Reading a hard copy out loud.

Printed up a copy of The Dead Spend No Gold, which I never do anymore, but if I was going to ask my poor, long suffering wife to listen to my book from beginning to end, I wanted to make it easy for her to follow along and make corrections.

We are going to give it one hour tonight, just to see how far along we can get, to see if it is feasible.  Then maybe another hour tomorrow night, after I get home from work.

And then spend Friday and Saturday finishing it.

I've tried reading it out loud to myself, but...I get bored.  Easier to read it silently, even if I don't catch as many mistakes that way.

But reading it to another person, it's amazing how much more pops out.  Mistakes, corrections.

I find, for instance, that if the way I read it out loud is different from the way it is on the page, it is almost always better the out loud version.  Like my brain is micro-editing it even as I read.


OK.  Managed to read 27 pages aloud in an hour and fifteen minutes.  Not as far as I hoped.  I doubt we'll be able to read the whole thing.

Found more problems than I expected too.

Oh, well.  When in doubt, I reserve my time for the beginning and the end.

This is an extra step.  The real editing is supposed to be done by Lara.   But this definitely proves it needs another edit.

Almost, almost, almost done.

My original goal was to send The Dead Spend No Gold off to my editors for one final copy-edit on the 20th of July, and have it done by August 1.

I got a little ahead of myself and sent the book on Monday, the 14th.  Then I had to be all flaky like and tell them, "Nevermind."

Finishing this book is a little like the last day of school, the last hour of work before a vacation.  I want to finish that term paper, get that pile on my desk cleared, but I'm already daydreaming.

Anyway, I forced myself back to the book yesterday.

I wanted to get some alpine descriptions for the later scenes in the book, so I drove up Cascade Lakes Highway.  It was impossible to get to the height I wanted to get.  I didn't dress for it, didn't have the right kind of shoes.  The roads really don't go there, and I didn't have a permit.  (It did get me hankering to start doing some kayaking up there on the lakes...)

Still managed to take 4 pages of notes, though, which I will be adding to the book today.

Then?  Just some more touch-up and polishing for the rest of the day.  I work tomorrow at the store.

Linda has agreed to let me read the book out loud to her on Friday and Saturday, which will be enormously helpful.  Somehow, when reading to another person, I just seem to catch to much more.  I don't know why that consciousness helps, but it does.

Then I'll send the book off, as originally scheduled, on July 20.

As I keep saying, I'm trying to be patient and diligent and mature about this. 

Cyber Flash!

Changed the title and cover (thanks Andy Zeigert) to my Freedy Filkins story.

It's available exclusively at Amazon Select. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FJMDNFI

I love this story.  It was fun to write, and think it is a fun and fast read.  It really got me going on writing again...

Agonostic about the future of books.

The controversy between Amazon and the Big Five publishers has been going on for some time now.

I still haven't arrived at a conclusion.

In many ways, I feel like I'm suppose to choose between "Indy" (or self publisher books), and "Traditional" published books.

I'm conflicted more than most because I own a store that depends on physical copies of books and I do worry about the entire industry collapsing.  I'm also a fan of physical books and not a fan of ebooks as a reader.

But as a writer, I love, love, love ebooks and self-publishing, even though I did choose to go through a hybrid publisher. 

I've decided I don't really need to make a choice, or choose sides.  It doesn't matter what I think.  I'll negotiate the mindfield either way.

In some ways, though, I have chosen a side. 

For all practical purposes, I would never attempt to sell a book to traditional publishers again.  The Indy proponents have won that argument hands down, as far as I'm concerned.  Traditional publishers are incredibly unattractive to me now.  Even if they offered to take me on, I'd probably turn them down.  Unless they change their terms and their contracts and the way they do business.

So Indy is my path from here on out.  I like writing at my own pace, not having to ask permission, not having to wait, not having to sign my rights away, not having to accept lower percentages.  It would take some balls on my part to turn them down, but it's not like they are seeking me out.

I can put out just as good and professional book on my own as I can through them.  I can come up with just as good a cover.  I can hire just as good an editor.

I wish traditional publishers a long and healthy life, but I'm not joining them. 

Mature about it...arrrgghh.

I always say I don't like rewriting, but I'm accomplishing a lot.

I feel like I'm improving The Dead Spend No Gold.

I blended in all the 'Telling Details' I had saved up, and added a couple of scenes that gave more backstory to some of the characters.

So the book is more complete now.

I think I only have two things I still want to do.  One is to go for an alpine walk up in the Cascades and take notes and then use that material in the book.  For a final bit of verisimilitude.

The other is to take the Virginia/Frank love scene and put it later in the book.  Have them almost make love in the earlier scene, but have Virginia demure since she doesn't think she can ever be a proper wife and that it is unfair to Frank.

