Iron Falls - Revisions... what?? But why?!

I just read a good entry from Shawn, the guy behind the awesome Echo 47 story about revisions. Not surprisingly, he doesn't like them; but acknowledges that it's a necessary evil and part of the parcel of being a writer. Reading his blog brought a smile on my face, as I too dislike them but accept them as part of the writing process. Still, once a story is written it's finished. You finish it, hand it over to the likes of e-Quill Publishing and Bob's your uncle. At which point you watch the money pile up. If I wanted to do that, I'd probably circumnavigate my friend's small press e-publisher and plonk my stories directly. After all, others done it.

But alas, revisions are important and an integral part to writing; whether it be fiction, nonfiction or academic.

Case in point being my story, which started of as Iron Falls and (after a number of revisions and proof reads by a select group of Beta Readers) has evolved into Iron Falls: The Enemy Within. The story is my pride and joy, but that's true for everything I've written, and had thought that it was the next best thing since sliced bread. A fellow writer reviewed it, and basically suggested I rework bits and pieces or be laughed at (or something along those lines). It was a move encouraged by my publisher.

So, for the last month I've reworked my story and sent it to a select group for a beta run. The good news, they liked the revisions and yet still pointed out a few snafus that need fixing. Not that I'll be doing any today, as Wednesday is generally time out and am going to see Fast Five with a good friend of mine and lunch.

So, what's next on the agenda?

Having submitted Iron Falls to e-Quill Publishing on Wednesday morning, I find myself at a loss as to where from here. The story had taken me up to eight months, if not more, of writing and had its share of ups and downs. It had been been an experience, and the amount of support I got from certain individuals taught me a whole new bag of skills that I'm keen to utilise for my next writing project.

But the question is now, where to from here?

One thing I'm confident about is that Iron Falls is going to be part of a series of books set in the same universe, and I left a few things hanging - such as "what happened to Kevin Yamakawa?" and "What do the Russians have to do with events in the African continent?", to "what will Gene Bukowski discover about his heritage?" and "Who are these SWORD guys?". For now I need to do some research before I answer those questions. This means I have some more creative juices left for something else to work on. Besides, I need to practice my writing so any excuse will do.

Now, last week I talked about the idea of how to go promoting one's own work. This next piece of writing will be available free for download so that you can have a taste of how I write. Now, I can't promise you if the story will be set in the same universe as Iron Falls and its planned sequel, or how long it'll be for that matter. What I can tell you is that neither Bukowski, Yamakawa nor Heerdan will be in it, and that it will be set on elsewhere other than Earth.

Until next time my friends . . .

Moving On Is Essentially The Hardest Thing

What is it about moving on with life that is essentially the hardest thing anyone can do; especially uprooting oneself from the familiar and plonking the same self elsewhere where you haven't been before?

That is the question that I've been asking myself the last few months or so.

I've been in one location since I was knee-high, going from primary school all the way to university -- and surprising myself by gaining not only a postgraduate diploma in social work, but also a Masters in the same field. But between lack of employment opportunities, and the realisation that all my friends from high school and university have moved on, I realised that one has to move on.

Experiences don't come to you after all, you make them happen. Having said that, I've got some fond memories of experiences from where I've lived since I was 6-years old -- from convincing my high school teachers that I can sail a boat all by myself (and then promptly capsizing the darn thing after being caught in a cross-wind) to learning about my ability to push through my physical limitations (do that daily as it is through Les Mills Dunedin, and on a wilderness adventure camp), to running my own left foot with my own power wheelchair.

Moving on is good for the soul, as it gives you more opportunities to experience new and exciting things.

And for that, watch this space. . .