I mean, if I even have time for it. 

I am really busy editing OWMs. Other Writer's Manuscripts. I have several projects in Scrivener—I've started to create books of some previously published short stories, flash fiction, micro fiction, drabbles, and poetry. I am working on getting my first one out the door and onto Amazon.com where I hope to make a little penny or two. 

Before I do, I need to completely overhaul (this) my author website. It's a total mess. I don't know what I was thinking putting that thing together the first time. It was basically the first time I'd messed with the Weebly website creator...and you can tell. It's ugly as hell. I don't even have my complete published work's on it. 

So I'll do that a little bit at a time while I contemplate what I'm working in for November...if I'm working on anything new or not. I have a novel I need to finish (The Strange Blue Days of Dr. Fountainbrew) and a new one I've started planning (​​​​​​​Zen and the Art of Alien Diplomacy). I am also planning a story or novella about Bigfoot (tentatively titled ​​​​​​​So Lonesome I Could Cry). I have a Penzu started on Lonesome with some clippings of research and ideas. I have most of my research going on for the new novel in Scrivener (which is where I do almost all novel work). 

If I do any uploading of published works to a new Scrivener e-book project (either short unpublished poetry or published speculative fiction/poetry, I haven't decided yet) I won't do a "typical" NaNo. I won't post Word Count updates and such. I mean...it's really not fair since I've already written all the stuff I'm loading into Scrivener, and NaNo is really for new words to count. I will log into it and and  wave my pompoms for my fellow writers on their projects and post my updates on Write Track (writetrack.davidsgale.com) and to SMS. 

I don't anticipate having much time to do anything more than planning for new stuff at the moment...so all of my new writing will take place after November. It can't be helped. I'm saving for my retirement, and I enjoy editing and will probably continue to do it, even when I retire...if I ever can retire. 

I'm more than likely just going to sign up for NaNo this year with a tentative cover for either my poetry book or my published fiction book and then cheer everyone else while I work on figuring out the kinks of getting Scrivener to compile a decent-looking .epub file for Amazon. It's really a brain-buster. I also need to sign up to be an Amazon author. That's an involved process as well. So my busy time will revolve around a lot of prep work and making the decision to either stick with Scrivener to compile/process my e-books for Amazon uploads, or invest in the pricey but easier-to-use with far more creative options book publishing software, Vellum. 

So lots to think about and lots to prepare. 

Haiku & short poems? Or another offering of previously published sci-fi, fantasy and horror? 

I have a little while yet to decide.

In 2015, I tried to use NaNoWrimo as a platform for arranging an anthology of my published stories and poetry, while adding a few new works. That seed did not take root that year, though I am steadily working on that project to publish independently, it's just going to take a while to edit older stuff and polish up the new stuff. 

In 2017, I joined the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month that takes place every November) in the hopes of beginning a novel that I had been planning and outlining for about six months or so. "I have a plan this time! I have an outline! I CAN DO THIS!!!!!"

Not.

Life, as it sometimes does, got in the way. I managed a little over 5500 words before caving to the pressures of being ill and not having enough time to write between working three goddamn jobs (welcome to American capitalism). I had to pay bills, ergo, writing my novel had to wait.

Now, in 2019, I'm ready to get back to this book. I have a full-time job, my health is a little better, and I have a girlfriend now to help me survive.

I've almost got everything set up on the new NaNo site. Not fond of the new layout but it is what it is. I've got my words entered from 2017 plus another hundred or so that I wrote this morning before work.,

To refresh: The Strange Blue Days of Dr. Fountainbrew takes place in an unnamed city (so far) in the weirdest neighborhood in the world. The protagonist, Dr. Fountanbrew, lives in his own comfy normal world, has never been in loved or loved by anyone, but he is well-liked. His comfy world gets thrown into turmoil when he meets two strange women one afternoon. He gets caught up in a fantastical world of human mutants and demi-humans and gods. And falls in love with a witch's broomstick. That's only the first couple of days.

