Day - 514

Revisions, Revisions, Revisions

I finished working on some edits/revisions that I got from my editor on "Crush." Who knew that making revisions would actually be harder than writing scenes in a novel? In any case, I e-mailed the revised manuscript to my editor and am anxiously waiting for her feedback.

So now what?

Although "Circled Bow" is complete story wise, I haven't gone through to do a general proof/edit on it. If I begin working on that today, I should be able to knock that out by the end of the week. If I finish early I'm going to get started on beefing up my outline for my next novel "Jury Duty." I also need to begin working on my research. "Jury Duty" is going to be a very challenging book. I believe that the concept and twists are unique and will push me as a writer.

I've created a Facebook author page and have been posting excerpts from my novels. I will be starting some contests and giveaways to help promote my writing and to get my name out there. Stay tuned for more updates and tell a friend about my writing if you like it. It would be much appreciated.

I write because I care and drugs are bad.

Can I Get Published In A year

Day - 500

Summertime Update

I haven't updated the blog in quite some time. Oops. So what have I been doing with my time since the last update? A lot. I've done some more studying on writing structure, techniques, etc. I've also completed my fourth manuscript, "Circled Bow," which is part of the "Bow" series. I started writing that book on 7/8/11 and finished with 72K words on 8/8/11. Not too shabby at all.

I've also secured a local editor to help me edit "Crush." The name of my editor's company is The Tempered Quill. Sarah H. is a great editor and she has a lot of unique ideas when it comes to working on developmental edits. Her high attention to detail is unparalleled. If anyone needs an editor, let me know and I can help you get in touch with her.

What else have I been doing? Oh yeah, I went to this little event called The Ragged Edge with Ted Dekker, Tosca Lee, Steven James, Eric Wilson, and Robert Liparulo. Driving 36 hours from Oregon to Franklin, TN was a blast. The conference was life changing. I can't adequately put into words how inspired and encouraged I was to be in a room with such creative individuals.

So fresh on the heels of completing my fourth manuscript in just over a year, having obtained the services of a professional editor, and having been inspired by Ted Dekker and friends, I am ready to move into the next phase in my writing. I'm going to work on the edits for "Crush" and get those ready to send to some local publishers. I'm also going to submit "Seized" (formerly "Untitled") as well to see if I get any bites.

I've got outlines ready for two new books. The first is called "Jury Duty" and while I can't elaborate a lot on this book, I can say that it is going to be the most involved, unique, and twisted book that I have written. The following book is called "60 Days" and it is a love story told from two different perspectives. Vague much? :)

There's a new Facebook Fan Page that I've created. Tell a friend, your mailman, your dog's hairstylist, anybody you know to check it out.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jose-Miguel/233512120023173


Can I Get Published In A Year

Day - 370

Challenge Complete???

I was able to finish the rough draft of "Untitled" on March 31st, the day before my deadline. Now all that is left is to edit this bad boy and then send it off to Lulu.com for self-publishing.

Looking back on the last year, I will admit that I am surprised that I was able to write three novels. I don't know how to write and I don't have any writing training. I do know that writing is something that I love to do and I enjoy it immensely. I think that with time and practice, my writing will only get better. Do I think the three novels that I've written can stand up to books on the NYT's best seller list? Absolutely not! Do I think that the novels I've written show potential? Absolutely!

So in the words of the band Pillar, I will ask the question..."Where do we go from here?"

The answer to that is...forward!

I am going to continue to write and for kicks, I will continue to post updates on the blog. If I was able to get a foundation for writing in just one year, I wonder what will happen in another year? Maybe I will get to take some writing classes? Maybe I'll find an editor? Maybe I'll get some rejection letters from publishers?

I do know that I am in this for the long haul. I'm humbled and comforted by the stories of famous authors like Ted Dekker who struggled before getting published. Also, stories like Jenna Black's give me some confidence. Jenna Black wrote for 17 years without getting published.

So here is my game plan peeps! I'm going to finish editing "Untitled" and then send it off to Lulu.com for self-publishing. Then, I'm going to take the three novels, "Crush," "Red Bow," and "Untitled," and send the manuscripts to local publishers. The worst they can say is they don't want to publish it. The whole point of sending those to publishers is to take a step in the right direction of breaking into the writing game.

Yesterday, I thought of where I want to take the third book in the "Bow" trilogy. Then, I want to either tackle an intense thriller/mystery book that I have an outline for, or a drama/love story type of book I have an outline for.

So here is to another year of progress and unforeseen events.

I write because I care and drugs are bad.

Can I Get Published In A Year

Day - 343

Where You Been Hiding Dude???

