So, what's next?

You tell 'em, Franco.

Before yesterday, I had something to work on.

I had to get III Crimsonstreak in shape. I had to do a significant overhaul of my other work-in-progress--we'll just call it the space station book for now.

I've sent III Crimsonstreak off to my publisher. My current work-in-progress is about as polished as it's going to get.

I'm now in that gray area. I have to decide what to work on next. Do I finish an abandoned work-in-progress written when my writing was in its infancy? Do I return to the half-finished book I was working on before I decided I'd better get III Crimsonstreak and my WIP whipped into shape? Do I start something new?

This is always the hardest thing for me to decide. I haven't been doing the daily grind of 2,000 for a few weeks because I've devoted my energy to re-reading and rewriting two books that needed a lot of work. Now that those two projects are essentially done, I need to decide what to work on next.

Here are some possibilities:

The Exclusive: I've written about 45,000 words on this one--meaning it's about halfway done. It starts out as a crime story featuring a journalist before turning into a paranormal/supernatural mystery. I like the concept and I have the story outlined. If I work on it for a month or two, I'll probably have a first draft ready to go.

Synopsis: TV reporter Kent Carter knows Mayor Harrison Johnson is corrupt--he just can't prove it. Damning documents disappear, witnesses suddenly change their stories, and his talkative sources in the police department don't have anything to say. When a mysterious source steps forward with proof of corruption within Johnson's administration, Kent finally gets his exclusive. He just doesn't expect his lead story to unleash hell on Earth.

Red Plague: I think this was my third attempt at a novel. I've always liked the concept, which involves the bubonic plague, Soviet-era intrigue, and time travel. I would describe it as Crichton-esque in concept (but not in execution). I'm about 37,000 words into this one, but the last time I worked on it was 2010. I tried reading through it a few months ago, and it's cringe-worthy. I can see all of my writing flaws in this earlier work. Still, I, Crimsonstreak had similar problems, and I managed to turn that into a readable book. Part of me thinks I should trunk this version and start over.

Synopsis: A man materializes at a county fair in the Midwest before collapsing, spreading a deadly new strain of bubonic plague that begins sweeping across the world. As millions die, CDC specialist Anna Manning makes a startling discovery: the disease appears to have been genetically altered in the past. The revelation dredges up painful memories of the Cold War and forces Anna to travel back in time, the fate of humanity resting on her shoulders

G-Men: I've had this concept kicking in the back of my head for a long time, and I have a rough outline. It would be a book set in the 50s about a superpowered team of government crimefighters. Basically, a special agent gets Robocopped; super-spy hijinks and Cold War intrigue ensue. Love Cold War Era stuff.

Mortimer: International Man of Taste and Intrigue: I think Mortimer P. Willoughby and the Crusading Comets deserve a book of their own. Or maybe two books. I don't know. Morty is my favorite character in the Crimsonverse. I think a standalone novel in which he recounts the adventures of the various Crusading Comets would be tons of fun. I have an outline for this one.

The problem is I have to pick something. It's a big commitment...we're talking months of work to get a first draft, revisions, that daily grind of putting out 2,000 words.

I'll have to think about it.

Everyone needs a vacation

After finishing up edits on II Crimsonstreak and The Franchise, I took a break. I haven't written any new words in about two weeks. Part of it is that I've been trying to figure out what to write next. Part of it is that I've been reading through III Crimsonstreak as I prepare to get notes back from Super Beta Reader Mike so I can get it ready for submission.

I finally settled on what my next project will be. I'm not going to say what it is--it's an existing draft that needs about 30,000 or 40,000 more words--because I want to keep the concept guarded. I downloaded it to my Kindle so I can read it easily. I already know some changes I want to make, but the first order of business will be to read the current draft to re-familiarize myself with the characters and map out the rest of the book.

You see, even though I wrote it, even though I created it, I don't remember 100% of everything in the book. So I have to go back, take notes, check my character beats, and then map out the rest of the book.

My writing vacation, it seems, will soon come to an end.

I have to finish my new work in progress. I need to revise III Crimsonstreak and write the appendices. I want to work on the chapter-by-chapter commentary for II Crimsonstreak. It all starts next week.

Waiting for the next project

Well, we've had some busy times lately. Kind of.

I blogged last week over at the Candlemark & Gleam website about the importance of being ready when you submit. We also unveiled the stellar cover for II Crimsonstreak by artist Brooke Stephenson. We're looking at a release date of October for the Crimsonstreak sequel.

