An exhausting week has ended. I finished writing the first draft of ‘The Hopeteller’, so I only have beta readers, edits, and cover art to do. We’re trying to figure out how to create what we want for the cover. Aiming for a red-tinted force with the symbol of the Hopeteller, which will be a winged book. Not sure if the forest is too much and we should just do the symbol on a simple background, but we’ll be showing it off for opinions first. It might be similar to how we did ‘Bestiary of Blatherhorn Vale’ with us scanning the cover of an actual book and adding wings. Not really sure.
Aside from that, I saw my son’s future kindergarten, helped a friend with an event, and had a successful yard sale. For those that don’t know, you put all the stuff you don’t want outside and post signs around the neighborhood. Then you negotiate prices and hope at least 10% of the stuff is taken. All I know is that the stuff my wife and I put into it sold enough for us to afford tickets to ‘Godzilla’. We need the break too because the toddler being outside all day left him exhausted and cranky. He adopted my sister’s costume fairy wings and a Buzz Lightyear doll, which he ran around with. Still, he mostly behaved and had fun. He also ate pizza for the first time. Downside to this is that I never reapplied sunscreen, so my neck, shoulders, and . . . balding spot are cooked. One of those things where you scratch and it feels like someone lit a match on your skin.
For those that missed it, I had an interview at Eat, Sleep, Write. Check it out and share at the bottom of the linked page if you haven’t already.
I can’t say I’ve been in the happiest mood this week, but I wasn’t miserable as often as I’d been for the last month or two. Maybe I’m pulling out of it or the new project distracted me from issues. There were also a few screwdrivers (the drink) involved.
I’m stepping back into Windemere this week, so it’ll be interesting to see if I’m recharged. I left it just after a big explosion, which made a nice pause area. I still plan on jumping into editing Books 5-8 once I’m done writing Book 8. That way I can step into Book 9 with all of the current events in my mind. This is the first time I’ve ever written a book and not gone right into an editing run, so I’m antsy. Still going to be a busy week:
- Return to ‘Merchant of Nevra Coil’. Aim for 3 chapters as usual.
- Work on ‘The Hopeteller’ as edits and issues come up. Early June release is still possible, but I don’t know if I’ll do a blog tour. If I have the time, I’ll do a simple Cover Reveal. Just cover, blurb, author bio, and release date.
- Recover from sunburn. Ouchies!
- Defensive Driving Course next Saturday, so I’ll be away for most of the day then.
- Kill the spider on the ceiling.
- Make a few supporting characters for ‘Elysium Saga’ if I have time. Might only have today and next Saturday to work on it. Gave up a week on the new project and I’m really hoping I can get Book 5 of ‘Legends of Windemere’ released on time. While an indie author has the freedom to debut whenever they want, they still need to make sure the quality is up to snuff. We sacrifice the massive support and production structure for our freedom, so things happen.
Legends of Windemere 
Kindergarten, eh? Big step! You’ll enjoy the freedom, I’m sure. Is it full or half day?
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Full day program, which is great because many of the local programs are half day. We still have to set up a tour of the school for him.
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Nice!
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I have to caution you about the spider and defensive driving class. Don’t get the two mixed up.
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I’ll do my best. 🙂
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Sorry about the sunburn. Hope it fades fast. Sounds like things might be on the turn around. 🙂
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It itches like mad. Made it a bit of a challenge to sit through the movie.
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You ‘sound cheerier’ 🙂 Oh my! The little squirt is all grown up eating pizza, dressed in fairy wings, and off to kindergarten! How did that happen?
Ellespeth
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I blame global climate change.
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My, my I do hope those wings helped him fly because Buzz doesn’t do great on his own 😉
I like your list and am impressed with your editing forays…mostly because I always have to step away from a project for a month or more before I start editing. Otherwise I get testy and don’t see much at all wrong with my ‘baby’.
Good luck with that list!
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I haven’t really touched books 5-7 for a while. Book 5 was finished last year. I’m actually a little confused on when I finished 6 and 7. I think I finished 6 in January and 7 was . . . I have no idea any more. I usually jump into a basic editing to catch continuity issues. I’m weird that I always find something to fix.
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People sometimes ask me how I can do my editing the way I do it and I think because I write most everything out long hand in colored ink before typing it up. That way I actually do the first and second drafts and editing phases without putting much thought into it.
Sometimes I wish I could do it your way.
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I do in-depth outlines and think about what I’m going to write before I actually begin. There’s usually a lot of fact checking too. It can be rather exhausting and slow going when I need a lot of previous info.
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I get confused when I do outlines. I do a lot of research and note taking and list out characters and their pertinent information on notecards but for some reason outlines throw me off.
I envy you for your ability to do that.
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What kind of outlines do you do? I don’t do anything complicated and I adapt it as I go. Basically, I make a note of my chapter (or chapter section) goal to help me focus. For example, I note who is fighting who in an action sequence.
