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Very soon I will be another year closer to 40. 40 for whatever reason seems old to me. I know that it isn't, but...where did the time go?

I always saw myself as one of those 'young' authors. Never quite got my shit together for that though. As time went on I dismissed those authors as somewhat of a gimmick. But who am I to judge really, I don't have anything in print and I'm pushing forty.

At the start of the summer The Wife and I read Stiletto, Dan O'Malley's second book in The Checquy Files series. I highly recommend it. Where the Rook was told from the perspective on a single character, this new novel branches out over several vastly different points of view. Because the Rook did such a good job at setting the stage, Stiletto puts the reader right into the moment, into the actions and lives of both familiar characters, while introducing new ones. The beats are much faster.

You can read Stiletto without having first read The Rook, but do yourself a favor and read The Rook first. Buy both books. They are a collection worth having.

Around the time of Stiletto's release, I had the wonderful librarians I work with order a copy of both Rook and Stiletto. Those two books have not sat on the shelf for longer than a day since they were put out. They've been checked out dozens of times by both local patrons, inter-library loan, and staff members. These are books you need to read. Get them from your library, buy them, own them. Dan O'Malley has tapped into something original, funny, full of tension and suspense--something that'll keep you guessing until the end.

Through the world of written text across the digital screen I raise my glass to you now, Dan, and say, well done!

On a personal side note: I didn't expect the direction you'd taken with Stiletto. I honestly thought the story was going to be about vampires for some reason :-p

I set up a Donations button on the About page of the website. I was on the fence about this for a while. I'm still not sure about it. It's there. I'm not going to start promoting it aside from telling you about it now. If you feel compelled to give because you want to support a yet to be discovered writer, by all means do so. Currently there aren't any incentives to giving apart from my sincerest thanks and gratitude.

I just wanted to put that out there. Financially we're paying the bills. I don't have any sob-story about having to sell all that we own in order to feed the baby. Any extra received would act as a motivation tool. Finding the time to write has been difficult after working all day--often at two different jobs. Taking care of a newborn has also changed when I can write. I was never  good at budgeting my time, and what little free time I have, honestly, when given the choice to zone out and play video games, or write, video games usually wins out. Anyway, I didn't want to turn this into a whoa is me post. I'm just being honest here. It's a time of transition. I'm finding that having a kid tends to put one into a constant state of transition. I'm rolling with it, keeping positive, knowing that the time to write again will happen eventually.

Until then, there are good books to be read and pictures of my son to be laughed at. He's going to kill me when he gets older.

Change'n. The Times. They are.

I re-read The Waste Lands by Stephen King--which is said to be the best book in The Dark Tower series. I tend to agree. The last time I read it was in college, which was a long time ago. *I pause to contemplate the passage of time*

It was a very different read the second time, and many years around, and my memories of events and characters were very different. The scene in the Tick-Tock Man's lair was rather simplistic in my young college mind. The setting was more trash-strewn hovel than trash-strewn missile silo. Did my memories filter out the details or where they never there to begin with? The lead up to that confrontation was also very different. I don't remember all the trap-filled, underground passageways. The character of Roland, the iconic gunslinger, was also more human, less full of angst, and, at times, even funny. We project a lot on our protagonists and perhaps my Freshman mindset painted a very different picture compared to my current, more refined pallet.

Or perhaps I'm just full of shit and wasn't paying a damn bit of attention the first time around.

If my wife, in-laws, and the doctor are to be believed, I have a kid now. Life as I now know it has changed...forever...and ever...*sigh*...and ever....

He's a goofy kid. I was going to add, ...'just like his old-man', but it would have sounded cliche. It's weird. Whenever I talk about him, I feel like I'm sounding cliche. I guess all those 'change my life forever' sayings really hold true in this case. It's a weird, strange ride, but I don't think I'd change even the late nights and crying. Not when he cries, and not even when I cry either.

The writing has taken a backseat to baby. I'm just beginning to get back into it. It's been a 2 month dry spell. But this blog, and some notes I've made are pushing me ever forward. I've started my final read of Hidden Mountain before it goes out for submission. It starts off slow. Not sure if it's too slow to the action. Once the action happens, it becomes a very 'hit-the-ground-running' until the end, kind of story. Not sure if The Editor should take another pass at it, or just throw it to the mercy of the submission process and see if I get any feedback.

At the library I work at, I've begun compiling what I like to call, The C.G. McGinn Collection. This is all a precursor to the C.G. McGinn wing, which they will build in my honor after all the money I donate to them once I become rich and famous. Here is what currently resides within this most prestigious--be it a bit pretentious--sub-library within the library proper:

The Rook by Daniel O'Malley

The Gentleman Bastards series by Scott Lynch

14 and The Fold by Peter Clines (14 is a must read)

Somewhere in Between by Katie Li

More to be added in time.

Give up

"And with that, the steel door closed shut, never to open again." -Final line of Winnie the Pooh

Whoever 'they' is, says that a large part of being addicted to cigarettes is the physical action of hand-to-mouth, and that a good way to kick the habit is to occupy your hand with something else. I've never been addicted to anything stronger than cheese puffs and I was never one for coin tricks or conducting, or whatever it is one does to occupy one's hands. But I think there might be something to this.

Take social media and smart phones for example. In life's little pauses, many of us find ourselves reaching for our phones, intent--and perhaps content with scrolling through news feeds, Twitter lists, and Facebook feeds from friends we never see, never talk to, from as far back as elementary school. Are we really interested in these things? No, probably not. For every ten status messages that appear on my Facebook, only half the time is even one worth reading. And yet, I found myself continually reaching for my phone, checking my Tweets, and scrolling, scrolling, scrolling down endless digital papyrus at uninteresting status updates. No offence to people who post on Facebook. Hell, I post on Facebook every time I hit the publish button on this blog. For me, I just found an unsettling habit forming, and yes I'll be so melodramatic as to compare it to smoking. It had to be done. I couldn't not check my social media outlets. I was a multi-app-tapping-social-media-junkie.

I gave it up. I deleted my Twitter and Facebook apps. I kept the Messenger app because it actually involves a form of social interaction: chatting. But the lurker-apps--the quasi-stalker bullshit of scrolling, they're gone. Yes, you'll see me post stupid videos of my dog, and yes, these posts will still appear on these social feeds. But that's because A. I like posting dog videos, and 2. I'm not out to change hearts and minds and realize that a great deal of the traffic on this site comes directly from Facebook and Twitter. I'm using social media as the digital billboard that it should be, and not as a substitute for basic human interactions. If you want to be my friend, make the effort. Don't just hit Retweet. 

