Edits are progressing very well on Book 20, almost too well. I'll need another round after I finish this current round.
I really like the story of Zaer and Shen and some brief glimpses of their adventures together, but I still had some rewriting that leaves me thinking I need one more editing round before it's ready.
Very soon, though! After this, it'll be back to writing... starting Book 23. I'm getting close to the end.
Thanks for reading!
The editing on Book 20 slowed a bit with an unexpected early finishing of the big project.
I still can't say what that other special big project is. It's gone into the beta testing and tweaking stage. I've selected a few trusted individuals to provide their feedback.
But now that it's to this point, I can switch gears to focusing on editing again. I have a week and a half to make my goal. I'll be digging in to finish that and get Book 20 published.
It'll be a while yet before the big project is ready for a public announcement, but it's going to be great.
Stay tuned!
This manuscript is really making me work to fine-tune it. I knew it was rough, but I didn't imagine it would need this much work!
Part of the delay was trying some ideas that didn't work for certain points of the subplots, so I had to change some things back. In other aspects, the smaller plot holes revealed themselves from behind the curtain that was pulled away during previous big edits. I feel like this will never end. The problem is that it's improved so much that it makes me wonder what else I'm missing. I hate that feeling.
I'm midway through round four of edits, and Book 19 is finally having the fat trimmed. I'm at the point of being ready to be done, but these changes are more than a few words here there as I had expected at this point. Unfortunately, it's still in the stage of major trimming. Copyedits will require one more round.
Help! I feel like I'm stuck in editing Groundhog Day!
Well...
I'm not as far in edits on Book 19 as I expected. I found another scene that required some major rewrites.
I was about 4/5 done in this editing pass when I hit upon a Starfire shard flashback revealed to Nya. It's an issue in which I give a description to transition faster through narrative to the important points. I realized some things were out of order and needed to provide a more logical explanation going into a full scene. That took a while to iron out, along with ideas to make the other scenes in that sequence better.
I remember thinking when I was writing the first draft that the story overall would need some big edits but didn't worry about it then because I knew after some time away it would become more clear to me. Boy, has it!
It's not like having to rewrite a whole story (like I did for Starfire Angels and Broken Wings 15-17 years ago between the two); but it is a lot of rewriting/rearranging. Every story varies. After I draft a book, I set it aside for what ends up being 6-8 months. By the time I get back to it, I have a fresh take on it. I still remember it, but I've been away enough to view it more objectively. I view it from an editor lense and rip it apart.
I add details and better transitions. (You wouldn't want to read the first draft!) I also add those in the subsequent editing rounds and end up adding quite a bit, along with rearranging sentences (ideas), taking out unnecessary narration, etc. Where the drafting stage was the setting down of most of the plot and major ideas, the editing stage fixes the issues and fills in the gaps. The last editing round is always taking out excessive words, fixing awkward phrases, correcting typos, and fixing formatting.
I'm almost done with these huge fixes in the story and am anxious to start the next round and see what I find in that to fix that might have been introduced with these big changes or that I've missed because I was editing while being tired or foggy brained. I'll have a better idea of how these changes will feel in the flow of the story in the next pass.
It's coming along, being refined and honed.
And I'm still making my way through the earlier books. I'm finishing up book 7 and have found a few fixes to make in that (usually 1-2 chapters while on the treadmill). I'll always find fixes in my books. Art is never finished, only abandoned. I write first for myself, so I do enjoy going back and rereading the books. What I don't enjoy is knowing I'll always want to fix things. I love this whole series and will be enjoying them long after it's finished, but I hope at some point that I'm happy with them as they are.
Thanks for reading.
ps - Bilbo takes any lap he can get, including my lap when I sit down, and Dargo wants his spot next to me, even overcoming his hesitations about Bilbo to be close. The other day, I had Bilbo half on me and Dargo laid next to us. To get up, I had to slide Bilbo off my lap, which meant he and Dargo were next to each other. I managed to get some pics of that moment. It was an amazing step in their relationship. No hissing or striking at each other. First one then the other got up... and went out to the kitchen thinking they would get food. Small steps.
In starting my second pass, where the real editing begins, the answer came to me. I figured out where certain parts of chapter 1 should be moved to keep the focus on the book's specific main characters and the series characters for certain subplots to keep their points later in the story. Without giving anything away, that's the most I can reveal.
