Priorities and why it’s been a while since you’ve heard from me

Sorry for the radio silence. Life has been full of things that have been more important than blogging and that have been a higher priority even than writing. I think its important that you get at least a little update on what those priorities have been and what’s coming up for me. I don’t believe in making excuses for things under my control, but I do like explanations.

I have a day job that can be pretty demanding of my time. When it is, and when it is demanding, that shaves time off of when I can write as well as draining the mental energy to do so. I’m at a point with my novel where I’m trying to nail act two and it’s not flowing well, so the brain work has been harder than usual. As a result…

I’ve prioritized understanding why I’m stuck and how to get out of it rather than writing. I know this isn’t quite consistent with the advice from the successful folks. That advice generally consists of “just write”, and “you can’t edit a blank page.” Getting this right affects not just the book I’m writing now, but how the universe unfolds and even the appropriate antagonists for the story and is something I need to fix. “Save the Cat” and “My Story Can Beat Up Your Story” have been a great help when added to notes from Kevin Ikenberry’s workshop from a somewhat recent convention. You’ll be getting a better story for it.

The single biggest priority for me over the past few months has been fixing my health and fitness situation. I knew that I had been putting on weight over the past 18 months, but hadn’t realized how out of hand it had gotten. My habits that were supporting writing productivity (weekly brewery and burgers at #FridayNightWrites) were not helping. That’s just one example. It’s always easier and faster overall to go to a nearby restaurant and grab a bite to eat than it is to grocery shop, prep, and cook for one. To fix this, I’ve been making more frequent and longer trips to grocery stores, cooking the overwhelming majority of meals myself, and spending about 5 hours lifting each week… this was writing time and blog time. I’ve also been trying to get to bed earlier and get more rest (one of the most important things you can do for fitness and weight management).

End result – over the past eight weeks, I’ve written very little, plotted quite a lot, am down 21lbs on the scale and up a fair bit of weight on my primary lifts in the garage gym.

Works in Progress

I’m editing a short story for submission to next year’s FantaSci anthology – “Bonds of Valor” and working on mid-point revisions of my novel.

What I’m Doing and Where I’ll Be

I’m going to be at 20BooksVegas in about two weeks and I’m taking some time either side to focus on writing with my good friend Mike Massa. Taking time out to just change environments and bounce ideas last year was very productive and resulted in my short story “Fellblade” getting into last year’s FantaSci anthology.

If you’re going to be there too, let me know. If you’re interested in some aspect of the event or an after action report, let me know that, too.

If you haven’t read “Fellblade” yet, why not? You can get it here, along with other really good stories by authors I love like D.J. Butler and Glenn Cook.

Things to Read

Have you considered the Eldros Legacy? A multi-author fantasy series edited by Rob Howell and featuring established authors like Aaron Rosenberg?

Currently available:

• Khyven the Unkillable by Todd Fahnestock
• Seeds of Dominion by Quincy J. Allen
• Deadly Fortune by Aaron Rosenberg
• The Door Into Winter by Rob Howell
• Lorelle of the Dark by Todd Fahnestock
• The Forgotten King by Mark Stallings
• Embers & Ash by Marie Whittaker
• The Pain Bearer by Kendra Merritt
• A Murder of Wolves by Jamie Ibson

Get all the Eldros Legacy novels at: amazon.com/dp/B09Z9WVKYV