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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)

Bulletproof Vests How many times have you seen a hero’s sidekick (we’ll call him Bad Luck Bob) get shot and die, only to learn that he was wearing a bulletproof vest? In a dramatic scene, after the villain is vanquished, the hero goes to his fallen friend. Bob regains consciousness and unzips his FBI windbreaker to reveal body armor with several neat bullet slugs in the fabric. Getting shot while wearing a bulletproof vest is like being hit by a baseball bat, really hard, or so I’ve been told. Body blows don’t render people unconscious. More likely there would be a lot of screaming and writhing in pain, with a possible 300 cc bladder release thrown in to augment the indignity.Tasers Tasers don’t knock people out, unless they fall and bump their head. A Taser works one of two ways. If probes are shot out and strike with sufficient distance between each other, an electric current (volts, not amps) travel between the contact points. All the muscle in this area suffers involuntary lock-up. No amount of moral fortitude can prevent this. It does not matter how many sit-ups you do or what your pain tolerance is. The muscles lock until the Taser ride stops. (Note: amps are what kill you, not volts.) Having been Tased with probes, one in the upper back and one in the buttocks, I can attest to the irresistible force of this less lethal control method. The sensation is not so much pain, but a desperate, all consuming need for it to stop. I suppose it is painful, but it is hard to describe. Afterward, I felt good, as though I had done a really good stretch of my hamstring and back muscles. I don’t recommend trying this, however, because results may vary. Also, I did not feel the probes being pulled out of my flesh. My mind was on other things, such as not being Tased again. The other method of Tasing is called the Drive Stun. This is when a Taser is pressed (driven) against a muscle causing pain compliance. This does not cause muscle lock-up except for the muscle being contacted. A person can still fight. Some will yield to avoid a second Drive Stun. Others will get mad. Neither method causes a person to collapse neatly to the ground allowing the modern day super ninja to finish infiltrating the enemy bunker complex.Punching It is really difficult to punch someone out. If it were this easy to knock someone cold, MMA fights would not last multiple five minute rounds. Sure, it can happen, but don’t count on it. The same thing goes for clubbing a person on the head. Rendering a person unconscious by blunt force trauma to the head is a violent, potential deadly act. There will be blood.Headshots I love the Walking Dead Series, but every person in the show who picks up a gun makes headshots from impossible distances, from moving vehicles, and while sprinting clear of the advancing zombie herd. No. This is ridiculous. (I let it go while watching the series because the tension and dramatic elements were so compelling, a bit like I never question the possibility of light-sabers.) The maximum combat effectiveness for a handgun is twenty-five yards, and if you are going to attempt a head shot while moving, you had better be a Navy Seal, and even then you had better be lucky.Knife Fights Anyone involved in a knife fight is going to be cut to ribbons, even if they win. Edged weapons are too fast and too sharp. Knife fighting is not sword fighting. If you are close enough to use a short blade and your opponent has a similar weapon, expect to be cut—badly. (I would not recommend sword fighting either, especially with light-sabers.)Explosions An explosion kills with over pressure long before the fire strikes. The blast pushes a shock wave of compressed air that can damage a variety of internal organs. Oh yeah, flying debris is bad news as well. Most people injured in tornados are injured by flying debris. Virtually every action hero who has dived from an explosion should have been killed (fictionally, of course), even if they ducked the visually dramatic ball of flame. However, being inside of a door that is breached with explosives is not very dangerous. The force of the breaching charge (explosion) presses extremely rapidly against the door (or wall) causing it to break, bend, or fall inward. The deadly over pressure is reflected back at the breaching team. Explosive breaching is more dangerous for the breachers than for the suspects inside.Charlie’s Angels This pistol pose has fallen out of style in modern movies. Holding a pistol near your face is dumb for so many reasons. I believe it is used in movies because it allows a nice face shot of the hero or heroine with the gun. Trained military and law enforcement professionals keep their weapons pointed in a safe direction until the need arises to aim at a target. They are carrying deadly weapons, not teddy bears.Fire Going into a burning building, especially modern buildings full of plastic and synthetic materials, without a self-contained breathing apparatus and protective clothing is suicide. Ask your local fireman. Fire quickly renders the air un-breathable and temperatures rise high enough to melt the change in your pocket in less than a minute. And every door or window you open feeds the fire oxygen. When a character in a book or movie rushes into a fire, it is best for the audience to suspend disbelief, because amateur firefighting is about as realistic as the Modern Warfare video avatar that can run for six hours in full gear without slowing down.

The final days of January are normally freezing cold in Kansas, but today the temperature reached 71 degrees–about 50 or 60 degrees warmer than usual. It will probably snow tomorrow. Welcome the land of OZ. I took advantage of the warm weather to soak my yard (all dirt) so that it will settle and the builder can bring the promised fill dirt before I attempt to plant a yard. Yes, I know, this is very exciting. But the other event, is motorcycle weather. I jumped on “the King” and went for a ride, topping off the gas tank and cleaning underneath the engine so that I can find the source of a leak I noticed. Okay, I just wiped off the the engine grime I was able to reach, which might not qualify as “cleaning”. As I enjoyed the ride, a brilliant idea came to me. I have been listening to the audiobook, Attention! This Book Will Make You Money, and reached the part where the author, Jim Kukral, talks about utilizing you tube. I decided, as I rounded one curve after another, that I would make a You Tube video titled”Fix My Harley”. Moments later I decided I would purchase a domain name and start an great new blog about a novice motorcycle mechanic, and I mean N-O-V-I-C-E, learning to maintain his dream bike. The first episode would be about the mysterious leak. I would show pictures, videos, and ask questions. The sky seemed the limit. I did a search and found there is already a site http://www.fixmyhog.com that appears professional and informative. So I will incorporate my brilliant idea into the Moon Blog for now. 
This video does not show any problems, I just cannot resist the sound of a Harley Davidson engine. Below are some pictures I took, moving in closer, and including the cardboard I expect it to leak on. When I wiped off the underside, it almost seemed like the oil, or other fluid, was coming from the kickstand retaining spring, which was recently replaced. Hopefully, there was just some excess oil that needed to work its way out.

