The Process

Last week, I was leading a small writing group, and our prompt was “once upon a time.” Fifteen minutes later, my page was full and I had to remind myself that they were supposed to be doing the writing.

Anyway, I ended up with about 150 words of a very basic short story. I thought it would be fun to share my process as I shape this rough draft into a finished story that I can submit. I don’t know if I’ll go all the way to the final draft, as some publishers would consider it a reprint. We’ll see.

For now, let’s get started with the original paragraphs from the prompt.

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“Once Upon a Time…”

Once upon a time, there was a dragon who lived on top of a mountain. She was very old and wise, but she was lonely. Sometimes people would come to her lair and try to steal from her hoard. The dragon didn’t mind. She just trapped them for a while, so she would have someone to talk to. She asked them for news of the goings-on in the valleys below. If they told her their problems, she gave them good advice. Then she would let them go back to their homes.

After a while, the people stopped coming up the mountain to try and steal. They just came to talk to the dragon. She told them tales from long ago, and she still gave them good advice. Even kings and queens might come. Soon, the dragon wasn’t lonely any more.

Pretty simple, right? I like the way it gives the dragon a problem that people might not expect, and uses some of the typical dragon lore in a fun way. It needs to be fleshed out with rich details and description, though. Next time I’ll share my first real draft.

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Behold, a Snippet!

A snippet from Prisoners of the Wailing Tower

Today I’m just sharing a snippet from my forthcoming novella, Prisoners of the Wailing Tower. It’s the fifth in my Minstrels of Skaythe series.

Hope you like it!

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Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my web site, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

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Next Novella

I’ve started work on the next Minstrels of Skaythe novella, which is tentatively called The Fall of Dar-Gothull. Honestly, I’m not sure about that title. It might give away too much. “Gosh, what do you think will happen by the end?”

Anyway, there isn’t much to report as yet. It’s mostly exploratory work right now.

The whole premise of Minstrels of Skaythe is that this group of renegades (so called because they reject the cruelty of Dar-Gothull’s oppressive regine) had to split up and each one used their own strategy to find safety as they could. To get going on the finale, I have to figure out where these characters were at the end of their novellas, who their allies were, and then basically claw back what they thought they had achieved.

Fun!

The other thing I need to get a handle on is who the viewpoint characters should be. After five novellas, there are a LOT of characters. It would be great if all of them could return, and we see what they’ve been up to in the several months since their last part of the story. Repeat appearances are one of the great things about a series.

At the same time, I don’t want to repeat exactly the same POVs. Those who told the story before have had their arcs and their growth. The readers already know them (I hope?). With this volume, the telling needs to continue through new eyes. These characters may previously have appeared, but they have their own growing to do.

For this while, maybe until the end of 2021, I’m going to be hopping around and exploring all the avenues. I’ll probably also do a total re-read, as well, to avoid inadvertently skipping important details. Ultimately, I’ll keep what I can use, store the rest (I never dump work if I might need it later) and start my somewhat vague process of plotting and writing the actual next novella.

Onward!

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Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my web site, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

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Bad Moon Rising 2021

It’s my day on Bad Moon Rising, where I’m talking about my second Minstrels of Skaythe novella, Dancer in the Grove of Ghosts. I hope you’ll wander by and check us out. Here’s the link!

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Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my web site, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

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The Fun Begins, Part 2

As previously mentioned, I’ve been working on the cover copy for Prisoners of the Wailing Tower. I thought I would share what I’ve come up with.

Alemin only wanted to help an innocent. Instead, he was caught by the dreaded hunter-guards. Now he finds himself flung into the Larder, where the very walls are steeped in nightmares and his fellow inmates are dangerous killer. Worse, the warden has far too many questions about Alemin’s friends, the Minstrels, and their subversive lifestyle.

On the outside, the renegade mage Lorrah receives a vision of her friend’s capture. She’s desperate to save Alemin, but the Larder is a prison for the most vicious criminal mages in all of Skaythe. They say if you aren’t mad when you get there, you soon will be.

Luckily, Lorrah is not alone. She has help from the fierce women warriors of Badger Squad. Yet even their combined forces might not be enough to get Alemin free from Dar-Gothull’s Larder!

Well, what do you think? I’d love to hear about any strengths or weaknesses you spot.

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Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my web site, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

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Story Share

I was just pondering what to write about today, when a terrific story came through my e-mail. Daily Science Fiction is the publication. Every weekday, they e-mail a genre short story. It’s really easy to subscribe, and the donation they ask for is ridiculously small.

Someday, I hope to get a story in with them, but not yet.

Anyhow, I loved the way the author used dialog to reveal the plot retroactively, and how funny and smart his characters are. That said, if you aren’t comfortable with teen romances and some gayness, you might want to give this one a pass.

The story is “The After Party,” by Max Christopher. Check it out here.

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Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my web site, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

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The Fun Begins

Now that I’ve finished my polishing draft on Prisoners of the Wailing Tower, it’s time for someone other than me to take a look at the manuscript. I have one friend that I’m hoping will do a proofing run. While I wait for that, I get to start on the fun parts of self-publishing.

