Point of Record

Posted on September 20, 2024 at 1:41 pm
Since it will be awhile before I have time for short stories again, here's a link to one of my old ones: Elision, or "what happens when your brother breaks out of jail to get the band back together."
- B
Posted on September 17, 2024 at 3:10 pm
Today I spent some time outlining a simple plot involving fallen angels and club kids. Maybe this will be enough fun to fully put down, we'll see.
- B
Posted on August 14, 2024 at 6:44 pm
Another morning spent working out plotlines on Amy Stories. I think I have the main threads identified. Now I have to start figuring out how to weave it together in an interesting way.
- B
Posted on August 11, 2024 at 1:11 am
It feels weird not to have a firm word count goal. Right now I'm mostly just dreaming up fragments of plotlines and jotting them down in hopes I'll be able to stitch together something interesting later. I mean, it worked before?
- B
Posted on August 7, 2024 at 3:49 pm
Today I spent a bit of time plotting on Amy Stories. I know the structure of the story, I know what is happening to the main character and the world. Now it is time to fill in details.
- B
Posted on August 5, 2024 at 6:26 pm
Today I refreshed the text on The Half-Lit House in preparation for formal querying. I have material for pitch letters and am almost, almost ready.
- B
Posted on August 3, 2024 at 2:04 am
Scott would say anything to be your friend. He was a marine, he was a CEO, he knew Greek, then Bryce figured out he couldn't even keep a job as a pizzaman. Now's Scott's back, begging for help with an impossible story. "The Liar's House," read it here!
- B
Posted on July 31, 2024 at 7:40 pm
I have been sick for the past Many days, but have finally gotten myself together enough to go back to work. I think The Liar's House needs 1 more pass and then I'll put it up on the website. It is good, creepy , and surreal.
- B
Posted on July 25, 2024 at 6:27 pm
Today I got back to work. While Hands of Gold is still out with the readers, I've returned to The Liar's House which I never fully finished earlier this year. After this, I have a couple more short stories in mind.
- B
Posted on July 16, 2024 at 8:36 pm
Ok, FINISHED. Hands of Gold finished up at 80,026 words and I am happy with every part of it. It is off to another round of beta readers, and then begins the long climb to publication. Wish me luck!
- B
Posted on July 10, 2024 at 12:46 am
Siiiiigh. I had a fit of inspiration over the holidays and I rewrote the ending sequence to be much, much better. The downside? Back above 80k. I'm at 80,797 words and I guess... I guess I'll just have to deal with it.
- B
Posted on July 1, 2024 at 6:45 pm
Ok, good. I finished another editing pass. Hands of Gold is now at 79,910 words, which is 100% on-target. One more round of edits then off to the readers again, then perhaps done!
- B
Posted on June 28, 2024 at 12:41 am
Another very good editing session today. The book's good. Hands of Gold is down to 80,132 words and probably needs one more polish pass after this before it goes out to the readers again.
- B
Posted on June 24, 2024 at 2:03 am
I got about an hour of editing done today and Hands of Gold stands at 80,584 words. Things are looking very solid this pass.
- B
Posted on June 21, 2024 at 7:58 pm
Alright, I'm actually done re-writing now. I reworked some of the minor plot points into more compact form and spent my spare words. Hands of Gold is now at 80,880 words. I will do an editing pass, then hand it off to the beta readers again.
- B
Posted on June 21, 2024 at 12:49 am
Today's MVP is the left-hand CTRL key, and it's dynamic partner in crime, Z! I typed many words, and then they all went away because I thought of something better. Tomorrow I'll bang it out.
- B
Posted on June 17, 2024 at 7:23 pm
I thought I was done. I really did. However, I ended up with these extra words. How can I just go on with extra words? So I started rewriting chapter 4, and now I have to push that forward. I might never be done, eh?
- B
Posted on June 15, 2024 at 2:19 am
There. I have finished the post-readers editing pass on Hands of Gold. It stands at 80,381 words, which is down 4k from the last version. I think I'm going to add back in 500 more or so here and there. All in all, I'm very happy with it.
- B
Posted on June 14, 2024 at 2:16 am
I had an extremely good day revising. I found a better way to resolve one of the conflicts in the final sequence. This was the last piece which had been bothering me. I'll read out this pass, give it a rest, then once more and it is DONE.
- B
Posted on June 10, 2024 at 4:09 pm
I finally finished off the second problem segment. Everything is tighter and better. Most importantly, the draft now stands at 80,129 words. I almost have a word budget now! That's... different.
