I’ve spent the last three nights editing one chapter. Yes, you read that right. ONE chapter. 3200 words, now down to 2500. You would think 6+ hours is overkill for that wouldn’t you? Well I sure do.

People say that it takes as long as it takes, but that doesn’t mean you don’t want to just move on!

To be fair, I’m ready to move on from Penumbra (which at this point I’m seriously considering a title change to Eisengrau) entirely. After spending over a year working and refining book 1, I’m just ready to work on book 2 and let the story continue. But I’m so close to finishing this one I just need to stick it out and get it done. Note that “so close” doesn’t mean I’ll be done next week, it means, I’ve put in 600 hours and only have 30 or so left. And I’m pretty sure that’s a modest estimate. Don’t believe the people that tell you writing is easy.

Or fast.

I borrowed On Writing from my friend Rob almost a year ago and I’ve finally gotten around to reading it. I started it a while ago, but got stuck in the first half which is semi-biographical, so last week I skipped to the second half and I’ve been really engrossed in it. King isn’t my favorite author (in fact, I haven’t enjoyed most of what I’ve read from him) but he’s undeniably prolific. Not to mention his extensive bibliography. What I’m getting at here, is you can’t possibly spend as much time writing as he has without getting some very real insight into the process. It’s been “proven” that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become an expert at something and I would put money on him having 10x that. My point is that I’ve picked up some excellent information, you’ve almost certainly heard of the book already, but if you haven’t I heartily recommend it. I don’t agree with everything King asserts (maybe more on that in future blog posts) but there’s tons of good info there.

At the same time, I’m reading The Gunslinger something I’ve been needing to get around to for a while. I’ve read a few King novels (Shining, The Stand) and while those never really appealed to me, The Dark Tower series definitely appeals to my interests so I had big hopes for it. Plus with the movie coming out, I thought it was a good time to give it a try. I’ll be honest… I’m not loving it. I think King’s style simply doesn’t appeal to my tastes, but I’m going to stick it out to the end of the book and see how I feel. If it doesn’t agree with me, I’ll try Salem’s Lot which is considered one of his best novels as far as I can tell. And if that falls flat for me too, I think I’ll just cut my losses. King is popular but that doesn’t mean he’s for everybody.

On another note, I’m about halfway through Last Argument of Kings and I have loved loved loved the trilogy. Joe Abercrombie is an incredibly talented writer. I’m a bit concerned that the story isn’t going to wrap up well, since there are still a tone of loose ends, but the trilogy has been so good so far, I’m staying hopeful!

My friend Chris Husberg released his second novel, Dark Immolation last week. I haven’t gotten a chance to pick it up yet, since I had to work the night of his release party, but I’m going to be reading that after finishing The Gunslinger, very excited. Congrats Chris!

And now… to work.