Writing is my Independence Day

While people are grilling and waiting for fireworks, I'll be sitting in a prison cell. I won't get to smell the hot dogs, bar-b-que ribs, potato salad, pork and beans, chicken. I won't get annoyed when the drunken uncle or aunt who has sipped too much wine or drank one to many beers starts reminiscing about the good old days from twenty years ago. I wish I could be there in my lawn chair watching the kids run through the sprinklers because it's 90 degrees in the shade. I wish I could snuggle up behind my woman and tell her how much I appreciate the hard work she put in, getting the in-laws to visit, setting a wonderful table, letting me kick back and play a slamming game of bid whist or spades...

...unfortunately.

My spades partner will be sitting across from me holding on to his cigarette bids like they were chips from a casino. My "cocktail" will be surreptitiously sipped out my coffee cup between guards roaming eyes. My  beanie weenies will have to suffice as I imagine them tasting like smoked dogs off the grill, dripping with mustard and ketchup. My snuggle will happen later in my cell, as I can only visualize my dream lover, who is plastered on a cinder block wall, taped to stay in place.

My Independence Day was taken long ago. Well, I did my crime, I am now doing my time.
If you get a moment, come visit me.
Thompson
Inside Out

Don't be so serious

One of the things I have noticed with the writers who are publishing in e-formats is the speed in which they get the work out. Now maybe they had several manuscripts gathering dust in a drawer. Blew it off, did a rewrite and put the gem out there for the rest of us to read. Some of the big sellers in this game are also writing stories that people want to read. Pure escapism. I get that.
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Think about it. If your job sucks, or your bills are kicking your butt, or your home life is less than wonderful, it's nice to indulge in some pure entertaining fun. And that's what some of the big sellers are doing. So for me, I plan on not sweating the long, winded outlining that takes soooo much time away from just putting the story on paper. And just get it done.
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That's my goal. I have outlines for 2 books. One is the next in the Perri Stone series. So instead of wasting more time, trying to get every speck outlined before I can write, I will start writing. Believe me, I have outlined to death. And Near Salem, which isn't trying to capitalize on the YA market but telling a story I have always wondered about since I was about 18. What if the Salem Witch Trials never happened? What if witchcraft was allowed to flourish in its natural state? Where would we be now. So of course this has to happen in a parallel universe. But that's the joy of writing. I can put it anywhere I want.
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So I will keep my book at .99 cents, because I want you to read it.
INSIDE OUT