Month: March 2016

Move-in Week!

/ Eli Kale / Leave a comment

Friends,

I hope this post finds you well, and that you’re striving toward your goals each and every day. There will be quite a bit going on this week for me, with writing being a good chunk of that, so let’s get on to the material for this post…

The Faces of the War Collection

As of last week’s post, the word count for my current WIP was around 5,000. With this week being my Spring Break for school, I plan on writing all day for the first four days of the week. Three of those days have errand appointments going on (an oil change, closing signatures for our new house, and meeting with the internet provider to get that set up).

Aside from that, my goal is to write at least 3,000 words this week, if not more. Given the rate at which I’ve produced words over the past few weeks, I really think I could get another 5,000 pumped out. It’s important to remember, though, that the story needs to tell itself and that I shouldn’t just write words to hit a word goal. That is something that forms the fabric of my writing process, and I stick to that on every project.

I am currently awaiting the final draft of the book cover for Book Four, and I’m excited to share it with you when the time comes. I’d like to try to get the fifth and final cover in this collection taken care of within the 3-4 months following the completion of this cover, but we’ll see.

Writing Tip: When brainstorming a story idea, it’s a good idea to write (or type) down what I call “detail bits” and form a pool from which to draw as you go further into the process. For example, I started out my detail pool with things like “explosion” and “missiles” and “agent” and “airplane” and “car chase” and…you get the idea. This can really help give you ideas/inspiration to fill in the gaps that inevitably come up during the creative process. 

Other News

As I’ve said, my wife and I are moving into our own house (our first purchased house) and are very excited as to what will come next in this new chapter of our lives. We close on Wednesday of this week and will start to move our things that day or on Thursday. We’ve been talking about things and planning what we’d like to do with the space. I’m very excited about our sitting room on the first floor – we’re giving it a travel theme! And then we’ll have an entertainment room in the basement, which I’ll hopefully be able to develop into an awesome space over time. Once we get into the house and somewhat settled, I’m sure things regarding our routines will go back to “normal” relatively quickly. I’ll continue teaching (as there is still about two months left in the school year) and writing throughout the week in addition to unpacking and getting things how we want them.

That’s about it for this week. I’ll keep you apprised of developments as we go throughout the next week or two, including what kind of word count I reach after this week’s writing sessions. Thank you for your support and encouragement, whether you’re new to my work or have been with me from the start. It means a great deal!

Until next time,

-Eli

Apologies

/ Eli Kale / 1 Comment

Friends,

I hope this post finds you well and in good spirits! I also hope that you have not developed any negative thoughts regarding my absence from posting on this blog, in my monthly newsletter, or on YouTube. There is good reason for it, which I will discuss in this post and in the newsletter I’ll send out on Wednesday. But first, I’d like to give an update on book progress…

The Faces of the War Collection

The first draft of Book Four is coming along well, and I foresee a surge in writing approaching at the end of March (as I have a week off from school for Spring Break, during which time I plan to knock out a large chunk of the story). At present, I have almost 5,000 words written, which includes a full Prologue and the first section of the main body of the story itself. I have spent time here and there doing a little extra research and story planning, all with the hope that it would set me up for more productive writing during my Spring Break week. If sacrificing some word count now means to make up for it (and then some) later, I’ll do it. I also am in the final phase of the cover design, which has been one of the easiest covers in my experience. In terms of laying down my vision and the designer nearly creating that vision in one or two design attempts, this book is right up there with my cover experience for Unguarded. I obviously won’t share the cover with you anytime soon, as the story isn’t near its release, but it’s a step toward progress for the project as a whole, and is thus worth mentioning to you.

Writing Tip: When writing dialogue tags and beats, it’s good to not only use action tags to help the reader know what the character is doing, but it’s also a good opportunity to reveal what the character might be thinking or how he/she is perceiving the world around them during their dialogue exchange.

