The Update – June 2019

Lately I seem to have been more busy than usual. Between work, writing projects, and life in general I didn’t have the time to put together a blog post for last week. I don’t really have the time for this week either, so I figured I would put together a little update on my creative happenings.

Preparing for Story Submission

The biggest thing right now, and the major reason that I’m so busy, is that I’m on the final revisions on a new short story. For those that are my $3+ patrons, part one of this story (Gustav Floats) came out a few days ago. If you’re interested in reading the whole thing yourself be sure to become a patron by the end of this month. I will be releasing the full story to patrons next month. There is a market open right now that is only open until this weekend, so I’ve been very focused on making revisions. I still need to write a cover letter to go with it as well.

A New Story

I’m also in the process of brainstorming and starting the next patron character short story. When I recently re-kicked off my Patreon I put out an offer. The first patrons could be written into brand new short stories. They would have the choice of either being a badass or dying horribly. Gustav Floats was the first of these stories, and the patron chose to both die horribly and be a badass. I’m still working out the details of the new stories, and I do not want to rush it. I want to get it right and make it something I can be proud of.

The Open Writer’s Group Continues

I am still leading one of the open fiction critique groups at the local indie bookshop. In the past year we’ve grown to about 14 members. We have a nice range of genres; everything from science fiction to horror to literary fiction. Being an open group is an interesting experience. I enjoy the wide range of both writing style, experience, and subject matter. Plus, at just over a year old, we have core of members who help glue everything together. Sometimes new people will show up, and never return, and that is okay. I want people to feel comfortable in the group. I should write a post in the future on running open writing critique groups.

Drawing with my son

In other news I’ve started attempting to teach myself to draw. This is only partially for myself though, as I’m more doing this to help encourage my son’s interest in drawing. We started attending a local creator club which focuses on drawing and comic creation. There, we heard about Drawabox.com. This is a series of lessons including exercises, text, and video instruction. So far my son and I are only partially through lesson 1, but we are taking our time. What I like best about Drawabox is that the teacher encourages only spending half of your drawing time practicing and learning. The other half should be spent just drawing for fun. So far it is going well, and I hope that, since I’m doing the exercises with him, that my son will gain some skill and confidence in his creativity.

I think that is enough for this time. Watch my blog next week for the preview of Gustav Floats pt 2!