Twenty Thousand Words

Before I get into another informal blog summarising the goings on with my writing and general life happenings, I wanted to make a note of the passing of a family member. My Uncle Phil, my mothers brother, passed away recently and has now been laid to rest. While I am not always close with my family, Uncle Phil's death came as a shock that struck everyone deeply. I wish his wife and his children as much peace as I can during such a horrific time. Tell your family you love them, it can happen to anyone at anytime. I remember Uncle Phil's room back from when I was child, it had pictures and posters from magazines of pin-up girls and motorbikes all over the wall. I remember him wearing baseball caps every time I saw him, his mopeds in the front garden and I saw the tenderness in my Mums eyes when she spoke about him. 

So before I get into anything unimportant like writing stories, I just wanted to wish a restful sleep to Uncle Phil, whatever does come after, I hope you've found some peace.

Writing.

I have been cracking away at the third book for the Bulldog series recently, having found a structure for the multi-viewpoints final book, I was able to narrow down the flow of chapters. It is working in the sense that I am now writing one characters story from beginning to end, before going back and breaking this up with another characters story (start-to-finish) to intercept their chapters. At the moment I am working on Franks chapters, a character I have grown to admire for his steadfast acceptance of his new found persona in the war-zone. This excitement in finding the correct path to finish the book has got me 20k words in a matter of weeks, I know that doesn't sound like a lot but trust me for defeating writers block, this was a grand haul of work. 

I don't know who I will target next, I feel an affinity for finishing up characters arch's that I have been writing for a while and in that vein of thought, I am leaning towards Victoria and Baba. My rebellious companions. They are in a much deeper and convoluted dilemma to Frank, so telling their story through that bio-monstrous warfare struggle will be a pleasure once the words start coming. I have two other people that I need to write after, but I don't want to give much else away. 

I did have the conversation with my wife about getting all these books compiled into one collection, like a big old chunky compendium of the Bulldog Series and slap some fancy paid for cover atop. Maybe, I go back and forth on the idea of pooling these books into one but it might be a good little gift for people like Tan and my Mum who have been massively helpful in ghost reading my books for me. Some of my harshest critics those two, but sometimes I need to hear the criticism, every writer does.

Other goings on.

I have just finished a short course on Canine Enrichment, it will help me keep the dogs at the rescue happy and healthy while I spend time with them. I learnt a lot from a course that was so cheap, I would recommend them but honestly I have had some bad experiences with courses online so I don't want to drop anyone into something similar. I am hoping I can take this newfound knowledge and put some of it into practice for the dogs, after all, rescue isn't just finding a home. Its teaching a dog that the world is safe for them again.

Otherwise not much else to talk about, Bulldog 3 is coming along nicely, I have finished another book for the year; The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck, and now have moved onto Robert Greens 48 Laws of Power. Meanwhile I purchased a book on writing your first screen play, so that might be a fun exercise.

That's all, I cant think of much else to talk about. It has been a difficult few weeks for my family and while I know the world is a hard place. Take a minute sometimes and try to do the nice thing. Lets round off some of the sharp edges the last decade has given us all.

Stay safe, stay warm and stay out of the litter box you mouldy cabbages.