Revisions

 I am now in the revision phase of my story writing.  With all four books "written" and the first published I need to make sure everything flows and makes sense.  And that I don't sound like a four year old as I write.  Here are a few things I'm doing to make sure my novels are very polished before I let them loose on their own.

1)Reread the story.  This sounds sort of redundant, after all, you wrote the darn thing.  But sometimes you get your thoughts down and think you are good and coherent and then you realize that thought doesn't belong as you reread the story.  I had one segment I just thought was too contrived and "why would my characters fall for that!" so I rewrote the section.  But I found it because I just read through it like a reader would.

2) Check your language, punctuation and spelling.  This harkens back to your school days and the English teacher berating you for not doing just that.  But if you want your novel to look professional, and you don't have an editor or publishing house, you need to put your best foot forward.

3) Check your facts.  I realized I had renamed something in the first book and now I need to go back and make sure it matches in the next three books.  Just bad form to get the name wrong in your own book.  But that goes with all the facts.  At the end of the second book I had six guards to start with and suddenly there were two dozen.  How did that happen?  So I needed to adjust.

4) Read it out loud.  This was my husband's idea.  Something might look fine as you type it, but when you say it out loud, sometimes you notice mistakes.  I have caught several errors this way.

Mostly, just make sure your story, which you have worked so hard on writing, is polished. You want readers to enjoy your story, not be stuck on your mistakes.

Happy writing!

Organization of Thoughts

 Everyone has their own way they like to organize their thoughts and ideas. My son does everything on the computer, my daughter and I love spiral notebooks, some people use notecards.  Here are a few ideas that might help you find your organizational path.

1) Do you like to write or type?  As I mentioned, I love spirals.  They litter my work area.  So to find anything I label the outside of the spiral with titles such as "characters" and "notes" or "places".  I try to keep my main thoughts and characters toward the front and the lesser thoughts to the back, but after awhile, they just blend together.

2) So the spirals get a little out of hand and I have to move to writing everything on the computer and have folders I can organize with just a move of the mouse.  This is more ideal for some people.  My son spends hours organizing his files, so I'm assuming there are others who like to do the same thing.  For me, it's more of an end process.  I take my spirals and their creative notes and organize them once I get them out of my head.

3) Notecards.  Some people like to put a thought or character on note card and organize them in a way that makes sense to them.  It is a little more time consuming because then you have to physically organize the cards, but if it works for you while you write, then go for it.

What ever method you choose I recommend some major points to write down/keep track of:

1) Characters and where they come into the story.  Also why they are vital, relationships to your main characters, and any secrets you have associated with them.

2) Places.  You want the places your characters go to be consistent.  By giving yourself notes, you will ensure they will be.

3) Notes!  This is probably the most important part.  There is a small section in my story with a side character that I hint at something grand.... and I can't remember what I meant by that "hint".  I pound my head a lot about it and hope I find a note or something amongst all my papers so I can figure it out. Hopefully this never happens to you!

Happy Writing!

Locations in Your Story

So as I began writing more in earnest, (and in a more organized manner), I realized making "Location Descriptions" was also a great idea.  I took the general idea for a character description and tried to make it relevant to a location.  For me, it was a great thing to do for my roleplaying group.  People like to feel as if they are there and the better description you have, the more likely the players and readers will see what you are trying to describe.

Here are the highlights I like to hit:

1) Site name.  This seems obvious, but as you run a roleplaying group, or are even writing, it's nice to make sure you are consistent on the name.

2) Surrounding area.  This gives a reader a good idea of what the area is like.  Is it just a castle out the middle of no where or in the middle of a grand city?

3) Exterior and interior descriptions.  This could be a huge description which you may never need to use, but its a good way to get your creative juices flowing.  Not to mention if you don't flush it out, as a GM a player will definitely ask for a description!

4) People associated with this building/location.  You don't have to flush out the characters here, but when you are writing and want to mention the barkeep for the inn they were staying at who gave them information, you don't want to look through all your notes to find a name.  Trust me, it's not fun.

