Author Archives: Alan Edwards
JulNoWriMo
I decided to try to do a Novel Writing Month in July. 50,000 words was my goal. I failed.
It’s OK, really. I was just trying to motivate myself to write more of the sequel, to make it a priority. I ended up writing almost nothing during weekends, and I think that’s what cost me. I’m at around 40k, though, and that’s a good chunk of the sequel. I want this one to be around 100k-120k words or so, and I think that’s feasible. In order to tell the story in my head, it may have to be more.
I’ll keep going through August as much as possible. It’s been difficult folding in the writing with the new fitness regime, which takes a lot of time and energy. The results have been worth it though. If I can do 30k a month for August and September, I’ll pretty much be done. I still would like to have the sequel sellable by the end of October, so I need to keep slogging away. Ain’t easy.
Why Am I Doing This to Myself?
I think most people ask themselves that while they are exercising at some point. For me, it’s usually when it’s 4:30 am and I am tying my shoes, getting ready to do an hour or so of cardio before work, or when I realize that I need to do 53 consecutive pushups to finish my pushup workout. Those moments are the hardest, when it is so easy to just walk away, or lie back down, and say: Tomorrow. I can do it tomorrow. Read the rest of this entry
Where I’ve Been
Like Jim Anchower, it’s been a while since I rapped at ya. There are various reasons for this, not least being the attempt to pull off a NaNoWriMo in July. Several friends joined me, which was cool, although attrition is beginning to take its toll. I’m working on the sequel to The Curse of Troius right now, and I’m over 23k words into it. I’m having fun and liking it, and 50k written (or more) in July will go a long way towards getting me to finish. It’s tentatively entitled The Siege of Anticus, although I’ve been toying with Northreach Besieged lately. We’ll see. I hate trying to make titles for things.
Atheism
I am a proud atheist. I don’t try to hide that fact, but I also don’t bring it up unless asked. I don’t preach to my religious friends of the “error of their ways”, and indeed I don’t have a big problem with people having faith in general. I do have a problem when faith is wielded like a weapon or used to cast judgments on others. I have much stronger feelings on organized religions themselves, much more negative. I firmly believe that the earliest religions were a mechanism for a chosen few to gain and retain power over a large mass of people, and I don’t think much has changed over the millenia.
Winter in Derenemyn 