How about I give you the finger...

...and you give me my phone call.

Apple released new emoji's today. Now you can give your friends the finger. Ladies, that jerk from college who to this day manages to drunk-dial you, can now be met with a close-to-real-life retort.

I watched that fanedit of the 2nd and 3rd Matrix movies mentioned in my last post. I liked it. I feel it addressed some of the main complaints Samson and I had about those films. It certainly isn't perfect, but it may be my go-to when the Marathon Matrix bug hits me. For me the only way to watch The Matrix series (not the movie but the entire franchise as a whole) is to watch in this order:

1. The Second Renaissance

2. A Detective Story

3. The Matrix

4. Kid's Story (Optional)

5. Final Flight of the Osiris

6. The Matrix Revolutions: The Epic Edition by GeminiGod

Note: I have another fanedit that incorporates the the live action scenes from the Enter the Matrix video game into the 2nd and 3rd movies. I haven't watched it yet, though the gist of it is similar to the above fanedit. It's possible this version may be better and take the Number 6 spot. Only time will tell, though you should expect a rebuttal to this post either way.

The Editor will have my manuscript for Hidden Mountain by this time tomorrow. It goes without saying that I hope she likes it. But moreover, I hope she beats the hell out of it. I know it needs work. I've done all I can for it. It needs a fresh set of eyes and a head full of ideas.

I started reading, Gail Simone's Batgirl. It's dark and fits in well with Scott Snyder's Batman. Yeah, I know I'm a little late to the party. Sue me.

I'm not proud to admit this, but I never read V for Vendetta. This also goes without saying but it's so much better than the movie.

Anthology

Reading Lovecraft brought me back to that time in college when 'homework' consisted of reading entire novels from huge-ass anthologies, written during a time when the ice man would deliver huge blocks of -what else- ice to non-electrical steel cabinets that predated the refrigerator. I think there was a 3 Stooges episode about that very thing -the ice delivery part, not the reading. Hilarious.

Lovecraft was surprisingly visceral. The horror concepts he mapped out were far ahead of his time, and once you make it past the dry and dusty language, it's really quite chilling. He's not one I'd read everyday. It's good writing, but not entertaining writing -if that makes any sense.

Samson recommended Patrick Rothfuss's "Name of the Wind". I'm about 3 hours into it and it's very good. It's refreshing to read something that's both fantasy and dark, without having "Game of Thrones" and HBO somewhere on the cover.

"Hidden Mountain" the first novella in the Ice Bible Anthology is ready for The Editor. The manuscript and notes have all been gathered and are ready to be sent out to her for November 1st. Work on the 2nd novella is slow. I'm torn by what direction I want to take it. I guess that's normal though. A lot of stories change quite a bit from their first draft.

Samson and I marathon-watched the Matrix trilogy over the long weekend. Watching an entire series of movies back-to-back-to-back is something to be appreciated. You experience a greater depth of the characters and their story arches that I think is lost when there's a pause between each installment. The differences between the first movie, and 2&3 are very apparent. But something is gained seeing the complete work in one sitting -well, one sitting with beer, nachos, and pee breaks.

There's a fan edit of the 2nd&3rd Matrix films that I would almost-literally kill to see. I don't know if my meager audience has any insight into this, but what the hell, there it is. Internet, do your thing. 

Current Enjoyment

What I enjoy:

1. The first cup of morning coffee

2. "Cat's Cradle" by Kurt Vonnegut

3. The Fratellis latest album, "Eyes Wide, Tongue Tied"

4. My office

5. Bubba Burgers

Less Superficial Enjoyments:

1. The Wife. Because.

I read Cat's Cradle again. It's a good book but you have to be into Vonnegut or else you're not going to get it. There was a lot more happening after the big thing that happens than I remembered. The audio version even had a nice interview with the late KV, which was also good. Totally different generation of writer. Very refreshing.

I have an Editor for the novella. I met her at the Author's Expo last month. Full disclosure: I saw her name on the list of editors at the expo and researched her with the All-Mighty Google to see if she was legit. Turns out, she is. So when the expo finally came around, I had a pretty good idea of what to expect. Tanya -her name is Tanya- seems really enthusiastic about the novella -a trait I associate more with agents than editors. I suspect this is a good thing though. Up until now, I and a select few were the only people who gave a damn about what the hell I've been doing with my meager free time. So it's really cool to have a professional editor get into it as much as I do.

I have some time before turning over the manuscript. I'm going over the notes from my beta-readers and putting together notes on the series, characters, plot -stuff she's going to need. This is more than just copy editing. When all is said and done I hope to see exactly what works and what doesn't.

Inside Baseball

I made a small outline of the series in its entirety. I don't have all the details. A lot of what I have planned in my head is subject to change as the characters develop. I'm not going to force my initial outcome if a particular character no longer feels or acts the way they did when I first came up with it.

That being said:

Anthology#1: 5 Novella's. By the end, all the main characters will be introduced and the reader should have a fairly good idea of the universe, its rules, etc.

The Novels: 3 Novels. The first one picks up right where the last novella ends. These 3 books will cover a specific story I've been wanting to tell for several years now. 

Anthology#2: The jury is still out on this one. I've got a great big world here and I want to be able to explore other areas that perhaps branch away from the main story. This 2nd collection will probably take place between the events of the novels, but again, nothing is set in stone just yet.

A lot of this probably sounds like something only I'd be interested in. But hey, this is the process, my process anyway.

Not since April

I'm still here.

The last post had some announcements. But I sorta jumped the gun.

I did some soul searching and decided to throw my hat into the ring of more 'traditional' publishing. I thought about self-pub. Self-pub may very well be in my future. But I want to explore all possible options. I think my work is good enough to be mainstream and the worst thing I can do is not make the attempt.

I'm going to be at the NE Authors Expo this week. It's a great community. I have no 'wears' to sell, but the goal is to support a friend and make some connections.

Finished my first novella while vacationing on the Cape. "Hidden Mountain" is the tale of a submarine captain and her first mate. It's the first story in a series of 5. All 5 tales make up the Ice Bible Anthology.

I've received some feedback from beta-readers on Hidden Mountain. Much of it has been positive. I have to make some of the concepts of the story more clear, and adjust the pacing. Several of the readers haven't had me talk to death the intricacies of the universe I've created. So it's been great to have an outsiders perspective on what the hell I'm trying to make here.

I've also begun work on the second novella, "Of Black and White Doors". It's still in 1st Draft form, so the overall story hasn't been completely fleshed out just yet.

Look for me at the New England Authors Expo. I'll be sharing a booth with Chris Samson.

