Welcome to the End. . .

OF THE YEAR!!! (What? did you honestly think I meant the end of this blog? my life? the world as we know it. . . [AND I FEEL FINE!!!]) {Apologies to REM and DCTalk fans who are now be-bopping along humming the melody to the song, and because they can't remember the words. I know I can't, so it usually ends up coming out like "duh duh duh, duh, duh duh, Guerillas in Afghan a duh, duh duh duh duh duh duh Communist duh."}

No, Happy December 1st, all my lovely readers. And what that means is another NaNoWriMo has come and gone, and I have another book to edit. This time it's a Western, a tale of love and murder, of shoot outs and hang outs, a tale that the whole family can sit down and enjoy without worrying about having to close it when you come to an objectionable part.

Yes, after my last post (3 weeks ago, I KNOW, I'm sorry, see last post here in case you did not get a chance to read it) I managed to write almost the entire 50k in 20 days, instead of the normal 30 that everyone else seems to take. My word count as of yesterday morning was 50017, a measly 17 past the "required" goal. So, 5 years doing NaNo, 5 times hitting 50k minimum. I know there will need to be a revision before it is good enough for an agent to look at. Heck, it needs an ending because there are several ropes that I had been hanging on to until the end to tie up, one being the final showdown between the good guy and the bad guy (or is it the good guy and the good guy, I don't know right now, everything is convoluted right now and needs to be made as clear as Mississippi mud after a flood comes washing thru.)

So, now that I am in December, life settles back to normal, so to speak. I have Christmas shopping to do this month, as well as possibly a tree to put up (not sure about that one right now, need to discuss with the wifey). Plus, no doubt other things will pop up, but I am ready for them.

I will try to get a post up at least once a week thru the end of the year, including my 3rd annual New Year's Resolution blog, and my year in review.

Until we meet again, remember, two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights make a left.

I welcome your feedback on this or any of my other blogs. Please use the comments button below or shoot me an e-mail at childofking88@aol.com.

Motivation, Oh Motivation, where fort art thou?

Well, Happy Cats' Eye Everybody (11/11/11)!

Well, here we are almost 2 weeks into my sixth annual quest for 50k that is known as NaNoWriMo, and I have a handle on what I am writing [futuristic western set in an alternate timeline, just your run of the mill book, ya know]!! I even have some ideas about what is going to happen and how to get there [lots of gunfights, hold ups, horse chases, you know typical western stuff]. BUT, I have written a total of 4,340 words as of right now.

I am supposed to have 18,333 as of midnight tonight to be on track :( Do you see my problem??

According to NaNoWriMo.org, I am on track to finish my book on MARCH 5, 2012!!! ZOMG! What in the world!

I started off the month with an idea for a totally different book based in my Sci-Fi world that I have written 3 novels in thus far, but that idea fizzled out after 479 words on day 1. Well, maybe fizzled isn't quite the right word, I just looked at where I had this book going and put it aside for a Non-NaNo book, since it would take longer than 30 days to work thru the idea and get it to where I would want it...

So, word count back to 0! But, you guys all know how this madman's mind works: put one idea out and another idea springs in to replace it. I am driving to work on the 4th and am listening to a podcast by two of my Facebook Friends, Scott Gardner and Michael Bailey, called "Tales of the Justice Society of America". Great Podcast, btw, totally worth 2 hours of your week, but I digress. They were discussing the ads that were prevalent in the JSA comics in the 70s and 80s, and they said "Slim Jim and Grit" just like that. And that was when the idea for a western came to me about a sheriff and his deputy who were known as "Slim Jim and GritS".

Okay, simple enough premise, right? I mean, I have watched hundreds of hours of Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Have Gun, Will Travel, plus several John Wayne Westerns and know what it takes to make things work.

But, this is when the problem started. . . I have to write 1667 words a day in a normal NaNo to get 50k by the end of November. Here it was, the 7th of November, and I was sitting on a GOLDMINE of 405 words when I was supposed to have 11,667... No biggie, right? I usually get up in the mornings during NaNo and get a good bulk of my days 1667 done. Why not get up earlier than normal and knock out 2000-2500 words before work.

UM, NO! Here it is the end of the week, and I have gotten up early twice (once 30 minutes after my alarm went off at 4, the other an hour after the alarm went off). And now I am at the end of my second week staring at needing 2283 words a day for the rest of the month just to get to 50k. I do plan on getting up early each morning, but for some reason "the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak"!

Does anyone know where my motivation went? If so, can you return it to me? I need it to write!!!

I welcome your feedback on this or any of my other blogs. Please use the comments button below or shoot me an e-mail at childofking88@aol.com.


Until we meet again, remember, two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights make a left.