That leaves me wondering what my next project should be. III Crimsonstreak is off to Super Beta Reader Mike. I just finished polishing The Franchise as I prepare to send it around (it still needs another beta read before I do that). I have a half-finished book with a terrific premise that needs about 40,000 more words before the first draft is complete.

I just don't know what to do next.

I do know that I'd like to get III Crimsonstreak ready to go by the end of the summer/early fall. However, until I hear back from my beta reader, I can't do a whole lot of work on it. I'll re-read it and make notes, but I need someone to give me the "outside view" of the novel and its inner workings. I think the last act is problematic and needs more setup in the earlier parts of the book.

So what should I work on?

I have a space adventure book about a former gladiator trapped on a planet that I really like. I wrote it a couple years ago, but it needs some major polish. It's not exactly pleasant to read through because some of the writing is rough, but I'm more adept at fixing it now. The title of that one, by the way, is Sheridan's Hammer. I really like the main character in that one. Hmmmm.

I haven't written any new words in about a week. I have to figure out something to work on. Quickly.

Still revisioning

I hit the "halfway point" on revisions for the third Crimsonstreak book. I put quotes around "halfway point" because I'm not really halfway finished. As I've written before, I had about 70,000 words written on the book. Then, after doing revisions for II Crimsonstreak, I realized the third book needed a fresh coat of paint and wasn't going anywhere. I trimmed 10,000 words immediately (a section that was fairly pointless) and ended up cutting another 5,000 words.

This was after I went back to the drawing board and wrote an outline that laid out the plot in great detail. Since I'd tweaked the ending of the second book, I had sections to rewrite and characters to add. Some things from the original draft stayed, some things went away. So when I say I'm at the "halfway point," it means that I'm at page 170 of my 340-page Word document.

And I still have LOTS of work to do. Once the revisioning is done, I'll have to write the darn ending. And, yes, I know "revisioning" isn't a word. Then again, neither is "Reaganing" and that worked out well for Jack Donaghy.

I decided this week that I wanted to read Jurassic Park again and write a blog post about the differences between the book and the movie. I started last night and got about 50 pages in. More on that later.

Update on projects

I really don't have a ton going on right now. I just wrapped up rather intensive revisions on II Crimsonstreak for Candlemark & Gleam. I still have a few things to shake out, but it's much stronger than it was before. That's the great thing about having an editor: they really help you stand outside your work and see how other people view it. I know there are writers out there who don't think they need help like that...but I think a good editor is essential for a great book. There's no way II Crimsonstreak was ready to go in the form I submitted. Part of that was my eagerness to get it out there. I should've worked on it for another month before submitting. Then again, sometimes you get so close to your work that you stop being able to actually "see" it, so sending it off and getting feedback was probably for the best.

I used a very light outline for II Crimsonstreak. Since that book needed so much reworking and lacked focus in many respects, I'm attempting a tighter plot for III Crimsonstreak. You see, the second book ends on a cliffhanger that I have to resolve. I was already about 70,000 words into III Crimsonstreak, but the revision on book two helped me see some real problems with the third book. I sat down and wrote a five page outline based on some of the stuff I'd already written for the book. I immediately deleted four chapters (about 10,000 words) and started revising what I'd written. What about the other approximately 60,000 words? Some of that will remain, some it will be modified, some of it will be merged with other parts of the book, and some of it will be scrapped altogether.

Once I get III Crimsonstreak into better form, I have another novel that I'm about 50,000 words into. Before I continue with this book--a kind of Three Amigos/Galaxy Quest/Redshirts mash-up--I want to check my character beats and get a tighter focus on how I resolve the plot. My outline isn't very detailed. After rereading the book two weekends ago, I think it's a great concept and the writing is very strong in points. I want to change around some character traits (one character is very whiny at first and then isn't so whiny later in the book...and I like the latter version) and get some specific notes on plot points I want to resolve.

I don't define myself as a plotter or a pantser, although reading the above probably makes you think I'm closer to the latter than the former. I outline my stories and write character bios/sketches, but as the book develops, things change. I see nothing wrong with "going with the flow," but it's clear to me that I struggle to resolve those changes with the existing progression of the book.

I've written about 9,000 words on another project that's heavily inspired by Les Misérables with a little Revolutionary War and masked avenger flavor thrown in for good measure. If I can pull this one off--I have ten page outline for it--it would be somewhat more literary than any of my other books. I'll just have to see what happens.

