Yippie

I know I’ve been agonizing about editing, but I’m done. Jeremiah Stone edits are complete and so I’m going to stop bitching now (mostly). I still hate the fact I have to edit, but the book is better for it, so I’m happy.

Now on to bigger things… Um, maybe.

Though Jeremiah Stone is done, my next task is to edit Beginnings: A Jeremiah Stone Novel. I’m not looking forward to it because I just reread/edited it recently, but I have to do a once over again to be sure. I do, however, like the new editing process in which I do edits on the computer then print it off for a full read through with a highlighter. I find it’s easy to just mark sections and then go into the computer to fix things later, which gives me another chance to read through the markup and decide if the change really needs to be made. I find this method works well because sometimes some things I might have changed remain the same as I read them once again. The other nice thing is Beginnings is written almost strictly from Jeremiah Stone’s perspective and it’s shorter, just over 60,000 words.

And for a taste of a simple change in Jeremiah Stone, here’s the intro (which I hope clears things up a bit for those of you who’ve already read the story):

“Did Job not satisfy your curiosity?” God asked.

“The world is a different place now, with different motivations, thereby I propose a different test,” the Devil answered.

“And what shall it be this time?”

“Instead of taking away a man’s livelihood to affect his faith, I propose we affect a newborn soul. Each of us may give or take one thing from the soul and see which gift sways the soul the most toward either good or evil.”

“Agreed,” God replied.

“What shall your gift be?” the Devil asked.

“Belief,” God responded. “If the soul believes strongly enough then I give it the power to accomplish whatever it desires. And your gift?”

“I don’t give, I take,” the Devil replied. “So I’ll remove his morals.”

“So the soul will know right from wrong, yet doesn’t need to follow either and holds no remorse. Clever,” God nodded. “And if the burdens we provide do not sway the soul’s intent?”

“Then we burden the soul with knowledge,” the Devil responded.

Repetition

Editing, editing, and more editing; it’s all I seem to be doing lately. Deadlocked on making Jeremiah Stone better before taking a solid crack at Beginnings, I find I have ideas for other books yet no time in which to pursue them. And I still have Burden to finish. I have, however, put some thought into what my next book will be after Burden, though I have a couple possibilities.

The first is a post-apocalyptic novel in which the world is devastated by an unlikely, yet possible, chain of events which wipes out a majority of the world’s population in a matter of weeks. As to the storyline, I haven’t figured it out quite yet, but I do have the beginning of the book in mind. However, I may just write it as a short story, 50-100 pages at most, and put it into an anthology of sorts.

My second choice is called Hybrid, a novel which takes place in the future after man starts colonizing planets. What I like about this story is it’s narrated from the alien’s point of view. Furthermore, the book would begin something like this: I was not given a name when I was formed, only a purpose. My purpose is genocide. I think it’s a pretty catchy beginning to a story about how man is invariably linked to morality. I’ve actually got a good idea of the storyline of this book, though it’s still in its infant state.

The next choice is basically five short stories all interlinked. The first four stories pertain to four separate people who each have a special ability due to an experimental drug given to their mother’s during their pregnancy. The fifth story would take place with all of them together. Now I’ve done some thought on this and think it’s a clever idea, but I don’t think it’s a novel. In fact there is only one character which truly entertains my imagination out of the four, so I doubt this idea to be a solid choice. This might be another good add to the anthology book.

Last, there is the idea my brother gave me, which I believe is doable. Furthermore, I think it’d be kind of fun to do. It has to deal with stereograms, but that’s all I’m going to say about it. Writhing this book would also help me with a writing technique I want to use for another book idea I have, which is a murder-horror-mystery novel.

All-in-all, I think I have too much to do and too little time right now. I do have a number of books I want to write, a few I need to edit, one I need to finish, and then a lot of promoting to do also. It’s going to be a busy end of year and I hope I can finish. Focusing on Jeremiah Stone is my primary task now. Wish me luck and let me know what story you’d like to see written of the choices above.

Rant

So lately I’ve been doing a lot of ranting about editing, editors, and author control. As much as I despise having to go back and correct my writing even though I know it’s far from perfect, I do know it’s a necessity. I make mistakes. I’m far from perfect. And is some ways I’m a perfectionist, though I do know I have limits. With this is mind, I figure the editing process is a must. In fact, there are a few who think I enjoy it because I’ve been doing so much of it lately. Those people are WRONG, but here’s the problem.

