Well, a new month has dawned, and with it new opportunities and new perils.
Mostly, I’m excited to be publishing Book 4 in a few weeks! It needs one more pass (mostly to clean up some naming conventions and a few edit-delete-issues), and then off to my editor for her to give it a critical appraisal, and then cover art and boom! Available to everyone.
I’m happy with this one… I think it’s got some interesting hooks, some nice twists… it’s a bit of a departure for me stylistically, but it’s still light sci-fi with powerful characters and laser battles. This was a very seat-of-my-pants writing style story, one that I wasn’t sure how it was going to end until I got there, and as a result I had to go back and clean up a few lingering issues in the edits. Very Agatha Christie of me, if I do say so myself (although, obviously, not as well done!). But writing a mystery was interesting, and I hope I get the chance to revisit these characters and this universe again in the future… who knows, maybe Marshal Morcos will become my most popular character some day? I think she’s pretty cool…
Anyway! That’s for the future. For now I should get back to finishing up these edits so you can all read her story soon!
Thanks again! Hope everyone is having a great March!
Quick Update on the Run!
Just a lightning fast update to say that:
1. Sorry for missing posting earlier in this week… I really want to post at least once a week, and ideally twice. New habits are hard!
2. Writing is going well! I am getting the final polish on the short story I’m going to send out to market early next month, and the novel I plan to self-publish for the end of March is approaching completion.
Added side-note: I’ve been reading a lot in my work towards my English degree… and man, there are a LOT of super-depressing works out there right now. I hope my work inspires, more than it depresses.
Anyway! Gotta run, longer update later! Okay bye!
Back at It
Well, it’s good to be home. I got about 30k words written in the 5 days I had away, and that was lovely (including completing a short story I hope to submit before too long to a specific market… I’m a little unhappy with the ending right now, but I think I can work out the kinks).
But now it’s back to work, school, and writing, and vying for every moment of my free time. And that’s okay. While writing full time is definitely the dream and the goal, it’s okay to have to work while working towards the dream.
I mean, I hope so. It would be far better to not have to, but we do what we can with what we have, right? Right.
The new novel is coming along really nicely, and I’m happy about that! I think it’ll need a fair amount of cutting eventually, but that’s also okay. For now it’s just getting that first draft out there and done, and then focusing on the specifics later. I have a kernel of a really cool story, and I think I can eventually polish it up to be a beautiful gemstone, for now the goal is just getting enough material that I have something to chip away at eventually.
Anyway, you get the idea. Progress is nice.
Also have a paper due early March that I want to finish this week (nothing super exciting, but I think I need to get a couple drafts done so I can make it better before it’s done), and I submitted some paperwork to help the Writers Group I run become a bit bigger and hopefully more engaging to its members. One of the members of the group just got accepted to do their PhD work at Carlton U, and that’s amazing, but we are going to miss Ari and their contribution.
Retreat!
Ah, this is my favourite time of year. A week where I get to sit in a little cottage in the middle of nowhere while everything is cold, frozen, and completely abandoned around me, and just write. One of my few writing retreats.
It’s been fantastic. I finished the first draft of a short story I plan to submit to a market on Thursday or Friday (after I get some feedback and editing help), and am working on the novel now. I’m hoping to be close to 70,000 words before heading home on Tuesday, which leaves me with about 15,000/day.
Probably a lot to do, but I think I can manage it. Or at least close. But the glory of waking up, having a humble breakfast and coffee, and then writing straight until I am ready to make dinner, followed by more writing until I to bed… it’s incredible.
If there’s a downside, it’s that time like this (which happens only twice a year) reminds me how much happier I would be if I could manage to write full-time.
But that’s okay! Super happy for the next several days at least, and I’m going to lean into that.
Hope everyone is having a good start to February!
Record an Audio Story, I said. It'll Be Easy, I said...
I have nobody to blame but myself, really. I finally finished recording all the audio tracks for the next short story I sold, but of course actually getting it DONE has proven extremely difficult. I thought it would take me an hour, maybe 2 to put everything together… it’s going on 8 hours and I’m not even halfway done.
Woo.
