All of the books have some common characters, however, two of the books are not tied as much to the series as the other current eight books. So, those can be read out of the order in which they were written. So, I’ll start with the written order:

• Planning Vengeance
• Dig Two Graves
• You Don’t Know Jack
• Who, What, When, Why?
• Triple Cross *
• Lies and Omissions *
• Unknown Caller
• Grafton

However, a couple of people have said they wanted to read them chronologically. That is a little tougher because Grafton and Who, What, When, Why? both have multiple stories that take place at different times. Grafton has the origin story on Melody, which is before everything but the flashbacks in the other books. Aside from that story, everything in Grafton is after You Don’t Know Jack and before Unknown Caller. Who, What, When, Why? has stories that are intertwined around the first three books.

So, chronologically by story date:

• Melody (from Grafton)
• Lies and Omissions
• Planning Vengeance
• Dig Two Graves
• Who, What, When, Why?
• You Don’t Know Jack
• Grafton
• Triple Cross
• Unknown Caller

One thing to keep in mind though, is that aside from Planning Vengeance/Dig Two Graves, I tried to keep the spoilers to a minimum. Lies and Omissions and Triple Cross are outside of the regular series anyway… which is why they are asterisked *.

To hear it from some, there is an intelligent force that blocks the ability of a writer to get word on paper (or screen… whatever). They must do battle with this being in order to record their tales, swords clashing and blades flashing. To get the simplest phrase to be recorded, a fight must ensue.

There is no such thing as “writer’s block.”

I’ve had it… but it doesn’t exist. The reality is that it is “story block”. Trying to write a story that isn’t there, or make the story something it doesn’t want to be is what blocks me up. I had a GREAT story (I thought so, anyway). I had planned it to be a novel. I thought that 100k words would be a breeze. Not so much. I could add a bunch of useless filler, but the story wasn’t there. I think I got to 30k. Honestly, I’d have to look. I spent almost a year trying to find the rest of that story.

The problem was that the story was complete. I actually had two like that. They are now two novellas in Grafton. There are four stories in the book. The two about Gunny were going to be books, but I didn’t want to add a bunch of junk to the stories just to puff them up.

But sometimes, there is a blockage. I’ll know that the story isn’t “done” but not where it needs to go.

I will put it aside. I’ll give it space to breathe. I did it with those two stories from Grafton, but also from New Life (which as I write this is going out to beta readers… again). I wrote half of it. I knew there was more, but couldn’t find it with both hands and a flashlight.

At this moment I have at least five novels started. Three of them are well on their way. When I slam against a wall writing one, I jump to another. I have written entire books while waiting for the idea to spark the rest of one that was “almost done.”

If you are writing, don’t give up. Try to stick with something… don’t put too many irons in the fire, but don’t be afraid to step away from one of them. Let it age. Then, go back in a few days/weeks/months and read what you have. Adjust it as needed, and then take off again on it.

Part 1 – Intro and a mention of NaNoWriMo. I also showed one of the possible story arcs. Exposition. Inciting Incident, Rising Action/Progressive Complications, Dilemma, Climax, Denouement. This isn’t written in stone, but it is a good start.

Part 2 – Organization. If you are going to write a good story, you need to be organized about it. Most of the issues I have dealt with have been self-inflicted, and the result of a lack of organization. Knowing the characters, locations and plot elements, and keeping them straight and consistent comes down to organization.

Part 3 – All about Exposition… Inciting Incident… Rising Action/Progressive Complications. We covered them a little in the story arc, but here is a little more…

Part 4 – Same game as last time, but Dilemma… Climax… Denouement. Again, more detail about these plot elements.

Part 5 – Pantser v Plotter. I have wanted to plan each of my books beforehand, but I keep reverting to writing by the seat of my pants. I’m going to stick with my plan this time… I hope.

Part 6 – Worldbuilding is a thing, even if you aren’t writing Lord of the Rings. Even “real world” fiction needs a place, and whether you are creating a fictional town or writing about fictional happenings in your own corner of the world, it will be described and laid out for the reader.

Part 7 – Creating characters is THE most important thing we need to do as writers. Just like people, most characters are complicated. They have different and changing motivations. Power, love, money, sex, acceptance. But, be very careful cultivating too much of your character from people you know. Mix it up a little.

Part 8 – If you are going to write a book, you have to write. The most common thing I see in writer groups is people that plan a book for a decade, but never write more than a few words.

Part 9 – Edit that bad boy. Once you get the manuscript, don’t be afraid to take the axe to it. Fit it.

Part 10 – Get readers. Nope… not the ones that are paying for the book, but the ones that will read it and pick it apart for you. Hopefully for free. Beta readers are your friends, even when they aren’t. Embrace the criticism.

First up is The Prodigy. It is a sports related story, talking about a kid dedicated to making it in pro sports, doing whatever it takes to get better. But he finds out that he can’t quite get there alone.

Next up is “the story”… Almost all of my friends know it. It is a true story, and was even funnier. In fact, that whole trip has become a series of stories that may one day be written. The movie would be epic. Hopefully you’ll get a kick out of what happened in The Fog.

This one talks about disillusionment and the meaning of beauty. Three dates, none of them good… at least not anything worth pursuing. Model Relationship.

Finally, another fiction contest entry. It Comes In the Fog is my attempt at horror. I went for the unseen horror.