Moving Along

So I've been moving along on a new book entitled Where Shadows go to Die.  I'm at the 28,000 word mark, aiming for 80,000.  I still have lots of ideas, but just need to complete some more planning.  I've also been contemplating ideas for the cover.

This is a departure from the fantasy oriented stories I usually write.  It's not set in our world, but it has a distinct western flavour to it, albeit with horror and supernatural elements.  I know westerns are not a popular genre these days, but I just wanted to try something different.

I've been writing in my spare time for about six years now, starting back in 2009 when I took a class at a local library.  Back then, I started my first book.  It was a Sci-Fi and I got about 10 chapters (20,000 words) in before I realized how ridiculous it was.  The premise was interesting and perhaps one day I may try re writing it, though a lot of work would be needed to clean up all the plot holes I let grow.

It's funny when I look back at my writing from a few years ago.  It's terrible.  I'm not saying my stuff now is the best ever, but I can defiantly see that I've improved.  I started out writing short stories, but after starting (and not finishing about 5 books), I don't know if I could even write such short fiction anymore.  I do keep a list of ideas, but I'd like to finish one thing before I move to the next.  I have about 4 or 5 other ideas for books I haven't even started yet.  I was honestly hoping to have more than one book on Amazon by this point, but I've been lazy.  I know I should write at least 5000 words a week.

Below is a list of books I've found helpful:

On Writing: Stephen King
Plot and Structure: James Scott Bell
Revision and Self Editing: James Scott Bell
Save the Cat: Blake Snyder
Elements of Style: Strunk & White
On Writing Well: William Zinsser
38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes: Jack M. Bickham