May Progress Report

This month I spent more time writing and less time online (reading blogs, visiting writers forums). Other than poking fun at my favorite TV chef, Gordon Ramsay (Kitchen Nightmare), I didn't have anything new to blog about anyway. :)

I finished the first draft of a new novel. Started the second draft of another novel. My short story about a lazy farmhand--who dreams of becoming a notorious gangster like Clyde Barrow--is making the rounds. I don't know if the manuscript for my novel SMOKE is being read. In the four months since I emailed it, I haven't heard from the publisher. The request didn't come from a query, it came from the guidelines posted on his website.

I'm still sending out queries.

I learned how to make my stories better: Go to the heart of the story, cut it out and paste it up front. We'll see if it works. I'm ready to take a step forward instead of always taking two steps backward (see February post titled My Journey To Publication).