Hmm ... (novella thoughts)

Didn't really get any writing done on the novella over the weekend, but I'm still finding my way in, so to speak. 

On the upside, I've got ideas for more in that "series." The set-up lends itself to slice-of-life action sequels, but that means more research since I have to live with whatever I concoct in the beginning.

One word at a time ...

Whoa, just saw the word count on the co-authored work-in-progress: 103k. 

NICE. 

It's taken forever to get this far. It has survived kids in and out of school, loss of jobs, tornadoes, a move across the Pacific and "homelessness," death and countless hours/days/weeks of "I will never be motivated ever again." I'm super proud of this story, even if it never sees the light of day inside a bookstore

Hmm ... (novella thoughts)

The untitled short story/mini-novella languishing away on my computer has been titled. 

The Legacy Recruit: “Son of a Preacher Man”

Writing tip 2: Adverbs

Adverbs are not your friends. They water down your writing. When- or where-adverbs (e.g. “yesterday” or “here”) are okay. How-adverbs (e.g. “slowly” or “fast”) are the troublemakers. Do you really need them? Isn’t there a better verb you could use instead?

Consider this:

… he mumbled hoarsely … try … he croaked …
… she drove slowly … try … she inched through traffic …
… he said aggressively … try … he ordered …

I used to like adverbs. They were everywhere. I put effort into finding the right ones. My first drafts were peppered with them. I can’t remember what made me suddenly see them or why I grew wise to their existence, but now I agonize over stronger verbs instead. Think of them as the fat or sugar in your writing diet; use them in moderation and you’ll be fine.

Bonus tip: If you have trouble paring down your writing, take a good look at your adverbs. Chances are, you can delete most of them.

Yay, I'm done!

It only took a few months, but I’m done with the rewrite of THE PROTECTOR. Whew. I started writing it way back when in late 2003/early 2004. I took me a little more than a year to finish the first draft. Parts of it were written on a toilet seat. I kid you not.

We had just returned from Okinawa, Japan, to the US. The four of us were crammed into two small adjoining Army lodging rooms (think motel), living out of our suitcases. I wrote at night. There wasn’t really a lot of room and I didn’t want to disturb anyone, so I would go into the bathroom, sit on the floor, put my pad on the toilet seat and write.

I didn’t do much with the story in 2005. After realizing it was too short (59,000 words) in early 2006, I went about adding to it. I ended up with 62,000 words and 52 chapters.

As of yesterday, THE PROTECTOR is down to 36 chapters and 55,000 words. I don’t like the low word count, but I do love how the story has changed and grown and worked itself out. I am very proud of it.

If you know how this writing business works, you know I might be done, but I’m not finished with it yet. There’s the line edit still, the checking for typos, grammar, syntax, punctuation, awkward phrasing, lazy writing and the such.

So I’m not finished, but I’m done :-) and it feels great.


PS. I think I have found a title for the sequel. I liked THE GHOST CRAB for its meaning, but it’s a horribly boring title, and how many people know what a ghost crab is? I might go with THE STALKER instead.