Happy New Year

As the new year begins tomorrow, I have decided to prioritize my priorities.

Of course, family comes first. A writer can easily forget that. Once you've attained that "zone" as I call it, when the creative juices are flowing and you're getting a lot accomplished, it can be easy to forget you have other people waiting on you.

And of course, the day job. It pays the bills..

But then you have your writing. For me, it used to be art. Painting, drawing, and sculpture took a large part of my time, and music, also, but it's been writing for the past three years that has consumed every spare minute.

And so it will continue to do. KILLER OF KILLERS and THE VASE are finished. Getting them published is on top of the list. Then completing revisions for KILLER EYES. I got a lot done towards that goal last night. And I will want to finish my YA novel, INSIDE THE OUTHOUSE and write a screenplay adaption for KILLER OF KILLERS.

One year from now, I'll be blogging, hopefully, that they all got done.

Year's End, 2010

The end of the year 2010 is upon us. Boy, does time fly. At least I got some things done. I completed the first draft of KILLER EYES, the sequel to KILLER OF KILLERS. Still a long way from finishing revisions, but still, it’s an accomplishment as any writer knows.

I did finish the revisions to THE VASE, at least as far as submitting manuscripts is concerned, and I have some interested publishers checking it out. I am confident it will happen, and I'll be able to post publication as one of my accomplishments for 2011.

It would be great to post two publications for 2011, as I still have high hopes for KILLER OF KILLERS. But since KOK is a martial arts action thriller, and those kinds of stories are always popular in the movies, I have decided to write it as a screenplay this coming summer. And since I've already started my fourth novel, INSIDE THE OUTHOUSE, I guess that means I'll be undergoing two separate projects.

So, yes, it's been a productive year. Mostly in revisions since summer, and mostly in submissions since October. Here's hoping it all works out great. We'll see.

More on Holidays

For me it's Christmas, but for some of the characters in my second novel, it would be Hanukkah. My main character in THE VASE is a Palestinian Muslim, but many of the other characters are Israelis, and Hanukkah is when those of the Jewish faith celebrate the defeat of Antiochus III of Syria who took over Judea in about 200 BCE.

As I understand it, the Temple in Jerusalem was to be purified by burning oil for eight days. But when they only had enough oil for one day, they lit it anyway, and it lasted eight days.

Hey, I'm no religious scholar of any sort, but I can read Wikipedia as well as the best of them.

But I did more in my research for THE VASE, than simply refer to Wikipedia. I researched a ton of information on Nazareth, and the region in which Israel is located. I researched the Palestinians, and the many factions that vie for control of their destiny. It's a complicated setting, and I don't pretend to be an expert on it. But I researched enough to write a story about a vase-maker.

I do claim to know a lot about ceramics, and it is that on which I focused my story. It's about a simple ceramicist who is caught up in the conflict, even though he doesn't want any part of it. And the story is mostly about a simple vase. Well, it's not so simple, really. It's quite a special vase. I think you'll be able to read why very soon.

Happy Holidays

I hope everyone had a happy holiday. It's an interesting time. Used to just say Merry Christmas, but now it's gotta be Happy Holiday. It's a religious holiday, of course, and there's not just one religion. Sure all the different branches of Christian celebrate Christmas, I think, with perhaps a couple exceptions, but they are the exceptions. Then there's the Jewish faith which celebrates Hanukkah at about the same time, and the many other religions who don't celebrate anything this time of year.

But for me, it's about writing. Yeah, I have a family, and spent the time well with them. But I'm getting writing done during the times everyone is asleep. Like over the summer. I can afford to stay up late and write. That's when I get the most done. Some people tell me that they write in the early morning, like six to seven or eight in the morning. Not me. I'm really not a morning person. And it's just as well, because when school's in session, I've got to be in my classroom during those hours anyway. No time to write then, so I shouldn't be getting used to writing during those hours.

For me, it's about ten or eleven at night to when I start getting sleepy, which is about two or three. You get a lot done during those hours. No kids calling for dad. The wife's asleep. The phone's not ringing. The dog next door isn't barking. Yeah, nice and peaceful. Just the way I like it.

Good Idea

No matter how many times you've read and revised your manuscript, it's a good idea to read through it at least one more time before you submit it to a publisher or even an agent. I've noted many times on this blog that the revision process is an endless one. I've even said that I would revise THE VASE again before I submitted it to the latest publisher who requested a full. And I did.

But then I read it again, and sure enough, I found an error, albeit a minor one, and revised a paragraph that, imo, improved the prose 100% for that paragraph, anyway. Enough to make me want to resubmit it. I figured they couldn't have read it yet, so send the better one, (electronically, thank goodness,) and just say to replace the last one with this one.

But now I will lay off of it. From now on, my writing will be limited to the revisions of my third novel, the sequel to KOK, KILLER EYES, and maybe even make more progress on the YA I began recently, INSIDE THE OUTHOUSE.

That's all.

Fellow Writers

Well, it's Christmas eve, and I feel the Christmas spirit. But one of the reasons I feel it is because I feel that I'm a part of the writing community! I have never been a part of something so selfless as being a writer.

Sure, teachers, also, are a great community. They go out of their way to help fellow teachers in their schools and/or districts. But there is just something about writers. I have received so much help from other writers who don't even know me. All they know is that I claim to be a writer, and it's like they bend over backwards to offer advice and help.

Check it out. You've got writer/agent blogs like Nathan Bransford, one of many who helps uncounted writers and aspiring writers in their writing and publication journeys.

There are other writers, too, like Victoria Strauss who goes out of her way to help anyone in their quest toward publication.

These are just two of so many more I would love to tout. The people in the writing world are some of the greatest people on the planet. I truly believe it.

Be Ready

Well, I'm certainly glad I gave THE VASE another reading because I will want to send the best version possible to this new publisher who wants to read it. I certainly didn't expect any response from a publisher smack dab in the middle of the Christmas season. But there it is. Glad I wasn't just sitting on my heels there.

I have to say that it feels great to have your best draft available when someone important wants to read it. And in this case, who can be more important than an editor at a publishing house? And when they contact you with a request for a full, you know you've done something right.

Like I said before, it's important to have options, and it looks like I may have some. In the meantime, keep writing!