From the Inkwell, From the Vein.....

Little more than 5 hours and the madness will ensue for the third year running. I am both excited and anxious about this year's attempt, probably because I'm venturing into untested realms of writing. I've never been strong at writing short stories and this year I plan on writing 12 with an underlying thread to connect them all, but still that's 12 short stories. Granted, they will probably be less in the realm of 'stories' and more in the realm of stream-of-consciousness, but still. So, this year's "novel" will be, in essence, a collection of scenes that are being stitched together for the purposes of providing my POV character with his greatest opus. And, without further ado...... Requiem: A Descent into Madness & other disturbing haunts Meet: Requiem , the offspring of Apollo, the god of music and literature, and Morta, the fate that cuts the thread of life. He is gathering movements from human life-stories for his own symphony. Torn by...

I sat down to write a note about my preparations for NaNoWriMo year 3 and I suddenly became aware that it has almost been a full year since I added a post. Funny how life gets in the way sometimes. This year has not been the easiest, but as each day passes I revel in the fact that I am one day closer to moving on, moving past, going forward or whatever the appropriate terminology is. This year has been a lesson in self-discovery, loss, fear and triumph. I have come to the full realization that I am no longer happy in the job that I am working and I am hoping that this discontent will fuel my passion to become a published author. With that goal in mind, my efforts post-nano will be doubly focused on making that dream a reality. By this time next year, I would like to be able to post a substantial number of submissions that I have made. It is time for me to step up from just writing to actually submitting. My chances of becoming published will only improve if I get my work out there, o...

The infamous 1001....the 1001 (fill in the blank) before you die-- stemming back to Scheherazade's 1001 tales that postponed her death, one story a night in exchange for one more day of life. There are the 1001 places to see, 1001 albums to hear and 1001 movies to see....but for me, I choose the 1001 books to read before you die. Will I succeed? There is no way of ever knowing... I turn 30 in 3 months and hope to begin this daunting task at that point. I call it daunting because of the time needed to complete this undertaking. If I average one book a week (some books won't take me that long, others might take longer) then it will take me exactly 19 years and 3 months to finish the list-- a lifelong endeavor. Some of the books in the list I have already read, but for the purposes of this project, I intend to reread them. Some of the books may prove difficult, if not impossible to find (specifically the ones dated pre-1700s), for these books, I may have to substitute a compar...

Introducing: Digby Wilkins Jeremiah Bickles (known only as Bickles) Granville Isaacson Club Haunt Credo: Scientific Investigation of all things Paranormal This year's NaNo Novel wound up being something entirely different than I set out to do. Originally, I had planned a sequel to last year's novel 'Lost in the In-Between', but when it came time to start this year's NaNo Novel, I found that I wasn't interested in returning to the In-Between...at least not yet. I do have some ideas for Daniel Quinn's further adventures in the In-Between, but this year was not to be the year to write them. Before NaNoWriMo 2008, I already had the names of my characters and the club's credo, but until the month-long frenzy began, I had no idea what was going to happen in the story. I had no plot, no general outline, not even a not-so-general outline. All I had were three names and a short insert about how the three names came to be on the same club's roster. ...

So, my second attempt at NaNoWriMo ended with me squeaking out a win at the eleventh second of the eleventh minute of the eleventh hour. In fact, I cut it so close that I was sure the word count validator was going to shut off for the year 2008, declaring me a failure for the year. My final day of NaNoWriMo was my most frenzied writing escapade of my life thus far. After a full day's work at my day job--- in retail, mind you, during the holiday season---I came home ready to finish my 50,000 words and ready to be declared a winner. But, then the full reality of the task before me sunk in. I got home at 6pm and realized I was only at 40,000 words. I had until 11:59:59pm to write a full 10,000 words or face a year of personal defeat and humiliation. I was determined not to fail...especially after my pathetic attempt at Script Frenzy in April, but I don't want to mention that episode again. Well, I did the only thing that I knew how to do...I wrote my ass off. The adrenaline st...

It is officially October...the planning month for the frenzied month of November. This is the time to finalize and tie up any loose strings or pressing obligations that might interfere with next month's all-important and all-consuming goal--- cranking out a novel in 30 days. It doesn't seem possible that a whole year has passed since my first venture into NaNoWriMo. I, unfortunately, must admit defeat for the month of April. Script Frenzy came and went with barely a whisper of words captured. But, I must not dwell on this lest it mar my chances at winning my second year NaNovel. Last year's NaNovel --- Lost in the In-Between --- stands at 57,000 words and a triumph for me at hitting the 50,000-word mark by day 20. Unless things change in the near future, this year's book will probably be a sequel to Daniel's first experience in the In-Between. Possible ideas--- - Nightmares have taken over, now that the Dream Recycler has been d...

After my less-than-hopeful last post, I'm hoping this time to not further depress anyone who might read what I've written. Slowly, the 2-month long shadow is beginning to lift. It feels as if I've distanced myself from my creative self for far longer than 2 months, but that is all it has been. Desire to return to my unfinished stories and the limbo-held lives of my infant characters is now needling its way through the darkness...... --I've left Morgan Blake in the clutches of her sadistic, psychopathic cousin. --Poor Daniel Quinn has been "lost" in the In-Between for longer than he should have been. --And my dreadfully neglected Gruesome triplets must surely think I've disowned them-- Wilhelmina, Phineas and Ignatius are still without a home, though their inheritance should be of some comfort. --Regretfully I'm ashamed to even mention Carson Reed and Raimi Singh, whose story is still only half-conceived. I am obliged to return to my writing, n...