Here's a brief summary of the good Doctor's"strange blue days" and the people he meets:

• A Goddess who rules the realm of illusion and reality. If she offers a blue marble, it's in your best interest to accept it.
• A witch's familiar, a man who turns into a broomstick by night (or perhaps he a broomstick who turns into a man by day). The last thing he was expecting was to fall in love.
• An ostrich man who sells newspapers on the strangest street corner in the world
• A six-armed girl who delivers newspapers, writes multiple novels simultaneously, and is a superhero in her spare time.
• A scientist who runs a laboratory/orphanage for folks who are a little different He suffers from autassassinophilia and has erotic fantasies about being murdered by the secret agent who has been targeting him and test subjects.
• A woman who transforms into a blue jay and flies.
• A fox-woman who runs a tavern on the strangest street in the world.
• A man who is bodily experiencing human de-evolution, and has the monkey tail to prove it.
• A government agent with strange secrets of his own, and orders to take down all of above.

These mysterious people become part of Dr. Fountainbrew's world and within a few days turn it completely upside down. He is faced with a choice to join them, but is not informed of the consequences if he refused.

I am not making any big goal-setting statements like I plan to write 50,000 words in November or finish this novel this month. I just want to continue to write this book whose characters I fell in love with in 2017. I want to continue to journey with them and learn things from them. What happens and where I am (and where they are) after November remains to be seen.

So that is that. Join me in the madness if you want. On NaNoWriMo's website, I am waning_gibbous.

Ok, yes. I know what you might think as you start watching this. Mr. Jiang is a person in the business world. Talking about his attempts at becoming a successful entrepenuer. But his talk should also resonate with many writers who experience the "no gift, no compliment" version of rejection (in a form email that indicated the editor maybe read a couple words of your piece and that was enough for them). We know whatof he speaks. We feel those feels. Regularly. 

Jiang's talk is funny and inspiring. I hope it gives anyone watching here the courage to keep building up that thick skin, keep pushing past the "no's," and keep chuggling full steam ahead with their dreams. The sin is not rejection. The sin is never trying, and/or never trying again. 

Peace and prosperity to you~~

It feels good to be off to a great start writing in the new year. 

And so far, two of my resolutions are checked off.

First, I wanted to write more blog posts, and although I did not specify and make any certain plans known in my original resoultion post, secretly I made a challenge to myself to write (and publish) a piece for three consecutive days. Today's post is the third. 

I'm not sure I'll be able to continue writing daily posts once I start working both jobs again (and, Goddess help me, I'm considering trying to start freelancing in editing and proofreading as a third job). But the challenge I have set for myself is at least one per week. 

The other resolved resolution was writing more creative fiction and poetry. My grandmother always said that whatever you do on New Year's Day, you will do for the rest of the year. So I worked on and completed a poem from my Priority WIP poem list (more on that in another post). I also started, but didn't finish, a new poem and some future blog posts. 

Today, I will begin fulfilling another of my goals for the year. I will choose a book on writing and editng craft from the five I picked out from my collection of books on craft that I was either given or bought, but haven't yet read. Everyday, I plan to read a chapter or two from each of the five books. Today, I have chosen to read the first chapter of a book that has been on my shelf since shortly after I moved into my current apartment four years ago. Revision and Self-Editing is written by James Scott Bell and published by Writer's Digest Press. I think I got it for some ridiculously low price when I subscribed to Writer's Digest.

There are also some upgrades to my resolutions. I intend to seek out opportunities for beginning my editing and proofreading career. I hope to save enough money to be able to have my first paying issue of The Were-Travler (information, here). I am hoping to soon sign on to a monthly membership of the gym at the high-rise office building where my new office at the public media company will be located. I want to keep losing weight and feel better. I plan on a long long overdue visit at the dentist (as soon as I get some decent dental insurance) and do something about these awful broken and painful teeth of mine. 

That's it, folks. Just a few excited lines of success in the first week of the new year. I am hoping to receive some long awaited news about some poetry and fiction submissions made in the past. A nice acceptance email would be a great harbinger of 2017. I would blog about that, for sure. 

I hope your pursuits will all be successful as well. 

Peace--
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