Jonathan Moeller's Blog, page 25

The Third Day Of Short Story Christmas!

It’s time for the third day of our Twelve Days Of Short Story Christmas!

Today’s story is the Andomhaim short story SHIELD KNIGHT: RIDMARK’S TALE, and you can get the ebook for free at my Payhip store until December 31st.

Bonus! SHIELD KNIGHT: RIDMARK’S TALE is also available in audio as excellently narrated by Brad Wills, and the audio version of the story is also free at my Payhip store until December 31st!

Check back tomorrow for the fourth day of Twelve Days Of Short Story Christmas.

Our free short stories so far:

1.) Paladin’s Hunt.

2.) Damage Per Second.

3.) Shield Knight: Ridmark’s Tale (ebook), Shield Knight: Ridmark’s Tale (audiobook).

-JM

sign up for my newsletter and get a free short story!

When ORC-HOARD comes out, hopefully next week, newsletter subscribers will get a free ebook copy of COMMANDER’S WRATH.

Naturally, this makes it an excellent time to sign up for my newsletter.

On a related note, doing flames in Photoshop is kind of a pain.

-JM

The Second Day Of Short Story Christmas!

It’s time for the second day of our Twelve Days Of Short Story Christmas!

Today’s story is the STEALTH & SPELLS ONLINE short story DAMAGE PER SECOND, which you can get for free at my Payhip store until December 31st.

Check back tomorrow for the third day of Twelve Days Of Short Story Christmas.

Our free short stories so far:

1.) Paladin’s Hunt.

2.) Damage Per Second.

-JM

Anatomy of a 10,000 word day

On December 2nd, 2024, I wrote 10,000 words of ORC-HOARD in one go. It was my ninth 10k word day of 2024.

A few people interested in writing asked about the logistics of it. Like, how did I actually pull if off,  that kind of thing. That seems like a reasonable question, so let’s discuss it a bit.

I think the main two components of a 10k word day are 1.) I don’t have anything else I absolutely have to do that day, and 2.) I don’t have any unexpected interruptions that require time and attention.

Since I only had nine 10k word days in 2024, you can see how rare those two circumstances are! Like, if there are 336 days between January 1st and December 2nd, then conditions for a 10k word day only happened two percent of the time.

First, let’s take a look at what precisely I actually did on December 2nd, 2024.

I should note that this is lightly censored to protect family details, but it is overall accurate for my schedule on December 2nd.

6:45 – Wake up.

7:10 – Make coffee. Check various accounts to make sure nothing got hacked overnight. Check and answer email. Set up social media posts for day. Write 250 words of SHIELD OF DECEPTION

8:30 – Proceed to gym. Spend an hour exercising.

9:30 – Return from gym. Shower and clean up.

9:45 – Use electric leaf blower to get (light) snow off the sidewalk and the porch. Thankfully this does not take long!

10:00 – Start writing. Do nothing else but write for the next several hours.

12:00 – Lunchtime. Have written 2,700 words of ORC-HOARD so far.

12:45 – Finish lunch, return to writing. Do nothing else but writing until 2:00.

2:00 – Make coffee. Answer texts and emails. Now have written 5,100 words of ORC-HOARD.

2:20 – Resume writing. Do nothing else but write for next several hours.

4:45 – Have reached the ten thousand word mark of ORC-HOARD.

5:00 – Make dinner, clean up afterward.

6:00 – Write another 250 words of SHIELD OF DECEPTION. Set up social media and blog posts for the next day. Answer a few emails and texts. Check various ad platforms and see how they are performing.

7:00 – Stop doing things for the day.

So as you can see, I didn’t have any unexpected interruptions that demanded attention, and I didn’t have anything else that I had to do that day. Which is really rare, so I’m pleased I made the most of it.

By contrast, let’s look at the next day, December 3rd.

I only wrote 6,500 words that day. Which is still a good number, but I had numerous other things I had to do, and there were several interruptions. I needed to email some people with tax questions, I needed to fill out a fair bit of paperwork for tax compliance, I had to make several changes to my ads, and I also needed to go grocery shopping. Additionally, several people came to the front door, and a couple of packages were delivered, and I had to stop writing and go answer the door a bunch of times. Obviously none of these things were bad or particularly onerous (even the tax paperwork wasn’t that bad as these things go) but they took up time and had to be done.

Additionally, interruptions are sometimes tricky because in all honesty I’m not as mentally agile as I used to be when I was younger, and have a harder time switching tasks abruptly. Like, 14 years ago, I could go on my lunch break, slam out 2,000 words, and then go back to work without missing a beat. But that was 14 years ago. Nowadays, I find it harder to get back to what I was doing before I was interrupted. So the fewer interruptions I have, whether planned or unplanned, the more I will write.

When I say “do nothing else but write for the next two hours”, that is exactly what I meant – no Internet browsing, no social media, no playing with my phone, no Photoshop, no “checking one thing quick”, just a word processor and a lot of typing. For these long stretches, I typically use the Pomodoro method – 25 minutes of uninterrupted activity, followed by a five minute break before doing it again. I used to check email during those five minute breaks but that can get out of control, so instead I started playing classic Super Mario Brothers on the Switch during those five minute breaks. That is different enough from writing that it makes for a good mental reset, and it loads quickly so I don’t waste my break time waiting for the game to load. Similar platformer games also make for a good Pomodoro break.

