I don’t think I will make it to 50 K

I started off well in my pursuit of 50 K words, but then I had two large projects (paying ones) that I had  to complete. One was 40K on my new water storage book and the other was 5k on a weight loss manual. So between them, they sucked up 45K- not much time or energy to complete 50K of fiction- however, I will continue to write on that story as it is going well.

The Dead Bronte Society

 

Ok, maybe my standards are too high. Maybe my vision of what a bunch of writer’s meeting would look like may have been lofty and idealistic- but when I walked into Panera Bread tonight, what did I find? One adult and a bunch of adolescent girls. Really? This is the local NANOWRIMO write in?

I just could not bring myself to join the group. It would felt, I don’t know, creepy. So I ate my sandwich, drank my coffee, wrote some novel type words and listened.

“Who here has read Harry Potter?”

Hands raised. And no I am not kidding.

“Who cried when Dumbledore died?”

More hands raised- still not kidding.

My disappoint was vast, my writing was prolific, so I guess it balances out? Right?

Day #2

It is the second day of NANOWRIMO, and I have about 500 words. Not my best effort but I had a symphony rehearsal yesterday, although I did some writing before the first downbeat.

For me, when I am doing creative writing, handwriting it first flows so much better and then I will type it. The keyboard for some reason does not allow for my creative MOJO as much.

Tonight, I plan to go to meet some other local authors at Panera Bread in Lewisville. Log on to nanowrimo.org for more details.

I think I have a good start. We shall see.

NaNoWriMo is here

What is NaNoWriMo? It is National Novel Writing Month. It is the time aspiring writers write 50,000 words in a month in a type of online marathon. Everyone that completes the task is a winner.

 

The website is:

http://www.nanowrimo.org/

 

Signing up is free and they offer support, a cool blog of famous writers and even a cool store (yeah I just bought the T-shirt and other gear.)

There is also a local group I intend to try out of other novelists doing the same thing. I was not too lucky with a writer’s critique group before, but I intend to remain optimistic.

I have a novel I have played around for awhile, but it is a new idea that I intend to write about- a first story account from a cat who solves crimes involving the paranormal. Sounds weird right? I wrote a short story involving this cat, and my wife says I just have to roll with it and create a full length novel with the cat as the title character. We shall see!

On other news- I will be teaching a class on getting your book published in February in Hickory NC. If anyone is interested it will be a full day event (I think $100 per person) and it should be informative and fun. If you are interested, feel free to contact me or watch for updates here.

That’s about it I suppose. I am thinking hard about a plot with a cat that talks to a gypsy fortune teller that can actually communicate with him.

Back in the Proverbial Saddle

It has been quite sometime since I have written on my blog, although I see that people are still coming to read my meanderings. So quick update:

 

How To Open & Operate A Financially Successful Personal and Executive Coaching Business: With Companion CD-ROM (co authored)

eBay Income: How ANYONE of Any Age, Location, and/or Background Can Build a Highly Profitable Online Business with eBay REVISED 2ND EDITION

 

Both of these books are supposed to hit bookshelves before the end of the year.

 

The Complete Guide to Growing Your Own Hops, Malts, and Brewing Herbs: Everything You Need to Know Explained Simply (Back-To-Basics)

This title I believe just came out this week. I need to verify that!

 

In the meantime I have been doing a ton of freelance work on Gluten Intolerance, NLP, Hypnosis, and real estate. Friends have told me that I need to go on Jeopardy with all of the information crammed in my head. I’d probably just freeze up and drool.

 

So my new book is:

 

The Complete Guide to Water Storage: How to Use Tanks, Ponds, and Other Water Storage for Household and Emergency Use

It is actually much more exciting than it sounds. I have a good friend working with me who is an expert, so we can drink homebrew and compare notes.

 

The other thing I have started is Book coaching. I will talk about how this started in a later Blog, because it is an interesting story and turn of events.

So if you are interested in having me look at your manuscript or need someone to help motivate you to write and help you along the way- I am your man- send me an email.

Writing sometimes sucks

I have been working hard to finish my current book on beer gardens. It is complete. At this stage the publisher, fact checks, checks for plagiarism, spelling, grammar and they will comment on content. They will then return my poor butchered manuscript back for corrections.

This is tough and sometimes it just sucks. No one likes criticism, especially writers. I have a good friend who is writing a book and she does not want me to read it because she is afraid I might criticize it.

My true feeling is that writers need ALL of the criticism they can get. it is was makes a perfect copy not only top publish but also to send around to get a publisher or agent in the first place. This process makes it more likely someone will read it, because I can tell you sometimes my grammar sucks. I need someone objective to look at my work and shred it to make it better and me a better writer in the future.

Elance Upgrade

I was a little shocked when I logged onto my account on Elance. For those of you that do not know what Elance.com is, it is a marketplace for buyers and freelancers to get together.

 

Buyers place jobs that freelancers bid and and then the buyer chooses the best candidate and the work begins. This is where I get at least half of my work from. Elance charges high fees for bidding credits and then they charge a fee when you get paid.

After a job is completed, the buyer (and freelancer) have the ability to leave feedback and a score. The average of the scores for the past six months, the number of jobs and even lifetime average used to be displayed with my name when I bid on jobs.

Now they have created a level system. It is too complicated to describe here, but it includes how quickly I am getting jobs done, my feedback scores, and so on.

One of the GREAT things is that they are now penalizing freelancers for low balling bids. This creates price erosion and I think it is a great addition. It helps the average freelancer to make a decent wage.

 

I have not mentioned coffee in awhile, but I just bought a new “kit” for my coffee press. it contains a stirrer (dog ate it, grrr), a glass beaker that is graduated, a cleaning spatula (dig out the grounds), and a four minute timer that attaches to the press. I cannot find it online, only in the stores. If you have a press it is a great kit.

This is the press I use. Click and buy one. They are durable and keep your coffee hot. They make about 4 regular sized cups of coffee at one time.