After another unexpectedly long break from writing in this blog, I'm back.  Here're the updates:

Plus or Minus Two Percent is in final editing and formatting, and I expect to receive the final version any day.  Launch should be in March!

I also have a new Facebook page at facebook.com/JohnMartinWrites. 

I have a new web site at JohnMartinWrites.com, and I urge you all to check it out. The web site is a WordPress themed site, and with it comes a blog section.  SOOO, I will be focusing on that blog going forward.  I'm not closing this blog, but if you think I blogged infrequently before, hang around here and you'll know I've gotten even worse.

I also created these stickers to promote the launch of the book and website, and if you want one of these, simply go to the web site and click on the any of the FOLLOW buttons.  A signup link will open.  Provide your email address, and I'll email back to get your mailing information. 

Thanks for following!  See you on the other site!

Moving Along

I'm not the best at blogging, but I hope that changes with time.  As I progress along the path of getting my book published I find that many days of inactivity on the blog turn to weeks. 

In the meantime I have not stopped working on the book and am about to engage with an editor, so that is significant and worthy of posting about.  I knew selecting an editor and getting into this phase would be somewhat of a challenge, I really did not know how daunting it could be.

For me it has been difficult because I don't have many resources in my hip pocket, and so I've searched through indie writer sites and elsewhere looking for suggestions and tips.  There is an abundance of information on the subject, and many choices for editors.  I submitted to several and received samples of their work, and was pleasantly surprised with the feedback. 

My choice of an editor was based on recommendations and feedback, and also economics, which for me is of concern.  I may not be a struggling writer, but I still want to budget my expenses and hopefully get the biggest bang for my buck.  That said, I will find out soon enough how big the bang is. 

I am also excited about the book cover and getting it finalized.  As soon as it is done, which will be within a couple of weeks, I will post it. 

Well, it took a few days longer than I expected to get organized, but below is a small excerpt from the book in between the open-close brackets.  This snippet is taking from a middle chapter when the main character is trying to unravel the mystery he's entangled in.  Enjoy!

[There had been some unusual things that had happened, and the encounter with Ben in his office had been the most bizarre.  The words you’ve been chosen kept coming back to him.  They kept popping to the surface, and as he slipped into a disturbed sleep, in and out of dream states and back awake again, those words were like the song or advertising jingle that you can’t shake from your mind until something else is powerful enough to substitute them or wipe them out altogether. 

Chosen for what? 

What did plus or minus two percent have to do with it?  Answering that question had become the primary objective of his plan.  Step one was to confirm what Kayo had explained as the most likely meaning of the cryptic scribble that Ben had showed him, and step two was to find out what Ben had meant by those puzzling words.  James hoped the answer was in that office.

Now that the office door was locked, James rethought his contingencies while he went through the motions, not really needing to relieve himself, but standing at the urinal to make sure his cover story was intact.  He wanted, no, not wanted, needed to get into Ben’s office, but couldn’t, so he’d have to try at a time when the office was normally open. 

Breaking in was not only highly risky, it would have placed his behavior in a category of a criminal nature, and not only was he not prepared for that type of activity, the thought of it repulsed him.  He was not going to enter into the realm of illicit conduct, so he had to gain entry in a relatively innocent fashion.  Pulling that off, without anyone knowing what he was doing, and hopefully without being seen, would require precise timing, and some luck. 

After he finished in the restroom, James went back to his office to shut the light off, and then left to go home.  It was nearly eight o’clock, which was still quite early, and he noticed that only a few additional cars had been parked in the lot since he had arrived.  None were vehicles that he recognized.  Contingencies for explaining why he was at the refinery on a weekend had not been needed, but the preparation had been more than adequate, and confidence welled in him as he drove toward the north gate to make his exit.]

Time Flies-Project Update

Working on my final draft, but also collaborating on a different writing project that has consumed much of my time, and taken away some time I would otherwise have devoted to this book. So, not to make excuses, but this has slowed me down a bit. Nevertheless, I will push on. 


My current goal is to get the finished manuscript into editing by mid-December 2017, so I have approximately one month to tweak this draft.  Publishing the finished work will depend on the editing process, but I hope to have it done in the first quarter of 2018. 


As a writer I have found that by reading my own work, I am never satisfied, and routinely find ways to improve the writing.  That said, it's difficult to determine when enough is enough.  I could go on indefinitely with self-editing and re-writes, but I know that is extremely counterproductive.  I am not experienced enough, however, to have a formula or know just when is the right time to move past writing and into professional editing. 


I'm hopeful that this current effort will result in my desired level of completion and perfection, full well knowing that true perfection cannot be achieved, but I do intend to strive for it.  This is truly an exciting time for me, with the end in sight, and nearly palpable. 


My next blog will include a sample, but I haven't decided if it will be a chapter or smaller excerpt.  I intend to have that posted by next Sunday, so within 5 days!

