A Month of Writing

June has ended, and it is time for a break 4^th of July – Independence Day. Food, Family, Fun & Fireworks and in our case we will visit a huge flea market and maybe a few antique stores.

Last Year Fort Laramie on the 4th of July

The end of the month also means a look back at my June writing. Once again it was not enough, seems like an ongoing theme. My goal for the year is a quarter of a million words, but I have never been close and looks like I will not be again this year. Oh well! All of my goals are sketchy at best, but I still would like to write at the 20,000 words per month pace, less than 700 per day.

So how did I do? 12,843 words, better than the past two months but still woefully short of my goal. For the year I am just under 122,000 words, if I pick it up, I might make the 250,000, but I am not betting on it not yet. I still continue working on a final edit, from the book proof and the finishing touches on, the first draft, of another novel.

Looks like about half of this month’s writing was in the form of blog posts as I made 20 total this month. Not bad and about what I expect each month.

Grandson Fireworks 

What’s holding me back? Lots and lots of visitors and lots of time with kids and grandkids. Typically I blame my lack of production on too much time with my camera, but I have not spent much time taking photos the past month. Must be the garden and maybe a bit too much golf. Oh and it was too hot to write, but now with an all new central air and furnace system it is terrific inside, but much poorer.

Maybe Not That Cool

Keep reading and keep writing and have a safe and memorable Independence Day.

Rod Miller's Poetry - Review

Last evening I completed Rod Miller’s wonderful book of poetry, “Things a Cowboy Sees –and Other Poems.” I don’t read a lot of poetry, not anymore. Much of today’s contemporary verse is either beyond my comprehension or is simply incomprehensible. I still read Robert Frost, my all-time favorite, and a few others from a century or more ago. In my most recent book, the historical novel, Commitment, my protagonist, Blade Holmes is known to quote some of the great poets of the day.

This one, Things a Cowboy Sees – and Other Poems, by Rod Miller, I liked, liked it a lot. He breaks the book into five sections: Horses and Hosses, Life Out West, The Rodeo Road, Roundups and Trail Drives and Making a Hand. My favorite section, well I live in Wyoming and loved the -  Life out West, section. Miller’s poem, A Guide to Ranching for the Politically Correct, is hilarious. That poem gave me my laugh of the day, two days in a row.

Miller was born and raised in Utah and grew up with ranching and rodeo. His background shows in his writing with a depth of understanding that could not have been written by a drug store Cowboy type. He has a long list of writing credits and looking through his books on Amazon, I see that I have read several of his western novels. Miller is a three-time winner of the Western Writers of America Spur Award and also a winner of the Westerners International, Fred Olds Award for Poetry.

All in all this is a terrific read for anyone who enjoys the west or westerns. Give it a try.

Writing Update

The review copy of my fifth book, Under Western Skies – 14 stories of Christmas, should be here tomorrow. I hope I don’t have too many things to clean up. Still would like it available, both as a book and eBook by next week. I like the book and have another book of short stories in the planning stages. This next one will be traditional western stories, not Christmas stories. I find writing short stories both relaxing and challenging. Sometimes it can take me a week or more to write a four or five-page story and get it the way I want.

Early draft of the cover for my book of Christmas shorts

I am also finishing up the first draft of my sixth book,  Mystery at Hell’s Half Acre, Wyoming. This is my first teen/young adult offering and will come in at a bit over 50,000 words. The book is set in modern times with flashbacks to the 1800s. It is both a discovery/growing up book and one that deals with American Indian (Arapaho) legend and beliefs. I am hoping for a release by February 1^st but will not hold my breath on that date.

Hell's Half Acre Wyoming - setting for my teen mystery

 Work continues on the research for my second nonfiction book, this one about Fort Laramie. Nonfiction is a whole different kind of animal – takes a lot of time, but it seems worth it, I learn a lot.

Old Bedlem on the grounds of Fort Laramie

For me, with winter, comes more writing. Not crazy about doing too much out in the cold any longer so writing occupies most of my days December through February. We do hope to take a trip south in February which should warm us up, but it may slow down the writing.

Winter is coming soon to the mountain west

Yesterday I found a tongue in cheek novella, I wrote 15 years ago about the trials and tribulations of starting a business. It still seems pretty timely, might give it another look. We have started up several, none succeeded, although one try lasted five years. Mostly we discovered much work – little money.

