Compromised, is alive

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Some ramblings and news

When is enough really enough? I have been on a writing journey of late, one focusing on Gene Bukowski and his exploits. He had gone through multiple transformations as I tried to find the best fit for him since Vocal Minority. Last Sunday I had about enough. It was as if I was going in circles trying to write that perfect novel. The thing is, I have written one in Vocal Minority. Okay, so I have decided a tad later that the story felt a little flat and childish. Essentially I didn’t like it. Yet, my friends had suggested that I put it up anyway. I did, and is now a free download at Smashwords.

Thing is, in my writing endeavours in trying to create the ultimate reading experience, I have forgotten the golden rule of writing: you write ultimately for yourself, and it took a bit of patience from a fellow writer and a frank and honest chat with two of my writing idols to hammer that home. This has been reinforced to me by my English teacher back at high school, and you know what... they probably would be calling me up short for going about in circles. Yes, Vocal Minority was a good start and whilst I may not like it, I am pretty proud of the fact I wrote the story. It will remain on Smashwords for whole of $2 as a reminder to me that yes, I can write something coherently that has a beginning, middle and ending.

Ever since then I was adamant to place Gene in a newer setting. Maybe make him a kiwi or something close to home. The manuscript had him in action in the year 2126 to 2035 to 2062. If I keep it up, I might try writing a time travelling serial. So what am doing about it? Who knows. Ok, I do know. I am going back to the reason why I wanted to make Gene Bukowski’s adventures better and more adult-centric. I wanted to combine my love of a good old techno-thriller with the best elements of science fiction as seen in such movies as I, Robot and Minority Report and the cutting edge feel of such computer games as Medal of Honor, Halo and so forth.

In one of my versions of the reboot, I think I have done it as it is all of the above.

This is one of those posts where I have taken my sweet time writing, a by-product of that irritating thing known as having a life outside of writing and a job. In that time I had progress with this manuscript. For one I had submitted the story to a publisher, and they have sent me feedback. Okay, so it’s not the same as getting a nod that yes they want to publish it, but it’s close enough and as rejections go feedback is good. Repeat after me please; feedback is good. After all, publishers are busy people. The awesome part was that the feedback contained a lot of positives; such as what they liked about the story and what worked for them and what didn’t. For a writer wanting to be published (regardless of what route they choose to take) this kind of feedback is the same as hitting a goldmine. It is priceless.

The best part was that they encouraged me resubmit once I rework the story. Please allow a moment while I go skip along with happiness, because that was not what I expected. Naturally, I will be doing just that.

Now, if you’ll excuse me . . .