Writing those characters to the finish line…

Hello out there! Here’s hoping that all is well wherever you may be on this October autumn morn that feels more like an early summer one. But it’s a good one all the same. Some rain the past few days and overnight have given the plants, grasses, and trees a good drink. There is a kind of sparkle on the street and the walks and driveways from it all as the world comes alive once more. The yards have a spring-like green again, as though a long, hot dry spell never set in a few short weeks ago. It’s refreshing, to say the least.

For my personal update…I’m actually writing again, although it has been a struggle to find the enthusiasm and motivation to sit myself down at my little desk here and regularly get the Scrivener opened and get the dust blown off that neglected (not forgotten!) story I’ve promised to get back to sometime. If for no other reason than I really want to be done, once and for all, with the thing, I’m finding that to be motivation enough. However, I’m still eager to learn where my characters will take the story to its end and how they do so in a good and interesting way.

I’m back, it seems, in the early mornings when I don’t have my Jump Start Your Heart exercise class, having a cup of coffee here at the desk, Beautiful Instrumentals tuned in on Internet Radio, and my Scrivener program opened up, and all of the characters waiting for me to take them somewhere—anywhere. Just get them moving!

I must admit, it does feel good to have finally re-discovered some purpose once more—for better or worse—and to be spending the time here in my library/office/writing room and actually attempting to get those stalled characters to where they need to be. As the old tortoise learned, slow and steady wins the race. This “old tortoise,” however, has been way too slow and steady. Without a doubt, I’m long overdue to assist those people in my story, so I’ll quit this now and go see what I can do to get them to that finish line.

Until next time…

When an old friend asks…

One Good Thing…

It’s time for the weekly  post of a feature I’ve chosen to title “One Good Thing.” Each weekend, I’ll post something about what has been good to—or for—me during the week. 

Scrivener talk

Earlier this week, a writer friend asked me what I thought about the writing program Scrivener and if I thought she should try it out or not. And since I enjoy sharing things about Scrivener, I realized that I had my One Good Thing to share with everyone.

Yes, I have written about Scrivener in the past, and about how much I really feel comfortable using it to do all of my writing (blog posts, short stories, novels). Although in the beginning I wasn’t too sure about it due to my comfort level in using Word for all things writing.

Plus, like anything else that is vast and complex, there is a pretty fair amount of time required to invest in understanding Scrivener. Like so many others who became frustrated and overwhelmed by it, I thought I had to know everything about it in order to make it work for me.

Consequently, because I was unsure about most things about it, my grasp of the powerful writing program was nearly nonexistent, even though there’s a pretty good tutorial built into the program. In short, I was ready to forget the whole idea and scurry back to the familiar world of Word.

Fortunately, before giving up completely, I found Gwen Hernandez’s Scrivener for Dummies, followed by her online courses in Scrivener “basics,” and things began to look less daunting and frightening! A simple truth revealed itself, finally: One need not use every feature of the program to accomplish one’s writing goals! 

After using Scrivener for four years now, I still use very few of the wide array of wonderful features or parts of it. What’s good for me, may not be good for another. And various things others find useful in their writing may not be good for my needs.

And that’s one of the real strengths of Literature & Latte’s Scrivener: One can pick and choose and put to use any parts that make writing work for him or her.

Here are some of the Scrivener features I like and use most often:

• “Compose mode”-Allows me to write without distractions.
• Binder organization-I can move scenes or chapters around as I see fit.
• Writing Progress Targets-I can set a desired word count “target” and will be notified whenever the word count is reached.
• Compiling-Although it’s a bit tricky to understand and fully use without some really good guidance from folks like Gwen Hernandez, it’s a very powerful way to get my work formatted and “out there” in the form I want to publish. (E-book, paperback, etc.)

I learned a long time ago that whatever makes one comfortable in the creative process is the best regimen to follow. Some like to write things out longhand or use an old typewriter or voice their words or type away using one of the zillions of writing programs available.

Whatever mode best helps one get to the finish line of a piece of writing is the best mode for that person. As for me, I’m most comfortable with Scrivener, and I’m always happy to have the opportunity to talk about things I like. Glad my old friend asked me about it this week!

Until next time, that’s one good thing!

 

Time to pull the plug?

When is it time to give up on writing a novel that just doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, especially one that was begun several years before and has drawn my attention only in lackluster spurts ever since.

The book is to be a sort of sequel to my first novel, Black Wolf Lodge, featuring the same husband and wife main characters. And since the publication of Black Wolf Lodge in 2010 (was it that long ago?), I have had many people inquire as to when the next one is coming out because they really enjoyed the first.

