Dusting off the 'ole Damn Boots

It’s s stupid metaphor for getting back into writing.

“Dusting off boots”

Makes ya think of these, doesn’t it?

…maybe more dust and less snow.

Like I said, a stupid metaphor, and a stock photo.

I stopped writing back in January of ‘22—maybe longer than that.

Sometime back before then my Editor gave back my edited 2nd Novel. The experience was humbling. Truth be told it was a slow-burning reality-check, punch to the fucking gut. The thing is, I know I’m a good writer. But only I know this. Maybe a few other people do to—maybe. But a few hundred people don’t know this—certainly not a few thousand. And I’m untested. Getting my incomplete 2nd Novel edited was a test. And I wouldn’t say I failed. I had to fucking regroup—get my shit together and do a lot of thinking.

I took some time off. I didn’t write. I let me creativity out in other ways. I started a YouTube Channel building Legos. I had another kid.

ChatGPT and MidJourney came out during this time away from writing. I started prompting AI Generated art that you can buy here in my store. Some of it is based on the world I am writing into existence and some of it is quirky pop-art—shit I find interesting.

DJ Stark

Back to those dusty boots…

I’m plotting out my story again. I’m not writing—not just yet. I’m laying the foundation. I’m doing several somethings that I’ve never done before:

1. I’m writing on a Mac. Yeah I know. What the fuck, right? But hear me out! David Bowie—yes I’m comparing myself to David Bowie—went through all these phases in his career. He was Ziggy, Aladdin Sane, Halloween Jack, The Thin White Duke and the Blind Prophet. Up until now I’ve been the Windows Guy. Now I’m entering my Mac Guy Persona. It’s kinda groovy actually. The software I’m using, Scrivener and Aeon Timeline were sorta built for this type of hardware. The ease in which I can switch between the two apps is nothing short of amazing. Don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll evolve into my next persona before too long, or become some kind of weird pan-technical chimera.

2. I’m making an outline. I’m not going to use the dumb writing terms involving “pants” and “plans” but I was always of the “pants” variety. It was physically jarring to try and outline—to plan out a story, which has always been something of an organic process for me. But the reality of this story is, it’s been swimming around between my synapses now for years. I know all the beats, all the scenes, and all the not yet conceived scenes that will come into being based on the ideas and rules of the story that I’ve already established. So it’s time for me to stop spinning my fucking wheels and literarily jerking-off with writes and rewrites. Time to get my shit in order. I’m not writing right now. I’m outlining, plotting, and carving a fucking map—a story bible to follow when I actually start writing. I’m doing everything short of etching this motherfucker in stone and then I’m going to look at it, pick a section, and start writing out the pros, start check off the boxes and getting it done, once and for all.

3. I’m not putting any time limits or pressure on the Hows and the Whens. It will be ready when it’s ready. It will also be ready when I don’t have a steaming pile of shit for my Editor.

4. Lastly, I’ve given up Coffee thanks to the-virus-that-shan’t-be-named. After that little nuisance coffee makes me anxious to the point of panic attacks—another something I’ve never ever done before.

I think that covers my year-plus off of writing, thinking of writing, and doing anything having to do with fiction.

Oh, and I’ve started reading fiction again.

So what have I been reading? Glad you asked:

1. The Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas—Pretty good but the antagonist was about as 2D as one could get before being 1D, very lame. Hated the bad-guy for all the wrong reasons.

2. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood by Quentin Tarantino—Just started this. Loving it like I loved the movie. Add a lot more depth to the characters that cinema just doesn’t have time to convey. Gonna rewatch the 3-Hour movie again afterwards.

3. In the queue I have Dan O’Malley’s Blitz, Justin Cronin’s The Ferryman, David Wong’s If this Book Exists, You’re in the Wong Universe, and some James Axler pulp-apocalyptic sci-fi for when I feel like taking this whole literary thing seriously.

Cheers!

And so, to business

It’s been some time since my last post. So I wanted to cover a few projects I’m trying to get off the ground.

Twitch

I’m streaming on Twitch. You can find me Here

During the week from 6AM - 7AM you can see me writing stories and talking about it.

On the weekends I can be found in the evening playing games like Batman, or whatever else I feel like playing.

See the schedule on Twitch for an up-to-date list.

When I’m not actively streaming, enjoy the salty styles of saltykaitlyn and a cast of few once I add more friends to my Host List.

Please feel free to Follow me, and watch and chat when I’m streaming! Just like here at CGMcGinn.com, my Twitch Stream is the Happiest Place on the Internet.

Fire and Brimstone

So I’m posting my work on This Website for your enjoyment. As I write the chapters I’ll update This Page.

As new chapters are released I’ll update my social media accounts so that everyone will know when new content comes out.

These are rough drafts of my work. Here is my process: I’m writing this story live on Twtich in the morning. I’ll then read through each chapter, clean up any grammar and expand on a few ideas. For example, in the live writing of Chapter 1, the character of Charlotte didn’t have a previous career as a pastry chef. That bit of her backstory was added during this initial editing phase and released today, Here.

Eventually I’ll have a complete story that is edited, and consistent and polished, which will be published here on the website in a digital format. But in the meantime, if you find entertainment in these rough-cuts of my work, feel free to take advantage of the Donate button and throw some value, for the value you received.

Thanks!