scotrstone.com Blog

This really isn't happening...

Recently I encountered a problem where it looked like I lost everything on my hard drive. I did manage to get everything back … except one little important document. That document happened to be the new book I was writing! The file was corrupted, and, unfortunately, I had not gotten around to backing it up on my thumb drive. Boy, did I learn a hard lesson. Twenty-two pages down the drain. I had to start over. Ugh. Now back up to page seven, and everything is getting saved immediately!

Speed is a desirable trait in my world.

Life can get so busy when you have to take care of others before yourself. I really need a second me, or possibly two more, in order to get everything done I want to. Maybe I need a personal assistant. If so, who would that be? Hmmmm…maybe the picture above could be a hint.

Unfortunately, the kids, housechores and farm projects are really hard to keep up with. Just finding time to write my books and post a blog here and there can be a challenge. So, as you can imagine, producing an entire newsletter regularly is not easy and time consuming. So, if you want to know what’s going on with me, check out my blog or go to my Facebook page. Kirk out.

Most people assume I need quiet when I am writing. This isn’t true for me. I can write with kids running around me in a circle. This doesn’t mean I’m not paying attention to my kids, either. I can stop in the middle of a sentence in a heartbeat if there’s a problem. This is the life of a parent, not a writer. I have to work my writing into my parenting world, not the other way around. So, I just have to really be able to do two things at once. This will be put to great test since my kids have this week off for winter break.

Yeah, I’m forty. Does it suck? No. I’m just another year older. It doesn’t mean I’m washed up, over the hill, at the end of my rope or any of that other garbage. If anything, I’m smarter and putting all that accumulated knowledge to great use. I’ve started exercising again. Sure, I’ve promised myself I would do this on a regular basis before, and then never followed through due to one reason or another.I analyzed why this was and this time made my routine more realistic and not seem all that daunting. My workouts are only ½ and hour each, and not overly intensive. I have to WANT to do it, not be discouraged. As a result, my mind is crisper, clearer. With that, I’ve started writing a new novel in a new series, and hope to have it finished by the end of this year. I’ve made many other goals as well, short term and long term. I hope you all have, too. Never be satisfied. As the great Vince Lombardi once said, “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.”

Clay Matthews III Sack Celebration

Glad to be back posting again! It’s been awhile. I’ve been busy working, however. I’ve finished editing The Ice Shadows of Arna, for whichever new lucky publisher who wants to take on The Snowtear Wars. The Chimes of Yawrana is currently in the hands of one, so keep your fingers crossed that they will like what they see, and want to see more. I had another editor/friend recently tell me she loved what she saw with Chimes, however, her publisher was taken over and is only doing picture books now. So that’s a wash there. The publishing industry can be so excruciatingly slow! That should never stop you from working as a writer, though. You must remain disciplined, or your craft will suffer.

Ah, my beloved Green and Gold players have just won the Super Bowl! I’m on cloud nine. Aaron Rodgers finally steps out of Brett Favre’s shadow. Unfortunately, the NFL owners are about to have a lockout, which will screw things up big time for 2011. No football?

I’ve also just finished editing a stand alone book I’ve written. That’s now being reviewed by my agent. I have one more stand alone book to edit, then it’s back to writing my new series! Hopefully my next post won’t take as long in coming as this one did. With the Pack winning the Super Bowl, I can’t help but feel my stars are starting to align. Maybe that means a new publisher is on the way for me?

Yes, some of you know that I’m on Facebook already. If you didn’t, though, and have an account with them, just go there and type in “Scot R. Stone” to find me. I’d love to hear from some of you! Sometimes I have just enough time to write a quick one-day sum-up there, instead of trying to post something more thoughtful here. If you’re curious as to what I may be doing from a personal stand point, I post some of that information on Facebook, in addition to any writing news. Hope to hear from you. And, yes, I will still be doing posts here on occasion, so keep checking back. I am busy editing right now. I finished reediting The Chimes of Yawrana and The Ice Shadows of Arna to get them ready for a bigger publisher. Hopefully that goal will be achieved in the near future! 

Cheers, Scot

I don’t know why, but this summer seems even busier than last, and that’s saying something considering I had to replace my roof, mostly on my own. It really makes it hard to try and squeeze writing in. The good news is, I see the light at the end of the tunnel for one of the projects I’m doing. I should be finished with it in approximately three days. Then I can move on to the next, which will take me even less time. It will probably be a couple months before I get to start anything new, though. But, hey, family’s first, and unfortunately so are a ton of other things. Ugh!

It’s been awhile since Johnny Depp made a movie I actually cared about. Since Pirates of the Caribbean, Curse of the Black Pearl, actually. Dead Man’s Chest was okay, and At World’s End really stunk. But that wasn’t Depp’s fault.

Moving on. Alice in Wonderland, with Depp portraying the Mad Hatter, and Mia Wasikowska (what a last name!) portraying Alice, gives the audience a fantastic ride for a couple of hours. Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen, and Anne Hathaway as the White Queen, didn’t hurt any either. The graphics are as good as any Iron Man, LOTR or Harry Potter movie. The story differs from the book in many respects, especially towards the end. I love Tim Burton’s take on the story, and I always have liked his artistic vision (Edward Scissorhands, Coraline, Sleepy Hollow). In my opinion, Mia steals the show. And to boot it all, a dragon makes an appearance at the end.

Original Alice in Wonderland

If you didn’t catch this one in the theater, then you missed a good treat. These are one of those that SHOULD BE seen in the theater, unless, of course, you have a home theater system that can compare. Four popcorn boxes out of four. There’s not much I really didn’t like about the interpretation.

I will be the first one to admit that writing isn’t easy. In fact, it’s damn hard. There’s a lot to learn, and not just about writing. You have to learn a great deal about the industry itself, how it works and where to best cast your dice. The most important area, though, that any author can control, is what they do when it comes to their manuscripts. It’s hard enough to write a story, but then to correctly edit it, that’s another matter entirely. I have grown leaps and bounds when it comes to the editing phase of my works. I was a poor, poor editor ten years ago when I first started. Now I catch things as if it’s second nature. You have to know how to identify problems. It’s the biggest pain you can imagine, but you must learn how to do it correctly if you want to survive in this business. Editors and agents have little time or patience for manuscripts that are littered with errors.

Now that I’m no longer with Behler, that means my Snowtear Wars series is free to be signed by any other publisher. So, what am I doing right now? Tightening that series up. Yes, reediting it. Again, it’s a pain, but it will greatly increase my chances of it landing with someone else. The time i put in, I believe, will be well worth the effort.