tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2998533991680092242024-03-15T01:50:55.848+11:00The Rick BlogRickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13106698263021345756noreply@blogger.comBlogger150125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-299853399168009224.post-82365341539194916802016-03-01T23:26:00.001+11:002016-03-01T23:26:43.564+11:00I had a story Published today!<br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Hi,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Yes, it is true. Today, Tuesday 1 March 2016, my story, 'Radar Love' was published in an online magazine.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://sqmag.com/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOKQ1NnmWGyws0ZKrwn3WZ4Z6HHc0SmQn5RdPlYuQnnfIHDLaiA4cpFDI59c_OrBb96yg2rAF0cOIsPuU5iOQEdt0ihd3_uBF3TewGDZwIWJ4OT9XTTl_LgKslte59q6py_3uJcVI2MCQT/s400/SQ+25.jpg" width="265" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The wonderful publication that has done this marvellous thing is <a href="http://sqmag.com/" target="_blank">SQ Mag</a>, the International Speculative Fiction eZine, in it's 25th edition.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Here is the cover. You can see my author name, P J Keuning, second on the list under fiction.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Here is what the editor, Sophie, has to say about the story in the introduction </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<b>"PJ Keuning spins us a delightful steampunk tale of life in the airborne cities of the UK in <i>Radar Love</i>."</b><br /><br />So, how should you be celebrating this incredable event?<br />
<br />
First: Download <a href="http://sqmag.com/" target="_blank">SQ Mag No.25</a> from the web site and read it all! <a href="http://sqmag.com/2016/02/29/edition-25-radar-love-by-p-j-keuning/" target="_blank">My story first</a>.<br />
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Second: Write a revue praising the wonderful stories and post it somewhere where people will see it.<br />
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Third: Get everyone you know to do the same. Actually just get anyone you can, it doesn't matter if you don't know them.<br />
<br />If you liked (or disliked) this post please leave a comment. You could also like my page on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RickKeuningWriter">Facebook</a>, or follow me on <a href="https://twitter.com/RickKeuning">Twitter</a>.<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13106698263021345756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-299853399168009224.post-42120297036518486262016-01-11T22:08:00.003+11:002016-01-11T22:08:44.644+11:00Monday Writing Journal: New Year<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1VDG53lIE2T2TaeMPTp2DiJt1xdtUhmkqCZrxZEafFhbSpDipVTd1tKgFKtz6yfSw_0W0FTxVLX5hiHeOtFYdwo4PHJDpQOTV3fPfw7muLsazZI1mkxA-_IFA0H7NFKsCPY8Cpe3989rN/s1600/writing+Journal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1VDG53lIE2T2TaeMPTp2DiJt1xdtUhmkqCZrxZEafFhbSpDipVTd1tKgFKtz6yfSw_0W0FTxVLX5hiHeOtFYdwo4PHJDpQOTV3fPfw7muLsazZI1mkxA-_IFA0H7NFKsCPY8Cpe3989rN/s200/writing+Journal.jpg" width="130" /></a></div>
Hi,<br />
It's a new year and, I hope, a more productive one. I have my plans, but more about that later.<br />
<br />
The big, positive, start for the year for me is my story, 'Radar Love', is being published in the March addition of <a href="http://sqmag.com/" target="_blank">SQ Magazine</a>. Here is the proof!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib03ntoTm6hn4AhRpEblTkZ8RIJQHKYQ_7Ds_URmbt2jurFRuwXnFYGSFPRgjQmuN1TSxQVnKpsE79m7B7d8xTYlqeb22FNXinBXFN4FNV6Nt0OOtQK2G4CMjUjuMMCrBbjI0iU4I5-Ajb/s1600/Screenshot+2016-01-11+20.01.53.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="111" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib03ntoTm6hn4AhRpEblTkZ8RIJQHKYQ_7Ds_URmbt2jurFRuwXnFYGSFPRgjQmuN1TSxQVnKpsE79m7B7d8xTYlqeb22FNXinBXFN4FNV6Nt0OOtQK2G4CMjUjuMMCrBbjI0iU4I5-Ajb/s320/Screenshot+2016-01-11+20.01.53.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Can you see the little green 'Accepted' in the fifth row down. It makes all the red ones mean nothing!<br />
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Also, I am in a new job which will give me more time to write. I just have to use it. This extra writing is going to include more regular blog posts. So, please come back and read them.<br />
<br />
If you liked (or disliked) this post please leave a comment. You could also like my page on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RickKeuningWriter">Facebook</a>, or follow me on <a href="https://twitter.com/RickKeuning">Twitter</a>.<div>
<br /></div>
Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13106698263021345756noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-299853399168009224.post-26757896744358888482015-10-12T21:38:00.000+11:002015-10-12T21:38:01.517+11:00Writing Journal: I have sold a Story!<br />
It's official.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnf9KDikGfiGPsVOay2ga9_yNMduCIhg2Vm4ZEKdxXgaSawWNnV0pZNScQ8drgENXh3Zx5kkEVdqXe_DGeyulr6fn5ctF-RfplFwqqmx4p3bpUOXiyVwvDQtnkKWFNwPQAxaJjeoFJMoak/s1600/writing+Journal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnf9KDikGfiGPsVOay2ga9_yNMduCIhg2Vm4ZEKdxXgaSawWNnV0pZNScQ8drgENXh3Zx5kkEVdqXe_DGeyulr6fn5ctF-RfplFwqqmx4p3bpUOXiyVwvDQtnkKWFNwPQAxaJjeoFJMoak/s200/writing+Journal.jpg" width="130" /></a><a href="http://sqmag.com/" target="_blank">SQ Magazine</a> is going to print my story "Radar Love" in their March 2016 release.<br />
<br />
Watch this space for more to come!<br />
<br />If you liked (or disliked) this post please leave a comment. You could also like my page on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RickKeuningWriter">Facebook</a>, or follow me on <a href="https://twitter.com/RickKeuning">Twitter</a>.Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13106698263021345756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-299853399168009224.post-25437561347783955012015-02-16T22:18:00.001+11:002015-02-16T22:18:35.790+11:00Monday Writing Journal: Writing Every Day, Not Quite<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1VDG53lIE2T2TaeMPTp2DiJt1xdtUhmkqCZrxZEafFhbSpDipVTd1tKgFKtz6yfSw_0W0FTxVLX5hiHeOtFYdwo4PHJDpQOTV3fPfw7muLsazZI1mkxA-_IFA0H7NFKsCPY8Cpe3989rN/s1600/writing+Journal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1VDG53lIE2T2TaeMPTp2DiJt1xdtUhmkqCZrxZEafFhbSpDipVTd1tKgFKtz6yfSw_0W0FTxVLX5hiHeOtFYdwo4PHJDpQOTV3fPfw7muLsazZI1mkxA-_IFA0H7NFKsCPY8Cpe3989rN/s1600/writing+Journal.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></div>
I started 2015 with the aim to write 300 words a day for the whole year. I did not make it until the end of January. I could have gotten depressed about this and just stopped. Instead, I looked for positives and kept going.<br />
<br />
Because I chose to be positive, I feel that I have achieved a fair bit in just under 2 months of 2015.<br />
<br />
Here are the stats:<br />
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<br />
<ul>
<li>Days spent writing 300 words or more 27</li>
<li>Number of words written 9800</li>
<li>Stories written 3</li>
</ul>
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I can honestly say that I find these figures encouraging. I've done quite a bit of written.</div>
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Now it's time to write more!</div>
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If you liked (or disliked) this post please leave a comment. You could also like my page on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RickKeuningWriter">Facebook</a>, or follow me on <a href="https://twitter.com/RickKeuning">Twitter</a>.</div>
<br />Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13106698263021345756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-299853399168009224.post-12470242114816019422015-01-24T23:19:00.001+11:002015-01-24T23:19:56.580+11:00Book Review: Abduction (Alex Cain #3) By Alan Baxter<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGDsTp1IBdRb0-LRWMlJvEqG2pN2hLGX12zHl7qfGQAp5sZARiCwxuq5nVouy543TiK4Ezv49MhQDUI8WgnsNnYZhurPsldU85n1tEOPgH0QGeDwgWFsapGGtJAW7-EFXLFf3ViMRBLx-b/s1600/Abduction-cover-197x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGDsTp1IBdRb0-LRWMlJvEqG2pN2hLGX12zHl7qfGQAp5sZARiCwxuq5nVouy543TiK4Ezv49MhQDUI8WgnsNnYZhurPsldU85n1tEOPgH0QGeDwgWFsapGGtJAW7-EFXLFf3ViMRBLx-b/s1600/Abduction-cover-197x300.jpg" height="200" width="131" /></a></div>
