Well, as I'd hoped, all of my edits have been completed on The Cure and a week earlier than planned. At the moment, I don't plan to do much besides take some time off for the Thanksgiving weekend. However, I do want to finish a short story for submission by the time Ray Gun Revival opens back up December 1, so who knows?
Results for this week:
1. Completed
And now the goals for this coming week:
1. Enjoy the Thanksgiving weekend.
Submission status for the week:
Short stories:
"Deadly Decisions" (Need to submit)
"Double Trouble" (Since September 25)
"Entrapment" (Reprint - since September 23)
Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals
23 November 2010
16 November 2010
Weekly Goals - November 16, 2010
A terrific week, and have the end of edits (this round at least) in sight. Still thinking I'll be able to complete all of my edits on The Cure by November 30, since I only plan on doing one last read-through after this round.
Results for this week:
1. Edited 20K / 15K words
And now the goals for this coming week:
1. Complete this round of edits on The Cure
Submission status for the week:
Short stories:
"Deadly Decisions" (Need to submit)
"Double Trouble" (Since September 25)
"Entrapment" (Reprint - since September 23)
Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals
Results for this week:
1. Edited 20K / 15K words
And now the goals for this coming week:
1. Complete this round of edits on The Cure
Submission status for the week:
Short stories:
"Deadly Decisions" (Need to submit)
"Double Trouble" (Since September 25)
"Entrapment" (Reprint - since September 23)
Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals
09 November 2010
Weekly Goals - November 9, 2010
Finally gained a bit of traction, and now it's full speed ahead on my way to complete all of my edits on The Cure by November 30. Things are really picking up in the book, so it should go fairly well, I hope.
Results for this week:
1. Edited 16K / 10K words
And now the goals for this coming week:
1. Edit 15K words on The Cure
Submission status for the week:
Short stories:
"Deadly Decisions" (Need to submit)
"Double Trouble" (Since September 25)
"Entrapment" (Reprint - since September 23)
Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals
Results for this week:
1. Edited 16K / 10K words
And now the goals for this coming week:
1. Edit 15K words on The Cure
Submission status for the week:
Short stories:
"Deadly Decisions" (Need to submit)
"Double Trouble" (Since September 25)
"Entrapment" (Reprint - since September 23)
Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals
02 November 2010
Weekly Goals - November 2, 2010
Spinning the wheels a bit, not sure why...my overall goal is still to have the whole thing completed by November 30. Time to buckle down and get it done.
Results for this week:
1. Edited 6K / 10K words
And now the goals for this coming week:
1. Edit 10K words on The Cure
Submission status for the week:
Short stories:
"Deadly Decisions" (Need to submit)
"Double Trouble" (Since September 25)
"Entrapment" (Reprint - since September 23)
Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals
Results for this week:
1. Edited 6K / 10K words
And now the goals for this coming week:
1. Edit 10K words on The Cure
Submission status for the week:
Short stories:
"Deadly Decisions" (Need to submit)
"Double Trouble" (Since September 25)
"Entrapment" (Reprint - since September 23)
Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals
30 October 2010
26 October 2010
Weekly Goals - October 26, 2010
On a roll with The Cure. Hoping to have the whole thing done by the end of November.
Results for this week:
1. Edited 10K / 10K words
And now the goals for this coming week:
1. Edit 10K words on The Cure
Submission status for the week:
Short stories:
"Deadly Decisions" (Need to submit)
"Double Trouble" (Since September 25)
"Entrapment" (Reprint - since September 23)
Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals
Results for this week:
1. Edited 10K / 10K words
And now the goals for this coming week:
1. Edit 10K words on The Cure
Submission status for the week:
Short stories:
"Deadly Decisions" (Need to submit)
"Double Trouble" (Since September 25)
"Entrapment" (Reprint - since September 23)
Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals
19 October 2010
Weekly Goals - October 19, 2010
Things are improving, and finally getting in the swing of edits on The Cure.
