion. I did want at least 5,500 but I would have to do that amount Thursday. We shall see, my MC is about to fight the bad guy who will tell him what this was all about. I know the ending...most of it but it's going to be rushed.

'nother mini NaNo update--and stories out

Last night I had to leave my MC in a cliffhanger, I don't know the answer to. 


Parts of this book has been like reading one...I didn't know where it was heading until I got there.

Almost made 40,000 if I had known I was this close I would have written 14 more words tonight. 


And I would have had it and more if I hadn't had to revamp a story I sent out tonight. 

Four out today, one needed some work when I ran it through my proofreader.

My MC overcame a bout with panic from a Phobia of Trolls he got while a Teen and killed the Troll that was after him.

Oh yes, I have an idea of why the bad guys are attacking everyone...better devolp iit I only have one week to be sure of the reason.

And for some reason I want to get this novel up in the traditional way. Last year's is an Indie book maybe...the year before is for sure. A Non NaNo Novel (Say that one five times real fast) is going up the Indie way if I ever get it back from the reviewers. 

Warning, Blog will change

This is just to give a warning that in the next week or so I'm going to see about changing the blog to look more Christmasy. It might be just the colors or I might change the whole thing around.

And I will putting up my yearly Christmas story and hopefully a Christmas Musing early this year. I have a habit of waiting until almost the last moment but not this year.......




Unless I totally forget this and it takes way long than it should.

Another Short NaNo update

Around 35,800 words. With what I wrote so far today it is probably 36,000 now.

Something I meant to say at the beginning but finally getting around to it--nice prograstination activity too--today.

Three years ago when I did this I made a new file for each day of writing. At the end I had to put them all together to turn it in and later to start revising it. When I sent one chapter to someone they found a missing space. I had fogotten to add one day’s file. I thought I was being careful and I thought I read through it.

Last year I decided not to do that and add a --- at the beginning of each new day’s writing. When I would go back to add something to a previous day’s writing I counted how many words and added them to the --- for the new day’s writing. thus 7---or 123---. I would delete the previous days line each new day even though when I started the revision process I discovered I skipped a day here and there. To count a day’s writing I scrolled back up until I found the --- and highlighted from all the new stuff. 

This year I’m doing the same. I debated going back to the original method but decided it was too bulky so I’m doing the lines again. That can be a pain when I have to go back five plus pages to find it so I can count the new stuff. Sometimes I miss it and have to go back and try again. I stop and read sentences along the way to see if I wrote that one today or the day before but sometimes it’s hard to recall when I wrote something. 

  I may have tried spaces inbetween the old stuff and new writing the first time I did NaNo years ago but that took time to find the spaces and to join the two parts and if I recall correctly I missed some of those too.  

Happy Thanksgiving

If you celebrate it do have a good one

Especially if you have family members you have to put up with or not having much. The spirit of the day can still sustain you. Thanksgiving to God is never bad no matter the circumstances. Sometimes that is all we can do because there is nothing else. So think of his Great Love, Mercy and Salvation if need be. Even if you have stay in your room or on a corner all day.


But may everyone have a Good Thanksgiving 

Short NaNo update

I'm a bit over 30,000 words.

Got one short and one long crit done.  I also need another word for Fea-fae or Fairy, Never-Never is taken. I used Otherworld but that is Cliche and maybe overused. Today at a book store I saw two different novels that used Otherworld or OtherWorld. I really need a new one. I kinda would like something with Oz in it but that could be problematic.

Update again NaNo '12

Still going strong. 28,300 and a few less words.  Three days ahead by their graph.

But I will slow down tomorrow and Sunday. Got four crits to do. Two quick short ones and two longer more in-depth ones. The last two I will probably just start. And I need to read each story first. 

Slight problem though:
I need a good reason for a group of people--of various types--for attacking my MC's friends. So far, even though he's been caught at the wrong time and place no one is after him specifically. But I'm not sure why the other attacks. This is well organized and probably taken years to plan but...why?  I want to try think of a reason that is different. I know of a couple of the usual reasons but they are all cliche-ish or over used. 