Book three <a href="http://www.alanbaxteronline.com/">Alan Baxter</a>’s Alex Cain series, <a href="http://www.alanbaxteronline.com/abduction/">Abduction</a>, launches straight into the action. Books one and two lead in with a bunch of scene setting, which was the weakest part of both of them, but not this time. In my view this is the best of the three very good books.<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Alex is immediately abducted and taken
to the land of the Fey. The evil race from another dimension who have been in the
background previously are now front and centre. Just to add to the fun, Alex’s enemy
from book one returns with a twist. What follows is action and then some more
action. In all the action there is also a lot of world building and character
development, which is nice. Character and world building through the action is
one of a number of things Alan Baxter does well. Alan actually does a lot of
things well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Another good thing about Abduction is
that the story feels bigger. Most of books 1 & 2 focus very closely on Alex
Cain, he is the main character. However, because he is taken off the Fey Land
early and spends a lot of time separate from his friends we get to see a lot
more from their point of view. This really helps. It feels like an evolutionary
step forward in the series.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The one small issue that stands in this
book (it’s also in the others) is the sudden appearance of convenient helpers.
People who appear at the right time with the right bit of information. Given
the high speed nature of the stories, this may have been necessary and really
not a big deal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Basically all the major plot threads are
tied up in this book and there is a solid, and surprising, conclusion. However,
there is still heaps of scope for more books and I hope there will be.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A great book to end a great trilogy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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If you liked (or disliked) this post please leave a comment. You could also like my page on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RickKeuningWriter">Facebook</a>, or follow me on <a href="https://twitter.com/RickKeuning">Twitter</a>.<div>
<br /></div>
Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13106698263021345756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-299853399168009224.post-38537487464035858052015-01-19T23:16:00.001+11:002015-01-19T23:16:52.347+11:00Writing Journal: Tonight I wrote a whole story<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1VDG53lIE2T2TaeMPTp2DiJt1xdtUhmkqCZrxZEafFhbSpDipVTd1tKgFKtz6yfSw_0W0FTxVLX5hiHeOtFYdwo4PHJDpQOTV3fPfw7muLsazZI1mkxA-_IFA0H7NFKsCPY8Cpe3989rN/s1600/writing+Journal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1VDG53lIE2T2TaeMPTp2DiJt1xdtUhmkqCZrxZEafFhbSpDipVTd1tKgFKtz6yfSw_0W0FTxVLX5hiHeOtFYdwo4PHJDpQOTV3fPfw7muLsazZI1mkxA-_IFA0H7NFKsCPY8Cpe3989rN/s1600/writing+Journal.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></div>
My four year old son is obsessed with monsters right now. He is always telling me about them like he is an expert, which I'm sure he is. What they eat, what they are afraid of (parents) and all sorts of incredible information.<br />
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The other day he told me how some monsters are really small. Asked him are they itty bitty monsters, and his eyes lighted up with a big,'Yes!'<br />
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A story was born.<br />
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Tonight I wrote a 340 word story called, 'The Itty Bitty Monster.' I'm really proud of my, inspired by youngest son, story. Hopefully someone will publish it.<br />
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I'm not sure if I'll read it to him yet, it's a bit gory. I will one day and tell him how he was the inspiration for it. I hope he likes it.<br />
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If you liked (or disliked) this post please leave a comment. You could also like my page on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RickKeuningWriter">Facebook</a>, or follow me on <a href="https://twitter.com/RickKeuning">Twitter</a>.<div class="MsoNormal">
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Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13106698263021345756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-299853399168009224.post-78611234691369645322015-01-10T21:48:00.000+11:002015-01-10T21:48:25.924+11:00Book Review: Aurora: Meridian By Amanda Bridgeman<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIriUEPsLBdWbkx7Rn8qO5jW4Z7z04yJWClMLtFLDtIqPghSx1bfAwP3q21XeD5Hs9BDLIAAsUZfS1EFNbr68olKcYU8rLXtidqlYlo8RydqpLSLCjigYzHX_lb1oeqQoTpHz32NbdpgYj/s1600/aurora-meridian-DEV03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIriUEPsLBdWbkx7Rn8qO5jW4Z7z04yJWClMLtFLDtIqPghSx1bfAwP3q21XeD5Hs9BDLIAAsUZfS1EFNbr68olKcYU8rLXtidqlYlo8RydqpLSLCjigYzHX_lb1oeqQoTpHz32NbdpgYj/s1600/aurora-meridian-DEV03.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Book three of <a href="http://amandabridgeman.com.au/">Amanda Bridgeman’s</a> Aurora series
continues the adventures of the crew of the spaceship Aurora, which makes sense
really. In particular, it focuses again on the two main characters Captain Saul
Harris and Corporal Carrie Webb. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I really enjoyed <a href="http://amandabridgeman.com.au/ad-extras/aurora-meridian/">Aurora:
Meridian</a>. It has all the elements that made the first two books great; Lots
of terrific action and spot on story pacing and development. Sharley and his
crew continue to be great villains and just enough of their plans and motives
are revealed to keep the tension and interest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There was just one thing, well two things,
which bothered me. Both Carrie and Saul do something really dumb. For no good
reason except that their actions advance the plot or provide more tension. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Carrie’s dumb thing comes first, a
choice to take a course of action that makes no sense. It’s bad enough to make
me wonder why everyone thinks she is so special. However, the outcome does lead
to an important plot development. Does that make it okay? I am very keen to
find out what happens next.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For Saul it’s an out of the blue family
twist. His reaction to this family thing causes him to miss something really
important. I don’t think it should have, but it did. This continued an ongoing
tension in Saul’s story line that I would like to see resolved. However, I don’t
think it will be any time soon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Besides these two annoying things, I
really enjoyed Aurora: Meridian and want to read more. I will be buying the
next book in the series, <a href="http://amandabridgeman.com.au/ad-extras/4-aurora-centralis/">Aurora:
Centralis</a>, as soon as it comes out. That is a cool name.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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If you liked (or disliked) this post please leave a comment. You could also like my page on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RickKeuningWriter">Facebook</a>, or follow me on <a href="https://twitter.com/RickKeuning">Twitter</a>.<div class="MsoNormal">
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Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13106698263021345756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-299853399168009224.post-26562156746890069332015-01-05T23:30:00.000+11:002015-01-05T23:30:41.413+11:00Writing Journal: 2015 and other stuff<br />
