R.B. Wood's Blog, page 14

Breathe.

Not sure where this is from, but grabbed it from author Shira Lipkin's FB wall because I loved it so...

 

Perhaps you heard. We, in America, had a bit of an election on Tuesday. The results were...infuriating to me. Depressing.

Frightening.

I've been near catatonic since early Wednesday morning.

I have LGBTQ+ friends who have removed themselves from social media out of fear. I have another friend who's daughter was heckled and referred to with a racist slur just because she is black. The kid is eight.

There are other stories. But let me share one about my 16-year-old daughter.

She FaceTimed me last night in tears, terrified--like many of us--at an uncertain future.

"But what can *I* do?" She lamented.

"A lot," I told her. Get involved, learn about what it means to be a citizen of this country. Work hard to fight for what you believe in. Do good.

I blinked after I said that. Why aren't I already doing that myself? I thought.

I told her I loved her and that she is a powerful force, an intelligent, vibrant individual with so much to give. After we disconnected FaceTime, I started my research. I *could* do something. But what?

In Boston, there was an organization called "Crittenton Woman's Union" which is now "Economic Mobility Pathways" or EMPath for short. They work to help people through the fundamental values of inclusiveness, diversity, mutual respect, support, and learning.

I'm calling them in the morning to volunteer my services in any capacity in which they can use me.

Being an American is advanced citizenry. It requires hard work. Sometimes, there are tears involved.

But this is not a time to throw up your hands. This is not the time to "move to Canada." This is a time to roll up your sleeves. It's time to say no to hatred and make sure the worst of us do not get to the best of us. This election was a wake up call for action.

It will be hard, maybe even impossible to fight the threatening darkness.

But goddamn it I'm gonna try.

I'm getting involved. How about you?

‘But in the end it’s only a passing thing, this shadow; even darkness must pass.’
– Samwise Gamgee

NaNoWriMo 2016 – Day 8

Starting Word Count: 13791

It's 5 in the morning in Boston on Election Day. Been trying to get an early start to my writing by reading what's come before. But more doctors today--and one that I'm very nervous about. That, on top of the "election fatigue" I've been feeling lately has me wiped out.

While I sort my head out and wait for doctor's comments and voter returns, I'll give you a small snippet from yesterday's work. Hope you enjoy it.

I did some work for the mob, back in Ireland. Circumstances necessitated my involvement with them--the soul of a friend was on the line. It's a long story.

The relationship had been--I guess "profitable" is the best word--between The Monk and I. He made the money, I kept my pub and no one I knew got hurt.

It looked like he had a similar arrangement with this "Empress." Gangsters and their bloody nicknames...

Peace

NaNoWriMo 2016 – Day 7

Starting Word Count: 12004

One week almost in the books.

Four Chapters into TEC.  As i mentioned before, I've had bits of this book written for a while. And 40k words, in fact. But they were words all over the place--cool scenes i had in the back of my head. Character development stuff--things like that.

Now I'm plowing through my updated Outline.

I remember when I showed Glenn Skinner and M. J. King My initial outline in July, They enjoyed it--loved the scenes. But...

But Glenn worried there wasn't a true 'journey' for the main character--Symon Bryson.

"What is he going to learn? How is he going to grow?"

And he was right.  So I revamped the outline to also show Symon's progression...which you will hopefully read for yourself in 2017.

I've always planned on Symon growing as a character as my writing skills improved. I thought that would be a very natural path. In the first book, he is angry, scared and a little "woe is me." In this book, he is isolated and making some core discoveries about the world of magic. It's why I never went into detail about the magic system in TPF. Symon was taught something that he always assumed was correct. And it served him well. In book two, you learn the true nature of magic in my world--where it comes from, how it works and it's links to both the ancient and modern world.

So a shout out to M.J. and Glenn...who made me reconsider a few major points. Symon's journey is back on track.

Oh. I promised you-all a snippet of the work yesterday, didn't I? Well here you go:

The sanctuary was in near darkness this late at night. A few candles still shimmered where thoughts of loved ones had brought in the prayers faithful earlier in the day. When I was a student here, I never liked to be alone in this massive, perpetually chilly space. I always felt uneasy here--although I could never exactly tell you why.

My footsteps echoed loudly as I made my way toward the exit. I'd almost made it to the naive when an old, croaky male voice that gave me the impression of dust and cobwebs said, "You are in an awful hurry young man..."

I shivered. From the cold sanctuary air. Honest. You'll have to trust me on that score...

Hope you enjoyed that. Some editing is needed, obviously--but that is what December is for.

