The seventh chapter of Something Familiar is now available here (along with chapters one through six) for those who need a try before you buy option.
If you read any of the teasers and want to find out more, Something Familiar is available in a variety of formats and from many retailers. You can also check with your favorite bookseller or online store, as it is available outside the US as well.
For those who’ve already bought it, thank you for your support.
I hit 5000 words on It Sounds Familiar, the sequel to Something Familiar this morning. I’m roughly a tenth of the way through this draft!
This won’t be a big word-count day, as I have to prepare a nice ghost story for tonight’s writers’ group meeting. But tomorrow is a writing day, and I got the Dragon up and working after Monday’s tech SNAFU.
Loving my words today!
Here are some resources for building your fabulous worlds, both in constructing things like maps and in developing a world that feels rich and real.
Don’t forget that building your world includes both the physical aspects of the world (where it is in its solar system, how much water compared to land, active plate tectonics, etc) as well as the cultures of the people who inhabit the world. Culture doesn’t form in a vacuum; it is influenced by the space, the weather, the circumstances.
Fractal World Generator square map output
Continue reading Worldbuilding ResourcesThe rumbling of my stomach woke me. I rubbed it, hoping it would stop, then rolled over to glance at the clock. Fuck. Two am? Seriously? I burrowed back under my blankets, but it was no use. There was no going back to sleep without a snack.
As I padded to the kitchen I remembered that because I’d picked up an extra shift, I hadn’t actually been to the grocery store. I was out of nearly everything. I could make up some plain pasta with butter and salt, though that had been dinner. Or maybe heat up a can of green beans. Yeah. That wasn’t happening. I went back to my room for a sweatshirt, and pulled my hair into a messy tail on the back of my head. As a whim, I decided my nightgown was perhaps a bit too risqué to be traipsing around in on State Street, so I yanked on a pair of long yoga shorts. They were supposed to be capris but my ungodly long legs made them knickers. Perfect. I looked like a crazy disaster, which meant no one would bother me.
Continue reading Speed Writing #11 – 2 AM SnackMy series A Peek Into the Indie Writer World is going to come out in ten parts, finishing up with a Q&A.
If you’re a writer who has questions you’d like us to look at, please drop them in the comments or send me a message.
If you’re an indie writer who wants to help field any of these questions, please drop me a note at s.n.arly1@gmail.com, so we can connect. Since the indie experience is not one-size-fits-all, I think it would be great to have some other perspectives.
Brain: Hey, let’s do this prompt.
Me: Really? I’m not sure what to do with this.
Brain: No worries. I’ve got some ideas. Here, see?
Me: Huh. Yeah. That could be interesting.
Brain: And you know, since you’re on vacation and you finished your speed writing, how about we skip the timer.
Me (not sensing the trap): Sounds good. Writing to a prompt is enough of a challenge.
Me: Uh… This is getting kinda long.
Brain: But look at that nice smut.
Me: It is nice. Well I see a good spot to wrap up.
Brain: I suppose we could wrap up there, or…
Me: Or?
Brain: Round two!
Me: Ugh. This has no plot.
Brain: Sure it does.
Me (sternly): Orgasms aren’t plot.
Brain: Says you.
Check out all the Writer Brain shenanigans in reverse chronological order here.
If you’re invested in reading books or if you participate in the convention circuit, you may have heard the term “indie writer” gaining popularity. What is an indie writer?
The traditional publishing model generally follows these steps:
An independent, or indie, writer has decided not to follow the traditional model of publishing. They do the writing, editing, cover selection, publishing, distribution, and marketing themselves. Since it’s critical to have a professional end product, indie writers need to be honest with themselves about what they’re really capable of. It’s a good plan to hire out the parts of this process they don’t have the training or skill set to truly accomplish. Many indie writers hire out the cover art or the book’s layout and design elements.
Print on demand (POD) technology has drastically changed the publishing landscape, evening the playing field for writers who want a different path. I’ll cover more on how POD and various printing and distribution companies work in the writer’s favor in a future piece in this series.
Check out Part II of this series.
For more articles on writing, check out my Reflections From the Sol section.
The sixth chapter of Something Familiar is now available here (along with chapters one through five) for those who need a try before you buy option.
If you read any of the teasers and want to find out more, Something Familiar is available in a variety of formats and from many retailers. You can also check with your favorite bookseller or online store, as it is available outside the US as well.
For those who’ve already bought it, thank you for your support.
The fifth chapter of Something Familiar is now available on Curious Fictions (along with chapters one through four) for those who need a try before you buy option.
If you read any of the teasers and want to find out more, Something Familiar is available in a variety of formats and from many retailers. You can also check with your favorite bookseller or online store, as it is available outside the US as well.
For those who’ve already bought it, thank you for your support.
I spent the last few days without internet or phone service, with nothing to do but play in the water with my family, read (on the bench swing or while sitting on a chair plopped in two feet of water), write, and think. While it was a little frustrating to not drop into my usual habits of spending time online, it was super productive and helped me develop my career plan for the next twelve months.
As both a freelancer and an indie writer, I need to be responsible for driving both of my careers. Neither will progress without my direct action. Having a plan is really helpful for focusing my efforts in a useful direction. Without a plan, most careers merely tread water and many eventually flounder. This doesn’t necessarily need to be a formal structured business plan, but it definitely needs to be more defined than “write some stuff and get published” or “get new clients.” How much detail you include really depends on what your career needs at this moment, and what works best for you. We aren’t all wired the same. I’m goal-oriented and very fond of lists, so my plan is a table with lists of the activities or goals I need to complete each month; freelancing is in one column and fiction writing is in the other.
While preparing for and attending Diversicon back in July, I did some research on gaining traction and becoming successful as an indie writer. My primary focus in this regard is stepping up my game. I used to be very disciplined about my writing goals, but that fell away when I was burned out from a crappy work environment. The chaos of going through a career change prevented me from establishing a routine. I’ve been working on returning to my old level of discipline with original world and fanfic challenges. My work life has stabilized and my kids go back to school in September, so I’m ready and excited to step up my fiction writing.
In the next few weeks I’ll be plotting out the two sequels I have planned for Something Familiar. I’ll also be picking up regular writing sprints to get the creativity flowing and generate some stories that I can ideally share here and on Curious Fictions. When the kids return to school, I’ll be focusing on writing the first one with a fast track plan for publication before the end of the year. It’s well within my abilities, and I’m eager to make this happen.
Buckle up; we’re going for a ride!
S.N.Arly 