I’m in the midst of editing a fantasy short story I’m submitting to Beneath Ceaseless Skies. I’m behind on schedule already. Right now it’s sitting at 30k words and I’m in the process of cutting it down to 11k, which is the maximum allowed for submission to the magazine. I’m also in the process of outlining my stories for “Interspecies, Volume II,” and I’m really excited about what I’m planning. I’m exploring the next chapter in Babylon’s life as she joins the military to fight the hated inlaris and take revenge for what they have done to her life. I’m also introducing two new characters in two brand new stories. More on that later. All I can say at this stage is one of those stories is titled, “The Girl With a Galaxy in Her Eyes.”

Baen is hosting two writing competitions. The deadline for the 2017 Jim Baen Memorial Award is around the corner. Unfortunately, I’m going to have to miss this one. The other is the 2017 Baen Fantasy Adventure Award and submissions close April 1. Hopefully, I won’t screw up that deadline.

I’m still working on “Hameln-13” and I need to complete the first draft of “The Dead God.” You can only do so much in the time you have and even then you prioritize things while fielding Life’s curveballs. It’s not a complaint, just an observation. My new writing routine starts at 4 am in the mornings and works well for me. I am far more productive than during any of the previous years. Sure, my energy levels peter out by 10 pm, but at least I had that three hours before work to write. Besides, writing relies on consistency and always moving forward, even if slow.

The key, I think, is to become freight train. Keep pushing forward until you gain momentum. So much momentum, in fact, that stopping becomes impractical. No, wait, let’s make it a passenger train. The analogy works better if you have plenty of people onboard that can’t get off because the train is moving too fast.

But then you have another problem. There are no passengers or very little passengers onboard when the journey begins. You need to pick up some along the way. But once you are at speed there is no way for them to jump on. So, in truth, this is a stupid analogy.

Maybe it’s a magic train. The faster you travel the more passengers pop out of thin air and appear in the passenger carriage, eager to take part in the journey. And it’s a huge and very long carriage. Okay, this can still work. Let’s call this train the Super Interdimensional Magic Train or SIMT for short. Stopping the SIMT means death to you, the Engineer, your world. We don’t want that.

To survive and flourish the SIMT needs to keep moving and collect passengers along the way…because passengers provide fuel to the train’s great engine. Yeah, let’s go with that. No, we don’t kill the passengers and harvest their blood or bones. Come on, we’re not savages! We collect the energy from their joy and pleasure. Yeah, that sounds great. Joy and adulation fuels the SIMT. In fact, they make the train go faster and faster and higher and higher.

Have a glorious week!

Woelf

(PS: Yes, I know)