Blog

A World on Fire: Britain’s Crucial Role in the American Civil War revealed aspects of the historical period I hadn’t been exposed to in other books. The author, Amanda Foreman, describes key events I have read in other books on the Civil War, but also shows the surprising effect on England and other parts of the world.I vaguely remember some of the stranger attempts at holding the Union together, but this book made my eyes pop open. Secretary of State William Henry Seward attempted a novel tactic at the beginning of the war, namely, he raised the specter of a potential foreign war in the belief the Confederate States would rejoin the Union out of a sense of nationalism. The potential disaster of this course of action can barely be imagined.A World on Fire also recounts the tale of the CSS Alabama and how much of the world seemed fascinated by the ship and crew’s exploits. The book explained how many people in England supported the Confederacy despite their hatred of slavery.I had also never read about Confederate operations from Canada, nor seen a detailed account of the conscription of English citizens on both sides of the war.A World on Fire follows the lives of colorful characters, some noble, some not so much.The audiobook version is narrated by Dean Robertson, who does a good job and is easy to listen to.This is definitely a book to read. Civil War history has always interested me, and I plan to re-read previous books and search for new discussions of the topic.

I’ve met some great people since my entrance into the world of social media; readers, novelists, and bloggers from all walks of life. One of the excellent sites I follow is Consuming Worlds. Several of her blog posts have mentioned an author named Steven Montano. She refers to him as one of her favorite authors, and I keep adding his books to my wish list. Like most readers with two jobs and a single income family of six, my to-be-read pile is long and new entries are serious business.Today I pulled the trigger and picked up a Kindle copy of Blood Skies, which to my delight, was free. I have no idea if this is a perma-free book to introduce the series or if I just got lucky. I have no affiliation with Mr. Montano other than Danielle’s persistent recommendations of his writing. Please check back for my review and be patient. I’m a slow reader. When I spend time in the pages, I daydream my way through the story. That’s why I have a high standard for what I read. If you follow my blog (or followed my previous blog Scott Moon Blog) then you know I listen to a lot of audio books, because I need stories and driving is a big part of my life.Anyhow, I will be participating in the cover reveal of Vampire Down: Book 7 in the Blood Skies series. My review of the first book should be done by the beginning of July. With luck, I might score a guest post from Steven Montano during his blog tour.If you would like to participate in the cover reveal for Vampire Down, please visit Danielle’s site here.Thanks for stopping by.

Perhaps there are writers craving competition with the intensity of a mixed martial arts superstar. And maybe pigs will fly to the moon and eat cheese. The sad reality is that more books are published now than any time in history, but there is good news. Tools exist to help authors stand out from the crowd.Nothing exists to replaced imagination or a skilled editor. The editing tools I am about to describe require time, effort, and don’t replaced professional eyes and the red pen that follows. Serenity Software: Editor and Pro Writing Aid can help deliver a superior product to a paid editor that should spend less time on the manuscript and thus reduce the overall fee.With luck, a writer can pull ahead of the crowd by concentrating on craft and evocative storytelling. Marketing can sell anything, but readers won’t purchase a second mediocre book.First impressions count.

Why I like Serenity Software: EditorThis program is great for finding usage errors and cleaning up diction. It is especially helpful for locating compound words and those that need to be compound words. Serenity brings consistency and can be used in Word.The price is reasonable, and is a one time expense, unlike Grammarly. Which I haven’t tried yet, and thus can’t review. The monthly fee is a bit daunting.
Grammarly has a free option that includes contextual spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Sentence structure, style, vocabulary use, and the palgerism check cost extra.

Why I like Pro Writing AidThis tool works online. It highlights targeted writing issues and offers suggestions. The writing style check will show adverbs in bright colors making it easy to spot problem areas in a manuscript. The cliches and redundancies check is nice. There is a passive word index and repeated word program just to name a few features.Pro Writing Aid also has an affiliate marketing program, which I have elected not to pursue. Some authors advocate affiliate marketing as a way to bolster total income, but my brief experiment with it seemed a waste of time that could have been spent writing.Smartphone TipI discovered a neat trick that allows me to review documents on my smart phone.Simply run Pro Writing Aid on a PC in Google Docs, then pull the file up on a smartphone when you can’t be at your computer. The highlighted words will remain visible for consideration. For my current work-in-progress, the Son of Orlan (book two in the Chronicles of Kin Roland) I’ve used both Serenity and Pro Writing Aid. Soon it will be ready for the eyes of Samantha LaFantasie, the editor of Enemy of Man.In future blogs I will discuss these tools in greater detail. Please share your experiences with these and other productivity tools in the comments section. I know I can use all the help I can get.Let’s write great stories and represent the growing ranks of professional indie authors.