First, I want to put out a good product which coincides with my perfectionist side. I also want to put out a good story. In publishing Jeremiah Stone, I believe I completed the second, but not the first. I feel, and a few have confirmed, the amount of grammatical errors is distracting to the story. As for the story, everyone who’s read it has thoroughly enjoyed it (save one), but with a few tweaks I know it can be better. I’m about to make those tweaks. For the past five months, I’ve dedicated a lot of time to editing and altering Jeremiah Stone. Now I’m just weeks away from doing a final read-through to find any last obvious mistakes, then the book will go back to the publisher for revision one upload to Amazon and B&N. Once that’s complete, I’ll push getting an Ingram number and hopefully with some backing it can be out in stores. That would accomplish another life goal of mine, to see my book on the shelf of a major retailer.

Second, I hope to have five books out by the end of the year. In order for this to happen I have to diligently edit Limbus and Azazel while also taking what I’ve learned from them and put it toward Beginnings and Ferryman. To accomplish this five book goal, I have to dedicate all my spare time to editing which is not easy. Writing is not my job, it’s my hobby. Second, I have a family. Third, I’m rebuilding a vintage trailer so I can go camping (nearing the end of this year long project). Last, I travel a lot and tend to put in long hours when on the road which is where I try to do most of my writing. Needless to say, I’m busy, but again I have a goal and I’m striving to achieve it. In this respect, I’m pushing myself harder than ever while trying to keep up with life. I hope to succeed in both.

Third, I can’t edit on a computer. Or rather, I can, but it’s not nearly the same as reading the story on paper. To that end, I’ve printed off the edited Jeremiah Stone and Beginnings recently and plan to spend a solid four days with a highlighter. Doing this is a task and can’t be done is small blocks of time which is why I’m dedicating vacation time for the event. All I can say is wish me luck.

So those are the reasons I’ve immersed myself into editing.

On another note, a friend of mine contacted me and stated he’s about 25% of the way through Jeremiah Stone. So far he says he’s really enjoying the book and can definitely see it as a movie. That’s the kind of feedback which provides the encouragement for me to continue writing. I love to hear it and I’d also love to see Jeremiah Stone on the big screen. One other thing, I’ve also got some good feedback on the book covers I’ve created for Beginnings and Ferryman. Hopefully I can make both of them a reality, though doing so takes time away from editing.

I guess that’s it for now. Back to the grind with highlighter in hand.

Drawing Blanks

For a few days now I’ve been thinking of a couple things: rewriting the ending of Opus in order to make it more suspenseful, reviewing the edits on Limbus with the possibility of deleting one other short section which really isn’t necessary, possibly starting edits on a few of my other stories, and finally looking at drawing the cover of my series of nine books named Shadow Gods. Now I’m sure that’s a lot to digest and let me assure everyone all of it needs to get done, but it’s the last one which I might be the most motivated to complete. But am I an artist when I barely consider myself a writer.

Writing to me is a hobby with my imagination creating stories I believe should be told. These stories I put into print consist of thousands of words, but does that make me a writer? Now that I’ve one of these stories published, it makes me an author, but is that enough to consider what I do more than a hobby. After all, these stories are not poetic or insightful or present any meaning beyond the written word. They are thoughts expanded into novels. The only redeeming value they represent is the fact each one of them contains a piece of soul. They are a part of me revealed which is enough to make me cringe at time (especially if A Romance Novel makes it to the stand).

Art, however, is different. If I barely consider myself a writer, would my dabbling with pen and paper, my chicken scratches of arches and shading, be considered of any more value? I would like to say anyone’s opinion beyond my own doesn’t matter, but it would be a lie just like with my writing. I take my writing personal and though I’ve tried to understand and accept criticism, it’s still hard for me. Ignoring that, I do have a background in drawing and drafting. I’ve dabbled at times with the cover of Shadow Gods before. This time, however, I want to make my vision take a finished form. I want my drawing to become the symbol on every one of the nine books. I want it to have significance. Can I do that? I don’t know, but I honestly want to give it a try.

My only request is for you not to laugh to hard at what I produce.