Aeryn Rudel's Blog, page 13

A Week of Writing: 3/14/22 to 3/20/222

Another week of writing. Here’s how it went down.

Words to Write By

Today’s quote comes from novelist Zadie Smith.

“It’s such a confidence trick, writing a novel. The main person you have to trick into confidence is yourself. This is hard to do alone.”

—Zadie Smith 

Love this quote because, at least for me, it’s so true. I find that I do trick myself into writing a novel, especially the first draft. In order to get all the words on the page and complete a manuscript, I recite the fol...

A Week of Writing: 3/7/22 to 3/13/22

One more week of writing in the books. Here’s how I did.

Words to Write By

I’ve used this quote before, but I like it, so here’s some writerly wisdom from W. Somerset Maugham.

“There are three rules for writing the novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.” 

—W. Somerset Maugham

Go to social media—any platform will do—and search on “writing rules” or “how to write a novel”. You will come up with hundreds, if not thousands, of rules and regulations on how you must go about writing a novel...

From Draft to Acceptance: One Story’s Journey

I often talk about rejection on this blog. I mean, hell, it’s called rejectomancy, but I think acceptances can shed some light on how we as authors can and should deal with rejection. So lets look at the path one of my stories took from first draft to acceptance. How long did it take? How many times was it rejected? And, more importantly, what does it mean, if anything?

Part One: The Draft

Well, the first thing you gotta do with a story is, you know, write it. This particular piece was written i...

Weeks of Writing: 2/21/22 to 3/6/22

Another couple weeks of catch-up here. Let’s see how I did.

Words to Write By

This week’s quote comes from novelist Mercedes Lackey.

I always work from an outline, so I know all the of the broad events and some of the finer details before I begin writing the book. 

― Mercedes Lackey

Mercedes lackey and I are kindred souls in this regard. I am a definite plotter, and my thirty-chapter outlines hit all the major events in the novel. Chapter is a bit of a misnomer, though, as what I really do is ou...

Aeryn’s Archives – Acts of War: Aftershock

Last week, we discussed the first novel I wrote for Privateer Press, so now we’re going to discuss the second. Acts of War: Aftershock is the direct sequel to Acts of War: Flashpoint, and, you guessed it, the second book in the Acts of War trilogy. This is without doubt my favorite of the novels I’ve written for Privateer. Before we get into why, check out this bad-ass cover by Néstor Ossandón. (Seriously, folk, check him out. His stuff is ridiculously good.)

War Has Come Again to Llael

On the ...

Submissions Statement: February 2022

Technically, February is not over, but I’ve put in all the writerly work I’m gonna for the month. So here’s how I did.

February 2022 Report CardSubmissions Sent: 6Rejections: 4Acceptances: 0Publications: 0Further Consideration/Shortlist: 0

That, my friends, is what you call an uneventful month. Six submissions puts me at 16 for the year, which an average of 8 per month. That places me just a tad off-pace for my yearly goal of one-hundred. Other than a smattering of rejections, not much el...

Aeryn’s Archives – Act of War: Flashpoint

It’s probably about time I talk about the novels I’ve written for Privateer Press in a more detail. I mean, I’m always telling you people I have written novels, so I guess it’s time to put my cards on the table. Today, I’m going to talk a bit about the first novel I wrote for Privateer after I left the company and began working with them in a freelance capacity. It’s the first in a trilogy called Acts of War, and it’s titled Flashpoint. Here’s the snazzy cover.

So, what’s the book about? Well. ...

A Week of Writing: 2/14/22 to 2/20/22

One more week of writerly doings. Let’s take a look.

Words to Write By

This week’s quote comes from George Orwell

“Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout with some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand.”

― George Orwell

Now, this quote seems dire, I’ll admit, but it brings up an important point: the act of creation is not necessarily a joyful one for all authors. Ther...

What Are They Saying: Analyzing My Editorial Feedback

When you’ve collected as many rejections as I have, you read A LOT of editor and first-reader feedback. I’m never one to put much stock in isolated feedback from a single source, but when you do this long enough, you start to see some patterns. Certain phrases repeated about your work. These, often as not, highlight your strengths as a writer and some of your weaknesses too.

Just for fun, let’s see what editors and first readers say about my work. I’ll only include feedback and comments from rej...

Weeks of Writing: 1/31/22 to 2/13/22

Let’s do some weekly writerly catch-up.

Words to Write By

This week’s quote comes from E.B White. 

“It is no sign of weakness or defeat that your manuscript ends up in need of major surgery. This is common in all writing and among the best of writers.”

–E.B. White

I am struggling mightily with a novel revision at the moment (more on that below), and this quote kind of sums up how I’m feeling. You see, it’s hard not to view it as a sign of weakness and defeat because the novel needs A LOT of revi...