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I've made myself the commitment to write and/or edit every day in 2015. My aim right now is 300 words a day. I've already found I can do this in just one hour. I'm hoping to do a lot more some days. I'm tweeting each day what I've done under #writingeveryday1015. I'm not going to include any of my bogs as part of the word count, nor am I going to include any short story editing.<br />
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However, editing my novel, Lonely Susan, I will most likely count. I'm planning to start my second draft edit of Lonely Susan in February and try to do at least a chapter every second day. With just over 30 chapters I'll hopefully get through it in about two months.<br />
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What I'm aiming for is to be very productive in my writing this year.<br />
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My other aim, which I have less control over, is to get more stuff punished. At the end or 2014 I mentioned how I'd sent three short stories out for publication. I was hoping for 3 out of 3. I got 1 out of 3. Which is still good. So, in issue 201 of AntipodeanSF (March 2015) will include my story, Earth Grand Master. I've resubmitted the other two to new markets. Here's hoping.<br />
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I have definite plans for what I would like to see published in 2015. I may share them with you in the future.<br />
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If you liked (or disliked) this post please leave a comment. You could also like my page on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RickKeuningWriter">Facebook</a>, or follow me on <a href="https://twitter.com/RickKeuning">Twitter</a>.<div class="MsoNormal">
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Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13106698263021345756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-299853399168009224.post-74998762153862373442015-01-01T00:17:00.001+11:002015-01-01T00:17:27.867+11:00My News Years Resolution!<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Write.</span><br />
<br />Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13106698263021345756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-299853399168009224.post-51651741882055725862014-12-29T23:55:00.000+11:002014-12-29T23:55:15.092+11:00Writing Journal: How I come to be here, my writing journey so far<br />
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I spent years 5 & 6 of primary school in a special class learning to read. It was right then that I wanted to write. It was right then that I made my first attempt.<br />
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A man came to our class. I remember nothing about him except that he listened to my desire to write and and gave be a workbook to write my first story. It was about man's first trip to Mars and I tried to write for about three pages of it before giving up. (I still have that first story in my head,but it has evolved a bit.) I found the book years later, it was unreadable. Back then I could just barely read, and could not write, but I love stories.<br />
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So I learnt to live stories in my head and learned to read. A first it was books, starting with the Hobbit and followed by other fantasy and Science Fiction, then I found comics. I became the ultimate Marvel Comics fan.I tried to buy every comic that Marvel put out, and succeed for a while. In the end I had a collection of over 6,000 comics. A few non Marvel, but not many. I dreamt of writing comics and created a whole bunch of Super Heroes, I still remember them all. I tried to find out how to write comics, but for a high school kid in Thompson Road, Speers Point (look it up) it was just to hard. So I kept making story's in my head.<br />
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The big problem was that I was just so bad a spelling and writing in general. I tried to over come this by asking my mum to buy a Commodore 64 for me while holidaying in Hong Kong. Instead, she got some computer that was really popular in Hong Kong but, not here. I tried to do stuff on it, but it didn't work out. I kept making stories in my head.<br />
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My choice to leave my job and go to Theological College forced me to learn how to write. I had to write a lot of essay, some up to 5,000 words, and I had to write the quickly. Looking back now, I realize just how much I learnt about writing through those years. A lot of my essays read like stories.<br />
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After College I got involved in children's Ministry. When you work with children you tell a lot of stories. Twenty five years later, I decide to have a go at being a Pastor of a church. My stories are a lot like stories, which everyone liked. However, the other parts of being a Pastor didn't work out to well for me. I also started making up bed time stories for my daughter.<br />
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I never forgot my desire to write, but it really come back to me just over three years ago. I had all the things I needed. Time, my job was only part time, desire and a computer that had decant spell check. Although it doesn't always work.<br />
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I started writing. I had my first story punished in an anthology in time for my mum to see it before she died. I'm still writing, but not much in the last six months.<br />
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My best guess is that it was 40 years ago sometime in 2015 that the man gave me a work book to write my first story.<br />
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This, in brief, is how I came to be here.<br />
<br />Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13106698263021345756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-299853399168009224.post-54518814693955553642014-11-16T22:11:00.000+11:002014-11-16T22:11:14.964+11:00Book Review: Obsidian (Alex Caine #2) By Alan Baxter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is another great read from <a href="http://www.alanbaxteronline.com/">Alan Baxter</a>!<div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B00JIDE4TS/ref=oh_d__o05_details_o05__i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1">Book two</a> picks up the story of Alex Caine and Silhouette not very long after book one. However, Alex is already feeling like a bit of a loose end needed direction. Along comes Armour! International secret society protecting the world from evil magic. I found myself wondering where these people were in book one. An explanation was given, but I found it a bit cliché. That was okay, the start of the first book was also a bit cliché and it turned out great.<br /><br />A new character is also quickly introduced, Claude Darvill, son of the main villain in book one. His introduction, in hindsight, is also a bit cliché, but I didn’t notice while reading the book. <br /><br />Also introduced early are a trio of would-be wizards seeking a mysterious magic treasure. As they hunt for the treasure, Alex (with friends) hunts them and Claude hunts Alex. They all come together and Alex’s special gem (stuck in his chest from book one.) triggers a trap that sends them all to Obsidian.<br /><br />Obsidian is an interesting place and is well created. The rest of the story basically follows Alex, and friends, attempts to find a way out. This involves lots of all round action and drama; Another great roller coaster ride.<br /><br />One slight disappointment, for me, was that I work out how it was going to end well before the end. This took a little bit of shin off the story, because I found it predicable, but I still enjoyed the read.<br /><br />One other issue, for me, is the use of foul language. I get that Alex and friends are tough and talk tough. What I don’t get is an immortal creature that has been trapped in a pocket universe for some thousands of years also talking and swearing like someone from a pub in Kings Cross. It just frustrates me.<br /><br />If you loved book one, you will like book two. However, <a href="http://www.alanbaxteronline.com/abduction/">book three</a> is the best of all, and that will be my next review.<br /><br />If you liked (or disliked) this post please leave a comment. You could also like my page on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RickKeuningWriter">Facebook</a>, or follow me on <a href="https://twitter.com/RickKeuning">Twitter</a>.<div>
