Tag Archives: fiction

1,000 Word Minimum

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Today was the first warm day in awhile.  I spent the first part of my day hiking in the mountains.  I wrote a piece of poetry up by the waterfall that I hope to upload in the next few days.  I love the feeling of completely exerting my body.  Afterwards, I came to my coffee shop to write.  The coffee never tasted so great.

Today is my 16th day of writing my new novel.  Take a look at my daily word totals:

8 April 2012: 600 Words
9 April 2012: 2,700 Words
10 April 2012: 4,300 Words
11 April 2012: 4,800 Words
12 April 2012: 8,700 Words
13 April 2012: 9,900 Words
14 April 2012: 10,700 Words
15 April 2012: 11,600 Words
16 April 2012: 13,800 Words
17 April 2012: 15,900 Words
18 April 2012: 17,500 Words
19 April 2012: 20,000 Words
20 April 2012: 21,100 Words
21 April 2012: 22,100 Words
22 April 2012: 25,300 Words
23 April 2012: 26,200 Words

I am now squarely in the second third of the novel.  At this point, I will not let myself stop until I finish.  I have decided to implement a 1,000-word minimum rule.  Even if my day is packed, I will schedule time to write and pump out 1,000 words.  I am so thoroughly enjoying where I am in the novel that the past few days have had a few 2,000-word writing binges.  Whatever it takes.

Today’s update includes musical influences.  I always listen to music while I am writing stories (not poetry).  I listen to music mainly for it’s lyrical content, but I won’t deny that it needs to sound good.  Some music, although not much, I listen to remind myself of certain ideals and to rejuvenate my mind.

Flobots
This band is probably the most influential band I have ever listened to.  Their music is political and angry in nature.  I have been to two of their concerts and was completely blown away by their talent and passion.  Nothing moved be more than when thousands of people screamed as one the lyric, “We the people did not want war.”

Air
I first came across Air while listening to the soundtrack to my favorite movie: Lost in Translation.  I borrowed one of their CD’s from the local library and was in awe of their originality.  For my most recent novel, their Talkie Walkie CD is almost always on in the background.  They are well worth a listen.

Early to Write

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I woke up early on a Sunday so that I could get to my coffee shop by nine in the morning.  Now it is ten in the morning and I have already written 1,000 words.  I used to call myself a nighttime writer.  I know I enjoy writing overnight, but that is far to limiting.  If I can control my schedule so that I write every single day, i shouldn’t matter whether it is dawn, dusk, noon, or midnight.  I just need to write.  I finally teaching myself this lesson.

I hope to get past 25,000 words today.  With a goal of 70,000-80,000 words, that brings me to about a third.  The novel is on pace to fall within that range.  I have several spots in my mind where this story could end.  Once I’m within the range, I’ll have to pick on of those points and go with it.  In all my years of watching movies and reading books, I’ve come to find that that best stories don’t really have an end.  The best stories are snapshots of a people’s lived during interesting times–while acknowledging that there was plenty that came before and plenty still to come.  I intend on incorporation that idea in my novel.

Time for some viral videos…

There is a moment when near future technology suddenly become present-day technology.  That moment, when you realize what you world is capable of, is one that I will always try to capture in my work.  That moment of complete awe and envy is a strange emotion that we all feel all too often now.  It’ll only get more and more intense over the decades.

If you haven’t caught the theme yet–I am addicted to near-future technology.  This video depicts the sunny side of the near future…but I still can’t look away.  Having a fully interactive world is something that I can’t entirely wrap my head around.

Write Every Single Day

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Today was full of events.  We went up to the mountains as a family to celebrate my niece’s birthday.  Still, I found the time to write.  Even if it was only 1,000 words, I have found just how important it is to write every single day.  I am now at 22,000 words and am loving where the novel is heading.  When my schedule opens back up (likely tomorrow), I suspect that I will write a huge amount.  Nothing is better than seeing a novel take on a life all its own.  This is why I write.

I went to a poetry slam that got canceled last night.  I spent some time with the organizer and realized I really need to try slam poetry.  I may look into a way to record myself and upload the poetry onto this site. More on that later.  In the meantime, some more “Influences.”  This time, in the form of books.

Feed by M. T. Anderson
Near future literature is unbeatable.  Feed is the untilmate warning to the future of technology.  Almost weekly, I stumble across a news article that reminds me of something from this book.  Anderson did his research.  The future of our world will be incredible, but impossible moral questions are waiting to jump up just around the corner.  I want to be able to form a story the way Anderson is able to.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy
I have never finished this book.  Both times that I tried to read it were interrupted by school work.  I plan on reading it later this year.  Nevertheless, it has already influenced me greatly.  McCarthy is the author who made me realize you need to find your own style of writing.  While exploring that, I realized that stream of consciousness is how I need to write.  Following the norm is almost never the way to go.