For a couple of weeks, I’ve been peeking in at Shutterstock for potential covers. I plan to stay with the same artist I’ve already used for the series. Having a consistent look to the covers is important. After saving everything of his that I thought might work, I’ve been slowly deleting pieces. On Sunday I had it down to four, and last night I made the final pick. The piece was large enough for a full cover spread, but I know I can crop it to fit an e-book cover. Later, if I decide to do a print book of the second set of novellas, I’ll have an image ready to go.

The next step will be to create the title itself. With that, I’ll be able to start assembling the cover on Canva. I’ll also do a couple of different sized ads that I can put on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. This is one of the fun and creative parts for me, and I’m looking forward to it. The text won’t be ready for several weeks more, but that’s all right. Starting advance promotions ahead of time is all to the better.

Another exciting thing is that Teri Polen has started her book feature, Bad Moon Rising. My day is October 10th, and I’ll be featuring Dancer in the Grove of Ghosts, second in my Minstrels of Skaythe series.

The slightly sad thing is that Fall Folk Fest, where I’ve been reading my stories for the past few years, has announced the cancellation of their live performances and craft fair. Like SpoCon, this is disappointing but not surprising. I do have the option of putting together a video of myself reading for their virtual concert, but I’m not sure if I really have time or the skills for it.

Anyway, that’s what I’ll be up to for the rest of the week.

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Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my web site, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

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Woman at Work, Part 19

What’s Happening? I’ve mentioned that I was involved with SpoCon, the local science fiction convention. Unfortunately, conditions are such that we’ve had to put it off for another year. I’m not surprised at all, but still discouraged about it.

What I’m Working On. With SpoCon off the table, I’m doing a revision on Prisoners of the Wailing Tower. When that’s done, I’ll start the practical process of laying out, cover creation, etc. The Thanksgiving publication date is easily doable.

What’s Next? The final Minstrels of Skaythe novel is starting to take shape. I hope to begin some exploratory scenes before much longer.

Fun and Games. Currently I’m playing an indy game, Sable. My character is a young person on a walkabout type mission to find her purpose in life. It’s very minimalist and low-key, with a lot of climbing and jumping but no combat. I like that In Animal Crossing, my younger kid has their own village. We’ve been visiting each other about once a week, and it’s fun.

October is here already? That means it’s almost time for Hallowe’en decorations!

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Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my web site, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

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My To-Write List

After all my talk about No-Write Lists, it might seem like I have no intention of actually writing much of anything. So let me assure you that, just as there are some things I don’t want to ever write about, there are some things I will always write about, given the right circumstances.

Witches/Wizards/Mages/Etc. I love magic and all the fun, dramatic stuff it can do. The world’s folk stories are full of different ideas about how magic can be made. I just can’t say no to witches.

Dragons. Like mages, the world’s folklore is full of dragons. There are so many fascinating concepts about what abilities dragons have and what their purpose is. Almost every time I start writing a story, I ask myself, “How long has it been since I wrote a dragon story?”

Prehistoric Ruins. Stone circles, ruined castles, lonely towers, cliff dwellings… You name it! There’s such an evocation of history in a good ruin. Who build this place, what was its purpose, how was it abandoned… All of these add layers of complexity to any story, and I’ll work them in whenever I can.

Libraries and Museums. I’m a life-long reader. No surprise, right? There have been a lot of great books recently that feature libraries, and I’ve enjoyed them all. But, I almost put them on my No-Write List because there are so many. Still, what’s better than a collection of old books or other objects? What mysterious or malign artifacts might be gathered into the collection?

Questioning the Status Quo. This is more vague, but I love to delve into the common tropes and make people think twice about them. That can mean literally swapping all the characters’ genders, or just taking the person who is assumed to be evil and making them… not. Basically, I can’t pass up a chance to flip a stereotype.

There you have it: a few of my favorite things, literarily speaking!

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Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my web site, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

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My No-Write List

Yes, I actually keep a list of topics and tropes that I’m not going to write about! As a reminder, the list includes things that I feel are already being over-done or in some cases have become toxic. So what’s on the list these days?

Vampires, werewolves, unicorns, fairies. I adore fairies, but still find these creatures over-exposed. I would have to have a really unique concept. I still love hearing about traditional lore from other cultures, but I wouldn’t try to write it myself, since I’m not from the culture.

Schools for witches and wizards. It’s a fun concept that’s just been done too often.

Assassins, especially teen assassins. As an educator, I don’t see this theme as offering a positive future for our youth.

Tournaments and contests that are drenched in blood. Again, especially where teens are forced competitors. See the above rationale.

Dystopian settings. A little too close to home right now, honestly. I wouldn’t write about a pandemic or plague, either. Although, as a writer, I’m certainly storing up impressions and observations.

Pirates and bandits, especially drunken pirates. I just don’t find it funny.

Slavery being excused or condoned. Same with any sort of discrimination or harassment. These would be features of the villains, not something my protagonist would exhibit.

Violence as an appropriate response to ordinary situations. I know that sounds vague, but our media and stories are really dependent on violence. In the past, I’ve had characters solve their problems with the sword (or gun) and didn’t think much about it. These days, I try to use my writing to show alternatives to bloodshed.

Well, did anything on my No-Write List surprise you?

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Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my web site, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

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