Just too ugly...

I can't believe I released such a thing into the wild! So I have reeled it in. The more I think about my excerpt from Outlander Chronicles which I was showing on CreateSpace, the less I like it.

The opening paragraph is a perfect example of purple prose. Writers will know what I am talking about. For non-writers, purple prose is an attempt by a writer to be literary and profound, that comes off just being, well, clumsy and obnoxious. That's a gracious way of putting it.

I guess if you are going to write a dud, might as well do it in the opening paragraph of a 100,000 word novel, right? Best place for it, right? [Sarcasm alert. Do I really need to say that?]

 Anyway, my pride has finally overtaken me, and I have taken the offending link down, deleted the preview, and am fervently hoping that anyone who has read it soon forgets that I wrote it. If you don't know what I am babbling about, see this post, although remember - I have taken down the link to the painful purple prose.

I've started a re-write of Outlander [I hate re-writing], and the offending paragraph has already been replaced [and it is not purple anymore, believe me]. One of these days, probably in 2312, I will finish the re-write, and repost the excerpt.

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Edited 5/3/2012: Rewrites were completed in November of 2011, and Outlander Chronicles: Phoenix has been published.

ABNA Refugee

I did not make the cut, or, more precisely, I was cut. Bummer. The ABNA is the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award competition. I had an entry in the competition, and made the first cut but not the second. You can see the excerpt here [NO, YOU CAN'T. As of 4/14, I have deleted the ugly thing!] [As of 5/21, you can find the pitch and re-written chapter one here]

The critiques were actually quite good, and very fair. But it's still a bummer.

My novel is a post-apocalyptic story about which I am not going to say a great deal more - at least, not right now. It is scheduled for a major re-write, which will probably start tomorrow night.

I expect to use the Thoughtspot to publish some of my shorter stuff, as well as for the political meanderings of a heavily opinionated mind. And probably some comments on biblical topics as well.