B.E. Sanderson's Blog, page 21
November 10, 2019
Crime and Punishment
I've noticed a disturbing trend in criminal defense lately - if a criminal has children, they're using the children as a reason why the criminal should be released from custody. And get a lighter sentence. Now, it seems to me that once upon a time, it was opposite. If you were a criminal, you got your children taken away from you, so you could no longer influence them with your bad behavior.
One would think that having children would be a very good reason to not commit crimes. One would further think that, even if you weren't concerned how your criminal activities would influence your children, you would care that committing crimes might get your children taken away.
Why does the opposite seem to be happening?
This post actually came about because a woman who was pulled over on suspicion of shoplifting tried to escape by dragging the officer down the road with her car. And her defense attorney put forth the idea that because she has 4 children, she should be let off. :blinkblink:
Makes absolutely no sense. Feel sorry for the kids without their mom because she did something to get herself locked up? More like feel sorry for kids with a mom like that. She obviously doesn't give a rat's ass about her kids or she wouldn't be risking her freedom - freedom she needs so she can be with those kids. She doesn't care about raising her children to be upstanding members of society. She only cares about what she can get without having to pay for it.
And before anyone suggests that maybe she was shoplifting to provide for her children, her car looked pretty nice and she seemed to be able to pay for an attorney to represent her because when she finally turned herself in, she had an attorney with her. Not a public defender, who would've been assigned after her arrest. If she couldn't afford clothes, how is she affording an attorney?
Oh, and her rap sheet was already littered with other crimes. Not an upstanding, mother of the year type. With a role model like that, those four kids will be joining her behind bars eventually. I know the foster care system has problems, but at least there, they might have a chance.
Of course, I'm the horrible one for suggesting that perhaps her children would be better served away from her.
Sometimes I wonder who the hell is running our criminal justice system when the defense for a woman like this is to trot her kids out and say she needs to be with them so let her free.
Jus' Sayin'.
One would think that having children would be a very good reason to not commit crimes. One would further think that, even if you weren't concerned how your criminal activities would influence your children, you would care that committing crimes might get your children taken away.
Why does the opposite seem to be happening?
This post actually came about because a woman who was pulled over on suspicion of shoplifting tried to escape by dragging the officer down the road with her car. And her defense attorney put forth the idea that because she has 4 children, she should be let off. :blinkblink:
Makes absolutely no sense. Feel sorry for the kids without their mom because she did something to get herself locked up? More like feel sorry for kids with a mom like that. She obviously doesn't give a rat's ass about her kids or she wouldn't be risking her freedom - freedom she needs so she can be with those kids. She doesn't care about raising her children to be upstanding members of society. She only cares about what she can get without having to pay for it.
And before anyone suggests that maybe she was shoplifting to provide for her children, her car looked pretty nice and she seemed to be able to pay for an attorney to represent her because when she finally turned herself in, she had an attorney with her. Not a public defender, who would've been assigned after her arrest. If she couldn't afford clothes, how is she affording an attorney?
Oh, and her rap sheet was already littered with other crimes. Not an upstanding, mother of the year type. With a role model like that, those four kids will be joining her behind bars eventually. I know the foster care system has problems, but at least there, they might have a chance.
Of course, I'm the horrible one for suggesting that perhaps her children would be better served away from her.
Sometimes I wonder who the hell is running our criminal justice system when the defense for a woman like this is to trot her kids out and say she needs to be with them so let her free.
Jus' Sayin'.
November 7, 2019
Pondering the Rankings
Amazon rankings... There's a love/hate relationship going on there. But what does it even mean?
If I sell one book, that book's ranking jumps from somewhere in the millions to somewhere in the hundred thousands. The higher the ranking obviously means better exposure and thus better sales, but only when you get in the top 100 on the narrower genre listings. Does it really make a difference to readers if the book is in the overall 6 digits rather than 7?
For that matter, does a higher ranking mean a better book? I've read some highly ranked books that were total dogs and some lowly ranked books I thoroughly enjoyed.
Is it a matter of following the herd? Oh, look how many people bought this book, it must be a good one?
I can get my books to jump by offering them at a steep discount and advertising the hell out of them, but that only means people were looking for a deal and something about my ad sparked their interest. Whether the jump in ranking equals a jump in sales? No clue. Generally, once the ad gets shuffled to the back of everyone's inboxes and the new ads for the day come out, my sales tank.
How often does anyone really look at the lists? I mean if you manage to get on one of the Top 100 lists, that is. Beyond that, you can't look at anything. Wonder what #102 is? Too bad.
