Category Archives: Writing

Adam Of Jerusalem, Church History Novels, Doctor Luke's Assistant, Mark Twain, miscellaneous, reading, Short Stories, Writing

Writing, Blogging, and Cleaning, Oh My!

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Lots of activity going on in my household right now, considering I’m the only one there right now. My mother-in-law is now in an assisted living facility near us, and my wife is away for a couple of weeks, helping our daughter and her family move. I was there the last couple of weekends with her. Their truck loading days are today and tomorrow. I would go and help, but with my shoulder not yet fully healed, I decided not to.

So, batching it, what have I been up to?

Writing, for one thing. I’m back on Adam Of Jerusalem, first book in my church history novel series, and the prequel to Doctor Luke’s Assistant. I wrote three evenings this week, adding about 4,000 words to what I had before, and last night getting to the first plot point. While I’ve known for quite a while the story I want to tell with this book, I wasn’t sure what scenes I would have, or how I would get that story told. Despite that, my writing speed is good. Well, last night was a little slower. I added only 1,000 words, possibly because I wasn’t feeling well. Went to bed early.

Another thing occupying my time—so far in just a small way—is blog maintenance. By that I mean I want to go back to old posts and clean up the categories those posts are tagged with. Some I didn’t tag at all, while others were tagged in a way that doesn’t make sense given how my blog has progressed. This is busywork, but I think needed. I have way too many categories and would like to trim it some. Hopefully after this work, the number will be.

Third, I’m doing cleaning in the house. This has been the slowest of the three things in the post title. I’m getting a little done every day. I ironed some shirts that came out of the wash a month or more ago with wrinkled areas, but I haven’t yet put the iron and ironing board away. I disposed of a pile of mail, but haven’t yet filed the things that need filing. I’ve cleaned one or two things off the kitchen table each day, but it’s still a mess. I’ve made a good start on decluttering all my paper, and have tossed many, many sheets, yet still have piles of paper where there shouldn’t be.

Through all of this, I’m still trying to lose weight, and have spent a lot of time walking, most days at noon and some in the evenings at home. I’m at my lowest weight for three or four years, though still have 35 pounds to go to get to the upper end of my target weight range. Ate properly Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday this week, then kind of lost it last night. Back on track today, I think.

So what do I have in store for this Memorial Day weekend? Writing for sure. By the end of the day Monday I’d like to be a minimum of 7,500 words further along. I believe that’s achievable.

I have more cleaning to do. I’ll progress through that slowly, but by the end of the day Monday: the kitchen table will be clean; the kitchen floor will be mopped; the unfinished piles of decluttering remainders will be gone through and trashed or stowed. Also, all the oak pollen strings will be swept, raked, blown, or by hand put into a pile, and moved to the compost pile. A few weeds will be pulled as well.

I also hope to go through a minimum of 100 of my oldest blog posts not yet touched and clean-up the categories. I did 25 the other day. I believe 100 should be no problem.

For what it’s worth, I plan on some reading for relaxation. I’m on the last 70 pages of Mark Twain’s short stories. I hope to finish that this weekend as well. I believe that’s possible.

I’ll report back with a blog post, probably on Tuesday instead of Monday, and let you know how I did.

Adam Of Jerusalem, Church History Novels, Documenting America, Writing

Hoping for Some Intense Work Time

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I mentioned some time ago, in a couple of different posts, that we—that is, my wife and I—had some major life decisions to make, and that those being left unfinished was weighing down on me. Slowly but surely those life decisions are being made; we are moving beyond them.

So, what that means is I’m about at the point where I can begin to concentrate on writing again.

Last night I was able to spend about an hour on the next volume of Documenting America. I’ll need about two weeks of that kind of research to be able to program the book, knowing how many chapters and what will go in most of the chapters. I won’t write anything on it until I finish my current book.

Which is Adam of Jerusalem, prequel to Doctor Luke’s Assistant, and the first in my church history novel series. It’s been at least a month since I added anything to it. I’d love to get in a pace of at least 7,000 words a week.