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Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13106698263021345756noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-299853399168009224.post-62850381144918727202014-11-10T21:08:00.001+11:002014-11-10T21:08:26.929+11:00Writing Journal: Getting Back Up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As the end of 2014 comes closer, I look back over my writing journey for the year and see one success, finishing the first draft of 'Loney Susan', my first novel.<br />
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Compared to that I see a lot of failures, to many to count. The most recent being my complete failure to keep my commitment to write every day in October. I lasted about a week and a bit. To make the most of it, I tried getting up at 4am to write for an hour before my usual 5am start. I was completely exhausted after just two days and that was it. The one positive was the writing day I had on the long weekend.<br />
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I really loved the writing day, it work. I wrote more than 2000 words and really enjoyed it. It got me thinking about how I write best. It is in clearly set aside blocks. I almost always get a good bit of writing done when I do the one hour <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1512632455653378/" target="_blank">Writing Race</a> on Facebook on Wednesday night. Sadly, I often have other commitments and can't do it.<br />
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Now that I'm picking myself up again from another failure, what to do? Look for regular blocks of time to write. It has to be something concrete, not just I'll write for the next hour. (Although, maybe I should try that.) things like the Writing Race and having a writing day seem to be what works. I just need to find more of them.<br />
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On another writing topic, I currently have three stories out there hoping to be accepted. I'm really hoping for two out of three at least.<br />
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On more writing, I have two short stories and a novella to finish.<br />
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On Lonely Susan, I want to start draft number two.<br />
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If you liked (or disliked) this post please leave a comment. You could also like my page on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RickKeuningWriter">Facebook</a>, or follow me on <a href="https://twitter.com/RickKeuning">Twitter</a>.<div>
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Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13106698263021345756noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-299853399168009224.post-24903199753270783332014-10-06T22:49:00.001+11:002014-10-06T22:49:34.495+11:00Writing Journal: A writing day.<br />
I took the whole day out just toe write today. It's the first time I've ever done it.<br />
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It wasn't perfect, but it was fairly good. I did it at home, in the office, with the family home. So there were some interruptions. I could have gone out, but it would have meant writing on my little net book and it's not fun to write on and I would have needed somewhere I could plug it in for it to last the whole day.<br />
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I started the day with the big ambition to write a whole short story of about 6 - 7 thousand words long. I managed to write just over 2000 words. Looking back, I think it was a fairly good effort.<br />
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The best part is that I really feel that I've broken my writing drought. I really want to finish the story so I am planning to get up an hour early each morning to write.<br />
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This means getting up at 4am!<br />
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If you liked (or disliked) this post please leave a comment. You could also like my page on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RickKeuningWriter">Facebook</a>, or follow me on <a href="https://twitter.com/RickKeuning">Twitter</a>.<br />
<br />Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13106698263021345756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-299853399168009224.post-26122974825260959512014-09-29T23:52:00.002+10:002014-09-29T23:52:43.502+10:00Writing Journal: Writetober<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9CBfKT0kULnJYFiavXpHgCr-Q_E3djgc79qnX4ipxsrcMmXArCAvZfltonG6VSOlSDY2KucGC87QWiWUByGvJoOYPVMiothpFyDseHpfL5vwgAt1pZ812k300hn_yPHQW1nFcnBW-9HpW/s1600/writing+Journal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9CBfKT0kULnJYFiavXpHgCr-Q_E3djgc79qnX4ipxsrcMmXArCAvZfltonG6VSOlSDY2KucGC87QWiWUByGvJoOYPVMiothpFyDseHpfL5vwgAt1pZ812k300hn_yPHQW1nFcnBW-9HpW/s1600/writing+Journal.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a>I've had another good rejection. Although it took a long time, over three months, to come through. It one of my flash pieces sent to one of the daily fiction sites. It was good rejection because there was heaps of feedback. Paragraph long bit of feedback from three people who read it. They even had the names of the reviewers (So, I've found their addresses and hired the assassin..no...that is wrong...must not do.) they had something good to say about the story, but all found different reasons to fault it. I'm still processing the information.<br />
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In the mean time I have to get back to some writing.<br />
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So, here comes Writetober!<br />
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(I don't know if I made Writetober up or heard it somewhere?)<br />
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During the month of October I am going to do as much writing/editing as I can and tweet about it every day. I have set goals, which I'm not going to tell, that I will be aiming for. However, the main aim is just to do a real lot of writing type stuff.<br />
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My tweets will be with #writetober if you want to follow my progress for the month. I hope you do.<br />
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Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13106698263021345756noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-299853399168009224.post-46540072447970458072014-09-08T21:03:00.002+10:002014-09-08T21:03:40.905+10:00Monday Writing journal: New House. New Start?<br />
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I've just move house. It's the ninth place we've lived in since I married Jane, my wife (of course).<br />
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I'm hoping that it will break my writing drought. Since finishing my first draft of Lonely Susan I've fiddle, procrastinated, set goals, missed goals and generally wondered if I've got writers block or that I'm just plain lazy.<br />
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So, will house number nine be the place?<br />
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For some reason I'm reminded of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVf5Cr4M-F8" target="_blank">Revolution 9</a> by the Beatles.<br />
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So, I'm making a new start in the new house. I expect I'll still procrastinate, fiddle, fuss & a lot of other stuff, just as long as I write!<br />
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I'll let you know.<br />