Results for this week:
1. Not started
2. Edited a little over 8000 words.
And now the goals for this coming week:
1. Edit 10K words on The Cure
Submission status for the week:
Short stories:
"Deadly Decisions" (Need to submit)
"Double Trouble" (Since September 25)
"Entrapment" (Reprint - since September 23)
Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals
Results for this week:
1. Not started
2. Edited a little over 8000 words.
And now the goals for this coming week:
1. Edit 10K words on The Cure
Submission status for the week:
Short stories:
"Deadly Decisions" (Need to submit)
"Double Trouble" (Since September 25)
"Entrapment" (Reprint - since September 23)
Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals
13 October 2010
Weekly Goals - October 12, 2010
Sadly, things did not go well this week...at least I ended up starting on some edits (Tuesday night). Hopefully I can ride that momentum into this next week.
Results for this week:
1. Not started
2. Edited approximately 1500 words.
And now the goals for this coming week:
1. Edit 10K words on The Cure
Submission status for the week:
Short stories:
"Deadly Decisions" (Need to submit)
"Double Trouble" (Since September 25)
"Entrapment" (Reprint - since September 23)
Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals
Results for this week:
1. Not started
2. Edited approximately 1500 words.
And now the goals for this coming week:
1. Edit 10K words on The Cure
Submission status for the week:
Short stories:
"Deadly Decisions" (Need to submit)
"Double Trouble" (Since September 25)
"Entrapment" (Reprint - since September 23)
Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals
05 October 2010
Weekly Goals - October 5, 2010
Well, things have begun to pick up, though moving slow due to external influences. At least I met my goal this week...but now I'll be starting in on edits for The Cure. Fun!
Results for this week:
1. Around 1800 words completed
And now the goals for this coming week:
1. 1500 words on "Sisterhood"
2. Edit 10K words on The Cure
Submission status for the week:
Short stories:
"Deadly Decisions" (Need to submit)
"Double Trouble" (Since September 25)
"Entrapment" (Reprint - since September 23)
Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals
Results for this week:
1. Around 1800 words completed
And now the goals for this coming week:
1. 1500 words on "Sisterhood"
2. Edit 10K words on The Cure
Submission status for the week:
Short stories:
"Deadly Decisions" (Need to submit)
"Double Trouble" (Since September 25)
"Entrapment" (Reprint - since September 23)
Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals
28 September 2010
Weekly Goals - September 28, 2010
I tend to have this issue, shortly after achieving a massive goal, of completely sinking into a hole. This time was no different...
Results for this week:
1. Not even started...though I did finish up four plots this week.
2. Submitted "Double Trouble" as well as "Entrapment" (the latter being a reprint)
And now the goals for this coming week:
1. 1500 words on a new short story
Submission status for the week:
Short stories:
"Deadly Decisions" (Need to submit)
"Double Trouble" (Submitted September 25)
"Entrapment" (Reprinted - Submitted September 23)
Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals
Results for this week:
1. Not even started...though I did finish up four plots this week.
2. Submitted "Double Trouble" as well as "Entrapment" (the latter being a reprint)
And now the goals for this coming week:
1. 1500 words on a new short story
Submission status for the week:
Short stories:
"Deadly Decisions" (Need to submit)
"Double Trouble" (Submitted September 25)
"Entrapment" (Reprinted - Submitted September 23)
Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals
21 September 2010
Weekly Goals - September 21, 2010
And as you saw in my last post, the first draft of my latest Aston novel was finished this past week. Unfortunately, as I've found after sprinting at the end of marathon writing sessions in the past (NaNo, for example), the post-finish glow fades fast, and then it's rough trying to get back into the swing of things.