Peace

 

NaNoWriMo 2016 – Day 6

Starting Word Count: 9602

Back on track to start the day. This post is a little later than expected as Sundays are volunteer day and I treated myself to a four mile walk/hobble whilst re-listening to Turn Coat by Jim Butcher read by James Marsters. The temperature is projected to drop like a stone by the end of the week here in Boston (mid 30's F for a high--that's about 2ish for you Centigrade heathens), so I thought I'd get some exercise in while I still can.

Wrote the intro to one of three characters I'm introducing in this book. The Empress, of course, is the first. The entertaining vagrant "Mal," and a third character I will leave to your imagination:

"Mr. Bryson, Monsignor Moore has determined that the children you rescued earlier this year have been touched by the Devil himself, and that influence must be purged. That is why I am here.”

Still attempting to be at 14 k by this evening--with a late start and a lot of physical activity this morning, I have no idea how long my still-recovering brain will last.

To the keyboard, then. "Maximum Effort" and all that.

Peace

NaNoWriMo 2016 – Day 5

Starting Word Count: 7177

Yep. That number is still the same from yesterday. You can't see it, but I'm smiling about that.

Allow me to explain.

Along with the often stalled, often reworked Book 2 of the Arcana Chronicles, I've been doing a lot of other writing work.  I have published a couple short stories recently (in R. l. Weeks' Once Upon a Cursed Time and J. L. Clayton's The Unforgiven). I have two more that are set to be published--Christmas Nightmares and the Wicked Ink Books follow-up to Tick Tock. This last anthology will come out in 2017 and my story for that one was reviewed by a few professional editors. It was both shocking and wonderful to receive such excellent feedback.  I wanted to get those edits done by the weekend and worked until last night to get them out.

The story is much tighter. I can't thank Kristi, Rebecca and Corinne enough for their commentary! More on this when the PR folks at WIB allow.

I also spent time working through author Emmett Spain's comments on our steampunk/fantasy project.  We had a Skype chat last night that was just amazing for it's creativity--the call left us both scrambling for our respective whiteboards/chalkboards. The bottom line is that we have a good structure now, a killer direction and the most amazing first scene.

So, all right.  No words were put to the novel yesterday. But it was an amazing writer day none-the-less.

To atone for my lack of #NaNoWriMo progress, I will be attempting to double-down this weekend and clear Sunday with 14k words toward the novel. Wish me luck!

Peace

 

NaNoWriMo 2016 -Day 4

Starting Word Count: 7177

Only four days in and I'm feeling the cognitive "burn." Slept 10 hours last night...woke up exhausted. Coffee is on and I'm ready to tackle chapter four. Notes are solid and I'm targeting 10k by the end of the day.

A  sample of yesterday's work:

   “Remember that Vatican assigned attorney you had a few months ago when the FBI was sniffing around the whole Plum Island thing?”

            I nodded, running my hand over two days of beard growth. “Yeah. Father Moore. What a wanker.”

            “It’s Monsignor Wanker now,” said [sic] sotto voce. Found this all out last night when he showed up with a exorcist.”

Still need to work on edits for the short story project and notes on the novella. Busy day. Gonna shut off the WiFi in the Lair to minimize distractions--that means I'm listening to CDs instead of Spotify. How retro.

Ah...legwarmers, big hair, and the Golden Age of Spielberg films...

 

To all who are doing #nanowrimo this year--rock on!

Peace

 

NaNoWriMo 2016 -Day 3

Starting Word Count: 4731

The energy of the first week is so amazing. The support, the excitement, the fresh story ideas...it's electric.

Like this, but without the fully armed and operational battle station...

Need to keep that energy through to the end. Today is chapter three and I'm ready. Notes and ideas litter the Literary Lair...coffee is on, the Cubs won the World Series and I voted yesterday.

Time to focus on words.

Peace

NaNoWriMo 2016 -Day 2

Starting word count: 2284

In fairness, my book this year is based on a heavily modified, heavily revised outline for book two of the Arcana Chronicles. The book is called The Empress' Curse and takes place three months after the end of The Prodigal's Foole. Those of you who have been following me know this wasn't the original book 2 of the series. The original book two had a large and important scene that had taken place during the Boston Marathon. I'd just finished that scene when the actual bombings at the marathon had taken place.

It took the wind from my sails for a long time. I tried to rework the novel numerous time after that, but my heart hadn't been into it.

So this past summer, I outlined a completely different book 2. I have a mess of scenes already sketched out, but the narrative is disjointed.

