Pernell Rogers – Writer

Hello all! I’ve received my latest collection from my editor, and I still have more work to do. She’s really helped me with my storytelling and highlighted areas where I’m lacking. And that’s what I’m focusing on now. I’ve already modified 3 stories using her suggestions and developed a brand new one to add to the collection. Unfortunately, I’m not going to include two stories since I think I could use them in a much bigger piece. Take care!

Hi all! I haven’t posted an update lately because I’m editing – a never-ending task, but very rewarding. My collection is still with my editor, and I’m editing the first draft of the third story in my ‘An Unexpected Evil’ series. This first draft surprised me.

I tried something different during editing this time. I listened to what I wrote using MS Office Text to Voice function. Needless to say, that was a mistake. It was a mistake because I hated what I heard. Then I chose to simply read through my first draft with ProWritingAid running in the background. Only got halfway through, way too many mistakes. So, I stopped my little experiments and just read the story. Boy, did I see a lot of errors and gaps in logic, and that was in the first five pages.

So, I turned on my classical music, set my PlutoTV channel to All Aboard, and watched Norway’s train chug through their beautiful countryside while I listen to the music – all the while, my story played in my head. I think I figured out why I write better watching the train. The train is always moving forward, only making stops to pick up and let off passengers, and that’s how I view my character’s lives. If I become their eyes, they’re always moving forward, encountering tons of stimuli simultaneously, and they stop if the reason is sufficient enough.

For example, walking from a parking lot into a store requires life coming at you. The pavement in front of you will soon be behind you. The door up front, which is closed, will be opened by you, then be behind you. The movement is forward, just like life through the train’s front windows. Pretty trippy, huh? My philosophy classes are coming to haunt me.

Since I created the first draft from a pseudo-outline, it read the same way. I’m adding extra dialogue and more descriptions, which is what I should have done in the first place. Lesson learned. Take care!

Hello all. I’ve sent my newest collection to my editor. Hurray!

I also finished the first draft of the 4th and the last book in my ‘The Unexpected Evil’ series. With some excellent ideas from a very close friend, I made the entire story come full circle and have a somewhat happy ending, which is unusual for me. I’ve already edited book 2, but may do it one more time.

I finished the first draft of book 3 of the series last month, but I will not edit it yet. I want to start on another story which I will try to make novel-length. I already have an idea of what the story will be, but I need to come up with real-world events that surround the idea. That, by far, is difficult for me. I always see the monster or antagonist doing something bad, but before the bad thing happens, real life goes on. Giving my characters real-world situations involves a ton of pacing. My step count on my pedometer is sure to increase these next few weeks.

Finally, I finished the first draft of a semi-science fiction story which includes a love story. Not sure how my characters pulled me in that direction, but it was another story with a happy ending. I’m hoping my novel-length story places me back into the sinister world I’m used to. Take care.

Hello all! I’ve finished all my revisions for my new collection and will send it to my editor in May. I’ve learned a lot since my last critique, especially when it comes to police procedures vs. detective procedures. Law enforcement procedures are usually a part of my stories because a crime is committed. Luckily, I had the help of an extremely close friend who works in law enforcement and verified that my fictional procedures fall in line with actual police procedures. I also discovered is enhances my storytelling and allows me to add more realism.

Something new is my recently discovered setting for writing and editing my stories at home. In the image, you’ll see my laptop in the foreground. Playing in the background is classical music I found at yourclassical.org. I personally play the Focus stream in the background at a low setting while my television is tuned to Pluto TV’s SlowTV station.

If you’ve never heard of SlowTV, it’s a channel that broadcasts the travel of trains in Norway. They mounted a camera in the cab and displays the tracks and surrounding landscape as the train passes through the beautiful countryside. I mute the television and listen to classical music, and it’s amazing how well I can write in that environment. However, I have set alarms on my phone to tell me to walk for 5 minutes every hour, or I’ll sit there all day!

Currently, I’m working on the first draft of book 3 of my Unexpected Evil collection. Book 2 is already done, but not ready to send to my editor yet. I’ll keep you informed on my progress. See ya!

Hello all! I’m just about done with my revisions for the new collection I’m planning. The last step is to use MS Words Text-to-Speech feature to read the story back to me. Listening to my stories helps me understand if the story is flowing naturally or not, especially dialogue. It also helps me find when my author’s voice replaces the narrator’s voice, which is a no-no. Once this is done, I’ll send them to my editor for another critique.

I don’t normally send my stories off twice for a critique, but I’m determined to make this collection the best possible. One story was a complete rewrite but still used the same two main characters, while another had to be trimmed to use only a single point of view. I also realized I’d forgotten to send one story to my editor for a critique.

While the collection is with my editor, I’ll start searching for a cover and a better title. Finding both are just as hard as writing the stories. I also need to develop an intriguing book blurb to entice people to want to read the stories. Then, the marketing starts. By far, the hardest part of writing for me. Stay tuned!

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!

Hello all. Just a report on my progress. I’m finishing the first draft of my fifth novella (+20,000 words). I’ve never had five first drafts waiting. I still have two or three more stories to go, and I’m not sure how long they will take. I’m finding I’m able to write much more when I have classical music playing in the background at a low level.

As for my latest collection, it’s in the hands of my editor. I told her about the specific concerns I had, and that I want to write better stories. She’s been very helpful in the past, and I can’t wait to see what she discovers among all those stories. Well, that’s all for now. Take care and stay safe!

Hi all! Well, I broke through that scene. HURRAY! But it led me to another emotional scene, but this time as I wrote it, I kept my emotions in check, concentrating on only the words and not the emotions attached to them. It was hard and tears welled, but none fell. I’m dreading editing this story, when the time comes.

This story is flowing from my head at an unprecedented rate. A few days ago I wrote over 5000 words! The next day was 3000, and yesterday, I wrote 1000 in about 90 minutes. I’ve never had a story flow so well. Act 1 of the first draft is complete. Now the meat of the story lies ahead. Take care and stay safe!