Day Forty

DAY FORTY

Wow! Okay, so I'm officially halfway through chapter nine! This is an awesome place to be on Friday morning!

It might put me at completing the section by Monday. (I hope.)

That would be awesome if I could go into March in the new chapter.

We shall see!

I hope your day is going great! You know from my pattern that I only post Monday through Friday. I like doing that because it can give me something to talk about on Monday when you can see the progress being made.

Obviously my initial plan was to have this editing done by the end of this month. I won't make that, however, I am very happy to see this unfold in this way.

I'm able to witness a story that I started years ago as I could only dream it would turn out as complex and mysterious as this. (Well, at least in my own mind it has. Lol.)

Anyway, I have to cut this one kind of short but I just want to thank you for once again being here, following along.

The road to publication is long and rewarding. I'm sure there are books that can be written in a month but if I look at my own process, I can't say that I could do that.

There's just too much work to do, in my mind.

Well, I hope you have an awesome day and I'll talk to you again on Monday!

Mark

Day Thirty-Nine

DAY THIRTY-NINE

Okay, this was a very productive day! I was able to lay down a little more than my standard three pages which will help.

Things are looking really good as I move my way through this tale. I'm very happy about it.

I guess for the first time I don't have much to say. Lol.

The important thing is to keep moving. Even if I'm tired or I don't feel like writing on a particular day.

"Just keep swimming" as Dory would sing.

Why is that song so important? Why bring it up?

Well, it reminds me that not every day is going to be a high energy moment. Sometimes you struggle to get out of bed and write.

Just like in a regular job, some moments are better than others.

The case of writing, there are times when you can't find the words that you need to fill the pages. Other times you can't stop.

In addition, you can have days where all you want to do is sleep in. "Who cares if I write today". You find yourself saying.

Well, sometimes it's good to take a day off every now and then but you must keep moving forward. Do those pages even if it takes you a little longer.

Ultimately, you'll be glad you did!

I hope you have an awesome Thursday!

Mark

Day Thirty-Eight

DAY THIRTY-EIGHT

Well, great beginning of the rewriting phase of this chapter. I think it has an awesome start. Of course I maybe just a smidge bias though. Lol.

Anyway, here we are, progress is moving forward. I love it. The further I go, the closer I get to having the major stuff done, the nearer I become to finally being able to publish it.

I have a friend of mine who is an author and we were talking about this entire process. The conclusion we came to is that it really is something special to be able to have you're own book out there.

It's also kind of cool to actually be able to say "I can do this".

Of course at the end of the day, you'll be the one to say whether you like it or not and that's okay. I'm sure I'll have my critics.

However, it won't stop me from producing the best work that I possibly can to you and for you.

The story is really making sense to me now. It feels right. Everyday I look at it and think "wow, this is looking good".

It's almost like my fingers know what to say, I'm just hanging on for the ride. :)

I also really love posting here too, Monday through Friday. It's kind of cool to be able to track my progress.

One of these days I'm going to look back at this and maybe turn this into a book! After all, I have a record of everything I'm doing. Lol.

It might be able to inspire someone to write their story.

How about that! What do you think? Would you become inspired to find your tale if you saw that it could be done?

Someone might say "It's a long process but I can see how I could do it!"

Anyway, thought I'd wrap it up for the day. I hope you have an awesome one!

Mark

Day Thirty-Seven

DAY THIRTY-SEVEN

Well good morning! I hope you had an awesome day yesterday and are looking forward to another great one.

Today I've finished the formatting and Editor's notes of chapter nine. Woohoo! This now means for the rest of it I can delve deep into the story and make the corrections for this stage.

I'm excited.

Just to remind myself and acknowledge that I'm "slave" to it, I have the logline on the corner of the monitor where I can see it (stuck on there). This means I read it frequently to make sure that the book is moving in that direction.

Remember, here is that line:

"Cynical by nature, a photographer discovers that she's haunted by a being after she starts having a recurring dream, revealing a secret that only the dead know - with the entity bent on keeping it."

The title of the novel is:

"Dream, Recurring"

Why is this important?

Well, I've found that it's way too easy to become distracted in the sub-story lines. Suddenly it's a major focus of the book, when it was only meant to carry on as another layer.

Writing is about rewriting. However, at a certain point I'm going to be saying "it's ready".

What I've learned when writing over 76,000+ words is that if you don't remain centered on your story then you will not produce the manuscript that you wanted in the first place.