- B
Posted on June 8, 2024 at 2:48 am
I had an extremely good day rewriting the last problem segment of the book. I gave myself a couple extra hours and all the problems are solved. I'll have it out to the readers again in a week or two. This was a very good day.
- B
Posted on June 6, 2024 at 1:56 am
+970 words, but they weren't all new so it doesn't entirely count. I'm about halfway done rewriting the middle act of the book and already see how to split the one giant chapter in two, so that's improvement. I should need another couple weeks.
- B
Posted on June 5, 2024 at 2:55 am
+626 words today. It was difficult to find the motivation to start, but I eventually got there. I'm about 40% of the way through my outline and have used 13% of my allotted word count. This is a very good sign.
- B
Posted on June 4, 2024 at 4:07 am
+790 words on the second segment which needs a complete rewrite. I've struggled through the mental work and have a solid outline of what to do, now I just have to do it. I'm really, really hoping this turns out "better" and not just "different."
- B
Posted on May 27, 2024 at 2:42 am
I managed to lay the foundation for the reworked second act today. Instead of it being about physical obstacles to overcome, it is now about obstacles AND a sharp personal dilemma. Better? Maybe.
- B
Posted on May 24, 2024 at 3:12 am
Today I figured out how to up the tension in the second act while allowing me to gut out an entire sequence which was nice, but was very overweight. Things will be better, not just different.
- B
Posted on May 22, 2024 at 3:20 am
Alright, the first half of the book is re-written. It ended up being much more than I thought it'd be, but I also think it is quite a bit better. The second half shouldn't need as much, right? Right?
- B
Posted on May 16, 2024 at 1:31 am
I didn't write many words today, but I did write those words and it counts.
- B
Posted on May 13, 2024 at 12:51 am
Today I wrote the Queen of England into my story. She's doing well, if you're wondering.
- B
Posted on May 10, 2024 at 2:29 am
Today's round of revision and edits brought the total word count down to 82k. I have confidence I'll hit sub-80 by the time I'm through.
- B
Posted on May 8, 2024 at 5:53 pm
Alright, after a solid month of being sick and having guests and unexpected chaos absolutely everywhere, I have finally gotten back to revising. I don't know why but editing seems easier now.
- B
Posted on April 23, 2024 at 2:30 am
One chapter done, hopefully finished for real this time. Two more to go.
- B
Posted on April 22, 2024 at 3:13 am
Rewriting continues. It is dispiriting as I can always look back after drafting and say "I added 800 words", or editing "I cut 500 words." Rewriting is much harder to quantify. I might not be making progress at all? But the time is gone.
- B
Posted on April 18, 2024 at 2:26 am
Well, I re-learned an old lesson today. When stuck the answer is always two things: more personal and more intense. I'm re-re-rewriting Chapter 3, but this one is worlds better and smells final.
- B
Posted on April 16, 2024 at 5:44 pm
I am beginning to suspect I'll have to rewrite the beginning of Hands of Gold more than I thought. I've gone through and made notes of the high points and there just aren't enough early on.
- B
Posted on April 16, 2024 at 2:05 am
I lost an entire week to sickness and chaos and life, but I managed to climb back out today and put in another round of revisions on Hands of Gold. Things are moving with necessity now.
- B
Posted on April 6, 2024 at 1:54 am
I put in some solid revisions today, and am feeling generally better about the state of things. Rewrites are about 1/3rd done, at which point Hands of Gold will be finished enough for querying.
- B
Posted on April 4, 2024 at 8:16 pm
I rewrote most of the first problem chapter today and managed to eliminate about 25% of the wordcount, which is a great all on its own. I have low confidence in the quality, but I always feel that way until I read it over again.
- B
Posted on April 4, 2024 at 2:24 am
Alright, problem with Hands of Gold is solved (in outline). I've figured out a way to hit the necessary plot points in fewer scene changes, with fewer characters, while still retaining the important bits. Less description, more psychotic yelling.
- B
Posted on April 2, 2024 at 4:31 pm
This has been quite a frustrating morning attempting to rewrite an early segments the test readers found "too weird, too fast." I thought I had a good plan, but it all fell apart midway to the page. Ugh.
- B
Posted on April 2, 2024 at 3:39 am
I didn't type a single word today, but I did decide exactly how to rewrite Chapter 3. Tomorrow I'll start putting the plan into action. The long unsure pauses where I don't know what to do are always somewhat terrifying.