Pro Writing AidRepeated Words Check
Pro Writing AidMenu
Enemy of Man(Science Fiction)Link

Patrick Rothfuss spoke at the 2013 Oklahoma Writers Federation Inc. conference and gave a presentation on world building. Truly a fun guy; he treated everyone with respect and was open about how he writes and develops his stories. His story should be familiar to most writers. A lifelong fan of fantasy, he read extensively. At some point, he began writing and refused to quit, spending years honing his craft before being published. I read his first novel, The Name of the Wind, about a year ago. My TBR list is a mile deep, but I am moving book two, The Wise Man’s Fear, to the top. I think I will read The Name of the Wind again though, since it has been awhile.

(re-posted from Goodreads)Blue Hearts of Mars is the first book I have signed to read in the Shut Up and Read Group. This is the first YA Science Fiction novel I have read and I am enjoying it so far, which should not be surprising, since it has made it to the quarter finals of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel contest.I am a slow reader, or more accurately, a distracted reader. (I currently have three fiction books going and one book on writing. And I am, of course, working on my latest WIP, working, and raising a famly. Not in that order.)The deadline for this book, by the Shut Up and Read group rules, is May 2. So I guess I better stop blogging and start reading.

I rode to the book store on the Road King, testing the camera, which had too much wind in the audio recording. I added some music from the samples that came with the computer.

Two weeks ago I started using one Google document to keep track of blog ideas. Yes, I began journaling, though my Google doc journal looks more like a pile of notes than anything readable. There are half-formed revelations, idea snippets typed in with my phone, and cut-and-paste URL sites that I found useful.I know balance is important, but so is completing projects and meeting goals. Work, family, and various bucket list hobbies have a way of skewing everything out of whack, meaning I neglected all of these things to finish edits on a book I have been polishing six months past my self-imposed deadline. In my defense, I took a break to complete book two in the Dragon Badge series and outline a few projects for later.I hate the term “bucket list” by the way. My life has always been one big bucket list. My motto: Live in the Bucket.Try this experiment. Learn to play the guitar. Count how many times people say to you, “I wish I could learn how to play the guitar.” When you reach 1,000 you can stop counting. Maybe it is just a polite thing people say to artists / writers / musicians. “I would like to write a novel / play an instrument / paint a children’s book, but I’m responsible and you’re crazy.”“Forget all about that macho **** and learn how to play a guitar.” (John Mellencamp)Next week, I will be more organized. (This is not a personal affirmation; this is what I am going to actually do.) Next week’s Google doc is prepared by subject and I will divide my time accordingly. Work and family get the most, whether they like it or not. Writing takes the vast majority of the rest, but the April 12th Crossfire gig must be addressed—more guitar practice please.Most of all, I am going to spend more quality time with my family.WritingThis week I pushed hard to complete revisions of Enemy of Man. It has been a long journey, starting with the first (and only) screenplay I wrote and then novelized. Backwards? Of Course! The original novel was 55,000 words and a lot of fun. I published on Lulu, the most recent edition being in 2006. Years later, I pulled it from Lulu and started again. Many people, friends and family enjoyed it, but I thought it need more.I edited and revised, but after learning from the many books on writing I have studied since then, I decided on a complete re-write. I focused the plot, strengthened the characters, and wrote this book like it owed me money (in a fun way).Now I am putting the final touches on EOM before sending it to my editor. I feel I have come a long way on this self publishing journey. Every step is fascinating and I am fairly sure the road ahead winds through magical realms (or science fiction in the case of EOM).On a side note, my computer auto updated as I sat typing, having risen early before the family’s regular spring break reveille to complete chapter 36. Let me just click over to my thumb drive and make sure everything saved. YES! Everything saved.I think I will now work backward from chapter 36 so that editing fatigue does not leave the first part of the book more polished than the end. Serenity Editor: go!NutritionI drink too much Diet Coke. My philosophy has been that if drinking diet soda is really that bad for a person, I would be dead by now. A case of Diet Coke a day is not uncommon for me; less than six 12 oz cans gives me a headache and lethargy (big time). Many sources suggest that diet soda causes sweet cravings by skewing a person’s sense of what is and what is not sweet.A few weeks ago I radically cut my diet soda intake for two days. When I returned to drinking diet soda, I realized that I was always craving chocolate and other sugary snacks. There may be something to this argument about diet soda and the sweet tooth. In the past, I recognized the plausibility of such arguments, but dismissed them as mildly annoying. Today I start drinking more water and less soda.For my next trick, I will stop eating all the free snacks that magically show up at work. I tore up some rice crispy, chocolate, marshmallow things someone brought in.FitnessI began this week determined to work on joint mobility and flexibility, because patrolling in a squad car for hours and going home to sit at a computer for hours does bad things to your back, knees, feet, and basically everything that bends or holds weight.The first four days went well. After that I stared at a computer screen, reading, editing, running the Serenity Editor, and reading again. This week should be different, I have a plan and fresh determination to find balance.INSANITYST       3-16-13            Cardio Recovery                     33 min (Bare feet/ mat)SN       3-17-13            Pure Cardio                            38 min (Bare feet/ mat)M        3-18-13            Plyometric Cardio Circuit         42 min (Bare feet/ mat)T         3-19-13            Rest                                         RestNOTE: I really feel like I have accomplished something at the end of each workout. #Increased #confidenceBrazilian Jiu JitsuBrazilian Jiu Jitsu took a back seat to writing again this week, but I made time to study instructional videos (Roy Dean Blue Belt Requirements) and watched some MMA on television.Why is earning a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu such a big deal?The standards are high in most BJJ schools. A practitioner must actually be able to make the techniques work to advance in rank. Competition is part of the evaluation process, but a good instructor makes day to day assessments of students and guides them toward solutions. Winning a match, even a big match, is not the only way to earn the next belt up, but it helps.Time on the mat counts. Most schools I have visited suggest that a blue belt takes one hour of class time, three times a week, for a year to earn a blue belt. That is roughly 150 hours of hands on practice. Many other martial arts will give you a black belt and allow you to start your own school in the same amount of time.BJJ is also an excellent self defense tool, the advantage being the ability to restrain an individual without hurting them more than is reasonable necessary. Striking and weapons are martial arts skills needed in a life and death fight, and you must always be ready to mix it up, but many confrontations can be handled on a lower level, i.e. holding an aggressive individual down until authorities arrive.