Short Stories & Burgers

Big news in the world of writing. You'll notice a new Projects section on the site.  Currently it links to 2 different pages: The Lighthouse Series, and Short Stories. The Lighthouse Series is the title of the novels I'm currently writing, which take place between two very different worlds. I've been asked by a few people what the story is about so I'll be posting a book synopsis of the first book, Dark Nexus soon.

At one point, I didn't think this story was going to become a reality. History has proven that I've not been one for finishing what I've started. But I've moved passed the doubt of  whether or not I have something here, and the doldrums of only writing when I feel inspired -whatever the hell that means. The novel will be finished and will see the light of day one way or another.

Keep checking the Short Stories section. Check is religiously. Better yet, check it every single day. I'm in the process of finishing a short story that takes place in the world of the Lighthouse Series. I'm also updating the 3 stories currently available on this site: Five Years, Coffee Shop, and Outer Heaven. Not to pull a George Lucas or anything, but I'm updating them based on current technology that wasn't available in that primitive time we look back on as 2012 . No. When those were written it was long before the world of the story was fully realized. It was before the characters were fully developed. So the 2.0 versions of these stories will fall in line with the novel. Five Years and Coffee Shop are considered backstory, but a story none the less worth telling. They follow a young Aryel Lessard as she learns how to enter the Dream. Outer Heaven will be expanded and will probably fall in the timeline a few years prior to the start of Dark Nexus.

My plan is to have the 4 short stores finished very soon. How soon? Long before July 29th. That's rather specific. I know, right! I will be at the New England Authors Expo, sitting at a table with Chris Samson. If I get the stories up on my website, for sale, in a single anthology, I will be hawking my wears at the expo and talking up Dark Nexus. If I don't get the stories up, I'll be hanging out with Samson and help promote his current projects -which are awesome, by the way! 

Since I'm a raving egomaniac, this is all very good motivation for me to get these stories completed.

So keep checking this site for an update and keep July 29th open on your calendar. It's in the middle of the week so put in the time off from work now. That's what I did. 

In other news, Bubba Burger had replaced the mundane grilling burger of old, since my awkward years in high school. They truely make a tasty burger.

The other day my wife discovered that Double B's (that's what all the cool kids are calling it...I think), make a Cheddar and Bacon burger. I can't even begin to describe the joy  and wonder that is this burger. However, I would recommend only eating just one at any given sitting, in part because people will look at you as the fat kid, and also, it's CHEDDAR CHEESE and BACON!!!!!! Treat these babies the way you would a really expensive cut of steak, or a fine sipping whiskey. Treat them with respect. Because if you don't respect these burgers, they will probably stick around long enough to cause you the most egregious and merciless pain.

Thanks for reading,

CGMcG

Welcome to my lair...not that I'm some sort of animal...

...Or maybe I am...

Breaking the format for this entry as it's been a while and I need to get back into the swing of things. 

Books worth reading:

Masters of Doom by David Kushner

Skip the audio version. All things nerd-culture have a raging hard-on for Wil Wheaton. I, thankfully, do not. Tips for reading a non-fiction book: No, it's not OK to put on a British accent when quoting something from the Guardian. Yes, I realize it's a British newspaper. It doesn't matter. Would you put on a stereotypical Japanese accent when quoting something out of Yomiuri Shimbun? No, no you wouldn't. Also, don't put on a Joseph Lieberman or Bill Clinton voice when quoting them either. It might also help not to sound like such a damn fanboy when reading the rest of the pros. Just few tips from me to you.

The Gunslinger by Stephen King

It was on sale so I picked it up cheap. I'm a fan of the Dark Tower series, especially the first 4 books. King went back and updated the Gunslinger in 2003 and the end result was a really polished piece of work. I read an interview with him not long ago. Turns out the Dark Tower books were never edited. O.o I know, right! If you're looking for something from King that isn't hard horror, and more dark fantasy/sci-fi, then give this one a solid read.

3 books by JD Robb

Ok, so the Wife got me into this. I didn't think I'd like them, but they're pretty damn good. For those of you who don't know, JD Robb and Nora Roberts are the same person. No, I haven't started reading romance books, at least, not yet. The "In Death" series takes place in a Blade Runner-esk future New York City where drugs and prostitution are both legal and corporations buy planets and build fancy space station resorts. The main character is a detective. The books are mysteries. Since the author got her success in romance, the sex scenes are well done and pull no punches. Where some authors might 'fade to black' or gloss over the sex, Robb/Roberts dives right in, and it makes for both good storytelling and something different in what can be a formulaic genre.

What else is going on:

Got one of the main characters from my novel preserved for posterity. Here's another great piece drawn by Ben Dunn. He did a great job! I really like how the pic came out. He'll have my business for quite a while and if he's up for it, there are 10-plus characters in the novel who would look great next to this one, in my office.

And speaking of my office

Here's mine!

My Father-In-Law is the best. He realizes that sometime I just need to get away from the Wife, and now I can! (However, what you don't see in the picture is that the wall behind me is only half-finished, so I won't be doing much hiding).

Seriously though, it's good to have my own space, for writing, for gaming, to just chill. When the computer was in the living room, it was easy for both me and the Wife to zone out on the computer/tv. With the office, it helps us appreciate the time we spend together, in-part, because there's a clearly defined border for the time spent apart. I don't know if I'm making much sense, but, bottom line: it's a good thing.

"Shift" & "Dust" by Hugh Howey

Book Book

It's a double-whammy tonight! I picked up Shift by Hugh Howey, for the beginning of the year. I like the book because I'm a sucker for the nitty-gritty back-story of a story. I think that's why It's taking me so long to write a damn book, because I'm all about the back-story. Shift was a prequel to Wool and explained how things got the way they got. 

Dust was the thrilling conclusion of the Silo Trilogy. It tied up a lot of the ends from both Wool and Shift. As a complete set, the trilogy was good, with Wool as the dominant book. Wool was very character-driven. You couldn't help but develop an attachment to the majority of characters, including the jerky head of IT. Shift and Dust were more about telling a story based on events. It wasn't bad. It just wasn't as emotionally stirring as the first book.

I like Howey's writing style and look forward to reading more of his stuff.

Errr...Write Write

A lot has happened in the writing world.