Instead, I'll put in the love scene as they are on their way to the final confrontation with Bigfoot(s).

I should be done by tomorrow night.  Then work at the store on Thursday, then give it a final read/edit on Friday and Saturday.  (I'm hoping Linda will be willing to listen to me.  I always find so much more when I'm reading it to someone else.)

Then send it to Lara on Sunday.

After that, I intend to accept her copy-editing and send off the manuscript to the publisher in a couple of weeks if he wants it.

I gave this book the extra work that it deserved.  Not because I wanted to.  I was happy with it before.  But I'm trying really hard to put in the extra effort.

To be mature and professional about it.

Arrgghh.

John Muir is too pretty.

Started reading some John Muir last night for some imagery of the Sierra Nevada.  Beautiful and poetic -- too much so to be much use for my story.

But I did wake up in the middle of the night with some imagery.

"They reached the Plumas River, and Frank was astounded by the sight.  The last time he’d seen this stretch of the river, it had been a meadow, lined by aspen trees, with a soft layer of flowers that looked as if they had been painted there.

Now it was all dirt and mud.  Gone were the gold miners who had used picks and shovels, to be replaced by teams of men, working like ants. The skin of the earth had been peeled back, leaving a raw, deep wound.  The hills above had been stripped of trees, the lumber used to build crude fumes and dams, trestles on stilts, stealing the life’s blood of water from their channels, imprisoning the flow as if it was their slave.  The water struck and washed away the earth, leaving piles of gravel and boulders.  The terrain was riddled and effaced, and alongside the devastation were the mounds of waste pilings.

The ranchers were silent as they passed the diggings, exchanging wordless greetings with the miners but not stopping.  It troubled all of them, Frank thought.  It was a desecration of the land.  But it was none of their business.

They continued up the waves of foothills and deep cut canyons, until they reached the base of Thompson Peak."

 That kind of thing....

What I've learned so far.

This is pretty obvious stuff, most of it, but nonetheless valuable for me to keep in mind.

1.) Finish the book.  This is important, and I think it's one of the things that really keeps people who want to be writers from being writers.  They don't finish because they don't think they're good enough.  Well, you're never going to be good enough if you don't finish.  You aren't going to be perfect, you probably aren't even going to be very good, especially at first.  Sorry.  But you still finish the book.

2.) Go on to the next book.

3.) Come back the original book after you've given it some time away, and give it a good rewrite.

4.) Find beta readers, wherever and however you can. This is essential.  Don't hide your work, expose it.  And if you can hire a professional editor, do that too.  Take their damn advice if you sense it is correct, ignore their damn advice if you sense it is wrong.  But if two or three people tell you the same thing, you better take it seriously.

5.) Don't send it off when it is "good enough."  Send it off after you've given it another couple of tries to get it better.  Notice, I don't say, when you've got it "right" or "perfect" because that never happens.

6.)  Don't rewrite so much that you lose the "sense" of the book, the things that attracted you about the story in the first place.

7.)  The story comes from inside.  Once you've committed to writing the book, ignore all outside examples and advice.  Not advice about the book itself, but just the "writing advice" that you find online or in books or from everyone who wants to give you advice.  Formula's, bleh. 

8.)  Assemble all the necessary ingredients from the start.  Have a theme in mind, a cast of characters (both good and bad), a setting that is thought out, and so on.  It's like having a recipe.  You can't bake the cake without the necessary ingredients.  If you leave out the egg white, you can't inject it later, all you can do is put frosting on top, which may cover some of the bad taste but doesn't really solve the problem.

9.)  Have a general story arc in mind.

10.) But let the characters and setting and situations dictate the plot. 

11.) Be willing to make lots of course corrections.  I realized after I wrote the entire book of Almost Human (now Faerylander) that I had the wrong tone and approach.  I had to go back and completely revamp the book a bunch of times.

When I got to Death of an Immortal, I'd learned my lesson.  I started off with a kind of humorous, snarky tone, just like I did with Almost Human.  I seem to always be able to do that for a few chapters, but I can't keep it up through a whole book.  I lose interest.  Humor is a distancing device, I think.  I failed to relate to the characters after awhile.  Maybe it's just me, but it is me and I needed to do something about it.  So only a chapter in, I went back and took out my beautiful lines.

Then 3 chapters in, I realized that the theme of a vampire king who had decided never to bite another human didn't have a whole lot of potential for action, so I brought in a couple of bad guys.  And therein came the plot.

So instead of writing a whole book stubbornly unwilling to change, I made a course correction.

12.)  Don't keep starting over, though.  Course corrections mean you're dealing with the stuff in front of you.  For me, it is a terrible mistake to go back and start rewriting from the beginning.  Finish the book before you start rewriting.



