Week One Recap

Next time, I'll stretch out a bit more.

Heya!

I have a close friend who’s been the best practical keel to steady my creative impulses. Years ago, he focused on his fitness and really made the changes so many of us follow-through with. On a call, he mentioned his running distance/time, and I felt shame by comparison. A few minutes later, I asked, “Are you running on a treadmill?” He confirmed, and I laughed in relief. I suggested he take his running chops to the road and experience the difference.

What does this have to do with writing? For the last… well, forever, I’ve been revising and editing my first book, Blackfire. But for this Write-a-thon, I’m drafting the follow-up book. If revising is like running on a treadmill, drafting is closer to plodding along a hot and hilly road. The word-count drops like Wile E. Coyote off a cliff.

When the WAT kicked off on the 25th, I wrestled a paltry 718 words out of my keyboard. The next day, I coaxed 1,285 out of the ether. Then the numbers nudged up to, and past, my 1,500 daily target goal. Please withhold your applause because I committed to writing seventy-thousand words over the six-week fundraiser.

This pace has me on-track for my goal, but the weekends seem to be the bane of my existence. I’m a creature of habit, and with writing, that means sitting in an undisturbed location from 9 to 1, doing the thing. I know I can make up the numbers if I fall short, but a big part of this is to do my part for all of you who read this, give like, and donate to Clarion West in my name. Ye ole aphorism, perfection is the enemy of progress, applies here. My brain knows this, but my gut is desperate to succeed. Along with disgorging thousands of words, I need to be cognizant of my overall goal and progress, and avoid the negative distraction of the daily trials.

Once again, knowing you’re following along is a great motivator.

The facts.

The week was pretty productive. I wrote 8,924 words of the first draft for Ghost Wing. Just over sixty-thousand words left to go!

Not the 1,500 average I aim to have next week, but a good opener. Donations have begun to come in and I already owe reader chapters and a character sketch as individual rewards!

For you keen-eyed folks, you’ve noticed I’ve changed the working title of the book already. It used to be Ghost Fleet. Turns out this cool name graces many a book in the sci-fi realm. Then I came up with Ghost Squadron. Cool-ish, but a bit too military for me. I’ve landed on Ghost Wing. This feels a bit more evocative, but who knows, maybe the perfect name will present itself as I write this thing? Should we start a pool to see how many names I come up with?

If you’re inclined to make me work harder (I asked for it) consider making a donation in my name. Here.

If you want to follow my daily progress, I’m posting that stuff on Twitter, Instagram, and on a Thread here on Substack.

What’s cool?

Molly and I went to see Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse this week. (full disclosure, I first saw it two weeks ago) I know this movie isn’t for everyone, but if you know me, read this newsletter, or listen to my podcast, you get my love of comic books. That said, this is what a superhero movie should be. Fun, action-packed, ambitious, and filled with heart. The artistic level is unbelievable, and the “acting” is so human. Go see it.

Next on our list are Asteroid City and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

How goes the hunt for an agent?

A quick update on Blackfire. As I mentioned, it’s out for submission with agents. Next week, I’ll send queries off to a handful of agents looking for this type of book. My first two queries were less formal, as the agents requested I send them something. The first response was a polite rejection from one of the biggest agents in my books genre. Disappointing, yes. Heartbreaking, no. I’ll let you know the status of my ticker fifty rejections from now.

The query process is gruesome. Most writers I know would rather write another book than query. I don’t like it, but I recognize a lot of gained knowledge.

It forces the writer to focus on the major movements in their story, not the sequence of events that we drone on about when asked about our book. You also consider what sort of book you wrote and how it fits on bookstore shelves. These are not the sort of things I paid attention to as I labored through the writing process.

In short, querying is evil, but a necessary one.

Wish me luck and I’ll see you on the other side!