This is why a good logline really helps to keep your attention on it. (Of course having the rest is important too. Synopsis, treatment and general outline.) All of these help to get the narrative where you want it.

For my next novel, this is what I will do BEFORE my first draft. I have a feeling that it'll be way easier.

Anyway, I hope you have a great day and thank you again for being here!

Mark

Days Thirty-Five And Thirty-Six

DAYS THIRTY-FIVE AND THIRTY-SIX

Well, I began editing chapter nine and also worked on the cover too.

So far, so good. This one is likely going to take the full amount. That is about seven (ish) days. However, that's okay. It is consistency here and that's what's important.

The better I write, the more you're going to like it.

I've had to cut today short too because I have to be at the job which pays the bills early today but I'll be able to have a full session from tomorrow on.

As I get closer to reaching the end of the major editing phase, it excites me no end. I know that I have some tweaking to do after but it's not to this level.

I hope you're weekend went great!

It's pretty cool to be sharing this stuff with you.

I'm going to be working on my website real soon too. The idea is that I get that up and running as quickly as I can so you can start looking at it.

I want to be able to have an email newsletter that will go out once a week (I'm thinking every Sunday.) Not sure what I'll have in it just yet but I want it to be different than this blog.

I'll figure it out. (Of course. :) )

I love doing this. It's the largest project that I've ever undertaken. Being as thorough as I can to not only produce a novel that you'll really enjoy but also letting as many people as I possibly can know about it.

Anyway, it's early but I hope you enjoy. :)

Have an awesome Monday.

Mark

Day Thirty-Four

DAY THIRTY-FOUR

YES! I'm officially moving into chapter nine this weekend! My wife has the new pages and I can't wait to hear what she has to say about it!

I also have a book that I'm going to start reading, with particular reference to marketing my novel. Today is an AWESOME day!

I love this story! I can't wait to be able to share it to the world. More importantly, share it to you! After all, you've been following me and watching it grow.

I think I might be starting to have some ideas on my website too.

I have a feeling you're going to really like it.

(Taking a deep breath...)

The focus now is on the final five chapters. Nine to Thirteen. I should be able to have them hopefully written by the end of next month.

Everything after that will be laying the foundation of the marketing and the construction of the webpage.

I'm trying to move through this as fast as I can, so you can read it. I also have a thought on the release date. I'll let you know more about that, the closer I get to being able to see for myself that I can actually reach it.

Anyway, hope you have an INCREDIBLE Friday and an AMAZING weekend!

Talk to you some more on Monday!
Mark

Day Thirty-Three

DAY THIRTY-THREE

Some very good news...

I'll be finished with chapter eight by tomorrow! This is one day ahead of where I thought I'd be at with this stage! Awesome!

I can't wait to begin the next one. Because this means that I'll be able to let my wife read chapters five to eight. Something I've been looking forward to for a while!

So I'm delving into marketing in a big way and I think soon I'll have a plan of action to work.

Doing this leg-work now will help me as I start thinking about my website too.

I guess you could say that I'm a bit of a planner.

It is my intention to let as much of the world know that my book has been published by the time I have a release date in mind.

Now obviously, I won't be able to reach everyone. Lol. Although that would be kind of fun. I will be able to give "Dream, Recurring" the best beginning I know how and I think (and hope) it'll grow from there.

As they say the more I fan the flames the better the momentum. :)

March is going to see some big movement happen with the book. I look forward to it. It should be apparent that I won't make my February 29th deadline but allowing it to be pushed out into March will help ensure the quality of the novel.

Anyway, I hope you're having an AWESOME Thursday and thank you again for allowing me to share in this journey with you.

Mark

Day Thirty-Two

DAY THIRTY-TWO

So I am definitely passed the halfway point of this chapter. I think I should be done with it, if all goes well, by this weekend.

That will put me at another milestone because I will have the next four chapters which I will give to my wife and let her work her magic.

I have a feeling she's really going to like it. The depths of story that I am going through I think will really help get me to the end.

Change of subject:

I've been thinking about marketing. It is the one thing that I have to learn about. There are so many places that say "market here, it's the best place to get your book out", that it becomes like a mine field.

Who do you know that you can really trust? How can you find places or methods that actually work?

These are the questions that I am mulling over right now. Fortunately I have plenty of time to figure out my plan of action.

What I do know is, once I have a method down and I see good results from it, I'll be able to apply it to every book that I publish.

That'll be where the fun begins.

Anyway, it's just a quick note today. I hope your Wednesday is an incredible one.

Thank you once again for being here and following my progress like you do!