Results for this week:
1. 6000 / 3000 words (and finished first draft) on Death Brings the Victory
2. Submitted "Double Trouble" to beta readers and waiting on feedback
And now the goals for this coming week:
1. 1500 words on a new short story
2. Submit "Double Trouble" to a magazine
Submission status for the week:
Short stories:
"Deadly Decisions" (Need to submit)
"Double Trouble" (Need to submit)
Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals
Results for this week:
1. 6000 / 3000 words (and finished first draft) on Death Brings the Victory
2. Submitted "Double Trouble" to beta readers and waiting on feedback
And now the goals for this coming week:
1. 1500 words on a new short story
2. Submit "Double Trouble" to a magazine
Submission status for the week:
Short stories:
"Deadly Decisions" (Need to submit)
"Double Trouble" (Need to submit)
Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals
18 September 2010
We Have Come to The End
No, not this blog...even if very few might notice.
But even better, I just put the final touches (read: The End) on the first draft of my third (and no, not the end of the series, either) novel in the Aston West universe, currently entitled Death Brings the Victory. An exciting time, to be sure. And since I usually get asked these questions from people, I might as well determine my answers now.
How long did it take to finish?
I always hate this question, by the way, because I'm not a sequential writer. I may write on this novel for a few months, then move to something else for a few more. When looking at my files, it looks like I began plotting this novel out back in 2006. The first chapter was started in August of 2008, so in pure calendar time, it took me just over 2 years to finish the first draft. However, a quick scan through my files also shows that my first spurt of writing was over a seven-month period, a second over five months (though some of this was going back through the first portion and reminding myself of what I'd written, since I took a seven-month hiatus for other projects), and this final run only required two months (after only four months off)...each one spanning about a third of the book or so. So, in total time spent, it was only about 14 months to finish (compared to 24 in total calendar time).
How long is the book?
Currently in first draft form, Death Brings the Victory is around 105K words. This is a first for me, writing a novel over 100K words. If history is any indicator, my first few edits will actually increase that word count, since my first drafts usually run rather lean on what I consider extraneous details. I liken it to creating a person from scratch. You start with the bones, then add the muscles, organs and various systems, then finish it up with the skin.
When do you think it'll be published?
I'm hoping to begin edits in a couple of months, after taking some time off to both relax, as well as edit a pair of other projects that have been waiting in the wings while I finished. I'm hoping to get edits done in the first half of 2011, followed by the submission period after. Between agents, publishers and the rest of the entertainment involved, it's hard to say when it might be available. I wouldn't count on it before 2012, but one never knows.
Will I have to read your first two books before this one?
I try to write all of my books as standalone, meaning you can read any of them (or any of my short stories, for that matter) in any order you like. Death Brings the Victory is going to be a bit tricky, since it makes references to circumstances taking place in the first two books, but I'm planning to make it easy for first-time readers to pick up the jist, while long-time readers will just have that much more enjoyment with that insight.
But with over two years to wait, you can always read my first two books. Check them out over at AstonWest.com in the meantime.
How many more books will there be in the series?
As many as possible, I hope. As mentioned, each book will be standalone, so we'll always have a conclusion (note that I don't always have happily ever after endings) with each book. But every new book will bring a new adventure...and hopefully Aston will be with us for a good long time.
So, anyway, I figured I'd let everyone know that I finished...and tonight, we celebrate!
But even better, I just put the final touches (read: The End) on the first draft of my third (and no, not the end of the series, either) novel in the Aston West universe, currently entitled Death Brings the Victory. An exciting time, to be sure. And since I usually get asked these questions from people, I might as well determine my answers now.
How long did it take to finish?
I always hate this question, by the way, because I'm not a sequential writer. I may write on this novel for a few months, then move to something else for a few more. When looking at my files, it looks like I began plotting this novel out back in 2006. The first chapter was started in August of 2008, so in pure calendar time, it took me just over 2 years to finish the first draft. However, a quick scan through my files also shows that my first spurt of writing was over a seven-month period, a second over five months (though some of this was going back through the first portion and reminding myself of what I'd written, since I took a seven-month hiatus for other projects), and this final run only required two months (after only four months off)...each one spanning about a third of the book or so. So, in total time spent, it was only about 14 months to finish (compared to 24 in total calendar time).
How long is the book?