That, in itself, has been an inspirational motivator—usually—to prod me into getting my butt in the chair and seriously working on the thing. It’s not as though I haven’t done so previously. I have well over 80,000 words in the Scrivener bank, but I find it very difficult to do the rewriting, revising, and editing on a regular, disciplined basis. And that, my friends, bothers me.

In my previous two novels, I was excited and eager each morning (when I do my writing) to get at it and pick up from the previous day’s efforts. Watching the stories develop and come together was fun and fulfilling, leaving me with feelings of having accomplished what I’d set out to do.

Now, though, I sometimes get distressed just thinking of the tatters in which the thing currently rests! My plot seems strong one moment, weak and crappy the next. I can’t help but wonder if this lack of enthusiasm to delve into finishing the story with my best efforts is telling me something: Put the thing away and move along to write other things I have been mulling over. (I wrote about this previously.)

As of this writing, that’s my dilemma. On one hand, I want the story to work and have the protagonist come through once again and have the readers hoping there’ll be a third book in the series. On the other hand, I’m just not sure if the story merits any more hemming and hawing on my part. Of course, I’ll never really know until I decide one way or the other. Which voice should I be listening to?

Any suggestions?

That unexpected happening…

Something unexpected happened yesterday, and I’m kind of hoping that the same thing will do so again today. Of course, then it wouldn’t be unexpected. But enough of splitting hairs.

I have been struggling—for longer than I care to even think about—with the novel, Birchwood’s Secret, which I began years ago. It is to be my third book published, and a continuation of the lives of the two main characters, Rick and Karen Brenson, who performed so bravely in Black Wolf Lodge. That one came out in 2010, after many starts and stops along the way.

This current adventure in which Rick and Karen find themselves involved was actually begun long before Black Wolf Lodge. For whatever reasons, I simply wasn’t enthused about working on Birchwood’s Secret and pretty much abandoned it altogether. The rough outlines and ideas remained tucked away in the depths of a manilla folder, in the depths of purgatory in my writing file box. It was then that I plunged into writing Black Wolf, a couple of short stories, “Hobo Willie” and “Pinewood Farm,” and a very fun book titled The Good Luck Highway.

What was I going to work on next? About that time, November rolled around and NaNoWriMo reared its beckoning head and drew me in. And then it hit me that I had a wonderful opportunity to finally do something with all of the notes, scribblings, outlines, etc., still serving out their sentence in the confines of that manilla folder. Thus, the beginnings of my current work in progress began to come together.

At the end of the month, I had accumulated well over the 50,000 word target, but the work itself was scattered, unorganized, and full of problems too numerous to even mention here. Suffice it to say, I was once again ready to re-commit this whole thing to the darkness of the writing file box and some out-of-the-way abyss in a Scrivener Projects folder on my Mac.

But that didn’t happen. I actually went back to the beginning of the novel and began to rework it and attempt to develop it toward some kind of logical and satisfying conclusion. As before, though, that process didn’t go as I’d liked, and the frustration and inability to write much of anything grew and grew.

From the very beginning, I’ve always known what the main premise of the story is all about and who the main characters and the roles they’ll play are. It took me a very long time, however, to know how the thing would end. And that’s when yesterday’s “unexpected happening” happened!

Yesterday, as I try to do on most mornings, I sat down at my Mac and opened my Birchwood’s Secret Scrivener project and re-read what I’d written just a few days before. And for whatever reason, I suddenly knew that a couple of characters needed changed as to their roles in the story, and that another major character (main villain) would have to be worked in.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Realizing this, it became clear in my mind how I could finally build things to the conclusion and outcome that has been eluding me for a long, long time. And I was able to crank out well over two-and-a-half hours worth of writing, the words seeming to flow as they hadn’t in such an extended stretch of time. And, to be honest, it was a wonderful feeling!

Now, as I wrap up this post, I will pour another cup of hot coffee, jump back to dear, old Birchwood’s Secret, and hope that yesterday’s magic shows itself once more.

Hanging-files, annoying beeps, and other stuff!

I made the mistake this morning of thinking that I was going to spend this very frigid January day getting some good, quality writing done (something I haven’t been very successful at these past weeks), and the bigger mistake was that I opened the drawer to the hanging-file cabinet that sits to the left of my desk.

I was merely planning on putting away a receipt into its proper folder, and as is usually par for the course, I had to thumb through the crowded, not-very-well-organized files which rest in various hanging-file folders with nifty tabs and labels. Mind you, I created all of these hanging-file folders with the nifty tabs and labels shortly after we moved in here in December of 2007. And though my intentions were good—that I’d be able to maintain some semblance of order and organization therein—it became, more or less, a mishmash of unorganized chaos! A compendium of confusion, if you can imagine that.