5) Attitude and dress of people.  This is more of a general feeling so you can give the ambiance of the place and a quick description of those around them.  Trying to remember if a city is the one where feathered caps is all the rage versus more conservative dress, is a pain.

6) Rumors to be found.  This is more for the roleplaying but still is good for planning out your story plot.  Taverns are always a good rumor mill for roleplaying, but you can use them in writing as well. There are several places in my story that the main characters hang out in taverns to see if they can be moved in the right direction.

7) Defenses.  This is more for castles and the like, but it is good to know.  How many soldiers are your characters going to have to fight through to get to the next plot point?  What kind of weapons or magic will they encounter?  How will they counter the defenses?  These are all good things that can be figured out in this section.

Happy Writing!

Outlining Your Characters

 When I started taking writing classes to make my writing even better, one of my teachers mentioned having an outline for your character, to not only keep track of what you've done with them, but also to flush them out before you use them, or even as you use them.  Here are some key things I would suggest you should consider having in your outline for your major, (or even minor), characters:

1) Start with a name.  For some people this may or may not be easy.  My husband takes forever to pick a name for his RPG and video game characters, so you may have to come back to this.

2) Background or bibliography.  What do you want your readers to know and what do you need to know to write this character true.

3) Race, Age, Height, Weight, Body type, etc.  I have a long list of characteristics I fill out, but really this is more for your use then reader use.  It helps you keep consistent on how a character looks or talks or acts.  Trust me, with a huge list of main and almost main characters, sometimes you forget what a character looks like or is dressed like.

4) Career.  As obvious as this may seem, sometimes it's a good ideas to just keep a note on this.  Elly, for example, is now a swordswoman, but originally she was a weaver.

5) Prejudices, best and worst qualities, and even weaknesses.  Krom, for example, has the weakness that he always tells the truth.  He is almost incapable of lying.   Sort of important when he is trying to be incognito.

6) Odd talents.  This is more a personality goody, but it does help you fill out a character and make them feel real.  Duncan is a good story teller and his friend Tres the mercenary is an excellent singer.

For those who roleplay and are GMing, this is also a good way to flush out your NPCs for use in your campaign.

Try this out.  Make it as complex or simple as you want, but have fun!

Happy writing.

Familiars for Mages

 If you notice in my story, Duncan doesn't have a familiar like most fantasy mages.  Most of my mages don't.  It's not so much an oversight, but a personal decision.  Familiars need to fit the personality of your mage and most of my mages, and wizards, just don't have the right temperament for a familiar.

For most of my mages I use their staves as their "familiar".  They require the staff for most of the more consuming magics that take great power, but can still cast without the staff.  The same can be said for mages who have familiars.

I'm not against familiars in my world, but here are a few things to think on before giving your PC a familiar if you are playing in my world setting.

1) If a player gains a familiar, make sure they pay attention to it.  My husband off the cuff said if I rolled a 20 on a D20 I could have a pseudodragon for my first ever familiar.  Guess what, I ended up with a pseudodragon.  But he made me pay attention to that little booger. I had to make sure it had gems, plenty of ale and good food, and was pampered.  I paid for that power in spades.

2) Make the familiar a "player character".  The guys I played with would randomly take turns playing my wonderful familiar.  I think I lost more money to my own familiar then I did to paying for my equipment.  The point is to keep the familiar fresh and upfront.  Plus, as a bonus, those players who are not in the scene or actively playing can have something to do.

3) Ask your player what kind of familiar they would like.  This is as personal as making the character and the player should have a say.  But don't let them get wild and crazy.  No dragons, no demigods, no all powerful beings.  If the player can explain a good reason for that werewolf, think about it, but just remember it could unbalance your campaign.

Happy gaming!

Thoughts on Writing

 As I get back into the groove of writing since I sent both my kiddos off to college this year, I have a few thoughts.  They may even be good thoughts.

1) Set a writing time.  I've mentioned this many times, but if you are in a life transition it becomes even more important.  You want to tell your self I will get to it later or I can skip this one time.  Don't skip your writing time if you can help.  Life happens, but even if you take 5 minutes to say to yourself, "okay, this is what I need to think on," it helps.