Since I am currently unable to make it to the gym, I have unpacked my copy of Jiu-Jitsu University bySaulo Ribeiro. I have several of Ribeiro’s videos also.This week: more drills, videos, and books. TechnicalMany people have told me they could not sign up to follow my blog at www.Scottmoonwriter.com even though I have an RSS feed widget in the blog. One of my newest tweeps, @KL_Toth , did some research and found a Weebly email subscription help link for my problem. We had been discussing the issue on Twitter and I decided to explore Blogger or Wordpress for my blog(s) and use Weebly more for my web site landing page. Then, without my having to ask, she found the Weebly help link I had searched for but never located. You can meet some great people on Twitter. I started following her Creative Expressions blog.The Weebly link led me to Feedburner, which I have never really understood or appreciated until now. I first tried it on my Wordpress blog, Scott Moon’s Blue Belt Blog and was rewarded with a pop up follow by email option. So cool! I am still working on the widget for Scott Moon’s Blue Belt Blog. My Wordpress site is a work in progress; I’m am still learning the platform.I am also working on my Scott Moon Blogspot. This is the Google / Blogger platform and I have made slightly more progress with the template system. Right now, you can only follow by email (no RSS feed). The gadget will not load and the RSS feed does not seem to function properly in Chrome (though it looks okay in Explorer). The Google gadget application may not be installing correctly because I took Java off my computer. So now I will need to research the safety of Java and decide if Java code is worth the hassle. Now, all of this started with my desire to make my blog at www.Scottmoonwriter.com easier to follow. The Feedburner instructions worked fine for www.DragonBadgeBooks.com so I am not sure what the problem is. When I send emails to the help section, they say they cannot replicate my problem. (I resisted the urge to reply that I wanted it fixed, not replicated, but they can’t help me if I can’t explain it.)Future blogs will contain a straight forward list of solutions I have found to various internet problems. I never set out to be a web expert. All I want to do is write, workout, play music, and have adventures. But there is something satisfying about fixing a technical problem.

