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Yup, finished a chapter of Black Glass that covered what happens over the course of a few days, which is brought into sharp focus by an argument between Sideon and Anna. Easy enough to accomplish, since the argument is mostly dialogue and thought processing. Burned through that pretty quick.

The next chapter, however, they’re attacked. The entire chapter focuses on the fight. I’m always very careful about exciting scenes, and try to take my time.

Excitement is necessary, and placement of that excitement is one of those things that you’ve actually got to force yourself to consider at some point. You can have all of your action in one spot, sure . . . but there’s no guarantee that the reader is going to be willing to stick around long enough to get to it. You can stick it all at the front, but then they’ll be wondering what the heck is going on in the later chapters. You know, “where are the explosions? There were tons of them in the first paragraph!”

The most successful strategy would appear to be small beats of action appearing throughout the story, leading to the big climactic moment.

Action beats aren’t necessarily violence and fisticuffs though. It can be someone spectacularly losing their temper at just the right time, or someone sneaking around hoping not to get caught, just about anything you like. It just has to involve your protagonist needing to do something (or being forced to do something) that is uncertain and difficult as part of their overall plan to reach some sort of resolution. They don’t even need to be successful – getting caught is action, right? The hero realizing that all their plans are now fubar, and he/she/it has to cope with a new set of problems . . . that’s action!

If you think about it, that’s all a story really is – A character gets it in their head that in order to fix this dilemma, they must do this thing, and they’re not sure they can. Boom. Lord of the Rings, Grapes of Wrath, Davinci Code . . . you name it, they all would appear to have that in common. They can’t just have their goal handed to them.

As I’ve said before, the concepts of value and cost are hopelessly intertwined. The difficulty of the path travelled is often proportional to the sense of elation experienced at the end of it. I don’t think as many people would think 24′s Jack Bauer was so terribly cool if the world’s problems could be solved with the push of a button.

Chloe: “Good god, Jack! The terrorists are holding the President hostage!”
Jack: “Wait right here, I know what to do.”
(walks over to console, presses big red button)
Jack: “There. I just blew up all the terrorists. The President is safe.”
Chloe:”What?! That’s ridiculous! How can one button save- . . . oh, hey, it looks like we got a report that the President is okay. All the terrorists are gone. Wow. What does that button do, anyway?”
Jack:”I could tell you, but then I’d have to press *this* button, and kill you. Come on, let’s go have a beer.”

Update: Black Glass – Chapter 26 35% done

Again, let’s keep this on the low-low. If I find out that I’m able to do two chapters a week without much of a problem, I’ll just force myself to do that *every* week.

I think I’m so smart sometimes, but to think . . . I actually thought I’d outsmart myself!

I mean I really thought I’d backed me into a corner, handed myself an opportunity to fail, thus subjecting myself to ridicule and scorn. Two chapters, each approximately 2000 words, in one week? And still put in a regular work week? Crazy, right? I totally had me on the ropes there.

Well, to myself, I can only think of one response: HA!

I sat down Sunday afternoon, and I wrote . . . and just like that, whammo! Chapter 25, done. I’m not talking about the kind of done where you go “Okay, let’s do this!” and then type away like mad, look at what you’ve typed and say “Dear lord, what the hell is that?!” before pushing the delete buttong twenty-thousand times. No sir, this was outlined Sunday afternoon, checked for consistency and plot direction, started and finished, all within the span of about 6 hours or so. Read, re-read, and given the nod. I shall park it and re-read it later, once I’m doing editing.

So there, one chapter, done! I just need to finish the next chapter, and I’ll have finished my impossible goal this week! No problems, whatsoever . . . it was so easy, it was a joke! It-

Oh, wait . . . hang on a second.

Maybe this was my plan all along! Maybe I’m just waiting for me to tell myself “Ha, this was a joke! I barely even felt it! Do your worst!” so that I can open up a can of whup-ass on myself! If I celebrate too much, or get too cocky, I’ll raise the bar even higher for myself next week!

