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| Portrait of a Scribe Bartolomeo Passerotti c.1560 (PD) |
But to what end?
If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing well.² But who decides whether or not a thing is worth doing? Aye, there's the rub.
Anyhoo, as noted at the end of yesterday's post, the first part of my prequel to Almost a Lifetime,³ is complete. It doesn't necessarily mean that the prequel itself is complete. As I leave Part One behind, it is December of 1941, Almost a Lifetime opens on the 2nd of June 1944. From New Year's Eve 1941 to 6 June 1944 is eight hundred and eighty four days. A lot of history between those two dates. Lots of stories to be told.
So I'm not quite sure where the Muse will take me next, but at least for a few days (weeks?) I shall leave the fictional writing "on hold." Something I desperately need to do is go through all of the great material my editors provided when I put the book out for review. Grammar needs cleaning up (unless it's a character speaking in some weird vernacular), spelling needs fixing (the whole "principle" versus "principal" thing of gestern springs immediately to mind), and there are other issues I need to clean up as well. (Can you say "holes in the plot?" - I knew you could.)
Now that last bit is work that I believe is worth doing well. After all, the end goal is to get published and perhaps enhance my revenue stream. It's doable, I'm sure, but the work has got to be put in.
I also need to compile the Prequel, Part One (for lack of a better name) to see just how long it is. If it's "long enough." then maybe it's a second book (in need of a title), or not. I could go back to work on my War in the Wild series, which petered out due to the writer's exhaustion with doing research and my own perception that interest in that particular series wasn't as high as I expected. (I require lots of hits and lots of comments to spur my not inconsiderable ego to keep working at something. I am, it must be said, rather self-centered at times.)
All that being said, things could change based on a whim, a soft breeze, or an inspiration from the Muse.
Stay tuned.
Finally ordered them on Monday. I was informed that it could take up to four weeks for them to arrive.
A while back I posted about some miniatures (Napoleonic) that I had purchased. I'm building up three armies: British, French, and Prussian. Discovered something that I just had to have ...
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Monday was the 17th, on the 18th I received notice that the package was on the way, from the UK. I figured, "That'll take some time to get here."
The package was in Indianapolis on the 19th, then it arrived on my doorstep on the 20th (today as I write, tomorrow as you read). To say that I was impressed is a bit of an understatement.
Well played UPS, well played.
So now Napoléon has his Guard ready to go into action, infantry AND cavalry.
Look out Wellington and Blücher, here we come.
Um, did I say "we"?
Why yes, yes I did.
Back tomorrow with something, whether it be fiction, ramblings, or fact, only the Muse knows for sure.
And she ain't telling.
Yet.
A bit o' Tull works for me at the moment ...
"As the white sea snaps,
At the heels of a soft prayer,
Whispered."
Now THAT is writing.
¹ Has multiple meanings, see here. You can choose the one you like. I'm going with #3, for now.
² Attributed to Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, 1774
³ The tentative title of my first book, suggested by one of the readers. I liked it, so I kept it. It's what you might call the "working title," but unless and until someone comes up with something better, it stays. And yes, I get to decide the definition of "better."
Well Sarge, if you really were lazy we'd have nothing to read would we?
ReplyDeleteClose to 900 days of history is quite a number; the real challenge will be focus, it will be so very easy to get sucked down multiple rabbit-holes .
OTOH, if the "prequel" is just that you may be able to bridge the two; " fast-forward" as it might be. I, for one am still interested in Stephen Hernandez' post WWII career, which would likely include Korea at least.
Almost A Lifetime was over 800 pages and nearly every one of them should stay, even characters who appear once have backstroke that make them people and I think that is one of the gifts of your effort.
While I'm envious of your talents I have a sense of relief that it's you (and the Muse) who have to figure these things out. Still the original offer of assistance stands.
Boat Guy
A lot of war to go, a bunch of stories still in my head, we'll see where this takes us.
Delete"backstroke" damn gulag!!! Obviously (I hope) should be "backstory". "AI" my ass, oughtta be AA for Artificial Arrogance.
ReplyDeleteBG
Gargle has a small vocabulary.