1. It took some hair-pulling, head-banging, and tears, lots of tears, but I was finally able to create an outline of the novel. I also figured out how I write: I create a first draft by just writing the shit out of things. I do best when this is done in a notebook. Sometime, usually between these pen-and-paper sessions, I'll put what I wrote into the computer, and during this time I'll expand on the ideas scribbled in ink and develop the story. We'll call this, Draft 1.5. Once the story is written, from roughly start to finish, I'll do myself a huge favor and outline the damn thing. The outline, in this instance, is my road map, something to keep me on track. By this point it's a game of fill-in-the-blanks. The outline helps me flesh out the plot and what I've missed, and where to include what information. After that, re-write, revise, proof and polish. It's probably not the way Stephen King does it, but shit, I'm not Stephen King.

2. Because the outline wasn't done I got into a rut. I'd been in a rut since Christmas. But that's all over. The outline is done and I'm writing strong again. I hammered out 2 major scenes over the weekend and snow days. 

3. Contacted Ben Dunn, and gave him a overly detailed character sketch for my main character, Aryel. For weeks now I had and idea of how she should look. And at the last minute I scrapped this idea for something 1000 times awesomer! Both The Wife, and Samson approve, so the commission promises to be kick-ass. Ben is unbelievably awesome, so I know the pic is going to come out looking great.

4. I want to start a simple D&D campaign that doesn't involve a lot of stats and number crunching, focusing almost entirely on the story, and taking place in the universe of the novel. I think that'd be really cool and would help me further build the world. Player's would create unique characters, not characters from the book, and they'd get lost in this crazy dream world. I don't know what kind of interest people would have for that, and I'm not the best DM, but hey, it could be fun. Any takers?

"The Ratman Forgive You, this Time."

Read a Book

That's right, we're reviewing Stephen King's The Stand! So dust off your Blue Oyster Cult CD, and give Kareem Abdule Jabbar some serious consideration for a Golden Globe, because we're kicking it back to 1994 with The Stand TV miniseries!

No, I'm kidding. My thoughts on the very long book instead:

I first read The Stand in high school. For a slow reader I think I read it into my freshman year of college. Probably not, but I'm sure it took me a while. The book gave me nightmares about dead people. At the time, dead people were still a scary thing, probably because I hadn't been to too many funerals, and I was still somewhat scarred from watching Stand by Me at an age much younger than whatever the appropriate age for watching Stand by Me is. Dead body's were scary shit for a little kid and I'm still a little unnerved by them even today. 

I made the mistake of watching the 4-part miniseries before reading the book, so character development took a back seat to the Girl from the Breakfast Club, the dude who would later go on to have no legs in Forest Gump, and the former basketball star who received top billing and a spot on the cover for his portrayal of the 'king of the minor characters'. 

The re-read presented an aspect of The Stand that my still-developing teenage mind would have scarcely grasped.

Everyone dies. Sorry if I just ruined the book for you. The world is wiped out by a flu-like virus doctored up in a government lab. Spoiler Alert!

King is known for his pop-culture references. It's part of his style that makes him so widely read. He throws in these nuances and the reader is ushered into his world by the connection to real life events. Simply by playing David Bowie on a character's radio, King has put your into his world, which is not unlike our own.

In The Stand, King does something diabolical with this use of pop-culture. Simply by referencing George H.W. Bush, Madonna, the Rolling Stones, and others, -putting the reader into this all-to-similar world- conjures up a much darker, deeper level of horror. Without explicitly saying it, the reader infers that these people, these famous, well-known people have all died of the plague. Tragedy always hits the hardest when it happens to someone you know, and the band, the politician, and the, whatever the hell Madonna is, are all known enough by the masses to bring the tragedy right to the doorstep of the mind. It makes for great writing when you can pull the reader into your world.

I'm glad I was able to appreciate The Stand now that I'm older and hopefully a little bit wise. 

Write a Book

Taking a break from the writing to gain some perspective on the story as a whole. Working on a rough outline and figuring out pacing. As one who does not like to outline, this was a discouraging process. But I think I've found what works best for me. And that's the great thing about this whole writing thing: there isn't a magic formula or set of steps that must be followed to the letter in order to make this work.

I've started scribbling out the main points, not chapter-by-chapter but in a rough mix between scenes and changes to the settings. I'm keeping myself from getting hung up on details and just sticking to character development and major events, and how they connect to one another as the story unfolds. I've also thrown out some ideas that turned into obstacles as things progressed.

I'm sure one day this writing section will be exciting, maybe even enthralling to read. For now, well, you'll just have to settle for the mundane. 

There was one exciting bit of writing news that I can add here. Daniel O'Malley, author of The Rook heard about me awarding him with Best Read of 2014 from my last post. He had this to say:

So I think that makes me an official member of the fan club. I'm going to have to learn the secret handshake, and hope the rites of initiation don't involve paddles.

Hey Dan, I'm honored to have a place in  your pool room!

NanoWrimo 2014

So I haven't written here in a while. November was insane and a huge part of it had to do with the annual National Novel Writing Month that I felt compelled to enter. I'm a sadist.

I've been averaging 2000 words a day and thought that it would be a breeze. How wrong I was. It's difficult to write when you're under the gun. And with NaNoWriMo, it's like chasing a speeding train and every time you stop to catch your breath, ie, get caught up at work late, get home late, and then sit down to try and write, you've created a much larger gap in your word count and have to write that much more to fill it.

Anyway, it's over. I am both exhausted and thrilled to have seen it to the end. It made the frustrations of the months seem worth it.

What did I write about?

Funny you should ask. I set out writing Book 2 in the Dream series. Book 1 is being revised and going through re-writes. I put that on hold to attack Book 2. I now have a halfway revised Book 1, and a really really really rough rough draft of Book 2.

When I*m ready to pick up Book 2 again, in a non-NanoWrimo setting, I'll be able to further develop the stuff that worked and refine it into a more concise story.

NaNoWriMo is a great exercise for writers and people who have toyed with the idea of becoming writers. What established authors say all the time is if you want to be a writer, you have to write, and read, A LOT. And it's true. No denying it. And what they mean when they say write a lot, is, you need to get into the habit of writing. You need to write beyond when you feel like it. You have to write even if the scene you're working on sucks hard and isn't going where you expected. You need to write even when you'd rather play on the computer, surf the web, or watch The Blacklist, which is the best show on television and you're un-American to think otherwise.

Writing everyday flexes that invisible, magical muscle that puts you in the writing mindset, and trains you to be able to write even when you're not inspired or in-the-mood. It also makes it easier to accept that not every session is going to be epic or riveting. Some sessions may be downright boring. But that's what editing and revisions are for: to fix or throw out what doesn't work. Even if you're writing is below par, you can feel good that you're doing it, that you didn't put it off, even for James Spader.

So start writing damnit! And mark the 1st of November 2015 as the day you commit to writing your ass off for an entire month.