For the actual timing I just use the timer app on my phone.

I’ve had a couple of days where I was at like 8,000 words by 3:30 PM and something came up, so then I powered through 2,000 extra words at night. I try to avoid writing a lot at night because it’s good to give the brain a rest, but I will if it’s necessary.

I should note that I’ve been a full-time writer for nearly a decade now, so that means I have the time to do a 10,000 word day when the circumstances are right. Like, back when I had a full-time real job, I think I only had one 10,000 word day ever – I was snowed in on a Saturday, and there was nothing else to do. So I wrote 10,000 words that day. I think it was for FROSTBORN: THE MASTER THIEF if I remember right, specifically the bit with the wyvern. But since I am a full-time writer, obviously it is in everyone’s best interests if I get as many words down as possible every day when I am writing a rough draft.

I should also note that I don’t think this kind of workflow is mentally right for most people. Like, if I’m really interested in something, I really focus up on it to an intense degree that most people would find unsustainable. So if you’re a writer and a 10,000 word day sounds unimaginable, I don’t think you should beat yourself up about it.

So that is how I do a ten thousand word day. Circumstances have to be just right, which doesn’t happen all that often, but it’s probably for the best. A 10k word day is a bit of a mental effort, which is why I rarely have them back-to-back.

-JM

ORC-HOARD cover image & description

I’m far enough along to share the cover image and book description from ORC-HOARD!

If all goes well, the book should be out before Christmas.

###

Competitions between thieves always end in betrayal.

Rivah Half-Elven has risen high in the Court of the Masked King, the thieves’ guild of the imperial city of Tar-Carmatheion.

When a powerful wizard demands that the Court obtain a magical relic for him, Rivah and her crew are the obvious choice.

But the wizard wants the thieves of the Court to compete for the honor of stealing the relic.

Unless Rivah uses all her courage and cunning, she won’t be the last one standing.

-JM

The First Day Of Short Story Christmas!

To celebrate the Christmas season this year, we are once again doing Twelve Days Of Short Story Christmas!

From December 6th to December 23rd, I will be giving away one free short story on my Payhip store every weekday! Most of them will be in ebook form, but a few will also be in audiobook format as well!

For the first day of short story Christmas, we’re starting with HALF-ELVEN THIEF short story PALADIN’S HUNT.

Check back on Monday for the second day of Twelve Days Of Short Story Christmas.

-JM

Fun & Fitness With STARFIELD!

I do like how other companies now feel the pressure to do a “Spotify Wrapped” year-in-review thing of their own.Yeah, I played a lotta STARFIELD this year. That started in May – I’ve been trying not to eat after dinner, and so to distract myself when I got hungry, I would drink a bunch of water, fire up the Xbox, and go pirate hunting in STARFIELD.Then again, I’ve lost sixteen pounds since May, so I guess it was worth it. Thanks STARFIELD! -JM

ORC-HOARD rough draft done!

I am very pleased to report that the rough draft of ORC-HOARD, the fourth book in the HALF-ELVEN THIEF series, is now done.

I’ve also written a short story called COMMANDER’S WRATH that newsletter subscribers will get for free in ebook form when ORC-HOARD comes out. Just like PALADIN’S HUNT was part of Sir Hector’s backstory, COMMANDER’S WRATH will explain how Lord Malophon came to hold moneylenders in such disdain.

Meanwhile, time to dig into the editing and cover design.

-JM

Question of the Week: Work Music!

It’s time for Question of the Week, which is designed to inspire enjoyable discussions of interesting topics.

This week’s question: what do you listen to while working? Genre of music, audiobooks, podcast, nothing at all so you can concentrate, etc. No wrong answers, obviously.

For myself, I almost always listen to music while I am working, and the genre is usually Soundtracks From Video Games, Movies, And TV Shows (In That Order) That I Liked. Which makes it difficult to discuss music with people, I have to admit.

Random Person: Yeah, I listen to some Taylor Swift, maybe some Laney Wilson.

Me: Today I listened to the New Atlantis theme from STARFIELD like twenty times in a row while writing a fantasy novel about a thief who’s also a wizard.

(long pause)

Random Person: I have to go now.

I do listen to podcasts when I’m working outside, so long as I’m not using a power tool that requires earplugs for safe operation.

-JM

The Pulp Writer Show, Episode 229: November Writing Challenge, Part V – A Look At The Five Principles Of Writing

In this week’s episode, we wrap up the November Writing Challenge by taking a look back at the Five Iron Laws Of Storytelling, which have often been discussed on this show before.

Be sure to get your free copy of STORYTELLING: HOW TO WRITE A NOVEL at my Payhip store. The book will remain free until December 9th:

You can listen to the show with transcript at the official Pulp Writer Show site, and you can also listen to it at Spotify, Apple Podcasts , Amazon Music, and Libsyn.

-JM