My reading "Lies And Omens" Lyn Benedict.

Been trying to remember to add this for at least two weeks but finally:


Read "Lie & Omens" by Lyn Benedict. Part of a series--Shadows Inquiries.

I have mixed feelings about this series.

It's not my favorite, it's darker than usual even for UF, I don't like where Lyn goes all the time with the plot and I'm not totally sure I really like the MC. But Lyn is some writer, she knows: how to do suspense, how to put her MC in danger time after time and how to do the Try and Try again thing. One could learn to write better by studying her writing.  Yet with all that said I still enjoyed the book and I would recommend it. 

And It's the model and half the inspiration for one of my WIPs. The way it's going it could take another year to finish that WIP and when I do I will have to go back over it since I'm adding characters and background as I go along. I usually don't do that with novels but this one I am.  It's interesting I thought I had added a certain character on my own but as I read "Lies" I realized that character might be my version of a character in Lyn's work. Oops, I hadn't wanted to do that even as the MC is inspired, as I said, by Lyn's work. I thought that character would add an element Lyn doesn't have. In one way it still does but not as big a difference anymore.  I add here that I don't want to copy her work, I want to make it mine even with some basic similarities with her MC. 

And I wonder if Lyn is related one way or another with another writer. The other half of the inspiration. Both writers use a character with the same problem, and both names the bad guy side of magic users and mythical creatures. Maybe they are the same person or have read the same how to book on plotting

Veterans Day '12

A couple of statements here,

I never served but I honor those who have not only in war but in peace time or in non-harm's way.

It is the Soldier, not the reporter who has given us freedom of press. 

It is the Soldier, not the poet who has given us freedom of speech. 

It is the Soldier, not the campus organizer who gives us freedom to demonstrate. 

It is the Soldier who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag. 

Father Dennis Edward O'Brien, USMC 

And something that has been going around the last couple of years, we are the land of the free because of the brave. 

Not sure who first said that, according it a film shown at my church An Unknown wrote something very much like that.  

NaNo update '12

NaNo update.

     I’m a bit late with this, I should have had two updates at least by now:

Anyway: I started off behind, had a couple of slow days. The NaNoWriMo site has a new chart that shows up when you update your word count. I would link to it but I’m not sure how to get it up without updating the count or if you have to sign on to see it. But they now predict the day you will reach 50,000 words. My final date was Dec 2 or even later with my second update. Third one had down to Dec 1, last time it was Nov 29. By that you can see I have been doing more than minimum amount per day. They say it should 1,660 words a day If I recall correctly.  My first few days were barely over a 1,000 words a day. But I’ve gotten way over 2,000 words a day for three days straight even though Last night--Friday the Ninth--was only 1100 words.

If I can do the 3,000 a day for Saturday and Sunday each, I will still be ahead. If I keep up with my speed and do the 3,000 words a day again next weekend I may be able to take the Friday after Thanksgiving off and work on typing up stories that I have on paper. I have four to six stories I wrote out during a period of time a couple of months ago. Most are short short.

I will also have to spend some time on critting three stories it looks like. And the Day after Thanksgiving is the traditional time we put up Christmas decorations outside. If it’s not raining and if my wife doesn’t have to work. We shall see this year how it works out.

Okay, President Obama stays

Warning another political blog so close to the last one.

       So pardon me my venting here:

  Now we are going to have more laws, regulations, and rules--less freedoms, businesses. More broken Constitution. Longer Recession--if anyone thinks Obama knows  anything about the economy prove it. Reagan could have had us at least half way out of it by now. Media reports--I don’t mean Fox News either--about a year and half to two yeas ago showed that a good sized portion of the jobs he created lasted two weeks to two years, some were counted twice and one certain business lied about using money they were given to hire new workers. 

