Ground Game

It has been a while, folks. I've been deliberately avoiding updating this blog, because I didn't want to bore you all with logistics and because I wanted to concentrate on working instead of talking about my work. Hopefully some day I'll get super media savvy and start an effective blogging routine, but for now let's worry about getting published.

You'll all be happy to know that Poof is outlined. That sucker is blocked out. It took me all of February, March and April to do it. The scene-by-scene (the document I'll be working from as I draft the novel) is 30,000 words by itself, and there is at least that many pages in the other design documents. Let me give a shout out to the Snowflake Method. Granted, I butchered it, but it gave me a much-needed guide and helped me to slow down and trust the process in a way I never had. I'd say my invention game (the making up of junk) is better than ever, while my performance game (the actual writing) is steadily improving with experience. (I've been watching a lot of MMA in the last 6 months, and it's been really fun to watch how guys specialize in one aspect of their game or hone in on a weakness to improve on it. It has really colored the way I look at my writing.)

Big thanks to my old roleplaying/story buddy, Rusty Raymo, for the long talks and for tons of help flushing out some really vicious story blockages. (Ew?) You're one hell of a rubber wall, my friend. Thanks for putting up with my whiny mid-session freak-outs. "Is this boring?" "No, Steve. Shut up. Work." "Oh. Okay." Could I have done this without you? I wish I could say yes (because I'm a glory-grubbing, stubborn narcissist), but who knows? I certainly never got this far before you came along and carried some of the mental burden. So cheers. :)

In other news, I just finished a story for an anthology and I'm very happy with it. It's the first time I can remember going from zero to finished story where the story turned out pretty much exactly like I wanted. It's like hitting a bulls eye. Feels good! And the feedback I'm getting is overwhelmingly positive. I've even had some people cry. You have no idea how good that feels (unless you do).

On Sunday, I'll be making my first big push writing Poof. It's incredibly exciting and stressful time for me, but I'm eating it up. My new little girl Juliet got here a week ago tonight, and tomorrow she's leaving me for a few weeks to go up to tour the in-laws world in Wyoming. I'll be alone in the house for 2-3 weeks. I will miss my girls, probably some nights so badly that I can't sleep, but this is such amazing timing. What a way to start a book!

I had a lot of other cool stuff to talk about on here, but I can't remember it all. A blog post can only get so long before people start to feel like they're looking up the slope of a mountain. But it's been a wild few months. I got to see Greg Laswell in concert. That rocked. Go see him, he's still on tour.

Peace!