(looks stricken and panicked)

Uh . . . (speaking loudly) Wow! This writing is hard! I’m not even sure I’ll be able to make this Friday’s deadline. This is not easy at all, and is certainly not a joke!

There. Here’s hoping I’ve managed to fool myself . . .

Update: Black Glass – Chapter 25 done

Yes, yes . . . it’s done, and I’m happy with it. Still, let’s keep this on the low-down, before I catch on, or else I’m just gonna start handing myself a bunch of new impossible goals. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t like that.

Update: Ten Arrows – Urge suppression continues

I’m attempting to channel my desire to begin this project, directing it towards the completion of Black Glass. So far, it’s been working. I mean, I only have approximately 30k left to do on Black Glass before it’s done, and Ten Arrows (if Two Cats and Jade Mouse are any indication) will be about 110-115K, so the ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ motivation also plays a part. Still, it’s strange knowing that I’m working my butt off on this almost-finished book just so I can begin some brand new daunting task.

Update: Pride – We’ll see

A full-on push for chapters for Black Glass has pre-empted Pride, which means that it’s currently sitting at about 40% complete, but once again put on the back burner. I’ve written a new chapter for it though, began an entirely new section based on the new updated outline, and should be able to pick it up whenever. I feel a little down about it though . . . this story needs to be made a priority sometime. Curse me and my many exciting ideas!

Yeah, this whole promise thing is really hard to keep up at times. I find myself conflicted once more.

Oh, don’t get me wrong – I met my goal. Yes, even though I’m apologizing for some sort of lack in the willpower department, I’m still meeting goals. Never doubt. Chapter 24 in the bag, or at least done in the ‘first draft’ sense. Lookit me go . . .

Only, here’s the thing . . . as with everything I do, I’m now in danger of being distracted by something else.

Yeah, yeah . . . I know. I have HDADD. I’m still distracted by shiny things, but in Hi-Def.

My problem is this – my most successful writing to date has been done in a certain style. I know it’s harder for me to do storytelling in third person than in first . . . first comes so naturally to me that there’s no comparing the two. Even when I do third person, I use elements of first wherever possible, just so the whole thing keeps sounding like something I’d write, and doesn’t get too clinical or detached.

So, I’m pushing and struggling with this difficult (for me) style of writing, forcing myself forward, wondering if it’ll ever come as naturally as first person writing. Then, I’m confronted with many things at once. Jade Mouse, book #2 in the Tucat series, was featured on Scribd, and then placed on the ‘rising’ list. Additionally, I’m told by several different sources that my first-person work is unique and engaging, and that they’re looking forward to more. Top it all off with the fact that I’ve finished the outline for #3 in the series, and suddenly I can’t wait to start.

I know I’ve already said that I need to finish one of these overdue projects first, force myself to get it done. But the first novel I finished was actually begun as an interruption to ‘Pride’, because I just couldn’t leave it alone. I worked on it furiously, because I sensed an undeniable need to do so. I’m sort of feeling that same need now.

Maybe I just want the quick win – being able to work on something I already know I’m good at. Maybe I’m focusing more on what people seem to want, although if that were really the case, why aren’t I working on Hamlet more?

Stuff to think about this weekend, and I anticipate I’ll have no easy answers.

Update: Black Glass – Chapter 24 done

Yup, done . . . though I went over my per-chapter limit as far as word count is concerned. Some interesting character play and evolution, too. I hadn’t known how I was going to address one of the key points I needed to bring up, and then it just so happened that one of the characters brought it up for me in conversation, just as naturally as you please. Startling, in a way. Stuff like that makes me uncomfortable, because I just can’t find a good way of saying “Thank you, imaginary character who exists inside my head.” without sounding like a refugee from the looney bin.

So, score is Me: 2 – Public scorn and ridicule: 0

I wonder what sort of insanity I’ll throw at myself next.