All of these life decisions are not yet made. I’m going to be calling on one of them as soon as I post this. But enough has been decided that I now feel good about things.

miscellaneous, Writing

Overwhelmed and Late

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Yes, that’s how to describe me of late: overwhelmed by life events, and late making posts to this blog. I won’t go into details; they wouldn’t interest you anyway. Let’s just say that, until several major life decisions or events take place, being regular with my blog appears to be difficult. Such as missing posts yesterday and last Friday.

At the same time, I’m not finding much time to write. I’ll get back to it eventually, but for right now, writing has to take back stage to simply living.

At the moment, I can’t see the trees for the forest.

Adam Of Jerusalem, America, Christianity, Church History Novels, Documenting America, research, Writing

Researching on Two Tracks

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At the moment, I’m not doing any writing, though I might write some over the weekend. While waiting for the proof copy of The Gutter Chronicles, Volume 2 to arrive, and while I do a small amount of marketing on that, I’m researching. And, I’m researching two different things.

My novel-in-progress, Adam of Jerusalem, will be the first in my church history novel series. I already have #2 and #4 written; about time I went backwards and wrote the prequel. It will be about a man named Adam, who is from Jerusalem, who wants badly to be a scribe in Israel. He came to that career choice somewhat late, and is ten years older than his fellow scribes-in-training. He receives an assignment to gather the teachings of the recently crucified Jesus, with the intent of using them to discredit His followers. He does this with diligence.

What Adam is preparing will become what has become known as the source document for the gospels of Matthew and Luke, the so called quelle, or “Q”. Scholars since the 1820s have theorized that there was some kind of written document that both Matthew and Luke relied on, in addition to the earlier gospel of Mark, to write their gospels. The trouble is, no copy of Q has ever been found. That, and for various technical/textural reasons, a large fraction of biblical scholars believe Q never existed. My reading has convinced me that more scholars think it did exist than think it didn’t exist.

I read a lot about this over a year ago, as I was beginning to program the novel. But, that was somewhat long ago. I felt that I needed to re-read some of that, and look at a few other scholarly thoughts about Q. That’s one thing I’m doing now, in preparation of getting back to my writing.

The other thing I’m doing is reading source documents for my next non-fiction book, Documenting America – Making the Constitution Edition. In past years I’ve read some of the Federalist Papers, those wonderful articles by Jay, Hamilton, and Madison defending the then-as-yet not adopted Constitution. I’m sure I’ll be making good use of them in my book, but I wanted to expand from there.

My intent for the book is to cover the period from the adoption of the Articles of Confederation in 1778 (or was it 1781? Gotta lock that down) to 1789 when the Constitution was ratified and became the law of the land. In the appropriate volume of The Annals of America I have found some excellent excerpts of related documents, and lists of additional sources I can track down and use, many of them out of copyright and thus easier for me to find and use.

My problem with research, especially the type I’m doing on DA-MCE, is that it can become a nightmare of over-researching, of trying to find that one more document when I already have four of five, of just reading on for enjoyment instead of stopping when I find what I need.

Yes, research is enjoyable to me. It’s like unfettered learning; improving my mind because I want to, not because I have to.

Tonight, my main task is to document what reading I’ve done in the Annals and begin to plan chapters of the book. I’ve already read six to ten documents, and made decisions on what to use or not; time to get that documented. Then, tomorrow night, I get back to reading.

Unless, of course, I get another case of Sideline Syndrome, and just have to get back to writing again.

Adam Of Jerusalem, Bible study, Documenting America, non-fiction, The Gutter Chronicles, Writing

My Current Writing Activities

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So, with my suspected hacking dealt with (see my addition to my last post), I can get back to other things, such as telling you all about my writing.

I created and made the cover for this one; so, if it doesn’t work, I’ll gladly take the blame.

I published The Gutter Chronicles, Volume 2. It went live on Amazon last Monday, live on Smashwords last Tuesday, live on Barnes & Nobel (via Smashwords) on Wednesday, and will soon be available in print. I submitted it to CreateSpace yesterday. This morning I got the e-mail saying my cover needed to be tweaked. I was able to do that today, and I believe it will be approved. Next, I’ll review it on-line for formatting, while at the same time ordering a proof copy. I don’t want to publish it without going through a physical proof copy. This isn’t a real book release post. I’ll do that when I get the print copy out there.

