Posts Tagged ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’

“Hannah and Other Stories:” The Third Draft is Finished

Posted: May 20, 2023 in Progress Report, Scary Stuff, short story, Writing
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So, these past few weeks, I’ve been editing the hell out of the stories in my upcoming collection, Hannah and Other Stories. This collection contains stories featuring ghosts, budding collections, and even carnivorous horses, and it looks like we’ll be releasing it some time this fall.

And as of early this morning, I’ve finished editing the third draft of the manuscript.

I’m not going to lie, this has been the most exhausting editing process I’ve ever gone through. Way more than Rose ever was (and I had to rewrite two-thirds of that novel at one point). Some of the stories, such as What Errour Awoke and Fuseli’s Horses, required extensive editing and rewrites. Autopsy Kid, which at this time is the last story in the collection, had a ton of content cut from the story and a lot of changes made so that it could stay part of the collection. As a result, I actually missed the deadline to get this story turned in!

Yeah, I’m not happy about that. It was due on Friday night at 11:59 PM, but even though I adjusted my schedule to maximize editing time despite being at ParaPsyCon, I still couldn’t finish it by then. I actually had to grab some shut-eye, then wake up at 5:30 in the morning and finish the edits!

Still, I’m not happy that I was late. Yeah, there were factors that contributed to the lateness, such as having a day job and needing to sleep. But it was still a failure on my part, if a minor one. I’m glad I wasn’t like one of those writers in the movies and books, who are one to six months past deadline. Or that one writer whose next book is…nine years overdue?! Good Lord, we are never going to get that series finished, are we?

Anyway, now that the third draft and all the major edits and rewrites are done, all that’s left is for the fourth draft. This draft will mainly be editing the stories to be grammatically correct. Any new content will likely just to make an unwieldy sentence read better, or to flesh out something that’s more telling than showing. And after that, provided there’s nothing more to do, we can move forward with getting this book released in the fall.

I’ve actually already done three stories in the fourth draft, and it only took me an hour to get through them, rather than the hours or days for each story in the third draft. Hopefully the next four stories go the same way.

That being said, right now, I’m exhausted. Work has been crazy, so balancing work and the writer life, as well as my personal life and getting sleep, has been insane. And I didn’t get enough last sleep last night. So, although I want to party with wine, cake, and some horror movies or anime, I’m just going to get into bed. Tomorrow, on the way back from ParaPsyCon, I’ll try to pick up some of the good stuff and have a good time when I get home.

Anyway, that’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I’m hoping to be blogging a bit more now that the third draft is done. Until then, good night and pleasant nightmares. I know I plan to have a few.

“The Bloody Wedding Ceremony”: First Draft Finished

Posted: September 3, 2018 in short story, Writing
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Before you ask, no this story isn’t some sort of reference to Game of Thrones and the numerous weddings ending in someone dying that occur in that series (spoiler alert).

I needed a break from the novelette/novella I’m working on, so I decided to tackle a short story I’d had the idea for recently to give my brain some breathing room. The story involves two kids who are given a job by a strange entity known as the Master. And that’s all I’m saying, because I’d hate to give away this story before I’ve had the chance to polish it up and maybe get it published.

The thing is, I have no idea if this story is any good. On the one hand, it reminds me of other stories I’ve read that have gotten published in prestigious anthologies and collections. Heck, it even reminds me of some of Stephen King’s early works, especially in his collection Night Shift. And at only a little over three-thousand words, it’s a lot shorter than most stories I write and therefore I might have more places to publish it. However, the story is a little weird. Not surprising given the fact that I wrote it, but then again, that could also work against me just as easily. Heck, even I find it somewhat odd! And in some dictionaries, I’m right next to the word “odd!”

I’m also next to the words “eccentric,” “strange,” “malevolent,” and “interdimensional being,” but you knew that already, right?

Anyway, I’ll let this story lie for a little while. When I have time, I’ll revisit it and see if I can get it published anywhere after some edits. In the meantime, I’ll use the rest of my Labor Day weekend to watch a movie and do some reading. I’ll get back to work tomorrow on the novelette/novella and hopefully make some more progress on it before I have to get back to work on Rose. Fingers crossed that it all works out.

Until next time, my Followers of Fear, pleasant nightmares.