Brain cramp

Argh! The hardest part of a story is the beginning. Trying to use some Shakespearian English for the characters at the beginning and not having a great sense of flow with it. Time to park for now and revisit later.

One method I tend to use to overcome being stalled at points is to write chapters out of sequence and come back to earlier chapters later. At least I make progress in some portion of the story and it can actually help set the table for an earlier part of the book where I might be stuck.

Still gotta overcome the Shakespearian English thing, though. Maybe I need to sit down and read some Shakespeare (I have a copy of the "Tempest" upstairs)?

Oh well, time to try again will be later. I'll be doing some furniture restoration with my son, time spent with the fam for New Years. Let's hope the creative juices will flow.

Late!

Old west slang

Part of the challenge (and fun) writing historical fiction is in trying to have it remain historically accurate. Obviously, it wouldn't do to have a narration state that the outlaw's gun "glinted in the sun like the newly polished fender of a '57 Belair" when automobiles hadn't even been invented at that time. The use of slang and colloquialisms is important in making the story plausible and the characters come alive.

Check out the links below; they're the references I use for slang dialogue in my writing. Some of the phrases are hilarious so don't beat the devil around the stump; have yourselves a hog-killing time!

http://www.frontier1859.com/forum/index.php?topic=404.0

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~poindexterfamily/OldWestSlang.html

New blog

In an effort to try and market my work (or at least put it out there), I'm pleased to introduce my new blog. My hope is this will also hold me accountable for staying on top of my projects by journaling my progress.

I finished my first novel "Guns and Crosses" earlier this year:

http://www.lulu.com/product/ebook/guns-and-crosses/18762400?productTrackingContext=product_view/more_by_author/right/1

and decided to do an off-shoot series on the back-stories of some of the characters in the first novel. I'm currently engaged in two projects "Jewel" and "Argent" which explain the past of two of the more interesting and controversial people from the first story. Soon to follow those are "For Love of Money", "Blackheart", "No Home for the Wicked", Momentary Sorrows" and "Angel Unawares", all of which are prequels to the main novel. Those of you who were "Lost" fans might appreciate how all the characters are tied together by events in their past and how many things took place to bring them together. This series follows that format and will be a challenge to write (and hopefully enjoyable to read!).

The series is based in Christian faith and set primarily in the mid-to-late eighteen hundreds. That being said, it's not recommended reading for children as there is violence, suggestions of impropriety and adult situations. Please give the above link a look and follow along closely.

Happy reading.