 

Enjoy the day!

Is That a Western You're Reading?

Seems like westerns have suffered through an identity crisis the past few years. Too many people still see everything written about the west as the old formula western. And they are still being written, some good and some not so good.

One of my favorite writers, Glendon Swarthout, who wrote. They Came to Cordura, The Shootist, and many other terrific books never thought of himself as a writer of westerns. I read a piece recently where Mr. Swarthout said in 1985, ''I never set out to write a western, I used western settings to tell stories that are universal.''

That seems to be the key to great westerns, tell the story first and if it happens to fall into the western genre, great.

Home Sweet Home

Summertime and the Writing is Slow

Some days, okay, most days I am glad I don't have to make a living as a writer. I do consider myself a full time writer but I have an income other than from writing, and boy am I glad. Last month was terrific but this month is starting slow, only a handful of sales so far. 

My kids books seem to be popular this summer.

I am just too distracted by things other than writing in the summer, hiking,  playing golf, photographer and spending time with kids and grand-kids seems to occupy most of my time. Oh - and then there is the lawn and garden, they take no time in the winter. This summer we are tackling painting the house also. No wonder I am not getting much writing done. 

Seems like most of my writing is now late at night and about an hour is all I can squeeze in before sleep comes calling. In winter I will write up to 3,000 words a day, now maybe a couple of hundred. Need a few more rain days,  miserable type days so I can get some work done. 

I am closing in on completion of my Christmas Short Story book and it looks like it will be out as planned this fall. Where I am falling badly behind is with my new nonfiction book, still researching and the going is slow, hope it does not take the two years my CCC book did. 

Enjoy the outdoors, it's summertime!

My wife enjoying a cool mountain stream

Write On

Jeff Goins wrote recently of his idea on what it takes to be a real writer. His answer, is to call yourself one. I happen to agree. If you write and want to call yourself a writer, why not. I called myself a baseball player in  Little League and a football player when I played in college. Was I ready for the majors or the NFL, sadly no. I wrote my first story when I was six or seven, and a great story it was, and have been dabbling in writing, first part now full time, ever since. Over the past forty plus years I have published in newspapers, magazines, a state publication and a  travelogue, Online I have been published on cooking sites, coaching sites, western sites,  mysteries, and travel sites. How much money did I make? Not much.

I have also written nine partial books, dozens of short stories, seven complete book of which I have published four. I call myself a writer. When I am speaking to groups I tell them I am a writer but not a famous or a rich one. I also tell  people that if they want to be a writer to be rich and famous that those are the wrong reasons.

I like to write and like to read and I like to read about writing but am not a marketer. Not by any stretch of my imagination. I have very little knowledge of social media, know nothing about SEO, and am woefully behind in my ability to self-promote – not my style.

If you are interested in SEO marketing and in really getting out and selling through social media or need a lot of information on Indy writing check out Greg Strandberg, great stuff a couple of times a week and always entertaining. But for me, all of my promotion is done by word of mouth,  on twitter and Google +, not much at all.

Oh, and I have an authors site on Amazon.

So I continue on as a writer and a happy one, celebrating each sale as if I am James Patterson or Steven King selling another million. Don’t take this wrong, I am not complaining, I am happy with my sales, would love to sell more but I really am in it for the story. With that said I will have three books coming out in the next year. I will be doing all of my minuscule promotions right here and on Twitter.

If you write it doesn’t matter if you call yourself a writer, scribbler or author, I salute you and happy writing or write on dudes - something like that. 

Summer book presentation - that's me with the good looking legs

Crazy .99 Ghost Book - Now That's a Good Deal

I now have one of my kids chapter books up for .99 cents on
Kindle. The book, Melvin the E Street Ghost, is the first of a series that will run to five or six books, two are for sale here now.

For those of you who have been with me for a few years you already know I write historicals and for kids. Well, This one could be a bit of each. It is the story of three buddies bumbling their way through a  wonderful summer  in the 1950s. Melvin the ghost, real or not, becomes the central figure in this fun and adventuresome read. Loosly based on some of the crazy stuff kids, including myself, did back before the days of video games and too much TV.

See all four of my books here.

Where Has All My Summer Gone?