Last month, I actually took the time to find new books on the Top 100 lists in political thriller and suspense. I found two books I actually wanted to read. (New to me, and underappreciated, of course.) One of them was a dog. I haven't started the other yet, because I got burned on the last one. If the other one sucks, too, I'm done trying to find books on those lists. I ain't got time for that shit.
So, how does the book buying public make heads or tails out of any of this ranking stuff?
:shrug:
Just pondering.
Do you look at rankings when you're trying to find a new book? Can you make any sense of this stuff?
If I sell one book, that book's ranking jumps from somewhere in the millions to somewhere in the hundred thousands. The higher the ranking obviously means better exposure and thus better sales, but only when you get in the top 100 on the narrower genre listings. Does it really make a difference to readers if the book is in the overall 6 digits rather than 7?
For that matter, does a higher ranking mean a better book? I've read some highly ranked books that were total dogs and some lowly ranked books I thoroughly enjoyed.
Is it a matter of following the herd? Oh, look how many people bought this book, it must be a good one?
I can get my books to jump by offering them at a steep discount and advertising the hell out of them, but that only means people were looking for a deal and something about my ad sparked their interest. Whether the jump in ranking equals a jump in sales? No clue. Generally, once the ad gets shuffled to the back of everyone's inboxes and the new ads for the day come out, my sales tank.
How often does anyone really look at the lists? I mean if you manage to get on one of the Top 100 lists, that is. Beyond that, you can't look at anything. Wonder what #102 is? Too bad.
Last month, I actually took the time to find new books on the Top 100 lists in political thriller and suspense. I found two books I actually wanted to read. (New to me, and underappreciated, of course.) One of them was a dog. I haven't started the other yet, because I got burned on the last one. If the other one sucks, too, I'm done trying to find books on those lists. I ain't got time for that shit.
So, how does the book buying public make heads or tails out of any of this ranking stuff?
:shrug:
Just pondering.
Do you look at rankings when you're trying to find a new book? Can you make any sense of this stuff?
November 5, 2019
On Being Social
Recently a writer I follow on FB has been doing a series of posts on how being more social online is helping with book sales. According to him, interacting with other human beings is actually gaining him sales.
Yeah, it sounds kind of obvious, but I admit that it's the last thing I think of when I'm thinking about marketing.
You know me. I am not social. I'm a hermit. Oh, I used to be more social online. I commented on blogs and belonged to forums and interacted on FB. Lately? I've been crawling into my hole. My safe, warm, cozy, comfortable hole.
And that ain't good. At least not when it comes to getting my face out there and people buying my books.
When I first published Dying Embers, I was out there - online and in person (to a certain extent). I was schmoozing and stuff like the dickens. Okay, not as much as I could've been even then, but loads more than I am now.
So, I'm trying to be more social. Not in a 'in your face, buy my book' sort of way, but more natural like. Commenting on FB statuses again when I feel like I have something to say about the topic, contributing to the NaNo local forum by being a cheerleader... I need to start going back and commenting on blogs again. I read a lot of them, but I don't comment much. (As I suspect readers here are doing, so I'm not getting after any of you.)
The problem now is how does one restart being social after having been silent for so long? "Oh, hey, remember me? I used to comment here, but I stopped and now I'm back" seems weird. As does "You don't know me, but I'd like to talk, too" in writing forums. It's all very daunting. It's not like you can just jump in anywhere and not have people looking at you like you're the foreign exchange student from Greater Dorkistan.
Anyway, I'm going to try to be more social. And if it fails miserably, I can always crawl back into my hole.
How about you? Are you a social animal?
Yeah, it sounds kind of obvious, but I admit that it's the last thing I think of when I'm thinking about marketing.
You know me. I am not social. I'm a hermit. Oh, I used to be more social online. I commented on blogs and belonged to forums and interacted on FB. Lately? I've been crawling into my hole. My safe, warm, cozy, comfortable hole.
And that ain't good. At least not when it comes to getting my face out there and people buying my books.
When I first published Dying Embers, I was out there - online and in person (to a certain extent). I was schmoozing and stuff like the dickens. Okay, not as much as I could've been even then, but loads more than I am now.
So, I'm trying to be more social. Not in a 'in your face, buy my book' sort of way, but more natural like. Commenting on FB statuses again when I feel like I have something to say about the topic, contributing to the NaNo local forum by being a cheerleader... I need to start going back and commenting on blogs again. I read a lot of them, but I don't comment much. (As I suspect readers here are doing, so I'm not getting after any of you.)
