Okay. A short note.
I’ve just sent two manuscripts off to agents for consideration, and one is ready, willing, and able to go off to a publisher for a look-see. A psychological thriller, a mystery, and a fantasy quest.
That means it’s time….
to finish the next one, which is really the first one. The science fiction novel I’ve been writing for over thirty years.
It is my example of never giving up. I have changed EVERY major character’s first name, changed the name of every planet and moon in the solar system, eliminated three major characters, and completely changed the relationship between the two heroes.
I love the story and the characters and the world and I have refused to give up on it. It is 17k to 27k from being finished, again. The first finished draft was 150k words. I have cut 120k and am writing 50-60k words worth of new material. I love the new direction it has gone off in!
What is my point of telling you this? Well, my point is simply this: I could have spent 30 years fussing over this one manuscript. Many authors do that. It is their opus; and if they ever finish it, they may never be able to follow it up.
But, since I started this novel I have written six (unproduced) screenplays, two (unpublished novellas), five novels (two published, one of which was a bestseller), eighteen published short stories, and fourteen published articles.
Everything you write makes you a better writer. Even though I started this novel 30 years ago when I had no effing idea what I was doing, it might just be one of the best stories I ever write, because it will be seasoned with 30 years worth of experience.
Write or do not write. There is no try.
Ciao for now,
T-Bone.
The Tao of Tim 
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