Where has the summer gone? I know, it’s not close to finished yet, but it is moving along nicely. My writing has suffered as of late, seems like distractions are the order of the day.

Distractions like talking to a young man, some kids, and a Ranger at Fort Laramie

Too many short trips, visitors and other things getting in the way, and it won’t stop for a few more weeks. Looks to me like it will be the first of August before my life returns to my normal. Somehow I have managed to keep up, kind of, with my blogs but little work on my new book.

The four books that I have out have all sold some copies which is nice. I feel like if I had the time to promote more I could sell a few more copies. By the first of august, if things do settle down a bit, I may try one of the Kindle EBook promotions for my two kid’s chapter books. Thinking about making one free for a time. I have very little knowledge of how these promotions work so will need to do more non-writing work to figure it out.

But there is always an on the other hand. For me, this summer has been warm, busy, fun and eventful. What more could an old guy hope for? Oh, yeah, I little more writing time.

I'm Always up for a good hike or picnic

My Characters Have Become My Friends

I am doing my final read-through of my historical fiction novel, Commitment. ( I call it a western mystery) Then it goes off for edit and then to my readers.

When I finished I wondered what happened to several of characters from the novel, I also wanted to know what was going to happen next. Looks like I will need to write a second book with my main character, Blade Holmes.

Laramie Range - The setting for my historical fiction novel

Reminds me of Terry Brooks who said in his, Lessons From A Writing Life, “ If you do not ever wonder what happened to your characters after you stopped writing about them, you did not care enough about them in the first place and do not deserve to know”.

Writing and Vultures

Seems like the more writing blogs I read the more mixed up I become. Outlining or not outlining, traditional publish or self-publish. EBook or no ebook. How much should an editor do? Maybe a good proofreader is enough.

Sometimes I wonder why I read so many of these posts. Oh, I guess it is because I am always looking for one or two great tips. So today I will vary from my usual words of wisdom. That was a bit of a lame joke attempt.

 Not sure this has anything to do with writing but I had to post this great photo. Saw a wonderful vulture photo a few days ago and mentioned in the comments that I had always wanted to get a shot like this. Well, lucky me. Last evening I took this.

Sometimes when we hike these guys follow us - maybe they know something we don't

In the country the darkness of night is friendly and familiar, but in a city, with its blaze of lights, is is unnatural, hostile and menacing, It is like a monstrous vulture that hovers, biding its time. W. Somerset Maugham

More than a bit of wind on the lake last evening

Too Much to Do

I have learned my lesson – maybe. Lately, I have been working on three books at the same time. Actually I took a peak at a fourth but we won’t talk about that.

These are not genre westerns, two are kid’s books and one is a nonfiction book about the Civilian Conservation Corps. The one I took a peak at is the western.

So what have I been doing? Trying to get both the print and Kindle additions ready. Thought it would take a couple of days at best, well I was wrong. From now on I am going to try to work on one book at a time.

The two kids books (3^rd and 4^th grade reading level) – Melvin the E Street Ghost and, Then Mike said, “There’s a Zombie in my Basement, are part of a six-book series.

My other book, no editions for sale yet, will be out by Friday. It is the nonfiction book and I am really quite proud of the way it came out. The book entitled, The Civilian Conservation Corps & the Building of Guernsey State Park – With Folktales and Stories of the Park, will be returned with finished edits Tuesday and should be for sale by Friday.

Takes a Bit of Luck

Takes a Bit of Luck

I am rereading Terry Brooks terrific writing book, Sometimes the Magic Works. 

When I first came across this book I was not a fantasy fan, not that I didn’t like it, I just didn’t read it. I had read the Harry Potter Books that were in print at the time, the first three. I had students tell me how great Brooks writing was and that I just had to read, The Sword of Shannara.  I did read it after being impressed with his writing book, and then read his trilogy, Magic Kingdom for Sale.

View from the Castle in my Magic Kingdom - very nice

So what is this post all about? Luck! Yes, luck. Brooks relates that author Elizabeth Engstrom gave a talk where she says the number one factor as to whether an aspiring writer will get published is luck.

I might add that it needs to be good also. I often come across books that I think are very good but they don’t sell. Are my tastes that different than everyone else reading in that genre? I don’t think so. But luck may have played a role. We all have read stories telling how persistence, query, and query some more, can be important to getting published.