President Obama is a bigger liar than Bill Clinton and Nixon put together. Recently almost everything he said about Romney was a lie and he lied about what he knew about what happened in Syria. It was his people-if not the President’s himself whose lack of knowing what to do led the rape and murder of our Ambassador and three others. If it wasn’t for at least two heroes--one of which was killed--there would have been thirty more deaths. 

So more debt for the US and most probably less water for the Calif farmers and more punishment taxes to get us to do what he wants to do. There's nothing to stop him. He's a hard core liberal. Statest .

   

Update Nov 5

Been writing new stories, have half a dozen to eight that need revising plus another three to five left over ones from one I did a while back. Not sure when I will get them or be able to send out any.

Speaking of that I had wanted to send a story to Fantasy and Science Fiction Saturday but by chance I heard Sandy got to Hoboken--where F&SF have their HQ--so I think I will wait awhile.

I'm behind with my NaNo novel but I should be able to catch up, hopefully in a week or three, but I'm getting excited about the tale. I'm still not sure where it is all going but it's going.  :)   I think it might be one of my better ones. A bit different for me and for publication. I say a bit different because it's more who the MC is than the plot. Speaking of that as I write I'm trying to not use cliche phrases which many  times isn't good. Some people say that can wait until I revise it but that isn't the way I like to write. I want it as well done as possible the first writing. Of course I still find things that need work during a revising but I try to get it right first time. And I'm also working on making things more active instead of passive and adding the five human senses. Taste is a real problem at times. But I've been noticing when pro writers use the five senses and hopefully I can use some of their ideas.


Still need to spell check and proofreader check my second six chapters of Two Struggles so I can send them to a couple of people who would like them now. I keep forgetting. And it looks like out of the four people I sent the first five to only two are getting g back to me. The others suddenly got busy.


And I need to revise my next story going to WotF. I receievd two crits for it and it looks like the writing is in worse shape than I thought. It shouldn't be because I've had a couple people critique it already but it needs WORK. So I need to do that and write the NaNo novel and send out stories. The revising can wait 'till next month. Oh yes I got a complete rejection for Q3 I think I will send that one to IGMS. If one set of letters=WotF--didn't like it maybe another set will. :)

That's it for now but there could be a PS .

The Presidential Race. Who should be President

In case anyone needs to know this is one of my political posts so be warned.



This is a bit late, probably not many people will read it between now and Tuesday but here is a letter to the editor I wrote--they didn't print it but here it is anyway:

        I’m voting for Romney because I like liberty and prosperity. 

        From what President Obama has said, done and what the people he, on purpose, hired, do he doesn’t support liberty. The Secretary of Health would violate the Constitution to put in place a personal, PC agenda. One that can be handled by other means.

      Romney knows more about prosperity. Even if he personally ordered jobs overseas-evidence supports that he didn't but even if he did I don't blame him, more on that later- and sick businesses to shut down, he will create jobs for everyone. That will be one of his responsibilities as President-if it should be or not is another matter. He always carries out his responsibility. From what he says he knows how to fix the economy. Bill Clinton was wrong, Reagan could fix it because he did. People say our problems today are different than his, true he had very high inflation, interest rates along with high unemployment to deal with. Plus this idea has worked for Four Presidents and at least a couple of Governors. The same fix would work now. No reason to think it won't.

    Of course Romney doesn’t hate 47 percent of the population. I don't the real numbers but he was correct some of Obama’s voters will never vote for him under any circumstances.The President lied when he said he saw no victims. People of his mindset see victims in true and imagined racism, the Occupy Movement' s supposed victims of the One percent and the invented War On Woman, etc. And many of these believe they are victims, I've heard and read what they say.

The underlined words are ones I added to the letter for this blog. 

Now more on businesses going overseas. As I said I don't blame them...not only to save on payroll but for two other reasons. One is the growing number of laws and regulations dealing with employees. Second is related, the increase of  environmental laws which in many cases costs businesses a lot more money and paperwork and taxes. This goes for large and medium businesses--some of the last have moved to other countries also. 

And please notice I said Growing and Increasing number. There's no end in sight to use a cliche.