Cold Lunch Draft 2 project journal #12

Whining Time

Well, this hasn’t worked out quite the way it was supposed to. I know it’s been a little over twelve days that I’ve actually been working on the story, and that probably the first six posts or so were about the snowflake outline. But, that would still leave six or more days to have been working on the project. And, out of those days, I’ve only come up with four scenes. My target goal is two scenes a day, and the only day I’ve actually managed that is the day I had to rewrite scene 2. And even that was only two drafts of the same scene.

Blah

I should have almost twelve scenes done. Twelve scenes typed. And, over 14,000 words written. Yeah, I don’t have that, and there’s nobody to blame for it but me.

I guess it just rolls back to time management.

And, I apologize about the whining. I just felt it was appropriate.

Anywho, I got scene four done. Still haven’t typed it or scene three so the stats are about the same as they were yesterday. Only I have two additional hand written pages. I’m going to start typing as soon as I get this posted, so I’ll update the stats as necessary later today.

What do you have to whine about today? If you can’t tell, I’ve got a lot.

Ryan

Stats:

                Snowflake Completion: Done

                Pages Written Today: 2

                Pages Written Total: 13

                Pages Typed Today: 0

                Pages Typed Total: 11

                Word Count Today: ?

                Word Count Total: 3,011

As for things to advertize, the new chapter of my FanFiction piece In the Morning Light is going up today. I’ll actually be posting it before I start typing the last two scene’s of Cold Lunch. 

Cold Lunch Draft 2 project journal #11

Time Management.

I am very bad at this. Very very bad at this. Lol

It's not that there aren't enough hours in the day for me to do what I want too. I just don't use said time wisely. Instead of working on Cold Lunch while I'm waiting for a trip, I'll play MahJong. Instead of working on my blog posts I'll play on facebook, or look at my blog stats (and wish they were higher lol). And, I could go on like this for quite a while. I could do this, but I do this. Yeah, even I agree that it would get irritating after about thirty seconds. But, it's what I do.

And, yes, I've tried creating a schedule before, tried making good habits about writing, critiquing and thus and such. But, I'm not good at keeping a schedule if I don't have someone breathing down my neck. And, believe it or not, I love schedules, I love the structure, and the knowledge that I'm doing exactly what I need to be doing. But, I'm bad at following them by myself. I need a shock collar or something.

God, I'm such a whiner.

Anyway, Cold Lunch is coming along. I've written the third scene, but I've not typed it yet. And, I started on the fourth scene just a little while ago. I need my super editor to read over what I've got written so far, see if it gets her seal of approval, and make any necessary changes to it. It might take longer to write the novel this way, but I want it to be the best I can make it.

How do you handle time management?

Ryan

Stats:

                Snowflake Completion: Done

                Pages Written Today: 1

                Pages Written Total: 11

                Pages Typed Today: 0

                Pages Typed Total: 11

                Word Count Today: ?

                Word Count Total: 3,011

And, as of right now I've got nothing exciting to advertise. So, yeah. I'm just going to shut up and see if I can manage my day a little better.

Cold Lunch Draft 2 project journal #10

Personal Insanity

So, I’ve sat here for about fifteen minutes looking at the screen and got nothing to write about. Hell, I even used my jar of topics to come up with something to talk about. It’s written above, but I still don’t know what to write. I could talk about the time I spent in an insane asylum, but that was just one of those really weird dreams that comes out of nowhere.

Although, my cats been a real bitch today, and that’s starting to drive me crazy. So, that dream about a mental institution might come true.

“What’d you do to get stuck in here?” A bald guy with bandages on his fingertips asked. “I killed seven guys and made each one representative of the seven deadly sins.”

“I killed my cat.” Me.

TV drives me crazy. I’m not good at separating my attention. So, whenever the TV is on, I can’t focus enough to work on whatever it is I’m trying to write. That does drive me a little crazy. I dunno.

Anyway, I didn’t work on Cold Lunch today. Instead I worked on my self-pub project. Trying to get the cover stuff together. My wonderful little sister-in-law is going to be doing the art work. It will be revealed here as soon as the work is done. Lol. Then, naturally, there will be plenty of advertisements on here, and my face book, and my twitter, to make sure all six people I know gets the message. Lol.

So, yeah, what things kind of drive you batty?

Ryan

Stats:

                Snowflake Completion: Done

                Pages Written Today: 0

                Pages Written Total: 7

                Pages Typed Today: 0

                Pages Typed Total: 11

                Word Count Today: 1,693

                Word Count Total: 3,011

So, yeah, the stats are pretty much the same. As for advertising something today, I got nothing. So, the end of this blog post is commercial free…for now.

