Tag Archives: Writing

I don’t know to be happy or sad

So just over two years ago I did a line revision of Love and Loyalty because when I looked at it I saw where I could strengthen the flow of the sentences. As I delved into it I also saw a new plot element — that I would have seen the first time had I not been too slavish in following my outline — that I think greatly improved the novel.

So with fresh new edits and abetter writing I sent it off to a publisher. Well, if you follow this blog you now it got bounced recently.

This week I read it out loud for my writers group and boy did I hear trouble in the sentence structure. (Not grammar, but the sentences just did not flow.)

So that prompted my committing myself to a new round of sentence level revisions. (And the feedback I got at the reading was very helpful.)

I have such mixed feelings about this.

On one hand I was totally blind to the fault of the manuscript when I shipped it off in 2009.

On the other hand I can clearly see the fault so I must be improving, right?

Happy or sad, I just don’t know.

Cawdor is now officially on hold

Well After going through the first chapter of Love and Loyalty with the Mysterious Galaxy Writers Group I have decided to do yet another line edit of Love and Loyalty.

I want to work on both books, but a realistic appraisal of my writing time and our resources says that such plans are doomed to failure. Given that I had to select the novel I thought was closer to be a salable manuscript and that is Love and Loyalty. Hopefully it will not take me too long to edit the book. I can see that in the nearly three years since my last rounds of edits I have strengthened in my sentence crafting skills.

Let’s hope I have progressed far enough.

A bit of levity

Stayed home today with a migraine. Luckily it cleared out by about 11:30, but since my sweetie-wife had the car that meant I still was stuck at home.

Anyway I found this video over at Andrew Sullivan’s blog and it certainly cheered me up. (A little down due to the migraine and the knowledge I need to do a line edit on all 400 pages of Love and Loyalty.)

Not what i wanted to hear.

Well, yesterday I got the email that After more than 18 months my novel ‘love and loyalty’ wad rejected by a publisher. I can take the rejection, but the wait was awful. Now I have to decide if I want to revise or send it right out.

Writing Workshops

One thing I would really love to do is to attend a high-level writing workshop for SF and Fantasy Writers. (Thought I am more of an SF and Horror writer to be precise.)

The problem is that the workshops are intensive in money and time and it’s really hard to see how I can make one of them happen for me.

Clarion:

This is an old, well established and very well though of workshop. It used to be back east, but move to the campus of UCSD recently.

Tuition: $4957

Length: 6 weeks

Housing: Included with tuition, but mandatory that participants stay in the workshops housing.

Airfare: None for me I live in San Diego

There is simply no way I can swing $5000 for a workshop and 6 weeks away from my day job. Never going to happen

Viable Paradise:

Not as old as Clarion, but I hear good things about this workshop.

Tuition: $880

Length: 1 week

Housing: $155/night call it $1000 food not included

Airfare: $700 (trans continental.)

The cost are much better this with one, I’m looking at $2500 for room, tuition and airfare, plus likely another $500 for food and rental car. so call it $3000

Taos Toolbox:

I don’t know as much about this one, but the instructors are both very talented writers. (One being a favorite of mine and one of the best in the field)

Tuition: $3200

Length: 2 weeks

Housing: Included, but not food.

Airfare: $304

Food/Rental car: $800

So total cost is $4300 but two weeks of vacation time required.

Man I would love to do one fo these, but I just don’t think I can.

le sigh

Another non-productive day

Brian is doing better and we visited him tonight at the hospital. There were four of visiting and I think it really helped his spirits. I remember how bored out of my skull I was when I was in the hospital and I didn’t have to deal with the frustration and relearning basic skills.

At lunch I ended up on calls to my insurer and it looks like everything is going to work out there, but I do not have solid confirmation that my Rx’s have been ported over yet. Until I do I will be nervous.

So, in short :

Pages: 0

Calories 1900/1732

Not the best of days, but not the worst of days either

At my day job things were rushed and busy and hectic. I did manage to get 3 pages written on my breaks and lunches. (Okay on lunch and one break I was too frazzled on my first break and spent it reading ‘The Man Who Would Be King.”

I got home after grocery shopping with my sweetie-wife to find an email telling my that one of my dearest friends, Brain, was in the hospital after suffering a stroke.

I rushed to the hospital and spent time with him. I’m told he is going to recover so right now thing look promising. If you are of the praying type please if you can find time to mention him thank you. (He wouldn’t ask as he is not the praying type.)

Needles to say I did not get anything more written today.

Calorie Count: 1900/1995

Page Count: 3

Not as much done as I would have liked

Today turned into a a lot of errands during my normal writing time at my day job. (Read breaks and lunch) And tonight was the meeting of the Mysterious Galaxy Writers Group so that ate up my evening writing time. Less than a full page written. *le sigh* I shall have to try and make that up somehow.

Today was also a return to my diet after taking a break over the New Years weekend. Really with this calorie counting app it is easy for me to watch what I eat and that is really the key to successful dieting — for me.

Nice surprise at work. I got my gifts for 5 years of service at the company and that included $250 in certificates that could redeem at a number of places. I selected Amazon and now I have free games, books, Blu-rays and movies head my way. Yah!

Page Count: less than one

Calorie Count: 1916 out of 1900

Happy New Year

Well, 2010 has been officially put to bed and we have now started the road with Mr. 2011.

Personally I am optimistic about my life for 2011. I am working on a new and improved version of Cawdor which I hope to have completed by my birthday. (Mid-May and gifts are not expected.) I still have a story out that seem to be getting serious consideration from a professional pay (SWFA certified) market for publication, I am happily married and working at a job with good people doing good deeds for people desperately in need of good deeds. All in all, life is good and I am happy.

Oh and I have lost weight. (Well, it’s not really lost I know exactly what happened to it, i transformed it into waste heat and radiated it away.) I went from a high weight in 2010 of about 245 pounds to end the year at 215. I plan to continue to lose weight in 2011 until I am around 200 lbs.

To all my family and friends and causal readers, Happy New Year and may your year be a joyous and productive one.

not a hundred percent

I am suffering from a headache anda clogged sinuses tonight so there will not be any real blogging.

On the plus side I had an idea occur to me for a fantasy short story. On honest-to-god sword and spell fantasy short story. Being me it is of course entirely from the bad guy’s point of view.

see you peeps later

Robert Mitchell Evans

Literary Saboteur