2) Keep copies of different versions.  This seems like a weird idea, but what if you don't like your rewrite?  What if the rework becomes corrupted?  Things like this happens.  I had the latest version of my 2nd book, (coming as soon as my college daughter cover artist finds two seconds to make me a cover), and I was going through it for any errors.  I found a sentence that was cut off and unfinished and I couldn't remember what it was supposed to say.  So back to an earlier version and there was my two sentences I some how had deleted!

3) Keep physical copies.  Why?  Hard drives blow, back ups disappear.  Yes, you'd have to retype the whole darn thing, but do you really want to write everything?

4) Have someone to bounce your ideas off of.  Writing in a vacuum doesn't always work.  You may think it's a great idea, but when  you try to explain it to someone else, sometimes it doesn't sound so great.

Happy Writing

Location Spotlight: The Soaring Dragon

 The Soaring Dragon, in Devonshire, is owned by Joseph Sandturn.  The building is three stories high, mostly stout wood, with clay tiled roof. There is a stables in the back large enough for several wagons and about 10 horses.  The inn also has it's own well and a small bath house. The sign is marked by a large, flying platinum dragon and "Soaring Dragon" carved beneath.

The first floor is the tavern, with the kitchen and Joseph's family living space in the back.  The second and third floors are for guests, with small rooms so Joseph can have many guests at once, each room sleeps about 2 or 3 people comfortably.  He has no common sleeping room, but will allow travelers to sleep in the tap room once the tavern is shut down for the night if they can't afford a room or he doesn't have room.

His wife and eldest daughter cook, his youngest sons run the stables.  His only son-in-law helps him run the tap room, now that he is getting a little older.

This is a moderately costing inn, with each room coming with a meal.  He has several bouncers who are friends he made in the militia and live near by.  They rarely have to do anything, since Joseph's clientele are mostly working men and merchants, and like Joseph's wife's food.  

The inn is situated closer to western gate, but is close enough to the eastern gate he still gets caravans coming in from the east.

Happy writing!

Location Spotlight: Duncan's Farm

Duncan's farm, which I believe I have discussed, is the center of a wonderful background for Duncan, not to mention a staging spot for the third book.

This lovely little farm, in the middle of farm country in Bloodhelm's protection, was Duncan's dream, or so he thought.  When he married his wife, though he was not the best builder, he built a large, two story farm house in the hopes he would have many children to spoil.  Of course he didn't, which should make the world so much sadder, but he would spoil his nieces and nephews, along with any child he came in contact with.

The farm also holds a large barn, which he rebuilt three times because of his uncontrolled fire magic.  Of course, at the time, he didn't know it was magic, but he realized it in time.

The size of the farm is about 100 acres, which is big for a farm on Martapa, but some of the land is forested, so when Duncan ran the farm he would thin and sell the lumber a few logs at a time.  His nephew, who took over the farm, continues the practice.

Though just mentioned in the first two books, it is the setting for the party returning together after their separation at the end of the second book.  Growing up around farmers and foresters I enjoy the happy feeling of the farm, even if it is only a side note compared to the main story.

Happy writing!

Character Spotlight: Joseph Sandturn

 Joseph Sandturn is the owner of the Soaring Dragon in Devonshire.  He is merely mentioned a few times in the first book, "The High King's Sword", but he is a vital cog in my story world.

The son of farmers he, like many young men, dreamed of adventure.  He joined the militia, then a mercenary group.  He spent five years fighting bandits, monsters and slavers.  After he saved enough money, he bought an inn in Devonshire so he could live without fear of losing his life.  He married, had five children, and life was good.

He kept in contact with his good friend, Amber, the daughter of Lee the Seer and their children would play with each other. Joseph considered Amber and her daughter, Margaret, part of the family and when they needed aid, he was more then happy to give it.  When Amber died of the winter sickness, Joseph continued to check in on Margaret and Lee.