The problem now is how does one restart being social after having been silent for so long? "Oh, hey, remember me? I used to comment here, but I stopped and now I'm back" seems weird. As does "You don't know me, but I'd like to talk, too" in writing forums. It's all very daunting. It's not like you can just jump in anywhere and not have people looking at you like you're the foreign exchange student from Greater Dorkistan.
Anyway, I'm going to try to be more social. And if it fails miserably, I can always crawl back into my hole.
How about you? Are you a social animal?
November 4, 2019
Another Sale and NaNo Updates
First off, Blink of an I and Unequal are on sale this week. I'm calling it The Semi-Spectacular Dystopian Sale, because I'm a dork like that. Here's the ad image I posted to FB yesterday:
No sales yet, but I'm not really expecting any. The last sale I had where I only used FB Groups to market was a dud. I think it has to do with FB's new rules and algorithms. :shrug:
Anyway, if you're into dystopian or future suspense or speculative fiction (or whatever people are calling it these days), give it a whirl.
On another note, I'm chugging along with NaNo. I'm behind about 1200 words, but I'm totally cool with that. The point here is for me to light a fire under my ass and get writing again. So far, so good. Three days in a row. Woohoo!
Okay, prepare to groan... I made a spreadsheet for this year's NaNo. I kinda had to because I'm not writing a new book and I'm not necessarily adding words in a linear fashion. Anyway, it looks like this:
As you can see, if you blow it up, I started with 55876 words, so the end goal would be 106K. It's a fantasy, so not outside the realm of possibility. If it ends up being shorter, I won't 'win' NaNo officially, but as long as I write every day, I'll win for me.
And maybe this will lead to other goals being met and stuff and junk. I'm not making any promises, but there's hope. =o)
No sales yet, but I'm not really expecting any. The last sale I had where I only used FB Groups to market was a dud. I think it has to do with FB's new rules and algorithms. :shrug:
Anyway, if you're into dystopian or future suspense or speculative fiction (or whatever people are calling it these days), give it a whirl.
On another note, I'm chugging along with NaNo. I'm behind about 1200 words, but I'm totally cool with that. The point here is for me to light a fire under my ass and get writing again. So far, so good. Three days in a row. Woohoo!
Okay, prepare to groan... I made a spreadsheet for this year's NaNo. I kinda had to because I'm not writing a new book and I'm not necessarily adding words in a linear fashion. Anyway, it looks like this:
As you can see, if you blow it up, I started with 55876 words, so the end goal would be 106K. It's a fantasy, so not outside the realm of possibility. If it ends up being shorter, I won't 'win' NaNo officially, but as long as I write every day, I'll win for me.And maybe this will lead to other goals being met and stuff and junk. I'm not making any promises, but there's hope. =o)
November 1, 2019
And So It Begins
Welcome to All Saints Day or, if you're into this sort of thing, the first day of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). Today is the day thousands of writers will begin the task of writing 50,000 words in 30 days. Some will succeed, some will fail. Hopefully, all will learn something from the experience. I suspect, typically, the lesson is 'yes, I can do this' or 'nope, not for me'.
Which is fine. Not everyone is cut out to write fast, dirty drafts. Hell, this year I have been one of them. The editor gets in the way, or the self-doubt, or whatever.
If you haven't tried NaNo, I recommend you give it a whirl - if for no other reason than to give writing editot-free a chance. I did it originally just to prove to myself I could write to deadline. Which has helped tremendously when I actually had deadlines and junk.
Last night, I finished reading the forgotten fantasy I started during NaNo 2013. 55K words worth. And you know what? It ain't half bad. If I remember right, the first time I tried NaNo (unofficially, of course) the book eventually turned into Wish In One Hand. I think Blink of an I was an unofficial NaNo novel, too. My one official NaNo novel that turned into a book is Fertile Ground. So, you see, NaNo novels can become real books down the road a piece.
Anyway, like I said, I finished read the fantasy last night, and I'm finding myself pretty jazzed about finishing the book. All sorts of ideas were floating in my head during the read and I think I can make this into a whole book. Whether that will take another 50K words remains to be seen. It is a fantasy after all.
I still don't have a title, but it's about paternal teenage twins Aryl and Lyra and their allies - their training to be mages and the interruption of their training to go fight the evils coming out of the mists before the mists fall entirely and evil covers the land. There's magic and monsters and love and death and all sorts of stuffs.
