PROGRESS REPORT: WEEK ENDING AUGUST 6, 2016

OKAY…

Have sent my Sherlock Holmes story, “The Adventure of the Artful Forger”, off to Captain Ron Fortier at Airship 27. Earliest projections are it will be within Volume 11 of SHERLOCK HOLMES, CONSULTING DETECTIVE.

I have started what will be at least the first, if not the only story in HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE VOLUME 3.

As I said last week, still in the early stages of this.

Potential plot points, dots not connected

Think of it as an artist staring at a relatively blank canvas with just a few sketch lines on it, wondering what to do next, let alone how the finished painting will look.

That’s where I’m at at the moment.

A few sketch lines in place, but otherwise the field is wide open and limited only by my imagination.

Which I should get back to exercising now.

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

Lee Houston, Junior

7 August, 2016

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.