And normally I wouldn’t mind, but I have deadlines! A short story due on Tuesday, as well as a presentation in one of my English classes and an assignment in the other… and every minute I’m spending on this audio story is a minute I’m not spending on one of the dozen OTHER things I need to be doing.
Oh well. It’ll get done. I’ve gotten it down to a pretty good flow, and that’s the important part.
Going to try and write (and get feedback on) a short story for a freshly opened market. I was really hoping to get it done by the 1st (yesterday), but I suppose if I have it done for tomorrow that’s almost as good.
But in the meantime, I really need to get this audio editing done! Back at it!
So Much to Write, So Little Time!
So I’m working on the next novel (technically, the NEXT-next novel, since the next novel is just awaiting editing). And in the meantime, I see a short story market is opening up Feb 1st that pays professional rates and is accepting stories like the kind I write (a little less military sci-fi, but still big-sky soft sci-fi, and I love writing that stuff). So I spend several hours reading their backlog of stories that have been accepted (some really good stuff!), and realize that I can totally write something these good people will accept.
AND THEN I realize I haven’t written any Infinity-related short stories in almost 6 months (not that long, granted), and I should write up a bunch of those for the “White Noise” podcast. And then I start recording audio for the last story I sold them (Black Cacophony Episode 2), which reminds me how much fun it is to do that… and, of course, I have tests and assignments due for my English degree (light workload thus far, but I have to have about 2 novels read by this time next week, and I’d really like to keep ahead of that work curve).
Which is all wonderful. It really is. If it weren’t for the staggering lack of money in all this, I’d be extremely happy. But that’s okay! This is a process, and I’m working towards it being a more profitable process. And part of that, of course, is due to fantastic, wonderful Patreon supporters (hopefully like you!) that are helping me pay for editing and publishing costs! If you’re already a supporter, thank you! If you’re not… there’s a little button in the top right corner of the screen if you can afford it, but if you can’t I always appreciate reviews on my books. Helps more people see ‘em, helps more people know about ‘em, helps more people trust that I can do this writing gig.
Speaking of which, I have a day today where I have to get a tonne done, so I should get back to it! I’m thinking AI-meets-human love story for that new market… although I’ve done one of those already (quite successfully, I think!), there is definitely a deep well there.
The Joys of Appropriate Terminology
One of the reasons I am most excited to be studying English is that it’s giving me the vocabulary to talk about stories the way I’ve always wanted to talk about them. For example, for the last week I’ve been trying to wrap my head around the difference between “Narrative” and “Story”, a distinction that’s purely academic but at the same time very significant.
Basically, the “story” is what happens, and the “narrative” is how you tell what happens.
See? Simple. But little things like this make me very happy. The ability to talk critically and intelligently about my work with people equipped with the right vocabulary to help me improve my work is amazing! Or will be, when we get to that point… as it is I’m just getting the foundational stuff laid out.
In three days, the summer term courses become available to enroll for. I’m hoping to do another 2-4 classes over the summer, depending on how Laurier breaks up the terms. At least 2 more courses, though. And with a couple first-year courses completed, hopefully I can do some of the more advanced stuff for the summer. Oooh, exciting!
I’ve also decided that for the rest of the semester, when I’m not doing homework between classes, I’m going to write short stories. It’s a format I still struggle with, and that usually means doing more practice. My current novel has a bit of poetry in it, and that’s been like pulling teeth, but at least I’m trying.
Anyway! Hurray for having the right words for the things I’m trying to do!
First Chapters
I’ve think I’ve talked about this before on ye olde blog, but I always find the first chapter(s) of a book to be the hardest to write. For starters, it is by far the most important part. If you can’t hook a reader by the end of chapter 1, then you’ve probably lost all but the most dedicated readers.
But more importantly, trying to find that balance between giving readers enough information to feel comfortable in your new world and just dumping info on them… that’s tricky. And an art I usually screw up until the third or fourth edit. Which is fine! But it still means that I spend way more time on the first three chapters than I do on any comparable section of my books.
AND, to add insult to injury, I often go back and cut the first three chapters entirely. A lot of the time they’re just there to give me a mental bookmark for where the story is, and isn’t really needed in the final work. Ah, such is the life of a writer!