So here's just a few things I've learned so far.  (There are many more, obviously.) 

Maybe they only apply to me, but here they are.

The Dead Spend No Gold: Finished copy.

The Dead Spend No Gold: Bigfoot and the California Gold Rush is basically done.

Finished the collating, and added in the writer's group critiques, and I now have a publishable copy.

I want to give myself 9 days to just polish it, look for small ways to improve it, copy-edit one more time.  But mostly, it's done.

I think it's good.

You know, it took me a long time to be able to say that.  I know, writer's probably seem like they're in love with their own writing, but it isn't that way for me.  I always have doubts.

I mean, I like my writing, but I have doubts.

But just because I have doubts, doesn't mean I can't say "I think it's good."

Right?

After I've fiddle with it for 9 days, I'm giving it to Lara for one last clean edit and then offer it to my publisher. 

I'm glad I took the extra time to give it one more rewrite.  I think it has more tension than before.  Now I just want to add a little flavoring on top...

Creating gridlock downtown.

Go back 30 years.  Downtown Bend is half empty.  Me and Jerry, the shoe repair guy next door, put a table and chair on the sidewalk and play cribbage.  Once in a while we even have to get up and deal with a customer, but not often enough.

Flash forward to yesterday.  I'm locking my doors to go home for the evening.  I look left and right down the sidewalks and they're packed.  The streets are full of cars.  People are outside of every restaurant, every table filled.

This is the new normal.  Especially in the summer, especially on weekends.

What's more, these people are customers.  They're there to shop or dine or look around.

Everyone's happy.  The customers, the storekeepers.  It's nice.  It's what we work all year to see.

So what do the Downtowners in their infinite wisdom do?

We close down the streets.  For three out of four weeks in July, the peak weekends of the year.  We invite outsiders to come and take our customers.  We drive away our regulars.  We make the scene not about the stores, but about the outside vendors and free events.

These are no longer "festivals" but "pestivals," (as Kathy put it.)  The amount of disarray and garbage and dislocation and interference is immense.  Drunks spilling drinks all over the books, opening toy packages, entire families running wild, blocking the doors, but mostly not even looking our way, but looking into the street where the carnival is taking place.

I made twice as much money last weekend when the streets were clear as I did during the Bite of Bend.  Filling the streets with milling people may seem like a good thing, but it has the opposite effect.

We have taken something that was once needed and helpful and made them bigger and louder every year.

These pestivals are in the way.  They aren't needed.  They have worn out their welcome.  We succeeded in reviving downtown Bend, but now we're in danger of throttling it.

It's interesting to me that the store keepers in both Redmond, last year, and Sisters, this year, are starting to realize that these events aren't helpful.

I believe this is because they are relatively new for them -- and they can see the results starkly.  Unlike the Downtowners where it has been such a gradual evolution from festivals to pesivals, that they can't see it.  We're the boiling frog.

Not one of the originators of these events are still around.  But they keep on going, no matter how busy Downtown Bend is.

It is such an established thing now that I think they'll be impossible to get rid of.  Hell, the Downtowner organization is Proud Of Itself.  Proud.

I'll repeat.  I'm not against events themselves.  I am against closing the streets.  On peak weekends, inviting outsiders, while I'm the one who pays the high downtown rent all year long, including some very slow fall and winter days.

Please just let me do my business.

Unasked for advice.

Obviously, I'm running into lots of writers, and almost all of them say the same thing.

"I started a book.

 Or "I finished a book and need to rewrite it."

 Or "I have a good idea for a book."

So, I want to give them unasked for advice.

Finish the book!

Make a deadline and stick to it!

You aren't going to be perfect no matter what you do, so you may as well finish the book and learn your lessons and go on.

Deadlines.

All my deadlines are artificial.

They're real for all that, though.  If they aren't real, they get ignored.  For some reason I'm able to make them real in my head.

Anyway, I have 10 days to finish this book, once and for all.

BUT....

If I feel like I'm making real progress, I may extend that deadline another 10 days.

After all, presenting the book to my publisher on August 15 ain't all that different from presenting it on August 1 -- not in the longterm scheme of things.

But deadlines for me have to be firm right up to the point where they are due.

Only then can I break them.

Giving 27 secondary characters a personality.

Well I struggled yesterday, though I spent most of the day trying to progress.  Did only about 25 pages instead of the assigned 50 pages.  So I have another day of collating to do.

Not sure why.  It was just was slower.  The last fifty pages are the accumulation of everything that has come before.

I moved a few things around, and I'm thinking of moving a couple more things around.  There were a lot of action scenes, and they tend to need more attention than just the usual narrative.

The basic framework is there, so I want to be careful.