Mark

Day Thirty-One

DAY THIRTY-ONE

So I began this process of editing back on January 12th. Here I am on day thirty-one of this activity. Yes, I've taken a few days off however, I can honestly say that I'm very proud of this. The journey is long but so rewarding. My love of writing grows deeper and deeper everyday.

Some days I struggle to find the words and others it just flows. However, through it all I always do my "three-page minimum".

Why is that so important?

Well, three pages doesn't seem like a lot until you start to realize that it adds up and quickly. Working, as I do (for the most part) every day, knowing that I have a definite structure to each and every chapter helps me count and plan for what I like to call "production". Planning is so important, in my view when it comes to writing.

You could look at your the planning stages as "pre-production, first draft as "production" and finally the editing, publishing and marketing as "post-production".

If you do that, then you find that you have this same outlook when it comes to making a movie. Which, coincidentally I spent three and a half years in, many years ago.

I guess it sticks with you. Lol.

The one thing I have learned so far is to plan really well. Write your title, then the logline, before you do anything. These two things will help you drive the rest of your novel.

The planning stage will go that much better and you'll spend less time in editing (I imagine).

 I can't say that this time because I wrote my first draft before I really learned of a logline and realized that if I bring this very "film industry" term to my writing that it'll help.

And it has.

Don't get me wrong, I'm so grateful for learning about it because if I didn't I think this book wouldn't be the novel that you'll come to read (I hope) and enjoy.

If you decide to embark on you're own journey of becoming an author, then remember to plan. It's key in helping you move through your story.

I remember working on a show where the screenplay was written the day before we shot it sometimes that very day. It was fun and chaotic but the end product showed. It could have been better, if they went through the process.

Anyway, I look forward to talking to you some more tomorrow!

Hope you have an awesome Tuesday!

Mark

Days Twenty-Nine And Thrity

DAYS TWENTY-NINE AND THIRTY

Welcome to Monday! I hope you had an amazing weekend!

I'm sure you noticed a day missing? Lol. Well, I took Saturday off as it turned out I didn't get much sleep, which made me a little tired. :)

However, I have amassed a total of seven pages into this chapter! (Which means, if my target was nine pages, I did pretty well.)

A great effort and one I'm very proud of.

The intensity of the story is continuing to build as I find ways, I believe, to help you see what is actually happening.

It should be this way for the remainder of the story. I'm excited to hear what my wife will say when she reads these next four chapters!

Further more, I can't WAIT to hear what your thoughts are going to be when I publish the book.

It is my hope that you really enjoy the novel.

There is much work left to do before it is released to the big wide world. However, I'm working at a feverish pace, so I can get it in your hands before too long.

I have to really thank you for your perseverance. You are the reason why I write this everyday! I love being able to share my journey with you!

Plus I think it'll be really cool to read these at some later date. I'll reflect on it and go "Wow!" I did that!

Anyway, I just wanted to welcome you to Monday with a smile and I hope your Valentine's Day went really well!

Hope you have a great day!
Mark

Day Twenty-Eight

DAY TWENTY-EIGHT

Good morning. (Or afternoon... or evening. Wherever you are!) It's Friday, woohoo!

I began chapter eight officially today. Oh wow, I feel like progress is happening once again! I love it when I begin a new chapter, because it means that moves me one more closer to the last one and I can start my final checks, plus proofing. It moves me closer to publication.

At this point I'm most likely going to go self-publishing. For me, that means I can have the greatest flexibility. So if I want to create something completely different, I can and I will.

So, I'm going to digress a little. (I hope you enjoy the humor.)

Since I've been working seven days a week, I've almost lost track of the days. They seem to blur together. I find myself, sometimes trying really hard to discover what that is.

Have you ever felt that way too? I mean we could start a group called "The Blurry Days Of The Week Club". The way to join would be that you have that feeling, where you don't know what day it is.

The conversation might go:

'Well, it's Monday.'

'Nooo, it's Tuesday!'

'Are you kidding me, I thought it was Friday?!'

I jest of course because I find doing this every day is something that I love very much. I'm up early (for me) and I begin my day doing what I love most. I get to see first hand how my novel is changing so much for the better and I'm excited that pretty soon, you'll be able to read what I was talking about, for all of these weeks.

I'm also starting a marketing plan. Since most of the effort after publication is going to be getting the word out, that needs careful planning.

Now for anyone that knows me, I'm not really very good at marketing. So I'm learning. I'm finding a process and method that will, hopefully prove to work really well.