Anyway, I’ve started classes again, and ready my first book for one of my courses (“Indian Horse” by Richard Wagamese). It’s neat to be reading for something again, rather than just pleasure. It’s a hauntingly beautiful book, although definitely not my kind of work (too depressing). But he does an incredible job, no question. It took me about 3 hours to get through (although I’ll obviously have to go back to it in the coming weeks to make sure enough of it penetrated). And at the very least, the way he wrote about hockey is almost poetry.
Off to a Good Start!
Well, I’m happy with how 2020 is moving along so far. Good progress on my next two novels, a lot of foundational work for school and writing done, and even some artistic progress on various projects.
All in all, 2020 is shaping up to be a solid year! If I can maintain something close to this pace for the whole year, it will be a major accomplishment!
So I’m committed to publishing 3 novels this year, and I’m going to strive for 4. A lot of this hinges on setting aside enough money for school ($1,500/semester, which is every 3 months) and editing costs ($1,500 per novel, which is every 3 months), so I’ve got to save up about $1,000 a month for the entire year.
That’s slightly less than half my salary (after taxes) at the store I work at. Sooooo… a LOT of saving.
Now, I’m already a bit up. I have some savings put away that if I fall short by a bit, I should be okay. And, of course, hopefully the book sales will pick up a little and that will contribute to things like cover art and incidental expenses (advertising, at some point). So it’s not quite as dire as it appears, but it is going to be a tonne of work for the near future. And I started off by spending $500 on a new laptop to make sure I don’t risk my “work” laptop at school (my work laptop is an older Macbook Air, but I really like it and it has served me faithfully and successfully for many years, so I don’t want to risk losing all the stuff I have on it unless I have no other choice).
In addition, I still have a bunch of short stories to write and submit to places, and some audio versions of stories to record. Loads of work, is what I’m saying.
But that’s okay! As I said, things are off to a solid start! Here’s hoping I can keep it up!
Starting 2020... The Calm Before the Storm
Well, we successfully circumnavigated the sun. Arbitrary, sure, but a benchmark nonetheless.
Last year I sold two short stories and published one novel… and 2020 is going to see me doing at least four times that amount! Heck of a lot of work, sure, but I’ve already finished the second draft to the first novel, and should have the second novel’s first draft done by the end of the month. Second of first, first of second. Clear as mud and all that.
Means a lot of work, but that’s okay. I really am trying to view all of this through the lens of building a path. All of this work is getting me closer to my eventual goal.
Of course, it’s also all going to cost me multiple thousands of dollars, but that’s okay. Hopefully my side job will continue to pay enough to allow me to build a foundation for my future writing.
Anyway! Happy New Year, everyone!
A Few Days of Rest and Wars in the Stars
Not a lot to say this post. I finished the final sprint of total insanity, and the store will start slowly calming down over the next few weeks. During that time I will have more time off (read: any), as well as returning to school, so all told things should return to a more manageable pace.
Went and saw the most recent Star Wars movie last night (The Rise of Skywalker), and it was a joy to behold. No spoilers, but I was completely satisfied by it. It wasn’t perfect, of course, but nothing ever is, and for a movie about space wizards and laser swords, it did a remarkable job tying up all the loose ends from the series.
Not that anyone really cares, but as an academic exercise for myself, rating all the Star Wars Films would probably be:
6 (Return of the Jedi)
7 (Force Awakens)
Rogue One
9 (Rise of Skywalker)
8 (The Last Jedi)
4 (New Hope)
Solo
5 (Empire Strikes Back)
1 (Phantom Menance)
2 (Attack of the Clones)
3 (Revenge of the Sith)
Now, that stated, with the exception of the first 3 movies (Phantom, Attack, and Revenge), I will happily sit down and watch absolutely any of the Star Wars films with joy.
Anyways, one more day of rest before I return to work tomorrow, and I have to work again on Sunday this week (last one for 10 months or so), but at least I will be getting enough sleep and not stressing out as much for the next several days.
Happy holidays, everybody! And soon, a new year and a new decade… full of hope and promise!
The Final Sprint!
Phew, this is it. The last full day of work (10+ hours) before Christmas, and then only a half day on the 24th itself before I get two full… glorious… days to myself.