I will check back after the bike sits for awhile. The last time I saw the leak, it happened after I had allowed the engine to idle for fifteen minutes in the garage (with the door open) because I have not winterized it and wanted to charge the battery. Thanks for reading this motorcycle blog post. Ride safe, ride free, ride into adventure! www.ScottMoonWriter.com (Click to tweet this message)
I will check back after the bike sits for awhile. The last time I saw the leak, it happened after I had allowed the engine to idle for fifteen minutes in the garage (with the door open) because I have not winterized it and wanted to charge the battery. Thanks for reading this motorcycle blog post. Ride safe, ride free, ride into adventure! www.ScottMoonWriter.com (Click to tweet this message)

This video is mercifully short. I did in fact upload it to You Tube, but was not able to link that version to this web site. If you have thirty seconds to spare, enjoy this video. Thanks. 

Good luck with your workouts!

Insanity Workout Schedule (Month One)  Week 1    Sunday, 1-20-13      Fit Test       (25 minutes)    Monday, 1-21-13      Plyometric Cardio Circuit       (42 minutes)    Tuesday, 1-22-13      Cardio Power & Resistance      (39 minutes)    Wednesday, 1-23-13      Cardio Recovery      (33 minutes)    Thursday, 1-24-13      Pure Cario      (39 minutes)         Friday, 1-25-13      Plyometric Cardio Circuit      (42 minutes)     Saturday, 1-26-13      Rest      Week 2    Sunday, 1-27-13          Cardio Power & Resistance      (39 minutes)

Starting a new project is the best feeling in the world. Many writers will agree that tearing through the pages, writing never before imagined scenes, full of great new characters, is the fun part of writing a novel. Revision and editing are often painful and slow, by comparison. Yet, it must be done and done well. I use Microsoft Word or Google Docs to write. I write with Spell Check turned on, though the squiggly red lines beneath fictional names can be annoying until I add them to the document’s dictionary. After completing the first draft, I read it once or twice doing minor revision and editing and taking notes. Then I take a break, as described in my Project Rotation blog. I return and edit once on paper, once using the Track Changes in Word, and another time after accepting or rejecting the changes. Then, sometimes after a few days to clear my head, I use Serenity Editor, an advanced editing program that goes beyond what the grammar and spell-check available in word processors. Serenity Software: Editor (I just call it Serenity Editor) helps with spelling, grammar, and style recommendations. I found it particularly useful for warning me of homonyms (are / our, their / there). 

Serenity Editor has a free trial, which I took advantage of. The full version costs extra, but is worth it for the ability to work in a Word document. The trial and standard version require you to either print the output or flip from screen to screen.  I did not mind the trial version, despite the paper I wasted, but really enjoyed the full version once I had it (for an extra $20 approximately).  

This is probably a good time to mention that I am not an affiliate of the company. I like it, so I thought I would share my view.  The program does not replace a good proofreader, critique groups, or a writer’s diligence, but it adds another layer of quality and makes a writer think.  The primary reason I have embraced the program, is to create manuscripts that are as clean as possible, so when I pay an editor by the hour, it will take less time and save me money.

I used some screen shots to show a crude preview, using a pitch for my first novel, Dragon Badge. With such a short expert the editor did not find much to complain about, but I assure you when you begin a word with the word “it” the program suggests revision of the sentence. It really gets on my nerves, but I sometimes listen to advice. (Serenity Editor warned me that starting with “it” was vague and that I used a “cliché or dead metaphor.)

I recommend this program because professional editors can be expensive and this is a good step to take prior to paying for services. In today’s publishing industry, a well-edited book is needed to stand out among the crowd. NOTE: I recently learned the trial version has the ability to edit in Word, which is a nice feature.

When I finish writing a book, I set it aside and move to a new project. That way I am always fresh for revision and editing. I have completed first drafts in as little as forty days or as long as eighteen months. Either way, by the time the final scene flows across the page, I am excited, but drained. Stephen King suggested in his book, On Writing, to take a break at this stage and I have followed his advice. I worked on several projects after publishing Dragon Badge, but spent a lot of time learning about the self-publishing industry, marketing and promoting, and social media. I already had a draft of the second book in the series. After reading what I had a couple of times, I decided to start from scratch, salvaging a few scenes I liked, but planning the second book to answer questions from the first and further develop the fantasy elements. At the same time, I was eager to publish a second book, so once I finished the rewrite of what was called Machine Gun Knight and later The Darklord’s Boys, I put it away and edited a science-fiction book I wrote years ago called Wormbright and shared it with critique readers. In the end, I decided I liked Wormbright, but it did not blow me away. What can a writer do with such a revelation? The answer, as painful as it seems, is to start completely over. So I wrote an outline from scratch, changed the title and some names my critique readers did not care for, and went to work. The result became Enemy of Man: Book One in the Chronicles of Kin Roland. Now I return to the sequel of Dragon Badge. Why am I changing the title? Feedback on the book title(s) was decidedly negative. I decided it was time to put my ego and preferences aside. So what is the name of the second Dragon Badge book? I am still working on it, but it will be revealed in the Dragon Badge Newsletter.