Duane

I just finished editing The Accidental Hero.  I added about 3k words during the editing process, so the final version of the book comes in at about 112K words.  I’m really happy with how this book came out, but now I’ve got a lot more work to do, including writing the author’s note, the synopsis (Ugh…), the print version, and the cover.

I did something different with the editing this time.  Instead of reading through the book multiple times, I read through each individual chapter between three to five times, depending on when I felt like it was finished, before I moved on to the next.  I felt like this worked a whole lot better, as my mindset was really in that specific chapter that I was working on, and reading it multiple times in a row allowed me to catch things I might have missed if I’d have taken the whole book approach.

I’m just about to start on the Author’s Note now, and then once I finish that I’ll write up the synopsis.  Later today I’ll probably get started working on the print version, and then the cover comes last, since I need to finish the print version before I make it.

Anyway, that’s it for now.  See ya next time.

So, I finished writing The Accidental Hero today.  Took me about three weeks to write it, and initially it’s come in at around 109K words.  I always beef things up somewhat during editing though, so the final word count will be higher.

What’s funny is, I intended this book to be more humorous, but as I got into the story, it ended up being more serious.  There’s some fun stuff in it for sure, but it’s a lot more serious than I’d originally intended.

Now the oh so boring editing process begins, where I have to read and edit the same damn book multiple times.  Ugh…  At least I already know what I’m doing for the cover, so I got that goin’ for me.

Anyway, that’s it for now.  See ya next time. 🙂

I’ve been plugging away at this book for a while now, and currently I’m on the last half of chapter 12 out of 16 total.  It’s funny how things work.  I abandoned another series book and decided that I would never write another one after writing ten chapters, because it just didn’t feel right.  I’ve attempted to start two other books over the years as well, and abandoned those as well, simply because they didn’t feel right.  Contrast that to Cindy’s Story, and all 22 of the Unseen Things series novels that just flowed out of me like they were meant to be.  That’s what I’m experiencing again now with The Accidental Hero, and there’s really no better feeling in the world as an author.

Also, because I never pre-plan my books, the story adjusts to itself, rather than being forced into some pre-planned plot line.  What do I mean by that?  What I mean is that the characters may have one set of plans in one particular scene, and then a short time later circumstances dictate that they abandon those plans entirely and come up with something new.  The world doesn’t exist as a series of pre-planned events, and neither do my stories.  My stories come to life as I write them, as though I’m simply watching it all unfold rather than creating it as I type.  As an author, there’s no better feeling in the world than to have a story flow through your fingertips, almost like the universe itself was willing it into existence.

Anyway, that’s it for now. 🙂

Did quite a bit of writing today.  I’m almost done with chapter three of The Accidental Hero.  It’s always a little scary delving into a completely new story with new characters that each need their own personalities, back stories, etc…, but it’s also fun to let those things come out as I write.  It’s one of my favorite things as an author honestly.

Anyway, progress is being made.  Not sure how long it’ll take to write the whole thing though.  Writing a whole new property takes a lot more work than writing a new book in an established property like the Unseen Things universe.

We’ll see…

Just finished chapter 1 of The Accidental Hero.  So far I’m happy with how it’s coming along, but it is only the first chapter, and I still have a lot of things to work out along the way.  The Unseen Things series was like a comfortable old shoe I could just delve into and start writing whatever I felt like writing.  Writing standalone novels is like writing the first book of a series.  You have to world build completely from scratch, and the way I write, that all just evolves organically.  Virtually nothing is pre-planned, and the stuff that is, is all subject to change at the drop of a hat so it fits into the story the way it’s evolving.  The ideas I was working with when I started the Unseen Things series changed drastically as I wrote the first book.  They were replaced by better ideas, and that’s why I don’t pre-plan my works.  I allow them to evolve in whatever ways they feel like they should as I’m writing.

Speaking of writing, my hands aren’t a hundred percent yet by any means, but at least I can type now without constant typos, so that’s good at least.

Anyway, that’s it for now.  Catch ya on the flip side. 😉

I had my second carpal tunnel surgery several weeks ago, and even though I still have tendon swelling, tightness, and numbness in both hands, my right hand is quite functional, and my left is well on the path to recovery.

I decided to end the Unseen Things series with the 22nd book, Aftermath.  I got about ten chapters into a 23rd book, but I just wasn’t feeling it.  There was some good stuff in there, but the rest was just feeling forced.  Aftermath was written to be the final book in the series, so I’m not too awful disappointed, but still, it’s kind of sad knowing there’ll likely never be another book in the Unseen Things universe.

That said, I was talking to a writer friend of mine online the day before yesterday, and during that conversation I got a germ of an idea for a new book.  So far I’ve only written the intro, so I’ll just have to see where it leads.  The book is called The Accidental Hero.  Let your mind wander with that, since that’s what I’m doing as well at the moment.

Anyway, that’s enough for now.  I need to get back to doin’ nothin’, so I’ll have time to do nothin’ later as well. 😉