Writing in Katy

Someone from another writer’s forum asked me where I write. They are much younger than I am and they were picking my brain for pointers on how to write more and write more effectively. 

One of the best and my favorite places to write is this Starbuck’s in Katy. 

Just 500

Right now I’m a word counter.

The other day I wrote that I’m flipping ole Sunset Perfect on it’s head. I’m simplifying a lot! Like a lot a a lot. Which is good. I think the story through the years had taken on a bit of a Frankenstein’s Monster look. It had become something it wasn’t. It was several stories lumped into one. Worst of all, it was boring. 

Now, I think it’s far sleeker, far more to the point. TOTALLY brand new characters who are all an amalgamation of the ones that were in the Frankenstein version, and the EXACT same plot and story, just told from a different, more appealing angle. 

Epiphanies

I love when inspiration strikes. 

One of the most memorable moments of inspiration for me was one day while I worked with that contractor organization and I was on a jog trying to figure out how I was going to design the craft certification training that Brad and Rick wanted to be completed. Now, I don't remember exactly what hit me, but I remember how it hit me and where. BOOM! I had been chewing on the problem, and it just hit me. It was almost like a dog worrying on a bone, and then POOF the problem was fixed when I least expected it. It was a great feeling. And the idea was a great one.

Well, it happened again. This time with my writing. 

Taking a Break (and Breaking Apart)

Loyal readers might notice that a very large subset of information on this blog is gone. Poof! 

Yep, I split the old blog up. There is now a NEW blog on just adult education posts and self-authorship journal entries. Why? Well, it’s a bit of mix isn’t it? I started posting on adult ed stuff here just so I had some place to put all the junk I was writing. Now that I’m done with my dissertation, I think it deserves it’s own place. So there ya have it. Wander over to the new blog if you like the adult ed posts. This one will go back to just writing and reading nonsense. - this is the “break apart” aspect of the title. 

What about the taking a break aspect? 

Wool Again

Watching Silo on Apple TV and my son and I really got into it. Usually he's not that into TV series, so this was unique. Some how I convinced him to read the book with me. I've read Wool at least once before, and I liked it, so it wasn't hard for me convince myself to read it again. 

I'm surprised that it's not quite as well-written as I thought. I remember Wool was one of the first to go the non-traditional publishing route and look for the e-reading, Amazon Kindle publishing route. It's easy to see why. It's good, but not tight as you might come to expect. 

The North Keep Em Coming

For a long time now, I’ve been storing and cataloging these lines that I think are so good, under the Evershade label, and I don’t feel like today will be the day that I stop. 

All of these are by way of my friend from up north, and she does such a great job moderating the content. First is this one from KARLA.

things end.

people change.

seasons come & go.

life goes on. 

Great one to hear and to think about. So true about so many things. 

Book Five, Line 1

Another for the first lines series. I've been adding some other series into my series reading quest. Right now I'm into Clear and Present Danger . . . Book 5 of the Clancy series. I have to admit, I love this book. I think I've read it four times. It's the quintessential techno-thriller if you ask me. 

It stands up too. I'm reading it now, it's 2023, and it was written in 1989, and it still stands up and is relevant. 25 years later and it's still awesome!

The first line, in fact the first 30% of the book doesn't even (or hardly doesn't) mention the main character . . . Jack Ryan. I think it's silly they've re-titled these as "the Jack Ryan series." I think they're just perfect military techno-thrillers.

First line? 

The room was still empty. The Oval Office is in the southeast corner of the White House West Wing. 

Three doors lead into it, one from the office of the President's personal secretary, another from a small kitchen which leads in turn to the President's study, and a third into a corridor, directly opposite the entrance to the Roosevelt Room. The room itself is of only medium size for a senior executive, and visitors always remark afterward that it seemed smaller than they expected. The President's desk, set just in front of thick windows of bullet-resistant polycarbonate that distort the view of the White House lawn, is made from wood of HMS Resolute, a British ship that sank in American waters during the 1850's. Americans salvaged and returned it to the United Kingdom, and a grateful Queen Victoria ordered a desk made from its oaken timbers by way of official thanks. Made in an age when men were shorter than today, the desk was increased somewhat in height during the Reagan presidency. The President's desk was laden with folders and position papers capped with a printout of his appointment schedule, plus an intercom box, a conventional push-button multiline telephone, and another ordinary-looking but highly sophisticated secure instrument for sensitive conversations. 

Very few authors could start a book like this. Writing just about office furniture, even the President's office furniture, could be a disaster. I think that Clancy has earned the right to start this way because the reader knows there will be pay off. 

