Oops. Don't you hate it when you think you have a few more days than you actually have :)
For some reason, when I wrote last Sunday's post I thought there was still a full seven days left for round 1 of ROW80. Of course, thinking about it that doesn't make sense, since then it would be 84 days (12 x 7), and not 80 days.
Never mind. I made good progress for my weekly goal of finishing off the short story. I still have a couple of thousand words left (I've got to throw out one scene now
Friday, March 25, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Hard Deadlines
One of the killers for any sort of project that you do in your own time is the lack of a deadline. If there is no time limit for when something has to be done, you're relying on yourself to get it done in a reasonable time.
For some people this isn't a problem. They're self-disciplined enough to get the work done in a reasonable time. But for the rest of us, we're not so lucky :)
Challenges like Round of Words in 80 Days (ROW80) are fantastic for helping to set goals with a time limit.
For some people this isn't a problem. They're self-disciplined enough to get the work done in a reasonable time. But for the rest of us, we're not so lucky :)
Challenges like Round of Words in 80 Days (ROW80) are fantastic for helping to set goals with a time limit.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Aliens vs Ninja (in a fun way)
One of the things I enjoy about meeting and interacting with other authors, is occassionally getting to beta read upcoming work. That was the case for Keith C. Blackmore's latest novella, The Bear That Fell From The Stars. I first read this back in January, and I've been itching for it to come out.
I honestly loved reading this story. I have a strong interest in medieval Japan (I'd never write something set there, because I know I'd get the minor details wrong, but I love reading about the
I honestly loved reading this story. I have a strong interest in medieval Japan (I'd never write something set there, because I know I'd get the minor details wrong, but I love reading about the
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Sample: The Outsider
For this weeks sample, I've decided to post the first scene of The Outsider. I wanted to paint details of the setting in broad strokes, and introduce Jacob as a man who knows he is risking a lot by helping the dying stranger who has turned up at the gates. I hope you enjoy.
The Outsider
Jacob blinked the sweat from his eyes. The harsh afternoon sun burned, even in the relative shade of the watchtower, and he longed for the end of his shift to arrive so he could get down from the
The Outsider
Jacob blinked the sweat from his eyes. The harsh afternoon sun burned, even in the relative shade of the watchtower, and he longed for the end of his shift to arrive so he could get down from the
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Focusing Your Writing Time
It's somewhat ironic that the day after I post I'm going to make this blog more reader-orientated, I make a post that is writer-orientated. But I've been trying out a new (free) program the past few days, and found it to be fantastic for helping me write.
The software is called Focus Booster. I found out about it when Amanda Hocking mentioned it on her blog (who in turn found out about it from Zoe Winters).
What does it do? Basically it puts a little timer on your screen (you can move it
The software is called Focus Booster. I found out about it when Amanda Hocking mentioned it on her blog (who in turn found out about it from Zoe Winters).
What does it do? Basically it puts a little timer on your screen (you can move it
Monday, March 14, 2011
A Question of Purpose
I haven't been blogging much thepast month or so, and the main reason boils down to the title of this post. What is the purpose of this blog?
When it comes right down to it, I want this blog to be a way for me to interact with my readers (admittedly that's only a handful of people right now, but I hope that will slowly change in the future :) ). To have a place to be me, and hopefully show that there is a person "behind the book". But for a while, I had lost sight of this.
Instead, I had
When it comes right down to it, I want this blog to be a way for me to interact with my readers (admittedly that's only a handful of people right now, but I hope that will slowly change in the future :) ). To have a place to be me, and hopefully show that there is a person "behind the book". But for a while, I had lost sight of this.
Instead, I had
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Sampler: Scull (The Vampire Drabbles)
Another sample drabble from The Vampire Drabbles. One of the things I like about drabbles (and writing in general) is playing with expectations; taking the normal, and making it abnormal. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. Hopefully this one does :)
Scull
“Scull, scull, scull, scull, scull.” The crowd chanted loudly, cheering as Steve finished. Steve shared a round of high-fives with everyone around him.
“Not bad, not bad,” yelled Bob over the crowd’s noise, slapping
Scull
“Scull, scull, scull, scull, scull.” The crowd chanted loudly, cheering as Steve finished. Steve shared a round of high-fives with everyone around him.