I'm sure as I grow with it, so too will the plan. Eventually, I'll be able to say "Yes this works well and I not only can see the results but duplicate it".

What I do realize is that the more I market, in theory, the better the results. So, we'll see. :)

Anyway, it was good to talk to you. I hope your day is an awesome one and I look forward to talking to you again on Monday!

Have a great weekend!

Mark

Day Twenty-Seven

DAY TWENTY-SEVEN

This is going to be quick as I'm running a little behind:

I'm done with chapter seven, onto chapter eight!!! Woohoo! This puts me passed the halfway stage!

Things are really heating up in the story now. I'm noticing a faster pace, which is what I was looking for.

Despite the fact that this book begins way better than the first draft. Plus I think it's just shaping into an awesome story now. It was definitely needed.

I won't be able to do anything tomorrow because I have to be somewhere again. However I'll begin the process on Friday. Just like I did for the last chapter.

I don't have anything delaying me after that, so I'll be free to write. Missing a day is actually a big deal when you can plow through even three pages worth.

Remember that there are thirteen chapters in all. Once I finish this next one, I'll be giving those to my amazing wife, so she can review it.

I'm pretty certain she's going to love them!

Anyway, I have to go. I'm sure you're waiting for this post and I need to get ready for that thing I call "survival". Lol.

Hope you have an incredible day!

Mark

Day Twenty-Six

DAY TWENTY-SIX

Well, I'm moving through this chapter really well. I like it.

I still have about six pages left in this chapter, however I'm actually pushing through it a little faster than I had first thought. This is good.

What does that mean for my goal of February 29th?

At this point I'm not 100% confident that I'm going to make that, simply because the book is going through quite the face-lift.

I do think though, that at the latest the bulk of the editing will be done by the end of March.

It means sticking with it longer but I'm certain that you'll really enjoy the product when it's ready for publication.

I'm warming up to the idea of self-publication more and more. I haven't made my final decision yet but I'm liking what I see.

Being an author means that you have to market too. Even if you are with a publisher. They want to know what you are doing to help your novel reach the readers.

It's kind of like being an entrepreneur. The only difference is, instead of a business, the book is your "product" and your website is your "store".

Did I say website?

Well, that's another thing I have to create too. I already have my domain name but I haven't constructed the site yet.

Anyway, I hope your day will be awesome and I look forward to writing to you tomorrow!

Mark

Days Twenty-Three, Twenty-Four And Twenty-Five

DAYS TWENTY-THREE, TWENTY-FOUR AND TWENTY-FIVE

Wow! Okay, so I'm halfway through chapter seven.

It's a long slog. Lol. However, I'm being very careful on ensuring that this story stays consistent with the changes being made.

It would be all too easy if I just let everything go and quickly finished but if I did that, I'm not so sure that I would feel like this is a good read, or if you would enjoy it.

Currently I'm mulling over the possibility of self-publishing. The reason for this new thought is that I will be able to bring this book to market faster and I'll have flexibility in what I write next.

In other word, if I feel like I want to jam out a new short story idea, etc. I can if I'm independent.

I'm not sure yet, I'm still considering my options.

Remember, there is another three books in this series alone. With an inspirational/self-help book coming down the line too.

Having said that, I'm also thinking about creating short stories too. These would be a series and I would be able to publish those a lot faster.

I still need to build my website and figure out what I want there too.

All of that means I would be easily able to if I did this on my own. Good arguments for being an Indie Author.

The downside is that I have to do my own marketing. I'm not the best at doing that. So we'll see.

Anyway, it's Monday and I hope this is a productive day for you.

Thank you again for being here, reading my progress.

Mark

Day Twenty-Two

DAY TWENTY-TWO

So I began the seventh chapter today. It feels good to have made this start.

What I like to do at the beginning of every chapter that I'm about to edit is to first go through my editor's notes. The errors that my wife found so I can correct them. This begins the process.

Then I'll move through the entire passage changing the format of what the quotations look like and when the characters think a thought.

For example, when I wrote my first draft, a sentence might look like this:

"Hi Lucy." Sam said. 'Wow, where has she been all day.' She thought.

This now changes to:

'Hi Lucy.' Sam said. Wow, where has she been all day. She thought.

There still are the double quotation marks being used but it would look like this:

Original:

"Hi Lucy." Sam said. 'Wow, where has she been all day.' She thought. "You know you can come say "hi" to me once in a while."

New look:

'Hi Lucy.' Sam said. Wow, where has she been all day. She thought. 'You know you can come say "hi" to me once in a while.'