It has been a little over a month since I've updated the blog. I will admit that my day job has kept me pretty occupied. However, I've still managed to do a little bit of writing. Not as much as I've wanted, but it's still something. So where am I at you ask?

45,264 words

That means I'm over half way done. I have a shade over 24K words left to write. Time wise, I only have 22 days left to get this finished to meet my goal. I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't feeling the pressure. I'm so close to the finish and the only thing that can get in my way right now is work. If I stick to my daily writing goal, I can get the rough draft finished in 12 days and have 10 days to edit.

I'm in the homestretch, so let's see if I can make it to the finish line.

Can I Get Published In A Year

Day - 313

Making Progress

So I've made some decent progress with "Untitled" and was able to write my 2K words/day last week - except on 2 days. I'm confident that I'll be able to make up those 4K words this weekend. Alright, so where does that leave me progress wise???

14,845 words
44 Pages

That is decent progress and if I continue to write 2K words/day, I will be very close to meeting my goal. Now, I should probably mention that for "Untitled," I have done a lot of research into geography, foreign languages, and special branches of the government. The end result should be a book that is factually (is that a word?) sound. I'm taking special care with the environment, which is Seattle. I want the locations to be spot on and accurate.

I've introduced four new characters and am getting a big kick out of how they're interacting with the main characters in the story. As far as the plot goes, I honestly believe that this story will have the most sound and developed plot that I've written so far. My previous two books had plots that were ok, but could have been a lot better. That is not only my personal opinion, but it is also direct feedback from people who have read the books. In any case, I'm working hard to make sure that this story will contain the best writing that I've ever written. I'm pushing myself even more than I did with Red Bow to be more creative and make my sentences more concise and descriptive.

Can I Get Published In A Year

Day - 305

The Final Act

I will admit that the last three weeks have been a blur. Between going out of town, work, and editing/formatting Red Bow, I haven't been able to update the blog as regularly as I would like to. However, the takeaway from the whirlwind that was the last three weeks is that Red Bow has been self published on Lulu.com. My copy arrives on Friday. Since Crush and Red Bow are now done, that means that it's time to get started on "Untitled."

I have 60 days left until my one year deadline. This is the goal that I am setting for myself:

50 days to write
10 days to edit and then publish on Lulu

If I keep the pace I was using for Red Bow of writing at least 2000 words per day, I should easily hit this goal. In fact, I will hit that goal on day 35. The target is 70,000 words or more for "Untitled."

I have outlined the first three chapters for "Untitled" and will begin writing today after work. I'm excited because I think that this book is going to be some of the best writing that I've ever written. I have a solid understanding of where the plot needs to go and I will be focusing a lot more on developing the plot line and making sure it doesn't have any holes.

So what do you think blog readers? Do you think I can hit this lofty goal?

I write because I care and drugs are bad.....

Can I Get Published In A Year

Day - 284

Awww snap!

Guess who finished writing Red Bow 2.0 this morning? I reached my 70K word goal and also reached my page goal of 250. I am now going to start the self-editing and revising process. This is a huge personal accomplishment for me and I'm so elated that I finished it. I think that I was able to make the story better in a lot of ways. I've also set the groundwork for tying into "Untitled," which I've already started outlining, with continuous plot lines.

Oh yeah, the new ending....psssh, you will never figure it out! Just remember, Bow will always find you, so be on the lookout.

Can I Get Published In A Year

Day - 278

A New Year Begins.....

Happy New Year!!! I've been able to start off the New Year with a bang. This last week, I was able to knock out 43 pages. I am so close to finishing the revised draft. I think if I keep my current pace, I should have no problem meeting my goal. Speaking of my goal, I may need to adjust it. The formatting in Word might put me over the 70K word count with 250 pages. So I'm currently at 58,815 in terms of word count. I will write until I hit 70,000 words or 250 pages - whichever comes first. Either way, it is do or die time for me to finish this revised draft before 1/11/10. Then, the "fun" process of shuffling scenes around and self-editing begins.

On a side note, I have surprised myself again with how I have thought up new scenes and twists to make RB2.0 a better story than it was in it's embryonic stages. I can see definite growth in my writing. It's nowhere close to Ted Dekker or Chelsea Cain in terms of writing quality, but it's getting better.

So what do you think, my blog followers? Can I write 11,185 words or 36 pages in the next 6 days? Or am I just living a dream and fantasizing about unrealistic goals?

Red Bow 2.0 Page Count = 214 pages

Can I Get Published In A Year

Day - 274

Challenge accepted! Challenge completed!

I've been writing like a madman the last few days and have reached my goal of hitting the 185 page count mark before the end of the year. As a matter of fact, I'm at 188 pages. Writing 23 pages in just over 3 days is not too shabby in my opinion.

