My Rules of Writing #1 -- You MUST write!

Been busy with a bunch of things -- Completed the first draft of my second novel in my Urban fantasy series, did a novelette-length story sent in the same universe, started the forth book in the same series and I'm currently working on books three and five. I was nominated for a Scribe award for a story I wrote for an anthology, and worked on a couple of projects for a gaming company I freelance for. What I haven't been doing to writing blog posts. So an experiment, if you will.

I have seen "rules for this" and "rules for that" And that includes writing. So, I'm going to try and my hand at MY rules -- these work for me and may not for you.

 My First rule is "You must write." Simple, clear and on the face of it, makes sense.  After all, how can you be a writer if you don't write?

But for a lot of people who want to write, writing is hard, it's scary, it's time-consuming, I don't feel like writing, I don't know how to create characters and plots.....

Yes to all that. Writing can be all those things. That's why it can be tough. But until you overcome all those objections, nothing's ever going to happen. That story you feel is inside you will never come out.

The first thing you need, if you want to write, is the passion to write. If you don't have that, nothing else I write here will do you any good. You must have the fire inside to write. That's is from inside of you. A teacher or mentor can ignite that passion, but the desire has to be there to start with.

 If the desire is there, other objections can be worked around. With time, get up fifteen minutes early and spend that time writing, or fifteen minutes before you go to bed. Lunch can be a time to brainstorm, or makes notes about a scene that comes to you. Use a recorder to make notes on anything related to your story (Just don't do while driving or other activities that require your attention). SOme people use their phones to write when they ride the subway to their job. You don't need to carve out three hours every day to write -- ten or fifteen minutes is better than nothing.

You have to write, even if you don't feel like it, your stuck in a scene. It's so easy to say, "F**K it! I'm too (insert excuse here) and skip a day. and that day becomes two and two days becomes a week and a month goes by without a single word being written. You must get into the habit of writing every day, for ten minutes, for twenty minutes, for an hour, whatever you decide and what time you can squeeze in. Every word that you write is one more brick in your story, one more step on the highway.

You have to accept that your writing, at the beginning, will suck. That's because writing is like many activities; no one if perfect from day one. There will be days you will look at what you wrote the day
before and wonder what idiot broke into your home and wrote it. But the more you write, the better you will get. You will see flaws easier, make corrections and eliminate problems. It's also vital that as an author, you develop a thick skin.

 If you don't know where to start, write fanfiction. Take you favorite TV, Movie, anime, or any other things and write a story based on the characters and premises of that series. Fanfiction allows the writer to worry about the story itself instead of world-building from scratch. There's nothing stopping you from expanding and adding to the world you're writing it, but when just starting out, it's best to "Stay within the lines" so to speak -- write a story that might have been a part of official universe. Once you're comfortable, the sky's the limit.

You can't sell the fanfic you write of course, as that would bring down the IP (Intellectual Property) holders on you with a cease and desist letter. But there are plenty of on-line fanfic communities out there that will read and review your stories. Yes, there will be assholes out there who will trash your story (Hense, the thick skin mentioned above), but those who review your story are generally are helpful with the comments and criticisms. I would suggest reading fanfiction from other authors in the fanfiction series  and see how they handle the characters and situation. I have written Fanfictions based on both Sailor Moon and Bubblegum Crisis OVA Anime series and a few Battletech fanfics. (I'm now a freelancer with the company who produces Battletech, so I've stopped reading and wring Battletech fanfiction.)

While you're writing, you must read too, read in the same genera as you want to write, in related genera and in genera that is totally different from the one you want to write in. Look for themes you can use in your story, a character archetype, the way the writer expresses ideas. You have to know what else is being written and look for things you can "borrow" for your own story. (There is no such thing as a "anything new" in fiction -- what's new is how the writer uses them in his story.)

