Episode #183: Outside The Box Of Conformity

Tail end of a sunset in mid July from my front porch. Sometimes it pays to sit outside to bathe one senses in the quiet solitude of Father Nature.

Momentarily switching gears here to talk about another project I decided to bring from the back burner to the main burner for a bit. Main reason as to why is that I decided a small break from working on my trilogy was in order.

I was becoming just a tad {like 3%} burned out from writing a trilogy, and since I FINALLY got my one and only major c/c down to a balance of less than $2.05, a refreshing change of pace was needed.

The project in question is one that I first touched upon back in early 2021, when water damage to the basement necessitated emptying of said basement of its contents so as to actually fix the water damage. It was the second story that I had decided to tackle and fix, with the first one belonging to the tag of Average American Novel. This one was a completed first draft that I had actually sent off to a now ex-writer friend who did editing as a viable secondary hustle. I got it back, and promptly shelved it for about 4+ years prior to 2021.

In 2021, I rewrote the parts that I'd agreed with her explanation of, and by the end of it all, I had a very nice and very tidy 17 chapter/43k+ word novella (betcha that was a concept that you would've never heard of on here again). Along the way of this very violent story of a debt/soul collector delivering a package, I decided to have a little bit of fun by re-titling the chapters. Instead of the traditional numbering system, I decided to give each a unique title that largely served as an entry into a short story of sorts, with the meaty plot of the chapter centered around the title. Plus, it allowed me to show off my skewered sense of conformity.

In short, the seventeen chapter titles also doubled as a very odd writing prompt or a very bad comedic short story. Let me know what you think after reading the titles for all seventeen chapters.

1} The Delivery Begins;

2} The Meeting;

3} Road Trip! We're Together!;

4} Road Trip! Infuriated!;

5} Road Trip! Dual Revenge;

6} Through The Forest;

7} The Cabin: The Delivery Is Completed;

8} The Cabin: Pain & Lust;

9} To Fight Back!;

10} Finish Them!;

11} Prelude to Charles;

12} The Cannon Fodder Firm;

13} Amaliya;

14} Niles;

15} Sister, Brother, Lover;

16} Charles v. Dmitri;

17} In The Here & Now.

Now, the only items that I have left to do is to 1} apply the first round of editing notes; 2} write a very short blurb/synopsis, which two years ago I actually had the foresight to write a basic outline of one and 3} come up with a title, because, let's face it, a title of "My Soul Has Been Captured" only works as a place holder, and not a very good one at that.

So that's where I currently stand with my writing. I'm taking a much needed break from my current project to work on a basically completed novella with a realistic goal of getting this bad boy self-published by the end of the year.

Tune in next week when I try to plumb the depths of my memory archives so that I can intelligently expound on the background of the Average American Novella.

{c} 2023 by G.B. Miller. All Rights Reserved