Cold Lunch Draft 2 project journal #9

So, I’ve been a very naught boy the last couple of days. I’m trying to build good habits, such as blogging and writing and typing and what not, and all of that seems to be very easy to forget.

Yeah.

It sucks.

Anywho, I do have some progress to report on, and yes I’m skipping straight to that because I’m too lazy to come up with an additional topic right now. So, on to the update.

Yesterday, I intended to write two scenes for Cold Lunch. I wound up writing one…twice. Yep, my favorite editor of all time, my wife of course, pointed out that I gave a little (hell, a lot) of the fun little plot twists in the rest of the novel in that one scene. So, an immediate rewrite was necessary. I (and my editor) are both pleased with the replacement scene.

I guess after that, one would expect me to pick up where I left off, writing the next two scenes in the book today, instead of sitting around and goofing off. Well, I didn’t exactly goof off, but I haven’t written a word for Cold Lunch. I might correct that after I finish writing this post, but I doubt it. I’m wiped out, and will probably go straight to bed.

Anywho, today was still productive. I typed the new scene for Cold Lunch (5pgs, 1,693words). I typed two scenes for a project I now intend for self publication (7pgs, 3,164words-note: single spaced pages). And, I typed another scene for my fanfiction (4pgs, 1,477words) so that I can post it on Friday, or close to Friday. At least close enough to Friday that…I don’t know where I was going with that.

So, yeah, today was still productive. And, now, I’m going to go to bed. Which is strange, seeing as you won’t be reading this until early tomorrow morning. Man, that’s always one thing that’s confused me about scheduling posts.

Meh.

Habit forming, how do you handle it?

Ryan

Stats:

                Snowflake Completion: Done

                Pages Written Today: 0

                Pages Written Total: 7

                Pages Typed Today: 5

                Pages Typed Total: 11

                Word Count Today: 1,693

                Word Count Total: 3,011

BTW, if anybody would like to check out my fanfiction as an example of my work feel free to follow this link: The Mad Habberdasher

Cold Lunch Draft 2 project journal #8

Missed a couple of days there. Yeah, sorry about that. It happens, but I don’t intend on letting it happen anymore.

I’ve suddenly lost what direction I was going.

I looked up, and the television was on, and my mind went completely numb.

Evil television.

Anywho, I’m not sure what I was talking about. Probably something about being flaky. I am…very flaky, unfortunately. But, that is a problem I’m trying to fix. I’m trying to turn this blogging thin into a habit. That way I don’t have to worry about getting it done, I’ll just do it, like I’m breathing. That will be fun.

Now, what else do I want to talk about?

There was something…

Something important…

Maybe it has something to do with the title?

I have made some progress on the novel, so I guess that might be the thing I wanted to talk about.

First off, we’ll go with the outline. I’m done with it. Yep, got step eight done, and since step 9 and 10 relate directly to writing the novel, I’m done with it. Now, if only I could say that about the novel itself.

But, I have done some work on the novel itself. I’ve got the first scene done, and typed. So, I have something to put into the stats block below. That makes me happy.

And, the B button on my computer disappeared. I feel a little like Paul Sheldon now. I’m not a prisoner in my home, but I wish Mel would keep her promise. That one where I’m not allowed in public. Lol. That would be nice.

What do you do when you start to feel flaky?

Ryan

Stats:

                Snowflake Completion: Done

                Pages Written Today: 2

                Pages Written Total: 2

                Pages Typed Today: 5

                Pages Typed Total: 5

                Word Count Today: 1,317

                Word Count Total: 1,317

BTW: I've updated my latest FanFiction story for the Lost Girl story In the Morning Light. Check it out.

Cold Lunch Draft 2 project journal #7

Sleeping on the couch.

Someone got in trouble. Lol. And, I'm really stretching it here. Not sure what to say about sleeping on the couch. Besides the fact that I like sleeping on the couch. Not the couch we have now, it's a futon from Walmart, and sleeping on it just sucks.

But, sleeping on a nice comfy couch, like a full size couch with black leather and those thick puffy cushions that deflate when you sit down on them. Yeah, those couches are heaven to sleep on. Hell, there have even been times where I got in trouble because I wanted to sleep on the couch instead of in bed. I dunno why, I've just always found the sleeping experience on a couch is far superior then sleeping on a bed. Weird I know.

Now, however, we're back to the beginning, and the question what does sleeping on the couch have to do with anything? And, I guess the honest answer really is nothing. It's just a random topic that came out of a jar, and confused my mind at six in the morning.