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I just write. If I do an outline at all it is of a certain section that I suddenly have an ‘epiphany’ over and have to get down. When that happens it is simple, usually quick sentences and arrows shooting out from one word to another. For the most part, I just put pen to paper and roll with it. If a section needs fleshing out I make a note and go back later.
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For some reason, I’ve never been able to do that. Even back in high school, I did outlines and planning. Back then it was because I couldn’t always write the book and the ideas kept coming to me. So I kept a notebook to jot everything down during lunch breaks, free periods, and when the teacher wasn’t looking. Maybe doing it for so long has permanently made me a planner.
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I carry notebooks and notecards with me everywhere I go and jot things down but they are rarely outline-ish. Perhaps never working from an outline has permanently damaged my ability.
Or maybe different types of writers are needed so that all books are different! (I like that idea..otherwise I’m just disorganized)
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Everyone has their own style. It could be the book too. I’ve done a few novellas and a short story where I didn’t outline. I do a lot of connections and foreshadowing in my series, so it feels like that needs some kind of organization.
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This is great, Charles. First of all, the song–I. Love. AC/DC. I grew up with them, learning their licks, going to their shows and stopping to stare at their videos. They absolutely rock, hands down!
Lastly, Great to hear you’re on your way to accomplishing your writing goals. Have fun with the stories. I know in my case, I don’t take things seriously. Maybe it’s a fault, but I do have fun with my stories, and it sounds like you’re doing the same. Enjoy!
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Oddly enough, I’ve never been to a concert. Big crowds and loud noise make me edgy for some reason, so I never tried.
I do have fun with everything. Though I seem to have taken things more seriously than I did when I started. Not sure if I should try to work my way back to pure fun.
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Taking things seriously is good. Having fun is better. 😉
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You might have died a little with that title, but I laughed over it.
What did you think of the movie?
Good luck on accomplishing that list (and recovering from the sunburn)!
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I liked it. I can see why some people had issues if they expected Godzilla to be in it a lot. It’s much more like some of the older movies where it focuses on the people trying to either survive or handle the appearance of giant monsters. Though, his rarity for most of the movie made his few appearances and the final battle a lot more impacting to me.
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I can see that, how it would’ve made it all more impacting.
I honestly don’t know why I was a little disappointed with it, apart from my ridiculously high expectations. There wasn’t anything wrong with it. I guess it just wasn’t what I’d been expecting.
It was definitely neat to look at. And I LOVED when they jumped out of the plane.
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The commercials made it seem like there would be a lot more Godzilla. Also that he would be fighting the military. It wasn’t until a little before the debut that they showed a scene with the MUTO. People that missed that probably didn’t expect it to be like the ‘Godzilla Vs.’ movies, so expectations differed.
Still I loved that final battle because it showed they gave him his problem-solving intelligence back.
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I think I just got irritated about random little things. Like . . . where did he randomly get a Navy uniform amid Army units? Obviously he wouldn’t have taken it with him. But right. People in the Army just carry around spare Navy uniforms. That happens. Mmhmm.
Not that the one thing mentioned ruined it for me, but it was just like, “Erm. Where did that come from?” Threw me off for a few minutes.
Sorry for commenting again, but I thought of that immediately after I replied to the other . . .
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I missed the uniform scene, but I don’t know the difference. It’s possible that it was a joint branch effort considering they were going to use a boat for that operation.
I’m looking at the successful movie this way: One step closer to Mothra and/or Rodan making an appearance.
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I love reading your goal posts. I’d have to move “kill the spider” to the #1 spot, otherwise I’d be too paralyzed with fear to accomplish the others.
Hope your little one enjoys Kinder. My son didn’t want to go until he was given a complete run down of what to expect. “What does kindergarten MEAN, Momma?” My daughter wanted to start Kindergarten when she was three. When she finally got to attend, she practically shoved my husband and I out the classroom door on the first day. “Okay, you can LEAVE now.” LOL. Enjoy this time with your little man. 🙂
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I didn’t notice the spider until I got into the list. It’s too high anyway.
I think he’ll have fun, but I’m guessing there will be a few initial moments of fear. He’ll be taking a bus, so we won’t get to see him march into the school. That’s going to be a tough one. I think the tour in a month or two will take the edge off there.
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Kindergarten…a big step for the toddler!! I sometimes think it is harder on the parents than the child. My mom bawled and I clapped! lol Great goals. You are so good about doing your goal posts!
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Thanks. It probably is easier on him than the parents at first. We keep waiting for a call from the school in case there’s an emergency. At least for 2 weeks.
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I think every parent sits by the phone the first couple of weeks. I wonder how my mom did it when she didn’t have a cell phone. I guess she went nowhere for two weeks while i was at school!
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It was a bit safer and less paranoid back then too.
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