To go the traditional route in publishing today is slow and tough. But a few will make it, make it if they get just a bit of luck to get started.

One of my favorite spots in the park

Hey - What're Ya Reading

Seems I run into more and more people who say, “I don’t watch much TV. Then they tell me they would rather spend their time reading, but that’s it.

I am forever telling people what I am reading, and I read a lot. By the way, I also like to watch TV, even if it is politically incorrect to admit. There are several shows along with multiple sporting events that I enjoy very much on TV.  

My question is why do so many people say they spend their time reading but never talk about what or why or how good it is?

So here is what I am reading and I love to talk about it.

Tony Hillerman – A Memoir -- Just finished, super read.

Collection of Nebraska Pioneer Reminiscences -- Compiled by the DAR in the 1930s, Wonderful to anyone with ties to the Cornhusker state

Endangered, by C.J. Box, he is as good as there is for modern day western mysteries

The above is my normal M-O reading both a fiction and a nonfiction at the same time. Sometimes I throw in a collection of short stories along with the two books. I also read several samples each week looking for what I will take on next. And if we are off on one of our many two, three or four day trips we always take a book on CD.

There you have it, my reading and I love to talk about it. Oh, in the fall I also do a book club event where we go through several books and parts of others over a three month period.

*I do not count books I read to edit, or for books I am asked to review. I consider this part of my writing/work time.

Read on!

And sometimes I read here, one of my favorite places

Writing Can Be Fun

I read and often post many quotes about writing. They are mostly from established and famous authors. Thought it might be fun today to post some quotes from a non-writer. I think these are pretty funny. Both are from one of my all-time favorite comedians. 

"I’m writing a book. I have the page numbers done; now I just have to fill in the rest."

 "I've written several children's books ... Not on purpose."

Steven Wright

Well, after that post - guess it's time for me to get out of here

Bill Barrow and his Sagebrush Philosophy

I have made several posts in the last few years about Edgar Wilson (Bill) Nye. Nye was one of the most famous newspaper columnists of the late 1800s. So famous he went on humorous lecture tours and shared billing with Mark Twain. His Laramie Boomerang writings appeared in papers throughout America and overseas. Seems unlikely that a state as small as Wyoming could have a newspaperman of such prominence, but they did, and they also had another.

Merris C. (Bill) Barrow was nearly as well-known as Bill Nye. He came to Wyoming in 1878 and after a few months was working for Bill Nye who was then the editor of the Boomerang. He worked in an entry-level job in the papers make-up department but in a few years he was running the Douglas Budget.

Barrow wrote two segments for the paper that were widely circulated and appreciated. Authoring both, Sagebrush Philosophy (once a month) and his weekly column, Bill Barrow’s Budget. Barrow’s folksy cowboy philosophy was a hit. He advertised his newspaper as, “five the chunk”, (five cents each) or, “two plunks per” ($2.00 a year) and reported it was printed on, “prickly pear papyrus.”

He reported his sagebrush philosophy, was “pungent yes, but palatable.” The paper did well, for a small town paper, but it was Bill Barrow and his words that were sent around the country.

I am not sure today if newspapers present the type of vehicle a writer needs to become known worldwide. A few columnist writing for papers with circulations in the hundreds of thousands are well known but not the superstar writers of the old days. Today we reserve that status for our favorite novel writers.

Sunset in the Park

A Unique Read

Not often can I find a unique book. When I do I frequently cannot put it down. Like many readers, I read mostly formula fiction, mysteries and westerns. But formula reads are not as much fun as a truly unique read. Every writer has heard that publishers hate the word unique and when querying an agent or publisher never say, “this book or story is unique.” Too bad.

If you look back on books that are some of your all-time favorites, are they unique? Most likely they are. That’s why Harry Potter and Fifty Shades of Grey took off. They were something new and exciting, different or as I said above unique. What happens afterwards, dozens of copycat books, formula reads are published. They're not all bad either, some are pretty good. From this we create an odd scenario, to be a great book it should be unique, but it is nearly impossible to find someone wanting to publish a unique book.

Deep down every writer wants to do something unique, something great but over the years many settled for a paycheck and formula books especially in the western genre. But today formula westerns do not sell, at least not very well.