First Draft in Facebook

I was looking through my author page on Facebook and realized I had basically created my own timeline covering the development of my first draft of Crimsonstreak 2. How long does it take to outline a book and complete a first draft? According to this timeline, it took me 108 days to finish a first draft of the main story, which weighs in at 87,000 words.

It's an interesting visual and I thought I'd share it. You can always "like" my author page right here.

The first draft of Crimsonstreak 2 is coming along nicely. I'm currently camped at 79,700 words after a solid 2,000-word outing last night.

I was aiming for 80,000 words initially, but I will definitely exceed that (unless I can wrap up my story threads in fewer than 300 words).

I'm juggling all kinds of things in the sequel: an alien invasion, more parallel universe tomfoolery, a lovable man-bird, a Green Lantern-like interplanetary peace corps, and the "return" of a character who didn't make it through the first book. Seriously, I've ratcheted the crazy up to 11. It's kind of embarrassing. The thing is, I know right now that it doesn't totally work because this is a first draft and first drafts must be destroyed!

I abandoned some very important characters who were prominent earlier in the book. I need to fix that. The motivations of the bad guy aren't clear. I need to fix that. I don't introduce the bad guy early enough. I need to fix that. My main character needs a more solid character arc involving his relationship with a certain someone. I need to fix that.

By the weekend, I'll probably have the first draft complete. I'll then sketch out some ideas for extra, supplemental material and get to work on some of that. After a few days or even a week, I'll hastily reformat Crimsonstreak 2 in HTML and email it to my Kindle, where I'll read through it and find out how epically I missed the mark on the first draft. I'll make corrections, I'll change plot points, move some characters around, and generally make another mess. After that, the manuscript goes to some beta readers for feedback and more general destruction.

For me, revisions generally take much longer than spitting out the first draft.

I wrote the first book, for example, in 2007. It really didn't take all that long (a few months, like this one). I played around with submitting it a couple years later, but I didn't know what I was doing. I went through several revisions until the book felt polished and then got some feedback from readers. This summer, I submitted it to a publisher. That's a four-year development cycle, with the majority of that dedicated to revising.

Of course, I was not as polished of a writer (that was my second attempt at a book while this is my seventh), so I expect this process to go a little more smoothly.

A quick Reggie Miller Writing Continuum Update!

Quick Reggie Miller Writing Continuum update!

I'm working on a new book right now and hoped to be well past the 30,000-word mark by now. I'm just barely over that at the moment...and I needed to rally yesterday to make it happen.

During a quiet night of writing, I pounded out more than 3,000 words, putting me on the lower end of "Sold-Out Conseco" on the Reggie Miller Writing Continuum.

Boom, Baby!

A super-productive day today! I banked 5,400 words on my latest book, earning the rare (and distinguished!) position of Reggie at the Garden on the Reggie Miller Writing Continuum. To celebrate, I'm having a cookie and reliving my favorite "Garden variety" moment:

Another Average Night on Crimsonstreak 2

I'm staving off a cold right now, but I still managed to cobble together 1,650 somewhat coherent words of my new book. I like where it's going, although I'm already concerned about the pacing because things are moving just a little too quickly and conveniently.

But the point of a first draft is to get it out there and THEN make it good. So call it another Average Night on the Reggie Miller Writing Continuum. My reward: sleep.

Moving right along...

After realizing I've neglected the blog of late, I prepped a few blog posts tonight.

Writing progress was slow, but I finally got into a groove, finishing with 1,700 words and giving me another Average Night on the Reggie Miller Writing Continuum.

Galley Proofs and Edit Notes

Received a pretty cool email today that's a first for me.

My short story "And the World Stopped" will appear in the Told You So anthology from Pill Hill Press. It's looking like the book will come out in the next month or so.

Anyhow, I received an electronic galley of the anthology today. I can't show it to anyone, but it's a first for me. The galley proof is what the book will look like when it goes to the printer. It's one of the final steps in the editing process and gives authors the chance to look over their work.

In this particular case, I'm reading "And the World Stopped" and looking for any inconsistencies before the book goes to the printer. I have spotted a couple minor things, but it's neat to see a preview of the book, complete with copyright page, table of contents, and author biographies.

I also learned that several of the other authors are from Indiana and/or the Midwest. My corrections are due by August 4th, so I'll be working on that.

In addition, I received editing feedback for my short story "Harrigan the Magnificent," which will appear in Timid Pirate Press' Cobalt City: Dark Carnival anthology in September. I haven't had a chance to look at the suggestions (admission: I worked on the Ray Liotta Quality Meter and FORGOT TO DO IT), but will work on giving the piece a bit of a polish this weekend.