Update: Ten Arrows – Urge suppression continues

Yes, but for how long, Bubba? How long until I succumb to the need to visit Harael once again? There’s still so much about that place that nobody’s seen yet. What’s a guy to do? Maybe I’ll just keep myself busy with a brand new-

New Goal: Chapter 25 & 26 finished by Friday

. . . Sonofa! I just finished Chapter 24, now I gotta finish Chapter 25?! And Chapter 26?! Why not, “Hey, good job finishing Chapter 24, why don’t you go work on Hamlet for a while?” or something like that?

Chapter 25 & 26? Seriously?!

. . . I hate this new, improved goal-setting stuff. Why does it seem like so much work? Pffft. Stupid goals . . .

Not much to say right now except . . . frak, am I hungry!

Wait, that’s not about writing. Hmmm, let me see here. How about, “You can’t write if you’re lying unconscious in a field somewhere, dying of starvation.” Yes, that’ll do nicely! Topical, relevant . . . going once, going twice . . . done!

Update: Black Glass – Chapter 24 55% done

Did some nice work on it yesterday, slowly meandering towards the objective for this chapter, which is to finish it. No, wait! That’s not the only objective. Sideon is being convinced to help Khia, something beyond the terms of the truce he’d negotiated with Anna, and he’s about to realize that she’s trying to get him to help her to get to her village!

I know! That’s suicide, right?!

Wait . . . I just realized . . . this means nothing to anybody – nobody’s read up to chapter 23.

Well, I have, but I’m *special* . . .

Update: Ten Arrows – Outline Complete

And how. Boy, I know you’re not supposed to toot your own horn and all, but honestly, that’s the only horn I can really be sure of. I don’t know where all those other horns you’re supposed to toot on have been, for god’s sake. Seriously, we might have to look at that whole saying. It’s a hygiene thing.

But yes, the outline is done, and touches on everything that I figured book #3 needed to touch on. Mystery, humor, romance, surprising turns of events, and yes . . . even someone getting drugged and wetting their pants. My outlines are very comprehensive.

With it done, I’m going to have to do some introspection, which will in turn lead to a battle of willpower I suspect. I’ve already stated that I’m not doing anything new until I’ve finished one of the old projects, and given how exciting this outline is, I’m certainly going to give myself a run for my money.

Maybe completing the outline will do what it was originally intended to do – kick my butt and force me to finish one of these stories. Now that’s motivation, huh? Hurry up and finish this work, so you can get to some other work you’re excited about. Sometimes, I really don’t understand me at all . . .

Time-out for a bit of real life.

At times we discover that the only thing holding us back is our limitations. We discover this when we make an effort . . . try to do something we’ve never done, or haven’t done in a while. Going through college I remember averaging at least 1 all-nighter every week or so. A few years ago I tried to do something similar for an all-night “Lock-in” game of indoor paintball, one that began at 6:00pm and ended at 6:00am the following morning. In the weeks and days leading up to it, it seemed like a good idea. About 2 hours into it, it was still a good idea. From about 9:00pm onward, I felt like I could have slaughtered a cuddly white lamb with my teeth just so I’d have something to use as a pillow. It was 3:00am that I realized that I’m not built for such activities anymore. We all get to that point eventually, where we’re re-evaluating what we’re capable of doing. You know . . . stuff you used to be able to do. Running, jogging, standing without pain. Stuff like that.

Of course, similar things are possible when it comes to your mental processes. Someone who does well in school because there was a structure in place designed to motivate them may not do so well on their own, when there isn’t any pressing need to get things done, or quantitative reward waiting for them when it’s done. There are also people are afraid to push themselves, afraid to try, because they’re convinced that if they try their hardest and fail at what they’re attempting, the entire world will fall apart. To them, the ideal ‘what I *could* do’ that’s sitting in their brain is much more valuable than the experience of trying to do it. I’m not immune – in my mind I *could* have been a olympic gold-medal high-jump legend . . . if I’d put enough effort into it. I didn’t, and am not, but that little thought in my head remains . . . ‘I could have been’.

In either case, there’s moments when you discover something is preventing you from accomplishing something else. Sometimes it’s physical, sometimes it’s mental, and sometimes . . . if you’re really lucky . . . it’s both of those things twined together somehow. That’s where it really gets fun.