MusicCrossfire will be playing at the Guns and Hoses charity event on April 12, 2013 to benefit Crime Stoppers. Last year the Beech Activity Center sold out, so now might be the time to start practicing (every day). As usual, I have about a thousand goals and self imposed deadlines; now it is time to move guitar solos to the top of the list. WritingI  finished what I hope is the final draft of Dragon Attack, the sequel to Dragon Badge. I think readers will enjoy this book; it goes places the first book only hinted at. I have finished Dragon Attack many times over the years. A lot of people, including reviewers, have demanded a second book and I can’t wait to share the continued adventures of Michael Prim and his companions. I also believe in taking the time to do things right. The number one business maxim for self published authors is (or should be) “Write the best book you can.”I also believe in rotating projects to get a fresh perspective, so I moved back to Enemy of Man, found an editor, and received a sample edit of the first chapter. Samantha Lafantasie, the author of Heart Song  is a board member of the Kansas Writer’s Association. Samantha’s detailed sample edit of Enemy of Man gave me a lot to think about. During a painful moment of self reflection, I admitted that I loved most of Enemy of Man, but needed to address a few plot issues that would have distracted the reader. I actually enjoy fixing these types of issues, because editing is really just another type of writing–and I love to write. The reason this was painful is that I set three major goals for this spring, one of which is Enemy of Man. I thought it was almost ready to go and now realize it needs more work than I had hoped after finishing the most recent daft. (I do a lot of drafts.)I began thinking, at 2 a.m. when it was slow at work and the city was asleep, that my readers will lose faith because I am taking too long with books I have promised. I finally consoled myself that this is a serious concern, but writing the best book possible (and waiting until I can afford to have them edited) is priority number one. The Good news: I pushed through my emotional doldrum (likely caused by sleep deprivation), read more from Enemy of Man, and encountered awesome writing. My favorite moment is looking at a story and saying to myself, with pride and astonishment, I wrote that.FitnessHealth and fitness has always been important to me. It benefits writing in many ways. Exercise puts me in a good mood, and contrary to the tortured artist stereotype, I write better when I am happy and full of energy. Go figure. A challenging workout can also provide distance; it can clear your head so that the swirling plot lines encountered during revision and editing seem less daunting. This week started great. I am determined to finish the Insanity DVD program day by day, rather than pick and chose the workouts I like. But, alas, I did allow other priorities to interfere a couple of days. INSANITY (Fresh Start)Month One Week 1   ST 3-9-13 Fit Test 25 min (Bare feet/ mat)   SN 3-10-13 Plyometric Cardio Circuit 42 min (Bare feet/ mat)   M 3-11-13 Cardio Power & Resistance 39 min (Bare feet/ mat)   T 3-12-13 no workout, altered work schedule   W 3-13-13 no workout, trying to catch up writing time   TH 3-14-13 no workout, trying to catch up writing time   F 3-15-13 no workout, caught in blog technical problems

Temperatures reached 85 degrees today in South Central Kansas. Motorcycles rumbled at every intersection I approached. Helmeted, unhelmeted, blue jeans, khakis, or leather; everyone was out today. Mostly I ride on long trips to Colorado or Texas, so tooling around back roads and side streets without a destination was different. Now that I have my own bike and no longer have to beg and borrow, I look forward to exploring the local byways.Today I learned that I am a little rusty on greetings. In my youth, when I rode a lot, greeting another motorcyclist was a big deal. It had to be done just right. Today I tried holding up one fist (hey that is what we did in the 1980s). Hopefully I did not start a gang war. Fist to the sky did not get warm responses. I ignored the next few riders–watched them in my peripheral vision, but made not social effort at all. While this engendered a feeling of badass, lonewolf, rebelliousness, it was unsatisfying–a little too cool, perhaps. The next rider threw me a bone, he calmly lowered his left hand and held it out, not quite a left turn hand signal. I returned the greeting. It was like Goldilocks and the Three Bears when the porridge was just right. The next guy gave the same greeting, or was slipping a boot knife free. (I wasn’t worried because knives are way too short for jousting or mounted attacks in general.)When it comes down to it, I really don’t care about protocol and tradition. Maybe that is what riding is about, but I am just trying to get down the road on my Harley, something I have dreamed of since I sold the Sportster in 1999. I’ll learn that stuff at my own pace. (I did google the motorcycle hand greetings when I got home.)Freedom of the road is the main thing, which means freedom to be yourself. This reminds me of one of my favorite Twitter profiles: @SarahLBlair “I’m just a girl. Standing here with a manuscript. Asking an agent to love it.”Well, I’m just Scott. I write, ride, and rock and roll. I love my Road King. Screw it, let’s ride! (click to tweet) Scottmoonwriter.com

One of the first things my dad and I discussed when we took the King off the truck, was the need to winterize it and attach a battery maintainer. I rode the bike a few times, despite the cold, and figured the battery was fine (and it is; I started it up today).  Attaching the battery charger / maintainer is easy. All you need do is remove the seat, choose gator clips or bolt clips, and hook everything up. Even I have the skill and tools to complete this DIY project.

