Write for a living

As the old joke goes: “How do I get to Cargnegie Hall?” “Practice, Practice, Practice.”

I’m practicing article writing and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) writing on associatedcontent.com. While I don’t think I’ll ever bring in a lot of money via AC, at least I have the opportunity to work under deadline as it were. I’ve got a goal of writing one article a week for them, just to get me in the habit of working in non-fiction and actually finishing things. It is also helping me learn to write for SEO targeted audiences. That will help expand my freelancing possibilities.

I’ve got a two new series that I’m working on.

There’s Mike and Joe – who end up stumbling into the supernatural while running from a hit that was put on them in LA.

Then there’s Sean and Jim who are keeping themselves firmly grounded in the real(ish) world of DC while looking for missing children and missing government documents, with a few divorce cases thrown in for spice.

So last night, I met up with a friend and two other people. We had what is known as a “write-in”. We weren’t protesting anything. We barely talked. We simply sat and wrote for an hour and a half.

It was energizing. It was fun. It reminded me why I write.

I visulized the town my characters were driving into. I got a strong handle on what the side characters look like. I’ve laid the foundations for future plot points and finding the first body.

It was glorious and it was an hour and a half. I was willing to keep writing for another three hours. I was even doing it the old fashioned way. You know, with that funny stuff called pen and paper.

I fell short of my daily goal, but you know what? I don’t care.

The experience reminded me why I have to keep going and why this goal is on my list.

I finished writing out my first edit of one of my books. I only need to expand it by two-hundred pages. It will be easy actually. I barely had any description in it. It was mostly dialog. I get to add in some nice local details and do a tiny bit of research. Time to call my Senator to arrange a visit. (Not a big stretch – I live in No. VA, which means no more’n half an hour to get to Congress…) I need to see the inside of the building and get a sense of the sound, smell and sight of it. I might be able to do it without even having to see him. (Didn’t vote for him, couldn’t stand him as governor. In fact my first vote ever was against him, but I can be good…)

Still, it’s taken over a month, which was my original time-frame for this edit. I just lost steam about ten pages from the end, which makes me question why. It shouldn’t have been that hard. I wrote the bloody thing in three days. (You don’t know from writing until you do the Three Day Novel challenge. I didn’t win, which is why I’m working on expanding it.) It just needs expansion.

Another rejection. Oh, well. Time to send out more poems. Just found a notebook full to type up!

Finish the first editing of “Measure of a Year” by June 30.

Send out “The Road Goes Ever On” by June 17.

Send out “Into Wonderland” proposal by June 21.

The problem with communication is the illusion that is has occurred.
- George Bernard Shaw

It’s a control freak thing. I won’t let you understand!

There are no wrong turns. Only wrong thinking on the turns our life has taken.
- Zen saying

Well, I couldn’t help myself. One of my orig. characters from some fluff writing is demanding his own piece, and so I’ve started.
Here’s the teaser (I write the back of the book first winks):

In the middle of a war no one admits to Alexander Jebediah Smith, an 18 yar old missionary is trying to save lives and souls. Made famous in the warzone by his firey sermons and very real tears as he lays the dead to rest, Alex is called a saint. When his own father mentions casually in a letter that Alex’s death would force peace onto the region, the siant discovers he’s the main target for at least three of the four fighting factions. The fourth assigns Carson Castellano, a seasoned assassin of 20 to protect him.

As the flames of Hell heat up around them in a ras of assassination attempts and political maneuvering, Alex and Cas realize that they’re alone. Can a saint and a sinner find common ground? Will their burgeoning trust and love be enough to keep them alive?