Felt a little sick last week, and I went to a clinic to get a little bit of advice about some symptoms that had been with me a while. When I left, I’d been told that my blood pressure was unreasonably high, and my asthmatic allergies had reached that point that doctors refer to as, “Really, really, really not good.” So, in addition to receiving some interesting new inhalation devices, I’m going off to the lab to receive a battery of tests, at which point I’m to go back to the doctor, find out all the things I’m doing wrong, and fix them.

I also have this unnerving feeling that I’m going to be told to exercise more, to spend more time in the fresh air, and to relax.

The last one is a little bit loaded, mostly because of the first two. Exercise becomes inherently scary when you experience heart palpatations, and no amount of ‘happy thoughts’ will prevent your heart from uncomfortably skipping a beat in your chest, nor will it prevent your mind from being flooded with thoughts of mortality every time it happens. Exercise to me is sort of the opposite of relaxation.

And then there’s the fresh air aspect – the only fresh air I know of is out there, in the real world, in parks and on streets and sidewalks and malls and whatever. Well, going out there is less than relaxing as well! That’s where the rest of the world lives, walking around like they own the place. That’s where *they* are! Seriously, am I expected to go out there, with them, ignoring all of the crap that they’re doing, forcibly restraining myself from punching deserving individuals in the face, over and over, again and again . . . *and* I’m supposed to relax?! Are you insane?

I’m not exactly a people person, if you haven’t already guessed.

No, this week is going to be all about figuring stuff like that out. It’s obvious I need to make some changes, and soon, but what specific changes I’ll be making isn’t apparent yet. There’s some I’ve already made, and probably for the better . . . but we’ll have to wait and see where it all leads. I’m interested to discover the answer. Whatever I’m about to overcome may be physical, or it may be mental . . . but we’ll have a crack at it regardless.

In other news . . .

Update: Black Glass, Chapter 24 – 25% done.

Yeah, thought you had me on the ropes there, didn’t ya? No sir . . . zipping away on it. With a little concentration I might even get the whole thing done by Wednesday, much like my previous goals, freeing me up for all sorts of Hamlet-ized goodness later on this week. An interesting thing has popped up here as well, not within this particular story, but as motivation for completing it. Details below.

Update: Ten Arrows – Outline redraft 85%

I’ve promised myself that I cannot begin word one of this story until I’ve finished draft #1 of either Pride or Black Glass. Probably the latter. So, the excitement about this plot coming together will be pushing me forward these next few weeks/months.

There have been neat little moments I’ve imagined with this story, and closing off a big gaping ‘why does he do that?’ sort of plot hole has re-imagined some of the scenes for me . . . and they’re even better than they were. The whole thing makes even more sense now, to the point where I have to go back and address all of the stuff that no longer makes sense, an action that will potentially trim the story down even further. That’s a good thing, trust me. When it comes to first-person writing, I can be a little bit wordy.

Uh, I mean . . . Vincent. Vincent can be a little wordy. Me? I’m the soul of brevity and wit. Yessir . . . I don’t go on and on like *that* guy. No-way, no-how. Why, I remember this one time, I-

Ha! No worries . . . I set the goal, I complete the goal. I set ‘em up, I knock ‘em down. I use some tired, overused, cliche expression about winning . . . and I point that fact out for no particular reason.

So, if it isn’t too obvious at this point, I got 3.1 done. Got it done on Thursday evening, as a matter of fact, allowing me to do some other stuff today. Feeling pretty good about this whole week in general. Hey, it’s Absinthe time!

Update: Pride – Section 3.1 done

Needs editing, of course . . . but what doesn’t? I whipped out the skeleton outline of what I needed to accomplish in that section, and I followed it more or less. Maybe I missed out on a few things I wanted Curt to cover as he reminisced, but then, as I was writing it, I decided that those weren’t the sort of things that he’d think about after all. So, all good. On to some sort of new goal for next week.