Now, I’d like to explain why things have been rather crazy and spotty in the previous few weeks, and to apologize for not being as present as I should be in my writing life. My wife and I are in the process of buying our first house, and subsequently moving out of our current renter house. We’ve been having phone calls, in-person meetings, and actually seeing our new house multiple times – all within the past month or so – and we’re still not done. We are waiting for the loan process to finalize and then receive the closing paperwork. At that point, we’ll give our final signatures and then, hopefully without any hitches, be given the house keys. This should be happening during the first week of April, which means we won’t be fully moved in for another week or so (however long it takes us to get settled).

With that being said, I’d like to tell you that it’s been my goal to stay on top of blogging, vlogging, and writing from week to week. But with my school schedule (especially state testing last week and more to come throughout the majority of April) keeping me rather busy in addition to house-related things, it’s been hard to stay dedicated. This is something I’m experiencing for the first time, and so by the end of the day I’m wiped out. Like I’ve said before, I don’t like writing tired or unmotivated, because I feel it will negatively impact the story.

And so, from this post onward, I will try my hardest to at least blog every week as usual, and try to get footage for my YouTube channel when and where I can. I’m also going to push the newsletter release from April up to this week, to sort of split the difference from the one that was supposed to release at the start of March and the one to come out in May. By then, things should be back to “normal” and my routine writing, blogging, and vlogging schedule will resume. Plus, I’ll have a good deal of news for you, so that will make it something to look forward to!

That’s about all I have for you in terms of news. Keep pushing and pushing to reach the goals you set for yourself, no matter how big or seemingly unattainable. I hope you’ll come back next week to catch more news about my writing and the move to our new house!

Until next time,

-Eli

Words All Around!

/ Eli Kale / Leave a comment

Friends,

I hope this post finds you well and in good spirits, and that you are on the path to accomplishing your goals for the day, the week, or even the goals of your life. I encourage you to push on through the obstacles and trials you face, for the end result is worth the struggle. After a week’s hiatus, let me bring you up to speed on my work…

The Faces of the War Collection

In the past month or so, I’ve written and completed the first draft of the Prologue for Book Four. The word count came in at around 1,650 and looks pretty good to me at this point. Of course, I’ll go through it a few more times down the road, so more may be added, or maybe nothing will. Once the whole story is fleshed out and the scope is intact in raw form, I’ll have a better idea of what will constitute the Prologue in its entirety.

I also began writing the body of Part I (of III); it currently sits a little above 2,500 words. So hitting over 4,000 words in the first full month of writing is right where I want to be! I’ve gotten into the habit of writing on Sundays, or sometimes Saturdays, which is working very well for me. And I’ll have my Spring Break at the end of the month, so my goal is to knock out at least 1,000 words a day that week – that will really bump me forward in my writing schedule.

I’ve also gotten the ball rolling on the cover for Book Four, and so far the draft looks good. I sent back some revisions and am awaiting a second draft, but at this point I’m optimistic. It’s exciting to see it start come into being, just as it’s exciting to see this story start to take shape. If you’d like to get a preview of it and let me know what you think, you can check out the Prologue for free at this blog post link.

The Short Story Collection

I have whittled away at the next volume of short stories, but have put most of my focus on my WWII historical fiction. Fear not – I aim to release Volume 3 by the time fall arrives. I’ll keep you posted on progress as spring turns to summer.

YouTube

Just as I’ve taken a hiatus from blogging over the past two weeks, I took a break from vlogging on YouTube. There is a reason for this decision, but I can’t really touch on that just yet. You’ll understand in the coming weeks…I only ask for your patience.

New Blog Topics

In the coming weeks, I plan to release special topic blog posts that will not only vary the material I provide my readership, but it will also afford you an opportunity to better know who I am. Plus, it can be the start of some great discussions, especially with fellow readers and writers.

That’s about it for this week. Thank you again for your continued support and encouragement, and for taking an interest in my work. If you haven’t yet subscribed to my mailing list, you can do so here…that way you can get my monthly e-newsletter that has the inside scoop and behind-the-scenes details about my life and my work.

Until next time,

-Eli