I also had to change a description of an area a bit, since this is in a castle, but I didn't want to have to rewrite too much. It had to give the impression of being a sort of vanity area for the lord of the castle as a grander palace might have yet be practical for the space. It's a small scene and passes in a page, but what I had originally was bothering me, since Miram Castle is a fortress against attack... and not just by other lords and their armies. That actually took a while to figure out after a couple of iterations of redesign and describing it.
It could happen again, but with these big changes, the worst I foresee is making sure everything still flows and that the story structure remains as it was, because overall, it's a good story. I like the subplots but don't want to make certain aspects too big that they take away from the main plot but, rather, intertwine organically.
This is the book that has a bit of GoT type underpinnings while serving the series purpose. It was fun to write and is as much fun to return to editing. I enjoy every book of the series, and the breaks between the original writing and the editing for publishing give them a freshness I especially enjoy. I also wanted to write a book on a cold, snowy world; and with this, I compromised with a winter season. How appropriate to be returning to this after one of the harshest winters in real life that I can remember. It puts the editing in a more accurate perspective for the setting. Since I live on the northern plains, I know winter!
This is also the book that I said has a horse like one I knew in real life growing up. Quint was mean! (And he was gelded--I can't imagine if he had been a stud!) I used that in this book, along with the name and his description.
Because of real life interruptions and reviewing these major changes, I will have to push back ALL THE KING'S MEN to a mid-March release timeframe. It's not much later than I had expected, and I appreciate your patience. I have a lot to manage in my life and writing doesn't always take center stage.
Thanks for reading!
I thought I'd post an update on a few things...
Cats
The cats have been expensive this month! The oldest two have each had periods of anorexia aka not eating. When cats don't eat for over a day, they go downhill pretty quickly. They're very sensitive creatures. It's hard to get them eating once they go off their food. The trick is figuring out what is causing inappetence and resolving it.
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| Two oldest kitties who have had health issues recently |
These two are 14 (Siamese) and 12 1/2 (torbie) years old. In searching for answers, I learned that dental care is a major cause of not eating in senior cats. From experience, I learned that bad breath is a good indicator that something is wrong with their teeth. The third oldest (10 1/2 hears old) will need his teeth cleaned too. He's showing signs of mouth pain, but he'll have to wait since we spent way too much money on the oldest two this month.
In other news, Bilbo has settled in pretty well. I currently have my old momma's boy (the senior Siamese) next to me while Bilbo is half on my lap--without any issues. Bilbo should be hubby's cat and often is, but for some reason, when I'm home and sitting on the loveseat, he wants my lap. He's a big boy and hasn't yet learned not to lay on my laptop. He's getting better, but he still has to be in my way. Fortunately, I pushed him down this time and he laid that way to be only partly on my lap, so I can type this with my laptop out of his way.
Household
All the pet issues came on top of the dryer not working. Fortunately, it only needed a piece replaced and the repairman knew immediately what it was. Unfortunately, we had to pay a hefty fee for the repair visit while the piece to replace cost about a tenth of that. It's cheaper than a new dryer but, added to the pet costs, makes for a very expensive month.
Forgotten Worlds
The first draft of Book 21 of Forgotten Worlds is nearly done. It's at 44K words and I have just a few scenes left. I expect to finish by the end of this month with it around 47K, although I do have to contend with health issues that can interfere with my plans.
The book is turning out better than expected. I'm always amazed when that happens, although I should know by now that the harder a story seems to be to write, the more I work on it and the better it actually ends up being (at least in my opinion, probably because I'm comparing to what I thought it would be in quality).
And I've finished rereading Book 5. I'll be uploading the updates soon, minor as they are. I'm really enjoying the reread and appreciating the refresh while going into the final stretch of this series. What concerns me are the little things that slipped past me in later books, so this reread is very helpful in that regard, because I'm making notes and fixing things and adding to my wiki file for reference.
Next up, I'll need a cover for ARMOR. Finding a cover image for that could be difficult, given the setting of it.
Writing a first draft description for Book 20 also needs to be done.
So much to do; so little time.
Life (and writing) goes on.
God bless!
In editing, the mind shifts gears to ripping up everything that came out in the writing stage. In writing, the focus is getting the ideas out; and there is some editing along the way. In editing, it's about making it all make sense and read easily, to put it succinctly. All those vague thoughts of things that might be wrong in the first draft rise to the surface and become clear. They drag up other issues with them too that you didn't notice before. This can only happen after time away. Stepping back lets you see the forest through the trees.
For me, the first round is a familiarization round after months away from the particular story. I find some things to fix, but it's more to get back to that story. However, by halfway through the first round on Book 18, I was pretty well shifted into editing mode and caught some major fixes in the later chapters. I also started thinking again about the events of this book when not at the computer and have been making editing notes to apply when I get back to the computer.
