Don't Push It

Want to know a funny thing?  Cool, but it’s gonna take a minute.
.

First, some backstory.

.

I wrote my first book when I was four years old, but I didn't start seeking publication until five years ago, my late thirties.  I remember it well, sitting there in front of the computer early one morning enjoying my 'hobby' of writing stories for my own amusement while drinking my first cup of coffee.  Then, all of a sudden, there was a crack of lightening (okay, not really) and a new character fell from the sky (uh, I mean popped into my imagination.) He turned out to be the perfect husband and father for my dynamic mother/daughter duo in a story which turned out to be

.

THE STAR CAPTAINS' DAUGHTER

.

and I knew instantly that the time had come to seek publication.

.

Beats me why, exactly.

.

Okay, here's the funny part.

.

Even though that was the first of three novels I polished for submission before the fourth was finally accepted,

.

I still haven't learned how to properly tell it.

.

See, I sought out the advice of the legendary Jacqueline Lichtenberg and she explained to me about how I needed to tell my stories as my writing ability matured enough to tell each one.  Or, something like that.  It was a major learning curve and I realized The Star Captains' Daughter and my ability to tell it was not fully developed. 

.

Fast Forward and

.

It still isn't!

.

I just finished my third post-signing book, SWEET BYTES,

.

and I still canNOT properly tell The Star Captains' Daughter! 

.

Oh, you can read a poorly told draft for free at Feedbooks, but it's such a shred of what's actually logged away in my imagination.  It's just that SCD is a huge universe and I'm not highly evolved enough to comprehend it.  Sometimes, I worry I never will.  But, then, I realize I have to.  It might take a few years, but those characters are screaming for justice and I can't let them down.

.

So, I'll keep plugging away, learning, writing, growing, and writing some more.  One of these days, one of these days!  Just wait and see, one of these days, that story and my ability to tell it will mature. 

.

I have learned a couple of things in the past five years though.

.

1)      I need to start at the Beginning of the story.  Got no freakin’ idea when that is.

.

2)      I need to break the ‘universe’ down into smaller, more digestible morsels.  Got no freakin’ idea how to do that either.

.

Patience, my fair young apprentice, yes, I know, but sometimes I get restless down here on Planet Earth with stories in the Here & Now.  I mean, sure, they’re weird enough to be fun.  Half those Blood Suckin’ Dead Guys in the Ophelia Dawson stories are actually alien/human hybrids after all.  In Book Four, Ophelia’s going to find the original crash site and hive, which will be a knock-down, drag-out fight for sure.

.

Still…(((sigh)))…I really miss multi-vector attack torpedoes and galloping around the cosmos in my imagination.

.

The Moral of The Story, however, is

.

Don’t Push It.

.

Every dog has his day

.

And so does every story.

.

Just gotta keep plugging away and one day I’ll be growed up enough to tell this one.

.

I also gotta a really groovy Steampunk knocking around in my head too!  Dang, when will I get my voice-activated software?