So, today it begins. I pick up where I left off, with the hero in a quandary and a decision to be made. In fact, the last words I wrote on that manuscript were 'What is Aryl's decision?' Apparently, I didn't know the answer then because I never got back to the manuscript, but I think I know the answer now and I will be forging ahead.
Keep your fingers crossed.
Which is fine. Not everyone is cut out to write fast, dirty drafts. Hell, this year I have been one of them. The editor gets in the way, or the self-doubt, or whatever.
If you haven't tried NaNo, I recommend you give it a whirl - if for no other reason than to give writing editot-free a chance. I did it originally just to prove to myself I could write to deadline. Which has helped tremendously when I actually had deadlines and junk.
Last night, I finished reading the forgotten fantasy I started during NaNo 2013. 55K words worth. And you know what? It ain't half bad. If I remember right, the first time I tried NaNo (unofficially, of course) the book eventually turned into Wish In One Hand. I think Blink of an I was an unofficial NaNo novel, too. My one official NaNo novel that turned into a book is Fertile Ground. So, you see, NaNo novels can become real books down the road a piece.
Anyway, like I said, I finished read the fantasy last night, and I'm finding myself pretty jazzed about finishing the book. All sorts of ideas were floating in my head during the read and I think I can make this into a whole book. Whether that will take another 50K words remains to be seen. It is a fantasy after all.
I still don't have a title, but it's about paternal teenage twins Aryl and Lyra and their allies - their training to be mages and the interruption of their training to go fight the evils coming out of the mists before the mists fall entirely and evil covers the land. There's magic and monsters and love and death and all sorts of stuffs.
So, today it begins. I pick up where I left off, with the hero in a quandary and a decision to be made. In fact, the last words I wrote on that manuscript were 'What is Aryl's decision?' Apparently, I didn't know the answer then because I never got back to the manuscript, but I think I know the answer now and I will be forging ahead.
Keep your fingers crossed.
October 30, 2019
Torn
I'm totally torn on what to do for NaNo.
You see, I've been reading that forgotten fantasy I wrote. It's like reading a new book, but I can see where I can make it better. A new beginning. Some added scenes. And of course, finishing it. My brain is playing with the idea of expanding this one book into several books, but we'll see.
But I'm also entertaining the idea of writing another Dennis Haggarty. Series sell better when there are at least three books. And I already have the basic premise.
And I could also write the next SCIU novel. That one would be book 4. I started a book 4 in this series already, but I'm not sure if I want it to be the 4th book or if another book should come next.
After my creativity being a veritable wasteland this year, I'm getting inundated with new ideas. Not a bad thing, but definitely not a good thing considering NaNo approacheth. I'm like a dog that's just had a handful of balls thrown into the yard. Not sure which one to chase and left dashing all higgledy-piggledy. Picking this one up and dropping it in favor of the next and the next and the...
Argh.
Most likely, I'll ignore the NaNo rules and work on Untitled Fantasy. (Drop the MG part, because I'm not sure this meets the requirements for MG. It's a bit too dark. If you want to see a snippet of it, drop by Silver's blog and see my comment there.)
Or maybe I'll set the fantasy aside and work on one of the other two. Argh.
You see, I've been reading that forgotten fantasy I wrote. It's like reading a new book, but I can see where I can make it better. A new beginning. Some added scenes. And of course, finishing it. My brain is playing with the idea of expanding this one book into several books, but we'll see.
But I'm also entertaining the idea of writing another Dennis Haggarty. Series sell better when there are at least three books. And I already have the basic premise.
And I could also write the next SCIU novel. That one would be book 4. I started a book 4 in this series already, but I'm not sure if I want it to be the 4th book or if another book should come next.
After my creativity being a veritable wasteland this year, I'm getting inundated with new ideas. Not a bad thing, but definitely not a good thing considering NaNo approacheth. I'm like a dog that's just had a handful of balls thrown into the yard. Not sure which one to chase and left dashing all higgledy-piggledy. Picking this one up and dropping it in favor of the next and the next and the...
Argh.
Most likely, I'll ignore the NaNo rules and work on Untitled Fantasy. (Drop the MG part, because I'm not sure this meets the requirements for MG. It's a bit too dark. If you want to see a snippet of it, drop by Silver's blog and see my comment there.)
Or maybe I'll set the fantasy aside and work on one of the other two. Argh.
October 27, 2019
Sleeping Ugly Sale
Time for another sale. Actually, this one started Friday and runs through Halloween night. But right now, Sleeping Ugly is on sale for only 99c (or 99p if you're buying in the UK).
