The Six Hundred and Forty-Second Post: The One Where I Boil Everything Down to a Five Second Sentence!

Posted by Seething With Apathy

Is it a new idea if my elevator pitch is a list of movies? I mean, the elevator pitch for my werewolf novel is: The Howling meets the MAGA crowd. I got an idea for a haunted house story, but it’s really nothing more than The Sixth Sense stays home. I was really excited about that idea, not because it was a haunted house story and that’s a horror trope I can check off my list, but because it wasn’t about the house, it was about confronting past traumas and working through them. The story is not about the living, it’s about the dead and what they’re stuck in.

Now, I don’t know. I’m haven’t completely talked myself out of this idea, but I think I should definitely turn it over more in my head. I just want to get that one topic done. Everyone else has written haunted house stories. One of the more terrifying stories I’ve read is a haunted house story (The Haunting of Hill House). I want to write one of those. I think I’m finding my creative groove as a horror writer, but I still love fantasy. I’ve even managed to incorporate elements of horror in the fantasy epic I’m guiltily working on right now. I can occupy more than one genre, right? That’s not a marketing problem?

I promise, I have not forgotten about Tribal. Just worked on a little bit of it today. Edgar’s got to make some hard choices, and I am not helping him. Hee-hee-hee.

I’m on vacation this week, so I am writing this a bit early. I am going to watch the movie Weapons at some point, and I will report back to you about it. I am also going to watch the one film that still scares me after all these years: Something Wicked This Way Comes. That movie is a foundational film for me. You could say it was my first horror film, and it’s the blueprint I try to follow when I write. I probably should read the book at some point. Since I have a few days off, I think I am going to just sit down and read for the whole day. I haven’t taken a day off like that in a while. If anyone has a recommendation for a book – horror or fantasy – feel free to leave me a note.

Well, the leaves are turning and the air is getting crisp. My favorite season is here and I am reveling in the moment. I got a new hoodie from my wife and it’s like a snuggly little hug.

The Snuggle Is Real…

I’m not putting away the Hawaiian shirts, but I am looking for similarly colored shirts in long sleeves. I’m now drinking coffee for power and warmth. Life is good.

That’s all for you – I have laundry to wrangle. Have a good day!

The Six Hundred and Forty-first Post: The One Where I Beg Forgiveness…

Posted by Seething With Apathy

I must confess: I started Unbroken. I know I swore up and down that I was going to finish Tribal before starting the next big project, but the next big scene in Tribal wasn’t coming together like I wanted it to, and I had to do something…so I wrote the whole first chapter in a single day. Over five thousand words on a Saturday. Impressive, I know.

So here’s what I am going to do. Monday to Friday, it’s going to be bullying through Tribal. I am feeling better about it now because I got the cover art today from my artist. Saturday, I will work on Unbroken somehow – either expand more on the outline or write a chapter. On January 1^st of the New Year, I am switching over to only Unbroken, as I agreed.

Here’s the cover mock-up for Tribal. Let me know what you think.

I’ve also been indulging myself with watching Goulet Pens videos on YouTube. I love fountain pens and inks, so this is like a trip through the candy store for me. Seriously – I own several high-end fountain pens and I have my eyes on some others that I am going to have to save up for. Hopefully, I’ll get some cash together and get this beauty to use to scrawl notes in my manuscripts. As I tell my wife: ignore the price, look at the pretty pen.

Back to Tribal – I’ve come up with a new set of scenes to make things far more difficult for the main character than they have a right to be. On top of discovering what silver does to werewolves, and earning the disdain of the pack leader Jimmy, the main character now has the unenviable job of trying to infect someone into the pack. It’s a wrinkle I came up with while driving, because I wanted to try to continue the story along a little longer and wanted to continue the metaphor of werewolves and political cults.

Cults thrive on getting new people. In this story, werewolves infect other people through bites. So, our poor suffering main character has been told by the leader of the pack to bring in someone else. There’s a major conflict here – the main character sees this as a way of getting back into pack leader’s Jimmy’s good graces, but it also means spreading the curse. What’s he going to do? What’s more important to him? Getting out from under Jimmy’s thumb, or getting back on his good side and condemning an innocent person to being a slavering werewolf? Who knows? I certainly don’t because I haven’t gotten there yet. I can’t wait to find out. I’ve gotten off the outline I’ve kept in my head. This is why I’ve taken to writing down the outlines and trying to finish them before I start writing.

Is there anything else? Not really. Still trying to wean myself off of TV in favor for reading, so I joined Book of the Month. I just really need to find the time to read. Maybe I should stop watching fountain pen porn videos on YouTube.

The Six Hundred and Fortieth Post: The One Where I Just Want It Out!

Posted by Seething With Apathy

I’m starting to hate Tribal. I’ve been told that pregnant women close to the end of the third trimester just want the baby out and done. I don’t know, I’ve never been pregnant. I do however empathize with those women. I want Tribal to be done so I can move on to the next book. A new idea popped into my head, and I think it might help me tie the book together in the end – which we all know I have problems with.

I’ve also restarted the Kyklos Saga – a cringeworthy name – and I am thinking that I am going to dip my toes into progression fantasy, since it seems to be still popular. Progression fantasy is a genre that tracks the advancement of a character, watching them become stronger and more capable book after book. The series I’m writing fits this nicely. It also has cute bunny people. Can’t go wrong with that. I’ve started outlining that when I’m not outlining Tyro’s series.

At least when the New Year begins, I can go to Tyro – speaking of her — and maybe that will get me back into it. Lately, I’ve been avoiding writing (*gasp*) anything on Tribal for the reasons outlined above. Is this common? Do other writers get to the point where they’re just done with the characters and want to shove the whole kit-and-kaboodle off a cliff? If I didn’t have this deadline, I would actually set it aside and work on something else long term, but I’ve got to have something published for this year and The Show Must Go On is not ready for that yet.

Might as well bear down and try to get it finished before December. I am going to take a break from it while I work out how this new idea is going to lead to the end.

Other than that – everything is going well. I’ve taken up light jogging and I feel a little better for it. With the weather turning away from summer, I am ready for the crisp fall air, soup for dinner and the crunch of leaves underfoot. I love fall.

Well – ta-ta for now. I should get back to work on something.

The Six Hundred and Thirty-Ninth Post: The One Where I Don’t Know How To Quit!

Posted by Seething With Apathy

Another issue that I’m having with writing Tribal is that I’m a little shaky on the ending. I guess I’m like Stephen King in that respect. I don’t do endings well. I’m running out of scene I want to get to and I don’t really have a nice way to tie it all up in a bow. This is also a story I haven’t deeply outlined up to this point, so I am navigating dark waters. Well, I still have two more months to figure out what to do.

I am still also behind on outlinging Tyro’s first novel. I’m up to chapter five, and I am expecting to get into the high twenties with this story as far as chapters go. Planning is a pain in the butt, but I need to do it or I’m going to have this very same problem with this novel that I’m having now in Tribal.

Critical Role has started their fourth campaign and oh, man! It’s great! There is a definite change in the DM styles between Matthew Mercer and Brennan Lee Mulligan. If you get the chance, come here and watch the first episode. Warning: It’s four hours long, so pack a lunch and stay for the day. It’s worth every minute.

Anything else of note going on? No, not really. Trying to get one book done so I can get started with another, hoping to get the whole trilogy done next year. This is going to be going out for traditional publication, so I am going to focus on making this the best book I have ever written. I just don’t know if I should put it into a tight trilogy or leave it opene ended so I can keep it an ongoing series.

Choices, choices – so many choices.

Well, that’s all that’s bugging me for now. Ta-ta!