Archived Blog

Blogging Thoughts

I have to admit, I’m not much for blogging. I much prefer to devote the bulk of the time I have – when not dealing with life requirements – writing my stories, rather than blogging about them. So I’ll likely not be writing blog entries much going forward.

For short and sweet running updates, connect with my author page on Facebook (button under “FIND ME HERE!” on this site).

Be sure to check out my Other Writings here on this site – I periodically add to that. Also check out the Home page, which I keep updated as I write and publish new books.

Sources of Ideas

I get ideas for my writing from all sorts of places.

Sometimes just hearing about what someone else has written gives me a spark of an idea. Maybe somewhat similar, but definitely my own. A few of my most recent ideas came that way.

Sometimes I get ideas from a memory. That doesn’t happen much for me, except when I’m thinking of the possibilities for a cozy mystery (or series) that I’m considering writing someday.

A scent can give me ideas. Sometimes it makes me picture a place or perhaps an event. Other times it will give me an idea of a particular person.

I think my favorites, and the hardest ones to work into writing, are the sensations. A sudden feeling of mystery makes me want to work that into a story somehow or write well enough to create that for a reader. A sense of something magical, but unseen, perhaps waiting to be discovered. That peace and contentment that washes over you out of nowhere. A feeling that there’s something wonderful just around the corner. Or something lurking! All of these have sparked writing ideas for me.

Juggling

I remember taking some beginner classes many years ago to learn to juggle (lots of fun) and this feels a lot like that – just with less dropping of things. I do like working on multiple projects at the same time… however, recently it’s been a bit insane!

I’m making great progress incorporating beta-reader feedback into Power Awry (Wild Heritance, book 2). Filling some holes and making the plot tighter – I’m pleased with the final shape the story has taken. The cover is in the final stages – almost ready!

Trial Run (Wild Heritance novella) has slipped easily into the beta reader phase, and is almost done with that. Next will be any last revisions and finalizing the cover.

Book 3 of the Wild Heritance series has a title: Power Redeemed. I haven’t been working as much on the draft recently because book 2 and the novella have been taking most of my attention. Still, the draft is approaching that 50,000-word mark! That’s is roughly the halfway mark for the book.

And then, on top of all this activity, are all the new ideas that have come to me. I’ve taken side trips to research aspects of two non-Wild Heritance fantasy novel ideas, decide on some character names, change some character names from what I had decided on originally, figure out some plot points, and even get the very beginnings written. I’m also hoping to jump into revisions soon for the first novel in my fantasy trilogy. The draft is done – I’ve just let it sit for a time while I concentrated on the Wild Heritance series.

Oh, how time flies!

And yet another month has gone by! Non-authoring things have been stealing my time, keeping me very busy, but I’ve still made good progress with my Wild Heritance Series.

Wild Heritance book 2 is nearly done with the beta reader feedback phase. Next I’ll work through final edits and revisions. And then I go into the publication process! I hope to have the cover reveal in about a month or so. Right now, I anticipate publishing the book later this year or early next.

The Wild Heritance novella will go into the beta reading phase next. I already have a cover concept for this one, but it’s not yet ready for a cover reveal. I anticipate publishing the novella later this year, possibly as soon as the beginning of September.

The draft for Wild Heritance book 3 is an estimated 30% done now — based on an anticipated length similar to that of books 1 and 2. I’m pleased with how it’s progressing. I already have a cover concept for this one too, but not yet ready for a cover reveal.

 

Abundant irons in the fire

Wow, a month since I last posted! It’s been crazy busy – so many “real world” things to take care of. Nothing bad, just a lot, and time-consuming, and sometimes frustrating. Still, I’ve made some writing progress, too. Yay!

Book 2 of the Wild Heritance series is now with the beta readers. The waiting is so hard. I keep wanting to ask how it’s going and what have they found that I might need to do some further work on, but I don’t want to bug them. I’m just eager to do any re-writes/fixes that I need to, so I can get the book published. It’s so close….

To keep from bugging my beta readers, I’ve been working through some revisions in the Wild Heritance Novella. It’s now very close to being ready for the beta readers. I could probably send it out any time, but I want to do one last read-through before then.

I’ve also been working on the draft for Book 3. The ideas for the story are coming together well, and I’ve even gotten some of them written down. If I assume that Book 3 will end up being about the same length as the first two, I can say that the draft is already about 10% done!

And finally, naturally, in the midst of working on the Wild Heritance series, an idea for a completely separate, unrelated, new fantasy novel has pounced on me. I’ve already got a strong start on the draft and know a lot about how the story will go and I’m enjoying some interesting research for the world building.

So… plenty to keep me busy!

Revising from first-reader comments (Wild Heritance Book 2)

With some great first-reader feedback in hand, I’m now working through another revision of Wild Heritance Book 2. I really value this feedback – it’s the first time someone other than me has looked at the story, and what they saw helps me so much!

I believe this is the last revision before the book will be ready for beta-readers! I estimate the book will be ready for beta-reading as early as the end of March, depending on how well this revision cycle goes. (So far, it’s going very well.) Looking forward to that next phase!

Thoughts about Writer’s Block

In GoodReads, they have an “Ask the Author” section. A question that’s come up for me is “How do you deal with writer’s block?”.

At first, I was inclined to say, “I don’t believe in it”. And that’s true in a way. I don’t believe in it for me in the popular sense of something that completely halts my writing, something that I then must agonize over for days, or longer. When I hear “writer’s block,” I always picture a path, winding through a dense evergreen forest, with a huge stone block sitting in the middle, preventing any forward progress. That’s the block I don’t believe in.

But as something that gives me pause in just plunging ahead in my drafting… Yes, I’ve certainly encountered writer’s block.

