Antibiotics and Camp

I'm doing an update to say a few different things. The first is that nothing kills my will to live more than a regimen of antibiotics. They kill live, oh how they kill life. Every so often I smell something completely rancid that no one else can smell. My appetite is down to nothing, and that is saying a lot. When I don't find food, any food, appealing then there is certainly something wrong with my life.

It isn't so bad as it sounds, I'm in the process of getting better. This time though I'm ten days into a thirty day treatment cycle. From that point we hope everything is going well, otherwise... Well, let's not get to otherwise.

So what have I done to stem the tide of non-caring? I've decided to jump into CampNanowrimo for July. The goal is simple, like the goal I discussed in my last update. Alright, it is the goal from my last update. 600 words a day for one month. 18,600 words to freedom and productivity. It doesn't seem like much, but it's a start.

Also, if any of you are doing Camp I'd love to hear from you. Feel free to comment, or to blow my goal out of the water. The goal isn't to compete against others, it's to compete against your life.

600 Words

I set a goal last week to begin writing 600 words a night. This was to break the dry spell of not writing for a few weeks.   It doesn't seem like that many words at all. I imagine the reaction to that goal going something like this.

"Six hundred? Why not a thousand? Two thousand?  Surely if you're planning on writing novels, short stories, and keeping people entertained you can put together more words than that?"

When I think like that I can understand why authors like George R.R. Martin and Patrick Rothfuss get annoyed at their fans at times.  I'm not saying that I am in any way comparable to those men, but I happen to enjoy their works.  I love Kvothe, and I think the television series is going to ruin the books for George R. R. Martin.  What I'm saying is that writing is more difficult than most people give them credit for.

Putting together one thousand words and making sure they work takes time.  Making sure your plots that you establish early in the book deliver on the foreshadowing is a pain. If that wasn't bad enough there are days where something is wrong in the story, but when you're up to your elbows in plots it's hard to see what is wrong.  If you've never tried to write long stories, then here is your challenge.

I challenge the casual readers, the people who are out there looking for something more exciting to do than waiting on their favorite authors next book to drop, to write a 600 word story.  It doesn't seem so bad does it?  It's not like I'm asking you to write an eighty thousand word book like Harry Potter and the Sorcerer Stone. In fact there are children's books which have less than one hundred words.  An example is I'll teach my Dog a lot of words by Micheal K. Firth.  The book is one hundred words, and it tells a story.

The reason I'm recommending this is because I gained a new appreciation for the books that I read once I started writing.  Seeing the way they used their words, weaving plot, killing characters, twisting and turning details to keep me guessing, became more satisfying. I looked at the works of other authors as study guides to improve my own writing.  Questions came to my mind: How does R.A. Salvatore plot a fight scene? How does Stephen King plan one of his "Powder Keg" books like Needful Things or Under the Dome? How much research did Orson Scott Card do before he wrote Ender's Game or did he research?  Does Brandon Sanderson plot a single book or an entire series at  one time?

If you don't want to try the challenge, that's okay.  I'm going to keep chipping away at the projects that I have.  I am working on two short stories for different anthologies that I'm hoping to get a spot in. I have a novel I'm rewriting because after two years I've finally realized what is causing the problems in the story.  Then I have the serial update, each of which take 4-5 days at 600 words a day.

Also, if you're counting words this post is 550 words. Seems like I need a few more for tonight.

Learning about other Authors

I love to learn about other authors. I love to listen to them explain where their ideas come from, their methods, and how they bring their books to light.  There is a certain amount of curiosity that comes from trying to figure out where the best selling authors get their ideas, how they plan things, as well as a time table they work on.  I'd like to share a few examples.