So what do I consider a unique read in the western genre? Here is my top five - Little Big Man, The Virginian, The Time it Never Rained, Hondo and Andy Adams’s, Log of a Cowboy. Those are my top five, not saying these are my picks as the top five westerns ever, just my pick as great unique reads.

Think I may have set a record for use of the word unique (12 times) in one post. Below see two of my photos that I think are very unique (13) and might make a great story.

Why We all Hate Commas

 Using commas, oh my.

I read today that writers do not use nearly as many commas as were used in 1900. I remember being taught that if you forgot all the rules, which most of us have, to place a comma whenever you hear a pause. Today this seems to be a little used and mostly forgotten comma lesson. Why? Because that leaves too many of the dreaded comma’s. There is a relationship between pauses and commas, but it is not strong enough to always use a comma for a pause.

Best advice I read on commas is that if you are not sure leave it out. Now that’s pretty good.

I am reading a new grammar book taking a look at how comma use has changed. Hope it helps. My undergraduate minor was in American Literature nowadays I wish it would have been in English.

 Not really.

My photo of the day

Relaxing this evening in the beautiful North Bluff Castle at Guernsey State Park

Anton Chekhov and Reviews

I read quite a few writing/writer blogs and very often will buy at least one book by the blogger. Before I purchase I take a look at the reviews on Amazon and most often it is the same, everything from one star to five. Several one star reviews I read recently were about the delivery of the book, not being in a timely matter. Not sure that helps or hurts the author. As far as reviewer’s go it seems there are two types, people like me, that do not post a review unless I can give it four or five stars and the dreaded reviewers that love handing out one star. Like many people, I’m sure, I often click on one star reviewers to look at some of their other reviews, and more often than not they are all negative.

I like real reviews and look for blogs or web pages that review books with some real thought and insight into both the book and the author. I know that many writers are downcast when someone writes a negative review, but remember when our old high school teachers told us too - consider the source?

I have three books that I will release within the next few weeks and already worry about getting a bad review – if and when I get any reviews at all. Every writer that has ever worried about a review would do well to remember one of my favorites, Anton Chekhov and what he thought of book reviews.

 “I’ve been reading reviews of my stories for twenty-five years, and can’t remember a single useful point in any of them, or the slightest good advice.”
—Anton Chekhov

My Place to Relax

Re-Write and Do It Again

The toughest part of writing is writing until its good enough. Writing until the pickiest critic, yourself, is satisfied.

I had someone recently ask me why I have not attempted to publish the four, yes four, books I have written. Easy, they are not good enough. I am continually working on them. When I get rejected I want my best stuff to be rejected, not something I wrote in a few hours.

I actually have enough short stories to put together three more books, but who’s counting?

"Books aren't written, they're rewritten. Including your own. It is one of the hardest things to accept, especially after the seventh rewrite hasn't quite done it..." - Michael Crichton

And if I need inspiration I take a quick trip to the park.

I Only Know Three Things About Editing

First - Print it out and edit from the paper copy

Editing from the screen has become the method of choice for many writers, and will work if you plan to send it off to a professional editor afterward. If you do not have the time, or money, for a professional editor, you must edit from paper.

The last time I posted about not hiring a professional editor I got quite a few comments from writes saying a book should never be published without proper professional editing. This is wonderful advice if the writer can afford the over $1,000 needed to get a good job.

As I have stated here before one of the problems in editing, and the writing business in general, is finding a good editor. Book doctors and editors need only to advertise and they are in business. Sad, but there are some real scam artists calling themselves editors who may or may not run your works through a quick editing program and pronounce it edited and ready for publication.

Second - Read it aloud

Reading out loud will let you find, bad punctuation, poor word choice, awkward sentences and sometimes tense changes. The good news here is that programs are available that will read your work. They will sound like a computer reader, odd, but maybe not so odd since it is the computer reading.

I like to read it myself and listen to myself, which sounds a bit full of myself, but it works. Wives, husbands or friends reading your words to you works great.

Third – Look for overuses of easy/lazy words. Here’s my list.

That, stuff, things, very, got, all, every, seem, almost, sometimes, big, little, have got, just - and the dreaded, was-is-are-am

It is simple to use the find and replace editing function to pick up these and at least, attempt a fix.

There you have it the only three thing’s I know about editing, not much.  Must be why I am looking out my window at a foot of new snow instead of writing today.

Oh- don’t forget to spell and grammar check, often.