Ralston Writes

4th Draft Progress: 0 (0 / 46 chapters)

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Paper Swallows

Welcome to the writing portfolio of Carl Ralston.

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9/23/2024 - I have completed the fourth draft of Paper Swallows! The fourth draft took a bit longer than anticipated, but I think the piece is in great condition and I'm looking forward to seeing where it takes me! I'll be continuing to send out queries and to make updates to this site. Good things to come soon!

9/15/2024 - I got my first rejection letter from an agent the other day! Things are moving and I'm looking forward to the process!

9/10/2024 - I am 33 / 46 chapters finished with the fourth draft revision, over 75% done! I have queried half a dozen agents so far and I've been balancing fitness, working two jobs, etc. I'm excited, and I hope you are too as we move into fall!

8/19/2024 - I sent out my first agent query today! Wish me luck!

8/18/2024 - I am now officially 50% done revising the manuscript for Paper Swallows! I will begin putting together a sample packet and will begin to query for agents. Time to brush up on my letter writing skills! If you have any suggestions, please contact me!

8/17/2024 - Tonight, I spent an hour or longer going through my manuscript, checking specific words (e.g. mother, uncle, father, etc.) to see if they were capitalized correctly. Out of hundreds of instances, I only boo-booed a few times. Check here to read Thesarus.com's article if you're interested in brushing up on what I'm talking about. As of writing this, I'm 22 out of 46 chapters into the fourth draft revision!

8/13/2024 - I re-read chapter 13 and revised chapter 14 today! I thought it would be harder to pick the story's thread up after sitting for so long, but it wasn't the case. That status bar above should be reading 14/46 chapters or more by now!

8/11/2024 - I've been replaying Dark Souls: Remastered over the last few weeks and studying for a test at work. The Greater Lands Saga by Joseph Lallo is quickly becoming one of my favorite series, having gobbled up books four and five recently. Monday, expect that progress bar to move -- getting back to revisions after some major setbacks!

7/24/2024 - I'm almost finished training at the new job and itching to get back to writing! Soon... I hope everyone is having a fantastic summer!

7/4/2024 - Happy Fourth of July! I have started working at a country club. Give me a few weeks to adjust and regular updates and revisions will begin again. Be good to each other and don't blow off any fingers!

6/23/2024 - I have applications sent and am following several leads for new employment. I am also currently designing a digital CV to post on this site.

6/18/2024 - Well, that didn't last long. I give things a year, but sometimes things don't give me a year. I got laid off from my carpentry job, on good terms. Good luck to Steve moving forward! Unfortunately, I'm going to have to put Paper Swallows on the backburner for a little while until I find another job. Wish me luck.

6/14/2024 - Two jobs, family and social life has left me a little behind in my writing, but it's summer! I continue to plug away on this fourth draft. My goal is to start querying agents at the 50% mark. Progress is progress!

5/31/2024 - I added a progress bar for draft four of Paper Swallows and updated Projects and About. The progress bar seems to work for most people but not all, so if you see 0%, it's because I'm a novice programmer and not because there hasn't been progress. Currently at 5 / 46 chapters revised! I've spent some time making professional socials, which I'll update once I have content.

5/29/2024 - About a month ago, I started apprenticing for a master carpenter. After several weeks of 13-15+ hour long days between two jobs, I didn't have much steam for beta reading or writing. I'm happy to announce I finished reading for my manuscript swap and I start focusing on my fourth draft tomorrow night.

5/23/2024 - I give things a year. A lot can change in a year, ups and downs, twists and turns, darkness and light. I gave PWF a year since conception but I no longer have time to dedicate to running the game. Feel free to check out the Adventure Log for the misadventures. The game ended on a good enough point, I think, and it was a fun experiment combining professional wrestling and D&D. Thanks to everyone who played.

5/19/2024 - For nine years, mine were the only eyes on my work. For the first time, someone else has read it cover-to-cover and they have had great things to say moving forward! Onward to finishing draft four!

5/11/2024 - As I'm getting back into editing for the fourth draft, I'm finding I might have to change my approach to publishing. The winds are changing in the direction of self-publishing, and even well-established authors are having difficulty traditionally publshing today. Success is managing your expectations and not giving up, or so I've been told!

4/27/2024 - A few friends and I attended WWE SmackDown! in Cincinnati, OH this evening! ...For research, yeah. It was a great time! The Dudleyz were there for the 2024 Raw/SmackDown draft (whatever that is). Alas, they did not put anyone through a table.

4/26/2024 - Another fantastic PWF session! The party took on a very challenging encounter, and managed to make it look simple, yet again. *Ooooh yeah!*

4/20/2024 - So, I've gotten about five responses back re: part one's beta samples, and everyone had great things to say and offered helpful feedback! You can find a good chunk of part one here! If you're interested in beta reading, you have until May 10, 2024 to contact me.

4/12/2024 - I have swapped betas with a few aspiring writers! So far, it has been a really rewarding experience. If you've participated, thank you!

4/11/2024 - I hosted session 14 of the Pathfinder wrestling game I'm playtesting. It was a great time!

4/9/2024 - I added trigger warnings and a list of similar books/inspirations to the Paper Swallows sample.

4/6/2024 - I finished the third draft of Paper Swallows! Soon, I'll start drafting query letters and reaching out to agents!

4/3/2024 - I made a lot of structural changes to the manuscript tonight. I broke the last eight chapters into ten, mostly where I already had scene breaks. Those kinds of edits, for me, are the most challenging. I can line-edit all day long. But shifting the structures of what already exists? Mental blocks. Just musing. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

3/31/2024 - I added supplemental material for Paper Swallows. You can find it here. Additionally, I am only about 70 pages away from completing the third draft! Happy Easter if that's your thing.

3/30/2024 - I edited and created more content for this website. Also, I'm starting the edits for part three.

3/29/2024 - I created this website.

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