The biggest change I'm contemplating is taking the scene where the two main characters, uh, consummate their love, from page 150 to page 185, closer to the end.  It should have been easy, but when I did it, the bricks started falling out of the wall.

Bren wanted me to have more conflict between the lovers, but I'm leery of artificial conflict -- it's one of the things that drive me nuts about books and shows I'd otherwise like.

I also have maybe a few too many action scenes in a row, and I'm looking for a way to break them up  a little.

I'll look at it again when I'm finished with this collating.  Like I said, I have a couple of weeks of just being able to polish the book.

I've got 27 characters in the "search party" and in the rewrite I've been giving trying to give more of them a little bit more of personality.  The main difference is that I had the "anti-Indian" and "pro-Indian" differences within the same family, and now have separated them into two distinct camps.  I want to give a few more short scenes to the bad guys to show just how bad they are, and a few more scenes of poetic justice as they meet their demise.

The biggest thing I can do in the final rewrite is add in a few more descriptive and or telling details, to make it all seem more real.   To add to the verisimilitude, make the reader feel like he or she is there. 

For instance, when I read my two chapters to writer's group, I was aware that I had a lot of inner dialogue, and I mentioned that concern.

Gary, who can be pretty tough, said, "No, the inner dialogue is fine, but you might want to show a little more of what is happening outside his head too."

Well, the characters are on a trail-ride, so it shouldn't be that hard to put in some sensory detail.  That kind of thing.

I do feel like it is this final process that makes a book.  The closer I get, the closer I get.

Doing research last.

Took two chapters of The Dead Spend No Gold: Bigfoot and the California Gold Rush to writer's group, and they seemed to like it.

It's amazing that a book that has been vetted twice already can still have typo's in it.  Mostly, probably, because I've been trying to meld the two versions.  Thankfully, Lara gives it a last going over as part of her service.

I can feel this book getting better.

Does that mean the book wasn't good before?

No, and I think that's what is so satisfying about it.  When you're rewritng just to make a book 'good enough', that's one thing.  But when you're making an already good book better, that's something else.

I'd much rather be spending time making a good book better, than trying to make an OK book good.

The silly thing is -- I do research last. Mostly just to give the book some reality, some verisimilitude, some grounding.  I wait last, because by then I know the book so well that I can simply take interesting nuggets of info and plug them into the appropriate places.

I think I'll get the 50 pages of collating done today, despite writer's group.  Then the last 50 pages tomorrow.

The book still needs some rewriting.  But that I'll have a couple of weeks to do that.  Just work on the flow...make sure the new elements fit in smoothly.

Very close to being finished.

Downtown Comings and Goings 7/9/14

The big news is Robert's Clothes for Men (and Women) leaving.  They've been around forever.

Again, some of the new businesses here are 'inside' not storefronts, but I've included them because they are a good indication of how full downtown is getting.

But I also included the Christian Science Reading Room going because it IS a storefront, and they've been around for a very long time too.

Have I missed anyone else leaving?  