This is a lot longer blog post that I expected to write, but it boils down to this: whether or not the passion to write is there inside of you. If the passion is there, the excuses can be overcome. If the passion isn't there, it doesn't matter if you have all the time in the world, a headfull of stories ready to go, and you can crack out sparkling stories in minutes. The passion comes first -- it will be that to sustain you as you build your skills.

I have a couple of more rules in mind that I'll write about in the future. Right now, it's clearing the dust off this blog and getting my blogging time in.


Word Count Update:

I'm a bit behind on this, so here's what I've done in the last three months.

March

Monthly Goal: 46,500 words (31 days x 1,500 words)
Actual Words Written: 48,898 words
+/- Difference: + 2,398 words
Average Words/Day: 1,746.36 Words/Day
Number of Days of More Than 1,500 Words Written: 18 Days (58.0%)

April

Monthly Goal: 45,000 words (30 days x 1,500 words)
Actual Words Written: 19,328 words
+/- Difference: - 25,672 words
Average Words/Day: 644.27 Words/Day
Number of Days of More Than 1,500 Words Written: 5 Days (16.6%)

May

Monthly Goal: 46,500 words (31 days x 1,500 words)
Actual Words Written: 54,706 words
+/- Difference: + 8,206 words
Average Words/Day: 1,764.71 Words/Day
Number of Days of More Than 1,500 Words Written: 24 Days (77.4%)

Year To Date
Word count Goal for the Year (Jan - May): 226,500 words
Actual Words Written: 203,347 Words
+/- Difference: - 23,153 words

April was poor because I spent most of the month revision and rewriting a novel, but I'm on a streak of 40 days in a row of hitting my daily word count from the middle of May through yesterday. So not perfect, but I'm on a good run at the moment.....

**********

All the Outcast Ops novels I co-authored with Rick Chesler are on Amazon and are part of the Kindle Direct program. African Firestorm is here: Outcast Ops: African Firestorm on Amazon! Red Ice is here: Outcast Ops: Red Ice on Amazon! Watchlist is here: Outcast Ops: Watchlist on Amazon. Shadow Gov is here: Outcast Ops: Shadow Gov on Amazon!

In addition, there is a physical version of Watchlist here: Outcast Ops: Watchlist Paperback

For those in the United Kingdom, Outcast Ops: African Firestorm on Amazon UK!! Red Ice is here: Outcast Ops: Red Ice on Amazon UK! Watchlist is here: Outcast Ops: Watchlist on Amazon UK! and the brand new Shadow Gov is here: Outcast Ops: Shadow Gov on Amazon UK

For anyone else, please check your country's Amazon Website (if there is one).

Also, check out the other Outcast ops novels. Outcast Ops: Game of Drones by Rick Jones and Rick Chesler and Outcast Ops: The Poseidon Initiative by Rick Chesler.

In addition, Outcast Ops novels are on audiobooks! If you're member of Audible, you can listen to them free! The audio versions can be found here: Outcast Ops: African Firestorm (Audible), Outcast Ops: Red Ice (Audible), Outcast Ops: Watchlist (Audible) and Outcast Ops: Shadow Gov (Audible)

The audios for Game of Drones Games of Drones (Audible) and The Poseidon Initiative The Poseidon Initiative are also up on Audible, or though Amazon!

Please read or listen and leave a review!

Craig

February Word Count Update

Well, February was much better than January in regards to word count. Maybe it was because there were only 28 days in the month, or maybe because I wrote more. Here are the stats:

Monthly Goal: 42,000 words (28 days x 1,500 words)
Actual Words Written: 43,829 words
+/- Difference: + 1,829 words
Average Words/Day: 1,565.132 Words/Day
Number of Days of More Than 1,500 Words Written: 17 Days (60.7%)

Year To Date 
Word count Goal for the Year (Jan&Feb): 88,500 words
Actual Words written: 80,415 Words
+/- Difference: - 8,085 words

What did I lean this month? That sitting the old butt down in the chair works! Looking back over the month, I spent maybe an extra fifteen hours writing in February. Average for January was about 2.75 hours/day, while the average for February was almost an hour more -- 3.64 hours.

