• Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing

    Since I Am Now Writing At Pulp Speeds Again…

    Just For Fun… I wanted to bring this Pulp Speed post back again just for fun for me to read again as I am firing along now for almost two months at Pulp Speeds. I figured I could use it again as well. (grin) (And yes, tomorrow I will list the story I wrote today and the one I will write tomorrow… Challenge still going fine.) (I wrote this post around 2014, then brought it forward to 2016, then 2017, and just about every year or so since, skipping 2022. Last time here was October. And this month March… I made the Pulp Speed class a regular workshop again so…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing,  workshops

    Last Day to Get Craft Class on Early Bird Discount…

    And Challenge Going Onward… So first off, today is the last day to get the CRAFT IN THE 21ST CENTURY done by Kris for $200 for the 9 weeks.  It will switch to $250 late Monday night. This class on WMG Teachable is something Kris really wanted to do. She will be recording videos every week and they will come out on Monday some time. The first week’s videos are now up. No assignments, just learning about how some craft things have changed in the 21st century. 9 Weeks of Mondays. Early bird price is $200 until Monday night late, then it goes to $250. Here is the video of…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  workshops

    February Story #10 And Workshop Updates…

    UPDATES ON IN-PERSON CLASSES Kris is starting to work on the reading list for the Gothic in-person workshop.  So thought I would give you all an update on the spots left for each one. Gothic                 May 5-8th, 2025… 2 Spot2 Left Time Travel         October 13-16th, 2025… 2 Spots Left Adventure           January 12-15th, 2026… Waiting List World Building    May 4-7th, 2026… 1 Spot Left Detectives.          October 12-15th, 2026… 2 Spots Left That’s it. Not Many spots left. The cost is $750. And we are thinking about a class before Licensing Expo in late…

  • Challenge,  Kickstarter Campaign,  On Writing,  workshops

    Story #2 February…

    Yes, Restarting Numbering Each Month… I know I got 31 stories done in January. Restarting keeps the number lower so I don’t think of eating the elephant too much. And gives me a monthly target for stories completed. Tonight’s story was a late starting story because I had a ton of other stuff to do, so I went for a character with a lot of voice that I am having fun with and that is my new character, Private Detective “No-Neck” Crunch. All the story titles start “A Woman Who…” And the last part of the title is a hint to where he will find the body of the woman…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  workshops

    Ate the Elephant For a Time…

    Had To Sit Down and Take Deep Breaths… You see, I have four big whiteboards on one wall of my office. They have the titles of the short stories that are in the first 50 issues of Smith’s Monthly. I stopped at Issue 50 because I ran out of room on the boards. There are 220 titles of stories written up there. 220 stories, covers an entire wall. I hope to do 365 stories this year. I happened to glance up at the wall of story titles and my mind went, “That is just 2/3rds of the number of stories you hope to write this year.” Wham!!!  I went from…

  • Challenge,  Kickstarter Campaign,  On Writing,  publishing,  workshops

    January Challenge Stories

    Managed A Story Per Day For 31 Days… I have some adjustments to make, such as starting earlier in the day. But very happy with going from zero to full speed on fiction. 101,280 consumable words. That’s on pace for about 1.2 million words this year. Not up to my average yet, but close and a lot of things in January cut into that word count, so we shall see how it works in February and March. Working to get back above 1.3 million words. Here are the story titles for January… List of JANUARY Challenge Stories The Notes She Left Behind… Thunder Mountain A Lost Darkness… Marble Grant Death…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing

    Story #29…

    Two More Stories to Complete January… Considering I jumped from zero to full speed overnight, I will take it. I will do an inventory of the stories and word counts from January in a few days. On the publishing side, Kris has read 12 of them and I will be putting the first collection of ten together as soon as I work out an issue with doing the covers. The idea is for me to do a collection every two weeks once I start them. I will also be putting some of the stories in issues of Smith’s Monthly. Thinking the restart of that now March. I will also be…

  • Challenge,  On Writing

    Story #28… Poker Boy

    I Will Do a Full List After the 1st… But still going… Story #28… Two title halves were “Who You Calling…” and “Sweet Cheeks…” No idea what “Who You Calling Sweet Cheeks?” was going to be about until I started typing and up popped Poker Boy. Started it in the afternoon this time, got about 700 words done and the rest about 1 this morning, finishing fast and easy. Love stories that do that. I just kept typing until I found the end. I will do a word count as well, and I got to do an introduction and covers to the first collection. Kris has now read eleven of…

  • Challenge,  Fun Stuff,  On Writing

    Valuation and Story #26

    Been Working On Copyright Valuation… Trying to figure out a way to explain it. But so many elements to it, it makes it tough. But writers believe, especially indie writers, that their work has no value. Yet every time you license a book or story to say, Amazon, and they license it to a customer, you are making money from the value of your work. You license a copy from your own store to a reader, you are making money from the value of your work. Same with doing a Kickstarter campaign. And on and on and on… Copyright is property. So is trademark. So every time you create a…

  • Challenge,  Kickstarter Campaign,  On Writing

    Story #25…

    Having Fun With a New Character… A detective character in my Poker Boy world who helps ghosts who are trapped move on. This is the 4th or 5th story from this character’s POV so far. I do that in these challenges, get stuck on a new character and write a bunch of stories, like every third story, for a few weeks before moving on. The titles all start with the phrase “The Woman Who…”  Tonight it was “The Woman Who Hates Heights.” Also did some story reading. Going to be really picking up speed on that over the next month, finishing up the stories for the Space Opera Study Along…