NEW BUSINESSES DOWNTOWN

High Desert Chamber Music, Brooks St., 7/9/14
Via Delia/Just a Little Charm, Oregon Ave., 7/9/14
Angelina Organic, Bond St., 7/9/14
Fire in Bend, Franklin Ave., 7/9/14
Stihl Whiskey Bar, Franklin Ave, 7/9/14
The Red Pinecone, Minnesota Ave., 4/10/14
The Painted Gallery, Bond St., 4/10/14
The Basement, Bond St., 4/10/14
Bend Modern, Wall St., 1/10/14
Legum Design, Bond St., 1/10/14
Dogwood Cocktail, Minnesota Ave., 1/10/14.
Salud Raw Food, Franklin Ave., 10/10/13
Bhuvana, Minnisota Ave., 10/10/13.
Outside In, Wall St., 9/26/13.
Bishop's Barbershop, Oregon Ave., 7/24/13
Oregon Store, Wall/Franklin, 7/24/13
Supervillain Sandwiches, Bond St., 7/24/13
Taste Oregon, Bond St., 7/24/13
Wild Rose, 5/2/13.
Bluebird Coffee Company, Franklin, 3/29/13.
Pure Kitchen, Franklin (Bond), 3/29/13
Jeff Murray Photography, Minnesota Ave., 3/29/13
Luvs Donuts, Minnesota Ave. 3/29/13
Hub Cyclery, Wall St. 3/29/13
Ju-bee-lee, Wall. St.  3/29/13.
Sweet Saigon, Wall St., 1/20/13.
Brickhouse, Oregon Ave., 1/20/13.
The Drake, Wall St. , 1/20/13
541 Threads, Minnesota Ave., 10/13/12.
O Mo Mo!  Bond Street, 10/3/12.
Crow's Feet Commons, Brooks Street, 9/21/12.
The Cozy Lamb, Minnesota Ave., 9/14/12.
Noi, Bond Street, 9/14/12.
Azillian Beads, Greenwood Ave., 9/6/12.
Earth*Fire*Art, Oregon Av., 7/10/12.
Pastrami Deli, Franklin Av., 7/10/12.
Bend Your Imagination, Minnesota Av., 7/10/12.
Paul Scott Gallery), Brooks St., 7/10/12
Natural Edge Furniture, Bond St., 5/10/12
Hola!, Bond St., 3/3/12.
Amanda's, Franklin Ave., 2/24/12
Barrio, Minnesota Ave., 2/12/12.
Rescue Moderne, Harriman, 1/12/12.
Letzer's Deli, Franklin Ave. 2/12/12.
Navidi, Minnesota Ave., 2/9/12.
Mazza, Brooks St. , 2/9/12.
La Magie Bakery, Bond St., 1/6/12
Brother Jon's Ale House, Bond St., 12/10/11.
What Lola Wants, Wall St. , 12/2/11.
Jackalope Grill, 10/12/11.
Gypsy Soul, Wall St. 10/12/11.
Colour N' the City, Tin Pan Alley, 10/12/11.
Lotus Moon, Brooks St., 10/12/11.
The Lobby, Bond St. , 10/12/11.
Ruby, Minnesota Ave., 10, 12/11.
Kariella, Lava Road, 8/24, 11.
Plankers, Wall St., 7/11.
Faveur, Franklin, 7/11.
Dream Pebbles, Minnesota Ave., 6/15/11.
Bend Yogurt Factory, Franklin/Bond, 4/26/11.
High Desert Lotus, Bond St. , 4/4/11.
Tryst, Franklin Ave., 3/11/11. (Formerly Maryjanes, **Moved**).
D'Vine, Wall St. , 2/9/11.
Let it Ride!, Bond St., 1/29/11.
Gatsby's Brasserie Bar, Minnesota Ave., 1/8/11
Tres Jolie, Wall St., 12/20/10.
Caldera Grill, Bond St., 12/7/10
Bond Street Grill, 12/7/10.
Perspective(s), Minnesota Ave., 11/20/10
Toth Art Collective, Bond St. 11/20/10
Boken, Breezeway, 11/20/10
Dalia and Emilia, Wall St., 10/3/10.
Antiquarian Books, Bond St., 10/3/10.
Giddyup, Minnesota Ave., 10/3/10.
The Closet, Minnesota Ave., 8/11/10.
Showcase Hats, Oregon Ave., 8/11/10,
Red Chair Art Gallery, Oregon Ave. 7/13/10.
Earth Sense Herbs, Penny's Galleria, 7/12/10.
Mad Happy Lounge, Brooks St., 6/2910
Common Table, Oregon Ave. , 6/29/10.
Looney Bean Coffee, Brooks St. , 6/29/10.
Bourbon Street, Minnesota Ave., 6/22/10
Feather's Edge, Minnesota Ave., 6/22/10
The BLVD., Wall St. , 6/13/10.
Volt, Minnesota Ave. 6/1/10.
Tart, Minnesota Ave. , 5/13/10
Olivia Hunter, Wall St. 4/5/10.
Tres Chic, 4/5/10 (Moved to Minnesota Av.)
Blue Star Salon, Wall St. 4/1/10.
Lululemon, Bond St. 3/31/10.
Diana's Jewel Box, Minnesota Ave., 3/25/10.
Amalia's, Wall St. (Ciao Mambo space), 3/12/10
River Bend Fine Art, Bond St. (Kebanu space) 2/23/10
Federal Express, Oregon Ave. 2/1/10
***10 Below, Minnesota Ave. 1/10/10
Tew Boots Gallery, Bond St. 1/8/10.
Top Leaf Mate, 12/10/09
Laughing Girls Studio, Minnesota Ave. 12/7/09
Lemon Drop, 5 Minnesota Ave., 11/12/09
The Curiosity Shoppe, 25 N.W. Minnesota Ave, Suite #7. 11/5/09
Wabi Sabi 11/4/09 (**Moved, Wall St.**)
Frugal Boutique 11/4/09
5 Spice 10/22/09
Cowgirls Cash 10/17/09
***Haven Home 10/17/09
Dog Patch 10/17/09
The Good Drop 10/12/09
Lola's 9/23/09
**Volcano Wines 9/15/09
Singing Sparrow Flowers 8/16/09
Northwest Home Interiors 8/5/09
High Desert Frameworks 7/23/09 (*Moved to Oregon Ave. 4/5/10.)
Wall Street Gifts 7/--/09
Ina Louise 7/14/09
Bend Home Hardware (Homestyle Hardware?) 7/1/09
Altera Real Estate 6/9/09
Honey 6/7/09
Azura Studio 6/7/09
Mary Jane's 6/1/09
c.c.McKenzie 6/1/09
Velvet 5/28/09
Bella Moda 3/25/09
High Desert Gallery (Bend) 3/25/09
Joolz
Zydeco
900 Wall
Great Outdoor Store
Luxe Home Interiors
Powell's Candy
Dudley's Used Books and Coffee
Goldsmith
Game Domain
Subway Sandwiches
Bend Burger Company
Showcase Hats
Pita Pit
Happy Nails

(List begun, Fall, 2008.)