Looking at the word count, that is spread out over four different projects, but 80K is a novel-length work. Assuming I could do that in month in and month out, that would be 6 80K novels a year -- that isn't bad.

Well, short entry tonight, hope 2019 is being good to you all.

Later!

Craig

**********

All the Outcast Ops novels I co-authored with Rick Chesler are on Amazon and are part of the Kindle Direct program. African Firestorm is here: Outcast Ops: African Firestorm on Amazon! Red Ice is here: Outcast Ops: Red Ice on Amazon! Watchlist is here: Outcast Ops: Watchlist on Amazon. Shadow Gov is here: Outcast Ops: Shadow Gov on Amazon!

In addition, there is a physical version of Watchlist here: Outcast Ops: Watchlist Paperback

For those in the United Kingdom, Outcast Ops: African Firestorm on Amazon UK!! Red Ice is here: Outcast Ops: Red Ice on Amazon UK! Watchlist is here: Outcast Ops: Watchlist on Amazon UK! and the brand new Shadow Gov is here: Outcast Ops: Shadow Gov on Amazon UK

For anyone else, please check your country's Amazon Website (if there is one).

Also, check out the other Outcast ops novels. Outcast Ops: Game of Drones by Rick Jones and Rick Chesler and Outcast Ops: The Poseidon Initiative by Rick Chesler.

In addition, Outcast Ops novels are on audiobooks! If you're member of Audible, you can listen to them free! The audio versions can be found here: Outcast Ops: African Firestorm (Audible), Outcast Ops: Red Ice (Audible), Outcast Ops: Watchlist (Audible) and Outcast Ops: Shadow Gov (Audible)

The audios for Game of Drones Games of Drones (Audible) and The Poseidon Initiative The Poseidon Initiative are also up on Audible, or though Amazon!

Please read or listen and leave a review!

Word Count Challenge -- January 2019

At the beginning of the year, I decided I would keep actual track of the words I wrote, just to see how I was doing. So starting on January 1st I started recording my words count. To give me a goal, I decided on 1500 word/day as the target.

Well, January has passed and I have the totals for the month and here are the results:

Monthly Goal: 46,500 words (31 days x 1,500 words)
Actual Words Written: 36,586 words
Difference: - 9,914 words
Average Words/Day: 1,180.19 Words/Day
Number of Days of More Than 1,500 Words Written: 14 Days (45.1%)

I had multiple projects I was working on in January: a short story, three novels and some writing for another project that isn't quite a fiction piece in the normal sense. The novella I posted the WC for outgrew the novella status and became what I hope will be a short novel.

Now, what did I learn in January? That 1,500 words isn't that hard to reach, but it means putting my butt in the chair and writing. What I did write is one-third of a novel during the month, but if I hat the average every day, I would be near halfway through writing a novel. My goal in February is to write more than 1,500 words every day. When I can average 1,500 words a day for three months straight, then I'll increase it to an average of 2,000 words a day.

By posting word counts, I should be able to have an excuse to blog more often (I don't include the Blog post word counts in my totals). I also have a few other topic in mind, so we'll see what they go....

Later!

Craig

**********

All the Outcast Ops novels I co-authored with Rick Chesler are on Amazon and are part of the Kindle Direct program. African Firestorm is here: Outcast Ops: African Firestorm on Amazon! Red Ice is here: Outcast Ops: Red Ice on Amazon! Watchlist is here: Outcast Ops: Watchlist on Amazon. Shadow Gov is here: Outcast Ops: Shadow Gov on Amazon!

In addition, there is a physical version of Watchlist here: Outcast Ops: Watchlist Paperback

For those in the United Kingdom, Outcast Ops: African Firestorm on Amazon UK!! Red Ice is here: Outcast Ops: Red Ice on Amazon UK! Watchlist is here: Outcast Ops: Watchlist on Amazon UK! and the brand new Shadow Gov is here: Outcast Ops: Shadow Gov on Amazon UK

For anyone else, please check your country's Amazon Website (if there is one).