To be honest, I have known for quite some time that the thing needed a good weeding out and tidying up, followed by a marathon shredding session. And since I don’t really make formal New Year’s resolutions and make a big to-do about them, I hadn’t a date set aside to tackle the weeding and tidying and shredding—just that it needed to be done “down the road.”

After finally locating the folder I was looking for, I made the fatal mistake of reaching for, and opening, another folder containing something or other: Old teaching evaluations? Medical and prescription information? Grad school transcripts? Oh, so many things I had forgotten about and had saved for whatever reason, probably because I figured they should be saved in case I ever needed them!

This was all of the prompting I needed to begin the process of cleaning things out. Before I knew it, I had gone through most of the files and created an Everest of old and forgotten forms, letters, retirement benefits statements, etc., etc. Soon, I fired up the shredder and fed it generously for the next hour before breaking for a nice winter’s breakfast where I fed myself generously of eggs, bacon, English muffin, and good hot coffee.

Re-fueled and content, I returned to the scene of the weeding and tidying and shredding. I didn’t spend too much more time on this process since I’d succeeded in making the large file drawer a neater, better-organized, happier place. Plus, I did want to get some kind of writing done, albeit the blog rather than back to work on the elusive novel of mine—Sandbar’s Secret. (There’s also a couple of short stories I’ve begun…) Thus, I finished cleaning up the remaining remnants of my day’s adventure and smiled at my laptop awaiting patiently on my writing desk.

OK, with quite a bit of the afternoon freed up, I could tune in my favorite All Mellow Jazz station on the Internet Radio through iTunes and lose myself in my writing. It wasn’t long, though, before that magic was broken by a short beep, followed by another of the same a moment later, and another, and another…

Yep, the smoke/carbon monoxide alarm battery was apparently low and was begging for help. It was one of those occasions when I hoped against hope that it was just a fluke and that it would go away, righting itself without any further beeping. That’s what I hoped, and, of course, that was far from the reality of the situation. It kept at it, taunting me and daring me to ignore it any longer!

So much for getting into the writing moment. Reluctantly, I pushed away from my MacBook Pro, pulled the ear buds out, and headed out to get the ladder from the frigid garage and to see if there was a battery in the container in the closet off the laundry room. As I’ve found, it’s not a difficult task to change the battery, and luckily there was a fresh replacement 9-volt Duracell right where it was supposed to be. A few minutes later, a fresh battery installed, the Kidde Smoke/Carbon Monoxide Alarm/Detector was back in its state of silent vigilance.

Now, I finally could get to that writing, but I was informed that I had to take the garbage can out to the street and go fill the wife’s car up with gas so it would be ready for work tomorrow. Out came the ear buds once more, and I backed up my Scrivener project with intentions of getting back to it before the day completely dwindled away.  As darkness began to settle in, I was on my way to the curb with the garbage can and then to the gas station. I wonder if thinking about writing counts as writing?

Oh, well, so it goes…

Back to a summer writing routine…

Settling in for the summer once again…

Sunset at Sister Lakes, Michigan (Photo credit: Fox Valley Voice)

It’s wonderfully peaceful and a bit on the dreary side this morning here on the banks of beautiful Magician Lake in southwest Michigan. And it’s good to be able to enjoy it all without having to travel anywhere, no company to “entertain,” and no major tasks that need doing. It’s simply time to get writing. To knock the dust off my Scrivener projects, in other words!

I have been reading more than writing so far this summer, and this past weekend the place was “headquarters” for our annual NASCAR “Race Weekend.” And as much as I look forward to it each year and all of the fun we have from beginning to end, I’m relieved that it’s over with.

What now? For the next week, I will be here all by myself and will have no excuses not to attack my writing projects: a couple of short stories (sort of sequels to the other two I published last year—“Hobo Willie” and “Pinewood Farm.” And, of course, there is the next novel that has been hibernating and “cooling off” as it awaits my attention.

In short, there’s plenty of work to be done, and I suppose I’m finally in the proper frame of mind to re-establish my daily writing routine: up early each morning and at the MacBook by 7:00 to pound out the words and then wrap things up by 9:00. Of course, those times aren’t chiseled in stone by any means, but the earlier in the day I write, the more productive I seem to be. That way, I have the remainder of the day to take care of anything that needs tending to around here and/or to spend some quality time out on the water on the pontoon.