Update: Hamlet – Act 1 Scene 2 begun

I’ve come to the conclusion that Hamlet is a goth . . . black clothing, black eyeliner, the works. This introduces the possibility for some unexpected hilarity. I mean, can’t you picture it? He picks up a skull and starts talking to it, for crying out loud.

Update: New Goal – Black Glass Chapter 25

What?!? Hey, wait a second . . .  whoa whoa whoa! I was working on Pride, dammit! Why the hell am I changing gears like this? Finish a whole new chapter of Black Glass, by Friday? Am I crazy? Am I insane?

Maybe . . .

They say ‘Pride goeth before a fall’. I know what you’re thinking, too – just who the heck are ‘they’ anyway?

Well, my best guess based on available information would suggest that ‘they’ were some guys who fell, and then decided that they could pin the blame squarely on ‘pride’, rather than blaming it on faulty footwear or something like that. Frankly, I have my doubts about ‘them’, and not just because of their obsessive finger-pointing when it comes to pride. It’s obvious that ‘they’ are old. I mean, ‘goeth’? Nobody uses that word nowadays! Or if they do, it’s completely wrong!

“Hey, what’s with all the black makeup? Are you a goeth or something?”
“That’s ‘goth’, you moron.”
“Oh.”

Well, anyway . . . ‘they’ are not the point. The point is that ‘Pride goeth before a fall’, which has some unfortunate connotations in my case, as I’m working on a novel that is named ‘Pride’. That’s like saying “Your book will make you want to throw yourself down a flight of stairs.

Which I’m finding out. See below . . .

Update – Pride – Section 3.1 doing, uh . . . okay.

When you’re reading something that’s been edited over and over again, it feels natural. It has good flow. When you’re writing the stuff for the first time, it feels really unnatural, and doesn’t have good flow. So, whenever you re-read the stuff you’ve just written, forcing your eyes to run herky-jerky over this big mess of words, you say “Well, that sucked.”  And then, worse, you stop and try to make those words better!

I struggle with the whole ‘first draft’ thing at times, because I think like a soldier. “Protect your flanks, and never leave an unconquered enemy behind you. Oh, and also, invest in a good, sturdy pair of boots – your feet will thank you.”

I want to take out the ugly, greasy words that I know don’t fit, because leaving them behind me just feels, well, wrong. Like they’ll stab me in the back when I’m least expecting it. Temptation becomes too much to resist, and that leads to things like what happened today.

Today, during my hour-long writing session, I manged to increase my word count for Section 3.1 from 1407 to 1451. This is because while I was happily motoring along I, like a fool, took a moment to re-read what I’d written. Upon re-reading, I said “Oh god, that’s no good!” and hurriedly engaged in a campaign of word-replacement and grammar re-structuring. A whole hour, and less than fifty words. Gah.

Time to seriously look at a few of my proofing habits, methinks.

(Update to the update – my word count is now 1309, because I thought of a way to condense the latest three paragraphs I’d written. If that isn’t proof that I need help, I don’t know what is.)

You know, there was a point in time where I realized that having a website and updating it once a month was kind of a dumb idea. It was an activity I’d had lots of experience in, and there was a time where I’d have considered my form to be off if I hadn’t updated twice in a single day. To go from that all the way to ‘one post a month, maybe, if there’s nothing on Youtube’ is a heck of a long way to fall, and I took steps to correct it. I set a goal of 3 posts per week, threatened myself with public ridicule and scorn, and ‘lo and behold – I changed my ways.

I’m not doing as many articles about ‘writing’ as I may have done in the past, but the stuff I’m talking about now is the sort of thing that affects me in real-time, and that’s important. Sometimes I find that just describing a problem allows you to get closer to a solution.

So, last week I noticed that I’d become frustrated enough when it came to finishing Section 2 of Pride that I actually gave myself a deadline of Friday to be done with it. I threw down the gauntlet, then picked it up again and said “I accept your challenge!” to myself, the whole point of which was sort of lost on me. I mean, throwing down the gauntlet for other people makes sense to me, but for yourself? You already had it – it was right there! What’s the point of throwing something down, risking damaging it, all just so you can pick it up again when you had it in the first place? Beats the hell outta me . . .