BUSINESSES LEAVING

Christian Science Reading Room, Minnesota Ave., 7/9/14
Roberts Clothes for Men, Wall St., 7/914
Pure Kitchen, Franklin Ave., 7/9/14
Dream Pebbles, Minnesota Ave., 1/10/14
Pastrami Deli, Franklin Ave., 10/10/13.
Edman Furniture, Wall St., 9/26/13.
At the Beach, Wall ST., 9/18/13.
New York City Sub, Bond St. 3/29/13
Soba Asian Bistro, Bond St., 3/29/13
Volt Lighting, Wall St.  3/29/13.
Topolino, Wall Street, 1/20/13.
Cozy Lamb, Minnesota Ave., 1/20/13
Amalia's, Wall Street, 1/5/13.
El Jimador, Wall Street, 9/1412.
The Closet, Minnesota Ave., 9/1/12
Common Table, Oregon Ave., 8/11/12.
Honey Threads, Minnesota Ave., 8/11/12.
Bella Moda, Wall St., 8/11/12.
Giddy Up, Minnesota Ave., 5/10/12
Pottery Lounge, Oregon Ave., 5/17/12.
Boondocks, Newport Ave., 3/27/12
Game Domain, Oregon Ave., 3/27/12.
Toth Gallery, Bond St., 3/27/12.
Letzer's Deli, Franklin Ave., 3/22/12.
Clutch, Minnesota Ave., 3/22/12.  (Moving to Tres Jolie).
High Desert Gallery, Minnesota Ave., 3/22/12.
Tart, Bond St., 3/3/12.
El Caporal West, Franklin Ave., 2/24/12
Bo Restobar, Franklin Ave., 2/9/12.
The Lobby, Bond St. , 2/9/12.
Arts Central, Brooks St., 2/7/12.
Typhoon!, Bond St., 2/5/12.
Gatsby's, Minnesota Ave., 2/5/12
The Dog Patch, Minnesota Av. 1/9/12.
Bend Mapping, Bond St., 1/9/12.
Lotus Moon, Brooks St. 1/9/12   (Moving to Tres Jolie)
Bond Street Grill, Bond St., 11/20/12.
Mad Happy Lounge, Brooks St., 10/11.
Azu, Wall St., 10/25/11.
Showcase Hats, Oregon Av., 10/11.
Bourbon St., Minnesota Ave. 10/12/11.
Curiosity Shop, Minnesota Ave., 7/11
Luluemon, Bond St., 8/26, 11.
Shear Illusions, Franklin Ave., 7/11.
Crepe Place, Wall St., 7/11.
Pita Pit, Brooks St. , 6/28/11
Smith and Wade Salon, Minnesota, Av. , 6/3/11.
Perspectives, Minnesota Av., 6/1/11
River Bend Art Gallery, Bond St., 5/5/11.
Donner's Flowers, Wall St. 3/11/11. (Moved out downtown)
Maryjanes, Wall St. , 3/11/11. (new name, Tryst,  Franklin.).
Di Lusso, Franklin/Bond, 2/9/11.
Earth Sense Herbs, Penny's Galleria, 1/2/11
Marz Bistro, Minnesota Av., 12/20/10.
The Decoy, Bond St., 12/7/10.
Giuseppe's, Bond St., 12/1/10.
Ina Louise, Minnesota Ave., 11/3/10.
Laughing Girl Studios, 10/21/10
Dolce Vita, Bond St, 10/21/10
Diana's Jewell Box, Minnesota Ave., 10/15/10.
Lola's, Breezeway, 10/8/10.
Oxygen Tattoo, Bond St., 10/3/10.
Great Outdoor Clothing, Wall St., 10/3/10.
Volcano Vineyards, Minnesota Ave., 10/3/10.
Subway Sandwiches, Bond St. 9/2/10.
Old Bend Distillery, Brooks St., 6/19/10.
Staccato, Minnesota Ave. 6/18/10.
Showcase Hats, Minnesota Ave., 6/1/10
Cork, Oregon Ave., 5/27/10.
Wall Street Gifts, 5/26/10
Microsphere, Wall St. , 5/17/10.
Singing Sparrow, Franklin and Bond, 5/15/10
28, Minnesota Ave. and Bond, 5/13/10.
Glass Symphony, Wall St., 3/25/10
Bend Home Hardware, Minnesota Ave, 2/25/10
Ciao Mambo, Wall St. 2/4/10
***Angel Kisses 1/25/10   (Have moved to 'Honey.')
Ivy Rose Manor 8/20/09
***Downtowner 8/18/09 (moving to Summit location)
Chocolate e Gateaux 8/16/09
Finders Keepers 8/15/09
Colourstone 7/25/09
Periwinkle 6/--/09
***Tangerine 7/21/09 (Moving across the street.)
Micheal Cassidy Gallery 6/15/09
St. Claire Coffee 6/15/09
Luxe Home Interiors 6/4/09
Treefort 5/8/09
Blue 5/2/09
***Volcano Tasting Room 4/28/09
Habit 4/16/09
Mountain Comfort 4/14/09
Tetherow Property 4/11/09
Blue Moon Marketplace 3/25/09
Plenty 3/25/09
Downtown Doggie 3/25/09
***King of Sole (became Mary Janes)**
Santee Alley
Bistro Corlise
Made in Hawaii
EnVogue
Stewart Weinmann (leather)
Kebanu Gallery
Pella Doors and Windows
Olive company
Pink Frog
Little Italy
Deep
Merenda's
Volo
***Pomegranate (downtown branch)**
Norwalk
Pronghorn Real Estate office.
Speedshop Deli
Paper Place
Bluefish Bistro

