Camp was fun

APRIL 29 ~ 18046 words

Hi friends!

So I got sidetracked this month. I was going to do a whole series of short stories based on the theme of Mojo Hand, Conjure Magic, Root Doctors and the like. I still want to write that. But unfortunately, I got sidetracked on a few other projects, such as starting two new blogs, one on Tumblr and one on WordPress.  Both are called World Wrighter, but they are now separate.

The World Wrighter Tumblr blog was going to be for writing and graphic art projects, but I decided to dedicate that one specifically to art and webcomic stuff.

I created another one just for my daily writing on WP, and so far I have been quite productive. I call it my World Wrighter Not-So-Daily-Writing blog. Sure, I’d love to write a story a day, but I know that is an unrealistic goal. But I am doing pretty well there. I am taking word prompts and creating an impromptu story that is influenced by the word or phrase. It is kinda fun, if I do say so myself. I am learning to write shorter, and I think my stories are rather cohesive for being written without much preparation. Check them out and let me know what you think. Follow WorldWrighterBlog if you want the latest updates. Leave comments. Writers love comments. It makes us feel like we are not writing in a void.

Thanks for reading!

~Mark

All images and content copyright © 2011-2016 ~ Mark Adam Thomas

Swimming Upstream

Hi Friends.

As you may know, I have been under the weather this last week. It is not serious, just sinus headaches and chest congestion/coughing. As a result, I have not been sleeping, and concentrating on my novel has been difficult.

Consequently, my word count for NaNoWriMo is sadly, pathetically behind. I am currently at 12,000 words, where I should be at 25,000.

No. I am not giving up on NaNo. No way, no how.

But what this means is that I need to focus on speed-writing so I can catch up. Posting chapters here, out of necessity, makes for much slower writing. I am a lot more mindful of my choices. My inner editor keeps hammering at my brain to fix things, knowing that an audience will be reading it (and soon). And, I absolutely must give the chapter at least a cursory edit before posting it. All these things slow me down.

The biggest anchor to my word count speed, however, is research. In order to send this stuff out here, I need to do some preliminary fact-checking, looking up appropriate setting info, and spending time with the lingo, and word choices (i.e. my thesaurus).

During a typical NaNo November, I cast aside all these precautions and simply write, knowing that I will catch all the errors, fix the crud, and look stuff up – during the editing process. That is December’s work.

I type away, inner editor safely boxed up (duct tape works well), and when I hit a snag, I just make a comment or note in the work, and speed on. My manuscripts are rife with little yellow boxes surrounding words or phrases that need work or research.

Yes, you guessed it. Because I need to focus on my word count, because I need to catch up, I can’t afford the time it takes to polish (limited though it may be) the chapters for publication here on my blog.

I am going to speed through, type furiously, and pump out my 50K words before November 30th. If, and only if, I get significantly ahead of my daily word count, will I consider posting more chapters. But on the upside, December is editing month… half a month is not so long to wait and see what happens to Creed and Nika.

I have the whole work plotted, and I know all the twists and turns. I just have to get it into my computer.

Also, because I lost a week of writing (so far – I am still not over this gunk), I have cancelled all my regular DJ shows in Second Life, until December. I’ll kick this cold, and I will catch up.

I care abut my writing. It matters to me. It matters that it is enjoyable. So I don’t want to send out work that I am not completely ready to release.

Thanks for understanding, and please don’t hesitate to leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you.

Mark Adam Thomas

All images and content copyright © 2011-2014 ~ Mark Adam Thomas

Testing the Waters

Hey everyone.

I am setting up my new WordPress blog. This is a test entry.

My intention for this blog is two-fold:

First, I will be sharing my thoughts on the writing process. These might be regarding my own personal encounters, how I am feeling about my writing, my struggles and conquests, and the like. I may also share other writer’s thoughts and blogs.

Second, it is my intent to provide readers with samples of my writing, be it snippets of prose (or the occasional poetry), or chapters from my stories.

That being said, with NaNoWriMo swiftly approaching, it is my intent to post my raw, unedited chapters here in my blog. I felt it fitting as my story is a pulp horror tale, which may prove effective being presented in such a serialized format.

I certainly welcome all feedback (as long as it is constructive, or at least not flaming).

If you find my stories entertaining, amusing, or noteworthy, by all means please share my blog with your friends and circles.

All images and content copyright © 2011-2014 ~ Mark Adam Thomas