Outlining a new book!

 I'm outlining a book this week.

I admit I'm an on again, off again outliner. It seems like some stories will flow better if I just start typing and don't stop to think too hard about the plot. It's happened several times before.

Other times though I find outlining first keeps me focused on the story arc, characters, environment, etc. 

This book has lots of characters, species (yes it's a SciFi story ;-), environments, battles and hopefully a whole lot of fun for the reader! 

Another benefit for the outline is that I get a chance to enjoy the story as well. I get to 'play' with paths and tangents to see if I like them, before I commit to them in the story. It's really hard to back out lots of dialog, characters, etc. in a packed word document. Much easier to do in an outline.

The story involves some WW 2 submarine characters, boats and action. I have a chance to put all that research I've done to good use!

I'll keep you posted.

Do you always outline or always not outline?

Back in the writing saddle!

 I took a short breather after launching 'Arlo and Jake: Special Intel', my 5th book in that series.

It's been pretty well received, I'm thrilled! You never know how a series release will go. I purposefully keep my novels 'minimal', less than 250/300 pages. I find the massive trilogies difficult to keep focused on, even the really good ones like LOTR and the Jack Reacher books. Love them both but I have to take breaks between books.

I'm not ready to start up on book 6 of the series, though I do have the beginnings of an outline that I break open now and again.

So now I'm trying to finalize a couple of short stories that I hope to submit to Analog or Asimov or maybe some other magazine. Wish me luck.

One of the stories centers around mankind's search for life in the Universe. It's something that I've playing with for months. I'm hoping that my unique take on the quest will spark interest from one of the magazines. Selling a story to a magazine would open me up to a much wider readership! Don't really care about the money (right...), but to be able to see my work in a magazine would also be a huge ego boost right now. ;-)

I also have short outlines for books that continue the story line I started with 'Genome' the novel. These stories involve the AI 'Pip' I created to help my main characters look for medical cures. The gymnasium sized holo-deck is a great 'enabler' tool I created to help. With it you can walk around and interact with a hologram of molecules and more importantly with human DNA!

These stories will take off where 'Genome' ended. 

I've also got a YA story based on parts of Genome. I can't decide which to start first. I've never done a YA book, it might be time to try my hand at it!

Keep writing, my friends, and checkout my book links!!

Book 5 has launched!!

 'Arlo and Jake Special Intel' has hit the virtual bookstands of Amazon and Barnes and Noble!!

I'm really proud of this latest adventure of my apace-faring friends. Lots of new characters, new planets and snarky antics mixed in with the intrigue and action!

Now would be a good time for you to start with book 1, 'Arlo and Jake Enlist', and follow my heroes through space and time, trying to stop the GHA, the Galactic Houses of Aquinoxous', from aqua-forming terran planets!

They've faced space mercenaries, giant spiders, rouge Assassin Guilds, evil AIs and space battles to make your hair curl! 

Now they're trying to stop sabotage on the FTG's, the Federation of Thirteen Galaxies', home planet of Mekalon! Jake would rather fight a dozen space battles than try and match wits with Mekalon's Diplomatic Corp dweebs. But he and Arlo have another impossible job to do: save the Galaxies from the Bad Guys!

Come join the fun and adventure in the latest edition of this saga: 'Arlo and Jake Special Intel'.

Arlo and Jake Special Inte