(List begun, Fall, 2008 )

It's the waiting.

As in all things, it's the waiting.

I was getting kind of discouraged, but now that I'm deep into rewriting, I can see that the problem was partly distance.  I wasn't writing.  I was waiting.

Anyway, I'm feeling more encouraged now.

As I'm going along collating the two edits, I'm also rewriting.  I can feel the book getting better.  The "work" I thought it would be isn't turning out so bad and I definitely can feel how it is adding depth and complexity to the story.  I was worried about disrupting the story, but so far things are falling into place.

I can see how this could be a good book.  I mean, I thought it was a good story before, but these new elements give it a chance to have that much more payoff.  I have something that I can really sink my teeth into.

What happens is that I start to see glimmers...things I can do...and though I don't know what they are yet, I can feel them coming.

It will mean working on it heavily for a month or so.  I can't slack off.  But if I pursue all the possibilities, I can see a glimmer of a pretty strong story.

 So that's cool.

The big thing is that I need to set up the bad guys -- have them do some bad things -- and then have them get their comeuppance.  So, that just requires some ideas, which I feel glimmering, as I said.  I've got a general idea of what I want to accomplish, and now I'm just letting my subconscious work on it, and in the background I can feel it coming...

Sequelitus.

Managed to do 50 pages of collating the two versions of The Dead Spend No Gold yesterday.  Plus a little rewriting here and there.  I figure I'll get the collating done in four to five days.

Then I'll set in on the actual rewriting from scratch.  Mostly the "Search Party" scenes.

I'm not sure how the "historical detail" will work this time.  It seemed pretty easy with Led to the Slaughter.  But I had very specific sections there that I thought would benefit from research.  With this book, it's just an overall addition of flavoring, if you will.

What I do is research, find interesting details, and figure out where they can be added to the story.

Feeling insecure about things, suddenly.  Both Linda and me are questioning it all.  The time, the money, the frustrations.

But I keep trying to remember my original goals, and I want to follow through on them.   Right now, I'm struggling with how much rewriting I should do.  When am I actually doing too much?  Wouldn't it be better to move on?  Am I being lazy to think that?  Where is my time best spent?

Heard a new term recently.  Sequelitis.

I think I have a touch of that.  I found it was fun and actually easier to write another book in a series.  But there are some downsides, like, it makes the first book ultra important.  Like, you're not really creating a whole new world.

My books are written so that they should be enjoyable on their own -- but simply by making them part of a series, I am limiting reader options.  Personally, I have no problem reading mysteries out of order -- books starring the same characters, but with a new story each time.  That's what I was trying to do with the Vampire Evolution Trilogy and the Lander books, and now with the Virginia Reed series.

I mean, a person should be able to read The Dead Spend No Gold, and THEN read Led to the Slaughter.

But that's not the way most people treat it, unfortunately.  People are surprising rigid about the order in which they'll read things.

The other thing about writing stand alone books -- I'm giving myself a chance to catch new readers each time.

So tying these thoughts back to the "rewriting" thing above, I'm finding that I'm spending a lot of time either on material I've already written, or in worlds I've already created.

