Perfecting an art form

So the last couple of days I have been working on a novelette, something that I wrote around six years prior. As I edit and rewrite segments, I am amazed how much I have grown as a writer. Yes, I may have stalled with my projects but the fact remained that I endeavoured to at least write something . . . even if that something never saw the light of day. The good news is that my writing has matured and it will continue to do so with each new story.

Better still, it has given me the necessary confidence to at least try editing my stuff, and that counts for something.

I think I can? No... I know I can

I feel as if I had been on some winter slumber with my writing, and am now only coming out of hibernation. With summer just around the corner and a sudden increase of free time up my sleeve, complements of making the decision of taking a step back and let the company my family founded flourish, I will make the effort to write an treat it much like any profession - with the professionalism it deserves.

Besides, if my friend Erica can do it and be successful, so can I.

I know I can! I know I can! I know I can! I know I can!

Now that I got that out of the way, what's in store for the new year? For one, I'll be revisiting a few old tales and see if anything is salvageable, revise, rewrite and send off to the betas for a second opinion and publish. Does it mean I'll be going independent, like I did with Compromised, Exit Strategy and Cover Up? Yes and no, maybe. It's a toss up. If I can sell to the likes of a science fiction magazine or publisher specialising in short novels first, I will. I may also try independently too, so watch this space either way.

A story of a bygone era

There are moments where a writer does a story to such perfection that you end up in the character's shoes, and Richard Herman is that for me. I first picked up Warbirds when when I was a teen and had read every book he had written since, or so I thought I did. The Trash Haulers is new.

Captain Mark Warren and his crew are trash haulers, airlifting supplies and personnel on their C-130 Hercules, the workhorse of tactical airlift. 
Flying a Huey, the helicopter that symbolizes mobile warfare in Vietnam, Wilson Tanner is a Dust Off pilot who risks all to rescue the wounded. 
At Se Pang, Colonel Tran Sang Quan comes into conflict with inept superiors as they initiate the People’s Army of Vietnam’s long-planned General Offensive and Uprising. 
This is the beginning of the Tet Offensive. 
Both sides face more than the enemy as superior officers manoeuver for political advantage, and where cowardice, prejudice and treachery infiltrate the ranks – on both sides. In the air and on the land, raw courage, tenacity, and honor are the marks of humanity that deal with the wreckage of war. 

The above is from Amazon, which you can find it here. While the characters almost appear one-dimensional throughout, the point of the story is to give the reader a glimpse into the lives of the men and women who had done their part during Vietnam. Nowhere in the story did Richard Herman glorify war, and how can you when you are using a premise of lifting wounded out of a war zone? Look, it's not as character driven as his earlier works, but it was a story told to perfection.

Whatever happened With Prejudice?

A while ago, I thought it be a brilliant idea to write a story and post it here for you all to see. That story was With Prejudice, which you can link here. There are essentially just over a thousand words written in two blog posts. My initial idea was to show each chapter until completion. Unfortunately, life and my creativity had other ideas.

Found a free online book maker

So I've been doodling a little, after having found Canva while surfing the net one night while editing away on the novella that may or may not be called Enemy Within. It may be just as equally be known as Designated Target, but it'll depend on the final version of course and input from my editor in November.

From two to three

I followa very simple logic where my writing is concerned, if it strikes me as a fun thing that just grabs my attention from beginning to end (regardless how many revisions I make) I run with it. If it doesn't grab my imagination after 5,000 words than I call it quits.

Thus far, Enemy Within and Ghost of Missions Past are keeping me focused. Then again, so is a previous story featuring my main character and corporate ran refugee centres. More on that later . . .

A progress on my progress

Remember this post? Yeah . . . about that, life kind of took over. Don't get me wrong, both Enemy Within and Ghost of Missions Past exist in some form or another, the former more than the later. It's the editing that has bogged things down, along with life events like getting engaged, work and so forth.

The thing is, the story was to be . . . and still is meant to be . . . the pilot and starter to a series and/or a serial, so it's all about ensuring that there is a hook to interest the reader, a solid universe and well rounded characters that weren't cardboard cutouts. As I like to say, watch this space and be patient with me. I am writing.