“Not bad, not bad,” yelled Bob over the crowd’s noise, slapping
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
"The Outsider" (post-apocalypse short story) is now available
My short story, The Outsider, is finally available on Amazon (and coming soon to Smashwords, and everywhere that Smashwords distribute to).
The Outsider is the first story in a series I've called "Atomic Wasteland Tales". It's a post-apocalyptic setting, many decades after a nuclear war that wiped out the majority of the world's population. The stories (at least initially) aren't linked in an overarching sequence, but there will be recurring characters and places appearing through
The Outsider is the first story in a series I've called "Atomic Wasteland Tales". It's a post-apocalyptic setting, many decades after a nuclear war that wiped out the majority of the world's population. The stories (at least initially) aren't linked in an overarching sequence, but there will be recurring characters and places appearing through
Sunday, February 27, 2011
#ROW80 Week 8 - Sigh
After having a good week last week by crossing off one goal from the list, this week was a bit of a disappointment. Since we're starting to get near the end of this round of ROW80, I"m beginning to get a little concerned.
Write one drabble a day – I only ended up writing three. I have been playing with the idea for the next collection of having 5-6 linked drabbles that fit together to form a narrative arc (the cause, and possible end, of the zombie apocalypse), in addition to the other
Write one drabble a day – I only ended up writing three. I have been playing with the idea for the next collection of having 5-6 linked drabbles that fit together to form a narrative arc (the cause, and possible end, of the zombie apocalypse), in addition to the other
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Author Interview: Michael Crane
Today's interview is very important to me. I reviewed Michael's book, Lessons and Other Morbid Drabbles, back in December. His book was the reason I started playing around writing drabbles, which eventually led me to write The Vampire Drabbles. So I was extremely happy when he agreed to my request for an interview.
Michael is slightly unusual compared to most authors, because he focuses his writing on short stories. He speaks a little about why in this interview. I hope you enjoy it.
JGA:
Michael is slightly unusual compared to most authors, because he focuses his writing on short stories. He speaks a little about why in this interview. I hope you enjoy it.
JGA:
Monday, February 21, 2011
I've Been Interviewed
Keith C. Blackmore has just interviewed me over on his website. It's my first interview, so I'm somewhat excited :) Hopefully I didn't make too much of a fool of myself!
And while it's not as exciting as an interview, The Vampire Drabbles have just been listed on the Excuse Me, Miss list of 99 cent
And while it's not as exciting as an interview, The Vampire Drabbles have just been listed on the Excuse Me, Miss list of 99 cent
Sunday, February 20, 2011
#ROW80 Week 7 - One Goal Crossed Off
I'm very happy with week 7 for ROW - I can finally cross one goal off as being totally completed! :) Of course, to balance that out I didn't do too well at one of my important goals for the week, but I'll give myself a pass anyway ;)
Write one drabble a day – Done! Many zombie short stories are starting to fill my Scrivener project for this collection. I've been hitting pretty close to the 100-word count this past week, usually only needing to delete a few words. I'm not entirely sure if
Write one drabble a day – Done! Many zombie short stories are starting to fill my Scrivener project for this collection. I've been hitting pretty close to the 100-word count this past week, usually only needing to delete a few words. I'm not entirely sure if
Sunday, February 13, 2011
#ROW80 Week 6 - Even More Editing
So, week six has now been and gone. Wow. Not too bad for this week really.
Write one drabble a day – I didn't quite make this goal for the week, writing only five drabbles in the end. But I did manage to write my first drabble that was exactly 100 words when I'd finished my first draft of it - no editing required! Of course, I'll probably edit it later on, but that's beside the point :)
One ~5k short story a month – After two false starts for a paranormal mystery that just wasn't
Write one drabble a day – I didn't quite make this goal for the week, writing only five drabbles in the end. But I did manage to write my first drabble that was exactly 100 words when I'd finished my first draft of it - no editing required! Of course, I'll probably edit it later on, but that's beside the point :)
One ~5k short story a month – After two false starts for a paranormal mystery that just wasn't
Monday, February 07, 2011
#ROW80 Week 5 - Edit, Edit, Edit!
