RAIN OF THE GHOSTS, BOOK TWO COUNTDOWN, Chapter Thirty-Five

RAIN OF THE GHOSTS, BOOK TWO COUNTDOWN, Chapter Thirty-Five:

And here's another of my shameless attempts to maintain buzz about my new novel, RAIN OF THE GHOSTS, due out in stores and on-line on December 3rd, 2013 (but available for pre-order NOW on Amazon, etc.):

http://www.amazon.com/Rain-Ghosts-Greg-Weisman/dp/1250029791

Since there's not too much to report about the first book right now, I'm counting down my progress writing the SECOND book in the Rain series, which should come out sometime in 2014.

Today, I finished writing Chapter Thirty-Five. I'm picking up speed - not because it's getting easier, but because I have to. Since it's past midnight, I've officially missed my second deadline on this book. Originally, I was asked if I could have it done by the end of May, 2013. Back in October 2012, that seemed possible, but by the time I started writing in March, 2013, it was clearly not. So I got a new deadline of the end of August, 2013. And I think I might have made that - if I hadn't gotten the STAR WARS REBELS gig in May. So now, I've got what's been described as a drop-dead date of October 20, 2013. I HAVE TO BE DONE BY THEN. I've broken it all down, and I believe it's doable. Just. But that means no more thumb twiddling or blowing off a night here or there because I've already burned through my creative juices working on SWR. This is not a bad thing. I'm a deadline writer. I need the external time pressure, or I procrastinate. Of course, I'm not at all used to missing deadlines. Wouldn't get far in this business if I did. But this book is bigger than anything else I've ever written - including the first book in the RAIN series, so it was hard to estimate exactly how long I needed. Now, I know. I need until October 20th. And that's all the time I'm gonna get.

So stay tuned. Let's see how I do.

Meanwhile, I've already started on Chapter Thirty-Six.

RAIN OF THE GHOSTS, BOOK TWO COUNTDOWN, Chapter Thirty-Four:

RAIN OF THE GHOSTS, BOOK TWO COUNTDOWN, Chapter Thirty-Four:

And here's another of my shameless attempts to maintain buzz about my new novel, RAIN OF THE GHOSTS, due out in stores and on-line on December 3rd, 2013 (but available for pre-order NOW on Amazon, etc.):

http://www.amazon.com/Rain-Ghosts-Greg-Weisman/dp/1250029791

Since there's not too much to report about the first book right now, I'm counting down my progress writing the SECOND book in the Rain series, which should come out sometime in 2014.

Today, I finished writing Chapter Thirty-Four. Starting with this chapter, pretty much EVERY chapter is a bit daunting. I'm not quite sure if I'm in the home stretch, but at this point, every chapter is telling crucial story, bringing threads together... and it's anyone's guess whether I'll wind up weaving something special with these threads - or strangling on 'em.

Tonight, I'll start on Chapter Thirty-Five.

RAIN OF THE GHOSTS, BOOK TWO COUNTDOWN, Chapter Thirty-Three

RAIN OF THE GHOSTS, BOOK TWO COUNTDOWN, Chapter Thirty-Three:

You've heard it before: here's another of my shameless attempts to maintain buzz about my new novel, RAIN OF THE GHOSTS, due out in stores and on-line on December 3rd, 2013 (but available for pre-order NOW on Amazon, etc.):

http://www.amazon.com/Rain-Ghosts-Greg-Weisman/dp/1250029791

Since there's not too much to report about the first book right now, I'm counting down my progress writing the SECOND book in the Rain series, which should come out sometime in 2014.

Tonight, I finished writing Chapter Thirty-Three. This was another longish chapter, as Rain begins to figure a few things out and sets a plan in motion to solve at least one of the many crises she's facing.

Tomorrow, I'll start on Chapter Thirty-Four.

RAIN OF THE GHOSTS, BOOK TWO COUNTDOWN, Chapter Thirty-Two

RAIN OF THE GHOSTS, BOOK TWO COUNTDOWN, Chapter Thirty-Two:

Here's another of my shameless attempts to maintain buzz about my new novel, RAIN OF THE GHOSTS, due out in stores and on-line on December 3rd, 2013 (but available for pre-order NOW on Amazon, etc.):

http://www.amazon.com/Rain-Ghosts-Greg-Weisman/dp/1250029791

Since there's not too much to report about the first book right now, I'm counting down my progress writing the SECOND book in the Rain series, which should come out sometime in 2014.

Tonight, I finished writing Chapter Thirty-Two. This was one of the longer chapters with a number of revelations - or at least a lot of clarity presented on subjects already raised in earlier chapters. The first few bits were difficult to get through, but the last couple nights I was really on a roll, writing the last two-thirds of the chapter pretty rapidly.

And so, tomorrow, I'll start on Chapter Thirty-Three.

