Finished... Finished?

Ok, so as some of you may know. I have finished the rough draft of my first novel. My lovely wife is proofing and editing as I wash out my brain. When she's finished I will give it a go through and let her take a second look. Then I am going to be sending the manuscript to a few very close (very opinionated) beta readers. Then after all of those are returned with suggested edits/criticisms. I will be publishing the work at www.amazon.com as well as the other epub formats.

This comes at an interesting time, the kids' last day of school. The start of the summer schedule in my parenting plan. A time when some book sales could really help out financially as well.

My wife jokingly said last night, "Hey, you don't need to set your alarm to get up early in the morning."
"Actually, I kinda do. I want to get started on the next story. If I want to make a career of this, I need to treat it like a career. Besides, the writing part is fun," I said.
"Oh. Okay."

That exchange is what I want to delve into today. I talk to and read about so many writers who finish their first book and think, "Yay! I have a book." They might even get it published by a nontraditional publishing house (without an agent, that's about all you get these days ). I ask them what they are going to do now. And, invariably, the answer is "take a break." Sure, I am good with that. But I never ask how long. Because I know that answer too. And that answer is a sad one. That answer is "I don't know." But really it means "until the muse strikes me again sometime maybe months later." Now, I am definitely not a full on muse enthusiast. I do believe that there is a place/memory/portion of your brain/thing that comes to authors and thumps them in the head with ideas. However, I also believe that authors have to see the hundreds of story ideas that shoot out in front of them EVERY SINGLE DAY. If you want this to be your life, you can't sit back and let writing happen to you. You have to grab your writing mind/muse by the lapels like a Chicago street thug. Shake it down for any spare change it has. And put fingers to keyboard. In short, if you want to be a writer. Write, damnit.

Alright, off my soap box. The other question that has assaulted my mind is what am I going to write next. Well, I posted earlier on my blog that I have a Young Adult steampunk urban fantasy story brewing in my head. And this is completely true. I am working out the complexities of this fantastic world currently. However, I think my next writing adventure will be a science fiction short story. I am drawing part of the inspiration from my brother. He is a rifleman in the US Army, currently deployed to Afghanistan. When asked what he wants to do after he gets out, he says, "I think I want to learn to pilot. To fly helicopters. Maybe be a rescue pilot or a life-flight pilot." There's something really noble in that. My baby brother who is fighting overseas "so that others who can't don't have to," wants to still help people in a different way, when he is released from that obligation. I think this speaks to the heroic spirit that so greatly typifies much of the speculative fiction genres. My brother is a hero. And he is the inspiration for my short story.

Here is my short writeup:
Master Sergeant Alan Willians, Drop Ship Alpha, United Interstellar Naval Corps, signed up for the Naval Corps hoping to see the galaxy. See the galaxy he has, maybe too much of it. Now, a bit jaded and looking forward to his release from contract, he's planning to start his own business piloting planet jumper ships to transport people to the newly settled planets. Planets that he helped secure for the Interstellar Alliance. Something goes terribly wrong on his next to last mission, however. He will be faced with a choice - give up his dream and save the day, or ignore what he knows.

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Are a writer yourself? Tell me what you do when you finish writing a book in the comments below.