Essay Update

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I am still working hard on my new novel–11,000 words and counting.  Now that I am back home, I am going to have to figure out exactly how to use my time so that I continue writing.  After attending church today, I felt compelled to write about my experience.  Over the last hour or two, I wrote the essay below.  I hope you enjoy it.

Community Demands
My mind is wired to see social structures.  I can look at a group of people and identified the power structure quite easily.  In this piece, I compare the communities of the two cities that I have lived in.  It is, at the same time, a very personal piece about belonging.

Poetry Update

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I spent a good deal of today writing updates for all of my blogs and reading “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.”  I just finished writing a piece of poetry–which is linked below.  Tonight I will be working more on the new novel.  I hope to get to 10,000 words before Saturday–when I return home from this strange mini-vacation.  I will also be updating many of the “Blog” sections of this website with more recent pieces.  Enjoy the poetry in the meantime.  I have to run.  It’s Margarita night!

The Coffee House
I do most my writing at several different coffee houses around town.  Over the seven or so years that I have been going to coffee houses, I’ve seen a change.  It’s much harder to meet someone new when there are always electronics involved.

Novel Length

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I don’t have an update for you today.  I promise I’ll get some sort of update for you tomorrow.  Today, instead, I want your thoughts on novel length.  I’ve spent the last three days in solitude and have pumped 5,000 words into a new novel.  With the creative juices flowing, I don’t plan on limiting what comes out.  Still, I can’t help but think about the possibility of getting something published some day.  With that in mind, I know full well that novel length is important.

My first novel was far too long for a Young Adult Novel (or any novel by someone who isn’t already published).  Fire Saviors was 123,000 Words.  My second novel–The Saints–was a publishable length at 76,000 Words.  Too bad it was a sequel.  My third novel was far too short for literary/mystery fiction: Only 46,000 Words.  Although I don’t consider word length all that important compared to content, I know it plays a role.  In order to give my new novel  a solid chance at being picked up, I know it needs to fall within a certain length.

I’m pretty sure that length is about 70,000-100,000.  Ideal length is somewhere around 70,000-80,000.  I want to know what everyone else thinks on the matter.  Do you even think about things like this when you write?  I don’t actively think about selling my work as I write.  I know what I need to do to get published on most levels…I just can’t bring myself to write for anyone but me.  That’s why I have a blog that may–some day–make it harder for a publisher to take me on.

~Richard

Flash Fiction Update

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I’ve started working on what could possibly be a new novel.  It feels good to be immersed in a project once again.  I’ve already pushed 1,500 words into it.  There are a lot of things that I will be practicing with piece.  I’ll keep you updated on its progress.  In the meantime, a new flash fiction.

The Booklet
Writing about Alzheimer’s has entered the mainstream over the past decade.  It’s a difficult subject for more reasons than the obvious.  Since it’s nearly impossible for those suffering from the disease to document their experience, I cannot help but wonder.

Poetry Update

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Here are the poems I promised.  I am now in my hometown of Greeley, Colorado for a full week. There is a great coffee shop here called Zoe’s where I will probably spend most my week.  If all goes according to plan, I will update this site with new material every day this week.


For Jaccob
When I was 17, I discovered that my girlfriend was pregnant.  We aborted.  I’ve written a lot on this experience–simple trying to understand what had happened and what I was feeling.  This is the first poem on wrote on the experience.

Forsaken Quest
In the months that followed my high school graduation, I realized it would be much harder to make new friends.  Simultaneously, I was frightened that I could not keep a friend for very long.  The combination was frightening.

Hour Upon the Stage
I wrote this after my final high school play.  The scene that this poem describes is still one of the most vivid in my memory.  I did my best to capture the moment in detail. I always used poetry for romance.  It wasn’t until college that I found other uses for poetry–making my writing much better.  I like romantic poetry–but there’s only so much you can do with it.

Flash Fiction Update

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Happy Easter Weekend everybody. I’m about to head off to my friend’s 22nd birthday, so I will keep this quick.  I will probably be updating a lot in the week ahead.  I am staying in my hometown for a week to take care of the dogs while my parents are in Connecticut.  A lot of alone time means a lot of updating.  Also, I went through all my old poems and pulled out four that I will put up here soon (probably tomorrow or Monday).  Until then, enjoy the new flash fiction.

Dear Blue
While on vacation, I joined my friends at a coffee shop for several hours.  This piece of flash fiction came out of left field after my fourth cup of coffee.  It is one of my more unique pieces.  I don’t usually deal in personification, but I love this flash fiction nonetheless.

New Flash Fiction: Thirst

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Thirst
In order to practice writing characters that do not remind me of me, I need practice writing situations that I do not normally encounter.  I Miss You, Dad was a way to practice the complex emotions of dealing with death.  Thirst is my attempt to enter the mind of an addict.  I hope to write several more flash fiction pieces like this soon.  I need the practice.