Battery charger Power cord and batter clips Remove the seat. Attach the clips. Replace the seat and plug it in.
I selected the bolt rings, because this option allows for the seat to be replaced with the charging connection left on the bike. All I need to do to charge it now is plug it into the wall. Some people do not like the cord hanging from under the seat, but it is short and has caps to protect the connections from the weather.  Now all I need is some warm weather so I can ride.Ride safe, ride free, ride into adventure! www.ScottMoonWriter.com (Click to tweet this message)

Dragon notebook with a hard cover, heavy duty spiral rings, and quality paper (important, since I am using sharpies). I like bold contrasting colors to break the monotony.  I have a large and ever growing collection of books on writing. Today I purchased three books: Self Editing for Fiction Writers (Rennie Browne and Dave King), Write Great Fiction – Revision And Self-Editing (James Scott Bell), and Writing the Blockbuster Novel (Albert Zuckerman). I’m in the mood for a writing boot camp.I absolutely love cool notebooks, and tend to acquire them without having a reason. Blank pages call to me. The notebook you see here has been begging for attention. So being a pleaser, I decided to fill it with notes from seven books on writing. Self Editing for Fiction Writers (Rennie Browne and Dave King)Write Great Fiction – Revision And Self-Editing (James Scott Bell)Writing the Blockbuster Novel (Albert Zuckerman)Plot and Structure (James Scott Bell)Writing the Breakout Novel (Donald Maass)Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing (Quick & Dirty Tips) (Mignon Fogarty)Grammar Girl’s Punctuation 911: Your Guide to Writing it Right (Mignon Fogarty)I also tried to purchase The Fire in Fiction: Passion, Purpose and Techniques to Make Your Novel Great (Donald Maass) but the Kindle version was unavailable on Amazon due to reformatting issues. 

Some of these books I have read multiple times. They have been highlighted, dog eared, and generally abused. However, despite the intense, emotional relationship I have with these books, they understand others will share the shelves. We don’t have an exclusive relationship. I am constantly searching for another book on writing that informs and inspires. Please post your suggestions.And always remember – write strong, write free, write like you mean it. www.scottmoonwriter.com Click to Tweet!

The greatest thing is confidence…

I have followed the program for two weeks, never missing a workout. I quit lifting weights, for now, and have focused on completing the 60 day program. From a scheduling and distraction aspect, the hardest week will be week four, because we are taking a family vacation. I figure that if I can stick to it then, the sky is the limit.Fitness has always been important to me, but I have allowed many other responsibilities to completely push fitness and health to the back burner. I am very self motivated, but have a program to follow increases accountability. 

Insanity Workout Schedule (Month One)  Week 1     1-20-13   Fit Test 25 min     1-21-13   Plyometric Cardio Circuit 42 min     1-22-13   Cardio Power & Resistance 39 min     1-23-13   Cardio Recovery 33 min      1-24-13   Pure Cardio 38 min     1-25-13   Plyometric Cardio Circuit 42 min     1-26-13   Rest Rest  Week 2     1-27-13   Cardio Power & Resistance 39 min     1-28-13   Pure Cardio 38 min     1-29-13   Plyometric Cardio Circuit 42 min      1-30-13   Cardio Recovery 33 min      1-31-13   Cardio Power & Resistance 39 min      2-01-13   Pure Cardio & Cardio Abs 55 min      2-02-13   Rest Rest
A few overuse injuries have bothered me, but stretching and careful attention to how hard I push have enabled me to continue. I definitely recommend following a doctor’s advice if you have any problems or concerns. The key is knowing what is an excuse and what needs to be addressed. I have promised myself that I will stop and heal if I hurt myself. I made the mistake of pushing through an injury once before and it cost me two years. But I have also learned there is a fine line between stupid exercising (ignoring injury) and smart exercising (pushing through non-injurious pain).Oh, yeah, the spell checker hates the words Plyometric and Cardio. (There are squiggly red lines under the words as I type this blog.)NOTE: I am not an affiliate of the Insanity or any Beach Body product at this time (though I have been considering their affiliate program)