Currently in first draft form, Death Brings the Victory is around 105K words. This is a first for me, writing a novel over 100K words. If history is any indicator, my first few edits will actually increase that word count, since my first drafts usually run rather lean on what I consider extraneous details. I liken it to creating a person from scratch. You start with the bones, then add the muscles, organs and various systems, then finish it up with the skin.
When do you think it'll be published?
I'm hoping to begin edits in a couple of months, after taking some time off to both relax, as well as edit a pair of other projects that have been waiting in the wings while I finished. I'm hoping to get edits done in the first half of 2011, followed by the submission period after. Between agents, publishers and the rest of the entertainment involved, it's hard to say when it might be available. I wouldn't count on it before 2012, but one never knows.
Will I have to read your first two books before this one?
I try to write all of my books as standalone, meaning you can read any of them (or any of my short stories, for that matter) in any order you like. Death Brings the Victory is going to be a bit tricky, since it makes references to circumstances taking place in the first two books, but I'm planning to make it easy for first-time readers to pick up the jist, while long-time readers will just have that much more enjoyment with that insight.
But with over two years to wait, you can always read my first two books. Check them out over at AstonWest.com in the meantime.
How many more books will there be in the series?
As many as possible, I hope. As mentioned, each book will be standalone, so we'll always have a conclusion (note that I don't always have happily ever after endings) with each book. But every new book will bring a new adventure...and hopefully Aston will be with us for a good long time.
So, anyway, I figured I'd let everyone know that I finished...and tonight, we celebrate!
14 September 2010
Weekly Goals - September 14, 2010
Still on track to finish the first draft of my latest Aston novel by the end of the month...definitely getting close to the end. Can hardly wait to finish it, then get it through edits so all of you can see it as well.
Results for this week:
1. 4300 / 2500 words on Death Brings the Victory
2. Didn't even think about it.
And now the goals for this coming week:
1. 3000 words on Death Brings the Victory
2. Submit one short story
Submission status for the week:
Short stories:
"Collateral" (ACCEPTED)
"Deadly Decisions" (Need to submit)
Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals
Results for this week:
1. 4300 / 2500 words on Death Brings the Victory
2. Didn't even think about it.
And now the goals for this coming week:
1. 3000 words on Death Brings the Victory
2. Submit one short story
Submission status for the week:
Short stories:
"Collateral" (ACCEPTED)
"Deadly Decisions" (Need to submit)
Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals
07 September 2010
Weekly Goals - September 7, 2010
So far, so good in September (after an awesome August)...well on track to meet my goal of finishing the first draft of my latest Aston novel by the end of the month.
Results for this week:
1. 4600 / 2500 words on Death Brings the Victory
2. Submitted (and subsequently rejected)
And now the goals for this coming week:
1. 2500 words on Death Brings the Victory
2. Submit one short story
Submission status for the week:
Short stories:
"Collateral" (since April 1)
"Deadly Decisions" (submitted and rejected)
Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals
Results for this week:
1. 4600 / 2500 words on Death Brings the Victory
2. Submitted (and subsequently rejected)
And now the goals for this coming week:
1. 2500 words on Death Brings the Victory
2. Submit one short story
Submission status for the week:
Short stories:
"Collateral" (since April 1)
"Deadly Decisions" (submitted and rejected)
Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals
31 August 2010
Weekly Goals - August 31, 2010
August has been a very good month for me. Hopefully I'll be able to keep up this pace for the next couple of months and finish up Death Brings the Victory. Also, be watching my various haunts for some announcements (hopefully) this next month...
Results for this week:
1. 3000 / 2500 words on Death Brings the Victory
2. Polished up the project in question
And now the goals for this coming week:
1. 2500 words on Death Brings the Victory
2. Submit one short story
Submission status for the week:
Short stories:
"Collateral" (since April 1)
"Deadly Decisions" (need to re-submit)
Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals
Results for this week:
1. 3000 / 2500 words on Death Brings the Victory
2. Polished up the project in question
And now the goals for this coming week:
1. 2500 words on Death Brings the Victory
2. Submit one short story
Submission status for the week:
Short stories:
"Collateral" (since April 1)
"Deadly Decisions" (need to re-submit)
Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals
24 August 2010
Weekly Goals - August 24, 2010
August has been a very good month for me. Hopefully I'll be able to keep up this pace for the next couple of months and finish up Death Brings the Victory. Also, be watching my various haunts for some announcements (hopefully) this next month...
