Pernell Rogers – Writer

Archive for February, 2022

Hello all! This post is about the importance of getting an editor to look over your stories. I just received my collection back from my editor, and she opened eyes to ideas I’ve never considered before, and it will change the way I write.

One story from the collection deals with a couple driving through a terrible rainstorm and has a tragic ending. My editor stated that this was an ‘event’ and not a true ‘story’. Although I had added seeds for a real story inside the ‘event’, I never used them. With that knowledge, I did more research and discovered my stories are usually based on events or situations, and the characters react. I rarely write stories based on characters and throw them into situations, but with some stories from this collection, I’m going to try.

I’ve also discovered I’ve been mixing tenses again. Not sure why I keep doing it. It’s such a basic thing. I may have to add another step to my editing process.

Finally, since I must re-edit the collection’s stories, it will be a while before I publish it. I told her I wanted to write better stories, and she’s always been there to help. If you’re going to write, get an editor! Take care and stay safe.

Hi all! I’m at the end of my latest story, with only a few paragraphs to go, and suddenly my motivation to finish is zapped. I know I’ll finish it, but I’ve seen this happen to me in the past, and I always wonder why. Sometimes I start wondering about the endings. Are they appropriate? Satisfactory? Do they tie up all the loose ends? Or is it just hard to say goodbye to my stories? I don’t know.

The next story is already swirling in my head, and that could be a reason why I stall toward the end. Anyway, I’ve developed odd habits when I write like walking around my house while I visualize the story. I’ll talk to myself as I explain the timelines, moving my hands to show where I am at the moment. One strange one I caught myself doing was fidgeting. I’ll sit up, then sit back. Look at the ceiling then down to the floor. My real eyes never really focus because my mind’s eye takes over, and I can see the story. It’s a weird sensation, almost out-of-body in a way, and that’s the reason I take frequent breaks. Staying in that realm gets scary, especially with the stories I like to tell.

Hi all! For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been performing upgrades on my laptop. Replaced the current SSD drive with another one, and upgraded to Windows 11. I ran into some issues installing the SSD drive which I never encountered before, but I practice what I preach: perform backups before any maintenance, and TEST them. I said it for 21 years while working in IT, and I do it at home.

I had 3 different backups, one for just about every situation. I ended up using two of them, and my laptop was back with no data loss. I truly can’t stress the importance of backups if you use a computer, or your cell. Data loss is no joke. In IT, it’s like a religion. But performing backups, and not testing them once in a while, can prove to be disasterous if the backup fails to do a full restore. Just a word of caution from someone who knows. Take care and stay safe!