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Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13106698263021345756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-299853399168009224.post-49942037540687542962014-08-31T23:28:00.000+10:002014-08-31T23:28:04.823+10:00Book Review: Bound (Alex Cain #1) By Alan Baxter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I kind of know <a href="http://www.alanbaxteronline.com/">Alan Baxter</a>. We’ve met at conferences and chatted over the internet. I went to the book launch for <a href="http://www.alanbaxteronline.com/bound/">Bound</a> in Sydney, bought a copy and had it signed by Alan. I then put that in a box and down loaded a free kindle version and read it. <br /><br />Before anything else, I have to say the Bound is a great read.<br /><br />I came to the book with a little trepidation. Because I know Alan a little I know the type of stuff he writes. I thought I’d read some of his work before, but I cannot remember what. I’m not a fan of horror and Dark Fantasy has to be really good for me to get into it, so Alan is not quite my normal style of author. However, the little I know of Alan I like and a lot of people I know say he’s a great writer. I agree with them<br /><br />Bound is a tight, fast paced, actioned packed story. A, ‘I cannot put this down’, read.<br /><br />Alex Cain is an illegal kick boxing fighter who can see what his opponents intends. This gives him the edge to win almost all his fights. It also gets him in the bad books with a local crime boss because he won’t throw fights. To get away from the crime boss, Alex accepts a weird offer for a trip to England from a, stereo typical, old man with magical powers.<br /><br />Alex is the type who does not believe in magic, but he soon has no choice. He quickly learns that he has a real gift for magic. This gift finds him bound to an ancient evil book that wants to use him for extreme violence and then kill him. He needs to find a way to get unbound. The only person he can turn to for help is a beautiful blond girl who is only half human and eats people. Discovering magic is real is not a fairy tale for Alex.<br /><br />I really loved this book. It’s the first of three and I’ve already finished the <a href="http://www.alanbaxteronline.com/obsidian/">second</a> (review coming soon) and have the <a href="http://www.alanbaxteronline.com/abduction/">third</a> on pre-order with Amazon. It’s has a story that sucks you in and keeps you reading. It has great main characters and brilliant villains. Everything you want in a good story.<br /><br />It’s not perfect. Some of the minor characters at the start are a bit cliché, but they don’t hang around for long. Also, Alan enjoys the more colourful side of the English language and so do his characters. There is a lot of graphic violence, which I didn’t mind too much but some might. There is also a lot of sex, although it is not described in detail which I was glad about. (Am I strange to not mind graphic violence, but cringe at the hint of graphic sex?) Lastly, I find the colourful language completely unnecessary. If it wasn’t there I won’t miss it and I don’t believe it adds anything to gritty nature of the story. It’s just my view.<br /><br />If you’re into fast stories with a lot of action and great characters, then give Bound a go. I loved it.<br /><br />If you liked (or disliked) this post please leave a comment. You could also like my page on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RickKeuningWriter">Facebook</a>, or follow me on <a href="https://twitter.com/RickKeuning">Twitter</a>.<div>
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Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13106698263021345756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-299853399168009224.post-70482828652686737112014-08-16T22:24:00.000+10:002014-08-16T22:24:43.025+10:00Book Review: Backworlds book 3: Boomtown Craze By M Pax <br />
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<a href="http://mpaxauthor.com/mpaxworks-books-and-stories/the-backworlds-series/boomtown-craze/" target="_blank"><img alt="http://mpaxauthor.com/mpaxworks-books-and-stories/the-backworlds-series/boomtown-craze/" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRhaGF-DNZ3MuKcw0-UIeat-6a5DkcKUGzDiziMK6nt5I7uaLhIPvI8uul_17zphA5wWAUT48W2KKp6Dp_cnE9GX5qt4EG-lqKcIK-PwP0PHTdiogrYBmWVGns_LOFSLgqYwF7A6BhakAF/s1600/boomtown.jpg" height="200" width="133" /></a></div>
The adventure of Craze and his crew continue in <a href="http://mpaxauthor.com/mpaxworks-books-and-stories/the-backworlds-series/boomtown-craze/">Boomtown Craze</a>, the 3rd book in the Backworlds series.<br /><br />Book 3 brings a lot of new stuff to the series. New, and very interesting, characters, new worlds and a whole lot of new problems Craze. It also gives the reader multiple POV’s for the first time. In books 1 & 2 everything was told from Craze’s POV, but this completely changed in book three, and it’s a good thing. It’s good because the story expands beyond just Craze and other members of the cast get to go on their own adventures (although they might not see them as adventures) and the reader gets to experience new worlds. It’s also good because we are given some insight into motivation and history of some of the incredible beings that inhabit this universe.<br /><br />The story itself also expands with this new diversity. In this book it begins to look like a Space Opera. The first two books were good Sifi stories, but were narrow in that they centred on Craze’s journey. Book 3 continues his journey, but brings us much more. I’m really looking forward to seeing how the story grows.<br /><br />If you liked (or disliked) this post please leave a comment. You could also like my page on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RickKeuningWriter">Facebook</a>, or follow me on <a href="https://twitter.com/RickKeuning">Twitter</a>.<br /><br /><div>
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Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13106698263021345756noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-299853399168009224.post-23808085625360873012014-08-04T22:53:00.000+10:002014-08-04T22:53:50.110+10:00Writing Journal: A little story published<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCr356YlqNL3Bb_9pxcKKSpuedXEfMUhidLCNPIvWPseUkOKh8YLgiq5VJCHFLW9ANTRZqdKvni_mF7yru_7bV-Np0QFMNey9_Fu6Wf2oYd1TGweDzy-a2xT6rKe6VbLm7SCzk-lkjy9dS/s1600/writing+Journal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCr356YlqNL3Bb_9pxcKKSpuedXEfMUhidLCNPIvWPseUkOKh8YLgiq5VJCHFLW9ANTRZqdKvni_mF7yru_7bV-Np0QFMNey9_Fu6Wf2oYd1TGweDzy-a2xT6rKe6VbLm7SCzk-lkjy9dS/s1600/writing+Journal.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></div>
Hi,<br />
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I've just had another little story published. It's in the August addition of of the sifi flash fiction webzine <a href="http://www.antisf.com.au/" target="_blank">AntipodeanSF</a>. It is my third story published there.<br />
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The story,<a href="http://www.antisf.com.au/the-stories/a-matter-og-technique" target="_blank"> A matter Og Technique</a>, features a character I created over 30 years ago. Back then I was making up characters for comic books, which was what I mostly read at that time. I still remember all of them.<br />
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The character, Og, is a giant demon/human half breed with super hard skin and incredible strength. His human mother was not a willing participant in his conception. He only has one goal in life, to find his demon father and kill him. Dad does not want to be found.<br />
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In case you missed the link earlier, you can read the story <a href="http://www.antisf.com.au/the-stories/a-matter-og-technique" target="_blank">here</a>. If you read the story please let me know what you think.<br />
