What are you working on?

[Marti Talbott]

I'm having fun researching the details of a historical novel. I stopped writing historicals for a while - got burned out, but this book is different. It's based on a hundred-year-old true story and I've found four different versions of what happened. Of course, to keep from getting bad reviews, I have to make sure I have everything correct for the 1908 time period. Thank goodness for the internet.

I'll screw something up, I always do.

What are you working on?

[VisitasKeat]

My WIP has a historical surprise to it. There are different versions of the story, what really happened, but I feel it's a fun opportunity to fictionalize that. So, speculation with horror elements on something historical.

[Post-Doctorate D]

Still working on a space opera I started, oh, I think four years ago now.  Original plan, which people are probably tired of hearing about by now, is that I would write 5,000 words a day and have it finished in ten days.  Hopefully, maybe, possibly, I will have it finished in a couple more months.

[TimothyEllis]

Just started editing Midshipman Spacemage.

So naturally, I have 2 more books competing for brain space, and am not sure which one will go next.

In my Hunter Imperium series, the current questions being asked are: What happened to Thorn and Arthur? Well Thorn is answered in Midshipman Spacemage, and Arthur's whereabouts is in one of these 2 warring ideas in my head.

The other idea is something new, an urban fantasy, which is something I've not written before, and completely out of my universe, as far as I know. (I said that about the Spacemage trilogy, and it landed back in universe at the end.)

So editing for now. Trying not to go mad with 3 books in my head at the same time.

[LilyBLily]

Women's fiction about a bunch of baby boomers who make some big changes in their lives at retirement age. It doesn't feature a married woman whose husband leaves her for a floozie (or is it "floozy"?). Too many of those books around. Not much fun to read, IMO.

[Jeff Tanyard]

Book 4, Wheel of Fire.

[cecilia_writer]

I'm trying to finish the 3rd in my historical series. I meant to do this over the Christmas and New Year holiday but I was ill. I think I've got the timeline straightened out after several attempts and once I'm more confident about that I have around 10,000 more words to write.

[dgcasey]

Doing the final edit on Crossing The Veil, then I'll send it off to my editor. After that's gone, I'm going to bury myself in the final book of the Wyndweir trilogy and see if I can finish the first draft by the middle of April.

[notthatamanda]

Editing and listening to the narration (!) on my next book, a psychological thriller.  And I have written one chapter for the follow up to my WW II novel. Already done a ton of research for that.

[guest78]

Wrapping up a YA psychological thriller and getting ready to record audio for one of my cozies.

[VanessaC]

I'd started the first draft of book 4, but just got feedback on book 3, so now into revision / editing mode for book 3. Hoping to have book 3 out by mid-February, then will re-assess timescale for the rest of the series.

[Vijaya]

Revising a historical and mapping its sequel.

[Lorri Moulton]

Writing my second clean/sweet fairytale.  They're fairly short and I publish them a chapter at a time on my website.  When I'm done, they go up for sale and I start the next one. 
Fun to write and hopefully, it will get more people to visit my website. 

[Lynn]

Something I started in May and that I'd like to finish before the year turns. Gah.

And a few other things too. One I started three years ago and another that I started in 2015. I really need to write faster.

This is the year. I'm going to finally finish them all! :D

Where is the fingers crossed emoji? I need one. :D

[The Masked Scrivener]

I'm working on book 1 of my new science series. After finishing a 5 book series, and ending it, it feels exciting to be writing new characters in a new world.

[spin52]

I'm about halfway through my twelfth Victorian mystery (13th if you count my alternate POV book, which was fun to write, had a handful of sales and one glowing review). The  current WIP is set in the summer of 1868, which was a scorcher in England. Some of the temperature records from that year weren't broken until 1976. Unfortunately, it's freezing outside here at the moment so it's hard to catch the mood, but I'm giving it my best shot!

[Kate Elizabeth]

I just got through making changes to a new adult romance.

Otherwise, I'm working on fantasy that decided that it wanted to be urban fantasy.

[alhawke]

I'm on the last stages of completing another fantasy romance--this one with witches.

[DCRWrites]

Letting Doc Vandal 6, which I finished yesterday, percolate before I move on to editing and working on Doc Vandal 7, which I started yesterday.

[MaxDaemon]

Trying to force myself to finish editing and get the blamed things published.