Sleeping Ugly is the first in a trilogy - if I ever get the other two finished and published - but there's really not a cliffhanger ending there. You can read this without wanting to stick a knife in my forehead. Honest.
Right now, the series is in a bit of a circular limbo state, though. It's hard to get motivated to work on the other two when the first isn't selling so well. On the other hand, the first might sell better if I published the other two. At this point, I'm looking at next year. Book Two (Ugly and the Beast) is written all the way through. Book Three (Cinder Ugly) is in the early stages of a first draft.
Anyway, SU is fun and snarky. The people who have read it have loved it. So, now's the time to give it a whirl.
Enjoy!
Sleeping Ugly is the first in a trilogy - if I ever get the other two finished and published - but there's really not a cliffhanger ending there. You can read this without wanting to stick a knife in my forehead. Honest.Right now, the series is in a bit of a circular limbo state, though. It's hard to get motivated to work on the other two when the first isn't selling so well. On the other hand, the first might sell better if I published the other two. At this point, I'm looking at next year. Book Two (Ugly and the Beast) is written all the way through. Book Three (Cinder Ugly) is in the early stages of a first draft.
Anyway, SU is fun and snarky. The people who have read it have loved it. So, now's the time to give it a whirl.
Enjoy!
October 24, 2019
Well, Derp
So, I went to the NaNoWriMo site. Of course, I'd forgotten my password and had to reset it. I couldn't even remember the last time I did NaNo.
Literally.
According to the NaNo site, I wrote a YA Fantasy in 2013. I don't even remember writing a YA fantasy, but according to them, I won with over 51K words. For a moment, I wondered if someone had hacked my NaNo and written a book under my name. Seriously. But that's not bloody likely, so I checked the keeper of all things - my blog. Sure enough, back in 2013, there I am talking about this YA fantasy I was working on in November of that year.
I had no clue. I eventually found it in a file marked Untitled YA Fantasy. Derp. Naturally. I opened the file and started to read it. I only vaguely remember it, but more like a book I once read than a book I freakin' wrote.
I jumped to the end. Sure enough, never finished it. I left myself with a note to figure out what the MC's decision is.
Needless to say, I'm mortified. I can't believe I wrote 55K words on a book and I don't even remember doing it. Couldn't tell you what the plot is. Don't remember the characters. Don't remember the world. I'm searching my memory banks and it's just not there.
Brain damage. That's all I can throw out in my defense.
Of course, 2013 was the year I moved and a lot of crap was going on - most of which I don't remember either.
It's like forgetting one of your children. Lucky for me, I only have one. Kind of hard to forget one. Books? I've published 13 and written at least a half-dozen I haven't published. So, this one apparently fell into the black hole of my brain. And right now, I do not have time to think about it or look at it. I'm supposed to be getting myself in a place where I can write a new book.
Hopefully, this new one will be memorable. Derp.
Literally.
According to the NaNo site, I wrote a YA Fantasy in 2013. I don't even remember writing a YA fantasy, but according to them, I won with over 51K words. For a moment, I wondered if someone had hacked my NaNo and written a book under my name. Seriously. But that's not bloody likely, so I checked the keeper of all things - my blog. Sure enough, back in 2013, there I am talking about this YA fantasy I was working on in November of that year.
I had no clue. I eventually found it in a file marked Untitled YA Fantasy. Derp. Naturally. I opened the file and started to read it. I only vaguely remember it, but more like a book I once read than a book I freakin' wrote.
I jumped to the end. Sure enough, never finished it. I left myself with a note to figure out what the MC's decision is.
Needless to say, I'm mortified. I can't believe I wrote 55K words on a book and I don't even remember doing it. Couldn't tell you what the plot is. Don't remember the characters. Don't remember the world. I'm searching my memory banks and it's just not there.
Brain damage. That's all I can throw out in my defense.
Of course, 2013 was the year I moved and a lot of crap was going on - most of which I don't remember either.
It's like forgetting one of your children. Lucky for me, I only have one. Kind of hard to forget one. Books? I've published 13 and written at least a half-dozen I haven't published. So, this one apparently fell into the black hole of my brain. And right now, I do not have time to think about it or look at it. I'm supposed to be getting myself in a place where I can write a new book.
Hopefully, this new one will be memorable. Derp.
October 23, 2019
Up to my armpits in spreadsheets this morning. Talk among...
Up to my armpits in spreadsheets this morning. Talk amongst yourselves.
