Progress Report

So far, so good!
Been editing Skinners 4 and I'm liking what I see. Normally, the first draft is fine as the bare-bones thing it's supposed to be. It just usually doesn't feel like Skinners until over halfway through. Don't know why, really, but it just lacks that....Skinner-ness?? You know what I mean. That's probably because I'm too busy trying to figure out what the hell will be going on instead of thinking up cute dialogue. "Cute". Now THERE'S something that reeks of Skinner-ocity, right? Ugh.

Anyway, it's moving along nicely. I was worried about this one because I'm also working on other stuff at the same time such as trying not to freeze into an ice sculpture when I walk the dog and doing my best to understand the hypnotic mind control that compels me to watch American Idol auditions twice a week. But there's good news on the TV front. The new season of Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares premiers tonight. Plenty of garbage can kicking and bleeped out British expletives to go 'round!

And so it begins

Editing. Ahhhh editing. Such a harsh way to spend my time. Seeing things that I thought were so cool at the moment, but now seem like complete bullshit. Looking over any first draft gives me the heebie jeebies, but being this far into a series only adds to the effect. I'll come across a sentence and wonder, "What the hell was I thinking? Didn't I read the other three books??" And then there are the other times where I ask myself what I was drinking and / or smoking while I was sitting at the keyboard on some other day.

Sometimes editing can be fun. It's nice to go back and find glaring mistakes so I can file them down, chip them off or paint over them. Let's see...any other construction metaphors I can use? Probably, but I'll spare you. At least when I see something that's really bad, that means I caught it. There are always those things that get by me no matter how many passes I take. As bad as that is, there are others that sail past me AND the editors at the publishing house. Ugh. Those sting.

So now this process starts for Skinners 4. So far, I'm still liking this book. Check back with me in a little while and we'll see how I'm holding up.

The Dirty Season

Not THAT kind of dirty! I'm talking about the time of year when all that pretty snow has been sitting around for too long, covered with too much dog spray, or turned over too many times by the plows for it to be pretty any longer. Sure, the trees are photogenic, but aren't all trees picture-worthy? They're like the Playboy bunnies of the nature world. We get it. You're attractive. Next. The ground is covered by several inches of stuff that's sort of white, filled with dirt, sprinkled with rock salt and aching to coat your car with a thick layer of filth. Ugh! Can you tell I didn't enjoy finger-painting as a kid?

Even though the ice is treacherous, it was still easy on the eyes. You know. Like a James Bond girl. Even when she makes you spin out and fall down whether you're in a car or on foot, you still gotta take a moment and admire the view. In The Dirty Season, it's more like those women in Bond films that are just sloppy, but not too dangerous. Hmmm. Are there women like that in Bond movies? Even that mannish lady in From Russia With Love was dangerous. I guess there aren't any benign, sloppy women in the Bond universe. Of course, there aren't any bald dudes who watch Price is Right every morning while flaking Toaster Pastries onto their shirts, either. I guess that's yet another universe where I'll be on the outside looking in.

I'm enjoying my new Droid phone. Getting used to the touchscreen and finally getting the knack of texting. I've still only scratched the surface of it, though. Used its Google Maps navigation features once, but that doesn't work out so well when driving. The alarm clock is nifty. Plus I tapped a few appointments into the calendar. Niiiiice! I'm also feeling the need to attach pictures to my contacts' Caller ID info. It's usually not their actual picture. Mostly photos of hand signals. It's a complex system.

Back to work on Skinners 4. Wound up taking yesterday off, but I should be done with draft 1 this week, then it's off to editing and in on time. Par-tay!

The End, Love Marcus

I'm getting near the end of Skinners 4, which is always tricky for any book. There are many questions to answer such as should there be a huge fight? Should there be more of a subtle foreboding sort of thing? Should there be loose ends? How many loose ends? Should I leave the reader with questions? Unfortunately, the answer to a lot of these is...sorta.

It's all part of the process and the good news is that the process is chugging along. I'm really enjoying this book, but won't know how it all gels until I start the first round of edits. Plus, there are all the other things to do with life in general. Some of that stuff gets pretty daunting. As always, I will forge ahead. Skinners 3 comes out in a few months. Things are all just fine.

Right?

Sure. Whatever gets me through the day.

I'd like to report that there's nothing to report

More snow here in Omaha. Considering it is January and everything, that's really not newsworthy. Since it's not newsworthy, I might as well let it drop.

Let's see...what else?

Skinners 4 is coming along. I'm almost done with the first draft and I like the way things are shaping up. I did have a plan going in to this, but it's nice to have that plan actually shape up instead of the characters doing their darnedest to make plans of their own. I'm excited for the series in general. Lots of good stuff coming, so stick with me!

Haven't been doing a ton of gaming. Just working on games I'd already started. Haven't even gotten through the main storyline of Modern Warfare 2. Between the Special Ops missions and multiplayer, there's a lot to keep me busy on that one. Darksiders came out yesterday. I've been trying to watch the spending, but I was tempted to pick that one up. Who wouldn't want to play a game as one of the Four Horsemen AFTER the apocalypse? I kept walking down that Best Buy aisle and was good, though.

Megan's cooking stew today. That's one of my "old man" pleasures. Hot beef stew on a cold day. I hate getting all Wilford Brimley-esque, but there it is.