This is an interview on CBS where they discuss where Stephen King got the idea for some of his novels.  They mention Cujo, and his new trilogy: Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers, and End of the Watch. I really recommend the watch because if you enjoy his work it is fun to see his ideas.
http://www.cbs.com/shows/cbs_this_morning/video/rn6dnT4WIYQ7pm411nZ02EVxbyOczGTT/stephen-king-on-inspiration-behind-end-of-watch-2016-politics/

There are other books where you can learn from other authors about their methods.  In "How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy" Orson Scott Card discusses that his ideas come from maps which he likes to doodle.  Others, like the battle room from Ender's Game, came from living during the Vietnam war and wondering how battles in the future might be trained for and fought.  (I paraphrased this one and know it's only part of the idea. If you want to know more read the book, it's only about 100 pages.)

Both of these are great books and show how versatile the mind of an author is.  Ideas are everywhere, the idea for my character Patch from my novella, A Wolf in Patchwork Clothing, came from my reflections on what happened to Frankenstein's monster.  There was also a twist of Sci-fi in my thoughts as I tried to figure out what might happen to someone who lives past the normal old age, someone who begins to see normal peoples lives passing like the seasons while he continues.  There is more to that, and I have more stories involving him in the future for you.

For now know that I'm still working as well as I can.  I'm dealing with some health stuff that makes it hard to sit in front of a computer all day, (which is what I do at work anyway), so coming home I need to move a bit more or deal with discomfort.  Until then if you want more books that shed light on the workings of authors I'll recommend the following, they all have some great insight and thought on writing, as well as showing the differences that exist between three bestselling authors.

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy by Orson Scott Card
Million Dollar Outlines by David Farland.

Out of Gas

I'm sorry for the lack of updates in the last month. Unfortunately I've had some health problems come up and it has siphoned the last of the gas from my tank.  I've tried to sit and write, but for the last few weeks nothing is coming.

I've taken time to do some reading, some plotting, and realized that I may have to rewrite a 100k word novel first draft from scratch. The thought of doing this brings dread to my heart and makes me want to cry just a little bit.  It isn't what I want to do, but life is all about doing  things which you don't want to do.  The best example of this is dishes, no one likes to wash dishes but every loves to use them.

Understand the next chapter on the serial is coming. Check out Goodreads if you want some reviews or book recommendations for what I've read lately.  A friend of mine is also offering his debut novel free for this week on Kindle so check it out.  I'll post a link below.  While I may not have anything new for you I'll still try to make sure you have plenty of things to read if I'm not providing it.

https://www.amazon.com/Cry-Down-Dark-T-Tranchell/dp/1940247241/

Milestones!

This week marks a Milestone. As of this morning I've discovered we're over the 2k Views mark.  That may not seem like a lot to you, but it is a ton for me.  Because of this I've decided to make the books I have on Amazon free for this weekend (May 7th and 8th).

You can get a copy of my first serial, which is now up on Amazon in e-book format, or the short story collection I did with some friends.  Follow the links below or search the titles on your Kindle/e-book reader.

A Wolf in Patchwork Clothing
https://www.amazon.com/Wolf-Patchwork-Clothing-History-Book-ebook/dp/B01CHNZ6TM

Escaping Sanity
https://www.amazon.com/Escaping-Sanity-Travis-Coleman-ebook/dp/B00SJF5YHW/

Update!

I'm posting this new chapter as rough draft and will follow through with some edits tomorrow. If you can't wait until tomorrow, well it's here to read now.

http://travcoleman.blogspot.com/p/chapter-7.html

I'm really hoping that you like where the story is going.  It's fun to right, but the timing of everything I need to happen is a little tricky.  That is part of the cause for the delay, but at least I'm getting the words on the page.

I hate to do this but I have to.

Hello Readers,

I'm sorry to need to do this but this week had been beyond hectic. I've managed less than 2000 words written this entire week which really isn't where the count needs to be.  The story is coming, but I don't post partial chapters.  I'll post rough drafts when needed, but an unfinished chapter doesn't really work.

It will be up in the next two days, I promise that.

Sincerely,
Travis.

Mid-Season Cliff Hanger aka: I got Sick

There are a few things which kill the urge do to anything so well as getting sick. It seems that my limit of days I can endure with a 102.5 degree fever is at around 4, more then that and I'm heading to the emergency room.

