July
7-27-26
Where to begin? But more importantly, when to end?
The latest novel, I’m calling here Origin, which makes this number 9, is nearing a close. It’s inception began in late January of this year, and it has grown beyond the limits of what I had set for it and myself (as these novels of mine are so often adept at doing). Nevertheless, it is a special story and one that for years I have been wanting to explore deeper and to tell in its entirety, and it sets the groundwork for the entire Gatherer’s Bounty series. More and more I learn from the completion of each consecutive novel, and more of the worlds I’ve created have I been able to see at different angles, through the eyes of different people, during different times. This is truly one of the most exciting and fulfilling things I’ve done in my life, though the doing of it is more difficult and soul-crushing than perhaps even the fulfillment and excitement it brings. Or at the very least they rival one another for now. And it is the for now that bears the most meaning here, as I am an unpublished writer of six years with nine novels and zero prospects for potential buyers of said novels.
It is my love for this craft, art, for writing that drives me on to continue doing this to myself. And though I practice brevity in the sense that I seldom stray from important plot points for side endeavors and non-essential frivolities, still I find it extremely difficult to finish a story in under 90-100k words, often stretching to 120k or higher. And while this may prove one day not to be an issue whatsoever and some might say it is a strength, I find it one of my largest struggles, one of the main things keeping me from being able to pitch any of these stories to agents who will see them as too long for someone looking to break in.
It is not all sour and glower however, as I love and cherish each of my stories, as well as all the time I have spent writing them, even if none of them see the light of the trad publishing industry. One day I will grow better at nailing an ending at a more concise and conservative mark than I can currently, and I will be an even more skilled writer at that time. Until then, I will trudge on, clicking away at these keys, sketching maps and characters for reference when fleshing out these worlds of mine. And I will keep believing in myself, and in those readers who may one day come to enjoy these characters, places, and their stories as much as I do. For every perceived failure and shortcoming are my own to possess and to rectify, none other than myself are to blame. It is not the trad publishing industry’s job to make me into the writer they want, it’s my job to become one they can no longer turn away.
Thank you for reading,
JMB