So where does that leave me in terms of finishing Red Bow 2.0? I would like to reach the 250 page mark. That means that I have 62 pages left to write. Then, there is the fun part of self-editing and then rearranging scenes and filling in any holes that may surface in the plot line. I think this is a very doable goal and am going to go out on a limb here and challenge myself to write the remaining 62 pages before January 10th. Why January 10th? Well that is when I'm going to be going out of town for a small road trip/vacation and I'd like to be finished with a completed rough draft or at least very, very close to finishing before I leave. Can I really write 62 pages in 11 days? I'm not sure, but I'm going to try my best to reach that goal. Let's see what happens. I'm in the home stretch and I can taste the finish line on this second novel.

Red Bow 2.0 Page Count = 188 pages

I write because I care and drugs are bad......

Can I Get Published In A Year

Day - 272 (Special Interview)

Special Interview

I am happy to post a special interview I had with the star of "Red Bow," Bow! It took some work, but I was able to work out a deal with his agent to get a few moments of his time. Just a fair warning, Bow can be crass at times, so if explicit language hurts your ear, you may want to skip over this interview. The link for the interview transcript is at the bottom of the page.

On a side note, I'm ten pages closer to my goal of 185 by the end of the year.

Red Bow 2.0 Page Count = 175 pages

Interview With Bow

Can I Get Published In A Year

Day - 270

Plugging Away

I've been able to make some decent progress this week, even with the holidays taking place. Word on the street is that this next week, I might have a special guest interview that I'm going to be able to post. I'm very excited about it. The person I'm going to be interviewing is a very busy person, so it will be a real treat to get a few minutes alone and ask some burning questions that I have.

One of the characters that I've been focusing on this week is Detective Davis. I'm really enjoying developing his character. He has surprised me with how his character progresses throughout the book. There are a few more touches I need to add to him before I move on to Detective Sanchez. I am VERY excited to develop his character some more because he is an integral part of "Untitled."

With the last week of the year approaching, I am eager to hit the 185 page mark before the start of 2011. It's time to dig down deep and write like a madman!

Red Bow 2.0 Page Count = 165 pages

Can I Get Published In A Year

Day - 265

Bow For The Holidays

I have gotten completely enveloped by the RB 2.0 revisions this last week. I have a very solid outline of scenes and am working on actually writing out these scenes every day. One thing that I decided to do was to describe, in detail, Bow's first kill. Well that is kind of obvious because I should be describing all of the kills, but the first is of significant importance because it is the lead domino that sets off a chain reaction for the rest of the story. I shed some light on how Bow thinks and how he feels. I've often wondered....What goes through a serial killers mind when he's getting ready to kill someone?

That question has always haunted me because I can't even begin to fathom what goes through a deranged person's mind as they're committing such horrendous acts of evil. I attempt to answer this question in a flashback scene of Bow's first kill. Additionally, I attempt to explain why Bow uses red bows on all of his victims. Oh believe me, there is a reason that he chooses to decorate the bodies with this otherwise festive material.

On a final note, Red Bow takes place in the month of December, around the holidays, so my daily quote that I've been keeping in the back of my mind as I write is "Bow For The Holidays." I am the writer who is thinking like Bow for the sake of the story. So in essence, I'm "Bow For The Holidays." Don't worry, I'm not going to start offing people. I'm simply stating that I'm further immersing myself into this story and the writing process to try to produce a better end product. Let's see if it actually pays off.

Red Bow 2.0 Page Count = 145 pages

Can I Get Published In A Year

Writing Exercise (CH3EX3)

This writing exercise builds off of the last two exercises and puts the character, Stacy, in a scene where she has to interact in some type of conflict where the other person is they type of person who doesn't forgive easily.

Ch3-EX3

Can I Get Published In A Year

Writing Exercise (CH3EX2)

This writing exercise builds off of CH3EX1 and puts the character in a situation where three different options can occur.

Ch3-EX2

Can I Get Published In A Year

Writing Exercise (CH3EX1)

This writing exercise is about creating a story from three events.

Ch3-EX1

Can I Get Published In A Year

Day - 256

When Characters Impact You

Now that most of the intense scenes with Bow are almost all done, I thought I'd change things up in the revision process and start adding more traits to some of the characters in Red Bow 2.0. In particular, I've thought of new struggles and traits to add to one of the main characters, Cheyenne.