Anyway, Cold Lunch. I've finished the four page synopsis, at last, and now I'm going to move on to step 8. I know, I'm skipping 7, but 7 is a boring step. You're supposed to come up with a character bible for each of the major characters in the story. And, I don't wanna. So, that means were moving on to step 8. This is the scene list, it's going to take zero time to come up with. So, I should be able to start working on the real deal tomorrow.

And, finally, I would like to apologize for the tardiness of this post.

What do you do to sleep on the couch?

Ryan

Stats:

               Snowflake Completion: Step 8

               Pages Written Today: N/A

               Pages Written Total: N/A

               Pages Typed Today: N/A

               Pages Typed Total: N/A

               Word Count Today: N/A

               Word Count Total: N/A

Cold Lunch Draft 2 project journal #6

I wonder where that fish did go.

That fish. That fish. That fishy oh.

Yep, we’re going Family Guy today. Nah. It’s just another one of my random topic things, and now I have to come up with something to go with it.

But, isn’t that the job of a writer? Not this topic in particular, but an idea taken from somewhere, whether it be from midair or something that’s inspired us from some other source, and morph that idea into something of substance. As for making today’s topic into something of substance could really be difficult. It comes from the mind of Seth Mcfarlane, and the way I’m seeing it the best way to use it was in the context of the show. Dialogue.

Although it could be used as a story starter. A story that’s relatively poetic and something along the lines of Moby Dick or Jaws. But, yeah, I don’t know where else to take that.

As for a progress report on Cold Lunch, I have to say I’ve finished step 6. The only thing I need to do is put the whole thing together into one cohesive synopsis. Then I need to do the scene list thing, which should be simple with the way I put the synopsis together. I basically wrote a scene list to put it together. So, I should be working on the actual novel in the next couple of days.

Maybe.

Anyway, what does “I wonder where that fish did go” say to you, and how do you use it?

Stats:

            Snowflake Completion: Step 6

            Pages Written Today: N/A

            Pages Written Total: N/A

            Pages Typed Today: N/A

            Pages Typed Total: N/A

            Word Count Today: N/A

            Word Count Total: N/A

Cold Lunch Draft 2 project journal #5

Self Publishing

Not sure how random of a topic self publishing is, but it’s something that’s crossed my mind every now and then so I figured I might as well talk about it.

…crickets chirping…

Alright, so I don’t know much about self-publishing. I’ve never published anything other than a blog post and a few fanfiction stories. So, as for publishing things to sell, I have no clue.

A couple of my friends, however, have self-published; I would like to say their experiences were atypical, like they made millions of dollars off of what they published. But, saying that would be a lie. They both put more money into publishing then what they’ve gotten in return. And, that’s what you see a lot with self publishing. A lot of hard work with no return.

Frankly, I don’t like that idea. Call me a hack, but I want to make money off my work.

I have thought about the free-ish methods of self publishing. Amazon and Smashwords, but that seems like it would be a lot of work too. And, I’m not too sure how that would look when I tried to go the traditional publishing route.

It seems a bit like a double edged sword. If it does well, and I mean really well, it looks good. If it doesn’t do well it looks like you went the self publishing route because nobody else wanted to publish your work.

So, I dunno.

If I did self publish, though, I’d probably use a penname.

How do you feel about self publishing?

Ryan

Stats:

                Snowflake Completion: Step 6

                Pages Written Today: N/A

                Pages Written Total: N/A

                Pages Typed Today: N/A

                Pages Typed Total: N/A

                Word Count Today: N/A

                Word Count Total: N/A

Cold Lunch Draft 2 project journal #4

So, no random topic today, mainly because I didn’t do any work today. L

Which isn’t entirely rue, I put a little work in this morning, figuring up the first four scenes or so in part 3. As for other things, I did feel productive today.

I did some typing, not on the novel I haven’t typed yet, but on a fanfiction piece I’ve been setting on for the last few months. I know. Fanfiction. Boo-Hiss. It’s anathema to the modern literary type, but then I’m not the literary type. I look at everything like a tool. I looked at the people who transitioned from fanfiction to print to bestsellers, and what I saw was a fan base. These people, knowingly or unknowingly, created a fan base by writing fanfiction, and then, when they were in print, voila, money.

Yes, everything comes down to money.

I’m a little greedy.

But, anyway, the productivity of today was simple. I didn’t type what I did because I was thinking about money. I read those pages, and typed them, because I had fun writing them. I had fun borrowing those characters for a short time. And, so long as I continue to enjoy it, then I will continue to write it. And, I will shamelessly use it as a tool to further build my fan base.

Now, if only I could find a way to get my brain to work on these things regularly.

What do you think of fanfiction?

