Another Friday has finally graced us with its presence. I think most of us are glad to see it here. I can imagine a nightclub bouncer would not be too thrilled with Friday, but for the rest of us, it means the eve of freedom. It means the beginning of the end of the workweek. Eight hours is all that separates us from our work world and our relaxing world.

I think given all that is going on in our country these days we definitely need to spend time in the relaxing world. I’m not sure but I have to wonder who is really enjoying all the vitriol coming out of Washington. I for one have had my fill.

Today’s JohnKu talks about trying to live through stressful times.

I hope you all have a very relaxing weekend.

Living by John W. Howell © 2019

It’s not all roses,

And living can be stressful. . .

Need an inner strength.

 

Friday. So good to see your smiling face. We can celebrate making it another week. Here in Texas, we got hit by a cold front that took the wind chills down into the basement. Man, it was cold. We are not expected to get back to the 70s until next week. I know, I know you folks in the North have no sympathy. My only defense in being such a weenie is if I wanted to be chilled to the bone I would have moved to Alaska. At least I would know what is waiting for me during the winter. This year here the temps went from the 90s to the 30s overnight. No chance to get used to a gradual decline.

The WIP editing is coming along. I’m at page 223 out of 300. I also cut out about 2000 words so far and am down to 93,000. I would say I’ll be finished in another eight days or so.

This week’s JohnKu talks about having to cut precious words from a manuscript. I hope you have a great weekend.

Sacrifice by John W. Howell © 2019

You hate to do it,

The words were hard to come by . . .

Sacrifice is tough.

 

 

Let’s hear it for Friday. YAY. Always lovely to see your smiling face, Friday. It makes us glad we made it through the week and now only have two days of relaxation ahead.

I’m looking forward to painting the front door. “What?” you say. “Your front door is unpainted?”

Yes, it is painted. The problem is it is not painted the right accent color on the outside. So, the forecast for Saturday has the humidity at 50%, which means good painting weather. I’ll take some photos (I know real exciting stuff) and run them on Views of the Neighborhood on Sunday. Wow. Does it get any better than that?

Still editing the WIP. It is moving slowly but surely.

Today’s JohnKu is about editing. I hope you have a super weekend.

Editing by John W. Howell © 2019

If you don’t do it,

Life later will be like hell . . .

Before publish, edit.

 

Here is that beautiful day of the week that traditionally signals an end to the workweek. Only eight more hours and then the weekend is available for maximum enjoyment. I certainly hope you will enjoy yours.

Not too much new around here. We saw the temperatures drop into the 30s, and for next week, it looks like more of below-normal conditions. The daytime highs are expected to be no more than the high 60s and lows in the 50s. This would compare to the ’80s as a high and 70s as a low. So, yes, sweater weather but not subzero. Tonight is the only low in the 30’s. We are due rain next Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

The WIP is coming along but slowly. I work on it everyday but for me, editing is a much slower task than writing. So far, our heroes have been to Dodge City Kansas in 1878, Tombstone Arizona in 1881 and have just arrived at the Alamo in 1838.

By the way, in case I haven’t mentioned it, these two, James and Samantha, are on a quest to find the best eternal home. They are sampling places and time dimensions to see what fits the best. Along the way, they are seeing plenty of action. If you are a history buff you know some things happened in each of those years. For example, right now they arrive at the Alamo a couple of days before Santa Anna’s attack on the Texas stronghold. Well, more of this later.

Today’s JohnKu talks about the weather which we all seem to find something to complain about no matter what it is.

Weather by John W. Howell © 2019

When it’s hot or cold,

Rain, snow, dead of night or clear . . .

Half want a change now.

 

 

 

Friday has arrived as it does each week typically. The prospect of spending a couple of days catching our breath makes Friday a particular day. I used to call it Saturday eve when I was a prisoner of organized commerce. Friday was the day to put on casual clothes and take a little extra time at lunch. Friday was also the day when company re-organizations would take place and thus became a “day of the long knives.” Even if this were the case, Friday was also the day the eagle pooped. Yeah, payday. Payday was a cause to stop after work for a couple of drinks and to celebrate making it another week, bi-week or in the old days, month.

