Feb 9th Writing update

Okay, another new writing update-this includes my Indie stuff too:

I finished my themed story set for the Urban Fantasy series of short stories even though one isn’t all that short. My MC is a painter who makes a living selling his paintings and writing books for Mid Grade readers. I have included that now and then in his various adventures but I think I may add one scene with him delivering a painting and/or doing a show at a gallery. I’m not sure where I will place that but I need to go back over my stories--half of them need revising and the other half need minor changes like names and how something works--anyway, so it wouldn’t be hard to add that scene. 

I need to finish the story at work on my Steampunk themed story set. I may this week but probably about halfway through next week. 

I need to restart one of the final stories in my Alchemy story set. It may not be as long as I thought it would be but I have more stories in that world so I may still have 50,000 words. If not I will have to do another story. 

The other day I was thinking about the covers for these sets because it hit me all of a sudden. I could go through CreateSpace to do a Print On Demand paper book. Wow, I had forgotten about that as I had forgotten that was one reason why I started putting seven stories in my story sets instead of five. I checked CreateSpace and found that only one placed only five stories in his CreateSpace anthologies. All others with few  stories do seven. Anyway, my 50,000+ story sets should be good no matter how many stories I have in them. So back to the covers.

The Steampunk cover would be the easiest. All I need is a small streamlined airship for the upper half of the cover. Maybe a border and from one to ten people dressed in all black including their faces on the bottom half. Maybe blowguns in the border or as the border. On the side would be a smaller pic of the blowguns or airship if I don’t have blowguns. On the top of the back would be the airship. Under it would be a blurb. Oh, on the cover would be the title and my name. I’m not sure what colors but I assume darker ones would be a good fit, not sure about the color of the title and/or my name though. 

For the UF set I wondered about making the cover various objects from the stories: a griffin, a man made of super hot plasma, a horse drown carriage, a giant horse shaped golem, Tinker Bell type fairies, Hell hounds. But all of those would be way too much and I’m not sure if I could settle for just a couple.---well, maybe the Hell hounds and golem. But I decide on something simple-easier to do too. A fancy stand alone coat rack with a full length brown leather jacket on it, an easel with a canvas on it and a staff.  One object will be on the side, the back will have a smaller pic of the whole cover with blurb under it. 

The Alchemy cover would be simple too. The top half would be a Transit--the Ford mini delivery truck--possibly with some decorations on the side. Bottom half would be various bowls and jars made from various materials and plastic containers. Not sure what would be on the side, maybe a few of the jars and such. The Transit would be on the back with blurb.

But first of all I need to revise the stories I have and finish one maybe two more. And finish the Alchemy tales. I think I will work on getting the other two ready even before I finish the Alchemy stories. And I need someone to go over all of them...maybe more than one person since I have so many stories. Speaking of that this leads to my second point in this update.

My Novel. A very nice person volunteered to go over the novel for me. She has had some experience with editing and she happened to be free at the moment. I sent her the first five chapters. If two through five aren’t enough to send her screaming down the street I will send the rest. But it will take a while to fix what she finds in. But with that done I only need a cover. Thinking of the story sets inspires me to come up with a easier cover for this novel. $520 is more affordable but it’s still a lot for something that might take five years to bring in that much. Maybe...hmm I don’t know something that shows she is a Mage. She doesn’t use a staff or anything else. Maybe I could find a pic of the back head of someone with short purple hair. And/or a Griffin maybe? (Shoulder shrug) I still have to think on that cover.  

I haven’t put down any goals for ’14 yet but getting at least two story sets and the Novel ready to sale would be included. As would stories for each quarter of the WotF contest. Speaking of that:

I have finished 2,200 + words on a story for this quarter at WotF. Finished the first section. The second section is the section I haven’t figured out yet. I know the basics but I need more than that. But it will come as I write, the problem is how long that section will be. I could make it fairly short or find something to make it around 2,200 words. I know the ending mostly, just need a couple of small details. This is a type of story I haven’t done for a while and really may have done only a couple of. But I like the story. I will say it has two points of tension all of which I will say is that one is personal and the other is life and death. 

I missed the online workshop I wanted to take from Dean Wesley Smith but found that Dave Farland has some too and Cat Rambo has been having one session online workshops. I wanted to take one-the time of day was right- but it looks like I got the date wrong and it was not will be. I say to any writer reading this check them out. $300 for Dean’s. I think Dave’s are less and the one session classes are under fifty. 

Another goal would be to take at least one more online workshop--maybe two.

Seems like there was something else I wanted to mention but can’t think of it right now, so unless I do think of it before I post this, expect a PS. I carried out that threat last update so I might again--one never knows about me.