So far it’s sold: 1 copy, from a faithful reader who liked the first volume. Next, I’m going to send an e-mail to our CEI people in Arkansas, finding out how many people want a print copy. I’ll send out a couple of FB posts with the same message. With those, I’ll also see if anyone wants a copy of Volume 1 at the same time. I’m hoping to get 50 to 60 sales that way, although that’s probably optimistic.

Besides that, I have two main works-in-progress: Adam of Jerusalem, a prequel in my Church History Novels series; and Documenting America: Making the Constitution Edition. Both are begun.

With AoJ, I started writing it. This was back at least three months ago. I completed three chapters, and set it aside to simmer a while. The simmering time is up, and I anticipate getting back into the writing before long, certainly within a week.

With DA–MCE, I’ve been reading for research for the last two weeks, or a little longer. I’m reading in The Annals of America, getting an idea of what source documents are available, and refreshing and expanding my knowledge of the events of those times, 1783 to 1789. I’m learning quite a lot, and enjoying it.

From here on, I’ll work on the two simultaneously. When I feel like writing, it will be AoJ. When I feel like researching and reading, it will be DA–MCE. I think, in a month or two, one of them will prove to be the more enjoyable and will start to get more of my time. Although, my plan is to finish and publish AoJ first.

I have a couple of other things I’m doing as well. I’ve been brainstorming my Bible study Sacred Moments, and may try to expand that for publishing—not right away, but the brainstorming will continue. Then, I’ve been reading for research in one of my Thomas Carlyle projects, the Chronological Composition Bibliography. I have no plans for this except to read a little here and there, just to keep my mind sharp and not lose sight of the project, which I estimate is 60-70 percent complete.

So, there you have it. Hopefully in a week I’ll be able to report the print version of Norman Gutter’s activities is available. In a month or two I’ll let you know how other projects are going.

technology woes, Writing

I was Hacked Again

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Yup, same thing as in January. Someone, a bad person or people and/or their bots were able to change my user name and password, locking me out. Spent almost an hour and a half between chats and phone calls and got it restored. However, that shoots my plans for the day. Tomorrow I may try to do the blog I was going to do today.

America, Documenting America, Harry Potter, miscellaneous, self-publishing, The Gutter Chronicles, Writing

Back To Work

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Yes, how sad it is: The babysitting is over. We spent a great time from Wednesday evening until Saturday evening watching our three oldest grandchildren. But we said goodbye to them just after 6:00 p.m. on Saturday and made the drive home.

Sunday I just rested. That is, I didn’t go to church. I had no responsibilities there, so I decided to sleep in and take it easy. Fixed a nice breakfast, made a Wal-Mart run in the afternoon. Prepared a simple but nice supper. Went to bed by 11:00 p.m.

So, how did I spend my time while watching the kids and yesterday? Thursday and Friday mornings I did work for the office. I had my work laptop with me, and connected to our system via a VPN. I kept up with e-mails, made calls and received calls on one project, and stayed in the know. Afternoons I began reading The Gutter Chronicles: Volume 2 for the third time, mainly to look for redundancies, but also for typos and better wording. I read Thursday, Friday, and Sunday, and typed the edits Sunday afternoon. I hereby declare it ready for publishing.

Also on Sunday afternoon, I started and completed my mother-in-law’s income taxes, Federal and State. She doesn’t owe anything, so I don’t know if I’ll file the forms or not. I’ve done her taxes for 16 years now.

Also on Sunday, I began reading for research for the next book in my Documenting America series. It will be on the making of the Constitution. I took the right volume from the Annals of America set with me to Oklahoma City, but found I couldn’t concentrate on it enough to read. But last night I did read in it. I scanned a letter from John Adams, found it germane to the book, and marked it to be included. Next I started on a long piece by Noah Webster, a book excerpt. I’m pretty sure I’ll use it in my book, but it’s long and rambling, and I need to know it much better before I know exactly how I’m going to use it. Having begun work on this book, I’ll have to start a writing diary for that. I shall do so on my noon hour.