I finished writing in late October and late November for two books - promising myself and readers I'd have them out by early January. Annnnd here it is February.

[notthatamanda]

I just told my narrator everything is approved on my first audio book.   

Now I get to learn about ACX and Findaway and lord knows what else.  And I get to really start writing the sequel to my WWII historical fiction novel, which I have done a ton of research for, but only found the time to write a chapter and a half so far.

More bananas:

[Jeff Tanyard]

I just told my narrator everything is approved on my first audio book.   

Congratulations.   

I remember my first--and so far, only--audiobook production.  Very weird to have another person reading my words back to me.  Flattering yet self-conscious.  It's one of those things you can't really describe to others; you have to experience it for yourself.

[W.R. Gingell]

Finishing up the final book in my fantasy/fairytale/mashup looped sequence  Getting ready to keep working on the 6th book of my Aussie UF series 

[Bill Hiatt]

My WIP is a fourth Arosil book but it's stalled. My astrophysics adviser said he had some exciting ideas after our initial correspondence, but then he vanished without a word. I've yet to find a replacement. It's also much harder for me to focus and keep story elements straight as I'm experience the onset of dementia. I hope I can find the help I need to finish the book before my mind is too far gone.

We'll all be keeping a positive thought for you.

Off topic, but treatments in this area are improving. I also know from experience with family members that other conditions can sometimes mimic common causes of dementia such as Alzheimer's. My father, for example, had pulmonary issues. When those were in control, what I took to be the first stages of Alzheimer's disappeared. This is  a good time to be working with a leave-no-stone-unturned kind of physician.

[Bill Hiatt]

The third book in the Different Dragons series is in the hands of the editor. While he's working on that, I've gotten about 20,000 words into a novelization of the Theseus myth. (I had previously written a Greek mythology book for my old school that gave me a lot of ideas while I was writing and researching. I've developed some sufficiently original perceptions to think it might be worth novelizing some of the individual stories. Theseus is the experimental one to see if continuing in that direction is worthwhile.)

[MaxDaemon]

" My astrophysics adviser said he had some exciting ideas after our initial correspondence, but then he vanished without a word"

Any chance you would be willing to post the roadblock you're up against and see if any of the creative types here might be able to offer plausible fake (or real) ideas?

[Marti Talbott]

You guys are impressive and far ahead of me. I'm still working on my train wreck.

[MaxDaemon]

" My astrophysics adviser said he had some exciting ideas after our initial correspondence, but then he vanished without a word"

Any chance you would be willing to post the roadblock you're up against and see if any of the creative types here might be able to offer plausible fake (or real) ideas?

If I can't get it right I won't write it. Even my fictional science needs to be relatively plausible and extrapolated from reality. In the book the Moon is split into two major pieces and smaller debris from an explosion. My research into the exact effect on Earth has come up short because most descriptions and theories address the Moon leaving orbit or being obliterated.
During the recovery efforts it's also discovered there is a manufactured object at the core of the Moon (based on the Apollo 12 incident and subsequent theories). I need to know what the composition, density, and mass would need to be to match that of a solid Moon (to justify actual measurements and behavior), and whether the Moon could have formed around the object after impacting Earth rather than it being struck by Theia. I've done heavy research and can't quite find what I need, so I was hoping to pick the brain of an astrophysicist or PhD candidate.

I think you should give this its own thread. It's rather a fascinating idea.

What direction did the explosion blow the bits toward? Earth or out? Are you talking that the core would have the mass of basically the entire moon, some super dense material? And is the core still in place?

I bet if you give your question a topic of its own here and "that other place" you might come up with an answer.

[MaxDaemon]

You guys are impressive and far ahead of me. I'm still working on my train wreck.

I love trains. We're taking a train trip next week from Seattle to Los Angeles, then back a week or so later. SO looking forward to it.

I've been obsessing over trains for something like 50 years - maybe I can offer a suggestion?

[Marti Talbott]

You guys are impressive and far ahead of me. I'm still working on my train wreck.

I love trains. We're taking a train trip next week from Seattle to Los Angeles, then back a week or so later. SO looking forward to it.

I've been obsessing over trains for something like 50 years - maybe I can offer a suggestion?

Thanks for the offer. We took a train from Seattle to Colorado and I loved it too. It's a soothing, restful experience.