I plan my weekly visits to the laundromat and the grocery store either for Wednesday or Thursday mornings. On those mornings, I have to re-adjust my writing time—often in the evening—but I’m very flexible once I re-discover the discipline it takes to immerse myself into the writing routine. Of course, when it’s a rainy or otherwise crappy “lake day,” employing the writing discipline and tuning out all of the surrounding distractions is not an issue.

Even now as I type this post, rumblings of thunder sound off to the west, and I know that I’ll manage to accomplish much on this first day of getting back to writing. And there’ll also be time to catch up on reading other blog post from my many blogger friends.

And so it is. Time to get the mellow jazz on iTunes Internet Radio for my background inspiration, and get to gettin’!….CortlandWriter

If it’s not one thing, it’s another…and another…and…

Large and small skillets (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Out of the frying pan and into the…well, it’s really not as bad as dodging the flames and fiery consequences, but it’s just one more thing added to this increasingly busy month.

On top of everything else, I’ve begun a week-long online course all about Compiling in Scrivener, presented by Gwen Hernandez.

And though I’m eager to get into the lessons and take away so much more than what I already know about the somewhat tricky process of compiling my writing for publication in the wonderful program that is Scrivener, there are other obligations and duties that need tended to at the same time.

For instance, we’ll be moving into the cottage the end of the month, and the general procuring, organizing, and packing for this monumental annual event has arrived, and we are busily getting to it. In the meantime, I’m waiting for a string of clear, warm days so I can water seal our back deck before I head off for my summer splendor. Also, there’s the usual necessary yard work right here that cannot be ignored. And my grandfatherly task of picking our two grandsons up from school three days a week still is in the mix as well.

I know, I know. It would seem that I’m coming off as being not very happy about my lot in life. On the contrary, I love it! It beats the alternative, and I don’t think I’d know how to act if I didn’t have a zillion and one things going on all at the same time.

Looking back over my life, I’d say that I never have done things the easy way. Instead of clearing the way to focus on one thing—and do it well—I’ve been known to take on something else and try to manage to somehow complete them both—some with good outcomes, others not so good. As a result, the experience is often frustrating, leaving me somewhat ticked off at myself for taking on more at one time than I probably should have. But I doubt if I’ll ever change, and so I’ll stay the course, as it were.

Speaking of “course,” I am happy to say that the Scrivener Compile course, which began this week, is

scrivener corkboard (Photo credit: Terry Freedman)

going well, and I can do the daily lesson any time during the day or evening. And our preparation for “move-in” weekend is moving along and all will be fine when it’s time to head to Michigan on May 23^rd.

Also, the yard has been cut and fertilized this week, and the dandelions haven’t invaded totally. I meet the grandsons on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday right on time at 3:00 without fail. So, somehow, there does seem to be enough time in each day to get things taken care of, and really what do I have to moan and groan about?

I suppose that now that the nasty winter is finally a distant spec in the rearview mirror, and spring and summer are coming alive rather quickly, all things we need or want to do seem to need doing all at the same time. And that’s OK. Somehow, I know from experience that it all will get done! I’ve said it before: Life’s good!…CortlandWriter

 

That “in-between” time…

English: A new incarnation of Image:Question_book-3.svg, which was uploaded by user AzaToth (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

What now?
An important question, indeed. The book is finished, published, out in the world for one and all to consider and buy (I hope!) and read and eagerly await the next one!

This strange little “in between” time seems to be perfect for catching up on so many things that there just wasn’t time for during the hectic writing, revising, editing, formatting, and publishing stages these past few months.

For instance, my writing desk hasn’t been this tidy and organized in over a year, although the side cabinet shelves next to my printer still need attention. I’ll get to that, I promise myself.

Plus, I’ve even donated a large bag of old paperbacks I’ll not need again, clearing some much-needed space on my tall book cases here in my office.

And I must say, it’s a very good feeling to actually be “weeding out” and eliminating all of the flotsam and jetsam that has slowly and steadily crept into my workspace.

I’ve also begun some Scrivener “housekeeping” as well. Since I like the settings that I used for The Good Luck Highway, I created a template from that project and will be ready to hit the ground running when I begin work on the next book, without having to fiddle around with anything—especially Compiling!

And, of course, there’s the all-important marketing aspect of promoting The Good Luck Highway. So far, I’ve had a nice response from friends and strangers, but I’m finding that this marketing thing is a never-ending process.

Wouldn’t it be great to have an agency to handle this and do it up right! Alas, that’s not going to happen anytime soon, so I have to do the best with social media, word of mouth, and my charm. (Well, two out of three might work!)