I've got a Steampunk novel germinating in my head.  I kind of want to think about it this time.  Really make notes.  Character sketches, backstory history, geography, etc.  There is always that initial excitement, that "discovery" of a new world and new characters and new story.  But this time I want to put some thought into it first.

Of course, I always say I'm going to do that, and then the story takes off without me. 

I have to balance the joys of writing new material, with the need to finish old material.  I need to rewrite Wolflander, Ghostlander, Deviltree, Deeptower, Sometimes a Dragon, Spell Realm, and more.

Basically, I'm trying to alternate, new and old, new and old.

But when I'm mired in rewriting, it seems like that's all I'm doing...

Part One of Rewrite Done.

I realize this status report sort of thing is probably boring to everyone, but...hey, I'm feeling pretty good about it.

After waiting for almost a month to get going on it, I finally got to work on the final draft of The Dead Spend No Gold. 

I spent all day yesterday accepting the changes from Lara's editing.  This is mostly just going along and clicking acceptance.  And dealing with the occasional suggestions.

I have found that I like about 95% of word and grammar changes, so nowadays I just go ahead and click without analyzing too much.  (Linda examines every change and it takes days and days...)

So now I have a clean copy that I think is good enough to send to the publisher.  Lara focuses on making sure it is a clean edit and that the inconsistencies and continuity is correct, so I'm sure this copy is ready to go.

But, well, I want to do better than "good enough."

Adding in Bren's suggestions (as well as writer's group critique) will make it that much better.

And doing one last rewrite (including adding historical details) will make it even better.

Then back to Lara for one last clean edit.  I'm figuring a month of hard, concentrated work.  I have to stick to it until I'm finished, because all the story elements will be in my head and I don't want to lose them.  So it's the darkened room for me for a month.

But when I end the day with a book that I'm proud of, it's worth it.

Down the rabbit hole again.

Finally starting the final rewrite of The Dead Spend No Gold.  I had to wait for Lara's critique, and then I took a few days off.  But I'm ready.

First question is -- do I add Bren's corrections to Lara's or vice verse?  Probably the latter because I've had Bren's corrections longer and have made more changes.

As I said, I'm going to do two versions.  Just a clean edit with Bren and Lara's copy-editing.

And then another copy that starts from there and rewrites.

I figure it is only going to take a couple of days to click the acceptances of the changes and correlate them.

Then two weeks of rewriting, four more days of adding historical detail, and then back to Lara for a final clean edit.

Done by August 1.

Offer it to my publisher.  If he passes, put it out myself...

So it is going to be a busy month.

Wandering minds.

There was an article today about how 2/3rds of all men, and 1/4th of all women can't stand to be alone and let their thoughts wander.  That after six minutes they report it as "unpleasant."

They would rather have electric shocks, then sit still and let their minds wander.

I put down the paper, sat down in a chair, and let my thoughts wander.

Big mistake.

An hour later, I had worked out the outlines of a new book....

To rewrite or not to rewrite?

I'm going to tell you my thinking, rationalizations included.

As I've mentioned, Bren put me to task on The Dead Spend No Gold.  She thought I needed to do certain things.  I can see how doing those things might improve the book.

However, unlike with Led to the Slaughter where the changes were merely cutting or rearranging a scene or chapter -- intimidating enough, but doable -- her suggestions would require a beginning to end rewrite.

I'm leery of that, for a couple of reasons.

Anyway, right now, I think The Dead Spend No Gold is a good book, and that the editorial suggestions by Bren and Lara will make it better.

But I might -- and I accent the MIGHT -- make it better by completely rewriting.

Or, and this is a real possibility, I might make it worse.  Tampering a little too much, for a slight improvement, which might actually make it worse.  When you start taking pieces out of a puzzle the whole thing might fall apart.  Instead of 3 steps forward and 2 steps back, it might be 2 steps forward and 3 steps back.

So is this a rationalization that I don't want to work harder?  (As anyone who reads this blog knows, I don't much like rewriting.)

A little bit, probably.  Here's rationalization #2.  I don't want to end up disliking my book, even if it makes it slightly better.  That it is very important that I continue to enjoy and like my books.

So the equivalent of this is at the store where I know there are a number of things that I could do to make more money, but I'd be miserable doing them.

I decided after a couple of collapses where I did do the money making thing I hated, that it was important that I like going to work, even if it meant making less.  That "Burn-Out" for a long term business is at least as dangerous as not making money.

If you hate what you're doing, you're less likely to keep doing it.

So that is all running through my head.

Here's my plan of attack.  A bit of a compromise.  Making sure it isn't just me being lazy.

I'm going to take the suggestions and changes that Bren and Lara suggest that DON'T require changing the story, and consolidate that.  Set it aside.

That should leave me with a few weeks to go ahead and attempt a rewrite.  And if I don't like the way it turned out, I can go back the original corrected version.