Author: Michell

Short stories are not something I feel especially qualified to write these days.  There have been lots of story ideas jotted down, but only one written. It’s time to change that. I’ve been giving some thought to how I can get around the short story ‘block’ I’ve developed for myself.  I had planned to write several over Christmas holidays, but, as it worked out, I wrote exactly 0 new words. You might wonder why I’d be concerned about short stories.  Books are the way to go… aren’t they?  Ultimately, I’d say that I DO want to spend the majority of my time with novel-length works, but I also know that many of the story ideas I get shouldn’t be stretched that far.  […]

Some weeks a topic has jumped up screaming “Pick me, pick me!”.  Those are the weeks that I can write a post in very short order.  Then there are times like now when I have several ideas to write about, except none of them really reach out and grab me. I think I’d rather have one idea that excites me than several that say “Meh”.  It just goes to show that a wealth of ideas is not always all that it’s cracked up to be. This week has been an interesting one.  I’ve had some highs, some lows and several new story project ideas that I know will turn out well.  And, I’ve got some ideas that actually scare the heck […]

I’ve been thinking about the challenges of getting people to read and more importantly buy your book when it finally gets published.  It has been getting more and more obvious to me that it’s never too soon to develop an audience, not to mention build that network of contacts, before your book comes out. Let’s explore that thought for a moment, shall we? I’ve been told about the challenges of having a book accepted by a publisher.  There’s the contract negotiation, the back and forth editing, promotion, etc.  A lot of work goes on behind the scenes (so I’m told… no experience with that aspect yet) before the book ever hits the shelves.  And when it hits the shelves, then what? […]

Let me just begin by saying, “Holy Crap it’s cold out there!”  For those of you who haven’t been watching the news, or hail from a more balmy climate, it has been -40 degrees (celcius or farenheit, it just doesn’t matter) or colder for the past several days (that is with windchill, but still).  I, for one, haven’t felt overly anxious to do any outdoor activities. On another note, I learned something about myself this week.  It was another of those “well Duh!” moments I mentioned not so long ago.  Let me begin with a little background. I have talked about my ability to procrastinate; I could probably win an award for it if one existed.  I’m also a bit […]