Day 1,475 - Streamlining

In my WIP The Militia, I have several plots that all spin in together. There is the main character, Levi and the local militia he was part of which is a recovery group for ex-military. There are two separate Islamic terrorist organizations. There is a cataclysmic event. And there was a local local non-religious militia/terrorist group called the Earth Men.

I really like the Earth Men plot. It hits close to home and it's a very real possibility. Radicalization can happen around any cause, and the more a population grows, the easier it is for groups to form around terrifying ideals.

Unfortunately, while the Earth Men were tied closely to the plot, its integration just felt contrived. Not the plot, just its placement into the story. It's the part I spent writing more in yesterday, but it's been weighing on me for days, ever since reviewing my work from 2011. And if I am being further introspective, I had concerns back then.

And so... it's gone. At least from the first book in the series. I suspect it will take a prime focus, instead of a sub-plot to the story-line in the second book, but definitely no later than the third.

It was painful. Set my word count back by a couple thousand (now at 8,497). But it felt good.

The rest of my writing tonight was centered on realigning the story accordingly. Now that I can focus more on the other plots, fleshing them out more, I want to ensure the pace has the right ups and downs.

How have I approached it? I started free typing questions. Questions about the MC, about his support group, and his motivations. About what he is doing, and why is he where he needs to be at key junctures now that the Earth Men are not in the picture. No direct writing occurred in the WIP, but a whole lot of cutting and questioning.

I feel it's more compelling already.

Day 1,474 - Writing Re-commences

My first day back I did free writing for the poetry just to get the feeling of writing back. The next days were reviewing past work so I knew where I wanted to start and how.

Today, I did a 30 minute writing sprint. My first one in years. It felt great! I wasn't blazing fast, clocking 350 words in my allotted time. But I did it. And I really started to get into the groove near the end. Words flowed with greater ease, allowing my mind to rest in and expand the world of the story, which in turn made it easier to write.

Loving it.

Day 1,473 - Reading Completed!

Late start today. I've been on by 11:30 PM, maybe 12:00 AM since getting back into the swing of things. Tonight it was 12:55 AM.

You write when you can though.

Tonight I finished reading my previous writings. I really liked both WIP's. It's been long enough that most of the details seemed new to me. Nice experience. That said, it will definitely need some editing. I think on the Militia I may need to cut an entire sub-plot to keep things tight.

All in all, glad I took the time to reread.

Maybe I should start trying to do this in the mornings...

Day 1,472 - Reading

Today I continued with reading my main WIP. It's actually really good. Coming back to it after so long with fresh eyes, I thought I would see more holes and problems. Not so. I find it personally compelling still, which is a key aspect that matters to me. Needs some editing and refining, but looking good.

I'll finish tomorrow, then I can write.

Day 1,471 - Days of Yore

I am not advertising the resurrection of my writing blog yet. I am still uncertain of what direction I want it to take. Still, I know that I want to document my journey.

I spent my writing time today reviewing a few of my early blog posts, reminding myself of things I has learned once before. I followed this by reading from two WIPs I haven't touched since 2012. I was surprised to find that for my main WIP, which I thought I had written only a chapter or two, I instead had six that spanned 37 MS Word sized pages. I am too tired to read much beyond the first chapter, but I quite liked it. I made a few minor edits, saw more to make, and ultimately decided to enjoy the story and worry about such things another time.

I've also been reading a few writing sites and blogs. It's good to help build motivation and ideas.

Day 1,470 - New Beginning

It has been several years since I've posted here. Life has taken many unexpected turns, which is ever predictable.

We have moved from Utah to Houston to Utah, and now California. My writing has been on life support, a hope for a second chance that never seemed to work out.

And yet miracles happen, and here I am. Because of my new circumstances with work I am more relaxed, and I feel the concept of free time is a possibility. I think it's safe to say that I missed my one year goal, and with over a thousand extra days, it's not even close.

I pondered deleting the blog and starting a new one, but I like the idea of showing the ups and downs. What form will the blog take moving forward? I don't know. As I see the sparks of life again in it, my modest goal is simply to nurture what's there and help it to keep going.

Tonight I wrote about 270 words, a short mythical poem just for fun, based loosely on elements of Semitic lore such as Tiamat, the holy mountain, and general concepts of control and freedom. Needs some refining, but it has a great feel.

More importantly, it's the first real writing I've done in years. I plan on doing some nearly every day now.

It's good to be back.