I literally can’t wait.
But that’s okay! This year has been particularly stressful and hard, just way, way more work than the last two years, but hopefully the bosses are happy and they appreciate the sacrifices and hard work I put into that job to pay for THIS job.
And in January, I get to go back to university! Woo! It’s going to be a bit surreal being surrounded by younglings just starting their university lives, but that’s okay… I’m really looking forward to leveling up my official English cred. The first couple courses sound pretty dull, but again, that’s okay! Foundational stuff.
And! I started the next novel (I think this will be officially Novel 6, assuming all goes well), which was a lovely little experience. I’ve started hashing out the characters and the universe, and I’m just trying to settle on a few big picture details before getting into the writing itself and seeing where this new band of misfits takes me.
Man, writing is such a rush. Best job ever.
Anyway! Happy holidays to all of you! Best wishes, and wish me luck for the next day and a half!
Closing Out the Year Strong!
Well, 2019 is heading into its final days. This year saw me sell 2 short stories (woo!), and finish and self-publish a novel.
Not bad, not bad.
Next year, however, is going to see me self-publishing FOUR novels, and hopefully three short stories (although that will depend pretty heavily on me ever managing to finish recording the one I already sold!). And I’m going back to school part-time, and I’m still working full-time.
Basically, it’s going to be a busy-ass year. But that’s okay! All part of the process.
Still, weird to think of this year as “relaxing” compared to next year. It certainly didn’t feel that way.
Anyways, I’ve already finished the second draft of the story that will be published in March (still need to send it off to my editor, but that will wait until January), and I’m going to be starting the first draft of the next one today! I love starting new stories… there’s always so much potential! So many places the story can take me!
A Relaxing Day of Relaxation
Yes, the title is intentional. It was quite a nice day! I haven’t had a Sunday off in a month, so that was nice… back to the grind tomorrow (and for longer hours as we approach the 24th), but that’s okay! Today I drove into Toronto to see a friend, we came back to Kitchener to have some delicious German holiday food (quite a lot of it, actually), and now I’m going to spend an hour editing before going off to hang out with other friends for the evening.
Also, I may be a little drunk. Just a little, though. But still.
I also spent a whole pile of money on Adepticon, a big gaming convention in Chicago in March, and I’m pretty excited about that! It will mean missing a little school (damn, I have to remember that going forward!), but a small price to pay, I think. And if I’m lucky, it’ll only be 1 relatively inconsequential day.
Gah, I’m going back to school in January! That absolutely hasn’t sunk in yet (I imagine it will as soon as I have to pay for it!).
Anyway! Editing! I’m going to go do that. Hope everyone had a lovely, lovely weekend!
And Upwards!
Phew, editing my earlier books is a lot of work! This one in particular has a lot of dialogue between the action sequences… not intrinsically a bad thing, of course, especially when paced well… but I was doing a lot of info-dumping that I now get to work into the story, rather than just saying it happened.
Ah, the glories of “Show, don’t tell”. Good advice, of course, but often easier said than done!
But that’s okay. The story is still moving along, and I think I’m going to really enjoy rewriting a few of the chapters totally from scratch, just to get the flow and action done right.
In other news, working at a game store to pay for my editing costs is always harder around this time of year. My hours ramp up, and sure it’s going to net me way more money for the next month, but the flip side is that all that money is going to go to Laurier University for my studies for the next several months/years (plus editing costs, of course!), so it’s kind of hard to be excited about it, you know?
Who knows, maybe I’ll buy myself something small and nice before tuition comes to vapourize all my money. Like a nice mug or something.
Hope everyone is having a great week!
Onwards!
Well, it’s out there.
As you probably know, Book 2 of the Tintian Series, “Tintian and the Mysterious Meteor”, went live late last week. It’s always a little surreal, pumping months into a novel, writing, editing, roping in art assets, converting stuff into HTML, and then… out. Available for people to read and enjoy.
Aside: somebody left a very positive review already! Which is amazing! It’s gratifying to know that people are enjoying my work!
