Jkurtzwriter's Blog

 Hope you had a great weekend! Mine was, eh. I have Monday's off from my paying job, and today I get to enjoy things such as- spending an hour in the dentist chair with my mouth drawn open from each corner with, what felt like eagle talons, getting a temporary crown. That was fun. I hope when they put the permanent crown on, it's not that much fun.  And now, I'm writing this, with the excited anticipation of mowing the lawn. I usually mow Saturday or Sunday, but with all the rain we've been getting,  thank you God , had to let it dry out. Enough about my Monday morning. I'll continue this chat after my honeydo's are done Oh first, I also learned this morning that we are now required to take a picture of every delivery that is driver released to a residence. That is about 85% of my deliveries. Not only do they record us driving, now we have to do this? What a joke! They keep adding elements to slow us down. We adjust, and roll with the punches, but it sure seem...

 Hello friends,  Let's talk about maps. Don't worry Sheldon and Amy, your jobs are safe. Oh wait, that was flags. Never mind.  I know I've said this before, but I am easily sidetracked, and this time it is the map's fault. While trying to solve one of my problems, too much detail, I created another sidetracker- Maps. When I say too much detail, I'm talking about time, direction, distances, etc. I try to use other words, like dozen for 12, etc. but I think I'm using too many numbers and directions in my descriptions.  Now, after all my hard work at tracking what, when, where, who, and how, I'm reading what I've written and come across many discrepencies. So many, I had to draw a map, it's a fictional place,  but in real Colorado. Anyway, one map led to another, and another... So while I should be writing, I've been mapping. Finished Chapter 13 over the weekend. I was going to skip 13 and go straight to Chapter 14 for shits and giggles... You never...

 Hey blog world. Just finished Chapter 12. It needs a lot of work, just trying to get this first draft plugged in. Ch. 12 does reveal TWO huge plot points though! Sorry it's 132 pages in 😬. Hey, it's not "The Stand", but hopefully you can stand to read it when it's finished. Ha ha!

 Hey there blogger, hope you had a great week! Making progress on the book. Finished Ch.10, almost done with Ch.11, and started Ch.12.  The "inciting event" finally happened, in Chapter 9.  Now I see why so many books and movies start in the middle, and then backtrack. 3 days earlier... or, Before he escaped from prison...  It's all good though! A first draft is just a release of pent up ideas on screen or paper, then jumbled in to some hodgepodge of scenes for a story. I can't wait to dive in to the second draft!  For example, here is an idea for a scene. I may not even use it, but if I do... Spoiler Alert!!!  Chapter 11 (brainstorm)      Scene ? While Ethan is hospitalized from the wreck, he wakes up to see Kelsey there. She tells him what’s happening at work (which pisses off the boss) and that he is on unpaid leave while the accident is investigated. She has to take over Ethan's route, which she doesn’t know, and guess who's training her...

Some days are hard to write. Some days the creative juices are flowing, and other days I can hardly read, let alone think. For the past few days, I've been struggling to end Chapter 9. I even started writing Chapter 10 and got stumped there too. Finally finished 9 tonight, and it was nothing close to what I had planned. Hey, if you're just writing along, and happen to, inadvertently, write a cliffhanger, that means STOP to a writer! LOL!!! Below is another teaser- part of a scene from a different chapter. Disclaimer- Everything I share on this blog is subject to, and probably will, change. Chapter 8 Mysterious Ways   Scene 35 Now, here is the truth about Ben Jackson. Karl had treated him like a slave, and ultimately, chained him up in the basement of the original Crawford house. He was no longer homeless, but this was no home sweet home. Ben spent a fortnight in that basement, living in his own feces and choking down lumpy oatmeal, if Karl remembered to feed him that day. Th...

  Hey there blogger, it is a beautiful day and one full of anticipation. We are going to meet a kitten at her foster home, with hopes of bringing her home! Coincidentally, Dawn wants to name her Hope.   In my last blog I said that I would provide updates if my blog got some views. I was excited to see that I had received a few, so I guess the ball's in my court now. Here's an excerpt from Chapter 2 of Mysterious Ways that was inspired by this logo on a hoodie that my boss gave us for Christmas.     Scene 7 from  Chapter 2 - The World On Time           Ethan let himself through the typical gate of the chain-link fence and jogged fifty feet or so to the front door, just like he had done a hundred times before. He knew that this customer owned two adult pit bulls, but they seemed nice and he had even pet them a time or two (in the presence of the owner of course). Not to mention, they were kept inside during the day, so Ethan, though ...

 It has been quite a while since my last blog entry. Since I am the only one reading my blog, I guess it doesn't really matter. A lot has happened since June 8. My wife Dawn and me were displaced from our home on June 17 due to a fire that jumped from our neighbors home to ours. Our 1-1/2 year old indoor cat Xani was displaced also, and we have yet to reunite with her.  Our families, friends, and co-workers have been a godsend! We were able to stay with my parents in their beautiful new home while we figured things out and we were very fortunate to find a new home on the same street! We believe Xani is hanging out around the neighborhood and will smell us out and come to her new home. Dawn and I have continued working our jobs through all this, and somehow, I've still found time to write. The first draft of Mysterious Ways is about one-third complete. I've written 25,000 words, on 89 pages, over 8 chapters. I have kept to my original plot, mostly, though I've added char...