Two Chapters and an Oops

cover design by Farah Evers

 
I'm so stoked about being close to finishing Paddy Plays in Dead Mule Swamp. I've completed chapters 29 and 30!

However, I spent most of yesterday afternoon fixing a big oops! I'm sure the beta-readers would have caught it, but I'm just as glad to have found it earlier. I've been tracking the book time in a spreadsheet, but hadn't gotten it up to date for quite a few chapters. For some reason, I decided to do that yesterday. Good thing.

I discovered that in the current week of book time I had Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Friday, Saturday. Oops! Well, there were no spare days in there to move action to, so I had to squish two of them together because Saturday had to be Saturday. I succeeded, but the lesson is, keep track of this stuff as you go.

Unless, of course, you are writing a book with a time warp. I'm not.

Tonight is my writing group, and I'm way back on Chapter 11 with reading to them. That's ok too. I appreciate any feedback they have.

You can buy book 1, News from Dead Mule Swamp, for only 99¢ at Smashwords, or Amazon

Paddy Plays in Dead Mule Swamp - Chapter 28

cover design by Farah Evers

 
I'm trying really hard to stay focused with the hope of finishing the first draft of Paddy Plays in Dead Mule Swamp in the next couple of weeks. Then it will go to some beta-readers, and come back to me for revisions.

I'm also hoping to be gone hiking for part of May, so I want this to all be set in motion before I leave. If the feedback is in when I return from my hike I'll be able to do the editing, and formatting and have this book ready for a June 1 release.

This seems feasible, if I keep writing, so I hope you'll excuse me now!

Sorry... I think we are too far along to be giving excerpts any more. If you are just finding this journal, go back a few posts to find samples from most of the chapters.

You can buy book 1, News from Dead Mule Swamp, for only 99¢ at Smashwords, or Amazon

Paddy Plays in Dead Mule Swamp - Chapter 27

cover design by Farah Evers

 
Rolling right along, but I've had trouble making time to write this week. In fact, I'm supposed to be working on something else right now.

I'm feeling the itch though. The end of this book is actually in sight. Unless the characters surprise me, everything plays out from here in just a few scenes.

I also uploaded new copies of News from Dead Mule Swamp to Smashwords and Amazon, to correct some typos and add the Library of Congress number.

We are getting close to where I probably shouldn't be posting excerpts, but I think we are fine just yet.

Here's an excerpt from Chapter 27:

    Star began, “I didn’t like that brother and...”
    “Hey, wasn’t that Dad’s truck?” Sunny interrupted with a loud voice, twisting to try to catch a better look at the black truck that had just sped past us, going south on Kirtland.
    “Can’t be,” said Star. “He said he was going back to Chicago, that he had to be at work today.”

You can buy book 1, News from Dead Mule Swamp, for only 99¢ at Smashwords, or Amazon

Paddy Plays in Dead Mule Swamp - Chapter 26

cover design by Farah Evers

 
At first, this chapter wasn't coming together. But I thought about it for a few days, and slowly the scenario came to me that made perfect sense to come up next.

It's now written out, and I'm still thinking it works pretty well. Because this story line is less linear than the one in News from Dead Mule Swamp, there are side issues that need to be dealt with. They seem extraneous to me, because I know where the story is going. However, I know the reader will not know the final outcome at this point. All the threads have to be followed.

I think the next few chapters are all set in my head.

Here's an excerpt from Chapter 26:

    “She was younger than I am. Not much, but it always seems like a lot when you are in school. She would sometimes tell me that she dreamed of having a pretty flower bed, or decorating a bedroom in pink for you two. As it was, you were lucky to have a bed instead of a mattress on the floor.”
    Star’s face was stony. “We’re not stupid little kids, you know. We’ve heard a lot of things this week. Talk about drug dealing. Why would we have to sleep on the floor if Mom had lots of drug money?”
    Paula took a breath. “OK,” she said. “I’ll be honest. You are old enough to hear the truth. But none of what I said was a lie. Not at all. Your mom loved you very much."

