“Ghost Novel” Writing So You Can See

Numbers of people were wondering exactly what I was writing when I did the ten days of blogging about writing a 70,000 word novel. They were bummed they couldn’t see the final result or I couldn’t even give hints as to the genre.

So, taking a page from of a much better writer than I am, (Harlan Ellison, who wrote a lot in public) I figured I would do the same thing I did with the “ghost novel” blogs, only do it for five short stories. And let you all read them as I finish them.

I’m thinking about starting this on June 10th and going until the five stories are done. That date is still slightly up in the air depending on a couple of factors.

Here is how I will do it.

— I will ask you all for a title for each story as I go along.  (Do not send them now, please! I will ask when ready. Anyone who sends a title that I use will get a free signed copy of the story in paperback. I might use parts of two titles… we shall see.)

— I will have no ideas done ahead and will write into the dark on the stories. (Although a story might or might not be in a series like Poker Boy, depending on what strikes me at the time.)

— I will blog about the writing process of the story. (Such as how I am feeling or if I am stuck… And my normal day’s activities, such as my naps with the big white cat).

—I will have Kris read the story and I will fix the mistakes she finds as I always do with all my writing.

— Then I will do a cover and get it up electronically and in trade paper and post it here for you all to read for free. (I will blog about that process as well as I go.)

— The story will be here to read for free until I finish the next one. (I do not care for reader reviews on the stories themselves. Trust me, I will be the only person who will like all five. I will not let reader reviews of the stories through. But questions and comments about the writing process are perfectly fine as it goes along. If you have a strong desire to review the story, buy it on Amazon and then trash it there. At least I will get a couple bucks. (grin))

— When I am finished with all five stories, I will put them in a collection with all the blog posts.

A word of warning… I don’t tend to write as many words per day with short stories as I do with novels, but that doesn’t always hold true. More than likely I’ll write about 30,000 words of short fiction, give or take, in five to seven days. At least that’s the plan for that week.

We shall see, but at least now (those of you who are interested) can see what I am writing almost as I write it.