After receiving feedback from other writers, I have decided, finally, to take a crack at writing short stories. The catch for me will be coming up with a something that is simple enough to cover in a small space, yet also compelling enough – for ME. I tend not to be dissatisfied with stories if they are too simple, so this is really going to be a challenge.

The plan is to create several Tales from the Land of Nou, self-contained short stories that will not only help me hone my skills for writing the novel, but will also flesh out the Nou universe for my future readers. Who knows, maybe they’ll help me generate a following, too – a legion of fans eagerly anticipating the release of the novel! Wishful thinking, I’m sure, but how could I ever hope to write Poguri without the ability to dream?

One of the reasons I was aiming to complete the book by the end of the year was so that it coincided with the start of an MFA in Creative Writing Program in which I planned to enroll. However, a reality check flew in with the subtlety of a brick when I was rejected by not one, but two separate MFA programs.

At worst I could see these rejections as evidence that I am not a good writer, and at best…well, frankly, there is no silver lining. I am wrestling with the possibility that I am not a writer, but rather a “conceptualizer” – the guy who comes up with good ideas, but may not be so great at delivering them.

On the other hand, I am aware that if the idea is good enough, the writing doesn’t have to be, as long as it doesn’t “get in the way” of the idea. I can think of at least one popular book series for which this seems to be true, although I wouldn’t really say the idea for that series is too good, either. While the rejections dampened my enthusiasm towards this project for several days, I’ve decided to forge ahead. I am now determined to spite these two schools by writing the “next great children’s novel”. Whether or not I can achieve that, of course, remains to be seen…

The “Pogress Reports” [sic] will be semi-regular updates on the progress being made in writing the novel. As of now I have committed to write an average of 2 pages per day in order to finish the book by the end of the year. I think it’s a pretty modest, if not underachieving goal, because some days I’ll be able to write 5 pages and some days I won’t be able to write anything.

So far I’ve done pretty well and I’d say that the book is 40-50% complete, which is not taking into consideration the extensive edits I’ll have to make once that first draft is at 100%. This is where the goal of finishing by year’s end becomes more daunting, but I am sticking to it.

Also worth noting is the promotional artwork being done by Angga Satriohadi, which not only allows all you folks out there to visualize what’s in my head, but really helps to motivate me to write. As of right now he’s already fully completed the first of three that I’ve hired him for, which is available for viewing in the illustrations section, and he’s 95% finished with the second, which I’ll be sure to post once it’s complete.

So that’s it for the first “Pogress Report”. I hope you’ll all stick with me…