October 20, 2019
Writing Was Easier Before
I made a comment on a friend's blog the other day - Writing was so much easier before I started worrying about publishing.
And the more I thought about it, the truer it seemed. Before I started publishing, I just wrote. I mean, publishing was always the end goal, but there was so much between writing and publishing - landing an agent, finding a publisher, editing, hoop jumping, etc. - that I never really let the idea of publication get in my way. It would either happen or it wouldn't.
Now? It feels like I have to worry whether every word I write is publishable. If this is something anyone will want to buy. If I'm going to hit the market with the right thing at the right time. And then, I have to think about getting on my editor's schedule and whether I can pay her. And I have to think about whether my artist will have room for me in her schedule and paying her. (Last I knew, she was booking cover art for the middle of next year.) Formatting. Marketing. Reviews. Business stuff instead of creative stuff.
The stuffs are all very heavy. And I feel like the weight of it all might've crushed me flat. Flat words, flat prose, flat descriptions... flat books filled with flat stories.
The other day I might've mentioned I was working on a short story. Kind of a Christmas thing set in the genie world. Oh, it's a great idea and I was tapping out words again. Then it occurred to me that even if I get this finished, I would still need a cover, and like I said, my cover artist for that series is booking for next year. And the word tapping died. Literally just withered up and died. The ideas are still there, but the will to write them dried up.
I used to write scads of words. On a good day, I am capable of cranking out like 1500 words an hour. This year? Even the crickets don't want to talk to me.
So, there's NaNo, or some form of it, fast approaching. It would be good for me. To just write with wild abandon like I used to. Write without worrying whether any of it will be publishable. Write without caring whether anyone will buy it or read it, love it or hate it. Write without thinking whether the book will be in one of my current series. Without having to think whether the characters are behaving the way they've always behaved in earlier books. No researching. No flipping back through series bibles to maintain continuity. Just words on paper building a totally new story.
I'm still not sure whether I'm going to do it, but it's getting more attractive by the day. It's like the idea of jumping on the back of a fast horse and just letting her run to wherever she wants to go - no saddle, no reins. Clutching her mane and squealing in delight (or sheer terror) as she flies over the ground.
Now, I just have to keep myself from thinking about it too much or worrying about it at all. If I'm going to do it, I need to wipe my brain clear of all the publishing stuff and just write.
Won't that be grand?
And the more I thought about it, the truer it seemed. Before I started publishing, I just wrote. I mean, publishing was always the end goal, but there was so much between writing and publishing - landing an agent, finding a publisher, editing, hoop jumping, etc. - that I never really let the idea of publication get in my way. It would either happen or it wouldn't.
Now? It feels like I have to worry whether every word I write is publishable. If this is something anyone will want to buy. If I'm going to hit the market with the right thing at the right time. And then, I have to think about getting on my editor's schedule and whether I can pay her. And I have to think about whether my artist will have room for me in her schedule and paying her. (Last I knew, she was booking cover art for the middle of next year.) Formatting. Marketing. Reviews. Business stuff instead of creative stuff.
The stuffs are all very heavy. And I feel like the weight of it all might've crushed me flat. Flat words, flat prose, flat descriptions... flat books filled with flat stories.
The other day I might've mentioned I was working on a short story. Kind of a Christmas thing set in the genie world. Oh, it's a great idea and I was tapping out words again. Then it occurred to me that even if I get this finished, I would still need a cover, and like I said, my cover artist for that series is booking for next year. And the word tapping died. Literally just withered up and died. The ideas are still there, but the will to write them dried up.
I used to write scads of words. On a good day, I am capable of cranking out like 1500 words an hour. This year? Even the crickets don't want to talk to me.
So, there's NaNo, or some form of it, fast approaching. It would be good for me. To just write with wild abandon like I used to. Write without worrying whether any of it will be publishable. Write without caring whether anyone will buy it or read it, love it or hate it. Write without thinking whether the book will be in one of my current series. Without having to think whether the characters are behaving the way they've always behaved in earlier books. No researching. No flipping back through series bibles to maintain continuity. Just words on paper building a totally new story.
I'm still not sure whether I'm going to do it, but it's getting more attractive by the day. It's like the idea of jumping on the back of a fast horse and just letting her run to wherever she wants to go - no saddle, no reins. Clutching her mane and squealing in delight (or sheer terror) as she flies over the ground.
Now, I just have to keep myself from thinking about it too much or worrying about it at all. If I'm going to do it, I need to wipe my brain clear of all the publishing stuff and just write.
Won't that be grand?