The First Annual Citywide Super NES Draft

If you were following my Twitter feed yesterday afternoon, you would have seen a number of pithy comments involving the SNES game cartridge draft between my two brothers, Broski and J-Money.

For Christmas last year my wife and I got Broski a Supaboy, which is a portable game system about the size of a Sega Game Gear, that plays the old SNES cartridges. Though you can play it as a hand-held, the Supaboy also has the outputs for controllers and the TV. He no longer needed his original SNES, and gave it to J-Money. I know, 1st World problems.

Being the sports guy that he is, Broski couldn't just give J-Money games. So a first of its kind draft was enacted at the McGinn homestead and what follows are the results, along with my take on each game. Read the entire play-by-play on Twitter, #SNESDraft.

Broski won the coin-toss (which your's-truly flipped), and had the honor of picking first.

1. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Broski)

This one is the natural 1st Round pick. Zelda for the SNES was -from beginning to end- a solid game. It was a 16-bit version of the classic NES title. The story was tight and full of twists, and Link wielded an arsenal of items that were a staple to the franchise like bow, bombs, and boomerang, but also introduced new items like the Hook-Shot, Magic Mirror, and Bug Catching Net. The game set itself apart from its predecessors when the player is literally thrown into the Dark World, where the challenges were increased, the dungeons more difficult, and the entire landscape, -though similar- was dramatically altered. No matter who went first, this game would have been the 1st pick. It's just that kind of game.

2. Chrono Trigger (J-Money)

Chrono Trigger is less of a Number Two Pick and more like Pick 1.5. Nerd-Rage will probably ensue because of the audacity of putting this title in the number 2 slot. I for one love this game. It came off the heels of several kick-ass Squaresoft titles, but was so different from the company that brought us Final Fantasy. Since the game incorporated the use of time-travel, it really broke the RPG genre. Up until then, RPGs were based in a world of swords and magic. Final Fantasy VII hadn't been invented yet, so the idea of traveling into the post-apocalyptic future, or a character wielding guns that shoot real bullets was new, different, edgy. One of the main characters was also a sword swinging knight...who was a frog!

3. Super Mario All Stars/Super Mario World (Broski)

This was a twofer! The 1st Mario game for the SNES had a world map, tons upon tons of levels, secret areas, YOSHI, and Mario in a cape. 

And All-Stars had Mario 1, 2, 3, and the Lost Levels all in 16-Bit awesomeness. My favorite will always be Mario 2.

Having a Mario title of this caliber as Pick 3 was a smart move by Broski. This is like picking the final number in the Royal Rumble or finding the BFG 9000 in Doom. You can't go wrong with Mario. FACT! 

4. Super Mario RPG (J-Money)

The only thing better than Pick 3 has got to be Pick 4. Mario RPG was great for a lot of reasons. It was very self-aware. It lived in a world of serious RPGs. It's game play involved more than simply selecting the melee or magic and watching the results. You had to time moves, you had to solve movement puzzles, you had a character that was a talking cloud. Just when you thought the big baddy of the game was Bowser, WHAM! He becomes a playable character along with Princess Toadstool!

J-Money hit gold with this pick. It belongs in any reputable SNES collection.

5. NBA Live 1996 (Broski)

Gonna be honest, not a fan of the sports games, especially the ones from 1996. In fact, I couldn't tell you a single thing about this game except that it has something to do with basket ball.

But I can see why Broski picked it up. As the draft progresses, he builds a substantial stable of 16-bit sports titles.

6. Yoshi's Island (J-Money)

In the words of my wife, "BEST GAME IN THE WORLD!!!!"

And Mario is a baby! How the hell did that kid make it to adulthood?

7. Secret of Mana (Broski)

Another terrific RPG. Although I can honestly say I haven't played more than 10 minutes of this game. Maybe this will be something I borrow from Broski if I ever find myself in the possession of a SNES or Supaboy, or some other All-in-One console that I can probably find at That's Entertainment.

8. Final Fantasy II (J-Money)

Pick 8 would be in my Top 5 Best NES Games of All-TIme. This was really the 1st game that turned me on to the Final Fantasy series. Yes, I've played FF1 for the NES, but that was a really hard game for a young kid and, even with the official strategy guide, it was not easy. FF2 was a very accessible game with an interesting, though simple story. Though lacking in the graphics of future 16-bit Final Fantasy's, this game set the bar for what is expected in a solid J-RPG.

I'm actually surprised this title wasn't picked up sooner. Both my bro's and I had fond memories of this title and the trend set with early picks like Chrono Triggers and Mario RPG presented the implication that J-Money was in the market of constructing a solid RPG lineup. But I suppose this is what makes J-Money so damn cool. Like a seasoned poker player, he balances the time and risk of loss, and in the end maintains a substantial pick.

9. Super Castlevania IV (Broski)

This was and is, hands down my favorite title in my favorite video game franchise. In the same way that no other movies came out after the Karate Kid II, I don't count any of the 3D bullshit titles that began with the Nintendo 65 and spawned like maggots in later consoles. Castlevania will always be a 2D side-scroller and IV is second only to Symphony of the Night for the PlayStation. As you'll read in the tweets, Stage 4 is pixelated greatness. They took typically boring backgrounds and turned them into dynamic scenes, complimenting the rest of the game. All of IV is like this but it really stands out in Stage 4.

Again, I'm surprised this wasn't Pick 3 or 4. But perhaps that's just a bias on my part. As far as I know neither of the bros have Ben Dunn commissioned Castlevania artwork. 

10. Super Metroid (J-Money)

If Castlevania IV is the king of awesome, Super Metroid is, hands-down, the queen. The game-play's tight and the overall feel did not deviate too far from the original NES version. Like the hook-shot in Link to the Past, the addition of new items like the Grappling beam (hmm, coincidence), and Super Bombs made the game unique without losing the feel from the original.

J-Money should do himself a favor and play the hell out of this game before Broski comes over to borrow it. For a game with so many elements that give it an RPG feel, it's a very accessible game one can just pick up and play to waste a few minutes.

11. NCAA Basketball (Broski)

Another sports game to help fill out the sports roster on Broski's SNES Sport Empire. Having never attended a Division 1 school, my interest in NCAA B-Ball is somewhere between disinterest and ignorance.

So instead I'll talk to you about a sports game I do like. 

Baseball Stars for the NES was where sports video games begin and end. Not only were you able to play baseball (pitching and fielding, hitting and controlling whether or not your runners will try for a double or triple) but you could also buy players, make trades, boost their stats and fire their asses. We figured out early on that you could game the system by creating a team with the highest prestige, which in-turn gave you the most money per winning game. However our master plan of creating the best baseball team in the world seemed to always blow up in our faces when the game's saving system would mess up and we'd be left with none but the default baseball teams that were hard coded into the game. 