This becomes vital when the Black Wizards come to take Devonshire.  When Margaret showed up on his doorstep that fateful day, he didn't think twice about taking her in and hiding her.  But he was a man of action and sitting and doing nothing was killing him, so he snuck out as many militia men as he could, along with their families.  He didn't realize the minotuars knew until later, but he was grateful to find out they were actually aiding him in his actions, even if he didn't know at the time.

Overall he is not a huge character, but he is a lich pin and moves my plot along.

Happy writing.

Character Spotlight: Kredoc Bloodhelm

 Kredoc Bloodhelm, father of Tarkil, was supposed to be a background character who just popped in every once in a while to make Tarkil's life complicated, but I found myself giving him a background, (even if not really in the stories), and beginning to like this clearly Lawful Neutral character (if you like to put it in roleplaying terms).

Kredoc is the head of House Bloodhelm's spies and assassins, making sure the House is informed and can take out any issues that may be incurred by the House. He is the second son of House Bloodhelm, Ikaris Bloodhelm being his older brother and the Leader of House Bloodhelm.  He never wanted to be the Knight in shining armor, he wanted to be the man behind the scenes, but he was pleased his two elder sons did want to become Knights.  He was also secretly pleased when Tarkil wanted to be a spy.

In his younger years Kredoc was a rogue. He and his butler, Jarvis, adventured across the country side, getting themselves in all sorts of trouble, making friends and enemies as they went.  When it became time to settle down and become the House spy, he became the serious gentleman he is today, though he and Jarvis always share secret smiles over remembered times. It is hard to see Kredoc smiling about anything with his incarnation in the stories.

He is hard on all his children, wanting the House to have the best protectors possible, but he sees too much of himself in Tarkil and worries his youngest will chaff against the path House Bloodhelm is going down.

Kredoc is a follower of Sircarius, though he keeps his worship more to himself then out in the open, since House members are supposed to follow the Gods of the Light or Neutrality. He doesn't love his wife, per say, but he does not wish her ill will, since a prearranged marriage was neither of their choices.  But as a House scion, it was expected.  They work well together and have raised three fine sons together, so Kredoc feels it was a good arrangement.

In the future, I hope that he becomes a more prominent part in short stories or even further plots for other novels.

Origin of Stories

 Everything has a beginning, from the birth of child to the birth of a story.  My story is no different.

My story started from a few of us getting together for some much needed D&D and me wanting to showcase the world I had so loving labored on for almost a decade and a half.  Here was this world flushed out with enough information to make a roleplaying supplement, (or several), and a bunch of us who needed an outlet since we were all stuck all over the country and kinda on our own.

We used the internet, before Discord or like applications where we could have done our roleplaying in real time, so I had to cobble together emails to make one coherent game "session".  It was difficult, to say the least, but as the months progressed I had reams of notes for a story idea.  I had to change some things, because you can't make 4 people follow a coherent story line to the "T", and add my own twists and turns that could not be used in a roleplaying session.  (If you have ever been a DM you know it's hard enough to get your players to go even close to what you want them to do!)

The more I worked on a story idea, the more I wanted to write the story, (which ended up being 4 novels).  Luckily my  husband, (my inspiration for Krom and Duncan), was all for such an endeavor.  We both knew it wasn't going to happen over night, since we had two kiddos and I was very involved in their activities, but he made sure I got the time to write, which I am eternally grateful for.

So how did your story start?  Was it a long hike? A drive in an unfamiliar place?  Something that happened in your life or in the city you live in/near?  Write that down, too!  Later, if you do get your story published and you have a following, your readers will want to know!

Happy Writing!

Write, Write, Write

 As the fair season winds down and the kiddos are ready to go to school, you might be thinking I need to get back to writing.  I agree!  Even if you never publish, the act of writing is not only relaxing but may help you maintain your brain function as you get older. (I'm a biologist, I worry about these things.)

So here are some ideas to do so, (which I may have mentioned before, so bare with me.):

1) Set aside a certain time a day just for you to write.  Make it like an appointment and put it on your calendar.  I live and die by our family calendar, so I make the 15 minutes after I check emails to be "writing time".  I wish I could say I get to it every day, but life is life.  Just try to make it work and it will keep you writing for the long haul.

