As much as I write, I'm still lazy.

Read the first chapter of Wolflander at writer's group and I think it went over well.  Pam, who says she never reads any science fiction or horror, thought it was something she could read, that it wasn't too "explicit."

I'm thinking:  Is that a good thing?

I have trouble these days with labels.  I call what I do "dark fantasy" because that seems like a broader term than fantasy, horror, or whatever.

Indeed, because these books are set in Bend and I try to bring in the local landscape and history -- there is a 'western' flavor to these books, too.  So fantasy/horror/western.  What is that?


Meanwhile, I'm finally going to get out into the garden and do some cleaning.  I'm looking forward to writing and gardening at the same time.  They are complimentary to each other.  Pulling weeds and thinking, going over and jotting down my ideas, going back to the pulling weeds.


I've written so many words over the last few weeks, that not writing the last three days has been like a fever breaking.  It's a bit of a relief.

I look back at my delirium in amazement.


I've come to a relatively firm assessment of my writing and one thing really stands out.  As much as I write, I'm also lazy and impatient.  If I can just get myself to really work at it -- that is, do the necessary rewriting -- I think my efforts will turn out better. 

I'm not as worried about my creative ideas or my writing skills as I am about my work process.  If I've improved at all, its because I've gotten more effective in my approach -- which, along with the wonderful technology -- has made it possible for me to write more.

So I just really need to bear down on the hard part -- the rewriting, and really keep working at it.  Take the time to get it right.  Not rush things.

As I've mentioned before, I want to be effective at rewriting -- but I also want to retain the freshness of the story for as long as possible.

I'm refining the work process, basically.

1.)  Working out how to outline and plan, both for the long run and for the next day.

2.)  How fast to write the actual book.

3.)  And then how to retain freshness while I work on rewriting the book.

I've got the basics down, and now I'm sort of figuring out the most effective methods.

'Marketing' is in the future -- a sort of hazy impossible cliff.  I'll just keep writing until I've got something I think is really, really good and use that book as my possible entry point.

Meanwhile, just keep writing and hopefully get better.