Thunderstorms -- mixed in with a flurry of hail and a deluge of rain -- closed out the month of May. Fifteen minutes bursts of precipitation were followed by sunshine and rainbows, almost pushing from the memory the calamity that brought the serenity.
Writing can sometimes have the same effect.
Sitting down to hammer out a few words, a few pages, and sometimes complete gibberish is often the most difficult part of the process. Building up the courage to put pen to paper -- or keystrokes to document -- is the gathering of the clouds on the horizon.
What happens next is a flurry of words, doodles, and more. Some days, one can be in such a zone that the pages grow without nary a second thought. On other days, the words arrive slowly, with meticulous and purposeful thought.
The most important part is that the words flow, that pages expand, and stories grow. Writers give over a world of stories, with mini-stories built within, eventually leading to pride and stillness in the brain.
Until the next day arrives, along with it the next idea, in turn starting the process all over again.
Welcome to June. And the daily process of writing.
I continue to jump around from project to project, but over time I've learned to control the chaos. Certain days of the week are devoted to a specific project. Mondays, for example, I tend to work on my novel Palm Trees and Paradise.
In the mornings on Friday and Saturday, I tend to write up a post for Chowder and Champions, the sports site I have contributed to for the past three years.
This routine can change, of course, as the mood strikes me. And boy, does my mood carry me in many different directions.
Fantasy Novels
I have begun work on -- in earnest -- my third fantasy novel, The Dragon Slayer. This will be book two in the Magic of Crieo series. The first book in the series, The Blue Gem, was released about 2.5 months ago and is currently available to download for $3.99 over at the Kindle store.
And my first fantasy novel is still available as well to not only download, but in paperback as well. So, if you like feel of the actual book between your hands, The Dragon Princess is available to purchase for exactly that reason.
Plays and screenplays
Last month, I found myself finally working (consistently) on a full-length play I'd been toying with for the last eight years or so. Half Past Midnight tells the story of four friends gathering in a cabin for their annual fantasy football draft. Now all at different places in their lives, the four friends fondly recall a simpler past while bracing for the undoing of their future.
I'd been stalled in neutral for the past two years on the action just after the start of the second act. In May, I was able to forge ahead by writing over thirty pages and recently just started the final scene. A bit of dedication will have the first draft completed within the next ten days.
On the screenplay front, I mostly just submitted my pilot The Path(s) of Andy Wilson to a few festivals. The waiting game beings as these festivals won't have announcements until the middle-to-end of summer.
Happening in Boise and Garden City
-You only have two opportunities left, June 1 and June 2, to catch HomeGrown Theatre's production of Mr. Burns: a post-electric play by Anne Washburn. Great things have been said about this production (of which I can agree with) and the play was recently listed by the New York Times as one of the top-25 plays of the last 25 years.
-Migration Theory's small matters continues to run now through June 16 (Tuesdays through Saturdays)
-You've heard of First Thursday in Boise so why not go check out First Friday in Garden City's Live Work Create District. All sorts of fun things happen here, led by some pretty awesome people.
These, of course, are just a taste of the fun and interesting things going on around the City of Trees and the surrounding valley. I'd list them all here if I could. (By the way, great music and art is always going on at the VAC. If you've never been, check it out.)
Thanks for stopping by. Be bold. Be kind.
Jason spends way too much time on Twitter these days. To keep up with him there, be sure to follow @jasonrh_78