As you can see, it looks much "cleaner". As Joe Sutter, the "father" of the Boeing 747 would say: "If it feels right, then it's right."

For me, this new visual just makes me feel good about the formatting.

Once all of that is done, I then begin the rest of the changes of that chapter. In this case, the new look is now in place and I'm ready, tomorrow, to begin with the line-by-line changes.

That's what takes the time but when the new chapter is done, it doesn't look anything like the old one and I end up with the kind of story I was hoping to write originally.

Anyway, I just wanted to stop in and let you know where I'm at for the day. I hope you have a great weekend and I'll talk to you some more on Monday!

Mark

Day Twenty-One

DAY TWENTY-ONE

Finally made it to the seventh chapter! Yes!!

This one felt like it took longer to go through but I'm done with it and can move on. Whew!

Once I'm done with this next chapter it will put me passed the halfway mark. Making me feel like I'm moving through this book.

When you work on this almost everyday it seems to take forever. The truth is, it's only February 3rd. My hope is that I will be able to continue at this basic pace. However, I know if I can't I'm okay with that too.

I just want to be done with this major part of the process.

"Patience." I hear you cry. "The better you do, the more I'll like your book!"

Indeed, that is so true. I wouldn't want it any other way. It makes for finally having a great novel (hopefully) where you just can't put it down.

I'm thrilled that I've reached this point and am really pleased by it's progress.

I will actually be starting the next chapter not tomorrow (as I have somewhere I need to be) but the next day, Friday. Then it's back to working seven days a week. (Unless of course something comes up.)

My point is, that I'm not taking days off (like a weekend) anymore. I'm writing/editing until I have the book whipped into shape.

Then I'll take some time off. (About two weeks to be precise.)

During that time I'll see if I can compile a list of agents together and start planning the inquiry process.

Anyway, back to the present and thank you again for taking the time to read my daily movement. It means a lot to me.

I hope you have a fantastic Wednesday.

Mark

Day Twenty

DAY TWENTY

Well, it went a little slow today, however I still worked my three page minimum. This now puts me well over the half way mark of chapter six.

It feels good to be adding in the elements that my wife and I discussed at the end of last year. I continue to feel good about this.

That's the thing. Does it feel right?

Joe Sutter who is the father of the 747 once said "if it feels right, then it's right". He was talking to engineers as they designed the airplane.

It's a motto that sticks with me to this day and I think it particularly applies to writing.

As a writer, you know when something just isn't working. You may not know how to change it at that moment in time but something about it is wrong.

That's okay. Take time away from the project to reflect on it. Grab someone who is good at calling out weaknesses in a story and ask for their opinion.

At the end of the day, you want the reader to be satisfied that they bought your book and enjoy it, so much so, they want to tell their friends "this novel is worth the read".

This is what I am hoping to achieve with this manuscript. I hope you find the story very entertaining and want to share it with your friends as a book worth reading.

I won't know that until it finally is published but in the meantime I hope that you're at least enjoying reading about my own journey to publication.

Anyway, just another quick note to let you know how it's going. I hope you have an incredible Tuesday and I'll talk to you tomorrow!

Mark

Day Nineteen

DAY NINETEEN

Well, I did something rare... I took the weekend off. It was nice to be able to spend some quality time with my wife and rest up.

I did this because the push for the rest of the book is going to happen now and I want to ensure that the story is the best it can be. Truthfully I don't know how long it's going to take me to finish the editing.

However, I'm doing my best to make sure that I write the story the way I want.

While that seems interesting to say. (A question appears before me: "Why didn't I write it that way in the beginning?")

That's a great inquiry. Honestly I think it's because I really didn't know what I wanted the first time round. I am new to being a novelist and I'm finding that it takes a monumental effort to produce this project.

I love it too, at the same time. The real sense that I'm now on my way is feeling good to me. I firmly believe that once I have this draft in, there will be some editing to do on that too. However, it'll be much smaller in volume and I'll be able to move to grammatical checks, plus proofreading after that.

I feel at that point that I'll have the story and I'll be able to start the submission process. Beginning the screenplay at that time too.

I'm almost half way through the book and I remember what I felt like going through it the first time. Oddly enough I am feeling the same way: "I have a ways to go"; "I can't wait to be done".

Those thoughts go through my head as I move forward. The difference is that it's going quicker this time. (Even as I think to myself that I'm not sure how long this will really take.)

Well, I think that will be it for me today. I hope you have an incredible Monday and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Mark