The bad news is that due to the illness and having internet issues I wasn't able to get online. The good news is that I'm back now, life is returning to normal, and that means there is an update.  The link is below:

http://travcoleman.blogspot.com/p/chapter-6.html

So I hope you'll forgive me due to my illness. I'm going to continue things now, and I hope you enjoy the next portion of the story because I'm enjoying writing it.

Fan X 2016

I will be spending the next two days at FanX in Salt Lake City.  I'm looking forward to meeting more people that are fans of the horror genre there.  Should any of you want to find me and say Hi then come by the Utah Horror Writers booth.  I'll be working blocks through out the day Friday and Saturday.

Also, if you want an e-book copy of the serial A Wolf in Patchwork Clothing then head over to Amazon. It's free for FanX just click the link below.  There should also be an update to the current serial posted tonight.

I look forward to seeing you there.

http://www.amazon.com/Wolf-Patchwork-Clothing-History-Book-ebook/dp/B01CHNZ6TM

The Idles of March

I don't know what it is, perhaps waiting for spring to begin, perhaps the tail end of a winter that just doesn't want to give up.  Whatever it is that hits me in March, killing my time and productivity, I wish it would spread itself out through the other eleven months of the year.  

The update is coming but this last week has been horrid.  I've been fighting to get all the every day stuff done, but getting my head in the writing game has been a struggle.  I plan to have you an update this week, but for now I need to keep going.

Some things to know:

I will be at Salt Lake City FanX at the Utah Horror Writers booth on and off on Friday and Saturday.  If you're going to be there please come visit and I'd love to hear your thoughts on the story so far.

A Wolf in Patchwork Clothing will be free for FanX (March 24-26) on E-book.  Grab it and lets get some ratings on Amazon to help spread the word.

Due to FanX and Easter I'll see about getting next weeks update out on time, but it'll be a rough one.  Realistically I don't see it happening but I'm at least going to try to get it done.  I'm hoping to be back on schedule on the first week of April.

Chapter 5 Now!

I figured you had waited long enough for the next chapter.  There might be a few typos or bad punctuations in this draft and I apologize.  I'll fix it tomorrow after a good nights sleep.  For now, if you can overlook a possible wrong word, or a misplaced comma, then read away!

Technical Issues

I'm having some technical issues with today's chapter and I might have to rewrite it.  There will be a delay, and I may have to buy some better software.

tl;dr Life Sucks, Chapter 5 soon.

Sorry for the Delay

Well, the new chapter has been posted. Sorry for the delay, but it seems this chapter wanted to run long and I'm happy with the way it turned out.  Please take a moment and enjoy. Facebook and Twitter announcements will go up tomorrow, until then enjoy.

1 day Delay

I'm sorry to be posting this, but this Chapter has taken on a life or its own. It's good, but given the choice between breaking the chapter in two or delivering it the way that I had planned it. I'd really rather give you the full Chapter.

Sorry again, but I'm doing my best to keep these delays to a minimum.

A Wolf in Patchwork Clothing is here

To anyone who is interested the first serial I did is now available for purchase on the Amazon E-book store.  I also put it together through Createspace so you could buy a print copy.  The link to the appropriate stores are below.  If you enjoyed the story, or missed the first serial, then pickup a copy and support the Author.

E-book:
http://www.amazon.com/Wolf-Patchwork-Clothing-History-Book-ebook/dp/B01CHNZ6TM/


Print:
https://www.createspace.com/6014848

Chapter update and a note of delay.

The new chapter is up and I would love to hear some feedback from those of you who are reading it. Are you enjoying the story? Please comment and let me know. Did I mess up on a small obscure fact that leaves the story unbelievable? Send me an e-mail or comment that as well.  I'd love to hear about it.

Also, there has been a minor delay on the release of A Wolf in Patchwork Clothing.  The file that I'd made all my edits on has corrupted. It has added pages where they shouldn't be, mid-chapter, and despite everything I've tried I can't fix it.  It means a set back of two or three days while I get recreate the file and make the necessary fixes. It is coming though, please be patient.