- B
Posted on March 31, 2024 at 10:28 pm
I had a good idea for a short story outside the Hands of Gold universe. Plot: a man calls in to his health insurance company determined to speak to the devil. Eventually, he does.
- B
Posted on March 28, 2024 at 6:50 pm
I don't have a huge amount to report today. I am still planning out how to incorporate the feedback from my beta readers.
- B
Posted on March 27, 2024 at 11:21 pm
I spent the day compiling feedback from my test readers on Hands of Gold. The good news is they managed to find parts that they like, but there was some common criticism that I'll have to address. Time for revisions.
- B
Posted on March 26, 2024 at 7:59 pm
I'm giving myself a rest day today. I will begin revisions for "Hands of Gold" tomorrow. The Test readers have given mostly-positive feedback, but it is clear there are some areas that need to calm down a little bit.
- B
Posted on March 25, 2024 at 6:29 pm
It had to be a lie, a trick, a dockhumping fraud, but Eddie went anyway. From New Jersey to Nowhere looking for a piece of trash by the roadside. And he found it. "The Chair by the Roadside," Read Here!
- B
Posted on March 24, 2024 at 11:28 pm
I edited through "The Chair by the Roadside" again but I'm still not completely confident in it. I'm moving sentences enough that I'm half-afraid it's actually utter nonsense and I'm too used to seeing the words to actually read them.
- B
Posted on March 24, 2024 at 1:48 am
I gave "The Chair By the Roadside" another read and made enough changes that it needs another round tomorrow. Normally I know I'm done when I read a passage through and can't improve anything. Right now, Creative vulgarity is just too fun.
- B
Posted on March 22, 2024 at 11:32 pm
I did a round of edits on "The Chair By the Roadside," and hopefully will get it finished up tomorrow. Meanwhile, here's a collage of all the "Liar's House" thumbs from the past two weeks. I like the way this format looks.
- B
Posted on March 21, 2024 at 7:07 pm
There, +1057 words and a beautiful ending. "The Liar's House" is finished at 8231 words. I will now set it aside and let it rest, then edit it and toss it up. I'm very happy with this one. It is dreamy and sad.
- B
Posted on March 20, 2024 at 7:40 pm
+642 words today for a total of 7164. I thought I would finish "The Liar's House," but I didn't. There is one more day to go. Right now it is glorious outside and I'm going to take advantage of it.
- B
Posted on March 19, 2024 at 3:26 pm
Alright, I edited the entire thing and managed to bring the core ideas back into alignment. Now things are less stupid. 6544 words, and they all count this time. I'll finish the first draft tomorrow.
- B
Posted on March 18, 2024 at 5:02 pm
+808 words today, but none of them count. I'm not happy AT ALL with how the penultimate scene going. Everyone's wordy, nothing's moving. I'm going to set it on fire tomorrow.
- B
Posted on March 18, 2024 at 2:05 am
I got a late start today, but still +936 words. At 5723 words it is longer than I anticipated, but I'm also very happy with it. Two more sessions, I think, and "The Liar's House" will be done.
- B
Posted on March 16, 2024 at 9:04 pm
Today's writing session was awkward as I'm dealing with abstract concepts that I am very unsure I am describing adequately. I feel like the reader is just gonna be lost. +738 words, for a total of 4785.
- B
Posted on March 15, 2024 at 9:54 pm
It was hard to get started this morning, but I'm really happy with what came out. +1063 words on "The Liar's House", for a total of 4027. Today, the world is having enormous difficulty believing in itself.
- B
Posted on March 14, 2024 at 5:28 pm
This round started difficult, but I got some inspiration in the end. +859 words on "The Liar's House," for a running total of 2959. Here our hero is completely off the deep end.
- B
Posted on March 13, 2024 at 7:06 pm
659 more words on "The Liar's House" today, for a total of 2088. In this episode our hero begins to suspect things might be a little too late.
- B
Posted on March 12, 2024 at 3:37 pm
Good progress on "The Liar's House" today. I managed 832 words, for a total of 1434. Today our hero started to get the feeling that some doors should remain firmly shut.
- B
Posted on March 11, 2024 at 5:31 pm
Today I started the first draft of a new story, "The Liar's House." It is about bad friends, daydreams, and why they can't call 911. Today I managed 605 words.
- B
Posted on March 10, 2024 at 6:38 pm
I'm thrilled to announce the first short story is up: Here! ! "Elision" is a tale of a bad morning, a brother slipped out of jail, and a sudden & extremely unconventional funeral.
- B