I digress.

So I set that deadline for Section 2, and then I kicked so much writing ass that I was done by Monday night, leaving me with a whole week to do other stuff so I could say to myself, “See? Not only did I meet your deadline, but I did a bunch of other stuff to boot! Your puny challenges are a joke, sir! Ha!”  (If you haven’t already noticed, I’m a big fan of talking trash to myself. I figure nobody else’ll step up and do it, and I need the practice.)

Then, after kicking that deadline’s ass, I set a new one – Start Section 3, finish 3.1 by next Friday. And here it is, Monday, and I just happen to have a good 500 words that fall into that category, some of which are shiny enough that they’ll likely require no editing. Sure, it’s not the 2000 words I figure that chapter will be, but I didn’t have those words this morning. I’ll add some tonight, and then add some more tomorrow, and possibly be in a good place on Wednesday where I’m going over the words and tweaking them here and there. This Friday? No sweat.

So it appears that when I give myself deadlines, I take things more seriously. The ‘I don’t wanna right now’ attitude evaporates, replaced by the ‘Holy crap, I’d better hurry!’ mentality. And the funny thing is that once I get going, I forget why I didn’t want to start that particular bit of writing, or why I felt like making excuses not to. I start digging it just as much as I ever did, and get excited about getting through to whatever’s gonna happen next.

Then I realized – stupid me! I just need to keep setting goals like this, in public, much like the goal I set for myself regarding site updates.

And so, ignoring my brain’s feeble cry of, “Oh God, please, no!”, I’ll commit to setting more deadlines for myself. Starting with the one I’m working on – Section 3.1 done by Friday.

Then, come Friday, I will select another goal for the following Friday.

And, at no point will I cry out the words, “What, are you kidding me?!”

Update: Pride – Section 3.1 well underway

Over 25% done, as per the butt-kicking above. I may have more than 25% done as of this post, but if so I’ll save it up and make Wednesday’s update even more impressive. Mwaha. MWahahahaha!

The weekend is here, and not a moment too soon . . . which makes it sound like I’m glad it wasn’t late, even though I’m actually saying the opposite. “Hey, did it just become the weekend?” “Yes.” “Well, thank Christ . . . if it had arrived five minutes ago, I’d be screwed!”

A lot of expressions like that don’t make sense to me.

Anyways, got lots of relaxing to do, so on with the update!

Update: Pride – Section 2 Done

As I’ve stated before. In the process of outlining the specifics of 3-1, which should be short and sweet. I’m giving myself until Friday of next week to finish that one.

Update: Hamlet – Act 1 Scene 1 finished

It was surprising how easy it was this time around . . . probably because I’m doing it as a sort of ‘break’ from serious writing. Like, I’ll agonize over chapter 24 of Black Glass, or I’ll re-write Section 2-12 of Pride for the 30th time, and I say to myself ‘Time to take a breather’, and I focus on something that makes me giggle. Sometimes even snort.

Update: Ten Arrows – Iiiiinteresting

This novel is going to be on the back burner for a while, but that’s because I’ve realized that I still have lots of mulling to do. Today, however, one of the really big pieces came together and just kind of . . . made sense.

You ever have that problem? The one where you sort of realize that the character has to do a bunch of really cool things, but the motivation for doing them is lackluster at best? I don’t ever want to write something where, when asked about a character’s motivation for doing something, I say “Because he has to do that – it’s part of the story!” Really, if you’re writing something and your characters are doing unlikely things . . . and they’re doing them not because it makes sense for them to be doing that, but because they need to do that in order to get to the next bit . . . well, mayday mayday mayday.

**Update update – I’ve finally gotten around to updating my Shakespeare for Slackers page to accurately reflect the current ‘done’ status of Macbeth. Also included links to Scribd and Amazon, for those who want to find out more.

Multi-tasking with precision is something I’ve always been able to do well . . . in my own sort of way.

