100th blog posting

I know I am speaking to the choir -- I have had fewer than 300 views to my blog in the last year and a lot of them are me -- but this posting is a milestone. This is my 100th blog posting.

Yes, I know I should have reached this point months ago, probably back in August. When I started, I had planned to blog three times a week and roughly 12 times a month. For the first four months, I kept that pace. Since March, only once have I had as many as eight posts in a single month, and that was in July.

But reaching 100, all I can say is better late than never.

Since I started this blog, the intent was to talk about my journey as an aspiring novelist and fiction writer. I wanted it to help other writers but I first wanted it to help me. I think I have done that.

Since I started last December, I have finished the final draft of my first novel, "Fighting Chaos," completed my second novel, "The Death at the Jungle-bunny Journal," started a third novel, "The Death of Art," written a short story, "The Missing CD," for an anthology, written more than 35 newspaper, magazine or online articles, and have sent out dozens of query letters to potential agents. I joined two fiction-writing groups, and joined a writer's critique group.

Now that I look at it, I have been busy. It's odd for a person as lazy as me.

In my blog, I have touched on numerous subjects, including writing query letters, how to handle rejections, marketing and promotions, writing, reading other writers, agents, disappointments, encouragements, research, my books, and many, many more.

The past year has been a real growth year. Looking back at Fighting Chaos, I can more clearly see why it wasn't picked up. The writing is good but boring. The book needs a complete re-write -- the seventh -- but I'm not ready to do that now. Perhaps some day. I still like the story. It is very personal to me. But I may never get back to it. We will see.

Anyway, I am looking forward to moving forward with my postings. I still have lots to say, even when I'm not saying it.

So I will end with what I generally end with. It is perhaps the most important thing I can say.

Thanks for reading and don't give up on writing.