If you check the little drop down menu under Works, or check the page itself, you’ll notice there is a few more titles there.

Not one, or two but Three new titles.

at the top of the list is Counting Sheep. It’s a short story about fifteen hundred words long. You may remember me talking about it a few posts ago. It’s the one based on a short story that an opening scene from a novel I planned is also based on… kinda sorta.

It’s pretty much done now, A little different than I had originally planned but it turned out pretty sweet anyway.

The next on is Where Wolf? . This is my favourite piece I’ve written so far. It was one of those pieces that just flow so easily and readily that it seems to write itself. And it turned out awesome.

It began a year or so ago as an Idea for a novel. But I never got started on it and finally it moved from my idle folder down to my archived ideas folder. It was almost completely forgotten about until I did some spring cleaning on my computer files a few months back and I realised it would work well as a short story.

And I was right.

And if you want to argue about it, I’ll poke you in the eye.

The final addition is Out of Reach.

This one began as a scene that ironically isn’t in the story. The scene was from another story I wrote a while back that I didn’t think to much of. (Though I may still use it for something).

There was a great scene that I particularly wanted to use, so I decided to combine it with an opening scene from another idea that I never got going on.

I worked on it for several months, slowly tapping out the words. But it’s finally finished enough that I can throw up my arms and cry DONE!!. It’s not the greatest it could be but I’m just sick of writing it now. I almost didn’t post it but I thought Three new stories sounds better than Two.

And if you don’t like it, I have one thing to say about that - “Read ‘Where Wolf?’ instead, it’s real cool!”

Okay, I’m bashing it a little too much. It’s not as bad as all that. I swear.

Well that’s all for now, I might post more later because I’m suddenly at a loss as to what to work on now. I have a couple of ideas but I don’t know if I’m ready to begin the novel yet…

After a overly lazy day yesterday… and most of the days before that as well… but yesterday in particular because I had planned to not be lazy.

Blah Blah Blah

Anyway, Yesterday I finished my latest short story. That’s 3 finished in as many weeks!. Okay, one took months to muddle through and another was a complete rewrite, but the last one was a completely new story…

I’m feeling pretty pleased with myself right now.

But now -

I need to edit those three stories. One of them (the one I muddled through over a few months…) needs a bit of a restructuring, just to give it a bit more… something.

Also, I came up with a new idea for a novel. So far I just have the aura of an idea and a title, but it’s good. So I’m going to put a bit of effort into that one.

If only I could write them as fast. Maybe I could finish a novel by the end of the week. 40,000 words today, another 40,000 tomorrow. What do you think? can I do it.

NO

Duh…

But maybe I’ll get a start on it today… after reworking and editing the short stories… and after Xena’s over…

Bam!

P.S. If the world has been destroyed by the time you read this, assume I took the day off.

Otherwise known as Things to do in September…

Firstly though, you might remember my favourite pants from this mishap.

Unfortunately, That was only the beginning of my pants problem.

Slowly, more holes began to form around the original. Then more appeared on the other leg. And another just under the bum pocket. Due to years of wear, I think they’re are starting to show their old age. They aren’t much longer for this world. Don’t get me wrong though - I’ll keep them till they’re barely a scrap of fabric left.

I feel like Seinfeld when ‘Golden Boy’ died.

On the bright side, I have found my ‘Baby Blue’ in a new pair of black pants I bought today.

Now, onto the real reason we’re all here.

Well, at least why I’m here.

Over the last couple of months I’ve let things slip by me, as you do. Things are only slowly getting done at a snails pace, (Two snails are sitting on a turtles back, one says to the other ‘Hang on tight, here we go!’) if they’re even getting done at all.

So I’ve decided to start a monthly todo list. (although, like most of my decisions - who knows how long it’ll last) and then go over it again at the end of the month. Noting my progress.

To start things off heres my ToDo list for September -

1. Finish all 5 or 6 novels and 8 or so short stories I have plans for…

(Okay, so I might not get to mark off that one, but it’d be nice wouldn’t it?)

Okay - Real list.

1. Write everyday. - I’ve been pretty good on this one lately, but I’d like to add to the word count.
2. Finish the current Short Story I’m working on
3. Rewrite the last short story I wrote.
4. Start on novel. Get through a few chapters at least. Let’s say 5.
5. A couple of Doug updates. (I’ve gotten a bit behind on the Doug updating lately).
6. Let’s throw another short story in there just for the hell of it
7. Do other stuff too.