Hot Six First Line

I took a bit of a break from the thick military techno- and historical thrillers that have been a part of my series reading committement and went to read from another series. I've read quite a few of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series, but Hot Six was new.

The first line, as you would expect, was filled with whimsy.

Shaw and Ghosts

I'm reading a book entitled, How to Know a Person. It's all about being a better person and being a better person towards others. I'm not saying I have to be some better human, but we all need a bit of work right? 

In this book, the author quotes George Bernard Shaw and writes, "the worst sin toward our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them: that's the essence of humanity."

Funny Ole World (with Funny Ole People)

I ran into this the other day and it floored me a bit. Isn't it funny how people act and react and expect things from others, all the while they're probably expecting the same from you?

It's funny how relationships work and don't work. It shouldn't be so hard should it? People who get along should just allow themselves to get along. 

A Purple Place for Dying Covers

A while back I was comparing pulp covers for some of the books I've read. It's a fun thing to do isn't it? To see the evolution of book covers over time? I even have my own evolution. I've seen my covers change over time a bit. I think they're there now. I doubt I'll see many more versions of my cover. 

In terms of A Purple Place for Dying, there are myriad. 

One of My Faves

A secret favorite that anyone who reads this blog will know about me, is my penchant for enjoying silly romantic comedies. I love hallmark movies, enjoy main stream rom-coms, and even every now and then enjoy a good romance to read. 

I'm sure I've discussed this here before with my old roommate Luker. He was incapable of watching a sitcom. In the 90's when everyone else was watching Friends or Seinfeld, he had to watch Hallmark or Lifetime. He didn't like romance like I did, instead he just had to have the "whole story." He had to have two-hour time blocks of stories. I think he was the reason I got hooked on these. 

Another in My Series Reading

 Anyone who knows me and this blog knows that I’m into reading serieses now. I’ve reading WEB Griffin’s Corps series. I’m reading Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan series. I finished C.K. McDonnell’s Stranger Times series (which was a rare, wonderful, funny, find). I started the Sackett series, but kinda let that one fall off. I’m including some rare Dick Francis and that’s GOTTA be a series right? It doesn’t matter that he’s my favorite of all time. A Daniel Silva’s series. And now the third in the John D. MacDonald’s Travis McGee series. 

These are so much like Lee Child’s Reacher series its just silly. Better, to be sure, but still, it’s like looking in a mirror. 

Back to the Grind

Lately I’ve had to hang up the ole type writer and get back to the dissertation. Actually this turn of phrase doesn’t work. I’ve had to hang up the creative writing and focus on the academic writing.

I was talking to a local Houston author friend, Shina (see her book HERE and order it!) and I told her how jealous I was. I think she works full time as an author and that’s the dream isn’t it? Full time writing. Full time creative writing even better. 

So These Made My Day

I happened to look through my novels (see HERE) and checked my reviews. Made my day. Truth? There are few times that these DON’T make my day. Overall, that’s a good thing. I think it speaks well of my writing, right? 

Now these are from all three of my books. I won’t say which is for which book, but it’s fun to see that all of them are getting decent reviews, still. I know I don’t have many, yet, but compared to three years ago, this is an overwhelming number!

Vector First

Despite not really enjoying it as much as I hoped, I still finished it . . . it being Vector by Robin Cook. It took me back to summer days when I hung out with my grandfather on his Bed and Breakfast (see HERE) in Chappell Hill. 

We would go hit the resale book shop in Brenham and I'd buy novels. I'd buy Louis L'Amour books, Stephen King novels, whatever Sci-Fi and Fantasy books they might have. We, my grandfather and I, were voracious readers and would compete to see who could read the most and return the most books while we were there. I remember buying Robin Cook's there too. I guess as a young student, middle schooler and high schooler, he was fun to read. 

Westerns as Political Allegories

Anyone who reads this blog will know I have a little piece of my heart reserved for Louis L’Amour dime store westerns. I used to read them just for light fun. They’re great because there is no moral controversy. There’s a very clear line of wrong vs right. They’re a bit nonsensical and fantastic. They’re light and fun. 

The first one I ever read, I settled in for a good long novel, and instead I got a series of short stories. I didn’t know the Bowdrie novels were only short story pieces. I was hoping for a novel about the character. Still, they were great little ditties. 

Always Someone Worse Off

An auspicious title, no? What could that mean? What inspired so much negativity? 