My problem is that this wreck was in 1909 when railroad cars were made of wood. (My fans said if I write it, they'll read it even though the deaths and injuries were horrible.)

Head on, the 60 mile an hour passenger train hit a double engine freighter pulling hoppers filled with 250 tons of coal each and going 45 miles an hour. This is based on a true story so I have a pretty good idea of what the damage was to the trains. Here's my biggest problem. The coal cars jackknifed in a narrow area between a canyon wall and a river in the dead of night, so the relief train couldn't get to the passenger train until daylight the next day. In the light, how did they get around the jackknifed coal cars? Is it possible the couplings broke leaving a gap? None of my research says, so I could probably just make something up, I guess.
Got any ideas? Sorry you asked?

[MaxDaemon]

" My astrophysics adviser said he had some exciting ideas after our initial correspondence, but then he vanished without a word"

Any chance you would be willing to post the roadblock you're up against and see if any of the creative types here might be able to offer plausible fake (or real) ideas?

If I can't get it right I won't write it. Even my fictional science needs to be relatively plausible and extrapolated from reality. In the book the Moon is split into two major pieces and smaller debris from an explosion. My research into the exact effect on Earth has come up short because most descriptions and theories address the Moon leaving orbit or being obliterated.
During the recovery efforts it's also discovered there is a manufactured object at the core of the Moon (based on the Apollo 12 incident and subsequent theories). I need to know what the composition, density, and mass would need to be to match that of a solid Moon (to justify actual measurements and behavior), and whether the Moon could have formed around the object after impacting Earth rather than it being struck by Theia. I've done heavy research and can't quite find what I need, so I was hoping to pick the brain of an astrophysicist or PhD candidate.

I think you should give this its own thread. It's rather a fascinating idea.

What direction did the explosion blow the bits toward? Earth or out? Are you talking that the core would have the mass of basically the entire moon, some super dense material? And is the core still in place?

I bet if you give your question a topic of its own here and "that other place" you might come up with an answer.

Other place?   I posted a question asking if anyone knows of an astrophysicist or PhD candidate willing to be an adviser.
The Moon is split but remains in the same orbit, with only minor debris reaching Earth (enough to damage the ISS-2 and some ships). The artificial core needs to have the same mass as that part of the Moon actually has.

I read your topic over there, but since I have no knowledge of what you asked, I didn't respond. However, if you posited your question as you have just now, someone might have ideas. Sometime we know things we don't know we know. :-)

So .. the effect of the moon might be split or changed by the fact it's in two pieces now. So, if the pieces are far enough apart, they might cause some differentiation in tides - like having TWO high tides etc. If they are still close together, and the moon is basically just split open then there'd likely be little change in how the Earth is effected. However, it doesn't sound like that is the case.

I'm just yammering out thoughts. Sometimes seeing your concepts parroted back by someone else helps jog your thoughts. And it's entirely possible that you don't need very specific scientific knowledge here, if you can write the story to get around it.

[Marti Talbott]

You guys are impressive and far ahead of me. I'm still working on my train wreck.

I love trains. We're taking a train trip next week from Seattle to Los Angeles, then back a week or so later. SO looking forward to it.

I've been obsessing over trains for something like 50 years - maybe I can offer a suggestion?

Thanks for the offer. We took a train from Seattle to Colorado and I loved it too. It's a soothing, restful experience.

My problem is that this wreck was in 1909 when railroad cars were made of wood. (My fans said if I write it, they'll read it even though the deaths and injuries were horrible.)

Head on, the 60 mile an hour passenger train hit a double engine freighter pulling hoppers filled with 250 tons of coal each and going 45 miles an hour. This is based on a true story so I have a pretty good idea of what the damage was to the trains. Here's my biggest problem. The coal cars jackknifed in a narrow area between a canyon wall and a river in the dead of night, so the relief train couldn't get to the passenger train until daylight the next day. In the light, how did they get around the jackknifed coal cars? Is it possible the couplings broke leaving a gap? None of my research says, so I could probably just make something up, I guess.
Got any ideas? Sorry you asked?

I based one of my shorts on the HMS Albion disaster. Lot of research for a short.  Do you know where the incident took place?  If so Google Earth it in 3D to get a better perspective, then look up general rescue protocols and techniques for such disasters.

