Another weekend is upon us. How fast the summer’s flown! Seems like it wasn’t that long ago the farmers were busy planting their fields. Now, they’re beginning to harvest their crops. An annual cycle, so vital to our survival.
Are there any birthday people out there this weekend? If so, you share your special day with the following:
William Carlos Williams, poet, playwright, essayist and writer who won a Pulitzer prize (Pictures from Brueghel and Other Poems); Ken Kesey, author (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Sometimes a Great Notion); Samuel Johnson, English lexicographer, essayist, poet and moralist; John Knowles, writer; won first-ever William Faulkner Foundation Award (A Separate Peace, 1961); and James Alan McPherson, author; first African American to win Pulitzer Prize for fiction (Elbow Room, 1978).
Happy birthday to all!
Why I want to Write–What’s Led Me to This Stage in My Life
I mentioned last week that discipline is required so I maintain my ongoing works. I thought the week went well until someone passed an idea to me to explore for another novel. Yep–it’ll work. A temporary title has been selected Without Raising Their Hands and the premise is underway, but it will be some time before anything is available to read.
Stay tuned for more sneak peaks into my wacky world of creativity. You’ll read it first here.
My Work in Progress
Most of my time this week was spent reviewing the final chapters of a fellow writer who is preparing his manuscript for submission to his publisher. When time permitted, I continued work on the book description and fine-tuned the first chapter of A Malicious Affiliation, which will be included in the back of A Kurdish Connection when it’s published next year. Suggestions from twenty-four reviews have been incorporated into the chapter, which I hope to post this week on the subscription writing sites I use.
That’s all of the progress I made this week, as non-writing events required my attention. Hopefully during the upcoming week I’ll be able to return to writing.
Books I’m Reading
I read an interesting book this week, The Fourth Crusade (The Crusades, Book 1) by Mark Butler. Set in Spain and Italy, the son of a hero from the Third crusade, Ruggiero de Merafiza becomes a priest rather than following in his father’s footsteps.
The story culminates in attacks against villages surrounding Constantinople, before this city also becomes a target. Merafiza flees after partaking in the savagery and returns to tell the tale of Christians fighting against Christians to King Peter of Spain. A good read and look forward to future works from Butler.
Blogs/Author Pages/Writing Sites I’d Like to Share
I’ve expanded this section from being only about blogs that I follow but also introduce you to some new authors and a few writing sites. This week, I only had time to read through one but it’s well worth a read. Hope you’ll check it out!
J. I. Rogers – Author J.I. Rogers provides six-word story challenges for writers to explore.
Butterflies & Machineguns – Explore the musings of writer Tye Fields, a twenty-year-old college student.
Writing Resources
The first batch of homework requirements from my publisher were sent this week. Now, I’m working on the second have, things like dedications, acknowledgements, comments and blurbs. Here’s a couple of links to help you with writing dedications if you’re stuck:
https://www.scribendi.com/advice/dedication_examples.en.html
http://www.bpsbooks.com/BPS-Books-blog/bid/109450/How-to-Write-a-Dedication-A-Few-Pointers
That brings us to the end of another ramble. Hope you’ve found something of interest or at least useful for your own writing. Until the next time, thank you for reading!
© Copyright 2016 Randall Krzak. All rights reserved.