Also, check out the other Outcast ops novels. Outcast Ops: Game of Drones by Rick Jones and Rick Chesler and Outcast Ops: The Poseidon Initiative by Rick Chesler.

In addition, Outcast Ops novels are on audiobooks! If you're member of Audible, you can listen to them free! The audio versions can be found here: Outcast Ops: African Firestorm (Audible), Outcast Ops: Red Ice (Audible), Outcast Ops: Watchlist (Audible) and Outcast Ops: Shadow Gov (Audible)

The audios for Game of Drones Games of Drones (Audible) and The Poseidon Initiative The Poseidon Initiative are also up on Audible, or though Amazon!

Please read or listen and leave a review!

New thing: Word Count Tracking

Since the beginning of the year, I've been fighting a cold. During that time, I came up with an idea to set a word count per day and try to match or exceed that. I decided on 1500 words a day.

And halfway through the month.... I'm behind. Behind by about 7,600 words. I've written 16, 383, as of midnight, but I should have  24,000 words written. Out of the 16 days so far, I'm met or exceeded the goal on six days, and fallen short on the other days (Which is why I'm 7,617 words behind.)

The writing is spread out between a short story, a novella and a novel. It allows me to shift when I'm running out of steam on one, and to a third if I need to.  It may not work for you, but it works for me.

The goal for the month is a total of 46,500 words -- half a novel. Let's see how close I can get to that total. Wish me luck!

******

Words written up to now (1/16/2019)

Short Stories: 2,441 words

Novellas: 7,165 words

Novels: 6,777 words

Total: 16,383 words

******

All the Outcast Ops novels I co-authored with Rick Chesler are on Amazon and are part of the Kindle Direct program. African Firestorm is here: Outcast Ops: African Firestorm on Amazon! Red Ice is here: Outcast Ops: Red Ice on Amazon! Watchlist is here: Outcast Ops: Watchlist on Amazon. Shadow Gov is here: Outcast Ops: Shadow Gov on Amazon!

In addition, there is a physical version of Watchlist here: Outcast Ops: Watchlist Paperback

For those in the United Kingdom, Outcast Ops: African Firestorm on Amazon UK!! Red Ice is here: Outcast Ops: Red Ice on Amazon UK! Watchlist is here: Outcast Ops: Watchlist on Amazon UK! and the brand new Shadow Gov is here: Outcast Ops: Shadow Gov on Amazon UK

For anyone else, please check your country's Amazon Website (if there is one).

Also, check out the other Outcast ops novels. Outcast Ops: Game of Drones by Rick Jones and Rick Chesler and Outcast Ops: The Poseidon Initiative by Rick Chesler.

In addition, Outcast Ops novels are on audiobooks! If you're member of Audible, you can listen to them free! The audio versions can be found here: Outcast Ops: African Firestorm (Audible), Outcast Ops: Red Ice (Audible), Outcast Ops: Watchlist (Audible) and Outcast Ops: Shadow Gov (Audible)

The audios for Game of Drones Games of Drones (Audible) and The Poseidon Initiative The Poseidon Initiative are also up on Audible, or though Amazon!

Please read or listen and leave a review!

Later!

Craig

Failure to Communicate and New New Year's Resolutions

I really REALLY wish I had a good excuse for not keeping up with this blog and my other blog, but that's wishful thinking, My resolution to keep this blog up to date fell out of  my mind faster than it should have and I have no excuses for it.

But an entire fricking YEAR?!?!?!! My god, have I been that lazy? Right, that's going to change! I will be writing more blog entries this year, come hell or high water (And the way things are going, that may be coming sooner than later.).