12. Super Street Fighter 2 (J-Money)

Despite the hype of the Street Fighter franchise, and the god awful movie starting my favorite late actor, we only ever owned one version of this game. I'd like to think it was the best version because it had just the right amount of characters, you got to play as all the characters including Bison, Balrog and Sagat, and it was the first game that I can recall which depicted fine female pixel booty.

Booty aside it was the only fighting game we owned and we played the hell out of it. It's the ultimate pickup game and a must-have in any collection. Too bad for Broski for not jumping on that action sooner.

13. Mega Man X (Broski)

Mega Man X is Tim Burton's Batman, as Mega Man's 1 - 8 are the campy 60's Batman starring Adam West. To drive this point home here's something from the Simpsons:

Mega Man X was dark. It took place even further into the future than the futuristic setting of the original games. Mega Man's creator, Doctor Light, along with everyone else he knew and loved are dead. From the original games we knew that there were at least 2 humans, Light and the series antagonist Dr. Wiley, so we can assume there were others. But in the time of the X games, the humans are dead, all of them and robots rule the world. What happened to the humans? Do we know? Was Mega Man responsible for their demise or was his lack of action for anything that is good and right allow for the evil robot rebellion that caused the extinction of the human race? It has The Matrix and Terminator written all over it and they were rated R. Mega Man was a cutesy game for kids.

But darkness aside. Mega Man X was a refreshing change to a series that was growing stale and completely lost me forever with Mega Man 8. The game was much more difficult than the other Mega Man titles. Levels contained secret items, hidden pickup and bosses that required actual strategy, even if you had the right weapon to beat them.

14. Final Fantasy III (J-Money)

J-Money picked up the 2nd and final SNES Final Fantasy title. This game was ground breaking for me simply because half-way through the game the world is destroyed and you get to explore both new areas created in the aftermath, as well as ruined versions of places you had been. It was a surprising change in a series where the world map was the only thing that remained consistent up until the end.

15. NBA Jam (Broski)

This game was a big deal at the same time Mortal Kombat was big. Without knowing very much about SNES sports games it's probably the gem in Broski's lineup based on prestige alone. 

16. WrestleMania the Arcade Game (J-Money)

In a world of 2D fighting games like Street Fighter 2, wrestling games were a strange oddity in that they all included the impression of 3-Dimensional depth. Even wrestling games on the NES had this. You moved your black trunks, overstuffed, pixelated avatar of Andre the Giant up and down, left and right, mashing the buttons until you accidentally managed a body-slam. And God help you if you were ever thrown out of the ring and had to mash buttons again in the hopes of re-entering before the 10-count.

At a time where Pay-Per-View events were the only way of seeing the Hulk Hogan's and Shawn Michael's of the world actually wrestle, WrestleMania the Arcade Game was a great game for poor kids who's parents didn't love them and wouldn't shell out the $60 for a pay-per-view, but would part with the $50 for an SNES cartridge. Shame on you parents, shame.

I'm really surprised that Broski, a contributor at placetobenation didn't scoop this up sooner. Shame Broski, shame!

17. Mega Man X2 (Broski)

Mega Man X2 was a good continuation of the first game with some surprise elements that gave it a fair amount of replay value. It's the last real treasure in the collection and Broski's pickup of it completes the series (Because though there was a 3rd SNES game in the X series, no one ever played it so it doesn't really count for every having been made).

18. Ken Griffy Jr. Presents Major League Baseball (J-Money)

Ok, so this is where I start to phones these in. Ken Griffy Jr played baseball. They made a video game featuring him. He was so cool in the 90's that he starred in an episode of the Simpson where he developed gigantism. Due to the gigantism, his career in baseball went south. I might have made that last part up.

19. SimCity (Broski)

This was the first game I owned. In order to cut down significantly on traffic and pollution, you could successfully build an entire city without roads, replacing them with rails. Somehow the city grew. Don't ask me why or how.

20. SpiderMan/X-Men Arcade's Revenge (J-Money)

This game is shit. I could, and might, write an entire post on how absolutely horrible this game is. Spiderman's 'spidy senses' blew out your television speakers in a continuous droning buzz that sounded like an army of ducks farting morse code. The levels were impossibly hard. Every bad video game gimmick was packed, like blood sausage, into this game, from flooded levels where the whole point was to not drown, and mine carts with electrified rails. Because after all, miners all over the world don't fill the carts with their findings, no, they ride around in them like Indiana fucking Jones! This is how much I hate Arcade's Revenge.

21. NFL Quarterback Club (Broski)

I didn't even know we had this game. I can only imagine that this is a simulation of over-payed athletes flashing their bling at the club while they rock prada, right?

22. Tony Meola's Sidekicks Soccer (J-Money)

Who?

Wool: A Story about a Sheep Herder in Nuclear Winter

Reading:

Wool by Hugh Howey is -in a word- awesome. In fact, stop reading this right now, go to your closest book store, or Audible and buy like 10 copies of the book. Don't worry, I'll wait.

I did a report about the reinvention of the publishing industry in a digital age, the emergence of indie authors and new exciting business models like Kindle Direct Publishing, and the stuff Scott Sigler was doing on his podcast. I don't remember a whole hell of a lot from the report, but I do remember talking about Hugh Howey. This was a ballsy move on my part, seeing how at the time I hadn't read Wool, and was basically going by what I had heard from others. Still, I did get an A on the report. Well, I don't know much more about Hugh Howey than I did before, but I'll tell you this:

He self published his story on Amazon Kindle Direct, people loved it, and he became a successful author. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

There's a reason why people love Wool. And that reason is: It's a freaking awesome story! It's 5 parts. Part 1 really sets the tone for the story and it only builds from there.

What stuck out for me was how Howey subtly created sympathy for the antagonist, without doing a complete 180. You don't stop hating the 'bad guy', but you understand his motives.

A few books from now I'll be writing about the sequel, Shift, followed by Dust.

Writing:

I've started writing a series of vignettes, each centering around one of my 3 main characters. It takes place very late in the story so I guess now I have a goal to write up to. The 3rd part of the book was very rough in the 1st Draft, so I have a feeling there will be several iterations before I get it right.

In other news:

I started watching Gotham and I've been pleasantly surprised. I was a skeptic but the first episode really brought me around. I suggest you give it a shot, even if you're not a Batman fan.

The Gerard Way concert is a week from Sunday and I'll be getting my tickets tomorrow. One truly hasn't lived until they find themselves excited for Brit-Pop 10+ years after the fact. 