But of course, there isn’t really time for celebration. Yes, I successfully published my third novel, but I’m still miles and miles away from being a full-time author. That will only come with volume of work, and that requires more writing. Which I love! I love writing, and I look forward to every day, every hour, every minute I get to sit in front of my computer and write (a little less so when it’s editing, but still!). So as Tintian and the Mysterious Meteor is out in the world, I wave to it fondly and turn to writing my next novel.
Which, in all honesty, I’ve already done… and am about halfway done editing it. With any luck (and a bit of hard work), it should be available in the Spring… this one is another standalone universe, a sci-fi space western that I’m pretty proud of (although admittedly, still unpolished). A little cowboy, a little crime-procedural, a little The Expanse meets Firefly…
I should get back to it.
To all of you out there who have purchased my book, thank you from the bottom of my heart! It means the world to me.
Tintian and the Mysterious Meteor Available NOW!
Quick post today: my newest novel has gone live! It is now available through Amazon stores worldwide!
For all of you out there who pick up a copy, my deepest thanks! I hope you enjoy it! It was a lot of fun to write, and I am grateful to everyone who helped me get another novel out!
Already working on the next novel to go out, planning on early Spring (let’s say April) to get that out to everyone. Goal is 4 novels for 2020… but for now I’m happy to get this one out to everyone!
You should be able to find it by searching “Tintian and the Mysterious Meteor” on your local Amazon, but just to make your life a little easier:
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Amazon Australia
Finishing Edits Today!
At least that’s the plan. Halfway (more!) through the month, and I have to finish these sooner than later or they’re just never going to get done.
Thankfully, no big plans today other than to edit, so that should be fine. I can usually get a tonne of work done when I just put my head down and do it without too many interruptions.
Plus, I have coffee. That usually helps a lot.
Anyway! Nothing else really exciting. No word yet from the artist, and if they don’t get back to me in a few days I’m going to have to go with a fallback plan, but that’s okay either way. It will work out! All part of the progress.
Urgh. Part of the PROCESS. Yeah, that’s the kinda day I’ve been having.
Hope everyone is having a great winter! The cold weather has hit southern Ontario pretty hard, but that’s okay… I love writing on cold days like this.
Still Editing, And Other Truisms.
Well, I’m on Chapter 17, which is good… over halfway done. No word from the cover artist yet (they said they would work on a couple concept sketches, and we’d go from there, but they’re still well within timeline), but that’s okay. Plenty of time still, considering my editing pace!
Today I have a trip to talk to an academic advisor about my education goals, which I’m looking forward to, and other than that, just a lot of writing/editing work that needs doing. I think I can probably get the novel finish today… or next week at the latest (down to only 1 day off a week at this stage due to working at a game store to pay for my writing).
Other than that, got a rejection from… February. Wow. I forgot it had been that long. Well, whatever. This isn’t the story, just a different agent I approached at the suggestion of an author I know, so fingers are still crossed for that novel, but it’s been a long time for that one too. Such is the way it goes, I suppose? Either way, no hard feelings, and hopefully I can find an agent (or my books can find their audience, or both!) before too much longer. We shall see, we shall see.
It’s very snowy outside today, so I hope everyone out there is enjoying the weather more than I am!
9 Chapters Done, 21 To Go!
Ah, editing. Truly, the… something unpleasant in the side of my pleasant…ness.
I’ll fix that in editing.
Anyway! Got the professional edits back, and I’m about a third of the way through incorporating them into the book itself. My editor (who is incredible, and extremely wise) always recommends a second round of edits, and while I wish I had the time and money to do that… it’s just never going to happen. As it stands, each novel costs me about $1,500 in editing (plus cover art, plus advertising, plus a few assorted other things), and that’s already way, way out of my budget.
I mean, I want a polished product, but I also need to eat. So one round of paid-for edits is all this novel is going to get. Maybe someday I will have the luxury to do multiple rounds of professional editing… but it is not this day.
Anyway! Always a bit soul-scouring to see how a professional tweaks your work, so it’s been hard, but I’m happy to be doing it. Means that the novel is almost done and ready to head off into the wild!
Speaking of which, I reached an agreement with the artist, and I’m cautiously optimistic about their work. We’ll see what comes out the other side. Fingers crossed!
Back to the editing! Hope everyone out there is having a great start to the winter season!