PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING JULY 30, 2016

OF HOLMES AND HUGH...

Holmes/Watson (Rathbone/Bruce)

OKAY...
Got my Sherlock Holmes story back from my friendly neighborhood beta/proofreader!
Once I finish going over it this time, I WILL be sending "The Adventure of the Artful Forger" to Ron Fortier at Airship 27.
Holmes' adventures by the right author can be quite enjoyable reads, but I can attest from first hand experience that they are also really tough to write.
That doesn't mean I'll never revisit Victorian England and the famous consulting detective ever again, just that I cannot foresee myself booking a return trip anytime in the remainder of 2016.


Waiting for Holmes' return, I started plotting out the initial story for what will eventually be HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE VOLUME 3!

Hugh by David L. Russell

At this point, the story doesn't have a title, and I haven't even written the opening scene yet; but when working on mysteries, you do need to have a more detailed plot worked out in advance compared to tales of action adventure, sci-fi, and other genres.
Fans of this blog and my writing will recall the past Progress Reports detailing my work on what eventually became Hugh's first full length novel: CATCH A RISING STAR.
That story just kept growing and growing to the point where it went from short to novella to novel length.
Yet while mysteries do need more of their details worked out in advance (like where everyone was at the time of the crime, their alibis, and who actually did it), when I pre-plan plots nothing is totally set in stone.
I like leaving things open enough so if other ideas come to me when I'm writing, I don't have to either start from scratch or wait till next time to use the thought.
And the ideas really kept coming during the writing of Catch!
So whether what I am starting on just turns out to be the first story or the whole book remains to be seen.
Either way, it will be a fun journey.

With that, I better get back to writing now.
See you around the Internet.
Lee Houston, Junior
31 July, 2016

NOTE: For those who might not have already read the novel, the links to both the print AND e-book versions of Catch A Rising Star are included above.

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING JULY 23, 2016

About to send the SECOND draft of my Sherlock Holmes adventure to my friendly neighborhood beta-proofreader Nancy Hansen for her thoughts.
In all honesty, I think it is a much better story now than the original draft.
Not that the first draft was bad, but for every creative endeavor I always try to submit the best story I can humanly write.
In the end, it's your opinion as the reader that matters most, but like I said before, Sherlock Holmes turned out to be a tougher creative challenge than I thought it would and I want my first outing with the Victorian Era's Consulting Detective to be memorable.

With that thought in mind, I better get back to writing now.
Take care, and I'll see you around the Internet.
Lee Houston, Junior
24 July, 2016

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING JULY 16, 2016

The Sherlock Holmes adventure that I have sweated over and worked on for weeks now is FINALLY in the capable hands of my friendly neighborhood beta/proofreader Nancy A. Hansen!
She is going over it with a fine toothed comb, an electron microscope, and whatever else she uses.

When I get the edited copy back from her, I will be going over it with at least as much attention to detail as she displayed, making sure everything is as accurate as humanly possible in regards to the details of life during Victorian England as well as it is a tale worthy of the famous consulting detective, before submitting it to Ron Fortier at Airship 27.

I kind of find myself at loose ends at the moment waiting for Sherlock to come back, but that doesn't mean I'm idle.

I've been going over ideas for what will eventually be the third volume in my Hugh Monn, Private Detective series from Pro Se Press, as well as kicking around some other project ideas.

Some of those ideas are short stories, for I know of two projects that I WILL be contributing to once they are given the green light to start. Others are for anthologies that I want to contribute to as time permits, especially encore engagements to Ghost Boy and Sinbad-The New Voyages.

Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci

There are also some new concepts I've been considering too. Whether these work out to the point that I actually write them remains to be seen.
However, I also need to learn how to be more proficient with my writing time as well.
It's way too easy to be emotionally or Internet distracted by something.
After all, I'm only human.

On that note♫, take care everyone!
Lee Houston, Junior
17 July, 2016

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING JULY 9, 2016

NO MATTER HOW GREAT THE WORDS ARE,
I'M STILL ONLY HUMAN.

I was making the final proofread of my Sherlock Holmes story before sending it on to my friendly neighborhood beta/proofreader when I found a drastic mistake.

I gave Holmes the wrong solution!

In a lot of mystery stories, there are usually two possible solutions.

The "almost" and the "totally correct" one.

Ellery Queen on TV, circa 1975

Ellery Queen, another fictional detective, was famous for this.

Someone else, usually either his father Inspector Queen or a rival thought they had the solution to the mystery, only for Ellery to provide the correct answer to the enigma.

In my case, I accidentally gave Sherlock Holmes the "almost" solution and Inspector Lestrade the "totally correct" one.

Definitely would not cast the famous Victorian Era Consulting Detective in a good light, would it?

Found where I made the mistake(s) laying the clues and am correcting the situation now.

Hope to have the story finished and finally off to my beta/proofreader this week.

But, considering how late it is as I post this, I'll get a fresh start on the project Monday.

Take care, and I'll see you around the Internet.

Lee Houston, Junior

10 July, 2016

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING JULY 2, 2016

For all intents and purposes, the first draft of my Sherlock Holmes story for Airship 27 is complete!

I want to reread it from start to finish before sending it on to my friendly neighborhood beta/proofreader Nancy Hansen for her comments and opinions first.

While she has it, I will resume work on my other short story commitment for 2016 until she sends it back to me.

Once I have gone over her annotated version and finalized the manuscript, then I will be submitting it to Ron Fortier at A27.

Meanwhile, for those of my readership celebrating, I hope you have a safe and HAPPY 4TH OF JULY WEEKEND!

Lee Houston, Junior
3 July, 2016