Performance Anxiety

In a little more than 24 hours, I will be sitting getting my make-up on for my Milledgeville Players’ debut as Mr. Welch in “Damn Yankees”. Even as I type this, I feel the butterflies starting to come out of their cocoons in my stomach and starting to fly around. “But why?” You are probably asking. Well, this is my first non-Easter production role since high school, and I have to dance!

Yes, you read correctly, DANCE! Now, it may not be a Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers dance, but it is choreographed movement to music. And seeing as how I sometimes have problems walking, I am terrified about this. Especially the three foot jump a minute into the routine!

But enough whining about what I am worried about. I know that was not what you came to read. Since we started rehearsing for this play seven weeks ago (gosh, has it only been seven weeks), I have realized that community theater is a lot more involved than I had imagined. I have been doing the play at Freedom Church for the last five years, and it involved going to play practice one night a week for two hours, and so when I went in to audition, I thought that it would be roughly the same. That bubble was burst as soon as we were through with our auditions.
But, be that as it may, it has definitely been an experience! Never in a million years did I think that I would end up singing and dancing when I walked in to audition for a speaking role. Yet, here I am, preparing to sing my heart out for the opening number, then go and do my best to remember my lines and spots, and finally, sing the finale.

Having said that, there are still tickets available for the play, which runs this Wednesday thru Saturday at 8 pm each night and a Sunday matinee at 2 pm. You can get your tickets at milledgevilleplayers.org or by calling 478-314-4054. Look for me afterwards and tell me what you thought.

Until then, two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights make a left.

I welcome your feedback on this or any of my other blogs. Please use the comments button below or shoot me an e-mail at childofking88@aol.com.

The boulder hath been lifted. . . .

I know it's been some time since I last posted, but, I promise, it was not my fault. You see, there was this HUGE writer's block sitting in front of me, that had caused me to not even want to pick up a pen to write a check, much less anything regarding my hobby. Actually, a block does not do what was sitting in front of me justice. It was more like a boulder the size of Little Rock (ha ha, oh come on, you know that was funny, nice play on words, or something).

Then, something happened. I had been listening to http://www.pendantaudio.com/ for about a year or so, and every now and then, they have casting calls for positions on audio dramas. For those of you unfamiliar with audio dramas, it's where people either get together and record a script, or more chances than not, they record the lines that are assigned to their character and then a producer puts everyone's lines together and a story is formed, complete with sound effects and music. Anyway, about a month ago, an audition call went up for the Pendant original series named Seminar. I had auditioned for a few other parts in other Pendant productions, but had not been cast, but for some reason, had a good feeling about this one, and said to myself, "Why not? What's the worst that could happen? They don't accept me again?"

So, I submitted my audition lines, just like before, and waited. It was a long four days for the results to be broadcast on "This Week in Pendant", and at first, I thought that I had not gotten the role, because I thought they sent out scripts the day that the roles were announced. I even told my wife, "Well, that's another role I didn't get." But, surprise, surprise, surprise! When the casting call results were announced, there was my name being broadcast to play the villian in the audio drama!! I couldn't believe it. I had to rewind the broadcast three times to make sure I had heard right. When I was sure that it was really true, I actually SQUEED!

After that, it was if someone rolled the rock out of my way. I have completed my first audio drama script, which I submitted to Pendant for review for their Seminar series, and have landed a "walk-on" role in another Pendant production. I have started rewriting Valqis again. And I am thinking sometime in the next month or so, I am probably going to start my next Randolph Prescott novel.

In other news, The Milledgeville Players production of Damn Yankees (pardon the language, but that's the title) is scheduled to open at Russell Auditorium at Georgia College on August 17, 2011, and run thru August 21, 2011, and I will be in it, playing the part of Mr. Welch. So, If you want to see me sing, dance, and act, you can buy your tickets at http://www.milledgevilleplayers.org/ or by contacting 314-4054. Tickets are $15 dollars for regular admission, and $10 for college students or children 12 and under.

I would appreciate your attendance at the play if you are in the area (Macon/Warner Robins/Milledgeville). If you are interested in persuing voice acting, http://www.pendantaudio.com/ is a great place to get your start. Check out both the websites in the blog, and tell me what you think.

Until then, two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights make a left.

I welcome your feedback on this or any of my other blogs. Please use the comments button below or shoot me an e-mail at childofking88@aol.com.

I Have Returned From My Long Dormant Slumber For This....

A man lies face down on the dust floor, his face contorted in pain. His captors stand around him, mocking him, throwing stones at his broken body. One strikes him in the back, and he rolls onto his side and looks dully into the eye of the man who threw it, not really focusing on what has happened. The victor takes a step towards him and picks up a large rock and positions it over the man’s head. “Any last words?” the man asks, leering menacingly at his victim. “Yes,” the man says, tears beginning to fall, “I forgive you.”