I mean, sure . . . there was that time I was told to run stats at the same time I was re-routing a bunch of telecom traffic so that they’d be distributed more evenly among the various call centres, and I accidentally sent 90% of the entire province’s calls to a small-town call centre that employed 5 people, 3 of which were working that day. And then there was that time when I was attempting to cross the street while simultaneously figuring out the deal behind this whole ‘dark matter’ thing, and I got hit by a car. (I still maintain that if the car hadn’t hit me, I’d have figured it out . . .)  Yes, aside from those trifling examples, I’m a rock when it comes to precision and multi-tasking. Why, even now, as I’m writing this, I’m playing in an online poker tournament, and-  . . . re-raise on 3-5 OFF-SUIT?!? Wait! I didn’t mean to do that!! Sonofa!

Okay, now that I’ve washed out of that tournament . . . on with the post.

So, like I said, I’m good at multi-tasking. Some people are just made for that sort of thing. Some of us can be biking to work, dreaming up new and interesting book ideas, perfectly safe for the entire trip. Others must give what they’re doing their full attention at all times, having thoughts like, “Okay, left-right, left-right, watch out for that pebble. Okay . . . up a hill now. I’m going to have to peddle harder now, so wait until just the right moment to . . . what was that? Oh, just a bottlecap. Steady. Steady . . . good! Aaaand we’re going up the hill. Left-right, left-right,” etc etc . . .  They do this because they have to – trust me. I’ve seen what happens to people like this when they’re not focusing, and let’s just say that I’m glad the person in this story is only driving a bicycle.

But it’s a real time-saver, this multi-tasking. When I’m at work and doing something mundane like testing new models for accuracy through the GUI, I’m usually also listening to an audiobook. My brain is following the story, and on another completely different channel it’s making certain that everything I’m testing is coming back the way it should be. Once back at home, I have several books that are bookmarked at a certain place, any one of which I can pick up and begin reading and remember exactly where I was in that story. Some people can’t operate like this, whereas I can’t understand not being able to operate like this.

So now, ever since finishing the Scottish Play, I’ve been working on three things at once. Someone asks me “Hey, how’s the writing going?” and I’m forced to say something like, “It’s killing, and it’s doing okay, and I’ve barely started anything new! Thanks for asking!” which is more than likely going to cause some confusion.

My point? No point, really. I just . . . hey! I won that hand! I didn’t wash out after all! Full-house on a 3-5 off-suit! Woo-hoo! All hail king donk!

Update: Pride – Section 2 officially done

I even went out on the note I wanted . . . it was hard, because I wanted enough menace in there to be obvious, but not enough to be corny. The last line, it’s like a “Ooooo . . . bad stuff is gonna happen!” line, and those are so easy to mess up.

Next is brand-new territory, with fresh outlines and everything. I haven’t even done a word-count on sections 1 and 2 yet.

Ooooo, now that’s gonna bug me. Sonofa!

Update: Hamlet – 3% done

Because with the completion of Section 2, something I had until Friday to do, I find myself with free time . . . and what better way to mess with free time than vandalize Shakespeare? Can you think of one? Nope, me neither!

It’s actually looking pretty funny, and is so much easier than it sounds once you get rolling. I mean, it’s still the first scene, and the ghost just left, and everyone’s like, “Horatio, you dick! Why’d you have to scare off the ghost like that?!” ‘n stuff. I can’t wait to see what happens next. (Well, it’s Shakespeare, so I would guess that someone dies)

Update: Jade Mouse – Featured on Scribd.com

Yeah, weird to have an update on a book that’s already been published, but here we are. Jade Mouse, the second novel in the Tucat series, was a featured document on Scribd as of about 6 hours ago. Doubly weird, considering that the first book in the series is sitting right there, and wasn’t featured at all. What are these guys trying to tell me? “Honestly, we hated your first book . . . and to prove it, we’re gonna focus all our attention on your second! Ahahahaaaaa . . . look at him crying, ahahaha!”

Nah, they love me. I can tell.  :)