Today wasn’t intended for new words. I had some writing messes to clean up, so that was my big goal.
First, I’ve had critique samples for Lunar Boogie for a week. While there weren’t any huge changes to make, there were a lot of small things. I find it too hard to focus on weeknights, so today I took up the challenge.
I also needed to get another submission ready for my group. I bounce back and forth, so this time they get to see Lanternfish. I worked on the next chapter for about an hour, including checking with an online editing program before sending it out. It’s out, so I’ll get to learn if my married cons still have what it takes to carry a chapter.
Only after taking care of all that, did I turn my attention back to Lunar Boogie. If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know I had some issues with the ending of the story.
As a recap, I wanted to end this one on a down note which provided for a bit of character growth for Lizzie in the next book. I wound up ending it on a major bummer and wasn’t happy with it.
Last weekend, I added a scene and it kind of helped, but still wasn’t what I needed. Remember, these are partially comical in nature, so they really can’t end on sour note.
Today, I threw caution to the wind and added a bunch of material I was saving for the opening of Good Liniment, the next book in the series. It wound up requiring a chapter break which caused the last two chapters to be short ones.
This required me to research crystal therapy and come up with a name for a pot shop. All in a day’s work, right?
I hate to sacrifice some of the stuff from the next book, but think it probably works better here. Basically, Lizzie’s parents made an appearance earlier in the book via FaceTime. At the end, Lizzie goes to California to spend some time with them. Alone, without the hat.
As far as what I included, Lizzie spent this time with her mom, and she is a genuine C. S. Boyack character. I will have to come up with some additional material for Good Liniment, but I can handle that. I can also have Lizzie spend some time with her father who is running for State Senate.
What I enjoyed is how Lizzie is an amalgamation of her mother and father. I never planned this and it just happened. This is one of the fun things that keeps me going as a writer. Lizzie is hard working like her father, but lives paycheck to paycheck as a musician and hangs out with some strange characters. She isn’t quite as stoic and dedicated as her dad, but isn’t as batshit crazy as her mom either.
Lizzie’s mom helps add a laugh or two after the bummer moment. I think moving the material to Lunar Boogie was the right move.
I need to turn my attentions back to Lanternfish. I left James on the high seas the instant before the opening volley of a huge sea battle.
I hope all of you have power and water by now. That you’re warm and safe. Drop me a line and let me know what’s going on.
I knew you’d figure out how to end the book! And your brain zips through ideas faster than most peoples’, so I’m not worried about more material for the next book:) I’m always glad to hear you’re back working on Lanternfish. That series is my favorite. I can’t remember which book is supposed to come out when. Spring and Fall?
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No plan, just both this year if I can do it. I like to put The Hat books out for Halloween, but that isn’t absolutely necessary either. In a perfect world, Lanternfish would be first, but I have a lot of writing to do there. I’m not going to start something else until I can add another ten to twenty-thousand words there.
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Good luck with whatever you decide!
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I’ll always take luck. Thanks.
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Glad you solved your problem with Lunar Boogie.
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Thanks, John. Might still be some fine tuning, but it seems to work better.
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Always good.Porter 30
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I have a good one in the refrigerator, too.
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I’m doing New Belgium VooDoo Rnager Imperial IPA
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New Belgium is a good company.
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Great work, Craig. It’s amazing how your characters took the lead and helped you finish the book! 😊
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It seems like it fits the style better, but still brings out the issue for Lizzie.
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Congrats on solving the problem. It even sounds better since it ends with her leaving the hat behind. Awesome low key cliffhanger there.
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I planned that for the next story, but it works pretty well to solve my current issue. Obviously, they’re going to be together again, but it all just feels better here.
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Definitely sounds like you’re happy with it.
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So far. I might tinker with it a bit, but it feels pretty good.
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Sounds like you made the right call on how to end the book; I’m glad you’re happier with your ending now. I’m sure you’ll find plenty to have them get up to in the next book to make up for the bit you had to take from it for this one.
Our bad weather is just rain related here in Wales right now. There’s a flood alert in my area, but there often is. We’re high enough up that it generally just means a few big puddles to be careful of when we take the dogs out, though since the dogs and I enjoy splashing through puddles that’s not really an issue to us. 😉
I had a pretty busy Saturday, though the only writing-related thing I did was to finally send my submissions to someone for an anthology I’m contributing to (I had until February 28th to do it, so at least I didn’t exactly leave it until the last moment). It was vivarium and cage cleaning day yesterday, so half the morning was spent doing the usual morning chores, and the other half of it was spent cleaning the tortoise’s vivarium and the chinchilla’s cage, and then cleaning up the inevitable mess of sawdust, hay, and wood chips, which somehow manages to get everywhere during the task. The afternoon involved a virtual crafting session via Zoom, and tackling some of the eMails that had been piling up in my inbox.
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I’m glad the weather still lets you get out. A combo of chores and a submission sounds fairly normal. The last twelve months haven’t given us much time for normal. Maybe things are starting to settle down.
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Sounds like a great addition to the book, Craig 🙂
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Thank you.
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It always fascinates me, Craig, that you work on three novels at once. I can only write one at a time.
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I try to draft two, but always have multiple storyboards in process. I might slow down on another draft until I can finish Lanternfish.
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I think you made the right move with Lunar Boogie given you’ve built the books around a comedic theme. It will be interesting to meet Lizzie’s parents, too. Her mom sounds like a doozie, LOL!
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I hope people like her. I need to quit monkeying with it now and get back to Lanternfish. A couple of advance readers can help me make adjustments.
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I’m happy you found an ending where you were comfortable. I can’t wait to see what you did with crystal therapy and a pot shop:)
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Might be a few more months, but it will happen. Thanks.
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I’m liking what you did with Lunar Boogie. And I’m with Robbie – have no idea how you can work on this many projects at once. I don’t have the brain capacity.
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Thanks, Teri. I think it makes the ending more in line with the tone the series sets.
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It sounds like you made the right call. Looking forward to seeing what you did. Have a great week!
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Thanks, Staci. I’m still nervous about it, but maybe a few weeks away from it will bring more clarity.
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We had all the snow and ice, but no real struggles, just some inconvenience and extra exercise, and Hey! I even got a day and a half off!
Good Liniment is a great title!
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Glad you like it. Winter hasn’t amounted to much out west.
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Are you sad or not sad?
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Not sad. I used to love winter, but these days not so much.
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