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If you liked (or disliked) this post please leave a comment. You could also like my page on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RickKeuningWriter">Facebook</a>, or follow me on <a href="https://twitter.com/RickKeuning">Twitter</a>.<span style="background-color: #fff3db; color: #29303b; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<br />Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13106698263021345756noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-299853399168009224.post-25179730327439072972014-07-28T22:22:00.000+10:002014-07-28T22:22:15.167+10:00Writing Journal: I haven't blogged because I haven't written<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhry_REoC_3fcrSAPvQd2ww4iLUu44G7AEYjUSssjrF1yc7ytlu6CqXOiNCDYmmY0qc56hfwjB68iKpXJjAxqQgaspJahZvsPNGdN6Zl5lw93_6sB4mneJhMU1IFjm4Voow3Boc0JQ2XZLD/s1600/writing+Journal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhry_REoC_3fcrSAPvQd2ww4iLUu44G7AEYjUSssjrF1yc7ytlu6CqXOiNCDYmmY0qc56hfwjB68iKpXJjAxqQgaspJahZvsPNGdN6Zl5lw93_6sB4mneJhMU1IFjm4Voow3Boc0JQ2XZLD/s1600/writing+Journal.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></div>
<br />
I think you have to actually write to be a writer?<br />
<br />
I just haven't been writing, until tonight.<br />
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Some writing stuff has happened. I've done a tiny (very tiny) bit of editing on my novel, Lonely Susan. I also had three people offer to read it for me. One of those people have already gotten back to me with a very positive response and some useful feedback.<br />
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I've also submitted Radar Love to another publication. Right now I have two stories out there hoping to be free. My only other complete short story, Bounty, underwent a big rewrite recently, so I need it to be checked before trying to free it again.<br />
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What I most need to do is write! I have a short story called Ved which has been half written for months now. I'm going to do some writing on it every night until it's finished. I think it's the only way it will get finished.<br />
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<span style="background-color: #fff3db; color: #29303b; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">If you liked (or disliked) this post please leave a comment. You could also like my page on </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/RickKeuningWriter" style="background-color: #fff3db; color: #956839; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Facebook</a><span style="background-color: #fff3db; color: #29303b; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, or follow me on </span><a href="https://twitter.com/RickKeuning" style="background-color: #fff3db; color: #956839; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Twitter</a><span style="background-color: #fff3db; color: #29303b; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">.</span><br />
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Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13106698263021345756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-299853399168009224.post-47242377846361974862014-06-30T23:22:00.000+10:002014-06-30T23:22:12.169+10:00Writing Journal: typos and misspellings!<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHcXR4DSkgn-CVf8wJa_KBqbKTB9LVX3dVMOQYCkrP0yhHU8rq8Qbhbq219e867sAzx5s37KTj1FczxbIINUatpkZwwfWsslulGnjr9l_Ce0Dx63-MsgurRNBgMr8COkJoxi0fTd56dBlb/s1600/writing+Journal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHcXR4DSkgn-CVf8wJa_KBqbKTB9LVX3dVMOQYCkrP0yhHU8rq8Qbhbq219e867sAzx5s37KTj1FczxbIINUatpkZwwfWsslulGnjr9l_Ce0Dx63-MsgurRNBgMr8COkJoxi0fTd56dBlb/s1600/writing+Journal.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></div>
I had another story nicely reject this week. It was to a good publication that sends back some of the feedback from their slush readers, which is always informative and helpful. (I think?)<br /><br />There was feedback given from three readers and they were very similar in content. All had similar good things to say, basically that the story had a lot of potential that’s not quiet realised in some way, and all three liked the ending. The negative was also kind of the same, basically that it was not fleshed out enough. <br /><br />However, one of the readers said that the story lacked polished and had typos and misspellings. <br /><br /><br />What!!! <br /><br />Typos(!!!) and misspellings(!!!!!!!) <br /><br />Inconceivable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<br /><br />This comment shocked me, to put it lightly. I don’t blame the reader; if he/she found typos and misspellings then that is what he/she found. It just that it was so deflating to read those words when I know how much I’d done to make sure that there was no typos and misspellings, but it seems that I didn’t try enough.<br /><br />I actually thought that I had this story about right. Now I’m going to have to add having another look at this story on my to do list. See what I can do to give it more depth to the setting and characters. Find those typos and misspellings and kill them.<br /><br />If you liked (or disliked) this post please leave a comment. You could also like my page on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RickKeuningWriter">Facebook</a>, or follow me on <a href="https://twitter.com/RickKeuning">Twitter</a>.<div>
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Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13106698263021345756noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-299853399168009224.post-14391776429028287422014-06-23T23:57:00.002+10:002014-06-23T23:57:59.336+10:00Writing Journal: I'm slow.<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjizuhamu66CCg1_RfYz1D6tw3G86jw1zF0SSKL0OYezYsw8TGO5fcZhRdAkrQuqxHwK0W9p0LmEqWryhRIxh7yqgVa5OMRD6F6eKmN57pDbS14_GAHcJhXTQ8FabebhrLK0yrrJdoVTFTb/s1600/writing+Journal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjizuhamu66CCg1_RfYz1D6tw3G86jw1zF0SSKL0OYezYsw8TGO5fcZhRdAkrQuqxHwK0W9p0LmEqWryhRIxh7yqgVa5OMRD6F6eKmN57pDbS14_GAHcJhXTQ8FabebhrLK0yrrJdoVTFTb/s1600/writing+Journal.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Hi,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I’m still writing, but not at a good pace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Here is the, kind of, progress report.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">1. I have complete a major edit on my
short story, 'Bounty', but by next Monday, 23<sup>rd</sup> and not 16th of
June.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">2. I now hope to finish writing my short
story, 'Ved' by the end of June.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">3. I still hope to finish writing my short
story, 'Jacq' by the end of July.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">4. I also still hope to finish a complete
second draft of my novel, 'Lonely Susan' by the end of September.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I’ll keep trying to do regular Monday
Journals! I’m also hoping to do some other blog stuff.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">That’s all for now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #29303b; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">If you liked (or
disliked) this post please leave a comment. You could also like my page on </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: #FFF3DB; color: #29303b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/RickKeuningWriter" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #956839; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Facebook</span></a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #29303b; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">, or
follow me on </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: #FFF3DB; color: #29303b; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://twitter.com/RickKeuning" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #956839; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Twitter</span></a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #29303b; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13106698263021345756noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-299853399168009224.post-17838698399399763572014-06-15T00:24:00.003+10:002014-06-15T00:24:59.576+10:00My Top Ten Obsession Songs<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We’ve always been obsessed with best of
type list, think Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. However, the advent of the
internet, YouTube, Facebook, etc. It has been taken to incredible new heights (lows?).
