Jkurtzwriter's Blog

Hello friends, fellow writers, patrons of this blog. Happy Halloween👻👺, or as I now call it, NaNoWriMo Eve. NaNoWriMo is, I guess, a kind of cult- a writer's cult. November is Na tional No vel Wri ting Mo nth, something new to me also. Basically, you just write 50,000 words in the month of November. You sign up ( create a profile on the website ) and start a project, which is tracked, I guess? Apparently, the rules used to be a lot more stringent, but now, just about everything is allowed, so I will be working on Mysterious Ways, obviously! It's taken six months for me to hunt and peck 50,000 words so it is kind of intimidating, though it will force me to keep writing forward, and finish this intricate story. And, to be honest, I've probably actually typed 100k in that six months, if I count all the editing, and blogging, and building a story bible app, a separate but compatible project, along the way. Mysterious Ways update : Still writing chapter 19, which is currently:...

Re: Mysterious Ways Hey there. So, I just surpassed the 200 page mark of Mysterious Ways ! I'm not writing for page count, but it is getting so long, I'm afraid to look back. It takes me forever to read a book normally, and now I'm writing one that will probably need, at least, three drafts. The guideline is not to edit the first draft, but that has been difficult, as I am a perfectrionist. Psych! * perfectionist I'm starting Chapter 19 (of an outlined 24 chapters) with a word count of 60,600, but I know of two chapters that already need a complete re-write, so... That said, it's going to be an exciting, mad rush to the end! No more  backstory, no more scene setting, just all the action that I hope to bring  to you and finish a story y'all never forget!                                                       ??? Meteor Submit your name...

 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...