I typed up a list of things that make up the character Cheyenne such as looks, mannerisms, personality, etc. There were some important changes that I wanted to make so that she can become a more intriguing character. I worked on that today and, to be completely honest, Cheyenne started to take on a life of her own. I just kept typing, having a general idea of where I was going, but not knowing where I would end up. After writing several pages and digging into the mindset of Cheyenne and finding out things that make her tick and make her who she is, I found myself really connecting with her. I know, I know, that sounds weird, but let me explain. I can see her strengths and weaknesses and I can relate to both of those personally. I think that is what can help make an "ok book" a "great book" - characters that reach out and touch you through their actions and words.

After rereading what I wrote, I actually had to stop and say "Wow, Cheyenne is a pretty deep character." I surprised myself actually. Now, I need to take that same mindset and template that I used and apply it to the other main characters. This is what I was hoping to accomplish with this revision......build on the characters and make them come to life. Slowly but surely, that is starting to happen and that is a great personal accomplishment that I'm cherishing as an amateur writer who is on this writing journey and learning every single step of the way.

Red Bow 2.0 Page Count = 129 pages

Can I Get Published In A Year

Day - 255

When A "Good Idea," Isn't

I get a lot of random ideas that pop into my head for scenes in the novels I'm writing. Additionally, I get ideas for new books to write. Sometimes the idea sounds so awesome (to me at least) that I get so excited about it without taking a step back and looking at it objectively to see if it's an idea that will work, or if it just sounds good on paper. I have had one idea for a new story that I thought was awesome. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it wasn't enough to build an entire story around. What I was able to do was take a hybrid of that idea and spin it into a Red Bow 2.0 twist.

So the idea might not have actually been a good idea, but I was able to salvage part of it and make it work in a different story. I think that this is one of the challenges I have as an amateur writer with no type of guidance or formal training. I think since I'm on my own, I'm having to make mistakes and learn things as I go. I have to learn what works and what doesn't work. I also have to try to be open minded and not get so irritated when an idea I have isn't such a good idea after all. This is all part of the writing and learning process.

Do you want to know what I spun the "good idea" into was? Well it's a new twist for Red Bow 2.0 and it involves........

Can I Get Published In A Year

Writing Exercise (CH2EX10)

This writing exercise is about constructing a character from an image or an idea. Basically, working with a small snippet of information and creating a character from that. In this exercise, I created a character from a suggestion in the exercise book. Can you infer anything based on the brief description I gave of the random character?

Ch2-EX10

Can I Get Published In A Year

Day - 252

Writing Backwards...Again

So today I tackled the fun task of writing a different ending to Red Bow 2.0. This new ending is one of the major twists I was talking about the other day. I'm noticing a pattern here though. I like to write the ending before the middle section is done. Is that weird? Maybe by writing the ending early, it can help me better develop the beginning and middle sections of a story. I'm not sure, but I think it really works for me. By writing the ending first, I'm able to tie in plots lines a lot more easily than trying to do that the other way around.

I bet you're wondering, "What is so great about what you wrote today with your new ending?" Oh mercy, let me tell you. I reread what I wrote and covered my mouth and said, "Oh snap!" Not only is it completely messed up, but it teases the reader because they have to go back and think about different sections of the book to see the scenes from different angles. There is a new level of continuity for the story with the new ending. At least in my opinion. Then again, people who read it may say,"That is the lamest ending ev-ah!" To them I say, "Ok, I'll try to write a better ending next time." It's just fuel for the fire because I don't like to fail and I'm a perfectionist. If you tell me that I can't do something, I'm going to work at it until I am able to do it. Sure, I'm an amateur writer, but I want to be a professional and accomplished writer. Baby steps, baby steps!!

Look behind you!! Is that Bow standing there? Gah! He's coming for you........

Can I Get Published In A Year

Day - 251

Exhausting Writing

I knocked out a few pages in Red Bow 2.0 this afternoon and I physically felt tired after writing. The scenes were very intense because they are the final kills by the serial killer before the big finale and twist at the end. I noticed that I was bouncing my knee up and down while I wrote and my eyes were completely focused on the computer screen. Now the scene that I wrote was very elaborate and I think I felt tired because I was trying to be as detailed as possible. Detail is good and is something that was seriously lacking in the first version.

I think it's very interesting to experience these different feelings the more I write. I've had what I like to call "word vomit," which means that I write in a fast, explosive manner and I'm completely in the zone. I feel so much better after getting those thoughts out of my head. Now, there is the "exhaustive writing," where I felt tired after having my brain dish out so much information. Maybe that makes me weird, but I really am enjoying all these new experiences along the writing journey.

On a side note, I'm officially 100% scared of Bow and I sure hope that I don't ever encounter a serial killer like Bow in my lifetime. Somebody hold me...Gah!

Red Bow 2.0 Page Count = 115 pages

1, 2 Bow is coming for you........

Can I Get Published In A Year