Well, that’s about it for now. There’s probably some other stuff I forgot to add, but then who the hell cares.

These pretzels are making me thirsty.

I’ve been very busy the last couple of days, the amount of work I’ve done could almost fill up a half hour lunch break. If you got back to work a little late and then got a warning by the boss because you are always late, you lazy bastard!…

Anyway… I’ve almost finished a new short story, called Counting Sheep, it just needs a bit more editing and it’ll be good to go. It’s not so much a new story as it is a rewrite of an old short story that I’d already rewritten before.

It was once a chapter in a novel of interrelated stories I was writing, it was one of my favourites that came so easily it seemed to write itself. Then, when the book I was writing changed to a more linear plotline, it became the opening scene. I rewrote it then and it turned out great.

Even though it turned out great, there were differences in the story that I lost but I wanted to keep. So, for a couple of months now it was sitting in my To be written folder.

But now, it’s finished. It turned out pretty great, I don’t know if it still has the effect of the original, I’ll have to wait till it’s not so fresh in my mind to see.

Also in the things I’ve been up to category, I came across this article today at Tor.com about The Weirdest Book in the World. I haven’t read the books they talk about there but still, as I read it, I seemed to take it as a personal challenge.

I had one of those revelations that always seem to motivate me to create a good plot followed by a couple of chapters that I delete for being crap soon afterwards.

So, those books can have the title of weirdest book in the world if they want… for now. But someday I shall be published and you’ll see just how weird a book can be bitches!

damn straight!

So ten days ago, all full of piss and vinegar, I might’ve said something along the lines of “I’m going to put my nose to the grindstone now and blah blah blah yadda yadda yadda”

I haven’t done a great lot, I tried opening paragraph after opening paragraph but could not find anything that worked. So I’m taking a different approach now. One of the main problems is that I know what I want this book to be but I don’t know how to write what I want. So I’ve listed out thirteen chapters (my lucky number) and I’ve began listing all the things that need to happen in each chaper.

After thinking about doing it starting at the end and using flashbacks, or using alternating chapters for present and past, I’ve decided on the more linear things begin, things get worse, things get worse again style.

I’ve also come up with a new novel idea. Or maybe short story. Nah, lets make it a novel. It’s working title is ‘When the aliens left’ - which gives you an idea of the instigating circumstances of the story. It’s something between futurism scifi and fantasy, with something of an Alice down the rabbit hole twist of lemon.

I know a great deal less about this story and so hopefully it’s be easier to write.

I was also looking back at my old first chapter of another project I was working on at the end of last year. This is a project I was working on for a while but couldn’t decide which way I was taking it. I may pick this up again soon and see how the second chapter turns out. (I’ve referred to it on here as either project surreal or Mal or something along those lines)

I should be finishing up another short story soon. I’ve been working on it for quite a while now, in between other projects, and want to get it completed so I can work on some other short stories I have plans for.

So, how about you?

I’m as nervous as a haemophiliac vampire hunting.

Well maybe not that much. At least a Haemophobic though.

If your remember back here. My short story Icy Dead People is being published in the Anthology of the Living Dead

Well, a couple of days ago they sent me back the story with a couple of editing notes added here and there. A couple of small things to add or change, no biggy.

I think I made some good changes. Cleaned up the story a bit and yadda yadda yadda. I think it came out good.

And now I’ve sent it back to them.

Eeeeerghk!

apart from that, I’m feeling pretty good with my first dealings with editors and what-not and people who seem to know what they’re doing.

Back to work on my other projects now. Well tomorrow anyway, my brein is feeling a little fried right now and I also have work tonight. Gak.

P.s. - I’m not adding the changes to my site just yet. There might be more changes to make.

also, just a note, - This is my 101st blog entry. I guess that deserves a coffee.

If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

To end this argument once and for all, I headed into the woods.

There were three things I would need.

1 - A video camera with a working microphone.

2 - A tree that would fall within my limited window for this experiment.

3 - A second tree to be used as a control subject.

After several hours of searching, I finally found a suitable tree for the experiment. It was a great distance from the local population and through a series of tests determined that no one would accidentally hear the tree fall and thus ruin the experiment. All the leaves had long since fallen and It had significant rotting around the base, It was only a matter of a few days until this giant would fall.

I set up my video camera with a motion activated sensor. If the tree moved more than a few inches, it would be recorded.

I left my subject to it’s own schedule and went on to find my control subject.