Got all that, just nothing that tells me how the doctors and nurses on the relief train carried the injured past the coal cars.

[MaxDaemon]

You guys are impressive and far ahead of me. I'm still working on my train wreck.

I love trains. We're taking a train trip next week from Seattle to Los Angeles, then back a week or so later. SO looking forward to it.

I've been obsessing over trains for something like 50 years - maybe I can offer a suggestion?

Thanks for the offer. We took a train from Seattle to Colorado and I loved it too. It's a soothing, restful experience.

My problem is that this wreck was in 1909 when railroad cars were made of wood. (My fans said if I write it, they'll read it even though the deaths and injuries were horrible.)

Head on, the 60 mile an hour passenger train hit a double engine freighter pulling hoppers filled with 250 tons of coal each and going 45 miles an hour. This is based on a true story so I have a pretty good idea of what the damage was to the trains. Here's my biggest problem. The coal cars jackknifed in a narrow area between a canyon wall and a river in the dead of night, so the relief train couldn't get to the passenger train until daylight the next day. In the light, how did they get around the jackknifed coal cars? Is it possible the couplings broke leaving a gap? None of my research says, so I could probably just make something up, I guess.
Got any ideas? Sorry you asked?

Not at all. :-)

I'd think that the relief train would have hooked onto the last coal car (well, more likely the caboose) and pulled whatever part of the train that was still on the track back to a siding, which likely would have been within a fairly short distance. This would allow them to get closer with a wrecker train and get the jackknifed cars back on the tracks. The coal cars were going slower and had two engines on the front. This should mean that not a lot of damage was done to the cars themselves other than knocking some of the front ones off the track.

It doesn't seem that the damage would have been too severe to any of the coal train beyond the engine and perhaps the first car or two. Coal is pretty dense and would absorb a lot of the shock. I imagine the passenger train suffered the greatest damage.



I'm assuming this was in Colorado?

[Marti Talbott]

You guys are impressive and far ahead of me. I'm still working on my train wreck.

I love trains. We're taking a train trip next week from Seattle to Los Angeles, then back a week or so later. SO looking forward to it.

I've been obsessing over trains for something like 50 years - maybe I can offer a suggestion?

Thanks for the offer. We took a train from Seattle to Colorado and I loved it too. It's a soothing, restful experience.

My problem is that this wreck was in 1909 when railroad cars were made of wood. (My fans said if I write it, they'll read it even though the deaths and injuries were horrible.)

Head on, the 60 mile an hour passenger train hit a double engine freighter pulling hoppers filled with 250 tons of coal each and going 45 miles an hour. This is based on a true story so I have a pretty good idea of what the damage was to the trains. Here's my biggest problem. The coal cars jackknifed in a narrow area between a canyon wall and a river in the dead of night, so the relief train couldn't get to the passenger train until daylight the next day. In the light, how did they get around the jackknifed coal cars? Is it possible the couplings broke leaving a gap? None of my research says, so I could probably just make something up, I guess.
Got any ideas? Sorry you asked?

Not at all. :-)

I'd think that the relief train would have hooked onto the last coal car (well, more likely the caboose) and pulled whatever part of the train that was still on the track back to a siding, which likely would have been within a fairly short distance. This would allow them to get closer with a wrecker train and get the jackknifed cars back on the tracks. The coal cars were going slower and had two engines on the front. This should mean that not a lot of damage was done to the cars themselves other than knocking some of the front ones off the track.

It doesn't seem that the damage would have been too severe to any of the coal train beyond the engine and perhaps the first car or two. Coal is pretty dense and would absorb a lot of the shock. I imagine the passenger train suffered the greatest damage.



I'm assuming this was in Colorado?

  Since then, the railroad tracks were moved to the other side of the river. I'm thinking the sudden stop would have jackknifed the front coal cars - the ones closest to the engines? I've looked at pictures of other train wrecks and the cars that didn't completely overturn ended up cross-wise on the tracks. I think I'll go with one of the coal cars coming uncoupled and making a narrow path between it and the canyon wall.

Thanks for helping me think it through.

[Pyram King]

I'm having fun researching the details of a historical novel. I stopped writing historicals for a while - got burned out, but this book is different. It's based on a hundred-year-old true story and I've found four different versions of what happened. Of course, to keep from getting bad reviews, I have to make sure I have everything correct for the 1908 time period. Thank goodness for the internet.

