Category Archives: Writing Projects

I am Officially a Writer

March 3, 2012 By in Writing Projects Tags: , , , , , , 3 Comments

Even if only in a small way.  I am excited to announce that one of my short stories has been selected to be included in a forthcoming horror short story anthology.  My first of, hopefully, many more.

I have written and submitted several short stories recently, each taking place in and around the events of The West Wind.  Yes, I know, I should be working on the book but I can rationalize these side efforts in a couple of ways:

  • Short stories have word counts.  Writing with a word count forces me to write as tightly as I can.  A good discipline and habit that will benefit a longer work where there is no word count.
  • World building with a purpose.  I have heard of writers spending years on world building without eventually even writing the novel.   I am doing it the other way around.  I wrote my first draft and now I am world building through the short stories.  My rewrite will benefit.  I also can’t help but thinking that the short stories benefit by being set in a world where it is clear that there are other things going on outside of the perspective.
  • Editing.  I hate it but learning how to do it takes the edge off a bit.
At the very least, I must admit that a little short term gratification on the longer road of writing a full length work ain’t bad either!

Let the Re-Write Begin!

January 29, 2012 By in The West Wind, Writing Projects Tags: , , , , , , , 3 Comments

I am re-writing.  Finally.

No more excuses.  No more indulgent distractions.  Time to buckle down and get going on the re-write.

Rachel’s backstory, though not actually in the novel, was my first task.  Something I had wanted to do following reading Jeter’s “Infernal Devices.”  The whole “inherit a clockshop” thing seemed a little too trite, too cliche.  So Rachel now has a new and better backstory.  Much darker and dangerous than previously.  Even better motivation than finding your fortune in the American Colonies… fleeing a dangerous conspiracy in England.  Unfortunately, Rachel and Clarence are only going to find themselves embroiled in even deeper intrigues.  Sort of “out of the frying pan an into the fire” type of thing.  Can’t let the two of them off that easy now can I?

How is the first revision of “The West Wind” going Don?

November 26, 2011 By in Meta, Writing Projects Tags: , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

Ummm.  Well.  Not so well.

I’ve heard much about the fear and incapacitation caused by a blank page.  I am suffering the opposite.  The sight of a full page of my prose sends me running the other direction.  I keep finding plenty of other things to do…  such as…

I was flattered to be asked by David Mark Brown to beta read his latest work “The Austin Job.”  If you are a follower you recall that I had read and reviewed his first work: “Fistful of Reefer.”  This next installment brings back some “love to hate” characters from the first book and a few “easter egg” references for readers of Fistful to discover.  David continues to develop his narrative skills as he begins to explore the “punk” side of the v1.0 Xpunk genres.  Ever present are the over-the-top characters and action that I enjoyed from his first work.  Expected release date of “The Austin Job” is on or about December 24.

In the meantime… back to not doing what I should be doing…

NoNaNoWriMoForMeOh

November 1, 2011 By in The West Wind, Writing Projects Tags: , , , , , 2 Comments

No NaNoWriMo for me this year.  I enjoyed it last year and found it a challenging and rewarding experience.  Rewarding in the sense of personal accomplishment but also the first 50,000 words of the West Wind.  Considering it took me 6 more months to write another 50,000, it truly was a great experience.

Instead, I am going to buckle down and tackle the rewrite of the West Wind. NaNo would just turn into another month long excuse not to get cracking.  I have been doing well enough distracting myself with short stories (I have convinced myself it is good for honing my editing skills).  I think I need a month of NaNoEditMo!

So for the folks that are going to take take up the challenge, whether for the first time or more, I wish you best of luck.  Enjoy and I will see you next year…

“The West Wind” Status Update…

September 11, 2011 By in The West Wind, Writing Process, Writing Projects Tags: Leave a comment

With a sudden surge of participation of Facebook pages, Blogs, and Forums I realized I had not posted to my own blog.  Nuts.

So special shout outs to all my new friends at S.W.A.G. and the BlackSails and Steampunk Authors FB pages!

So… Progress update lest I lead you fair reader astray.  In short, no progress.  And I am doing a regrettably poor job of taking time off to get caught up on my steampunk reading.  I have literally stacks of books begging to be read and blogged about.

What am I doing instead?  I started a horror short story set in the world of “The West Wind.”  It involves Rachel and her half brother Clarence but is told from the perspective of the sheriff of a small town into which they wander following a truly loathsome crime committed upon their persons nearby.  This is a scene from “The West Wind” with all the same characters, action, and conflict– just told from a different perspective.  The fun in it has been having to stick to the core of the storyline but given the opportunity to embellish and take the story in truly a different direction.  It is over 10k words right now but I do plan on chopping it down in length to fit submission guidelines of a couple of markets where it may fit.

So, you may ask, what are your plans dear writer for “The West Wind?”  Well… I want to get a first revision done before November so I can get copies out to a few close friends who have graciously agreed to be alpha readers.  Why November?  Another good question, but I would propose that the more perceptive among you know that November is National Novel Writing Month and, of course, I am already kicking around ideas for a sequel.  I know there is a lot of territory out there to be covered and I am burning daylight.

