I’m working on my first novel. It’s a science fiction book. The working title is “October 4th”. I won’t get to detailed about what’s it’s about or who’s in it, but I can tell you this, I’m going to finish the first draft before the month is over. I started the book last summer and I set it aside to work on some short stories to enter into some writing contests. Now I’m going full blast on this book, because I’m tired of saying I’m going to write a book. I want to say I wrote a book, now buy it in triplicate. Read it if you want, or use it to prop up a table with uneven legs, whatever. I hope you will want to read it though.
Last year a friend of mine let me borrow a book called “On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft” by Stephen King. If you haven’t read it, you should. He is one of my favorite writers. I also like Cormac McCarthy and Chuck Palahniuk. But I’m getting off topic here. The book gave me two good rules to become a better writer. Read a lot. Write a lot. It seems like a no-brainer, but TV and video games are seductive mistresses. It also explained about how he got his start in writing and what you might expect if you try to become a writer.
Now I’ve been reading Writer’s Digest. There are lots of good articles and links in there to help explain the world of publishing and hints on how to write better. Usually I read it when I feel a little mental blockage or just to rest my pen. It helps get me pumped to read about other people’s successes. Some of the articles seem more directed towards people who have already been published, but that’s OKÂ too.
I’m going to try and finish chapter five of my book tonight. Only about five more pages to go. Before I go I’d like to recommend another book, The Road by Cormac McCarthy. It won a Pulitzer in 2007 for fiction. Read it. Goodnight.
