I used to think that writing was a solitary activity; hours upon hours of working alone, complexion becoming pale from the lack of direct sunlight. I’m sure that is true of some writers, It was my life for the longest time too. Then something changed. I discovered the value of community. It all began with a blog site called “StartingWriteNow” where I shared my thoughts on writing with four other friends, then moved to NaNoWriMo and the late night write-ins. I found others who loved to write as much as I did. I was able to bounce ideas off friends who also were writers and readers. I became part of something much larger than myself and it was good indeed. […]
Read moreCategory: Irreverent Muse
Variety is the Spice of Life
A little while ago I posed the question: should I focus on a single series or write a number of different things. I received several responses to my question, all of which I appreciated. The general consensus was that I shouldn’t limit myself, but write a number of different things. By doing so I stretch my writing muscles and I give myself the best chance to appeal to a larger group of people. While I was considering the question myself I also came to the conclusion that not only should I write in multiple genres, but I should write many different things beyond that. For example, I write this post every week which allows me to express myself in one […]
Read moreSocial Media for Fun… and Maybe Profit
I have a confession to make: I love Twitter. I love all the cool people I meet on Twitter and I especially love interacting with them. I love it so much, in fact, that it sometimes cuts into my word count. But does that make it a timesink? I say no and I say that because one of the important activities for a writer (in my opinion, of course) is to connect with people. You never know who you’re going to meet online and ultimately your success as a writer is dependent on the books you sell. To sell more books you need people to know about them. To get people to know about them you need something that makes people aware […]
Read moreWhat to Write, What to Write?
I’ve been thinking a lot about my writing the past few days. Not thinking about it in terms of “Why am I bothering” or anything like that. More about “Am I going in too many different directions?” To give you some idea of what I’m talking about, I have written six books with one underway. One is an adult, traditional fantasy, one is a YA mystery adventure (coming out soon), one is a science fiction comedy and three are YA superhero (same series). Now I’m working on a collaboration project that is a YA steampunk superhero mashup (with JR Murdock). If you were counting, that is five different storylines/series. Granted, the traditional fantasy may never see the light of day, […]
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