Don't think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It's self-conscious, and anything self-conscious is lousy. You can't try to do things. You simply must do things. 

Ray Bradbury

Well, hello, old friend

I have really been ignoring you blog. Too much, I know. I'm sorry. It's just that I've had other things on my mind. I think I mentioned them before. Those friends of mine at the park? Yeah, I told you about them. They are still around. Doing better than I expected, actually, so I may be distracted for a while longer. But I'll come back. I promise I will. This isn't forever, it's just for now. For a week more. Maybe less, even. But when I do come back I have plans. Plans for us to see each other on a more regular basis. Like three or four times a week. Promise.

(The Rangers are in the World Series. It's still hard for me to imagine that. Still hard to believe. It feels weird, honestly. I never expected it and now it's happened. So I'll be away from the blog  for a few more days. But I have been thinking of ways to populate this thing more regularly. And with more than just writing updates from me, hopefully. So stay tuned. And cheer for the Rangers.)

"1000 words a day may make you feel like a writer, but a 1000 words of crap just makes you a crap one. Writing isn't just about producing words – it's about creating stories, developing characters, imagining worlds. The words that reveal all that are just the icing on the cake. Prose, no matter how lovely, is just prose – without character and narrative to drive it, people will tire by paragraph 2."

From James Killick's blog. More good advice is here.

My wonderful distraction

Hard to believe it's been more than a week since I posted anything here, but it has. Honestly, I've been busy. Busy with writing. Busy with revising. But, most of all, I've been busy with baseball. Not sure if you're a fan, but I am. A fan in a big way. I grew up loving the game. As a kid from Kansas City who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s and cheering for the Royals it was easy. You were cheering for a winner. You were cheering for a team what was in the World Series in 1980 and won it all in 1985.

The Royals haven't been very good since. But that's OK. I still cheer for them. Plus we moved to Texas as a kid and I became a Rangers fan too. And have you been following the baseball playoffs? The Rangers are playing postseason ball and looking good. That means I am spending most of my time either at playoff games or watching them on TV. So, excuse my absence, please. I've got baseball on the brain even more than I would regularly. My Rangers are playing for a spot in the World Series. I'm a little distracted.

Progress on Consider Us Even

I've taken one thing I'd written previously, altered it a bit, and duct-taped it to the front of what was Consider Us Even. We have a new story now that will, in the end, be much longer. We may be looking at novella length again. I've got an outline started and, since the story is already at 3,000 words, this thing has exploded on me. I will admit to being a little disappointed since I thought Consider Us Even was finished. But I'm also excited because the main character -- a man who I've named Solis -- is becoming a lot more real to me. He's not just a name serving a purpose in the short story anymore. There he was a bum addict. Now, he's actually got a deeper back story. There's more to him. His motivations are a lot clearer to me, and that's cool. So, thanks to my critique group, we may have the second novella in my Wire series of stories. I never saw this one coming.

That doesn't mean I've stopped working on Chasing Filthy Lucre. I've put it aside for a week or two to get a little distance before I go through it again. And I am still thinking on how the next book in that story will play out.

Chasing Filthy Lucre: Excerpt 5

And we keep on rolling. Here's part five. Hope you all are enjoying this. If you missed the previous sections find them here:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Chasing Filthy Lucre: Excerpt 4

Excerpt the fourth. Tell me what you think, good or bad.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Some great and needed criticism

I joined an online critique group for short crime fiction. I submitted my first story to the bunch yesterday and already have some great feedback. It's the story that I am now calling Consider Us Even, the story that's part of my diabolical plan. Looks like I have some more work to do. A lot more work, actually. The people there liked the writing and that was good, but it appears I am going to have to tear the story apart and see how it comes back together again. A couple of the readers have suggested that the story doesn't start until a few paragraphs in. After looking at the piece again really quickly, I have to agree. Also need to work on the ending. I know that sounds like there is a lot to do. That's because it is, but I'm excited about getting back into the story and playing around with it.

Chasing Filthy Lucre: Excerpt 3

Here's Part 3 of Chasing Filthy Lucre. Again, if you like it let me know. If you hate it let me know that too. Just do it gently. If you see something that needs to be fixed I also want to know that.

In the past I put up Part 1 here.
And Part 2 here.

"The best advice is the simplest: Write every day even if you think what you’re doing stinks. Fall in love with writing, not with what you’ve written. Put your energies into writing the best things you can, not how to sell them. If it doesn’t say it on the page, it doesn’t say it."

More here.

Chasing Filthy Lucre: Excerpt 2

Here's the second excerpt from Chasing Filthy Lucre. Our two heroes get to know a little more about each other.

In case you missed it the previous section is here: Excerpt 1

Chasing Filthy Lucre: Excerpt 1

Wanted to share a bit of the first part of Chasing Filthy Lucre. Thought I'd serialize the first section on the blog while I still try and get things ready to publish. These will be longer than the previous excerpts. I didn't write this in chapters, so the lengths may vary. Here's the first. I'd love to hear what you think, both good and bad.