Let the Write One In

As always, I have a lot of writing projects going on at once, though I am taking a new approach by only allowing myself to dedicate time to two specific projects rather than three or four as I usually do.  For me, that just doesn't work.  It's too difficult to spent the proper time with each project and then one gets terribly neglected and forgotten about.  Could you imagine having four children and completely forgetting about one of them?  You'd probably leave the poor thing in a shopping cart somewhere, and then what?

A world of pain, that's what.

Two at a time works fine with me.  I'm still working on Stronger Than Hate and I have begun the second draft of Through the In Between, Hell Awaits in hopes that I have the manuscript ready for a novel length competition with an April deadline.  So far I'm impressed with my own work, but then again I'm biased.  It's quite a violent and bizarre story, and I'm curious as to how it will be perceived.  I hope to work out a PDF--something I've never done before--of the second draft and send it to a few beta readers while I'm toiling away on the third draft.  I've never done that before with novel length work.  I really don't know how many people will be interested, but any feedback will help, and I want to get this thing polished before submitting to the comp.

Stronger Than Hate is coming along nicely.  I passed the 40K mark last week.  I didn't think this novella was going to make it past 30K, but it has feet and it's running wild.  I think it's becoming out of control enough to finally end, but who knows.  The shit's really hitting the fan for my protagonists.

I have so many stories that need to be written, but I just don't have the time.  There are folks out there who pop out five plus books a year, but that's not me.  It's a slow process that cannot be rushed.  After having a novella rejected a while back, I was given the opportunity to re-write it into a novel.  It's not a sure thing as far as being published with said press, but it's something I will be working on as soon as I am finished with one of the two projects I'm currently working on.  If I try and take on three projects someone is going to be left in the shopping cart at the store, and I don't want that to happen.

Cheers!