Posting for a Friend

If you're enjoying the fiction I post then you should head over to The Lift, an audio drama whose current episode features a friend of mine, Lee Forman.  Lee was one of the competitors last year in the Fear Project and I've really enjoyed his stories since I met him. Check it out, for all you know he could be your new favorite author.

Chapter 2 and The End of a Serial

I apologize for the late post but our internet has been flaky all day.  I'm happy that it seemed to even out about an hour ago so that I could get the formatting for Chapter 2 done.  Here is the second chapter and so far I'm hoping that I've begun to build your interest.

In the mean time I've pulled down the first serial as it was time to do so.  I've finally got my proofs back from my final readers so I can make the necessary changes to the file and get it released. So far I'm really quite happy with the way it is turning out and I hope that if you're just joining us that you'll pickup a copy.

Also, as a said note, the files which were posted online for A Wolf in Patchwork Clothing aren't the final versions of the file.  The story didn't change, but minor sections of the writing have gone through edits to clean up the language and punctuation.  There have also been a few minor continuity problems I had to fix.

Look for the announcement later this week about the book going live. I am looking forward to having more stuff out there for everyone to enjoy.

Nurse Summers begins

Hello and welcome to the new serial. This is a character that I created last year for David Wellington's Fear Project, but the story seemed to take on a life of it's own. Before long I found myself deep in vampire lore and making a vampire of my own.  This is the culmination of that work. Should everything work out well (computers not exploding and what not) I should have a new chapter for you each Sunday.

A few questions I would like to address before you get started. I don't feel any of these are spoilers, more questions that came up a few times during the creation process.  Many of them will be addressed in the story, but knowing it shouldn't lessen the impact.

1) This is not Buffy Summers. I had wanted to use a name that was opposite of her grim demeanor in the first chapter. Summer seemed like the perfect opposite and it wasn't until my wife read it that she pointed out the Buffy reference.  Not that it's a bad thing, but these vampires don't dust when you kill them. The amount of blood would more aptly belong in an Evil Dead movie.  If you want to imagine this is a different Buffy for a different world you can, but I won't support it.

2) The setting is very modern times. As much as I'd like to do a throwback, the story doesn't belong there.

3) Vampires only started existing in this world about 20 years ago. Before that time they were the villains of the silver screen and novels alike.

4) These aren't your normal vampires, you'll understand as you get into the story. You will get into the explanations as the story goes on, but know that if you're expecting Bram Stoker you'll be sorely disappointed.

A final note, this is your last week to find "A Wolf in Patchwork Clothing" on the site. It'll be pulled down when I post next week's chapter. You will be able to find it online on Amazon both in print and in Ebook format.

A few days and a delay

Hello everyone. I'm posting this to let you know that I'm currently hard a work on getting things prepped for the new serial and the new release.  Well, the release isn't new if you've followed my site for a while, but it is in book format.

Announcement #1: The first chapter of the Nurse Summers Serial's will begin on Sunday the 14th with the first chapter Triage.  Each week on Sunday another chapter will be posted.  The length of this one is going to be closer to 60,000 words so it will run for a while and I'm hoping that you enjoy it.

Announcement #2: I was originally going to have the e-book and print copies of A Wolf in Patchwork Clothing available on the 14th as well. Yet due to shipping, something I won't overlook next time in the planning, there has been a delay. I'm hurrying through it as fast as I can but it could be delayed until the 21st.  Sorry for anyone who was looking for it in print.

Otherwise, I'm going to be working hard on getting everything going and probably losing more than a little sleep.

In the meantime I wanted to post a couple of other serial link's that are going right now. The first is the serial "Silence in the Willow Field" by a buddy of mine Lee A. Forman.  The second is a serial which is done by David Wellington. He got his first publishing contract through serial publication of his first novel "Monster Island." Here is a link to his newest serial "Grimbly Hall"

Cover Reveal

I posted a week or two ago that I was working on shifting things over for my next serial to start. Part of this process included getting a cover ready and available so I can do the previous serial justice.  It took about three drafts to get the cover I really wanted and here it is.

