Reading, Writing, Truth

Mmmm - Nicholas Bate

New Writing Project(s)

I’ve got a new writing project to announce. After playing around with short form fiction for Dynamics GP I’ve decided to write some longer fiction. I had an idea for a novel that my daughter loved. She’s reads almost as much as I do and has become a good sounding board for ideas. Since this is my first foray into longer fiction it may end up as a novella (~40k words) or I may go all the way to novel length (~80k words).

We’ll see where the story takes me. I’m about 10k words in and it’s a lot more work than short stories but I’m still having fun. I haven’t decided on the indie versus traditional publisher route yet. We’ll see what the finished product looks like and how a big a hurry I’m in to get it out. First novels are usually pretty rough. I’ll have more as it progresses.
On another note, I’m working with Packt to try to pin down a new Dynamics GP book. We generally agree on the ideas but we’re struggling with timing versus release dates. If I hurry, I can get a GP 2013 based book out by Convergence 2013 in March but if I want to include Excel 2012 examples instead of Excel 2010, Excel’s release date will preclude having the book at Convergence.

So the debate is big sales splash on release but possibly shorter shelf life versus a launch at a smaller event (like the GPUG Summit) but a longer potential shelf life. We’re still debating.

The Shiver

The Shiver:
It goes by many names. The Tingle. The Aha. The Wow.
I call it The Shiver.
It’s that moment when you know you’ve written something good; something worthy of sharing. The words themselves aren’t anything special. They’re common words, words you’ve used before.
But this time it’s different. The words…they…you have no words to describe it. They. Just. Work.

Read the rest of the The Shiver

The Magical Last 100 Pages

There is something magical in the last 100 pages of a book. This is particularly the case with fiction. In my experience this magic holds true for everything from lap breakers, like World Without End at 1024 pages, to slim young adult novels like Amanda Hocking’s Hollowmen, a very fast 194 pages.

The last 100 should go faster than the rest of the book and not because the first part was interminable. For me, delivering in the last 100 pages forgives a multitude of sins.

100 pages seems to be right length to build up an ending without rushing it too much. When there are 15 pages left in the book and I’m worried that the author can’t wrap things up in time it usually means the ending is rushed and I’m not going to be happy. I want some build up. I want to see the ending coming even if don’t know what the end will be.

Spend a lot of time on those last 100 pages. They are the last thing we read and the last thing we remember.

You are a Writer–So Start Acting Like One

I write..a lot more than even I realize. I have regular monthly columns at MSDynamicsWorld.com and the Dynamics Community site. I have book that was a best seller for the publisher and a spin off. I’ve written six well received short stories with another one due soon. I’ve written more original blog posts than I can count…but I don’t think of myself as a writer.
I’m a CPA. I’m a consultant. Now Jeff Goins has made me realize that I’m a writer. I’m not a writer because I’ve done all of those things. I’m a writer, because I write.
Jeff was kind enough to give me an advance copy of his new book You Are A Writer (So Start Acting Like One).  I’ve mentioned before that Jeff’s previous book, The Writer’s Manifesto, is one book that I never archive from my Kindle. I think that You Are A Writer is the same type of book.
You Are A Writer is a short, easy read. It mixes kick in the pants inspiration with practical tips for getting writing done and getting your writing read. I ripped through it an evening and got up from the couch with a desire to go write something.
Even for people who don’t think of themselves as writers, much of this book applies to other creative endeavors. But, many people write more than they think. For example, a colleague was writing documentation for a project. When she got done, the documentation was 250 pages long. That’s the length of a book, but she doesn’t think of herself as a writer.
Whether you think of yourself as a writer or not, pick up a copy of You Are A Writer, you may be surprised.