DeleteLooking forward to your book Sarge, the daily posts have really whetted my anticipation. Count on one copy heading out to the Northland. Hmmmm....... Warlord does offer a multitude of armies, good thing I succumbed to GHQ back last century........ :)
ReplyDeleteThey do carry a lot of cool stuff!
DeleteWell done Sarge. I am sincerely impressed by how the day to day vignettes hold together (difficult when writing in bite sized pieces, from what I have seen of others).
ReplyDeleteLike you, I have an ego when I write - but I think anyone that writes does. After all, why would we do it if it is not to be read?
The figures look fun. I actually, on a whim, purchased a "paint it" figure and kit of an Oni (Japanese Ogre). I have not painted a figure in 35 years, but it sounded like fun: https://www.nobleknight.com/P/2148007884/Paint-Night-Kit---Oni
Cool miniature!
DeleteSarge, I was not going to for a minute, and then I said "Really? A naginata? Why are not doing this? It comes with everything".
DeleteI for one also enjoyed the French and Indian War series. It is a part of American history that is not well known, but set up the Revolutionary War in a way many people do not fully realize.
In my wilder dreams, I want to finish the French and Indian War saga, followed by some of those same characters, or their children, being involved in the Revolution. Following that, some of their descendants will march with the Emperor and Wellington. Who knows?
DeleteYou had me at naginata. 😁
Crusty Old TV Tech here. Loved the WW2 stories, also was really getting into the pre-Revolutionary War story. Maybe it was due to having read a lot of James Fenimore Cooper in Jr High, or having lived in the region as a young Lt. Anyway, the stories of the French, English, and Indian tribes in the frontier days was really engaging for me. Your writing has echoes of Alistair MacLean, especially when writing enlisted characters in a military setting. See Ice Station Zebra and the banter between Zabrinski, Rawlings, and the rest of the crew of the Dolphin. Also, the direct, to-the-point prose. It allows the mental picture to be painted without a lot of extraneous fluff to sort out. Looking forward to more.
ReplyDeleteDon't like fluff myself, unless it's marshmallow fluff and peanut butter. But the stories will continue. I've spent a good three hours so far today going through edits on the book. There's much work to do.
DeleteBeing compared to Alistair MacLean is high praise, love his work.
As MacLean progressed, his dialog presented much more interesting (and amusing) interplay between characters along with their thoughts. Your overall writing format also reminds me of Tom Willard's "Strike Fighters" series of the 1990s (he lived in GF, but never got a chance to meet him). The length of his chapters varied considerably, from one page to ten or twenty. When he was done with one chapter however long, he moved on.
DeleteLoved MacLean's dialog.
DeleteOk, you had a real train of Characters going on with the French and Indian war. I liked that as I was learning some history. Didnt you have a U.S. Army character Sal(?) who was in the North African Campaign? THere is the Sicilian and Italian Campaigns to be developed. Plus some air corps types to do for N.A, and Italy. DO NOT QUIT. This is a daily stop for many of us. Enjoy it immencely. Don't kill off the Pole. Aerobracero.
ReplyDeleteI intend to return to the French and Indian War at some point. After all, it's the starting point for my eventual tale of the Napoleonic Wars!
DeleteJan will live, he's too tough to die.
Sarge.
ReplyDeleteRe:UPS. One of my ongoing "If I was King of Amazon what would be my first directive" mental quizzes would be to put a radio button on their checkout form. One of the options would be
(1) USPS ($0, might be delivered to your mailbox, might have to pick it up at the Post Office, might be lost.
(2) FedEx ($5, might be delivered to your mailbox, might be delivered to your front gate, can be found by tracking number.
(3) UPS ($10, most likely will be delivered to your door, otherwise to your mailbox, can be found by tracking number.
#3 wins in a landslide.
Second question. Did you have a different post up early this morning and then take it down, or was I still asleep and dreaming of reading your post?
Inquiring minds, doncha know!
Dreaming I guess. This was the only post posted. I'M IN YOUR HEAD!
DeleteUPS is awesome in my book. Gotta admit though, Amazon is a close second, their delivery folks are pretty good in my experience.
I really want to continue, and finish, War in the Wild, 'tis a topic near and dear to me, having grown not far where much of it took place!
ReplyDelete