Commitment to your Privacy
Over the last week, I decided to spend some money and improve my website. This was for two reasons: 1) make it more accessible with quicker load times, and 2) increase my audience’s privacy. In order to do that, I upgraded my hosting server with more “stuff” (super technical term) to handle requests and queries. Also, I have a few more tricks to improve the speed of delivery but didn’t enable these tricks, because they will probably take a hefty time configuring and testing. If you feel it is moving to slow, go to the Contact Me page, send me an email, and I will enable them.
But here are the great improvements to you!
Read MoreProgress Report for June 8, 2014
This one will be short, because I am in Chicago with friends and took a break to write up a quick post. So, in the last week I have finished reading Light in August then started and finished The Sailor who Fell from Grace with the Sea. Being home, it is hard to focus on writing because there are constant distraction.
However, I was able to get Tesla’s Travels to 28 chapters and 44,268 words. That means, I wrote 10897 in the last week.
Read More30 Years – books, Books, BOOKS!
I grew up in the Chicagoland area but chose to live somewhere else. My reasons were simple, but it doesn’t mean that I don’t miss the area. So, I come up occasionally to see my family and friends. Sadly, I get nothing done when I’m here because there is always somewhere to go, someone to see, and something to buy. Add in the traffic, and the painting that should appear explains why I haven’t returned. This area is not conducive to writing. If I don’t write; I get disgruntled.
Why am I here and posting about Chicago and books when I am supposed to be working on Tesla’s Travels? It’s Printers Row Lit Fest (June 8th, June 9th), and I will be going with my editor and a few amazing friends to buy books. Yes, I love books and will be searching for: French authors, Japanese authors, and the Redwall Series (a friend and I are collecting then rereading the series for nostalgic purposes). If you have any author suggestions, shoot me an email! We will all be there on Sunday.
So, I will explain why I am looking for French and Japanese authors. Part of my writer training is to read entire traditions of literature. This was a growth exercise handed down from Dr. Niculescu during one of our lunches. It is simple, how can you write in a tradition of literature without experiencing that tradition. So, I began reading the classic authors in American literature (because I write in that tradition). However, he ended his exercise with a suggestion: read other traditions and you will be able to write in multiple forms.
That is the exercise, and I decided to absorb the Japanese and French traditions into my Being. French is simple, I can read anything (as in enjoy it) French, digest it and love it. For me, the story never matters in French writing, it’s their underlying philosophical currents that pull me down like a undertow. It may come as a surprise (not really if you read any of my manuscripts), but I study French philosophy more than German.
Then there is the Japanese tradition I will read. I am currently reading The Sailor who Fell from Grace with the Sea by Yukio Mishima. My reasons for reading this tradition are slightly different from the others. I want to get a world view, and books allow me to be transported to a different culture and different time period (Light in August just took me to Mississippi during the early 1930’s). Japanese authors, like any author, are writing about what they know and what is important to them. These differences are clear in the first chapter of The Sailor who Fell from Grace with the Sea. Which means, I will soon be in Japan post WWII, and I am excited and scared!
If I am lucky, and my ideas about this festival are correct, then I am going to get some great books at amazing prices.
Oh, and while I was home I decided to print out Journey to God single spaced, click this post to see a picture.
Read MoreProgress Report for June 1, 2014
On Friday, I noticed pain in my left hand while typing and it kept getting worse. So, I took the weekend off as a mini vacation and iced it. Instead of writing, I began outlining two short stories, prepping short stories to go to magazines tomorrow, reviewed an arc in Tesla’s Travels, and played pool and had some beers with friends. Also did a little editing for a great friend of mine and read the bulk of Light in August. Still haven’t heard from the agent who has my current treatment. That means, I will begin prepping a new treatment to go out in two weeks.
As far as Tesla’s Travels goes, I am now sitting at 33371 words and 22 chapters. Since Sunday, I have written 8156 words. It is slow moving, but I think I can have the initial draft done by mid June; if I increase my pace.
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