Writing production has been down this week. I've been working on doing the electronic formatting for a possible anthology of my own stories. That's taken up time. I've also been reading more (thanks, Kindle!). Combine that with a quick road trip to the family reunion, a few blog posts, and work...and you've got the recipe for a drop in writing production!

He's heating up!

Pounded out more than 1,700 words on the Reggie Miller Writing Continuum in a little more than an hour. If I hadn't spent time tonight making some book covers, who knows where I would've landed?

Superhero story now at more than 4,700 words and has now eclipsed my crime story!

I expect to finish the superhero tale soon. After that, I'll get back to the other one.

Smashwords and a Quick Update

I've put five stories up at Smashwords and am asking for a fair price of 99-cents for them. Actually, I'm part of a summer promotion at the site, and the code "SSWSF" gets you those stories for free. You can find my author profile here. Since I am now a bookselling whore, I've also added a new "Matt's Store" tab to this blog. Some of my stories are also available in the Amazon Kindle Store.

Someone was kind enough to buy a pair of stories on Smashwords today without using the promotional code. If this was a mistake, I apologize, dear customer. If you bought out of the kindness of your heart, I appreciate it (or it could be a case of "Thanks, Mom!"--I really don't know).

After a fun day of celebrating the Fourth of July weekend with my in-laws, I pounded out 1,500 words, putting me at Average Night on the Reggie Miller Writing Continuum.

I'm now about 3,000 words into a new superhero short story.

The other crime fiction story I'm working on is about 4,100 words now. I need to get back to that one soon.

Working on a new story!

I'm doing something I normally don't do: I've got two stories going at the same time. One is straight up crime fiction, while the other returns to my love of the superhero fiction genre.

I started the superhero story tonight and churned out more than 1,500 words, which puts me at Average Night on the Reggie Miller Writing Continuum.

A Solid Effort

Working on a short story that's straight-up crime fiction, which makes it different from anything I've written before. No superheroes, no extraterrestrials, and no talking animals for this one.

We're at 4,400 words now...1,900 of them written tonight. That's an Average Night on the Reggie Miller Writing Continuum. As the story is going right now, it's feeling like it's going to be a bit on the long side. We'll just have to see.

New Short Story in Progress

I outlined a new short story a couple of weeks ago and started working on it last night.

This one is a different genre for me; it's not sci-fi, it's not superheroic, there's little "fantasy" to it. The story is more straight-up crime fic with influences from The Godfather. And I hope I mean "influenced" and not a complete ripoff of a classic.

The idea for this story came after reading the Mario Puzo's book and re-watching the Godfather movies. I promise there will be no Joey Zasa. Or Andy Garcia.

What it all means, however, is that it's time for an update on the Reggie Miller Writing Continuum. I wrote for about an hour and a half last night, churning out more than 1,500 words. It's not a banner night, but it is an average one.

Updates for my updates

Tuesday, I provided some quick updates for some of the writing projects I've been working on. You'll find the original post here.

Ah, but today I have updates for my updates!

It looks like the Live and Let Undead anthology will go to press next month. The cover art is still being worked on, a couple of writers are still doing some deep editing, and the book won't quite be ready by the end of June. My story, "Sparky Save the World," will appear in this one. I'm proud of "Sparky" (like a doting parent, I'm proud of all my kids...er...stories) because the story stretched me a bit. I'd never written a zombie tale before. Now I have.

I only have two stories still out on submission at the moment. One was requested as a "hold" (which means the editors didn't reject it, but haven't accepted it outright--a kind of submission purgatory, if you will). I still hadn't heard about the other.

I can't say that now.

That story is also a "hold," which means it has a good chance of making it into the anthology, but could still be rejected.

So I'll either go two-for-two, one-for-two, or oh-for-two with these stories. When I find out, I'll post it here.

Reggie Meter Update!

I haven't done one of these in a while because I've been busy with revisions and some side projects. But I'm happy to report that I pounded out more than 3,900 words tonight, putting me comfortably in "Sold-Out Conseco" on the Reggie Miller Writing Continuum!

New Short Story in the Works!

After revising Crimsonstreak for such a long time and working on some blog posts, inspiration has finally struck for a new short story! I wrote for about an hour tonight, finishing a tick above a thousand words. It's not the best finish ever, but good enough for "Free Throws and Jumpers" on the Reggie Miller Writing Continuum.

The new story is called "The Master Will Return." It's about the relationship between an obtuse but loyal robot servant and his caring master. This one may actually tug at the heartstrings when it's finished.