I remember talking to someone a while back about how I see my life and attitude about life as sine wave. It goes up and it goes down. The amplitude isn’t too steep, nor too deep. It’s a smooth wave that slowly goes up and down never too far from the y axis. What’s the y axis in this case? That’s me. That’s my attitude. Sometimes I’m up, sometimes I’m down, but I’m never too far from the “norm” or the standard. And the standard, that y axis is on the positive side of the graph. 

Feel Good Reviews!

I haven't checked in a while, so I ran into two reviews and I was pleasantly surprised, and happy to read them. As I've said before, this is the best part of the job.

This first one is short and sweet. I like that he was expecting one thing, and I gave him something unexpected and surprising. Plus, every writer wants to hear that they have written a realistic and relatable character. 

Reading Multiples

When I was younger I had several rules for reading. 1) I had to read every book I started. No matter what I had to slog through it. 2) I could only read one book at a time. 3) there are several other rules, but none so easy to express or remember as the first two. 

What happened to rule #1? Well, I realized that life was too short for bad books. It takes a lot for me to give up on a book, but I will. I will set a book aside if I start reading it and realize it's just not worth it. I have better things to do. 

Last Cook?

It's been a while since I read a Robin Cook novel. Medical thrillers are fun, and because I'm not in the medical field, they're new and novel. Robin Cook's books, as I remember, are fast-paced and interesting. So I was surprised it had been such a long while since I read one. 

I remember now . . . that besides being fun, fast-paced, and new, they're also fairly poorly written. 

Work Intrudes

 I’ve had to take a break from my creative writing. Which is too bad. I was hitting a good daily clip of writing at least 600 words a day. But, as always, work and life intrude on creative writing and I had to refocus my attention for a bit. 

BUT, that doesn’t mean I’ve not been writing. In fact, the work that intruded had everything to do with writing. 

Next New Book

As a blossoming, somewhat seasoned writer and self-publisher, I get asked often for advice from other writers. Sometimes I'm asked to take a look at a book and give it a review. Such is the case. 

You know what . . . despite what might jump to mind when you first look at the title and the cover, it's a darn good book. In fact, I'm a bit jealous. Why?

Weekly Writing Status Update - 6

I feel like these aren't doing much, but it was recommended to me by that book, and I've pledged to do it for 50 updates, that will be almost a year, so I'm going to keep plugging away even if they don't feel immediately impactful. If there's one thing I feel like I'm good at, it's hanging in there for stupid even pointless exercises and relationships and friendships and even jobs, long after I should have quit, and long after others would have quit.

Last week was a good-ish week for writing. I kept up with my writing 300 words a day for every day except one. Why did I miss that one day? I can't remember now. I just know I did. 

More Essentials of Writing a Novel

I love how every now and then, in a book, on social media, in life . . . anywhere, these little nuggets show up that speak to a person. They hit me and I think, "BOOM! that makes sense" . . . or "that resonates," or even better, "That's what THAT means!" 

Many of these I try to file here in the blog as evershades or sox entries (see HERE or HERE), but many others get lost or integrated into my other blog hoi polloi.

This one is getting it's own post. 

Essentials

I was listening to a podcast for a while, James Thayer's podcast on novel writing. It was good but each time I listened to it, usually on my commute, I found myself wanting to take notes and really listen, not background listen as I tend to do when I listen on the drive. 

So, I've stopped listening to the podcast. Which is too bad, I really liked it. 

Griffin Four

It's an interesting way to start a book. To talk about cavalry sabers being repurposed to machetes but WEB Griffin always does things this way, and then the reader is captured on that path for the first part of the story, and sometimes even further than that. 

I'm onto the fourth book in this series. I'm on the fifth book in the Clancy Series, I'm on the second book in the Martin series, I finished the Stranger Times series, and I'm stuck on the third book in the Sackett series. So, it feels good to keep moving through this series.

Weekly Writing Status Update - 5

So, the biggest thing that I should provide an update on with this status post is about my 300 words a day goal. How did it go? Is it positive?

Overall it was a good  . . . and IS a good exercise. First, I'm stunned that 300 words really isn't that many words. I can knock out 300 words in no time. 

Cardinal of the Kremlin

I just finished Cardinal of the Kremlin. This is such a great book. So I've read, Hunt for Red October, Red Storm Rising, Patriot Games, and now Cardinal of the Kremlin as a part of this reading of the series thing I'm doing. 

Hows it going? I like the series reading. I finished all of the Stranger Times books. So that series is over. I've had trouble getting back to the Sackett series that I started. I might try and pick that one up again soon. I'm in the midst of the Corps series too, of course. And I can't think of it, but I know there's another out there. 