For me, writer’s block takes the form of an uncertainty about what’s coming next. Sometimes it’s an uneasiness about something in the story. And that’s been a sign for me.

Perhaps I don’t know my characters as well as I thought. So I need to pause in writing the story to figure out more about them, what makes them tick. Other times, it’s related to continuity. I want a certain event to happen, but it’s just not fitting into the story. Maybe I haven’t done the set-up well enough for the event to make sense, or make sense at that point in the story. Or maybe it’s wrong for the characters. So I pause.

I make sure I treat it as a pause, not a dead stop. That way I know I’ll be moving forward again. I just need a little bit of time before I can do that. No need to agonize over it.

So how do I deal with writer’s block? I take a step back from the writing and figure out what’s giving me the feeling of uncertainty, what’s missing that’s making the ideas slow down or feel wrong. Then I take a short break from the draft to fill in holes I’ve discovered. Sometimes I’ll make extensive notes. Other times I just ponder a bit to figure out what’s missing. Maybe I’ll return to the draft to add some details before the troublesome section. Then I’m ready to dive back in and move forward with the story.

That’s what’s worked for me.

Back again to Wild Heritance

After my “side trip” last month to publish Bye-Bye Magpie, I’m back to the Wild Heritance series!

I’ve got incoming feedback from a first reader for book 2. I’ve been working on revisions and edits for the novella – think they’re about done. And I’ve gotten back to the draft of book 3: a few additions to chapter 1, finished up chapter 2 and have a good start on chapter 3 already.

Need to eat my breakfast, then back to more drafting! 😁

Writing-multitasking, I love it!

I’m still working through revisions of book 2 of my Wild Heritance series. This is the revision stage that will likely last a while and take a bit of time to complete. I’ve been filling in plot holes, fixing hints and clues within the story, and making sure that events are in agreement, especially with Duplicity of Power (book 1).

My characters seem to be settling in to their chosen roles in their new adventures, at least as much as they seem inclined. And some twists are getting twisted, so I’m pleased with that.

The children’s picture book that I’ve mentioned before, Bye-Bye Magpie, is really coming together well. The artist finished all of the illustrations (they look great!) and I’m now finalizing the cover design. Publication time is rapidly approaching!

Revisions… revisions. Revisions!

(I hear that title above sung to the tune of “Tradition” from Fiddler on the Roof!)

I’ve finished running through my “word edits” for Wild Heritance Book 2, giving me a better feeling about the strength of the writing in this story.

Next I plan to tackle revisions that include fixing some contradictions and continuity issues I noticed. Some are internal to this book’s story and others are related to details in Duplicity of Power and the novella. I also plan to tighten the story; I’m pretty sure, while doing my word edits, I spotted some places where I repeated some details unnecessarily.

I’m pleased with how Book 2 is coming together. Looking forward to getting it ready for beta readers. Early 2019, I hope.

I haven’t yet returned to work on my other series (the NaNoWriMo drafts), but I’ve been getting some good ideas for revisions to the draft that I finished in November. And I’ve got some new ideas to help get book 2 of that series going – I now have some good notes for the plot. In this series, I have multiple magic systems. So I’ve mainly been absorbed with figuring out how they all work!

Weirdness of writers (this one, anyway)

I’m a writer… and I’m weird, I freely admit it. 🙂

I really look forward to those days, like today, when I have several hours to devote to revising and editing a book. I enjoy revisiting my characters and story to work through the little details to improve the tale. When I have to leave to take care of something else, I feel like I’m being yanked away from my fun, like a kid told that it’s time to leave the amusement park.

I’m working through some of my “word edits” for book 2 of the Wild Heritance series. Edits and revisions are going incredibly well right now and the book is really shaping up!

And now that I’ve shared today’s weirdness, I’m heading back to it. (I suppose I’d better grab a bite of breakfast first, though.)

Back to the Wild Heritance series

With NaNoWriMo 2018 now completed (resulting in a new draft done for one of the books in another series), I’m back to my Wild Heritance series.

I’m working through the first round of revisions and edits for book 2, already up to chapter 8. At this point, I’m considering publishing book 2 next and then the novella after that. But I could always change my mind.

With the novella being a story from before book 1, I can pretty much publish it whenever it’s ready. It’s already close to being ready for beta readers…

NaNoWriMo drafting

I’m taking part in NaNoWriMo this month, my third year doing this. Last year I was able to complete the 50,000 word challenge, which gave me about 2/3 of my draft done for that novel.

This year I’m planning to do the same thing for another novel in that same series. With several life events needing attention, it’s been a challenge to keep up with the “par” word count for each day. But yesterday I was able to write over 4100 words to catch up for the day, and month so far. So I’m in good shape.

I’ve found that I like this fast-drafting method, this writing the first draft as quickly as possible – without hesitation or excuses or editing-as-I-go. It’s thrilling, a little bit scary, and I get a lot written. With this, I’ll have at least 2/3 of another novel drafted at the end of the month!

Keeping busy…

So many things going on simultaneously right now. I’m loving it.

Getting the last few details set for the publication of Duplicity of Power, book 1 in the Wild Heritance series. (Yay!)

Still working on pulling together the pages for Bye Bye Magpie – they’re looking great (thanks to the artist)!

Some minor revising of the novella in the Wild Heritance series – getting close to ready for beta readers on that one.

Starting the first revision of book 2 in the same series – and have already added two new chapters.

And finally, getting myself ready — mentally more than anything else — for NaNoWriMo. My plan (right now) is to work on the draft of book 1 for my fantasy trilogy (a different series than the Wild Heritance series). I’m hoping to get most of that written during NaNoWriMo. Looking forward to November 1!