Next Chapter Bookstore & Bistro is my favorite place to write. Yeah, sure, lots of people go to bookstores to buy books. Not me, I go there to write books. Just the kind of crazy hoot ‘n nanny that I am all about. The right amount of distraction, endless supply of coffee and snacks combined with some of the nicest folks you will ever meet.
Easter Egg Alert – I have written Next Chapter into the epilogue of the West Wind.
And I finished a scene (3 scenes to a chapter… 1 & 1/3 to go!)
It’s 1 and 2/3 chapters from being done,
we got a MacBook with a full charge,
the family is out of town,
it’s dark…. and I am wearing sunglasses (ok, not really. But I am wearing my writing glasses).
Hit it.
Another shout out to a great artist I met at Maker Faire Detroit today: Raygun Robyn. I admired her depth of knowledge on some of my favorite movies! The best part was she had really awesome handmade goodies. Check them out here.
Sore feet, a bit of dehydration and, I am afraid, a bit more sunburn than I would have preferred. Despite that, Maker Faire was a hit for me this year. I was a bit concerned at first because the show looked smaller than it did last year. Surprise, the added space in The Henry Ford (Museum) was a perfect touch. What a better place than a museum dedicated to the greatest makers of the past.
I think the highlight of the show for me was meeting the nice folks from Steampunk Hatter. They had a decent sized tent and the most extraordinary hats that I have ever seen. All leather with varying amounts of steampunk decoration to your taste. Of course, I couldn’t pass up getting a hat. Call it a celebratory gift for finishing the first draft (ok, still a bit pre-mature, but it is going to be done this before I head off to Gen Con blast it all!). I passed on the top hats and went for the black stoker. If you have the chance to get one of these hats online, or in person from the fine folks at Steampunk Hatter… you will not be disappointed!
Welcome to those of you who are visiting for the first time through the efforts of my shameless self promotion. I am planning on carpeting Gen Con with “The West Wind” business cards just to bring in more visitors. With that in mind, I am planning a bit of a content blitz starting 8/1 and leading up to Gen Con itself.
What you are likely to see:
So welcome first time visitors, welcome back others that have been here before – lets get out the brass goggles and feed the firebox… it is going to be a fun ride.
I was introduced to a new writers group tonight – some really great folks and a couple of old friends from writing class. I enjoyed attending and hope that I get to spend more time with them in the future.
Quick progress update…. I have 1 & 2/3 chapter to complete the first draft. I have to get it done before heading off to Gen Con next week. Have to keep it under a year!
The West Wind has moved to a new MacBook Air and a fully licensed production version of Scrivener (half off with 2010 NaNoWriMo winner’s coupon!)
I have come full circle. My first computer on which I did my first writing (a robotics lab manual) was an Apple IIe.
Badges bought, hotel booked, almost ready to go.
I had hoped to have first draft done and a full revision before going to Gen Con. Pretty good for a year of work it would have been. Having never written a book before, I can see that I was suffering from unsubstantiated optimism.
I did finish a chapter this last week. So the “two and a half” that I have been repeating for a while now is down to “two more.” It was a long chapter and I blew something up.
Two more.
As I said in my opening of the blog, writing a book was something I had always wanted to do. And I am doing it. I have been printing chapters as I complete them, a tip I had picked up early on from Micheal Stackpole’s podcast, to help ensure you have a backup and to prevent co-mingling writing and editing. Holding the fat binder also has the benefit of making you feel like you are accomplishing something. Hard to deny when you see the stack of paper growing.
I took Stackpole’s seminar at Gen Con Indy last year. I had decided to finally take my writing seriously. Since then I have taken two writing classes, won NaNoWriMo and have over 106k words on the West Wind complete. My hope is to wrap it up and head down to Gen Con this year with a sense of accomplishment. No great expectations of course other than doing some networking. But it does have a sense of bringing things full circle.
Just finished an Eli chapter, two more of his POV to go and only one more Rachel chapter until I am done. Can I do it this long weekend?
D.W. Beyer 