Actual Joy While Editing

Began editing Miskatonic Bay (Lake Miskatonic, Book Two) today, after a few weeks of not looking at it at all (on purpose!). I'm going by feel as far as how much I want to/ought to work on it, trying to find the best way to continue to move forward. Lake Miskatonic is the first book I've ever finished writing, but by far not the first book I ever started writing, so the habits I got into when writing it seem important to continue. 

One of those habits is to take a break when I feel like it, but it's really hard to do that, because of the fear of never-coming-back-to-finish, which had been my mode of operation for all of the books I never finished! 

But I took a break anyway. I gave myself a few weeks. Maybe three. And a date to begin again. And when I didn't feel like beginning again on that date, I didn't. Not even sure if that's the right choice, honestly. Many writers will tell you you're either in it or you're not Stephen King in his book On Writing says (paraphrasing here) that if you don't just plow on through once you've started, then maybe you shouldn't be a writer. Well, maybe I shouldn't, but I'm going to finish books the way I think I can finish them, enjoying the process all the while. And if that means I never sell many books, that's fine, I'm having fun. 

And I'm even enjoying editing! There's nothing quite like sitting down to read what you wrote a while back and thinking, "Oooooh. That was a fun read!" Nothing like it. Of course I don't feel that way about every chapter, or every sentence, but if I have at least one or two jolts of that feeling, I know I'm on the track I want to be on: Writing a book that I would want to read. 

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Perfectionism Can Kill Ideas

I had this idea: "I'll write a Lovecraftian book about Oakland." That's where I started from. I know sometimes ideas for books come from other sorts of places, but this was my desire, and having been riding my bike past the lake in Oakland for years, the lake was where the idea grew. And I wrote. Most days I wrote a chapter. Some days I wrote a bit more, some days I didn't write, but I kept plodding along, and I tried something different than all of the other times that I've tried to write a story: I didn't edit much as I went along. I kept moving forward, promising myself I'd do lots of good editing when I was finished. And I did do lots of editing. And I had wonderful people read the first (well, second) draft and give me feedback. And I edited more. And again. Doing things this way saved my book from the dead pile of ideas that I had edited-too-early to death over the rest of my life. I carried this method forward even further--though many ...

Miskatonic Bay Is Almost Here

Getting close! Proofs for the sequel to Lake Miskatonic are on their way to me to take a look at. You can pre-order the ebook now if you're the type that likes pre-ordering. Paperback coming late January! Blurb: Will Oakland's past doom it, or save it? Walt and Darya have barely recovered from fighting cultists trying to bring an ancient evil to Oakland when a new threat strikes. Can these two private detectives find a way to save the city they love from a billionaire who is playing a deadly game with eldritch powers? Will they even be able to save themselves?

Miskatonic Bay Is Out Now!

Buy it now! Will Oakland's past doom it, or save it? Walt and Darya have barely recovered from fighting cultists trying to bring an ancient evil to Oakland when a new threat strikes. Strange stones with mystic runes begin showing up in Oakland, thrown through windows and delivered on doorsteps, showing that someone is intent on dividing and conquering Oakland communities. Are the stones tied to the fires being set in construction sites around The Town? Walt and Darya are following the trails of blood from these stones, but can these two private detectives find a way to save the city they love from a billionaire who is playing a deadly game with eldritch powers? Will they even be able to save themselves?

Jeff Pollet

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