I'm in the second round of edits now on Book 18, and this is typically where the rewriting really begins, which it has in earnest. I'll have rewrites in the third round too, but not likely as much as this round. Usually third round major rewrites happen because of seeing how second round edits affected the story. Not all stories have such massive issues. So far, I found an issue with chapter 2 and had a lot of rewriting to fix that this time through. It hasn't been as bad since, but that doesn't necessarily mean the book is ready. It could be that issues aren't getting caught. I'm halfway through this second round right now.
I'll have two more rounds. Typically, I find four rounds of edits is just right. Once I get past major issues in the second and third rounds, the fourth is pretty much all copyedits, which is catching the little mistakes (grammar, typos, double words, missed words, etc.) that get introduced in the rewrites. Sometimes, that copyedit stage doesn't happen until a fifth round, but usually four is sufficient. I do fix minor issues in all rounds of edits, but by the final phase, it's just a minor clean-up process. And by then, I'm past ready to move on.
I've also made some tweaks to the book's description. Summarizing a book into a short teaser is not an easy task, but it's a necessary evil.
In the data stolen from the Issan, Nya discovers her greatest fear about the Ethalian portal research—the Issan have the calculations for portals. In the hopes that the Dirnothril may have more current information, she and her friends decide to investigate the package left for L'Ni on Par Ti'jek. What they find shocks everyone… L'Ni isn't the only former Issan living on the outside.
However, the revelation is the least of concerns. An Inquisitor is ready for L'Ni's arrival, and, unknown to anyone, a more sinister threat lurks on the Cartegos, one that could destroy L'Ni and, through him, Nya.
My goal is to release Book 18 in early November.
Thanks for reading!
I keep finding the little things to fix.
That's how progress on Book 17 of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds is going. I'm on the fourth round but still finding things to fix, although, as my normal editing progress goes, I am, predictably, at the stage of doing more removing than adding or rewriting.
It's cleaning up nicely, although the first chapter required a lot of work. First chapters always do, though. They should set up everything or at least introduce a question/issue that is the sprout that blossoms fully as the story moves along. Getting that set up requires a lot of finesse.
I'm nearly mind numb from editing, but one more round after this should allow me to be sure the other issues that came up are polished. I had almost forgotten a couple of details from the original Starfire Angels series that became the Dark Angel Chronicles, back when I established the rules of this universe. This one has a lot of continuity requirements since it brings back some of the DAC characters. I didn't want to over-explain things to those who started with this series but get just enough to understand the characters brought just over ten years into the future of that series to interact with Nya and her friends. I typically overwrite and have to cut. It's better than not having enough and having a reader that's lost.
I'm halfway through the current editing round and one more should take me into next weekend, after July 4th. I should have HOMECOMING available by the following week. This is about the time of the 15th anniversary of the release of the first Starfire Angels book. Book 17 of Forgotten Worlds will be the 37th story (or book, if you count a novelette and a few novellas as books) in the series. After this, there will only be eight more books to wrap up the series.
Book 17 is coming very soon!
Edits of Book 17 of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds are progressing with the hope of releasing the book before the end of the month, although no guarantees on that; by early July for sure. I'll have the next book in the Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds series out in less than four months since the last book. It's now been about three months, so this is a much better pace than the last few books.
I'm maintaining two books ahead of publishing. This allows a cushion if I develop something or think of something later that I want to go back and add into a book. Experience in the past showed me that when writing a series, that's the best option. Not everything comes at once up front, and series ideas develop and change. Usually something like that doesn't happen more than two books later.
This series has changed in small details as each book is written and I tweak things from the original outline. Sometimes it's the character development, but most often it's realizing that plot development and/or the science doesn't fit what I had originally planned and I need to make adaptations, which ripple out beyond that book. Of course, if you know how wave physics work, the further out from the source the ripple travels, the larger it becomes, so that requires adjustments in the outline so that ripple flows right along instead of crashing like a wave against rocks.
And then there is the issue of the writing itself. I've had a couple of scenes in this book (like every book) that really needed major hammering to mold them into what they needed to be. Chapter one has a major impact on the whole story; in this, the big revelation that I had mentioned long ago, so certain elements had to be included. This required more than my usual attention, because I've been hinting at this since the first book to prepare readers, unbeknownst to them; but the hints did get more and more obvious (or I thought they did; readers can chime in once they see it come to fruition). I had to reorganize the opening conversation of Book 17 to bring together all the hints that spark the rest of the story and will change dynamics of the whole series. This has been a delicate task. I knew it was a problem after writing it but just wanted to get everything possible for that scene out so it was on the page. It's smoothed out now and everything is in place for the setup of the rest of the book and the series.