The title of the post pretty much sums up this week - it's been a week of editing and re-writing. Overall the editing has been very successful, although I will be changing my goals again as a result.
From the start I've had a goal to work on my current WiP (On Ice) at the same time as I edit my first novel (Gears of Wonderland) and write a short story. I don't think I can effectively do all three at the moment, since Gears needs ~10k new words as well as the usual fixing of mistakes. So for
From the start I've had a goal to work on my current WiP (On Ice) at the same time as I edit my first novel (Gears of Wonderland) and write a short story. I don't think I can effectively do all three at the moment, since Gears needs ~10k new words as well as the usual fixing of mistakes. So for
Tuesday, February 01, 2011
Book Review: Lessons II by Michael Crane
NOTE: I do not accept books for review. Reviews posted here are only for indie books that I have bought, and enjoyed enough to tell others about them. No, I don't post reviews for books I would rate less than 3.5 stars.
I reviewed Michael's first book of drabbles, Lessons and Other Morbid Drabbles, back in December. I became interested in writing drabbles (stories exactly 100 words long) after reading his book, and got so attached to them I'll be publishing my own collection
I reviewed Michael's first book of drabbles, Lessons and Other Morbid Drabbles, back in December. I became interested in writing drabbles (stories exactly 100 words long) after reading his book, and got so attached to them I'll be publishing my own collection
Monday, January 31, 2011
Amanda Hocking - Over Half a Million Books Sold!
No, seriously. She has just posted about it over here on her blog.
I'm sure that there will be people who claim she is lying. I'm sure there will be people who start trying to knock her down, because she's being "too successful" (there are always sad individuals who can't be happy about someone else being successful). But in every interaction I've seen Amanda involved with she has always been a pleasant, classy person. She deserves every success she has had so far, and I wish her all the
I'm sure that there will be people who claim she is lying. I'm sure there will be people who start trying to knock her down, because she's being "too successful" (there are always sad individuals who can't be happy about someone else being successful). But in every interaction I've seen Amanda involved with she has always been a pleasant, classy person. She deserves every success she has had so far, and I wish her all the
Sunday, January 30, 2011
#ROW80 Week 4 - Six of one, half a dozen of the other
So, this is the end of week 4. It's hard to believe that it's been four weeks since the whole process started.
This week has been mostly positive. So without further ado:
Write 2,500+ words on my WIP – Not done - I stopped writing this week and deliberately spent most of the time working on a precise outline, figuring out every scene I was going to have between where I currently am and the end of the book. I restarted writing today, and already things seem a bit easier. I'm going to
This week has been mostly positive. So without further ado:
Write 2,500+ words on my WIP – Not done - I stopped writing this week and deliberately spent most of the time working on a precise outline, figuring out every scene I was going to have between where I currently am and the end of the book. I restarted writing today, and already things seem a bit easier. I'm going to
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Guest Post: Excuses Excuses Excuses
Today's guest post is from Tammie Clarke Gibbs. Tammie is the author of the time travel romance novel Island of Secrets. Her article talks about a problem every beginning author faces - the ease of finding excuses for why we aren't achieving what we want to achieve. I'll let Tammie describe what she means herself.
I believe that sometimes we (authors) are our own worst enemies.
To become a specialist in any occupation a certain amount of time, effort and investment is expected. Yet, as
I believe that sometimes we (authors) are our own worst enemies.
To become a specialist in any occupation a certain amount of time, effort and investment is expected. Yet, as
Thursday, January 27, 2011
What We Are Creating
Over on the Superstars Writing Seminar web site, there is an extremely moving audio from Tracy Hickman about what we are doing as authors when we write our stories. I urge you to listen to it (it's around 10 minutes
Monday, January 24, 2011
#ROW80 Week 3 - Altering Course
Another week gone, in what seems like the blink of an eye! This week was an interesting one for me. I had been on holidays the last few weeks, but alas it was back to work this week. It wasn't something that I'd really thought about too much when setting my ROW80 goals (since I had finished NaNoWriMo fine while working), but it's been pretty obvious this week that with everything I want to achieve, I'm going to need to make a change to one of the goals!
Not surprisingly, the goal I'm going
Not surprisingly, the goal I'm going
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