You can buy book 1, News from Dead Mule Swamp, for only 99¢ at Smashwords, or Amazon

Paddy Plays in Dead Mule Swamp- Chapters 24 and 25

cover design by Farah Evers

 
I've been dabbling at this all week, but finally had serious time to devote to writing. Mostly, this was a matter of word crafting, as I had a clear idea of what needed to happen.

So, I crafted, and typed and finally got to the end of the event. Total words, 2895. Whoa! Suddenly, I have two chapters. That's fine, the number of chapters is nothing important.

I'm currently reading a book by one of my favorite mystery authors, Rita Mae Brown. Now that I'm writing mysteries myself, I'm paying more attention to techniques of other writers. Some of her chapters are long and some are short. There's no rule for length. Personally, I try to have each chapter cover either one event or one day, or one emotional package, with something that either adds to the suspense, or perhaps to character development.

This block of words splits nicely into two sections.

Here's an excerpt from Chapter 25:

    Clearly, no one had been here for ages. The weeds grew tall and were unbroken around the sad, but once proud old building.
    On the opposite side of the road, the river side, an opening had formerly been cleared to the river. I thought it must have been done to provide river access to the house. A faint trail led through a swath of daisies and Queen-Anne’s lace. Paddy was already poking his way along it, and I followed him. Sure enough, the river was very close, and the bank had been cut to provide a sloping access to the water. If there had been a dock it was long gone, a victim of winter freezes and spring floods.

You can buy book 1, News from Dead Mule Swamp, for only 99¢ at Smashwords, or Amazon

Writing Outdoor Columns

entrance to the Little Eden Camp Nature Trail (photo by jhy)

 Although most of my entries lately have been about working on the Anastasia Raven mysteries, I am primarily (I think), an outdoor writer.

This week, I turned in my 69th monthly "Get Off the Couch" column for the Ludington Daily News, and my ninth weekly column for the Mason County Press.

The column in the newspaper has been fun to write, and a source of some local notoriety. People actually stop me in stores, or in a parking lot, to tell me they like my column. I hope a few of them are also telling the newspaper. Occasionally, when I introduce myself to someone they say, "Oh, I know you... you write that outdoor column." Now, there's a way to make a writer happy!

I've had no luck syndicating the Get Off the Couch Column, but I admit to being easily discouraged. Two rejections put me off that project. Writers have to be more determined than that. I'll work on it... maybe later.

This month, as I do every March, in the newspaper column, I reviewed hiking/adventure books, three this time. And this week's Mason County Press column will introduce readers to a short nature trail I stumbled upon a couple of weeks ago.

The Ludington Daily News columns are not available on-line, unless you subscribe to the paper. One collection of columns is currently available as an e-book, called Get Off the Couch with Joan, at Smashwords. The price is $1.89.

I'm formatting a second volume of humorous essays entitled Fall Off the Couch Laughing. It will be available soon.

Paddy Plays in Dead Mule Swamp - Chapter 23

cover design by Farah Evers

 
Today I read chapters 19 through 22 over, without interruption, and guess what? Chapter 20 is finally smooth and fits well with the rest of the narrative. The little changes I've worked in over the last couple of weeks have fixed it. Thank goodness!

So, I moved on to Chapter 23. It was one that was all set in my mind as to what should be in it, so there were no false starts, and no wavering. I just needed to accomplish two things, with good dialogue and descriptions.

I think, from now on till the end, I know exactly what needs to happen. However, this is writing. I could still be surprised.

Here's an excerpt from Chapter 23:

    He paused and shifted his weight. “You manage to hear a lot for a newcomer. That’s pretty old news.”
    “I’m not trying to pry. I did start asking about Angelica, just to be able to talk to the girls without putting my foot in my mouth.” I grinned. “And people tell me all kinds of things.”
    “That’s probably true enough.”
    “So, do you want to tell me about it?”
    “There’s not much to tell. We used to have a pop machine back then, and a candy counter. Larry walked over here one evening, looking to buy a can of pop, but the machine was out of order. I think he must have been high on something because he went berserk.”

You can buy book 1, News from Dead Mule Swamp, for only 99¢ at Smashwords, or Amazon