Sometimes I Forget

Here I am plugging away on my novel, Sunset Perfect . . .which is renamed to "Murder in the Kingdom" a title change I'll explain more later. But sometimes I forget why this is important to me. Sure, I enjoy the aspect of working on a creative project and setting it through . . . I love the character development, and the ability and chance to tell a story, . . .but then there is that feedback and the kudos. This is the part I sometimes forget. 

Every now and then I go check Amazon and read the reviews for my novels, and I'm usually happily surprised to see some new ones have come in and the reviews are usually good. 

More Shades

Ugh, this one hits hard. Why? I guess cause it's so true. 

You deserve a calm love with someone who's your safe space, your best friend, and soothes your soul during stressful situations. Life is hard enough, you deserve someone who brings you peace, not problems. 

Weekly Writing Status Update - 4

This week I “completed” a lot of my writing . . . And started a really decent (so far) writing habit. Two great things if you ask me. 

The completions consisted of submitting my article to Interactive Learning Systems. This is a Taylor and Francis academic journal that I selected as my target journal for one of my articles that I drafted from my dissertation. It’s not all of my dissertation. The first three chapters of the dissertation are 25K words. I’m only allowed 6K words for the article so I pared it down quite a bit. 

More on Rom-Coms and Breakups

I don't really like the movie, but I re-visited The Breakup, with Vince Vaughn and Rachel Anniston. It's a good movie, but certainly not a great one. It's fun, but not at all uplifting. 

It's an interesting script, and the choices the author has made about the direction of the movie are interesting. The most interesting and intriguing aspect to me is the fact that he made the Breakup an actual breakup at the end. I guess he felt he had to give the audience the actual breakup that is the namesake of the movie. But it's certainly not a positive and uplifting movie ending.

Bartenders and Restaurant Owners in Movies

Anyone who knows me or has read this blog for a bit knows that I love rom-com movies. Always have. In fact one dream of mine . . . it's to write a novel that gets turned into a rom-com. It's a lifelong dream which means it may take all my life to achieve. 

I could see Everyday Sox becoming one of these. 

What’s This Novel Title?

So I was pecking away on a novel that I had tentatively titled Sunset Perfect. An old friend helped me with that title years ago. She said she thought a friendship, a close friendship should be simple and perfect, like a sunset. So, ergo, Sunset Perfect. 

That was the working novel title for this little story for years and years. Now, the novel has changed, which is funny cause that friendship sunsetted too when I left my old job! HA! 

Try Using the Word "Not" More

When I first read this I wasn't a fan. Having considered it more, I have decided that I love it. It's a simple technique, "Use the Word Not", but it doesn't make sense until you look at your own writing a bit more analytically. 

I just wrote a passage for my daily writing goal, and realized that I could have used this advice to use the word Not. This isn't directly from my writing, but let's pretend it is. 

Weekly Writing Status Update - 3

I had to travel this week, and as anyone knows who reads this blog, I love to write when I travel. So for this week's status, I have good news . . . I did write, and quite a bit. 

I plugged away on the story of the welder, but not as much as I'd like. BUT, since I'm on the subject of creative writing, I also started writing (again) on the rom-com I hope to write about the B&B in Wyoming. So, it was fun to write several hundred words on that. For a few days there I was really doing well on creative writing. 

When Writing Isn't

I just spent three hours writing . . . but not writing at all. How is this possible? What does it mean? 

I'm back to dissertation and academic writing. My last two chapters are due in November. What does that mean? My proposal consisted of three chapters. Chapter 1 was my introduction, Chapter 2 was my literature review, Chapter 3 detailed my methodology. 

Blocking Out My Novel

Right now I’m working on three different stories, all of which I’m hoping to turn into finished novels. I figure that since I’m getting to the end of my PhD and there will be fewer and fewer posts on adult learning,  . . . Hopefully there will be just as many on self-authorship, . . . But in the spirit of finding daily content . . . I guess posting about those three (hopeful) novels will keep my blog filled. 

So I guess I’ll give a quick synopsis of each and then throughout the days further develop each book as we go. 

But or Therefore

I saw a video of Matt Stone and Trey Parker talkiong aobut what makes for a great story, and when I first saw it I didn't get it. I even tried to get it, and I didn't. I have to say, when I read about it in this tweet that I've been writing about, I finally got it. 

I've heard this before but in different terms. I've heard that conflict is key. We've all heard that. No one wants to hear a story about someone where everything goes well. 