I once asked one of my co-workers if he would like to stop after work for a couple of drinks. He said, “If I can only have a couple, then no.” He was one of those funny guys that every office has on hand.

This week was more editing on the WIP. As I was working, it became apparent to me that my deadline was in serious jeopardy. I had planned to have the MS into my editor’s hands by early November. This would have included beta reader input.

I find that my second draft is taking me longer.  I did beg my editor for more time since I hate to send her an MS that isn’t as complete as I can make it. The beta read part of that is essential. If I sent it without input from beta readers, then there would be a chance of another rewrite, which would then be a waste of the editor’s time. So I pushed the launch and will be ready to solicit beta readers shortly.  (My editor is an angel)  If you would like to read the book, I will be posting an invitation separately.

Today’s JohnKu celebrates the weekend. I hope you have a good one.

Weekend by John W. Howell © 2019

It was a hard one,

Now that the week is over. . .

Time to celebrate.

 

 

What a week. It seemed to go pretty fast. I don’t want anyone wishing their life away, but I hope it moved quickly for you as well.

I started editing my WIP on Monday and was pleasantly surprised that the story still looked good to me. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I go back to things I’ve written, and they look like something that requires some starter and a match. I’m glad this one has salvageable parts.

I was delighted to get an excellent Circumstances of Childhood review on Thursday from Kevin Cooper. If you missed it, you could go HERE

I was also a guest of Teri Polen’s Bad Moon Rising. She asks some outstanding questions, and it is always a fun time. You could go HERE  as well if you missed it.

I certainly want to thank Kevin and Teri and all of you who visited the posts. Thank you.

Today’s John Ku talks about encouragement from others. I hope you all have a fabulous weekend. We are looking for temperatures in the 70s Whoo-Whoo.

Encouragement by John W. Howell © 2019

Writers work alone,

We struggle with our own ghosts. . .

Comments make our day.

 

It is Friday and it came just in time.

As you may know I’m helping C.S.Boyack with his launch of Viral Blues his new book. If you haven’t visited yet here is the link. I’m reading it now and am enjoying it.

I’m happy to say the first draft of my new book is done. I now  need to let it rest for a few and then go back for the second run through. It is amazing to me what can be done when you make a committment. Thanks to all of you for your encouragement during the process. Today’s JohnKu talks about a journey. I hope you all have a great weekend.

The journey by John W. Howell © 2019

The first step starts it,

Then it is rinse and repeat . . .

Until you are home.

Today is Friday. Hold on. If that is news to anyone it is definitely time for a relook at your priorities. Yes, it is the last workday of the week. Yahoo. Always nice to recognize Friday.

This week has been pretty typical. I managed to meet my 1000 word a day goal and now my WIP stands at above 89,000. If I do seven more thousand next week the first draft will be done and total 96,000 words. Of course, the conclusion could come crashing in at fewer words but either way it will be done next week. (God willing and the creek don’t rise.)

Then the editing and rewrite will begin at the expense of the few hairs I have left.

I spent some time this week on Amazon ads. There was a weeklong workshop in which I participated. It was informative and gave me some pretty good ideas about Amazon advertising. I have vowed to conquer this beast or die trying. We’ll see how it goes.

I raised some concern about views and the need to maybe change some things on the blog. I took a look this week at visits to my blog in contrast to just looking at views and for the most part the visits are pretty consistant. Long story short I’m going to leave the format alone but continue to keep monatoring.

Today’s JohnKu talks about continued review of our chosen path to make certain it is still relevant. I hope you have a great weekend.

Oversight by John W. Howell © 2019

The path well travelled,

Should be evaluated . . .

So you won’t get lost.