2) Don't make yourself write on one story or story idea.  Bouncing might be a good idea.  If you hit a brick wall, (not that any of us have done this), banging your head won't help.  Walk away to another project and get the creative juices going again.  Who knows, you may find a better story idea that way.

3) Shut out the world.  I love my kiddos, but my college students are very talkative.  I have to tell them it's mom's writing time and tune out the world.  It may not be much time, but it's mine.

4) To go along with this, shut off your phone.  I swear my mother knows it's my writing time and calls.  So I just turn the phone off for 15 minutes and then call her back later.

The take away is just keep writing!  Something good may come of it!

The Joys of Life

For many years I've talked about my world, my books and my hopes to publish them.  Sometimes I felt like I was just blowing hot air, other days I thought I would never achieve my goal.  But now I have done it!

This week I self-published my first book on Amazon!  Yeah, I know, probably won't be a New York best seller, but, hey, I did it!

So here are a few things I learned in the process of doing this.

1) Picture art.  They recommend 300dpi for the cover.  My daughter... I mean my cover artist, (she got paid in shopping trips and mom's eternal love), used a lower dpi when she drew it on her computer and so we had a little problem there.  Nothing that can't be worked through, but just bare that in mind.

2) Also, make sure the picture is in the right format, not PDF and orientated the right direction.  She drew it rotated to the right 90 degrees and even when we flipped it in the cover creator, we had issues with it staying where it should be orientation wise.  So save in the right format and orientation to begin with.

3)Use the templates that KDP offers for your actual manuscript.  Luckily, the nice writing teachers I had through our local community college got us set on the right direction there.  Now, that doesn't mean there won't be format issues. I had about 10 pages I had to go in and manually fix before KDP set up would let me proceed.

4) When you set up the financial information, use a checking/saving account that isn't important, just in case.  We had to start an account for a heat pump loan with a credit union so we put the minimum amount in and just let it sit.  Now I'm using it for the spot to send any money I make on Amazon, (haha).  The reason to do this is so if there is some breach of information at Amazon, you don't lose all your money in a major account.

There you have it.  I'm published.  I hope that everyone who dreams of writing a book can and does.  If you are interested in seeing my book, (which I hope you enjoy), it is at Amazon under "The High King's Sword".  

Happy writing and good luck!

Organizing Your Thoughts

 I have a great idea for a story and my characters need to slay the bad guy, come from humble beginnings and face all sorts of adversities.  

Well, that is a good start, but you need to lay out an idea of where to start, your characters, and how your characters are supposed to get to the end and what they have to overcome to reach their goal.

My suggestion is to take this in steps.

Step One: Discover both your protagonists and antagonists. I've read many books where the main character is well flushed out, but the bad guys are just flat.  It makes it hard to get excited about the story if you know the bad guys are just going to basically role over or be the stereotypical bad guy.  Put some time and thought into ALL your characters, (maybe even some side characters) before you go very far.  At the very least, this process may help you with your outline.

Step Two:  Make a basic outline.  Characters start here---This is their adventure---This is their adversities---This is how the over come and win.  Simple at this stage is better.

Step Three: Flush out your outline.  This is where you do those pesky outlines your High School English teacher always liked you to do.  Do the major points, with some sub-headings and ideas.  Then I would suggest going back and typing in more detailed ideas.  So, for example:

1.     Tarkil meets the other members of the party.
1. Tarkil comes back from a ride with his "friends" then wants to go to a bar to relax for the night.
2. Krom meets Guthlaf on the ship to Bloodhelm, then they go to a bar to find housing for the night.
3. Kenna escapes Five Roads and makes her way to Bloodhelm, finding Duncan on the way, and they end up the inn of Duncan's friend.
4. Elly finds herself in Bloodhelm and finds an inn to stay for the night.

From there, you can add in notes below each subheading, such as Tarkil is looking for a tumble, or Duncan's wagon is stuck on the side of the road.