Regardless, this whole thing is fun. Some people collect things. Some paint. Others build birdhouses. Still others work on old cars or remodel and “flip” houses. I write. And, yes, it’s fun—even when the words won’t come and the ideas have gone the way of the dodo bird.

I read once that an author, after completing a book, will find himself caught in a sort of “dead zone” which usually requires readjusting to a normal pace, free of the daily grind of pounding out the words to reach a deadline successfully. Although I never gave it much thought until now, I realize the truth in that.

It’s much like going through a form of withdrawal—getting away from the story and plot and conflicts and characters that I’ve lived days and weeks and months with. I must admit, it’s a little hard to say farewell to those guys and their adventure! Kind of makes me wonder if they’ll show up in another story…

So here in my in-between “dead zone,” I’m taking care of some important duties around here, clearing out the rubble, and making way for the next stint. I’ve caught my breath, stayed away from writing anything all week, and have the table set for the next project. As I said, it’s all fun!…CortlandWriter

Two copies of THE GOOD LUCK HIGHWAY resting on the corner of my clean and tidy writing desk.

If it’s February, it must be time to travel…

January (Photo credit: Deadly Tedly)

The end is near…

…Yes, the end of January, that is, and this means that the wife and I are about to embark on our annual February vacation/road trip.

This year, the weather being what it has been, the two of us are most definitely in the mood to load the car and set out for points south.

That is exactly what we plan to do late next Tuesday evening, when we’ll leave our tiny hamlet here in northern Illinois and set sail for Stone Mountain, Georgia, our first stopping point on this year’s adventure. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that the recent snow, icy roads, and howling winds will not rear their ugly heads again on the night we want to get out and on the road.

We’ll spend a couple of days in and around the Atlanta area, with plans to visit Margaret Mitchell’s home and The World of Coca-Cola before heading east to the A H. Stephens State Park, named after Alexander H. Stephens, Vice President of the Confederacy.

Why this park, you ask? It seems as though Carolyn, my wife, recently discovered, in her many extensive and exhaustive ancestry/genealogical researches, that A.H. Stephens was a second-cousin, twice removed.

That being the case, it will be way more meaningful and fun when we tour the

Liberty Hall in Crawfordville, Georgia. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Confederate museum and Liberty Hall, Stephens’s home. We also have reservations for a two-night’s stay in one of the cottages located in the park, and I’m very much looking forward to that.

Then it will be on to Savannah, Georgia, a place we stopped at briefly one time years ago on our way to our home at the time in Titusville, Florida. I recall it being a beautiful, historic spot, and I will enjoy the two days we plan to spend there learning more about the place. And if the weather is as typically moderate and pleasant as I’ve heard, that can’t be all bad, either.

On the road again to Charleston, South Carolina, for a few days and to find out, first-hand, what everyone has forever told us about Charleston being one of their very favorite places to visit and spend time. The historic stuff alone will be well worth the time and money we’re investing in this February’s trip. I’m eagerly awaiting that part of the journey.

And it can’t be a February get-away without spending some time in the beautiful mountains of western North Carolina at Carolyn’s brother’s house in Waynesville. We’ll make the relatively short drive there when finished immersing ourselves in all things Charleston. Our weekend with her brother and his wife will be fun and relaxing before we make the drive from there back to northern Illinois.

At each of these wonderful places along the way, I plan to get plenty of writing done in the evenings: updating this blog, working on the current WIP, and sending e-mail. Last year’s February genealogy “field trip” to Athens County, Ohio, Coalwood, West Virginia, and Waynesville, coincided with the start of Gwen Hernandez’s online Scrivener for Mac class. During the course of that trip, I completed several of the first lessons that Gwen would post each day. I found it to be lots of fun working through the lessons in a different location each morning.

Now that February is creeping in (and not a moment too soon!), it’s time to dig the Eddie Bauer bag out of the closet, get the clothes laid out and packed, and begin to get serious about hitting the road. Leaving northern Illinois for a couple of weeks will be just what the two of us need–if the weather “gods” see fit to smile on us!

I’m looking forward to writing about all of this as the miles and days unfold beginning next week. Stay tuned…CortlandWriter

Cortland, IL (Photo credit: moominsean)

Finally Kindle ready!

A quick post today to announce that my first novel, Black Wolf Lodge published in November of 2010, is finally available in Kindle format on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HJXPWAY).

There’s really no reason why it has taken so long, but thanks to Scrivener, it’s all ready now–very affordable–with a much better cover than the original paperback edition. Thanks for considering giving it a read!

I will be back on a regular basis following the holiday festivities and travels and look forward to hearing from one and all. Happy New Year, friends…CortlandWriter