Weekly Writing Status Update - 2

As I mentioned last week, Intuitive Writing suggests that we provide status updates on our writing on a regular basis. This can be done via writing buddy updates, updates to editors, or like I am doing it, writing blog posts that provide updates. 

Last week I wrote about my work on my little welding novel, some chapter exercises, and some of my homework. This week, it will be mostly homework. 

Public Schools and Other Institutions

I'm not sure if I've written about this before, but I don't like libraries. I just don't like em! I don't know why my tax dollars have to pay for a building to house a bunch of old musty books. Now, as a book lover, I like the idea of libraries, and I think they had a place in our history, but I think that place is long gone. I think they're too expensive and outdated. I bet I could buy old Kindles for every public library user and it would be less administrative cost, more books, and easier for everyone involved. Want to read a book? Go to the city hall and sign out a Kindle. Download the book you want. No grubby old books with dog-eared beat-up pages, filthy and gross. No old women with stern eyes yelling at you about your book being late. Why not have private libraries. Public libraries . . . They're right up there with Doctors' Offices in my book. 

I HATE doctors. I can't think of another industry where I could set an appointment with someone and then when I arrive they make me sign in and wait, then half an hour later they "seat me" or in their case take me to another holding room where I wait even longer. If I made people who came to visit me wait in the lobby, then wait in my office, then I pop in to speak to them for five minutes before dismissing them or handing them over to my assistant, I'd be fired. 

Jenga Stories

I read a really great post on Twitter (HERE) which is so full of great advice that I plan to repost in many different ways over the course of the next few weeks. This first one is on Jenga Stories. 

What’s a Jenga Story? Took me a second too, but it’s basically where you start with the end in mind. Nathan, in that link, brings up a couple of stories that use this form, Pulp Fiction, Saving Private Ryan, are his examples. 

Moments to Memories

 I ran into a meme today that I really wanted to share. I do this often. I'll hit things that I think are interesting, intriguing, compelling, or telling, and I'll catalog them HERE. It's been a while, but here's one. 

It was a simple cartoon, but it hit me. There was an older fella, grandfather type, who was sleeping in his bed with his wife, also older, a grandmother. They're both smiling as they sleep. Then there is a second image, this time the man is alone and there is a definite lack of someone next to him. His wife, the grandmother is gone. And you can tell the man is sad that he's found himself alone. 

Weekly Writing Status Update - 1

 I started reading another book on writing. This one is called Intuitive Writing by Jaqueline Fisch. It’s supposed to be a book about how to write more and with more focus. What I’ve found is that when she says “writing” she means all writing. Copy writing, writing emails, newsletters, etc. etc. Now she does talk about creative writing, which is why I picked this up, but the author means it all. 

She also encourages the reader to complete the chapter exercises. So I’m going to use this space to do just that. 

First Line in Love Will Tear Us Apart

I'm reading a series of series. I've just finished a few and now I'm back into the Stranger Times series. This is the most fun of all of my series. 

I love the characters. They're fun and it's light. Love this series. 

A Game of Thrones Again (Again)

I've been into series books lately. So, since I'm in to series, I went back to a series I've read several times. Game of Thrones . . . or more correctly . . . The Song of Ice and Fire.

I've read this several times. I read A Game of Thrones when it first came out. Then when A Storm of Swords came out I read Game of Thrones again, then read Storm of Swords. When Clash of Kings came out, I read Game of Thrones, then Storm of Swords, then Clash of Kings. See the pattern?

Second Time Reading Third Deadly Sin

 So, you read so much about not looking at screens before you go to bed, how it effects your sleep, that I decided a while back to listen to the advice and give it a try. The first book I read before bed was a book about Rangers, the next was a horrible book on Delta Force. The problem with these books is that in some respects I’ve lived the live, I know how hard it is, there is no mystique about being wet, muddy, tired, or pushed beyond your limits. And if you can’t actually write well . . . Pass.

ANYWAY, back to the point. I’ve been doing this for several months now. And does it seem to be working? Seems to be. 

First Line Right Now (at Night)

So, you read so much about not looking at screens before you go to bed, how it effects your sleep, that I decided a while back to listen to the advice and give it a try. The first book I read before bed was a book about Rangers, the next was a horrible book on Delta Force. The problem with these books is that in some respects I’ve lived the live, I know how hard it is, there is no mystique about being wet, muddy, tired, or pushed beyond your limits. And if you can’t actually write well . . . Pass. 

ANYWAY, back to the point. I’ve been doing this for several months now. And does it seem to be working? Seems to be.