I'll screw something up, I always do.

What are you working on?

I feel you. I just finished book 1 of my historical fiction. I included a significant index as well (end notes, slang, glossary, etc.). As a reader, I always enjoyed the extra info and references. It was a lot of work, but enjoyable. Interesting was picking up the colonial slang correctly.

My story takes place around the same time as yours 1917. However, I also have a lot of ancient history that is referenced as well.

My novel is available for FREE on Amazon this week 10-13th - if interested.


Now - I am finishing up book 2.

[A. N. Onymous]

Hmmmm, let's see...

100 pages into a sci-fi end of world book...stalled.
130 pages into a psych-thriller....stalled.
90 pages into a sci-fi abduction...stalled.
160 pages into Book 1 of a sci-fi space opera...stalled.
80 pages into a drama...stalled.
So far, I have published five non-fic booklets, and five novels of around 100k each.
First novel...drama/action/adventure.
Second.......Thriller/suspense
Third..........Sci-fi/space opera
Fourth........Magic Realism
Fifth...........Psych-Thriller
So...my current project? Well, naturally, I'm around 160 pages into a horror/thriller.  Maybe my aim is to write in every possible genre there is. Sure feels like I'm heading that way. No helping this old fool who just won't get with the program to write in series in one genre!

[Marti Talbott]

Hmmmm, let's see...

100 pages into a sci-fi end of world book...stalled.
130 pages into a psych-thriller....stalled.
90 pages into a sci-fi abduction...stalled.
160 pages into Book 1 of a sci-fi space opera...stalled.
80 pages into a drama...stalled.
So far, I have published five non-fic booklets, and five novels of around 100k each.
First novel...drama/action/adventure.
Second.......Thriller/suspense
Third..........Sci-fi/space opera
Fourth........Magic Realism
Fifth...........Psych-Thriller
So...my current project? Well, naturally, I'm around 160 pages into a horror/thriller.  Maybe my aim is to write in every possible genre there is. Sure feels like I'm heading that way. No helping this old fool who just won't get with the program to write in series in one genre!

If stalled means you've run out of material/finished too soon, try adding a sub-plot. I do that with all my books just to keep myself interested, lol.

[A. N. Onymous]

Hmmmm, let's see...

100 pages into a sci-fi end of world book...stalled.
130 pages into a psych-thriller....stalled.
90 pages into a sci-fi abduction...stalled.
160 pages into Book 1 of a sci-fi space opera...stalled.
80 pages into a drama...stalled.
So far, I have published five non-fic booklets, and five novels of around 100k each.
First novel...drama/action/adventure.
Second.......Thriller/suspense
Third..........Sci-fi/space opera
Fourth........Magic Realism
Fifth...........Psych-Thriller
So...my current project? Well, naturally, I'm around 160 pages into a horror/thriller.  Maybe my aim is to write in every possible genre there is. Sure feels like I'm heading that way. No helping this old fool who just won't get with the program to write in series in one genre!

If stalled means you've run out of material/finished too soon, try adding a sub-plot. I do that with all my books just to keep myself interested, lol.

Running out of confidence is closer to the truth. I begin to get some serious doubts about what I am writing which leads to losing interest. When you are a prawn, it is difficult to maintain the confidence you need to complete and publish that next book that will end up earning practically zero. Cripes! I hate the sound of my own whinging.

[Lynn]

Hmmmm, let's see...

100 pages into a sci-fi end of world book...stalled.
130 pages into a psych-thriller....stalled.
90 pages into a sci-fi abduction...stalled.
160 pages into Book 1 of a sci-fi space opera...stalled.
80 pages into a drama...stalled.
So far, I have published five non-fic booklets, and five novels of around 100k each.
First novel...drama/action/adventure.
Second.......Thriller/suspense
Third..........Sci-fi/space opera
Fourth........Magic Realism
Fifth...........Psych-Thriller
So...my current project? Well, naturally, I'm around 160 pages into a horror/thriller.  Maybe my aim is to write in every possible genre there is. Sure feels like I'm heading that way. No helping this old fool who just won't get with the program to write in series in one genre!

If stalled means you've run out of material/finished too soon, try adding a sub-plot. I do that with all my books just to keep myself interested, lol.