Results for this week:
1. 3500 / 2000 words on Death Brings the Victory
2. Completed a first draft on my new story "Borders" [added]
And now the goals for this coming week:
1. 2500 words on Death Brings the Victory
2. Polish up a secret project for submission...
Submission status for the week:
Short stories:
"Collateral" (since April 1)
"Deadly Decisions" (need to re-submit)
Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals
Results for this week:
1. 3500 / 2000 words on Death Brings the Victory
2. Completed a first draft on my new story "Borders" [added]
And now the goals for this coming week:
1. 2500 words on Death Brings the Victory
2. Polish up a secret project for submission...
Submission status for the week:
Short stories:
"Collateral" (since April 1)
"Deadly Decisions" (need to re-submit)
Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals
17 August 2010
Weekly Goals - August 17, 2010
So far, so good...keeping things moving on all fronts.
Results for this week:
1. 3200 / 1500 words on Death Brings the Victory
2. Edits completed on my story "Turnabout"
3. 880 words on another new story [added]
And now the goals for this coming week:
1. 2000 words on Death Brings the Victory
Submission status for the week:
Short stories:
"Collateral" (since April 1)
"Deadly Decisions" (need to re-submit)
Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals
Results for this week:
1. 3200 / 1500 words on Death Brings the Victory
2. Edits completed on my story "Turnabout"
3. 880 words on another new story [added]
And now the goals for this coming week:
1. 2000 words on Death Brings the Victory
Submission status for the week:
Short stories:
"Collateral" (since April 1)
"Deadly Decisions" (need to re-submit)
Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals
10 August 2010
Weekly Goals - August 10, 2010
27 days straight of meeting my daily word count requirement. Hope that keeps up...
Results for this week:
1. 2500 / 1500 words on Death Brings the Victory
2. Over 2100 words on the new story, and a completed first draft.
And now the goals for this coming week:
1. 1500 words on Death Brings the Victory
2. Complete edits on the new story
Submission status for the week:
Short stories:
"Collateral" (since April 1)
"Deadly Decisions" (need to re-submit)
Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals
Results for this week:
1. 2500 / 1500 words on Death Brings the Victory
2. Over 2100 words on the new story, and a completed first draft.
And now the goals for this coming week:
1. 1500 words on Death Brings the Victory
2. Complete edits on the new story
Submission status for the week:
Short stories:
"Collateral" (since April 1)
"Deadly Decisions" (need to re-submit)
Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals
03 August 2010
Weekly Goals - August 3, 2010
The streak continues on getting the daily word count requirement written...and now I also need to get a short story written for another project I have going (details as I'm able to share).
Results for this week:
1. 3000 / 3000 words on Death Brings the Victory
And now the goals for this coming week:
1. 1500 words on Death Brings the Victory
2. 1000 words on a new short story
Submission status for the week:
Short stories:
"Collateral" (since April 1)
"Deadly Decisions" (need to re-submit)
Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals
Results for this week:
1. 3000 / 3000 words on Death Brings the Victory
And now the goals for this coming week:
1. 1500 words on Death Brings the Victory
2. 1000 words on a new short story
Submission status for the week:
Short stories:
"Collateral" (since April 1)
"Deadly Decisions" (need to re-submit)
Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals
Labels: Aston West, novels, short stories, writing, writing goals
02 August 2010
Practice What You Preach
And just a quick comment to let everyone know that I'm running a promotion this week over at Blog Bites. Read the interview and the excerpt, post a comment and get yourself a chance at winning a copy of my latest, Friends in Deed. Can't wait to see you!
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