I know this because I’ve been court up in the obsession myself. Far too many
hours watching top 10s on YouTube. In particular, top 10 song lists. As I
watched all these lists (when I should have been writing) I thought of some that
haven’t been covered, as far as I know.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So, here is my Top 10 Obsession Songs, specifically
songs that reflect one person with an obsession over another person.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">10 <span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext;">Something <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo1tCCKOiX4">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo1tCCKOiX4</a>
I’ll most like have a Beatle’s song in all my top 10 song list, if I do any
more, simply because I love the Beatles. However, Something fits well here. Its
expresses the obsession of new love, how when you first fall for someone they
take over your life, it’s all you can think about. True, but often short lived,
obsession.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">9 </span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Jessie’s
girl <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2T7wKdQsTo">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2T7wKdQsTo</a><span class="MsoHyperlink"> </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext;">This song is grass is greener obsession. Showing an all-consuming
desire for someone you cannot have. Rick Springfield looked like a typical pop
singer, but he wasn’t. There was a real dark side to his music and Jessie’s
Girl is a prime example. It almost tips over into stalker territory, but that
goes to the next song.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">8 Happy together <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZEURntrQOg">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZEURntrQOg</a>
This is a genuine stalker song. I have visions of a wall covered with a girls
face and lit candles everywhere when listening to this song by the Turtles. </span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">7 All I want is you <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et6epq5fslg">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et6epq5fslg</a><span class="MsoHyperlink"> </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext;">The message of this U@ song is
simple. You want all this other stuff, all I want is you. Pure obsession.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">6 Don’t stand so close to me <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Zp3LPRzuXo">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Zp3LPRzuXo</a><span class="MsoHyperlink"> </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext;">The Police are obsession song
specialist with any number of songs reflecting theme. There were two other of
their songs I seriously considered for this list, but this one is really the
only choice in the end. It embodies one of the most dark and tragic types for
obsession. Forbidden fruit, earnestly desiring what you truly cannot/should not
have.</span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">5 Ain’t no sunshine <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIdIqbv7SPo">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIdIqbv7SPo</a><span class="MsoHyperlink"> </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext;">Bill Withers really misses this she. When she’s not there
it’s all he can think about in this song, genuine obsession.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">4 Nothing compares to you <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUiTQvT0W_0">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUiTQvT0W_0</a><span class="MsoHyperlink"> </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext;">This one perfectly shows the
obsessive power of love lost. Sinead O’Conner expresses it perfectly.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">3 Unchained melody <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrK5u5W8afc">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrK5u5W8afc</a><span class="MsoHyperlink"> </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext;">Every single word in this song by Righteous
Brothers oozes obsession. This is unconditional love taken to the extreme. And it is beautiful. </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">2 Total control <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yirPs_X8uRM">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yirPs_X8uRM</a><span class="MsoHyperlink"> </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext;">The main line of this Motels song
says it all, ‘I’ll sell my sole for total control over you.’ It would be the ultimate
obsession song but for the next one. </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">1 Pissing in the river <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhDJZm_HyXY">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhDJZm_HyXY</a><span class="MsoHyperlink"> </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext;">Patty Smith writes poetry to music. A really special kind
of poetry, poetry I actually like! The way she combines words and music is just
incredible in its raw intensity. In Pissing in the River she gives the ultimate
voice to obsession. While Martha is will to sell her soul for the object of her
desires, Patty lets it everything has pure out leaving herself completely empty.