Running out of confidence is closer to the truth. I begin to get some serious doubts about what I am writing which leads to losing interest. When you are a prawn, it is difficult to maintain the confidence you need to complete and publish that next book that will end up earning practically zero. Cripes! I hate the sound of my own whinging.

"I never correct anything and I never go back to what I have written, except to the foot of the last page to see where I have got to. If you once look back, you are lost. How could you have written this drivel? How could you have used “terrible” six times on one page? And so forth. If you interrupt the writing of fast narrative with too much introspection and self-criticism, you will be lucky if you write 500 words a day and you will be disgusted with them into the bargain."

From Ian Fleming Explains How to Write a Thriller - https://lithub.com/ian-fleming-explains-how-to-write-a-thriller/

I always look back at this when I start getting too critical of my work. It's always a nice little pick me up.

[Lynn]

Unfortunately, none of us are Ian Fleming.  LOL

Unfortunately? Nah. I particularly like the premise behind the quote, that if you doubt yourself, you'll lose momentum. So don't allow yourself time to doubt. :D

I do my best to stick to that, because I've found it to be very true. I've finished 22 novels now and I still deal with this on every book I write. :D

[Marti Talbott]

Hmmmm, let's see...

100 pages into a sci-fi end of world book...stalled.
130 pages into a psych-thriller....stalled.
90 pages into a sci-fi abduction...stalled.
160 pages into Book 1 of a sci-fi space opera...stalled.
80 pages into a drama...stalled.
So far, I have published five non-fic booklets, and five novels of around 100k each.
First novel...drama/action/adventure.
Second.......Thriller/suspense
Third..........Sci-fi/space opera
Fourth........Magic Realism
Fifth...........Psych-Thriller
So...my current project? Well, naturally, I'm around 160 pages into a horror/thriller.  Maybe my aim is to write in every possible genre there is. Sure feels like I'm heading that way. No helping this old fool who just won't get with the program to write in series in one genre!

If stalled means you've run out of material/finished too soon, try adding a sub-plot. I do that with all my books just to keep myself interested, lol.

Running out of confidence is closer to the truth. I begin to get some serious doubts about what I am writing which leads to losing interest. When you are a prawn, it is difficult to maintain the confidence you need to complete and publish that next book that will end up earning practically zero. Cripes! I hate the sound of my own whinging.

Being criticized is part of the game. I am still getting pointers from people telling me how to rewrite a book that I wrote ten years ago. Heck no, I'm not going to rewrite it!
Self-doubt is normal. I feel that way every time I release a book, and that started 50 books ago. If people don't like it, they won't buy it. So what. There's a great gratification in actually finishing what I start.

If you have a story to tell, tell it - show it to the world, and let them tell you if it's good or not. If not, take the book down and start over. What have you lost? Nothing. But you could gain a lot, trust me, there is money and a little fame to be had out there in the world. If I can do it, believe me, you've got a better shot at it than I did.

[A. N. Onymous]

Hmmmm, let's see...

100 pages into a sci-fi end of world book...stalled.
130 pages into a psych-thriller....stalled.
90 pages into a sci-fi abduction...stalled.
160 pages into Book 1 of a sci-fi space opera...stalled.
80 pages into a drama...stalled.
So far, I have published five non-fic booklets, and five novels of around 100k each.
First novel...drama/action/adventure.
Second.......Thriller/suspense
Third..........Sci-fi/space opera
Fourth........Magic Realism
Fifth...........Psych-Thriller
So...my current project? Well, naturally, I'm around 160 pages into a horror/thriller.  Maybe my aim is to write in every possible genre there is. Sure feels like I'm heading that way. No helping this old fool who just won't get with the program to write in series in one genre!

This makes me feel you have bought into the idea you must always be writing and are therefore not invested in the material.

I don't think so. I have always been writing in one form or another since I was about fifteen. I am compelled to write only because I am creative and in love with stories. I truly have lost confidence lately. Maybe it is a sign of depression, maybe something else but it has hit me hard and I feel I am very close to quitting altogether. I have been on the cusp of it for about a year now. A year of unfinished manuscripts littering my computer. All up, the amount I've written/wasted in unfinished projects could be a couple of novels easily. I just lose all confidence in the story, in my writing ability, in everything.