Right, first thing up: My new years resolutions, related to writing:

1. Finish rewriting the first draft of my first Urban Fantasy Novel and finish first drafts of the next three in the same series (that are already partially written)
2. Plot and first Drafts at least two more novels not connected to the series above.
3. A dozen short stories written.
4. Blog more consistently. 
5. Lose 50lbs. (yes, this is a writing resolution)

That first goal is my main goal for this year. The series is the Merlin Chronicles, a urban fantasy series. I have one completed first draft, and it needs to be revised. The next three novels in the series are between 50-75% completed first drafts. I want to have all four completed this year.

The second goal is a little more open-ended. I have three partially-plotted novels that fit that description, so they are the ones that I will look at first. But if something else pops up, we'll see.

The third is again open-ended as to subjects. Some will be Military sci-fi, but in which universe, I don't know yet.

The fourth is keeping my blogs from gathering dust like they did in 2018. I don't have a set schedule, but there will be new entries here in 2019 and more than this one.

The fifth? Writing is done by sitting in the chair and writing -- exercising isn't exactly conducive to writing. Diet and exercise will have to be factored into my writing schedule and We'll see about it.

Still, 2018 wasn't a total waste. As you can see from the above image, a new Outcast Ops novel is out. Rick and I wrote this and it's doing well. The back blurb reads like this:

NOT ALL ENEMIES ARE FOREIGN

When a ruthless and ambitious government official puts a plan in motion to topple the sitting president, the OUTCAST team finds themselves fighting not a foreign threat, but one from inside the US government itself.

Enter OUTCAST (Operational Undertaking To Counteract Active Stateside Threats)--six ex-operatives from six of America’s most powerful organizations. Each has been unceremoniously released by their respective former employer for alleged misdoings that leave their pride wounded but their essential skill-sets untouched. After uniting over their shared bond of dismissal from the nation’s most elite outfits, the disgruntled spooks realize they can work together like never before to take down threats to their beloved country, a country that branded them as outcasts but needs them now more than ever.

Also, I did the NaWriNoMo again and won by writing 53K+ of a new novel in the Merlin Chronicles series, Merlin's Staff. This story will became the new number two book in the series, and is one of the three I need to complete the first draft.

So, that's it. A heartfelt apology is in order for not keeping up with this like I should have. One of my goals is to keep the dust off of my blogs, and this is the start I hope of a productive 2019!

******

Words written up to now (1/2/2019)

Short Stories: 183 words

Novellas: 0 words

Novels: 406 words

Total: 589 words

******
All the Outcast Ops novels I co-authored with Rick Chesler are on Amazon and are part of the Kindle Direct program. African Firestorm is here: Outcast Ops: African Firestorm on Amazon! Red Ice is here: Outcast Ops: Red Ice on Amazon! Watchlist is here: Outcast Ops: Watchlist on Amazon. Shadow Gov is here: Outcast Ops: Shadow Gov on Amazon!

In addition, there is a physical version of Watchlist here: Outcast Ops: Watchlist Paperback

For those in the United Kingdom, Outcast Ops: African Firestorm on Amazon UK!! Red Ice is here: Outcast Ops: Red Ice on Amazon UK! Watchlist is here: Outcast Ops: Watchlist on Amazon UK! and the brand new Shadow Gov is here: Outcast Ops: Shadow Gov on Amazon UK

For anyone else, please check your country's Amazon Website (if there is one).

Also, check out the other Outcast ops novels. Outcast Ops: Game of Drones by Rick Jones and Rick Chesler and Outcast Ops: The Poseidon Initiative by Rick Chesler.

In addition, Outcast Ops novels are on audiobooks! If you're member of Audible, you can listen to them free! The audio versions can be found here: Outcast Ops: African Firestorm (Audible),  Outcast Ops: Red Ice (Audible), Outcast Ops: Watchlist (Audible) and Outcast Ops: Shadow Gov (Audible)

The audios for Game of Drones Games of Drones (Audible) and The Poseidon Initiative The Poseidon Initiative are also up on Audible, or though Amazon!

Please read or listen and leave a review!

Later!

Craig