Nano this year is dedicated to getting a cogent first drive under my belt. Symon Bryson's return is way overdue.

Peace.

 

NaNoWriMo 2016 -Day 1

Starting Word Count: 0

So last year, I started to participate in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) only to be cut off at the half way point by...well, you can read about it here  if you want.

I've signed up again in 2016 because--by the power of Greystoke--I will finish.

It's a bit of insanity I need right now...and I need to finally put the last year behind me. Tomorrow, I'll talk about the plans for the month. Too excited this morning to get started.

Peace

The Sixth HALLOWEEN Special #WordCountPodcast

Boys, hang on to your significant other, because it's time for four fighting tales of twisted All Hallow's Eve fun.

Girls, you're fine. Take care of the boys. You know how fragile they can be.

I SO love this time of year! The wife and I are binge-watching American Horror Story to get into the mood. We are up to Season five (and although I miss Jessica Lange, there is a possibility I'm infatuated with Lady Gaga as the Countess. But I digress).

Lady Gaga. Picture Copyright American Horror Story, FX "Yummy"

Six years, six Halloween specials. This years show is far more intimate and disturbing. I like it. No fanfare, no special effects. Just four tales for your listening pleasure.

Welcome, dear sinners, to episode 61 the #WordCountPodcast - the most creepy Halloween special!

What is The Word Count Podcast?

It is a free broadcast by writers for writers. Simply put, a theme for each show is announced via this site, Twitter and Facebook and writers are given a week or two to write AND RECORD their stories based on said theme.

  Why?

Why not, says I. It’s a great way to practice writing and public speaking. It’s another way for writers to get their work “out there.” And I love to meet fellow authors and have a blast putting the show together. It’s just that simple.

Okay. Where can I find it?

You can listen to the latest podcast below, subscribe via iTunes or listen at the show’s site.

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Direct: http://thewordcount.libsyn.com/webpageiTunes (and remember, iTunes takes their sweet time in posting.  If you don't see it yet, keep trying!): http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-word-count/id392550989

Our guests this week:

C. Thomas Smith "Trick"

C. Thomas Smith is the author of hundreds of short stories (99% have never left his hard drive) and half a dozen unpublished novels (50% cowardice / 50% self-doubt). He is a fan of common sense, free speech, noticing the truth in the absurd and caffeine. He sort of likes cats. He lives in Ireland with his partner, two children, a mortgage and a cat he doesn’t trust.

At present, Chris is writing a series of novels (adult dark comedy set in medieval Ireland that may include a token Leprechaun) and editing a second series (Dark Fantasy). Along the way he hopes not to starve to death or be mauled in his sleep by a shifty eyed cat.

Twitter = @KRSTVR

Web = www.infinity-forge.com

Maria Haskins "The Demon"

Maria Haskins is a Swedish-Canadian writer and translator with a passion for science fiction and fantasy. She was born and grew up in Sweden, but moved to Canada in the early 1990s and now lives just outside Vancouver with a husband, two kids, and a large black dog. Maria debuted as a writer in Sweden, and has had several books published there. Her English language debut Odin's Eye - a collection of science fiction short-stories - was published in March, 2015. Cuts & Collected Poems 1989 - 2015 - a collection of poetry - was released in November, 2015.

Website: https://mariahaskins.wordpress.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mariahaskinswriter/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13459869.Maria_Haskins

Matthew Munson  "Dreaming"

Matthew is a writer, a geek, disability advocate, a trustee, a marathon walker and a photographer. He's written two contemporary fantasy novels published through Inspired Quill, is currently finishing off a serial crime novella for an online audience, is writing the first in a series of non-fiction books on disabilities, and has been appointed to the diversity panel of a new UK-based publisher. Life is good, although there could be more chocolate.

Twitter: @mnwjm1981

Websites: www.matthewmunson.co.uk or www.facebook.com/matthewmunsonauthor

Rob Edwards "A Lesson in Feldok"

Rob Edwards is a British born writer and podcaster, currently living in Finland. His podcast, StorycastRob, features readings from his short stories and excerpts from longer work. His work can also be found in the anthologies *Tales from the Universe* and the forthcoming *Tales from Alternate Earths*, published in Kindle format by Inklings Press.

His greatest geek pride is his entry on wookieepedia, the a result of

writing several Star Wars RPG scenarios back in the day.

Rob is currently working on a YA novel featuring superheroes in space.

Twitter: @storycastrob

Websites:

PODCAST: www.storycastrob.co.uk

BLOG: www.storycastrob.co.uk/wp