I'm Baaaaack!

I’m in a good place right now.   I finished Air War College a few weeks ago, and then my father-in-law took all his kids and grandkids (including me) to Disney World for a week.  We had a wonderful time together despite the fact that it rained every day.  We all got along; nobody got hurt or sick or sunburned.  Just so happened to be a Star Wars Weekend also, and for anyone that knows me or my family that was a big deal.  Only downside was my boys’s aggravation with the sporadic internet in our room.  We also went to Universal Studios for a day and the Harry Potter castle ride is probably the best ride I’ve ever been on.  All-in-all an awesome trip! 

Let That Thing Fester

The title of this post is so awesome that I feel like the post itself isn't going to live up to it.  I actually thought of saving it for another post on the subject but I'm going to go with it anyway.  I'm having issues finding time for this currently, and I 'm not proud of it.  I know I’ve been absent lately but I have been doing the job of three people at my day job (literally) and cramming for my Air War College Exam.  The good news is we have enough people back at work that I can get back to just doing my own job and I got the results back from my exam, which I passed with an excellent!  I’m only one test away from finishing now, so I’m buckling down to get through it and then I can refocus on finishing the edits for Clear Ether and get it out to some beta readers. 

Revising, revising, revising, and a little reading

I’m reading Chuck Wendig’s book on writing, CONFESSIONS OF A FREELANCE PENMONKEY, and it’s not only chock full of good writing tips but is also very entertaining.  He has a flair for metaphor and colorful language, so be warned.  But, I absolutely love Chuck Wendig, he is irreverent and cheeky  and is genuinely funny.  One of the things I’ve plucked out of the reading is something I didn’t really have in mind when writing the book, but I think it’s instrumental in creating a story that is engrossing and something that will draw the reader to the next page.  That something is tension, or more precisely, building the tension. 

I care, but that doesn't mean I'll change it

     A friend of mine stopped me the other day to tell me that he had posted his very first book review and to their surprise the author wrote them back almost immediately.  His review was a 2 star review and although he was polite he pointed out some things he didn't like about the book.  It was in a genre he is very well read in and felt like the book didn't live up to expectations.  He did write a few nice things too.  

"I suck at writing!"

You ever read something you've written and then throw your hands up in the air and tell your spouse "I suck at writing!"?


I've done it several times in the course of writing my novel, but I think I'm coming to the realization that sometimes I do suck. Not always, but sometimes I do. I am figuring out that I need to trust that inner voice that is telling me I suck. I’ll come back to that.