A New Starting Point

Legacy Update #38

I’ve been thinking about this for a while, and I have mentioned in previous posts that I should have named this series of posts better. It is my “Thesis Diary.” But the Thesis is pretty much done (as we’ll get to in the next few paragraphs).

What I want to do today is start fresh. This is the post where new people can jump in and get going. In the last 37 posts I have mainly referred to things as if you’ve all been reading along since the beginning. I mean I have put in links to previous posts for clarity, but for the most part I assumed you all read along.

But that isn’t always the case. So, in this post I will be reintroducing myself, talking about WHY these posts exist, and talking about where we’ll be going in the future.

Hello, My Name is Kurt, and I’m a Writer.

Hello.

I started this website 2 years ago with the intent to share my ideas and visions for how and why I write. I also wanted to bring in a bunch of gaming stories and really showcase my love for TTRPGs and Fantasy, Horror, and everything else speculative.

In the course of starting this website, I finished my BA and moved on to an MFA program, and as I type this post, I am a mere 9 weeks away from finishing the MFA. IN the previous 2 years I have shared well over half a million words. We ran through world building posts. 40 weeks of TORG Eternity games, that were written in both a in- and out-of-game context. It was really experimental and I still don’t know if it worked or not. The posts still generate interest and get reads though.

I also shared a dozen term papers, all of them in a pre-edited condition. One draft before finished. Those Essays ranged from literary criticism to Roman history. And I do have to say my papers on the Battle of Cannae and on the birth of the American Infantryman have both topped triple digit reads.

Not bad for a relatively unknown writer.

The Thesis Diaries:

The dominant posts now are in my thesis diary category, 38 weeks of journey. We started with crunch time. Going into my thesis classes with only 60k of my fantasy novel done. Mostly because I was an idiot who thought I HAD to write the novel DURING the classes. Meaning I started on the back foot as my peers in my class came in with complete or almost complete manuscripts. Also, I was one of the only ones writing epic fantasy. The rest were writing romance or contemporary thrillers. Books that were aiming at 80-90k in total. I naively thought I could tell my story in about 120-150k words.

I powered through 130,000 words to get my novel to done. I did it in 15 weeks, coming in with a novel of 196,000 total words. The best part was I came in two weeks before deadline. I then almost immediately had to start revising the novel for my Thesis 3 class. And in 8 weeks I cut and added and moved things around, dropping the book down to 190,000 and getting it handed in, again, ahead of deadline.

And as of two days ago I received my final critique of the first 80k of my novel. (80k was the max number of words my Prof was required to read. Like I said all of my peers were writing far smaller books and I had to get approval from the Dean and Program Head to even use my epic fantasy as a novel for the course).

Where do we go from Here?

So, now we come to the matter I mentioned in the intro. The name of this series. Thesis Diaries. We are off the thesis, sort of. The purpose of these posts, and of this webpage entire is two-fold. First, I want you all to get to know me. To see how I think and do things. What makes me passionate and happy. And second, I want to help other writers (one of my passions). I want to show you how I think because I love seeing how other writers think. I want to show you my rejections as I start sending out queries for agents. Not just to share my pain, but because I want newbie writers to discover these posts and see what the struggle can be like.

A lot of my posts are kind of stream of conscious as I think through the posts. I am not writing from an outline, merely from a few cues written on a note card. My writing here will have mistakes, it might have typos, and it definitely meanders a little. Because I’m trying to have a conversation here, and that is how I talk. This is as real as I can be without sitting down and talking directly to you.

The next few weeks:

Ok, back on topic. Where are we going?

I am in my final two classes, so I will be talking a little about school work. Matter of fact this post is already being influenced by one of my classes as I struggle to identify my brand.

I have received the final feedback on my novel and will be starting a new round of revisions. Tightening up the beginning of the book and fixing a few areas I only nudged. I’d also like to cut another 10k out of the novel if I can. I am NOT good at cutting words. Well, I can cut a bunch of words form several areas, but I already have two places I need to add words into the novel. I literally have feedback that says “expand chapter 7, but cut words from chap 8, 10, 16.”

I am also sending out the first query letters. I was trying to wait for my #1 agent choice to open for submission. But my Prof, family members, and friends all scoffed and scolded me that I was just making an excuse NOT to query. So, I have to write some personal emails and get to work on that and then queries will be sent. As usual, I will be using these posts to hold me accountable.

What else happened last week?

Besides getting the feedback. I have been working on the Call of Cthulhu campaign. I’m working on NPCs and characters. CoC PULP will be the next game I run… if I ever run a game again. Last post, I mentioned running a game in post-WW2 Boston (and New England in general). I think I started this as a way to avoid working on the next novel.

So, far I have about 10 pages of notes on an initial story arc and then a sandbox of hooks afterwards. I have started working on the npcs and each of the hooks individually. It has been a LOT of fun. But it really has taken me away from outlining the next novel.

Now that I am going to do another round of revisions on The Ashlands, I have given myself permission to work on the game AND the outline of Invasion 1 (or The Pharaoh’s Gambit, working titles all). I have also set myself a tentative date to start the rough draft of Invasion.

Bringing it all together

So, I have babbled quite a bit. This is the new jumping on point. We have queries, final revision, and the rough draft of the next novel coming up. As well as some stories about gaming. Besides all of that, I also have an article that I’m shaping up for a literary magazine and I have a short sitting on an editor’s desk. Those are longer term, further down the road projects, but need to be mentioned here as I will be talking about them as they move forward.

The weather is getting better and we have the promise of spring. Easter is late this year and my birthday is less than 6 weeks away. So, a lot will be happening over the next two months. Hopefully, you’ll all stay with me and maybe we’ll have some new people join us.

Welcome to the website and my writing.