And tomorrow is the wife's birthday and this big lug has a dinner to plan. 

"The Target" by David B and the Eclectic Lemonade Orchestra

Reading is Good:

David Baldacci will forever hold a place in my heart for two very good reasons: The Camel Club and the Will Robie series'. I'm not a big Mystery/Thriller guy, but I do make the exception for these two ongoing stories. The Camel Club is basically about a former CIA badass on par with Robert McCall from the 1980s tv show The Equalizer. In a similar vein of badassery, Will Robie is a CIA assassin who is paid with our US tax dollars to kill ruthless dictators and other ne'er-do-wells in a cold and calculating way that only one such as he can do so well.

The Target is the 3rd book in the Robie series and though the main story involves a plot by a rogue nation that could bring about the end of civilization as we know it, there's a very nice subplot that involves the wholesale killing of a bunch of neo-Nazis. If that's not a recipe for success than I don't know what is.

It's not all killing though. Baldacci puts a human face to his ruthless characters, which is a good thing because otherwise this would have been a really depressing book. Like the other 2 books in the series, this one was pretty good. Not the best, but it answered a lot of questions that came up by the end of book 2.

After trudging through American Psycho this was a much needed pallet cleanser. I went into it knowing it wouldn't be a heavy read and since it's part of a series, a successful series there wasn't a lot of fear that any of the main characters would be killed off. I hope that doesn't come as a spoiler to anyone and if it does, well...oops. 

Up Next: A really exciting retelling of Wool by Hugh Howey. I suggest you all read it before the next post.

Can We Start the Story Now:

Not to bore the hell out of you but I'm still still still revising Chapter 2.

When I'm not doing that, I've been playing Dues Ex: Human Revolution. It's a dark sci-fi game with androids, or humans with robot parts...something like that. It takes place in the future, in Detroit. It's good to know that Detroit is still around in the future.

'merican Psycho

Books:

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis is the story of a really really angry man starring the man who is Batman in the film adaptation. The later has nothing to do with anything pertaining to the book, I just like to mention Batman whenever possible.

*Warning* This post could possibly contain spoilers. I'm not sure yet but you've been warned.

Patrick Bateman has got to be the angriest Wall Street investment banker to ever make Scrooge MacDuck amounts of money, in the 1980s. He's so pissed off that he literally gets off by murdering prostitutes, coworkers, total strangers and the occasional ex-girlfriend in the most graphic possible ways....or does he? It's a tricky story. Part of the appeal with American Psycho is that the violence and sex is so over the top that your mind is forced into asking the question whether or not what is happening is really happening. It taps into that part of the human psyche that makes us angry when we're cut off on the highway. Most of us keep it together and drive on our merry way. Some of us act out in the so-called heat of the moment and those people tend to end up in jail. However all of us will not hesitate to conjure up some kinda of insane scenario in our minds where the wrong-doer is harmed in some fatalistic way. I can't be the only one who things this way, right? I'm not the crazy one, am I? Anyway, Bateman either takes this mental roleplay to the extreme, or he's killing people willy-nilly in a world without competent law enforcement. It was the 80's after all.

I enjoyed the book. It was a good read, a change of pace to anything that I've read lately. Can I recommend American Psycho? Kinda. If you're squeamish in any way, you'd probably do well to leave this book on the shelf. The murder scenes often come out of nowhere, OR they are staged so well that the suspense is built up to a point where you can almost stick your finger through it, like a squishy piece of red velvet cake soaked in blood....orange juice.

If your survived Event Horizon, or happen to watch it annually at Christmas time, the way I watch It's a Wonderful Life, then Bateman's antics might seem tame to you and I would seriously consider keeping away from other people for the betterment of society. But if you do OK with gore, then I suggest you pick up this book. It's important to know your history and how Yuppies and Hippies are pretty much the same tiresome species, only one tends to bath more and wears designer clothing.

Writing Them:

2 entries in 2 days! I'm making up for lost time. I read a lot of books and wanted to get caught up before finishing another one. Not a whole lot has gone on between now and the last entry. Since I haven't done this yet, I just want to thank anyone who's reading this, and who checks the site from time to time. I don't have a huge following but it would appear that the number is growing. That's cool. I really appreciate it. One day, when I've got something worth reading I'll post it here so it'll be exclusive to those who were here from the beginning. Then you can be all hipster and say how you knew me before I was famous. Anyway, it's great that you're here and I hope that I'm writing something interesting enough for you to keep coming back and reading it. 

The Martian

Books is Books

The Martian by Andy Weir was recommended to me by one of the writer/hosts of Writing Excuses, a podcast about, well, writing. I'm going to give you the same pitch I got from the show: It's a science fiction Robinson Crusoe story.

That's all I really remember from the pitch. It was a long time ago, before I traded podcasts for audio books during my commute to work. Advertising for Audible can be dangerous for podcasting. Though I highly recommend Writing Excuses if you're even remotely interested in the craft. One day when I've written a wheel barrel full of books I hope to give a little back as well.  

The Martian is about a man who gets stranded on Mars. He wields the power of science to keep himself alive. Will he survive? Or will he die, tragically of starvation, exposure, or -dare we even think it: martians of the little green variety?

Read the book.

Despite being overly saturated with hard science, it was a very exciting read and you really felt for both the main character as well as everyone else. In a way I was reminded of Armageddon, only without the meteor, Steve Buscemi, or terrible acting from the rest of the cast.

Writing is Books

I spent the weekend feeling anxious about the progress of the novel. My wife thinks I'm being too hard on myself. I probably am. I want to get this revision done. I've had a lot of trouble reworking Chapter 2. Sunday was spent restructuring it. Part of the problem has been that there isn't any good action happening at the beginning of the story. I think I may have fixed that by putting an action scene in Chap 2. We'll see how it goes. I have some writing to do, but I'm working off of a foundation, stuff I had written that needs to be tweaked here and there to fit into the chapter. Once those changes are made, and a few more chapters written, I should have Parts 1 and 2 complete. On to the rest of the story!

The State of Nature: The "Glass-Half-Empty" Kind

On Reading:

If Thomas Hobbes has taught us anything, it's that people are assholes and left to their own devices will lie, cheat and kill you if it would work out to their benefit. I'm paraphrasing. He was a real uplifting guy.

I'm reading two books, given to me as gifts, by Chris Samson, that take two popular story concepts, throwing them into Hobbes' State of Nature. I don't know if Samson recommended these books for this reason, or if I'm just in a rainy-day mood, but the parallel is definitely there.