Ryan

Stats:

            Snowflake Completion: Step 6

            Pages Written Today: N/A

            Pages Written Total: N/A

            Pages Typed Today: N/A

            Pages Typed Total: N/A

            Word Count Today: N/A

            Word Count Total: N/A

PS: It’s tempting to put the stats down for today’s typing, but it’s not towards the goal of completing Cold Lunch. So, it doesn’t go.

And, just for fun, if you want to check out my fanfiction stuff roll on over to my profile on fanfiction.net: http://www.fanfiction.net/~themadhabberdasher

Cold Lunch Draft 2 project journal #3

Is anybody paying attention?

Random topic number 49 and I think it’s a good question, one that everybody asks themselves at one point or another.

Is anybody paying attention?

I don’t know. I can look at the stats on my blog, and I can check my comments, see how many people are subscribed. That honestly doesn’t tell me anything though. I have zero followers on this blog, at least so far as the statistics show. That doesn’t mean there’s nobody paying attention. I’m sure you could have a million followers and still wonder if any are paying attention.

For some of those millions of followers, reading a blog might be routine. They might sit down and read it and not see a single word or point the post was making. In one eye and out the other, so to speak.

I guess what I’m getting at s the zombie like quality most people use to get through life. I’ve worked plenty of dead end jobs, lived as one cog in the machine, and, though you might say you hate the job, it’s more like a numb reaction based thing. You go to work because that’s what society expects. You hate your job because that’s what society expects, and so on and so forth. And, how is that any different than a zombie? A zombie eats human flesh because that’s what its society expects of them, and it’s what our society expects of them. It’s a social creature without realizing it, and becomes a victim of peer pressure as soon as it gets bitten. And, they only pay attention to food. Nothing else.

As for this post making any sense…I doubt it. It’s a good thing nobody’s paying attention. Lol.

When it comes to Cold Lunch, I got part two of step six done. Really thinking about only doing enough work on parts 3 and 4 to make it possible to start working on the novel itself. I’m a little impatient.

Anywho, what do you do when you think no one’s paying attention?

Ryan

Stats:

            Snowflake Completion: Step 6

            Pages Written Today: N/A

            Pages Written Total: N/A

            Pages Typed Today: N/A

            Pages Typed Total: N/A

            Word Count Today: N/A

            Word Count Total: N/A

Cold Lunch Draft 2 project journal #2

Those times when you’re hungry for brains.

I think it’s apropos topic considering the nature of the novel I’m working on. But really, I see this as a moment of writer’s block.

A micro-block.

It’s like I’m sitting there writing and the words just stop. My hand stops working, and I’m dumbfounded. I knew what the next word was going to be, what the next sentence was going to be. Then it’s gone. A total black, exactly like a zombie.

And, in that micro-block, I hunger for brains the way a zombie hungers for flesh. Not literally of course. But, I’m hungry for the inspiration that fled. Hungry to be able to continue my work, knowing what might come next might just be better than what was supposed to come before.

About Cold Lunch, I’m almost through with the redraft of the second quarter’s outline I’ve got a guide to it, I just need to write it in synopsis form.

Questions: What happens when you hunger for brains? How do you break the micro-block?

Ryan

Stats:

            Snowflake Completion: Step 6

            Pages Written Today: N/A

            Pages Written Total: N/A

            Pages Typed Today: N/A

            Pages Typed Total: N/A

            Word Count Today: N/A

            Word Count Total: N/A

Cold Lunch Draft 2 Project Journal #1

Alright, as hopeless as it seems, I’m going to try and write a blog again. This time I’m not going to come up with any funny titles, just keep it straight forward. I’ve got a list of random topics, and for everyday I work on Cold Lunch I’m going to write about that random subject, write a little bit about what I’ve got going on in the novel, and my stats thus far on the completion of the novel.  And, I’m a little behind on this.

I’ve been working on the new draft for a week, maybe a week and a half. I didn’t think about the project journal until a couple of days ago. And, being a natural procrastinator, I didn’t think about writing it until today. Lol.

So, as for progress, I’ve completed the read through of the first draft. I’ve gone through the first six steps of the snowflake outlining scheme (skipping steps 3 and 5 as I find them boring), and I’m a fourth of the way through step 6. This step is going to be the longest, I believe. Where I’ve already written the novel, I’m going through and using this step to fix the structure of the novel and add or subtract subplots as it seems fit. This is a lot of back and forth work.

Anywho, that’s all for today.

Ryan

Stats:

            Snowflake Completion: Step 6

            Pages Written Today: N/A

            Pages Written Total: N/A

            Pages Typed Today: N/A

            Pages Typed Total: N/A

            Word Count Today: N/A

            Word Count Total: N/A

P.S. I’m not counting the outline towards the actual completion of the novel.