As for the rest of Book 17, I'm halfway through this major editing stage with at least two more rounds of edits to go. Chapter one could still see a bit of editing, but nothing like this round of reorganizing and rewriting. I'm finding other places that need a lot of rewriting, but nothing like the first chapter (so far). Opening chapters area always the big ones for me, even when they aren't a big revelation. They should ignite the reader's interest by introducing tension immediately that needs to be resolved (aka the plot). I don't like slow openings.
So, watch for HOMECOMING... coming soon.
Thanks for reading!
God Bless!
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I don't have much of a writing update today. I'm still working on edits of Book 16. It's going more slowly than I hoped, which is why I've at least temporarily deactivated my X account (and maybe permanently). So, I thought I'd add something different about what's been happening lately.
First, I've just uploaded a revision of A NEW BEGINNING. It now includes a note about the [ ] and { } indicators of alien languages. That was the only update to the file. I wanted to make sure new readers understand. Most SFF readers should have some familiarity with using such devices for dialogue translations of fictional other languages, if they've read anything from around the 80's. I saw this in books growing up, which is what gave me the idea to use those to encapsulate translations of fictional languages being spoken by characters where I want the reader to understand it.
Second, I have updated the series description on Amazon. I've tweaked it a couple of times now. It had defaulted to the description of the first book and I left that for a long time. Now, I've given it a brief overview of the series, as well as a note about... Well, why not just let you read it. Here's what it now says:
The truth behind the warrior disciples of an ancient religion is no myth. To stop the ancient evil from being released to destroy the universe, a group of strangers joins together to find the scattered Starfire shards, the only weapon known to defeat the creature.
Take off with Nya and the strangers who will become her friends on a quest across a galaxy of forgotten worlds where the Starfire shards have been hidden for such a time as this. In the course of their adventures, they will discover secrets that her ancestors left behind and revelations that could shatter the lives of many.
These books are short novels intended to be read in order. Each book is a complete story but leads into the next. Like chapters in an individual book, each book of this series is a "chapter" in the larger series arc of 25 books.Note: Although there is some romance in the series, there are no sex scenes. Also, no foul language is used.
I wanted those looking for hard science fiction to realize that this probably isn't what they want. It isn't a porno/swearing fest like so much fiction is these days. It's also not all shoot 'em up war/fighting, and it's not full of broken characters. Sure, each character has their traumas, but they don't dwell on them all the time. I like likable characters and action that's balanced between drama and fighting (or pew pew! as some call it 🙃).
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| idoo hydroponic garden, available from Amazon |
Third, I've had to do some pulling of old lettuce and reseeding in my indoor hydroponics garden. I started the lettuce but haven't had an interest in eating many salads, although it is nice to have our own lettuce instead of store-bought with who knows how many chemicals sprayed on it.
I pulled up two of my larger plants that were looking pretty shredded and not fitting under the light anymore and have new sprouts growing. I'll pull up those last two large plants once the new sprouts take off with enough leaves to start using for salads. |
| The picture is blurry because it was before the sun rose and zoomed in from a ways back from the glass deck door so as not to frighten her. She's pretty skittish. |
This is a fun piece of writing, if I say so myself; but I enjoy each of these books.
After all that Nya has endured since taking on the Starfire's mission, seeing the famous Orast Belt space racing up close is exactly the break she needs. Unfortunately, trouble is never far away. When a criminal organization decides to take the chance on collecting a bounty, not even L'Ni can stop them from taking her. What Nya's captors don't anticipate, however, are her flying skills and the persistence of her friends. The race is on, and there can be only one winner.
But, that's just a warning to others out there. Every situation is different; I've had to spend the last five  |
| Buddy with his new saddle after a long trail ride. |
And I'm excited that my brother and his family will be home for the branding also. Farm families are some of the closest knit families you'll ever meet. We rely on each other. Granted, like my brother and his family, who live in another state, I don't actually live on the farm/ranch anymore, but it's still in our blood. My sisters still live and work on the farm with their families, and my brother and I both wish we could too. Alas, our lives have taken different routes, but home is home. There's a peace about the open country where the closest neighbor is a mile or two away. There's real freedom in that, and it's a balm to the soul. Getting back to my roots has provided the greatest healing for me.