The first book was, Steelheart, by Brandon Sanderson, which takes the popular superhero genre, and asks the question: What if all superheros were self-serving bastards who kill without thought or remorse and do nothing but feed their own wants and needs? Steelheart is the first YA book that I've read since the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld. It's written in the first-person from the eyes of one who has suffered great loss at the hands of, Steelheart; and extremely powerful super human known as an 'Epic'. He's basically Superman under the influence of Red Kryptonite, in a world where this is no other kind of Kryptonite to fall back on. The story establishes a pecking order between humans and epics. Steelheart is at the top of the order, ruling over a city that was once Chicago. Humanity has become a subservient class to the epics. The story makes it clear that there are no good epics.

 I enjoyed the book. I got somewhat bored halfway through, however the ending made up for any lull in the middle. Great payoff.

The 2nd book takes the whole magic school for wizards and fantastical lands of magic tales, and gives it a raw and gritty edge. The book is, The Magicians, by Lev Grossman. This first book in a 3-part series seems to parody/pay tribute to The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, while taking a number of relentless jabs at the Harry Potter series. Here's a text I sent to Samson after getting about an hour or so in: 

Despite how "dark" and "edgy" the Harry Potter books might appear, even in the later half of the series, they're essentially modern day fairy tales with the same kind of whimsical disregard to issues people face in the real world. What Grossman tries to do (and succeeds), is take the school of magic trope, and melds it with the life of a typical college kid; from sex, infighting within their respective clique, recreational drug use, and binge drinking. Oh, and there's magic too. The story goes out of its way not to candy-coat anything in an otherwise 'family friendly' sub-genre.

The very end of the book was anything but satisfying. Some of this can be forgiven as it's the 1st book in the series, but I felt the author was reaching for some sort of surprise ending that was supposed to leave the reader both guessing and wanting more. Instead it felt somewhat try-hard and artificial. But I cannot judge The Magicians too harshly as I was entertained throughout the book, and despite the bad ending, I was left wanting more, glad to see 2 more books in my future.

On Writing:

The App Store had this game as their App of the Week, called Deemo that I picked up for the iPad. It's sorta like Rockband, with the only instrument being a piano. You tap the notes as they fall from top of the screen to bottom. It's a way for an instrumental illiterate like me to feel like hot-shit playing a piano. The game samples from real composers, so through it I discovered V.K. a Taiwanese pianist.

I've been listening to his music during writing sessions and it's both calming, and inspiring. I generally listen to something while I write. Most of the 1st Draft of this story was written to My Chemical Romance, primarily Black Parade and Danger Days. The 1st Draft was written with a lot of raw emotion, which was murder for my beta readers, but helped me get the story -broken as it was- out there. Now that I'm in the revision stage, I have a lot more that I need to think about, so losing the vocals but still having music to focus me, helps in this process.  

Jonathan (Dr.) Strange and Mr. Norrell

Reading the Book:

Thanks to being poisoned at a very young age by comic books, whenever "strange" is used in relation to a person's name, my mind immediately arrives at, Dr. Strange. I'm not even going to begin to explain how little sense this makes or how it would even tie into Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke.

The story takes place during the Napoleonic Wars. It could be considered historical fiction were it not for the presence of magic. What sets the story apart from other books about magic, was the distinction between those how use magic; practical magicians, and those who simply study the history of magic; theoretical magicians.

While reading I was reminded of The Count of Monte Cristo for two reasons: Both stories take place in and around the time of Napoleon, and both Dumas and Clarke include historical figures as characters, some of which are instrumental to the plot. I have a very deep fondness for The Count of Monte Cristo. It's a great story and the movie version starring TV's Jim Caviezel has reach epic re-watch-ability status. In fact, while writing this, I feel like spending a good part of my morning setting up the old xBox and dusting off the DVD of Monte Cristo.

Much of my reading is done in the form of audiobooks. I'm one of those people with the audacity to think that listening counts as reading. I read this way because, well, I have a long commute to work. But also, there would be a significant gap between blog entries were I to read all these books the old fashion way, because I'm a terribly slow reader. And a book like Jonathan Strange was not a quick read, even for a fast reader. It's not shy on content, and several times it runs the risk of losing the reader in anecdotes, -though interesting- that causes one to question how it pertains to the overarching story. But you need to stick with it! Like Tolkien, it's more about the world than the adventure. However unlike Tolkien, you're not stuck in some weirdo's cabin for hundreds of pages, or arguing about the price of ponies while the f-ing wraiths are at your back door.

But back to reading in a more traditional sense for a minute. I picked up some books these past few weeks that I'm excited to read but since I am a slow reader, I thought I'd talk about them now, and then really talk about them later.

Off the freebie cart at the local library I grabbed a hardbound addition of The Damnation Game by Clive Barker. Hooked me from the first sentence.

Went to the New England Author's Expo and connected with a lot of fellow indie authors. I met some really cool people who I hope to stay in contact with. It was really encouraging to meet cool folks who are in the same boat I'm in...or perhaps they're in somewhat nicer boats with engines and a lido deck, while I'm still trying to figure out what the hell to do with these paddles.

But I also reconnected with author, Vlad V, and picked up all 3 of his books. I'm currently reading The Button, which is Part 1 of a 2 book series. I suggest you look him up and buy his stuff, Yorkic, and Brachman's Underworld. He's linked here and on this site's main sidebar.

Also got The Big Book of Genre Stories by Dale T. Phillips, which looks to be a little bit of everything and I can't wait to start it. Dale's a cool guy and he gave me a mention in his blog so I thought I return the favor. Check him out.

I'll be talking more about these at a later date but I wanted to put them out there because they're from some very cool people who love what they're doing probably a little more than I do. Also, there's Clive Barker to, so, ya know.

Writing the Book:

I wrote some lore. I think lore is important even in a story that is set in the "real world". But when you're building a unique, unexplored world from scratch, it's a necessity. I tend to think a lot of this lore, this world building will be in the finished manuscript, but it's also helpful to write such things in order to help one understand the world they're trying to write. It may be the stuff of history text books not appropriate for the story, but it's required by the author to flesh out ideas and create a consistent universe.

I write chronologically. I start at Chapter 1 and go up from there. At least, that's what I've grown accustomed to doing in the world of First Drafts. During this revision phase, I seem to be all over the place. Not sure if I like that. Currently I've gone back a few chapters and am fleshing out scenes that are either non-existent, or lacking. Revisions are like washing a car. In the first draft you've sprayed it down, going over it with soap and a sponge. The car is clear, but now all the little imperfections are easier to see and it's time to start buffing them out. Often this process takes longer than the initial write. At least that what I'm finding.