I would like to give a big thank you to the people over at http://www.thecovercollection.com/ for their amazing work.  I absolutely love this cover.

The plan as it stands it so have the book available mid-February. I'm still getting proofs ready to be sure I don't make any enormous mistakes from being overly eager as I did in the past.

Warning! Imminent take-down in the near future!

I know there are a lot of exclamation points in the subject, but it is important for anyone reading this to pay attention.  If you've been waiting to read A Wolf in Patchwork Clothing your time is now limited.  I'm planning on taking it down mid-February and releasing it into the world through Amazon and Createspace.  I know this sounds like I'm a money grubbing author, but there are several reasons I'm doing this.

1. Yes, making some money would be nice to cover some costs and perhaps get me my own domain. I'd like to turn this into something more than a hobby after all.  
2. I'm currently working on the outline for the next serial which I'm really excited for.  The problem I run into is that if I add chapters like I did for my first serial the menu will become unruly.  I don't want things to become unruly. 
3. This is one of the biggest reasons that I want to do it though, I'm a bibliophile.  I love books, love collecting books, and love to have things on my bookshelf to be able to loan out to people.  I want to hold my book in my hand, it is a satisfying feeling that I relish.  
4. The last reason is that I am going to be self-publishing a novel this year called A Patchwork of Graves which is the book I've put the most work into so far in my life. I promised myself that all stories in the Patchwork series I would self publish. A Wolf in Patchwork Clothing is a piece of the past of this story. But it still is part of this group, so I feel that I would be doing myself a dishonor if I didn't hold to my promise to myself. 

If you want to read it there is still time. If you'd rather wait until it's on E-book or in a print format I understand that as well.  Print books are awesome!  But regardless of what happens, I hope you continue to follow me and enjoy the stories I create for you.

For the love!

Nothing quite takes the fun out of life like sickness and death. I've been sick, while living legends are dropping off faster than George R.R. Martin can write.  I've tried to focus several times this week towards finishing a little project I started the day David Bowie left us.  I'm hoping that it will be done this weekend. Stay tuned for some new short fiction.

The count as it stands.

I want to find some kind of widget that will let me keep track of Accepted/Pending/Declined stats for the coming year. Until I can find such a thing I'll keep it updating it here.

Story Submissions:

Accepted - Pending - Declined

0     -     1     -    1

News for 2016

Hello to all my lovely readers.  I appreciate your page views and the occasional smattering of commentary.  I figured that I would go ahead and give everyone a heads up concerning my plans are for the current year. There are quite a few in the works and i'm hoping to keep things exciting in the coming year.

1. A Wolf in Patchwork Clothing will be coming off the site mid-February. If you're trying to finish it up, then please keep reading until then.  I'll be making it available through the self-publishing markets so that it is in a place where people can still access it. 
2. A new serial is coming. I'm currently in the outlining phase of the story and am looking forward to a more consistent schedule than I had for A Wolf in Patchwork Clothing.  If you would like a sneak peek of the first chapter then click on the link for "The Nurse Summers Serials" My goal is to tell this characters story entirely through the serial format.  
3. My first full length novel will be out through self-publishing as well. For those of you who have read A Wolf in Patchwork Clothing, it's the modern day story of Patch.  This is where he started for me, and his story is one that I have planned for four books.  
4. Lots of work editing and finishing novels.  As of right now I have three half written novels that need to be finished. I also have two finished novels that need to be edited.  One of them is the one from item number three, while the other is one I'm looking to submit to traditional publishing houses.  
5. There will also be plenty of other short stories that I will be playing with over the next year as I try out new ideas.  Sometimes they work while at other times they are little more than a train wreck.  But stay tuned as I might share pieces of them here.  
6. I will also be trying to get pieces that I think will sell into magazines and homes throughout the year.  The goal is a submission a week, this will be tough, but if you're going to set a goal go big. 

This is where I'm at right now as of January 1st.  I've already made my first submission for the year.  I'm still working and hope that you'll join my on my journey by finding my author page on Facebook. I'm also on Twitter where I post notices about updates to the blog.