Writing Today

Today I am very fortunate to have warm September weather in the middle of nowhere PA, and the use of a picnic pavilion overlooking the Susquehanna River.  Wind in the trees, bees buzzing, and crows and song birds are competing with a few crickets for my attention as I put thoughts into digital memory.  The pavilion even has an electric outlet to plug my gear in, so I'm staying put for a while. 

Edit for Paragraph Length

This paragraph from the draft version of Plus or Minus Two Percent is on the long side, and I welcome suggestions for breaks.   If you do reply with suggestions, if you could, please provide the basis and related guidance or reference, if any.  Thanks.

Operations personnel called the practice of forging readings shooting.  It was commonly known that if refinery conditions were stable, Operators would shoot readings so they wouldn’t have to make rounds through the plant as often as they were supposed to, or if they made their rounds, they could take short cuts, or hide out somewhere until sufficient time had elapsed to make it look good.  That was only one example of a common tradition among most hourly employees to either not perform their assigned duties while on company time, or do them with minimal effort, just enough to get by.  They learned their limitations in that regard, and became quite skilled over time.  The most egregious instance of this convention that James had personally experienced occurred during his first small engineering assignment immediately after his ten week orientation was over.  It involved a modification to a small hyrdo-blast facility, at which heat exchanger tube bundles were cleaned using high pressure water.  While making a site visit, he entered the facility unannounced, and came upon twelve hourly employees slacking off while they were supposed to be working.  Some were sleeping, some were reading newspapers, and some were simply sitting down on the job, but no work was going on.  James had obviously surprised them, and they immediately noticed his white hard had, which signified management.  Green hard hats were thrown on without delay, and the employees scattered like roaches running haphazardly across a sloppy kitchen counter when the lights went on.  Newspapers went flying, and bodies did as well when the group sprung into immediate action.  While he could have reported the hydro-blast incident to the foreman in charge, he elected not to, for he thought to do so would only create a combative relationship between him and the hourly employees, and instinct told him he would develop a reputation that would brand him as an enemy amongst thousands.  It was fascinating to James that employees would spend so much time and effort figuring out how to waste time, but it was another peculiarity of the industrial culture, and annoying as it was to an engineer, he was powerless to do anything about it.  

Paragraph Length...How long is too long?

While I normally don't focus too much attention on paragraph length, I've been advised that some of my paragraphs are too long.  So, I researched as any modern writer would, using a search engine on the internet, and found an abundance of information regarding the subject.  None of the guidance, however, provided a clear answer.  I welcome any input, especially if it is easy to apply, and adaptable to an editing process as well as writing.  

See the example paragraph below in italics.  This is from "Plus or Minus Two Percent," and as written in my latest draft.  The asterisks show potential paragraph breaks, which I inserted merely to try to shorten the "long" paragraph.  I think it all fits together well, so that's why I wrote it that way, of course.  It seems to fit  Camera Shot, that I found surfing the net.  With credit to Zen in the Art of Writing, Ray Bradbury offers this simple and useful idea: He says "Think of each paragraph as a single camera shot in a movie. Every time the shot changes (e.g. change in camera angle), start a new paragraph."

Another consideration is Character Tempo...at what pace is the character experiencing events?  Rapid events=shorter paragraphs, and slower events=longer paragraphs.  I found both of these bold-faced ideas at:https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/12734/simple-rules-for-separating-paragraphs-in-books

Insight anyone?  Thanks.

Relentless heat wasn’t helping his condition.  It was twilight, with the air still thick and wet from the moisture being cooked out of the earth, rivers, and nearby Gulf of Mexico under the searing sun, and the daytime temperature had hardly subsided.  Even though James had showered and changed into clean, freshly laundered clothes before he left his apartment, he felt like he’d just walked into a steam room.  His clothes clung to him, and he could feel sheets of perspiration collecting on his forehead, on his nose, and under his eyes, with balls of sweat accumulating on his lower back where his shirt wasn’t touching his skin to absorb the wetness.  **While he anxiously waited in line, the sweat balls formed large drops and then rolled down the center of his back to his waistband.  He could feel the growing wet spot, and was self-conscious that it would be noticeable before long.  There was little he could do to mitigate the problem, and to make adjustments to his clothing would have done little more than draw attention to his predicament.  He could feel the moisture seeping down into the seat of his pants, and he imagined it looking like he’d pissed himself.  **James let his fear of embarrassment exacerbate his already apprehensive state of mind, and he began to wonder if not for the scorching temperature and muggy air, would he feel more relaxed.  Finally, after surveying the crowd, it was slightly reassuring that nobody seemed to by gawking at him, and there were plenty of others that were uncomfortably hot, sweating, and outwardly agitated by the long, slow moving line.  That helped snap him out of that ill at ease state once again, and James silently scolded himself for being so juvenile.  This wasn’t elementary school, and these weren’t a bunch of snot-nosed spoiled brats and bullies.  These were others just like him, they were all being equally subjected to the adverse climate, and everyone was anxious to get inside and cool their heels a little and unwind as they most certainly deserved to.