Step Four: Write.  At this point, you should have a good enough outline to get moving.  And don't be afraid to change your outline.  It's just a guide and never set in stone.  Maybe you write something that says "hey, the party needs to do this instead of that".  It is more then fine.  It's your story and you want it to be the best.

And this works for roleplaying campaigns, as well.  People love to think you have taken a lot of time and effort to make things fun for them.  And just like your outline for a story, sometimes things go sideways.  Just go with it!

Happy Writing!

Borrowing From the World

 As a writer, there are many ideas that influence how you write.  From the way you grow up, to where you live, even the culture you are from.  It's unavoidable that your personal experiences would influence your writing style and the content of your story.  I mean, my father came from Oklahoma, where apparently they eat onions like apples, (I always thought my father was weird, but you have to love them, right?).  How you see the world will really depend on your life experiences.  Here are a few elements to take into consideration when you are writing.

1) You know you.  Don't be ashamed of who you are or where you come from.  The idea that an inner city person is going to perceive the world way different then me, a forest raised far from civilization person, is not unreasonable.  It's what makes all of us unique.  Its fun to see other people's perspectives.  Just bare his in mind, though, when you are writing.  Not all people in your audience are going to understand mass transit or crowded cities, nor are all people going to understand Forest Service roads and large tree stands.  Take a little time to explain such things, but not overtly.  Yes, you are explaining the obvious to you, but others may not see the obvious as well.

2) Don't be afraid to use ideas of the past.  In my stories I use the Roman Empire as a background for my Empire of Ariella.  The military, the leadership structure, even some of their beliefs on how things should be run.  It's not being lazy in your writing, it's incorporating ideas from our world. It is who we are and there is nothing wrong with blending it in to your stories.

3) Research what you don't know.  Like in the first idea, I really have no idea how mass transit works. (I grew up in the woods, mass transit was when the moms caravanned to town to do the monthly shopping, not buses and trollies.)  If I were going to use that in my story I would have need to look into how that works, like bus lines, times, routes, the whole nine yards.  Don't be afraid to admit you don't know.  If you don't know what a good tree for a forest would be in a certain climate, Google it.  Ask a friend.  Read a book.  In this day and age, the information is always at your finger tips!

Happy Writing

The Importance of Characters

 This should be a no brainer for a writer, but even though a solid plot is vital, characters that are loveable, or ones you just want to hate, are essential.  If you can't empathize with the characters, you won't enjoy even the best laid out plot.

I'd like to think I worked hard on my plots, but I think I've worked even harder on my characters, with a little help from those around me.  I have my main characters which I spend a lot of time molding and shaping, but I also make sure my side characters are just as well thought out.  Here is an example.

One side character I spend quite a bit of time on is Targon.  Yes, he's a god, but he's essential to the plot, even if he isn't a main character.  I make him humorous and almost "human" like to make the reader sympathize with him as he tries to save the world he loves through his rag-tag group of adventures.  He breaks rules, he manipulates his fellow gods and mortals alike, and he never apologizes for what he has to do.  I make sure he is embarrassed, helpful and God-like all in one breath, so a reader just can't forget him as they go about reading my story. 

These thoughts also work for NPCs in a campaign someone might be running.  Your players will enjoy the session much more if that barkeep who gives them a great nugget of information also tells a good story or listens to their worries.

My point is as a writer you can strengthen even the best plot, or prop up a small plot hole, with well thought out characters.  Take the time to make your characters memorable.  It will be worth it in the end.

Happy Writing!

My World of Martapa

 So lets talk about my world.

My world consists of two major continents and two major island groups.  At least at the moment.  There is some unexplored areas I could always use later if I have need to expand my universe. To give you a rough idea of what they are like lets start with Taina.

Taina is the northern continent and could be roughly equated to North America.  The west side of the continent is forest/farm land not unlike the west coast, (cough, cough, because that is what I know best), and the east would be more like the mid-west, with a little bit of coastal life on the east coast.  The northern part has harsh winters, the coasts are pretty mild, the interior of the west is fairly temperate and the east is hot and dry during the summer and cold and harsh during the winter.

