As much as I wish the Olympics wouldn’t end, I need to get back to work. I don’t think I’ve written a full day’s work of words since the opening ceremonies. I want to write, I really do – but when I settle down in front of the TV, I get sucked into the drama of the sports. Even curling, and I don’t understand curling at all. Is there a beer frame? If you’re playing the Japanese, is it a sake round? All I need to know is that I need to get back to it soon. After hockey – I think all the speed events are wrapped up.

Someone who has a much better work ethic than I do is the author Erv Klein – a fantastic, writer, good friend and an all around great guy. You would do good to check out the link. He’s got a couple of books out there that are well-written…better than what I could put out. Grab one of his books – I recommend this one: Squat. It’s very well done and has garnered attention from critics. Seriously – give this man some attention.

I got something called The Story Engine and is looks good. It’s a bunch of cards to prompt story ideas. They’re divided into agents (characters), settings, and conflict. You mix and match them to get a good idea They also have booster sets for various genres like western, cyberpunk, gothic and horror. This will be good for me when I want to think of something, but my mind is stuck on something like cannibalism or genius loci…like I am. Is using it cheating? Not really. This is nothing more than what I do by cruising tvtropes.org or watch the news. Not that this is a contest or anything. I’m just making sure that the well doesn’t dry on me too soon. That’s really it for now. If you’ve heard any interesting Olympic news, feel free to drop a comment. Y’all have a good day

I am sick (not the cool ‘sick’, but the puking ‘sick’), and I am watching the Olympics – to say that I am distracted is an understatement. I haven’t written in a couple of days. I might try to do something today, but I am not holding out a lot of hope. I mean – I’ve got the Olympics on my computer right now as I am writing this. USA! USA!

I’m still editing The Show Must Go On, and I’m about halfway through the first pass – which is just checking for errors in typing, of which there are legion. The next pass is going to be more artsy – re-writing sentences that are clunky, trying to fix some plot holes. I need to get the first ten pages ready for April and the review. After that, I am definitely going to shop this out to agents and publishers. I’ve never felt so certain about a book like this one. I know that it’s not going to be the big money grab that I wish it would be, but it’s a start. I need to flood the zone as it were, and that I know I can do.

Ugg, I think I am going to sign off early. I am not at 100%, and I am tired of seeing the same three commercials on Peacock, with one of them being a commercial for Peacock. I hope that by next week I’ll have better news.

I don’t know what happened. I had a perfectly good outline for the fantasy novel – incomplete, sure – but it was perfectly serviceable one. No one was going to die (yet), and the main character was on her way to learning a trade.

The next thing I know, the main character gets some idea that she doesn’t have to follow along with the plan and makes her escape – literally. The big escape happens with her alone and now she’s wandering a field with little idea where to go, and I’m sitting behind my desk like a schmuck desperately trying to figure out how to get back on track.

An outline is not an opinion…

Does this ever happen to anyone else? Is it just me?

As much as I joke about how my characters are almost living things – this sort of stuff happens to me. I don’t even know why I write outlines when they’re going to get tossed aside like an old newspaper.

Wait — where are you going? I’ve got a very important plot point for you to do! Come back here!

It’s not like I’m against pantsing, but when I do that, I tend to write myself into a whole I can’t get out of. Plotting things gives me the chance to work out problems ahead of time. I’ve got novels I haven’t finished because I can’t think of what happens next. That’s what delayed Tribal. I don’t know how to end it with something that’s satisfactory.

I’m afraid that will happen with this – the big fantasy project that’s going to put me on the map. I don’t want that to happen. I want everything to go as planned. Dammit.

Hopefully, I’ll think of something to get her at least to the village, and from there have her learn the language so I can get over that particular hump. Not how I wanted it solved, but here we are.

Other than that, I am just waiting for April to pitch The Show Must Go On to an agent. I still need to the novel down a bit more and hopefully get some feedback. Anyone interested in being a beta reader? Say so in the comments.

That’s all for now. If you’ll excuse me, I have to get the slave back on track.