The other thing I did, or actually my wife and I did, was to finish reading aloud The Prisoner of Askaban. We each read this separately some years ago, but decided to re-read them together. Actually, it wasn’t so much a conscious decision as it was a falling into it. When the grandkids were here last month, we read some of The Chamber of Secrets to them. We then finished the book on our own after they left, and it just seemed natural to pick up the next volume and read it. Whether we go on or not we shall see. I have much other reading I want to do, so my choice will be to take a break from the Harry Potter books.

There you have my report on my stewardship of time for the last five days. Hopefully, this week will be equally productive.

family, The Gutter Chronicles, Writing

Joyfully Babysitting

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Yes, the wife and I are babysitting the three older grandchildren, while their parents have some engagements that required both of them. It’s been a great couple of days, and the end is not yet. I’m working half-days while we are sitting.

So, I wasn’t able to get a real post written and uploaded for today. Once I finish my work for the day, I shift to writing tasks. My main one is re-reading The Gutter Chronicles: Volume 2 in a rapid manner. Rather than looking for structural edits, line edits, or fixing typos (all of which I’ll do if needed), I’m looking for duplication. When I read it aloud to Lynda, I noticed some areas that seemed repetitious—such as repeating something about a character three or four chapters apart, something that only needs to be mentioned once in the book.

I’ll be back with a new post on Monday, possibly a writer interview.

miscellaneous, self-publishing, The Gutter Chronicles, Writing

The Best Laid Plans

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I had hoped to take time yesterday afternoon to write a blog post for today. Alas, obligations and other things took time away from me, and I didn’t get it done.

I did manage to finish reading The Gutter Chronicles, Volume 2 to my wife. She loved it, and laughed at all the right places. Then I typed the edits from the second round of editing. I decided to print it once more and read it once more, with as few interruptions as possible. I feel I have some duplication, and that I need some additional character descriptions. I should be able to do that this week.

I also managed to read a good part of a book proposal I’m reviewing for a fellow writer, a retired missionary who is part of our church. I have a little more to do, which should happen tonight. That obligation will then be complete.

So, no blog post today, except for this excuse for a blog post. I hope to have a writer interview for you on Friday.

Adam Of Jerusalem, Bible study, Church History Novels, The Gutter Chronicles, Writing

2nd Quarter 2018 Plans

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As I’ve tried to make a habit, after reporting sales for a quarter, I then look at my writing plan for the year and see how I’m doing, and if I plan to make any changes. First, here is my writing to-do list as posted on January 5, 2018, in the order I planned to do them.

  • Finish The Gutter Chronicles, Vol. 2. Finish by the end of February; publish by the end of April.
  • Finish Adam Of Jerusalem by the end of the year; publish in 2019.
  • Begin work on Documenting America: Constitution Edition. I hope to be working on this by October.
  • Write “Tango Delta Foxtrot”. At present I’m not going to put a publishing target date on the list.
  • And, one other item, which is really planning for 2019: Decide on which of my Bible studies to publish in 2019.The other things on the list don’t have any deadlines in the second quarter. I plan to move next to Adam of Jerusalem. I’m a few chapters in to it, and I know the story I want to tell (i.e., it’s somewhat planned-out in my brain). If I can get enough time to put to this, I could actually finish it by summer. Time, however, is in short supply these days. Time to write, that is.

So, this is my 2nd quarter to-do list.

As you can see, it wasn’t an ambitious to-do list. But it considered where my circumstances in life stood, and what I thought I could realistically get done. Only one item was listed for the first quarter: Finish The Gutter Chronicles, Vol. 2 by the end of February. I actually completed it around mid-March, so missed it by two or three weeks. That wasn’t bad. It’s now in the editing phase, and I should have that done in just a few days. So, publishing by the end of April, as in my to-do list, is entirely possible.

  • Publish The Gutter Chronicles, Vol. 2 by the end of April.
  • Finish Adam Of Jerusalem by the end of the year; publish in 2019.
  • Begin work on Documenting America: Constitution Edition. I hope to be working on this by October. And, I will add to this, begin reading for research within the quarter.
  • I believe the first Bible study I’ll publish is Sacred Moments. I just finished reading a book for research, a book which, unfortunately, didn’t help all that month.

I’ll check back in against this list in early July.