Ariella is the southern continent could be equated to the African continent, with belts of lush growth and areas of arid deserts, with huge mountain ranges that seem to pop out of no where.

The Dwarven Islands could be best equated to Britain and Ireland, with highlands, bogs, and harsh landscapes.  This is a population which relies on fishing and herding of sheep and goats to feed the population, versus a lot of plant farming.

My last area is the Islands of Janesh.  I would picture these like Japan.  They have some gorgeous landscapes, but it is hard to eek out a living here, as well.  In the time of my stories, this is mostly destroyed and the remains yet to be discovered.

Happy writing!

The Idea Seed

 When writing up your companion book, have a small section in there for why and how your book/book series came into being.  It could be as simple as, "I like the feel of the world I made," to as complicated as, "I worked on this idea for years."

For me, it was very personal.  I'd been working on this world since college.  It helped this homesick, very introverted girl focus on the good stuff that was happening in my life.  I could spin things in a good light when the day was looking bad, such as I just bombed some test, or it could give me a creative outlet when the troop of boys I hung with were off doing "boy things".  It was great for me.

Over the years I dabbled with my story, but work, kids, and married life kinda got in the way.  Then my dad got sick.  He had beat colon cancer a few years prior, actually the year before my husband and I got married, and was doing well, but then it came back with a vengeance.  It hit his major organs and he was on dialysis. But he was cheerful.  He showed the family his best side, even as we knew he was in pain. One day were were talking and he asked about my writing.  I told him I was still dabbling at it and then he said something that still makes me tear up.

"Well, finish it up.  I want to see it next to my Tolkien books, pronto."  

Not only was he telling me he thought I could do it, but he was putting me on the same shelf of his all time favorite author.  What an honor.

So on those days I think I can't finish, that I will never have my book published, I think of my dad.  I can't let him down, so I will plunge ahead and finish my book, if for no other reason then to keep my promise to my dad!

Keep on writing!

The Writing Bug

 I'm finding as my kids go three different ways to Sunday and I become my mother and mother-in-laws intermittent care takers, and throw in a family farm, writing doesn't get done as much as I'd like.  But starting this week I plan on making sure my "butt is in chair" at least for 15 minutes a day.  What, you say, just 15 minutes?  Well, here is the thing.  I say 15 minutes, but it could be longer.  The 15 minutes is a start, it's a carved out time for ME.  I say, "go away world", and give me 15 minutes.  I hope that I will be able to write longer, but I will take what I can get at the beginning.

My point for bringing up my struggles is to give you hope.  You, too, can try this method and find some writing time for yourself.  That is the biggest issue with all would be writers.  You make excuses, "It's a hobby" or "I'll do it later when things slow down".   But things never slow down.  I know retirees that are busier then me!  If you truly want to let your writing bug do it's magic, just do it.  Give yourself that time, give your creativity an outlet!  Be you and express yourself!

Happy Writing!

A Different Way to Spread the Word

 Hopefully you have thought about your author page, but there are other ways to spread the word about your book.  Some people like Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook, etc.  Other ways are a Blog or a Website.  I'm going to focus on the latter two.

The Website and Blog allows you to expand and show off your world, (take my blog for example).  You can give all sorts of information about your books, where to get them, your world, even about yourself.  Here are some things you might think about putting on the pages of your website or blog.

1) Your book titles!  I'd post cover art and titles, once you have them for sale, so it's easy for a reader to find them. And don't forget to post where to find them!

2) A little bit about yourself.  People like to know about the people they are reading about.  I'd stay away from politics and sensitive subjects, but you can talk about your hobbies, why you like the genre you are writing in, even where you live, if you don't mind sharing.

3) Talk about your world/setting.  For some people, the world will be here and now, but there might be twists, so don't think you shouldn't talk about your setting even if it is set in the here and now!

4) Pictures, maps, and concepts.  Maybe you like to doodle and you have maps or character sketches. Maybe you can do graphic art on the computer. Here is the place to share them!

5) Links to your favorite authors and movies.  This gives the reader an even better idea of where you are coming from or maybe they will appreciate some new reads that you like!

Happy writing!