“The West Wind” – A Steampunk Adventure set in the Old West

August 14, 2011 By in The West Wind, Writing Process, Writing Projects Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

Un-sticking this post…

Status as of 10/23/11  11/26/11 1/29/12 11/23/12: Putting the rewrite “on hold”

It is the summer of 1912 and the western frontier of the British American Colonies is a pressure cooker of intrigues fueled by greed, resentment, and the need for revenge in this steampunk adventure dominated by plots and power struggles between rich and powerful industrialists. It is a world of massive floating mansions, horses, stagecoaches, airships, private railroad cars, dusty western towns, flying machines, and a traveling mechanical freak show.

Dramatis personæ:

Roland Pritchard – a true success story of Her Majesty’s American Colonies having built an extensive railroad empire that is the backbone of industrial development in the western frontier.

Eli Hardy – the only child of Jakob Hardy, recently returned from studying abroad (something more controversial) and is confronted by the real truth behind his father’s success.

Rachel West – an apprentice clock maker (something less banal) has emigrated fled to the American Colonies in search of a place where she and with her half brother Clarence will be accepted for who they are and not what society dictates. to escape a deadly conspiracy only to find herself embroiled in even more dangerous intrigues.

Rachel and Clarence West – Unintended Consequences

August 3, 2011 By in The West Wind, Writing Projects Tags: , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

Rachel West and her half-brother Clarence are by far the favorite characters of my early readers, classmates, and writing group. My first alpha reader, my thirteen year old daughter’s best friend, liked them so well that she did sketches for me. I posted them below – she is amazingly talented. Before you start rolling your eyes… yes their story starts in a clock shop, a steampunk trope or, as I would prefer to think of it: a “genre touchstone.” Regardless, I am going to hang a lantern on it… a gas lantern of course. Here is more about Rachel and Clarence:

Rachel was adopted off the streets of London by Hamilton West and made an apprentice in his clock shop because he knew his own son, Clarence, would never be capable of succeeding him the business.

Clarence is a kind and sensitive young man, but lacks the physical and mental capacity to perform complex tasks such as constructing or repairing clockwork.

Unfortunately, Hamilton dies prior to sponsoring Rachel’s application as a journeyman clockmaker putting her in the precarious position of owning a clock shop in the East End that lacks a journeyman or master horologist.

Rachel struggles with her obligation to Clarence, the memory of Hamilton, and her growing realization that she will never make the clock shop successful because of her continued status as an apprentice and her gender.

With the naïvety born from reading too many penny dreadfuls, Rachel sets out for the American Territories in search of a new life for her and Clarence where she believes she will be recognized for her gifts with clockwork and treated as an equal.

Of course… nothing could be farther from the truth.

Rachel West

Rachel West

Clarence West

Clarence West

Rachel and Clarence West – Unintended Consequences

August 3, 2011 By in The West Wind, Writing Projects Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Rachel West and her half-brother Clarence are by far the favorite characters of my early readers, classmates, and writing group. My first alpha reader, my thirteen year old daughter’s best friend, liked them so well that she did sketches for me. I posted them below – she is amazingly talented. Before you start rolling your eyes… yes their story starts in a clock shop, a steampunk trope or, as I would prefer to think of it: a “genre touchstone.” Regardless, I am going to hang a lantern on it… a gas lantern of course. Here is more about Rachel and Clarence:

Rachel was adopted off the streets of London by Hamilton West and made an apprentice in his clock shop because he knew his own son, Clarence, would never be capable of succeeding him the business.

Clarence is a kind and sensitive young man, but lacks the physical and mental capacity to perform complex tasks such as constructing or repairing clockwork.

Unfortunately, Hamilton dies prior to sponsoring Rachel’s application as a journeyman clockmaker putting her in the precarious position of owning a clock shop in the East End that lacks a journeyman or master horologist.

Rachel struggles with her obligation to Clarence, the memory of Hamilton, and her growing realization that she will never make the clock shop successful because of her continued status as an apprentice and her gender.

With the naïvety born from reading too many penny dreadfuls, Rachel sets out for the American Territories in search of a new life for her and Clarence where she believes she will be recognized for her gifts with clockwork and treated as an equal.

Of course… nothing could be farther from the truth.

Rachel West

Rachel West

Clarence West

Clarence West

Roland Pritchard has a POV and he isn’t afraid to use it…

August 1, 2011 By in The West Wind, Writing Projects Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

Roland Pritchard is one of my POV characters in The West Wind.

I had some basic ideas of who I wanted him to be when I set out to work on this project.  As I wrote, I found Roland helping me discover him.

Roland worked his way up from the bottom, a true success story of Her Majesty’s American colonies having built an extensive railroad empire that is the backbone of industrial development in the western frontier.

Despite Roland’s success, the misfortune of being born a “grounder” prevents him from being accepted by the powerful industrial elite that exploit the land’s natural resources to increase their personal wealth and power.

The West Wind follows Roland as he launches a conspiracy of fraud, manipulation and collusion to finally prove his superiority over the greedy tycoons and gain their respect.

Roland Pritchard is aided by his daughter Margaret Pritchard and his brother-in-law Nathan Webber the alleged, though vigorously denied, former outlaw.