There is a rarely discussed downside to writing short stories, at least for writers like me, who like reading long, immersive tales. Just yesterday I decided to settle down at the keyboard and do a quick, four page story to switch things up. I made it about two paragraphs in, only to realize a great twist could be applied to the story around the ten page mark. Then the flood kicked in, and within an hour I had the outline of a decent novel, sigh. 

If you're familiar with the phrase 'thy cup runneth over', that's how I feel about short stories. I don't know how other writers do it! Perhaps my sub-conscious is just too rebellious, because the moment I tell it to limit it's creative input to four pages, it hands me a novel that's just too good to ignore. The worst part is I'm already elbows deep in writing 'Splintered Loyalties', so this new creation will have to sit on the shelf a while longer before I can dust it off. Sigh.

Well, back to work. Only two more days 'till the weekend, hang in there guys!

Here's another Calvin and Hobbs pic I snagged from pintrest. Click here to check it out. He's getting into some snow men mischief that always manages to tickle my funny bone. Enjoy :)

Here's a mid-week chuckle for you all, picked it up on pinterest.

Personally, I'd be content will Wolverine's healing/immortality. If you have a problem with someone, just outlive them!

If you could pick any super power, what would it be?

Over the years, one of my favorite advantages about writing is the flexibility of it. A writer can do his thing at any location or time, as long as he has a writing instrument of some kind. He (or she) doesn't have to drive to and from an office, tolerate difficult co-workers (aside from novel characters), or restrict working hours to a single location. Even if sick or tired, you can still put new words to the page from the comfort of your own home. I always thought one could write anywhere and anytime, provided one's hands and mind still functioned.

This weekend, I was proved wrong. Turns out, if you severely strain a lumber muscle and are then required to spend your free time in a horizontal position, writing becomes a difficult task indeed, even with a laptop. The angles required are not pleasant. So much for my 'you can write anywhere' viewpoint. Thankfully, after a few days of R&R, the pain is abating and tomorrow I can finally scratch that itch that is chapter 4. Have a great week everyone.

Splintered Loyalties is coming along nicely. This weekend I managed to trudge through a tough bout of writer's block (I'll revise that chapter again once I've gotten a few more chapters down). The opening chapters of a novel are generally the hardest for me to write straight through, since every question I answer presents two more, all of which need to circle back to the end of the novel. 

Anyway, I started off 2015 with Keevan and Bahjal's first fight (as a couple at least). It's easy to use the actions of the villain to increase the tension in  a story,  but this conflict was actually sparked by one of the rewards for the adventures of the previous book. A twist I didn't plan for, but settled into the story quite nicely.