In order to prove that a sound is made by a tree that isn’t heard, first I would need to show that a tree with an audience makes a sound.

After another short search I found my perfect control subject. It looked much like the subject of my experiment minus the rot around the base. I grabbed my axe and went to work chopping at the tree.

It took several hours of ‘experimenting’ with my axe in hand, when I finally came to the conclusion that a tree with an audience does, in fact, make several sounds.

First, it makes a deep rumbling groan. This is followed closely by the sound of the tree cutting through the air as it falls toward the earth. Soon afterwards comes the crushing sounds of the tree landing on somebody’s rooftop and crashing through into their living room.

This is followed close behind by a lot of shouting and finally sirens approaching from the distance as I decided that it was time to check back with my experiment…

Fast.

As I approached my experiment I was happy to find that the tree had already made it’s final descent and landed on the ground, knocking over another couple of trees in the process. My results should be very conclusive.

Unfortunately, as I arrived at the site of my experiment I found that my camera had been stolen.

I searched the site for any evidence of who had stolen my camera but found only leaves. There was only one conclusion I could have come to. I believe this theft to be part of a vast conspiracy by the trees, in an attempt to keep quiet the sounds of the unwitnessed forest.

They will not succeed in keeping me quiet for long.

Until next time, I’ll be working on the sound of one hand clapping…

It’s the last day of my holidays…

Oh Ford, how the time passes quickly. It seems like only a fortnight ago I was finishing up work and getting ready for my time off. I wrote a vague list of things I wanted to do or finish during my holidays. It was about five or six items long.

Number one and two was about working on my novels, or at least getting started. What I like to call dirtying the page. - I’d like to say I did a lot of work on my novels. I’d like to say I put a big dent in my work load. But…

I would be lying.

I did a little planning on one of my projects, but for the most part I didn’t even think about them.

Number three, however, I did do. It was to finish Dah’min. I did a bit of a rewrite and a whole lot of editing and finally - I gave up.

Number four was to work on a short story that I started writing a couple of weeks ago now. This got pushed aside temporarily. While rummaging through my old writings and notes and scraps of every description, I found a discarded first chapter that I though would make a good short story. I spent a day writing it, which became two days. Then I edited it one morning, which became a couple more days. That story was Alterations.

After I finished Alterations I went back to work on the short story, but it’s still a long way from being finished yet.

and finally - Number five. I was planning on writing a couple more Doug of the Darkness scenes. I did finish one but I really wanted to do two. I’m also thinking of giving myself a deadline for Doug, so I update at least once a week. (the last two updates have taken almost a fortnight)… I’m thinking of Thursdays. Or maybe Wednesdays. Nah, Thursdays.

…or maybe Wednesdays…

Nah… Thursdays. Okay then, we’re agreed. Every Thursday Doug of the Darkness will be updated.

I did a few other things while on holidays. I got a hare cut, new glasses, my short story Icy Dead People won a competition to be published, and my dog gave birth to three kittens and a frog.

Okay, that isn’t true… It was only two kittens.

ME!!!

Over at Writers Cafe, I entered my short story Icy Dead People into a contest where the top prize was to be published in an anthology called Anthology of the Living Dead.

And I won!

Don’t believe me? Take a look yourself - Link.

Kick ASS!!

One of the coolest things about this anthology is it’s supposed to have an Introduction by Tom Savini! Go Sex Machine!

My plans for the holidays have mostly gone astray, as they do.

For starters - My plans to write a blog entry for every day. - I haven’t updated since… Thursday?? yeah, that sounds about right.

The short story that I began on Monday, The one that was a little piece I was only going to spend a day on, ended up taking a bit more of my time. Three days, in fact, and finally on Friday I spent the whole day editing and rewriting and I think it’s finally finished. Maybe.

And now that I only have half of my holidays left - On to my main projects.

1 - Another update for doug… or two…

2 - I was working on a short story about a family in space who come across some trouble while in the middle of nowhere, light years from any help. I pushed it aside when I decided to work on ‘Alterations’ - Well, now I can get back to that as well.

3 - Last but not least - My novels. I still haven’t done any work. I just need to get over the hump and I’m sure I’ll be on my way… possibly… cross my fingers…

Also, as I’m often reminded - I’m looking at you JO!! - I still need to rewrite Dah’Min.

Well that’s the main chunk of all the things I have to do. As soon as my brain and body recovers from the Big Event yesterday, I’ll get on to it. Sometimes I’m especially glad I don’t have deadlines.

Well, back to the old -