My First Blog

I have just posted my first short story here and hope I can get some constructive or even destructive comments. My goal is to by summer time write eight stores, enough for my first book collection. I am working on five so far. I list them here, if only for my self-organizing benefit.

1. Blue Jeans Love
This is finished and requires a heavy editing process.
2. Detective story
I got to half of this project and then realized there was a confusion of clues. The only way to address the problem is, my god, a complete rethinking and rewrite. But the story, to me, is exciting and moves quick.
3. PTSD Story with Religious Theme
This was written as a challenge and there's no real religious theme other than a frayed copy of St. Augustine's Confessions that appears here and there. This story is nearly finished.
4. Small Town Love Story
Funny, I've almost forgotten this one. I intend it to be a quaint story of small town love. It's funny the way it starts, reminding me of Wilder's Our Town and especially the music Aaron Copland wrote for it. This is a story where I've completed the first theme and then found another completely different theme arising. Strange how it happens, but it means a whole new series of research and, as well, compassion for another character who I at first had no reason to support, defend or develop.
6. Strange Occurrence at the Mariposa Art Museum
This is a fun story where the characters become real from paintings of Henry VIII and Catherine the Great of Russia. They participate in a scheme with man and woman security guards. It's about half done.
7. Lindsey and Bernard
I've just posted it here. I am presently figuring out the direction of this story. I am challenged with finding an ending for it and getting there.

I have some kind of science fiction story I wrote for a contest about a year and a half ago. I think I will take another look at it. It will make my collection eight stories. The only thing is that looking at some of the stories, I am certain they could be further developed as novellas.

Meanwhile, some other long term projects include a Civil War love story and another novel. I hope to begin summarizing in this blog lessons I am learning and drawing from novelists and writers.