Ira Heinichen's Blog, page 278

Day 1,730: Eight Thousand

I’ve written eight thousand words on my rewrite in the past two days. TWO DAYS. It’s a minor miracle. No, it’s a major one. I could not have DREAMED of doing this even…two months ago. For context, that’s about 32 pages, or 1/10th of a full-length novel. In two days. Ten sets of that 2 days’ of output, and I’ve written an entire novel.

Writing a novel in a month is very, very doable. At least the first draft

Day 1,729: Old Photos

How do you feel when you look at old photos?

To be honest, until this blog came about, I’ve always preferred to look into the future as opposed to the past. I know that’s part my innate personality, and part insecurity.

I look at old photos, and I feel awkward most of the time. I feel like I used to look like a fool, like ‘that’s someone who didn’t know what they were doing.’ I find myself criticizing my hair, my glasses, the clothes I wore, or the pose I struck. I remember trying to be cool....

Day 1,728: Le Quicks

Quick entry tonight because it’s already bed time: I had a wonderful Sunday. Perhaps not as sleepy and nappy as I’d hoped, but I got to sleep in a bit, and that was awesome.

Watched the A’s beat the Giants to win the Bay Bridge Series trophy for this year, I had a really great writing session in which I outlined some story goals for the next two full work days.

And then in the evening, we went over to Stephen and Thida’s house for some freaking DELICIOUS fried chicken. It was Pho fried chicke...

Day 1,727: Possibilities

I just saw a post from an author…they wrote a 60,000-word book in 10 days.

I can do that. Maybe not yet…but, shit…I *can* do that. I’ve written 6,000 words in a day. It’s very, very doable. It’s 4-6 hours of focused writing in a work day. And I can do that for ten days. Maybe a couple days off in there…

It’s stuff like that which blows my mind, seeing the possibilities of what other people are able to do, and realizing that I, too, can do that if I practice.

Writing in such binges like that i...

Day 1,726: Slay

Man, today was awwwwssoommmeee.

I’m in on my rewrite. It has begun, and it is GOOD. For now. I’m sure I’ll hate it in a weeks’ time, but this is really the major win: I knew today instantly that this rewrite was worth the time. It’s going to take me a bit to finish, of that I have no doubt.

If my recent track-record is any indication, it’s going to take me about two months. I’m hoping to finish in four weeks, cut that time in half. I *can* do it, but will I? Who knows. And, at the end of the...

Day 1,725: Recharge

Today was a recharge day. Not planned, but it was anyway.

I have this “ideal” of working my ass off for four days of the week, and taking it easy-er the other three days. Write like the dickens four days, write not as much three days.

I never seem to stick to that schedule. Which is fine; I will find my own routine, you know? I can’t force much without it pushing back.

I hadn’t taken a day off yet this week, so taking it easier today made sense. I did some outlining and some scene sketching,...

Day 1,724: Pushing Through

I learned today about the value of pushing through. I was writing, and the words were good…but they weren’t great. They were missing something. I couldn’t figure out what it was, but I knew it in my gut, and because writing is still so new to me, has been so up and down to this point in the year, whenever I feel like I’m hitting up against a wall and I can’t figure out why, it makes me worried that I’m broken.

I worry that I’m bumbling about in the dark, and more acutely, that I’ve lost somet...

“By Any Other Name” – Chapter 1

The events of this story take place in the Starstuff Universe some years before (or after?) those of the Starstuff Trilogy.

Captain Balta was a legend long before we ever met.

‘I heard he’s tried to escape seven hundred times!’

‘He’s eleven feet tall.’

‘His ship is still in orbit – that’s why he tries to escape so often!’

‘I heard he was twelve feet tall!’

‘He’s a pirate. I think He has an eye patch, and everything!’

‘Well, I heard he punched Warden in the face so hard, he had to rep...

Day 1,723: The Swing of Things

Josh and I played golf today. That was the big event of my day

Day 1,722: Back to Werk

I wrote 2,000 words today. This was on a short story/novella for my VIP readers. Because of some email service glitches, I won’t be able to send it to them tomorrow morning, but that’s just as well. There are some kinks in the story I want to work out, anyway.

Namely, the main character arc. I haven’t nailed that down, really. I have a general sense, but not a specific one. And I do want this story to be a good one. I’m going to use it as a reader magnet for the whole series, I think, at leas...