I’d quote some lyrics, but what you need to do is follow the link and read them
as you listen to the song.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There were a lot of songs that could
have gone on this list, I just kept thinking of more all the time. So below is
a list of some that I considered, but didn’t make the top 10.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Please let me know if there is any
songs that you think I should have included.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">She’s
not there <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpS7mpskf18">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpS7mpskf18</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Angie
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAWRKjEZ-j4">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAWRKjEZ-j4</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Alison
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26oiwG8WJ6A">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26oiwG8WJ6A</a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Forever autumn </span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQ7yfHuMFEc">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQ7yfHuMFEc</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I
got you <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xv6oOxn1axw">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xv6oOxn1axw</a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I
see red <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKj4upY1VYI">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKj4upY1VYI</a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Roxanne
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2Qad-gaHMg">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2Qad-gaHMg</a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Every
little thing she does is magic <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aENX1Sf3fgQ">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aENX1Sf3fgQ</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sweet
child of mine <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-AYAv0IoWI">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-AYAv0IoWI</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
first time ever I saw your face <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Id_UYLPSn6U">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Id_UYLPSn6U</a><span class="MsoHyperlink"> </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Candy <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bLOjmY--TA">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bLOjmY--TA</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #29303b; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If you
liked (or disliked) this post please leave a comment. You could also like my
page on </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/RickKeuningWriter" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #956839;">Facebook</span></a><span style="background: white; color: #29303b;">, or follow me on </span><a href="https://twitter.com/RickKeuning" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #956839;">Twitter</span></a><span style="background: white; color: #29303b;">.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13106698263021345756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-299853399168009224.post-16281894189597324302014-06-09T22:38:00.000+10:002014-06-09T22:38:01.107+10:00Monday Writing Journal: Rebooting the Reboot<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsh1YVhslMntLUBtXumsMcWXyB6dB4QRZJKN1-0WEViHZP8BJXzDkuVqG5CVZoSjB80aZJO5rYsDxCb-Y3PLEAwpJQz2Ekhc2LTPO19aTlvdA_T4DRyx-GybeTzU4uAip9sfhSm_L4lCR5/s1600/writing+Journal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsh1YVhslMntLUBtXumsMcWXyB6dB4QRZJKN1-0WEViHZP8BJXzDkuVqG5CVZoSjB80aZJO5rYsDxCb-Y3PLEAwpJQz2Ekhc2LTPO19aTlvdA_T4DRyx-GybeTzU4uAip9sfhSm_L4lCR5/s1600/writing+Journal.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></div>
Hi,<br />
<br />
My reboot hasn't really worked, so I'm starting again. I just didn't keep it up, I've only got myself to blame.<br />
<br />
Anyway, I've got some goals. Here they are.<br />
<br />
1. Complete a major edit on my short story, 'Bounty', by next Monday, 16th of June.<br />
<br />
2. Finish writing my short story, 'Ved' by the 23rd of June.<br />
<br />
3. Finish writing my short story, 'Jacq' by the end of July.<br />
<br />
4. Finish a complete second draft of my novel, 'Lonely Susan' by the end of September.<br />
<br />
I'm going to keep doing these Monday Journals and do a tweet whenever I've done something. Let's see how I go!<br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #29303b; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">If you liked (or disliked) this post please leave a comment. You could also like my page on </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-color: #fff3db; color: #29303b; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/RickKeuningWriter" style="color: #956839;" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Facebook</span></a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #29303b; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">, or follow me on </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-color: #fff3db; color: #29303b; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a href="https://twitter.com/RickKeuning" style="color: #956839;" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Twitter</span></a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #29303b; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #29303b; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><br /></span>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13106698263021345756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-299853399168009224.post-11302160086039229512014-05-31T23:06:00.000+10:002014-05-31T23:06:28.765+10:00A Blank Page<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_UJgBU04CKF6zJcSGIlhIW4qv4nvVxZ_YACC8ajB3SdAhnMs6C-oUjit0Mq5ZizAwjy2JITac1KbI-JIbgR7KOKnsdTkstwGEVhSqzeAzs8kxFJt8pJ_YG2hMXfXuM0jWhbJGm3KBo3S0/s1600/Writng+tip.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_UJgBU04CKF6zJcSGIlhIW4qv4nvVxZ_YACC8ajB3SdAhnMs6C-oUjit0Mq5ZizAwjy2JITac1KbI-JIbgR7KOKnsdTkstwGEVhSqzeAzs8kxFJt8pJ_YG2hMXfXuM0jWhbJGm3KBo3S0/s1600/Writng+tip.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When I started going through the first
draft of my novel, ‘Lonely Susan’ I got stuck my protagonist’s first
appearance. The first time your main character appears is fairly important
(just to understate things) and I knew that Susan’s first showing just wasn’t
good enough. However, I just couldn’t come up with anything better.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I sat at the computer for, what seemed
like, hours with the section of the story before me, I would go to write
something, then just stop not happy with what I was about to write. I tried
leaving it for a week or so, but the result was just the same. I didn’t matter
how hard I tried, I just could not edit what was there in front of me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It’s just one paragraph, a few sentences,
but I could not get anywhere with trying to change what I wrote. Then thought
came to me, don’t try and change anything, just wright it all over again. So
that is what I decided to do. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Starting with a blank page, I just wrote
the little scene again from scratch. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Here is the original:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He gazed down at the
most beautiful face he had ever seen. Instead of rotting bones, a young lady
lay in the box as though dreaming. She had shoulder length red hair and wore a
snuggly fitting jumpsuit. Rod could have stared forever at the vision that lay
before him, had it not been for his father.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Here
is the new version:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Rod hesitated as he
looked down, expecting a rotted corpse. Instead he gazed upon a smooth face of
almost pure white skin belonging to a young woman what seemed to be peacefully asleep.
Her closed eyes had long lashes, and thick red browse start against the light
skin that surrounded them. Her nose was long and straight with a sprinkling of
freckles, her mouth wide with pastel lips. She had thick red hair that was
pulled back into a pony tail that was swathed over her right shoulder. Rod felt
he could just stare at her face forever.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I think it worked!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Let me know what you think.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #29303b; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If you
liked (or disliked) this post please leave a comment. You could also like my
page on </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/RickKeuningWriter" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #956839; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Facebook</span></a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #29303b; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, or follow me on </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="https://twitter.com/RickKeuning" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #956839; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Twitter</span></a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #29303b; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13106698263021345756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-299853399168009224.post-25375427089684266752014-05-27T00:18:00.000+10:002014-05-27T00:18:12.107+10:00Monday Writing Journal: disapointment<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7pTf0TwSVjg772tvYcDZ1i6f9Pmrv-aij17mNjukLiNkK-wfGKvPM0tAnAA3OUuZNZ73K6RuB-OdcWp6D1kEWgWUNvTmhfBBnd8tkjwEKL0GxfbxymIfXJTAd4SdGIAQm7nJuGr_ZVM6m/s1600/writing+Journal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7pTf0TwSVjg772tvYcDZ1i6f9Pmrv-aij17mNjukLiNkK-wfGKvPM0tAnAA3OUuZNZ73K6RuB-OdcWp6D1kEWgWUNvTmhfBBnd8tkjwEKL0GxfbxymIfXJTAd4SdGIAQm7nJuGr_ZVM6m/s1600/writing+Journal.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></div>
<br />
The reboot of my writing has been a disappointment so far. However, I only have myself to blame for it.<br />
<br />
So, what did I actually do?<br />
<br />
Wrote a couple of hundred words for my major procrastination short story 'Ved'. The whole story is in there (in my head), but it just doesn't want to come out. It's shy for some reason.<br />
<br />
Started and wrote a couple of hundred words for a story titled 'Jacq'. This is the origin story the Demon Slayer, 'Jacq' who appeared in my story in '<a href="http://www.amazon.com.au/In-Fabula-divino-Lily-Ariser-ebook/dp/B00BR91B2O/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1401113021&sr=8-7&keywords=in+fabula" target="_blank">In Fabula-divino</a>' titled 'Crossroads'. I've had the story in my mind for a while, and have now been inspired to write it for the '<a href="http://ticonderogapublications.com/index.php/about-us/submissions/hear-me-roar-anthology" target="_blank">Hear Me Roar</a>' Anthology over at Ticonderoga.<br />
<br />
I've also submitted 'Radar Love' again.<br />
<br />
Disappointing, this week I must do better.<br />
<br />
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