Sunday, March 29, 2020

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING MARCH 28, 2020

COVID-19, WRITING, AND US

FIRST, THE WRITING NEWS.
My friendly neighborhood beta-proofreader has gone over my audition piece.
I'm reviewing her review now and WILL be sending it in before the end of this coming week!😀
They'll definitely get it long before deadline, but whether or not they actually like it obviously remains to be seen.
Better to have tried and lost than never to have tried at all.
Either way, barring anything unforeseen, I will return to finishing SHERLOCK HOLMES: THE ADVENTURE OF THE UNIMAGINABLE before resuming writing on the SOLITAIRE novel!

NOW, ON THE PERSONAL FRONT.
These are obviously some troubled times my friends, what with the current virus crisis upon us.
For better or worse, the life of a writer/author is kind of a solitary one to begin with, so I was already kind of self quarantining long before COVID-19 reared its ugly "head" in the United States.

Unfortunately, that doesn't mean that I'm not at risk like everyone else in the world.🌍 Just that thankfully I don't have it at the moment and am (understandably) doing everything humanly possible in the sincere hope not to get it at all!

But in its own way, this mess has taken its toll upon me.😔
Restless nights, emotional stress and worries, trying to find anything at the grocery store being an adventure unto itself.
You get the idea.
Nothing anyone else might be facing right now, but I'm just sharing to let you all know that you are NOT alone in this.
I seriously doubt there is a single spot upon this whole planet we share that hasn't been affected by this pandemic somehow.
I'm not about to get on my soapbox📦, but make no mistake that this IS a pandemic!
Soap🧼 and Water🚰 are your friends and allies in trying to stay safe.
With that in mind, here's a couple of things to help you keep your spirits up.

First, I have absolute no idea who originated this meme, but it's way too good not to share it with everyone.


Secondly, I've made it no secret that my favorite sport is baseball. ⚾
I follow and watch as much as I can from the first pitch of preseason to the last out of the World Series.
Unfortunately, baseball is one of the many things on hold at the moment for safety and health reasons.
But that doesn't mean that I can't imagine myself watching a game on TV as we approach the bottom of the eighth at Fenway Park...





Okay, going back to writing now.
Take care and STAY SAFE!
Lee Houston, Junior
29 March, 2020


Video courtesy of YouTube, where I found it.

Sunday, March 22, 2020

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING MARCH 21, 2020

What a mixed bag of a week it's been!
I'm far from the only one worried about the current virus crisis, but I still tried to carry on with my writing.
Granted, thought I was doing pretty good on the mislabeled "short" story SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE ADVENTURE OF THE UNIMAGINABLE, until I heard from my friendly neighborhood beta-proofreader.
Apparently my audition piece for a major publisher isn't up to my usual standards in her opinion and should have another rewrite before submission.
Geez, with everything going on I'm not totally surprised, but was hoping otherwise.
Okay, I've still got time before the submitting deadline to do this, so I better get to it!

But before I do, let me take a moment to share some great advice I got from a doctor...


Please take care and I'll see you around the Internet.
Lee Houston, Junior
22 March, 2020


Sunday, March 15, 2020

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING MARCH 14, 2020

The second draft of my audition story is awaiting review by my friendly neighborhood beta-proofreader.
Depending upon how that turns out, as far as I'm concerned it is ready to submit.
Either way, am back working on SHERLOCK HOLMES: "THE ADVENTURE OF THE UNIMAGINABLE" right now and when that short (23,000+ words and counting!) story is finished, I will return to the SOLITAIRE novel.
But when all of the above is done...?
We'll see.

Going back to writing now.
Take care and be safe, for COVID-19 is nothing to take lightly!
See you around the Internet.
Lee Houston, Junior
15 March, 2020

Sunday, March 8, 2020

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING MARCH 7, 2020

Okay.
Yes, I'm still working on my audition piece for a MAJOR publisher.
BUT, it's the second draft now! 😀
My friendly neighborhood beta-proofreader has done her due diligence and now the ball manuscript is back in my court.
So, why all this hard work on a project that might not accomplish anything?
Granted, I am figuratively "rolling the dice" here, but if I try and fail—then I'm not out anything except some time and effort and still have a short story to show for my efforts that I might be able to use somewhere else another day.
Yet if I don't try and still fail, then what am I doing at this keyboard to begin with?

Lee Houston, Junior
8 March, 2020

Thursday, March 5, 2020

PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING MARCH 1, 2020

I've been so busy working on my audition for a major publisher that I completely forgot to even post a PROGRESS REPORT this week!

OOPS! MY BAD!😮

In any event, my audition is in the initial editing stage now so as soon as it's ready and submitted, I WILL be getting back on what I left off before this started.

See you around the Internet!
Lee Houston, Junior
5 March, 2020