RAIN OF THE GHOSTS, BOOK TWO COUNTDOWN, Chapter Thirty-One

RAIN OF THE GHOSTS, BOOK TWO COUNTDOWN, Chapter Thirty-One:

Here's another of my shameless attempts to maintain buzz about my new novel, RAIN OF THE GHOSTS, due out in stores and on-line on December 3rd, 2013 (but available for pre-order NOW on Amazon, etc.):

http://www.amazon.com/Rain-Ghosts-Greg-Weisman/dp/1250029791

Since there's not too much to report about the first book right now, I'm counting down my progress writing the SECOND book in the Rain series, which should come out sometime in 2014.

Tonight, I finished writing Chapter Thirty-One. It took me a little while, mostly because I was bit exhausted from all the travel I've been doing recently (including San Diego Comic-Con) and from working in a galaxy far, far away. But also I had to research some hard science necessary for the chapter. I wound up only using the research in three short paragraphs, but I think it was worth it.

Oh, and also this week, I saw a rough mock-up cover for the second book. Very cool! (And I hope to reveal it soon.)

Anyway, tomorrow, I'll start on Chapter Thirty-Two.

RAIN OF THE GHOSTS, BOOK TWO COUNTDOWN, Chapter Thirty

RAIN OF THE GHOSTS, BOOK TWO COUNTDOWN, Chapter Thirty:

Here's another of my shameless attempts to maintain buzz about my new novel, RAIN OF THE GHOSTS, due out in stores and on-line on December 3rd, 2013 (but available for pre-order NOW on Amazon, etc.):

http://www.amazon.com/Rain-Ghosts-Greg-Weisman/dp/1250029791

Since there's not too much to report about the first book now, I'm counting down my progress writing the SECOND book in the Rain franchise, which should come out sometime in 2014.

Two nights ago, I finished writing Chapter Thirty. THAT'S how busy I've been. I haven't even had time to do this short ramble about it until now. Anyway, this is another chapter that performed its own mitosis, splitting into two - due in large part to one of the two characters that post-outlining has really taken on an importance to the narrative I never anticipated.

So tonight, I'll start on Chapter Thirty-One (which used to be just the second half of Chapter Thirty).

Twitter vs. ASK GREG - To the Death!!!

Twitter vs. ASK GREG - To the Death!!!

So for the first time in nearly a month, I lurked on a few sites and someone was bitchin' (that's right, I said it) about the fact that I was tweeting a lot but hadn't spent much time here at ASK GREG.

Mostly, the responses that person received from other fans were dead obvious, but they bear repeating:

1. Twitter is a lot more convenient. I can tweet with my phone during downtime. (I tend to do it while I'm doing my isometric neck exercises.) I can also do Ask Greg with my phone during downtime (as I did yesterday when I was stuck at an airport), but (a) it's much more difficult because the screen is so small and (b) I have no access to the materials that some questions require. So Ask Greg answers done on the phone tend toward the short and unsatisfying.

2. Stop acting so entitled. Greg Weisman has NO obligation, explicit or implicit, to answer any questions on ASK GREG ever. Let me repeat that: Greg Weisman has NO obligation, explicit or implicit, to answer any questions on ASK GREG ever. I do it because I enjoy doing it (most of the time). But if for any reason I take a break for however long, that's life. I will not be made to feel guilty about it.

Those are the two main points, but there are a couple others:

3. I've been traveling A LOT. Since the end of May, I've taken four trips up north to Lucasfilm, one trip to Denver Comic Con, one trip to Oregon for their Shakespeare Festival and a family trip to EUROPE. I still have both San Diego Comic Con and New Orleans MechaCon (http://www.mechacon.com/) coming up in the next couple months, plus at least one more trip to San Francisco for Lucasfilm. When I travel, internet is a dicey prospect at best, and that's on top of the fact that the reasons for the trip tend to preclude me having the free time to post on ASK GREG.

4. I've been SWAMPED with work. That's a good thing. (In fact, these are all good things.) I have tight deadlines on Star Wars Rebels, a looming deadline on the second book in the Rain of the Ghosts series, plus a few other random freelance things that I'll mention (perhaps) when they're finished. Lots of work means less free time to post at Ask Greg.

As for Twitter, I'll admit I might be a little addicted, but the bald-faced truth of the matter is simply that I was basically coerced into joining Twitter by my book publisher, my agent/manager and my family. I am making an extremely conscious attempt to raise my profile there (and gain followers) for the sake of RAIN OF THE GHOSTS. I make no bones about that. I'm not trying to hide the fact AT ALL. I want/need the book to do well, and Ask Greg just was NOT reaching enough people. Hence Twitter.

Having said that, I have no interest in using or allowing Twitter to replace ASK GREG. Folks have asked me questions on Twitter, which I've either ignored or used as an excuse to nudge the askers over here. It's a tad difficult, since the ASK GREG Question Asking Function here is currently down until I catch up, but whatchagonnado? ASK GREG still matters to me, and Twitter hasn't changed that at all.

So really, the title of this ramble is a sham. The two resources are not in conflict at all. I'm hoping Twitter brings MORE people to Ask Greg and maybe, vice versa. (And maybe that's the real reason for this post. Heh heh heh.)